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Financing

Fitch Ratings lowers its U.S. restaurant industry outlook to 'deteriorating'

 By Jonathan Maze on May 09, 2025

The credit ratings agency cited softening consumer sentiment while persistent inflation eats into discretionary spending. It’s the latest indication of what has been a challenging year thus far.

Financing

How did restaurants do last month? It depends on who you ask

 By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 24, 2025

The Bottom Line: Overall restaurant industry sales improved in March, according to federal data. And some trackers of major chain traffic show improvement. Others reflect a continued difficult market.

Financing

The Minecraft Movie promotion has apparently been good for McDonald's

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 22, 2025

Traffic at the fast-food chain has taken off since the company introduced a Minecraft Movie Happy Meal and one for adults, according to the data tracking firm Placer.ai.

Financing

Another thing for restaurants to consider: A GLP-1 pill

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 18, 2025

The Bottom Line: The drugmaker Eli Lilly this week said that tests of its GLP-1 pill could work just as well as injectable drugs like Ozempic. That could be huge, for the medication and for restaurants.

Financing

The Technomic Top 500: In a tough year, consumers played favorites

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 15, 2025

Chain restaurant sales increased just 3% last year, the worst year since the pandemic and well below menu-price inflation. Big-name chains like McDonald’s, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A underperformed while chicken and Mexican thrived.

Operations

Takeaways from Day 1 of the Restaurant Leadership Conference

By Jonathan Maze, Patricia Cobe and Lisa Jennings on Apr. 15, 2025

Why accuracy is vital in the restaurant business; an early look at some new restaurant menu launches and why weak traffic may be more normal than you think.

Financing

Restaurant operators are confident. The consumer less so

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 14, 2025

Traffic plunged in February, according to Technomic, and consumer confidence has only worsened. But surveys suggest restaurant operators are confident in their plans to deal with tariffs.

Financing

Technomic lowers its 2025 sales forecast

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 10, 2025

The data firm lowered its projection for foodservice sales this year as weather, economic uncertainty and industry headwinds continue to plague restaurants.

Financing

You're probably losing customers to convenience stores

By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 09, 2025

Foodservice now accounts for nearly 30% of sales at convenience stores and 40% of profit after a strong 2024, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.

Food

Just Salad wants to be what's for dinner

By Lisa Jennings on Apr. 03, 2025

With a $200 million investment and plans to expand into more suburban locations, the fast-casual chain is strategically adjusting its menu to offer more hearty-but-healthy meals for a later-daypart customer.

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