Restaurant Business

JUNE 11, 2025

A rendering of Perkins Griddle & Go fast-casual concept. Simultaneously, the company also created a fast-casual version of Perkins called Griddle & Go, another nod to younger, on-the-go customers. News food drink Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains.

Fast Casual 185

Fast Casual Front of House Back of House Leadership 185

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 22, 2025

Here is how 3D modeling simplifies renovation planning: Accurate Resource Allocation : 3D modeling software offers accurate material estimation to avoid unnecessary waste and hidden expenses. How Design Technology Improves Space and Guest Experience Every square foot counts when redesigning a fast-casual eatery or a fine dining venue.

Design 221

Design Technology Fine Dining Fast Casual 221

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 18, 2025

If the music is too loud or inappropriate, the guest’s night is ruined and their money wasted, no matter how good the food or service. Let’s look at the reasons that full service/fast casual restaurants may have music issues. Either way, it’s a win. Before anyone realizes it, the day is over.

Loyalty Program 251

Loyalty Program License Customer Experience Restaurant Law 251

Restaurant Business

JUNE 17, 2025

Salad is rising as the next drive-thru concept The fast-casual Greenlane is plotting growth across Florida with investor and NFL star Rob Gronkowski working the drive-thru window. But Tampa-based Greenlane is among a growing number of fast-casual concepts making freshly prepared salads a drive-thru option.

Fast Casual 162

Fast Casual Leadership Mobile Ordering Casual 162

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 16, 2023

When we asked about fast food: 29 percent said they eat fast food frequently. 46 percent said they occasionally dine at a fast-food restaurant. Only five percent said they never eat fast food. 29 percent said they rarely ate at casual restaurants. 29 percent said they rarely ate at casual restaurants.

Fast Casual 531

Fast Casual Fine Dining 2023 Consumer Goods 531

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 30, 2023

This migration could be a goldmine for casual/fast food brands if only they had the people to support them. It’s not unusual for a fast-casual restaurant with over 1,000 locations to manually save the recipes on these drives and then send them to the field teams, and hope they’re properly uploaded.

Technology 474

Technology Fast Casual Waste 2023 474

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 28, 2024

By focusing on people within a 5-10 mile radius of your location, you can attract more relevant customers and avoid wasting money on ads seen by people who are too far away to visit your restaurant. For fast-food restaurants, the average paid CAC is $27, while the average organic CAC is around $9.

Loyalty Program 195

Loyalty Program Fast Casual Social Media Email Marketing 195

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 24, 2024

B Corp Restaurants As of early 2024, almost 150 restaurants around the world have achieved the certification, from fine-dining independents to fast-casual chains, with hotels, breweries and food delivery companies also dotting the list.

Certification 221

Certification Fast Casual Front of House Government 221

ChowNow

MAY 23, 2025

Restaurant type: Whether you run a fine dining, fast casual, or quick service concept plays a big role in potential margins. Reduce food waste by tightening portion control and tracking spoilage. The reality is that most operators are working within razor-thin profit margins. Theres no one-size-fits-all number.

Point of Sale 195

Point of Sale Insurance Fast Casual Customer Service 195

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 5, 2020

For example, near-field communication payments, digital wallets or a tap-to go friendly terminal will be more beneficial for fast casual restaurants whereas a payment app will be better suited for dine-in guests. This is a small step, but one that many fast food and fast casual restaurants are already embracing.

Fast Casual 521

Fast Casual Online Ordering Cash Management Mobile Ordering 521

Restaurant Business

JUNE 13, 2025

The fast-food franchisor is asking a federal court to sign off on its decision to terminate Paradigm Investment Group’s franchise agreement. Private-equity firm Savory Fund made a major investment in casual-dining chain Hawkers Asian Street Food. million last year, that’s more than double the next closest chain.

Operations 227

Operations Leadership 2025 Fast Casual 227

Restaurant Business

JUNE 11, 2025

The convenience-retailing giant on Wednesday announced a Craveables Value Menu, pitting it in head-to-head competition with fast-food chains also looking to win consumers over with low prices. Photo: Shutterstock 7-Eleven is ready to do battle in the summer value wars.

Fast Casual 175

Fast Casual Cash Management Leadership Retail 175

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 18, 2024

Among the findings: Casual experiential dining appeals on many fronts to consumers of varying ages in different parts of the country looking for affordable culinary experiences. Chef driven fast casual restaurants feed consumers’ desires for high quality menu items delivered quickly and on the go.

2024 474

2024 Food Truck Fast Casual Allergens 474

Restaurant Business

JUNE 17, 2025

Continue to Site >>> Menu C-stores are stealing fast-food tactics. Not quite yet An easy way to bring bold Korean flavors to modern menus From BBQ to beverages, menus are seeing a lot of action Food C-stores are stealing fast-food tactics. Sounds like the hallmarks of any solid fast-food restaurant. By Heather Lalley on Jun.

Food 194

Food Fast Casual Leadership Loyalty Program 194

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 18, 2020

Recognizing this shift, Freshii , a fast-casual franchise with hundreds of locations globally, created a corporate partnership that enables companies to offer meal kits and market baskets at a discount to their employees. Strategies like those employed by Prairie keeps the supply chain moving, costs constant, and food waste limited.

Supplies 474

Supplies Innovation Food Supply Loyalty Program 474

ChowNow

JUNE 12, 2025

When done correctly, dish costing helps you control food costs, reduce food waste, and price items in a way that supports your restaurant’s financial health without alienating guests. Fast casual might push lower to protect volume margins. It’s the foundation of knowing your actual food cost.

Operations 195

Operations Food Supply Seasonal Menu Pricing 195

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 22, 2021

Apart from always being more profitable, large fast casual chains could exploit the situation and simply buy out the out-of-business bistros located at the nicest downtown corners. They became even more cost-efficient, food waste conscious and generally more responsible.

Allergens 520

Allergens Online Ordering Fast Casual Food Safety 520

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

One of the key functionalities within many QSR and fast casual mobile apps these days is the ability to order ahead and select curbside pickup. This all equates to less wasted ad spend and a more loyal user base. The average time per order at fast food restaurants in 2020 was 6 minutes – nearly 30 seconds slower than 2019.

Mobile Ordering 508

Mobile Ordering Marketing Menu Fast Casual 508

ChowNow

JUNE 12, 2025

It’s tempting to chase quick wins with deep discounts or paid promos, but those tactics usually eat into your margins as fast as they spike short-term numbers. Trimming underperformers not only reduces food waste; it also improves consistency and speed. You can also train restaurant staff to mention popular pairings in person.

Loyalty Program 195

Loyalty Program Social Media Online Ordering Email Marketing 195

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Fine-tuned scheduling, proactive management, and continuous training harmonize staff efforts with the fast-paced QSR landscape, ensuring teams align with business goals and evolving demands. There's also a growing momentum towards zero-waste operations that are both environment-friendly and economically sensible.

Fast Casual 294

Fast Casual Fine Dining Customer Service Customer Experience 294

Restaurant Business

JUNE 12, 2025

News technology delivery finance Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains. Premium Emerging Brands Pepper Lunch carves a niche in the Panda Express-dominated world of Asian fast casual The Japan-born franchise brand has 540 units globally, but only nine in the U.S.

Delivery 176

Delivery Leadership 2025 Advertising 176

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 9, 2021

Other benefits include greater product consistency, which is especially important for operators, and less wasting from chopping, scooping, and prepping fresh produce. This was painfully evident when a couple of my coworkers and myself went to eat at a fast casual chain and waited over a half hour for food.

Kitchen Safety 421

Kitchen Safety Food Supply Fast Casual Food Safety 421

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 18, 2019

Winnow Raises $20M to Fight Food Waste. The company, with US offices located in Iowa City, has recently made headlines in the country, having been selected as a food waste innovator and recipient of the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Kroger Foundation Grant. 63 million tons of food is wasted every year. ” Marc Zornes.

Waste 262

Waste Food Franchising Franchise 262

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 30, 2021

Founded in 2006, Just Salad is the fast-casual restaurant industry’s leading proponent of zero-waste practices. Their investments align capitalism with positive social and environmental impact, driving toward zero-waste “closed loop” systems that benefit people, the planet and business.

Franchising 508

Franchising Franchise Fast Casual Point of Sale 508

ChowNow

MARCH 21, 2025

Without a well-defined target market, restaurants risk wasting resources on strategies that dont connect and menu offerings that dont selltrying to appeal to everyone, but standing out to no one. Lifestyle Choices: Do they prefer fast, casual meals or long, social dining experiences?

Marketing 195

Marketing Social Media Email Marketing Loyalty Program 195

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

In the short term, it’s QSR that will experience labor improvement, then fast-casual. Its theatrical and yes it might cost slightly more, but it has a lot of added cool factor for restauranteurs to have their cold side prep cook on the floor- and it’s easier to customize, and cuts down on waste with errant orders.

Mobile Ordering 539

Mobile Ordering Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 539

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

This edition of MRM News Bites features McDonalds, the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, OpenTable, Ordermark, Hudson Group, Hakkasan Group , Waitr and Checkers, ICV Partners, Restaurant Technologies, Diebold Nixdorf and Alto-Shaam. " Reducing Food Waste. Changes at the Top for McDonald's.

Waste 253

Waste Food Leadership Customer Service 253

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Those who traditionally favor casual dining chains with full service may trade down to fast casual while those who typically dine in fast casual may dip into lower price points at fast food. Operators have spent years adapting to the labor crisis. They will also demand (and get) payment upon completion.

2023 419

2023 Loyalty Program Fast Casual Customer Experience 419

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 8, 2024

This trend reflects the growing popularity of drive-thru and fast-casual dining, coupled with the demand for digital technologies such as QSR digital signage and QR codes. While you can not always control the commodity pricing, you can control how you manage it by reducing waste, optimizing efficiencies and leveraging margins.

2024 539

2024 Loyalty Program Cash Management Customer Experience 539

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 12, 2023

In addition to the above, adding this kind of technology can increase order volumes, reduce food waste and improve the guest experience as reduced in-store labor deals with maximizing the in-store guest experience. What are the most common friction points customers report? Waiting on hold!

Customer Experience 418

Customer Experience Food Order Consumer Goods Online Ordering 418

Goliath Consulting

JUNE 15, 2021

Meanwhile, sales at cafes, fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, and casual-dining establishments fell by 27 percent. This has resulted in under-ordering (and dissatisfied customers) or over-ordering (and increased waste). What about issues concerning reducing food waste? Conclusion.

Supplies 414

Supplies Food Supply Front of House Fast Casual 414

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

By the time you finish this article, youll know how to approach restaurant marketing the right way and not waste time doing guesswork, crossing your fingers, and then hoping you see new customers walking through the door. The industry is evolving fast, and simply relying on word-of-mouth or foot traffic isnt going to cut it.

2025 195

2025 Marketing Email Marketing Operations 195

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 4, 2024

That’s much more money than I ever had to spend on marketing but a drop in the bucket compared to what other fast casual brands spend for much less impactful results. Actions like waste reduction are actually cost savers. Lastly, reduce waste by cross utilization of ingredients and cooking a la minute.

Sustainability 490

Sustainability Book Food Supply Waste 490

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 27, 2022

"Like so many industries, full-service and fast-casual restaurants are feeling the impact that inflation is having on their business and guest count. These regulations vary by state and restaurant owners should be sure they are aware of their state’s policy before adding service fees to customer tickets.”

2022 450

2022 Customer Service Fast Casual Food Safety 450

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 22, 2020

Unlike before, when you had to memorize the delivery numbers of your favorite fast-food chains, you can now order in with just a click. Thanks to the arrival of food delivery applications, the casual diner can now satisfy his or her cravings whenever he or she pleases. Online Ordering and Mobile Apps.

Customer Service 440

Customer Service 2020 Social Media Customer Experience 440

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 10, 2020

More than ever, brands, especially QSR and Fast Casual restaurants brands, are taking advantage of the vast and varied platforms available for consumer engagement; most notably social media. With better customer understanding, restaurants no longer waste resources guessing what will resonate with guests.

Customer Experience 433

Customer Experience Mobile Ordering Social Media Online Ordering 433

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 7, 2021

Despite the lagging global pandemic, the organic fast-casual brand is surging forward with record-breaking sales, franchise development growth, and new guest acquisition and satisfaction. This could translate to an additional 500 to 1,500 metric tons of paper waste eliminated annually across the U.S.

Franchising 433

Franchising Franchise Sustainability Fast Casual 433