Food
Menu favorites get tweaked and seasonal specials return
Taste Tracker: Boston Market launches a chicken sandwich, Panda Express brings back a Chinese New Year signature, Panera adds two new flatbreads and wings take off in new flavors and formats.
Operations
Smokey Bones launches 2 delivery-only brands
Specializing in wings and burgers, the virtual concepts will be marketed via third-party apps and serviced by existing units of their brick-and-mortar mother.
When Smokey Bones changed its name from “Barbeque & Grill” to “Bar & Fire Grill” in 2009, the rebranding didn’t stop with the signage. The 10-year old concept began remodeling its 67 restaurants to focus on the bar, making the area larger and installing TVs, high-tops and stools to encourage socializing
More than half of the restaurant industry’s $491 billion in sales come from the Top 500 chains. And these giants grew at a modestly stronger rate, both in terms of sales and store counts, than the industry overall. Restaurant Business focused on the leading 250 performers to identify trends for our first-ever special report delivering lessons from Technomic’s annual Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. This special package includes lessons for all operators from the largest chains by segment, menu category and more.