Quick Service Restaurant news and trends

Chipotle Looks to Personalization to Boost Rewards Members’ Engagement
Earnings // July 26, 2023

As Chipotle looks to grow its already significant base of loyal customers, the brand is turning to personalized messaging to boost engagement.  The fast-casual giant, which has more than 3,250 restaurants across five countries, on a call Wednesday (July 26) discussing its second quarter FY2023...

QSRs Bring the Picnic to a Beach Umbrella Near You This Summer
Restaurant innovation // July 03, 2023

As consumers gear up to go on summer vacation, aggregators and restaurants alike are looking for ways to keep customers engaged even when they are away from home. Most recently, quick-service restaurant (QSR) giant Domino’s announced a couple weeks ago the launch of Domino’s Pinpoint Delivery,...

Cracker Barrel Sees Inflation-Concerned Consumers Pulling Back on Full-Service Restaurants
Restaurant Roundup // June 06, 2023

As restaurant inflation rises, Cracker Barrel is seeing consumers dining out less frequently, even as they order as much as ever each visit. The Tennessee-based restaurant and retail chain, which has roughly 660 locations across 45 states, shared on a call with analysts Tuesday (June...

Dunkin’ Taps HubKonnect’s AI as QSRs Get Hyper-Specific With Marketing
Restaurant innovation // June 06, 2023

As restaurants compete to take advantage of new digital capabilities as quickly and effectively as possible, Dunkin’ is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize stores’ performance on a unit-to-unit basis. On Tuesday (June 6), marketing technology company HubKonnect, which leverages local data to improve stores’...

Interviews & Exclusives
QSRs Bring the Picnic to a Beach Umbrella Near You This Summer

July 03, 2023
As consumers gear up to go on summer vacation, aggregators and restaurants alike are looking for ways to keep customers engaged even when they are away from home. Most recently, quick-service restaurant (QSR) giant Domino’s announced a couple weeks ago the launch of Domino’s Pinpoint Delivery, which lets consumers order delivery to pinned locations, enabling the […]

Dunkin’ Taps HubKonnect’s AI as QSRs Get Hyper-Specific With Marketing

June 06, 2023
As restaurants compete to take advantage of new digital capabilities as quickly and effectively as possible, Dunkin’ is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize stores’ performance on a unit-to-unit basis....

Presto CEO Says ChatGPT Pact Shows Where Restaurant Drive-Thru Is Headed

April 11, 2023
The planets are aligning around voice artificial intelligence (AI) as everyday business use cases begin to build, perhaps nowhere more so than at the restaurant drive-thru. The synergies are clear,...

40% of First-Time Diners Try Independent Full-Service Restaurants

December 29, 2022
When trying out new eateries, consumers flock to independent full-service restaurants (FSRs). For the November edition of PYMNTS’ Restaurant Digital Divide study, “The 2022 Restaurant Digital Divide: Turning First-Time Diners...

Quick Reads
Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s in Advanced Discussions on Expanded Partnership

November 09, 2023
Krispy Kreme is looking to expand its partnership with McDonald’s. “While nothing has been finalized, we are in advanced discussions about expanding the partnership and are making investments in the U.S. that reflect our confidence in further scaling our Delivered Fresh Daily network,” Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield said in a Thursday (Nov. 9) earnings release. The existing partnership with […]

Chipotle Says ‘Goodbye Chorizo, Hello Queso’

September 19, 2017
In restaurant news, the people have spoken and, apparently, they have had enough chorizo. That is the takeaway from Chipotle’s latest corporate decision, in which it chose to ax chorizo...

Chipotle Restaurant Virus Strikes — Again?

July 20, 2017
It seems like food chain Chipotle cannot catch a break. From an E. coli outbreak to its employees accusing it of wage theft and hackers stealing customer payment data from 2,250 location, Chipotle has...