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operations

Financing

Better restaurants yield better sales, or is it the other way around?

 By Jonathan Maze on May 28, 2025

The Bottom Line: Data from Hardee’s franchise disclosure document reveals that restaurants with speedier drive-thrus and better online reviews generate stronger sales.

Technology

For the restaurant POS, signs of life after death

 By Joe Guszkowski on May 27, 2025

Tech Check: The device that once ruled the counter is fading as more business shifts to off-premise. But it’s getting a second life that could be more vital than the first.

Operations

The RATIONAL iVario consolidates an entire kitchen into one tilt skillet

Sponsored content from our partner RATIONAL on May 23, 2025

There are ways to make kitchen easier and help reduce the natural chaos of service.

Financing

For more restaurant consumers, the car is the dining room

By Jonathan Maze on May 20, 2025

A growing percentage of diners are eating their meals in their cars, thanks to social media and growing use of drive-thru and mobile order.

Operations

How Wingstop's Smart Kitchen upgrades will change the game

By Lisa Jennings on May 16, 2025

The fast-casual chain is moving from paper chits to an AI-powered digital system that will cut service times in half. It's in 400 units now and will be rolled out systemwide by the end of the year.

Leadership

Panera Brands announces almost complete board shakeup

By Lisa Jennings on May 16, 2025

Former Restaurant Brands International CEO Jose Cil will chair a board with six other new members, as leading brand Panera Bread prepares for a turnaround effort.

Operations

Shake Shack signs deal to open first units in Central America

By Lisa Jennings on May 13, 2025

Grupo Attie-Multifood Enterprises has agreed to open 12 of the fast-casual chain's units in Panama, with the first scheduled to open next year.

Operations

Why that “free” pickup shelf can cost operators more than expected

Sponsored content from our partner Apex Order Pickup Solutions on May 07, 2025

Smart locker solutions don’t just fix one problem. They optimize the entire order pickup workflow, improving accuracy, efficiency, and the guest experience—all at once.

Emerging Brands

In challenged food-and-games segment, pickleball offers hope

By Lisa Jennings on May 06, 2025

Buzzworthy Brands: With investors that include Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Chicken N Pickle is juicing the social dining niche with a low-tech focus on community.

Operations

Panera Bread to close all remaining fresh dough facilities over the next two years

By Lisa Jennings on Apr. 30, 2025

The move completes a two-year process for the fast-casual chain, which is shifting bread production to third-party bakers. Hundreds of workers will be laid off as the chain shutters nine remaining bakery centers supplying cafes across the U.S.

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