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QSR Pro Staff

The QSR Pro editorial team covers the quick service restaurant industry with in-depth analysis, data-driven reporting, and operator-first perspective.

861
Articles
5
Categories

Primary Coverage

Finance & Economics(213)Industry Analysis(208)Operations & Management(143)Technology & Innovation(126)

All Articles (861)

Showing 301–320 of 861 articles

marketing
Marketing & Growth

Chick-fil-A's Spring 2026 Menu Offensive: Seven New Items and the Jalapeño Ranch Gambit

Chick-fil-A launched seven new menu items on March 9, 2026, capping a period in which the chain quietly rolled out six additional sandwiches earlier in the year. The headline move is a Jalapeño Ranch Club sandwich lineup that signals something more than a seasonal refresh.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
technology
Technology & Innovation

The Cheesecake Factory Finally Goes Digital: 26 New Restaurants and a First-Ever Mobile App

The Cheesecake Factory is launching its first-ever dedicated mobile app in Q2 2026, making it one of the last major full-service chains to close the digital gap. Combined with plans to open up to 26 new restaurants across its multi-brand portfolio, the company is betting that a diversified growth model can outpace rivals anchored to a single concept.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
industry
Industry Analysis

Dave's Hot Chicken and Roark Capital: A Billion-Dollar Bet on Becoming the Next Wingstop

Roark Capital paid roughly $1 billion for a 245-unit Nashville hot chicken chain in June 2025. The math only makes sense if you understand the Wingstop playbook Roark has already run once before, and why Dave's Hot Chicken might be the one brand positioned to repeat it.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
industry
Industry Analysis

19-Unit Starbird Signs 36-Store Texas Deal to Triple Its Footprint

A California super-premium chicken chain just signed its biggest development deal ever, with a Texas auto dealership empire as the franchisee.

MAR 24, 2026 · 6 MIN READ
industry
Industry Analysis

Gong cha Buys Back 170 U.S. Franchise Locations to Fuel National Push

Gong cha's acquisition of master franchise rights covering 170 U.S. locations signals a structural shift in how the global bubble tea leader plans to control its American growth.

MAR 24, 2026 · 6 MIN READ
technology
Technology & Innovation

Bojangles Scales AI Drive-Thru to Nearly 500 Stores With 96% Accuracy

Bojangles has deployed Hi Auto's voice AI system across nearly 500 locations, maintaining 96% order accuracy at scale and cutting drive-thru employee workload by a third.

MAR 24, 2026 · 6 MIN READ
finance
Finance & Economics

Fat Brands Sets April 3 Bid Deadline as 120+ Buyers Circle 18 Restaurant Chains

With a court-ordered sale process now live, more than 120 potential buyers are evaluating Fat Brands' 18 chains and 2,300-plus locations. CEO Andy Wiederhorn is out, the April 3 deadline is set, and franchisees are running out of runway to protect themselves.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
finance
Finance & Economics

Red Lobster Burns Through Cash as Post-Bankruptcy Turnaround Stalls

With $2.1 million in projected net income across 550 locations and results that Bloomberg calls 'little improved from before its bankruptcy,' Red Lobster's celebrated comeback may be more press release than reality.

MAR 24, 2026 · 6 MIN READ
people
People & Culture

Chicken Salad Chick's Millennial and Gen Z Franchisee Surge Signals a New Franchise Model Preference

Chicken Salad Chick named Jill Thomas CMO as the brand reports a record 2025 with nearly 100 new franchise deals and a pipeline surpassing 300 units, driven by younger entrepreneurs seeking structured ownership.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
industry
Industry Analysis

Raising Cane's Opens Its 1,000th Restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard

Raising Cane's milestone 1,000th location on Hollywood Boulevard is more than a vanity number. It signals a brand with serious scale ambitions, a World Cup strategy, and a founder finally coming home.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
finance
Finance & Economics

RBI Insiders Dump $32 Million in Stock as QSR Hits 12-Month High

Five Restaurant Brands International executives sold 435,191 shares worth $31.83 million in a three-month window that coincided with QSR stock reaching its highest point in a year. The coordinated selling raises questions investors need to weigh against management's confident 2028 growth targets.

MAR 24, 2026 · 6 MIN READ
El Pollo Loco’s Q4 2025 revenue and earnings rise
Finance & Economics

El Pollo Loco’s Q4 2025 revenue and earnings rise

Quarterly revenue was $123.5 million, including an extra operating week.

MAR 24, 2026 · 3 MIN READ
industry
Industry Analysis

MCL Restaurant and Bakery Shrinks to Seven Locations After 76 Years of Cafeteria-Style Dining

MCL, once a 30-location Midwest cafeteria institution, is closing five more units this month and citing years of declining sales. What the chain's collapse reveals about America's dying cafeteria format.

MAR 24, 2026 · 6 MIN READ
people
People & Culture

Yum Brands After Gibbs: Chris Turner Inherits a 59,000-Restaurant Empire and an Unfinished AI Transformation

Chris Turner stepped into the Yum Brands CEO seat in October 2025 after three decades of operational DNA built by David Gibbs. A financial architect taking the wheel of the world's largest fast food company by unit count raises real questions about execution versus analysis, especially as Yum's AI bet scales toward 60,000 locations and Pizza Hut bleeds stores.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
operations
Operations & Management

No Tax on Tips: What the Federal $25,000 Exemption Means for QSR Operators

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduces a $25,000 federal income tax exemption on tips, triggering a cascade of state copycat bills and mandatory payroll system changes. Here is what QSR operators need to understand about compliance, worker pay, and the long game.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
industry
Industry Analysis

Wonder's $7 Billion Bet: How Marc Lore's Food Hall Model Is Rewriting the Multi-Brand Playbook

Marc Lore's Wonder has raised $600 million at a $7 billion valuation and acquired Grubhub for $650 million, building a food hall concept that promises to solve what ghost kitchens never could. The model is ambitious, the expansion pace is aggressive, and the implications for QSR operators are significant.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
people
People & Culture

Starbucks Workers United: Four Years Without a Contract and the March 2026 Proposal That Could Break the Deadlock

Starbucks Workers United filed a comprehensive contract proposal on March 13, 2026, reigniting stalled negotiations that have dragged on for four years without a first contract. For QSR operators watching from the sidelines, the Starbucks labor standoff is the most consequential union story in the industry's modern history.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
marketing
Marketing & Growth

McDonald's CosMc's Failed. The Drinks Didn't.

McDonald's shuttered its CosMc's spinoff in May 2025 after 18 months, but the beverages that concept tested are now heading to 500-plus McDonald's locations and a planned national McCafe rollout. The story of how a failed brand became a beverage growth engine.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
industry
Industry Analysis

Chipotle Opens Its First Restaurant in Mexico: A Calculated Gamble on the Country That Inspired It

Chipotle Mexican Grill is entering Mexico for the first time in 2026, selling American-interpreted Mexican food to the nation that invented the original. The irony is obvious. The business logic, though, is worth examining carefully.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
people
People & Culture

The Restaurant CEO Pay Gap: What Top Chain Executives Earn vs. the Workers Serving the Food

When McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski earned $19.2 million in 2024, the crew members at the counter made around $14 an hour. That gap is wider than most industries, and it's becoming a real operational problem for chains struggling to hire and retain staff.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ