Joe Guszkowski

Page 6

Lower-income consumers pull back at Olive Garden

Guests earning less than $75,000 are visiting the casual-dining chain much less than last year, parent Darden Restaurants said Thursday.

Early birds are perking up traffic at Olive Garden

More customers are visiting the Italian casual-dining chain in the late afternoon and early evening, which has helped lift transactions, according to data from Placer.ai.

Emerging Brands

Wonder raises $700M, says it's 'time to scale'

The delivery-centric food hall startup founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore has now raised $1.5 billion to date and plans to expand to 90 locations by the end of next year.

AI supplier Presto lays off 18% of staff in latest sign of turbulence

The San Carlo, Calif.-based technology company also raised $1.2 million in a stock offering that it said will keep it afloat through April 1.

Emerging Brands

MrBeast Burger owner Virtual Dining Concepts acquires Man Vs Fries

The fry-centric virtual restaurant brand has nearly tripled in size since the acquisition thanks to partnerships with Mexican chains such as On the Border and Monterey’s Little Mexico.

For restaurant tech, 'unified commerce' is the new 'omnichannel'

Tech Check: More restaurants are looking to align their tech stacks from front to back, taking cues from a revolution already underway in retail.

Emerging Brands

C3 CEO Sam Nazarian acquires Kitchen United's ghost kitchens

The properties will become part of a new digital restaurant company called Everybody Eats that will include C3 and Nextbite.

LoopAI raises $6M for app that automates third-party delivery bookkeeping

The startup also uses AI to identify mistakes and complaints with the goal of making delivery more profitable.

Emerging Brands

Digital-first restaurants Hungry House and MegaBite are merging

The joint company, BiteLabs, will span the Americas with its high-tech, multibrand fast casuals. Just don’t call it a ghost kitchen.

Tech supplier PAR acquires TASK and Stuzo for $400M

The two deals will help the restaurant POS provider expand globally and in convenience stores.

Olo teams up with Qu to digitize card swipes at the POS

Under a new integration, restaurants will be able to get more data from card-present transactions at the drive-thru and front counter.

This Philly bubble tea shop is letting AI run its marketing

Mi ’N Tea owner Kim Dieu had little time to create promos herself, so she turned to a new tool from POS provider SpotOn for help.

Page 6

…
4
5
6
7
8
…