Restaurant Business

JUNE 6, 2025

The eight-unit fast-casual concept Off The Hook Restaurants is beefing up its executive team as it plans growth in Louisiana. She also led a turnaround at Jamba as vice president of operations, and spent 14 years with Starbucks, rising to director of business operations. Blaze is now based in Atlanta. Have consumers moved on?

Fast Casual 144

Fast Casual Leadership Franchising Franchise 144

Lavu

MARCH 28, 2025

Managing special occasion promotions is easier than ever with the best POS system features and integrated online ordering. Loyalty Programs : Built-in systems to reward customers and trigger special occasion perks automatically. For example, you could offer a 20% discount on desserts for customers celebrating their birthdays.

Specials 78

Specials POS Loyalty Program Inventory 78

Modern Restaurant Management

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

The fast casual restaurant segment has seen tremendous success and growth in recent years. CREST®, while overall restaurant traffic was down four percent in 2022 compared to 2019, fast casual traffic was up nine percent. Why should fast casuals work on improving with young families?

Fast Casual 493

Fast Casual Entertainment Casual Employee Relations 493

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

ChowNow

MARCH 21, 2025

Lifestyle Choices: Do they prefer fast, casual meals or long, social dining experiences? Key behavioral factors include: Dining Habits: Do they eat out frequently or only for special occasions? Meal Bundles & Specials: Create pricing options that fit your audience. Behavioral Factors: How Do Your Customers Dine?

Marketing 195

Marketing Social Media Email Marketing Loyalty Program 195

Restaurant Business

JUNE 11, 2025

They specialize in breakfast staples, homestyle favorites and homey atmospheres—Perkins largely in the Midwest and East Coast and Huddle House in the South.  A rendering of Perkins Griddle & Go fast-casual concept.  Perkins and Huddle House are classics of the family-dining genre. But they have receded over the years.

Fast Casual 130

Fast Casual Front of House Back of House Leadership 130

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 159

Fast Casual Cash Management Retail Leadership 159

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. Make sure your site has clear calls to action like “Order Now,” showcases your most popular menu items, and links to your current specials.

Loyalty Program 195

Loyalty Program Social Media Email Marketing Online Ordering 195

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 26, 2021

In fact, according to a 2021 report by Sensor Tower , a market intelligence firm focused on the global app economy, downloads of restaurant-branded apps grew by a combined 91 percent in 2020 across fast food, fast-casual and casual dining. By comparison, delivery app downloads only grew by three percent.

Mobile Ordering 546

Mobile Ordering Download Customer Experience Fast Casual 546

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Nowadays, vegan food is becoming normal in restaurants and fast food joints. Plant-based eating was previously limited to some selected restaurants and casual cafes. Vegan restaurant industry has a bright future as fast food giants like McDonalds, KFC, Subway, and Burger King enter the vegan food industry.

Fine Dining 554

Fine Dining Fast Casual Food Supply 2022 554

Restaurant Business

JUNE 5, 2025

News independents chefs Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Fast Casual 144

Fast Casual Leadership 2025 2024 144

ChowNow

JUNE 6, 2025

A casual neighborhood spot will use different language than a fine-dining restaurant trying to earn a Michelin star. These details that make your restaurant special help customers visualize the experience before they even walk through the door. Commuters looking for the perfect slice of pizza on their lunch break?

Social Media 195

Social Media Fine Dining Front of House Customer Experience 195

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 22, 2021

While daily specials delivered in family boxes might be quite affordable and frugal, food delivery itself often costs more than the meal for one which can hit monthly discretionary spending quite hard. Diners finally realized how much they can actually save by not eating out.

Allergens 520

Allergens Online Ordering Fast Casual Food Safety 520

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 12, 2022

Recently, Thanx customer Velvet Taco, the Dallas-based fast-casual restaurant serving globally inspired tacos, has done just that with the launch of their Hidden Backdoor M enu. The fast-food giant brought back the Mexican Pizza in May 2022 as a Limited Time Offer. Exclusivity can apply to more than just menu items.

Loyalty Program 471

Loyalty Program Merchandise Mobile Ordering Coupons 471

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 18, 2021

Spanish Diner in New York supersizes their specials on a wall-sized slide frieze above the bar, inviting your eye around the well-appointed space and up to the gloss black ceiling (also the underbelly of the neighborhood’s famous High Line). To work fast, work in parallel to define what we’ll do and how we’ll do it.

Back of House 474

Back of House Seasonal Menu Customer Experience Fast Casual 474

ChowNow

JANUARY 23, 2025

Often, instead of full courses, the supporting role of the food will come in the form of smaller dishes, sometimes just as one bite so guests dont get too full too fast. A study found that 61% of diners are prepared to spend extra for a unique special event menu. Its ideal for foodies, date nights, and special occasions.

Events 195

Events Seasonal Menu Social Media Customer Experience 195

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 15, 2020

But as much of the story written during the month, it is really the last two weeks that require special attention. Limited-service restaurants (those in quick service and fast casual) had a sharp acceleration in their guest check growth, as consumers likely shifted to larger off-premise orders to feed multiple people at home.

2020 491

2020 Point of Sale Fast Casual Online Ordering 491

7 Shifts

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

Fine dining establishments may require staff to have in-depth knowledge of each dish, including wine pairings and ingredient sourcing, while a fast-casual restaurant may focus on quick service and consistent food prep. Let’s say you run a fast-casual restaurant.

Training 195

Training Kitchen Safety Food Safety Customer Service 195

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

The industry is evolving fast, and simply relying on word-of-mouth or foot traffic isnt going to cut it. A casual brunch spot in a college town will attract a different crowd than a high-end steakhouse in a business district. Make It User-Friendly : A good restaurant website should be easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and fast.

2025 195

2025 Marketing Email Marketing Operations 195

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 2, 2024

On Menu Ingredients We predict the rise of “bougie” ingredients like caviar, lobster and truffle popping up at restaurants at more affordable prices and in more casual settings like fast casuals and QSRs.

2024 493

2024 Insurance Food Safety Fast Casual 493

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 4, 2019

People love to eat out and return when the experience is special. They want a flexible, fast, customized, and “frictionless” dining experience — one without the “drag” of unnecessary steps or interactions. Want a lightning-fast grab-and-go experience? Well, that puts fast-casual out of the running.

Fast Casual 307

Fast Casual Customer Experience Point of Sale Mobile Ordering 307

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 16, 2020

QSR brands that quickly adapted television advertising campaigns with messaging to respond to the pandemic saw this strategy pay off with greater consumer engagement, according to EDO, an advertising insights and analytics company that specializes in search engagement.

Fast Casual 362

Fast Casual Advertising Online Ordering Casual 362

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 21, 2022

Almost one in five respondents stated ordering more or much more from fast casual and full-service restaurants, an increase of four percent from Q1. Special occasion dining is on the rise. Drive-thru still on top for QSRs. What has taken a hit this quarter is the reigning champion of channels — the drive-thru. percent.

2022 447

2022 2005 Consumer Goods Fast Casual 447

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 12, 2023

With restaurant employees putting so much care into every plate and table while their patrons leisurely embrace the holiday spirit, these parties are an opportunity to truly return that hospitality to those who make it so special for guests the rest of the year. Make them feel special. Do show gratitude in a personal way.

Transportation 498

Transportation Loyalty Program Fast Casual Fine Dining 498

ChowNow

JANUARY 23, 2025

Here are the most effective ways to accomplish this: Stay active on social media: Share updates about your menu, highlight special events, or give followers a behind-the-scenes look at your restaurants operations. Servers or managers can casually inquire, How was everything today? or Is there anything we can do better?

2025 195

2025 Loyalty Program Operations Email Marketing 195

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

The modern restaurant ecosystem demands that businesses of all shapes and styles, from full-service fine dining to quick-serve fast-casual, incorporate third-party delivery systems into their business models, strategic planning, Front and Back of House training and physical design.

Delivery 492

Delivery Front of House Back of House Fine Dining 492

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 1, 2020

Other businesses have seen a surge of consumer interest, including chicken-wing joints (+84 percent), pizzerias (+71 percent) and fast-food restaurants (+55 percent). dine out more often to fulfill basic needs and gravitate toward drive-thru and take-away options associated with QSR and fast casual. In the U.K.

2020 479

2020 Food Safety Fast Casual Guest Recovery 479

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 5, 2021

Casual Dining velocity has grown by 158 percent over the same period, suggesting many of the Casual Dining business models were able to maintain sales to some degree through pandemic restrictions. In fact, 30 percent of recent casual dining visitors think there is an opportunity to improve the quality of the beverage offer.

2021 490

2021 Coupons Loyalty Program Consumer Goods 490

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 13, 2024

With loyalty programs giving diners access to special deals and third-party delivery services charging additional, unwanted fees, consumers prefer to go directly to the source for takeout orders. Ordering Preferences Are Changing Food and beverages aren’t the only thing on diners’ minds when they place a restaurant order.

Pricing 493

Pricing Loyalty Program Mobile Ordering Customer Service 493

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Collaborations : Collaborations, such as partnering with a well-known designer on staff uniforms or bringing in guest chefs for special events and pop-ups, will continue to capture consumer attention. Fast casual will continue to shine as it has since the pandemic generating the highest asking prices in the marketplace.

2023 419

2023 Loyalty Program Fast Casual Customer Experience 419

Restaurant Business

JUNE 5, 2025

On Thursday, the casual-dining chain promoted Lyle Tick, its president and chief concept officer, to the top job. News casual_dining Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains. By Joe Guszkowski on Jun. Sign up here. Get today’s need-to-know restaurant industry intelligence.

Leadership 157

Leadership 2025 Fast Casual Franchising 157

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 15, 2020

Pace of recovery for fast casual brands has slowed down considerably, although results continue to be much better than for full-service restaurants. " The most updated On Premise Impact Report by Nielsen CGA, along with other special reports issued over the past several weeks, can be found here. Digital Resilience.

2020 487

2020 Mobile Ordering Point of Sale Food Supply 487

Modern Restaurant Management

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

Restaurant segments represented include fine dining, casual dine, fast casual, quick service restaurants and bars. The survey group included 418 restaurant operators and 1,500 restaurant patrons who had visited a restaurant two or more times per month prior to COVID-19. Innovating During COVID-19.

Fine Dining 507

Fine Dining Fast Casual Innovation Employee Relations 507

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 28, 2021

Adding to the 20 Noodles & Company locations in the metro Chicago market, the ghost kitchen will help reach a new customer base through its digital channels and give the fast-casual brand a presence in-between local locations. "We're flip'd by IHOP. Grab-and-go salads and wraps, freshly baked goods and more.

Franchising 474

Franchising Franchise Fast Casual Loyalty Program 474

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 26, 2021

Flynn now owns and operates a combined total of 2,355 quick-service, fast casual and casual dining restaurants, generating $3.5 We are optimistic the Fuzzy’s brand will resonate with those in the area looking for affordable, approachable, fast casual dining,” said Pittsley. KFC’s Generosity.

Franchising 429

Franchising Franchise Fast Casual Loyalty Program 429

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

A lot of places are also offering dine-in only specials or dishes that can only be ordered in-house. In the short term, it’s QSR that will experience labor improvement, then fast-casual. The restaurants of the future will disrupt the industry with: specialization, availability, exclusivity and speed and, media engagement.

Mobile Ordering 539

Mobile Ordering Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 539

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 3, 2024

Type of Restaurant Adults 18+ Fan of Mocktails Enjoy Mocktails Chain Restaurant 32 percent 54 percent 39 percent Local Restaurant 61 percent 46 percent 59 percent They are also much more likely to say they Frequently or Occasionally dine at every type of establishment from Fast Food to Bars.

Menu 373

Menu Fast Casual Beverage Social Media 373