RESTAURANT BUSINESS COLUMNISTS

Every day, RB brings you the best in analysis and opinion on a wide range of topics, including menu, finance, operations and technology. Check out our columns and blogs.

JONATHAN MAZE

The award-winning financial news/analysis blog from RB Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze, which features a companion weekly newsletter by the same name. Jonathan deals with a variety of topics as they relate to the health and direction of the overall industry, with a special emphasis on franchising, mergers and acquisition, stock price performance, sales and profitability.

PAT COBE

Every week, Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe takes a look at the latest new menu news from major chains and menu trends. The column features extensive work from RB Art Director Nico Heins on a visual presentation.

JOE GUSZKOWSKI

Senior Technology Editor Joe Guszkowski looks at the week’s technology trends and news, examining the continued influx of new technologies into restaurants, including mobile ordering, delivery, artificial intelligence, virtual brands, ghost kitchens and robotics.

Consumer Trends

Limited-time chicken items from Chipotle, Taco Bell and McDonald's lure different kinds of guests

Customers who purchased LTOs like Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Nuggets can vary from the chains’ regular diners, finds Numerator.

Operations

Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurants in New York's Tin Building have shuttered

The $200 million project on the Manhattan waterfront is to be converted into the Balloon Museum, ending an attempt to turn the Seaport into a dining destination.

Marketing

Chipotle to borrow from casual dining with test of Happier Hour

The fast-casual chain is looking to improve its perception of value and drive traffic. One idea to be tested later this year will be a daypart offering maybe a couple of tacos and a drink for under $10.

Premium

Financing

Was Cracker Barrel’s redesigned logo worth all that?

The Bottom Line: The family-dining chain had been outperforming its competitors and the broader full-service sector, until a social-media uproar tanked it all. But some of the loudest critics had clear agendas.

Food

Convenience stores borrow from the restaurant playbook, turning signature menu items into traffic drivers

From 7-Eleven’s new Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich to Casey’s cult-favorite Breakfast Pizza, convenience stores nationwide are developing signature dishes that set them apart—and boost foodservice sales.