Restaurant Dive

The delivery giant is tying together customer data from a variety of ordering channels in a move it says can increase sales and frequency.

The fast casual burger chain, which also added two pastrami LTOs, has seen sales and revenue growth in recent quarters after focusing on improved operations and hospitality.

John Ludeke, most recently chief brand officer at the Unilever brand, is tasked with deepening consumer connections to the fast-casual chain.

The chain pushed its wraps on social media to capture young consumers’ attention. Now, one out of five transactions include a wrap and repeat visits remain strong.

“The challenges are real, which is why we're taking such a big swing now,” Jeff Klein said of the chain’s new brand platform starring Will Arnett.

Damon Thomas joins the chain as operations chief alongside Tara Hinkle, who is now the chain’s chief development officer, to support expansion into New York and beyond.

The new development agreement could be an early sign of revival for the chain, which fell from 329 U.S. locations in 2020 to 71 this year.

The drive-thru locations will be converted to 7 Brews over time, allowing the chain to accelerate its growth toward 1,000 units.

The fast food chain wants to be a first-choice restaurant, and will invest across its system to solidify that position over the next decade.

Customers will be able to choose from three personalized weekly rewards to use at partner restaurants and then receive Grubhub credits.

Meritage Hospitality Group, which operates 314 Wendy’s units, has closed at least 60 units this year and opted out or altered the breakfast daypart to improve store-level EBITDA.

While the casual giant saw its same-store sales explode, its unit count stayed stagnant. Now Brinker International is investing in growing its storebase again.

The food hall company is closing two New Jersey facilities and moving to a high-capacity location that will better support long-term growth.

The chain’s updated look will also include a redesigned web and app that will offer more seamless browsing, customizations and access to loyalty rewards.

The O-M-Cheese Burger hit on consumer preferences for cheese, affordability and a fun experience, leading to an expanded lineup. 

Nearly two months after iceberg lettuce at the chain was linked to Cyclospora, the QSR giant’s foot traffic remains depressed, according to Placer.ai.

High labor and food costs and slumping sales have caused franchisee bankruptcies to reach pre-pandemic levels, but various strategies could help mitigate the problem.

These high-performing employees are working toward a general manager role and will be a key part of staffing newly opened restaurants. 

The breakfast chain hired several executives to lead development, people and finance as it works to open 300 stores in three years.

“Game Day Mike’s Way” is billed as the brand’s most integrated campaign to date and arrives following its debut as a public company in July.