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lunch

Consumer Trends

Jam-packed workdays are impacting restaurants' lunch business

 By Patricia Cobe on Oct. 13, 2025

Restaurant lunch sales are taking a hit as 51% of office workers now skip lunch weekly, with Gen Z leading the trend. Rising costs and heavy workloads are reshaping midday dining habits, finds ezCater, creating new challenges and opportunities for foodservice operators targeting the workplace market.

Consumer Trends

Economic uncertainty brings a shift in consumers' dining habits

 By Patricia Cobe on Sep. 25, 2025

Circana’s 2025 “Eating Patterns in America” report shows how customers are adapting to change with their food and drink purchasing.

Operations

Early birds are perking up traffic at Olive Garden

By Joe Guszkowski on Mar. 19, 2024

More customers are visiting the Italian casual-dining chain in the late afternoon and early evening, which has helped lift transactions, according to data from Placer.ai.

Workforce

Marriott pledges to hire 3,000 more refugees

By Peter Romeo on Jun. 20, 2023

About 1,500 will work in the lodging giant's U.S. hotels, while another 1,500 will be recruited in Europe.

Consumer Trends

Americans are lunching out less, but spending far more when they do

By Joe Guszkowski on May 31, 2023

Remote work continues to keep a lid on midday restaurant traffic in big cities, according to new data from Toast.

Operations

Dave & Buster’s wants your lunch business

By Heather Lalley on Jan. 11, 2022

The food-and-games chain said it’s looking for ways to maximize the midday daypart. But that will likely entail a rethinking of its food-and-beverage operations.

Operations

First Watch adjusts for life after COVID

By Peter Romeo on Jun. 18, 2021

The daytime dining chain is tweaking its operations with the additions of bars and takeout areas while forgoing the dash into farther-afield ventures such as ghost concepts and virtual brands.

Financing

Ruby Tuesday’s owner wants any restaurant to be a ghost kitchen

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 09, 2020

NRD Capital has created Franklin Junction, a company that creates “host kitchens” in restaurants that have excess capacity and need sales.

Food

10 new takes on sandwich classics

Sponsored content from our partner Euro-Bake on Aug. 28, 2017

Classic sandwiches can be a restaurant operator’s best friend. And that means sandwich icons are ready to be turned into one-of-a-kind menu signatures.

4 surprises behind Olive Garden’s big quarter

By Peter Romeo on Dec. 21, 2016

Executives attributed the gains to innovations on several fronts.

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