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Wingstop versus Popeyes: The next great restaurant battle

The Bottom Line: The two fast-food chains are increasingly going head-to-head over chicken sandwiches and chicken wings.

Food

How a change in portioning and plating skyrocketed Fish Fry sales at Bob Evans

Behind the Menu: The family-dining chain introduced the new format at the start of Lent and the wild cod items quickly became best-sellers.

Operators complain of frequent fraud and a cumbersome process for getting their money back from delivery providers. “They make nothing simple for you.”

The Bottom Line: Customers are opting to stay home rather than dine out. With costs still elevated, brands will have to think differently to get them back.

Squeeze In is known for omelets, generously boozy brunch cocktails and a joyfully wacky community vibe. Here's how the two sisters who own the brand plan to reach 100 units within a decade.

A Deeper Dive: The chief executive of the fast-casual chicken wing chain talks about how his restaurant chain solved the wing cost problem, how chicken sandwiches transformed the business, and the prospects for going 100% digital.

The Bottom Line: It’s not certain yet how the $20 wage will impact chain restaurants. But one thing is clear: Most of the companies affected are small businesses that are already facing profit challenges.

The Bottom Line: Led by Sweetgreen and Cava, fast-casual restaurants outperformed other sectors. Wall Street rewarded them.

The Bottom Line: The restaurant industry has a traffic problem and consumers are fretting about prices. But the $20 fast-food wage in California makes it difficult to market any kind of value.

While many fast-food chains stick to old-school kids’ fare, there’s a recent surge among fast-casual and full-service restaurants to offer healthier, more grownup menus that appeal to the whole family.

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