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Industry15 articles

QSR Industry Trends 2026

The trends shaping quick service restaurants in 2026: AI, ghost kitchens, health-conscious menus, sustainability, and evolving consumer preferences.

1
industry
Industry Analysis

The Confidence Gap: Restaurant Operators Expect Growth in 2026. Their Customers Have Other Plans.

Nearly nine in ten restaurant operators say they are optimistic about 2026. Meanwhile, 68% of consumers are cutting back on dining out and spending $25 less per week than they did last summer. The gap between what operators believe and what customers are doing has never been wider.

MAR 25, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
2
industry
Industry Analysis

Beyond Meat Faces Delisting as QSR Partners Quietly Exit Plant-Based Menus

Beyond Meat received a Nasdaq delisting warning in March 2026 after its stock traded below $1 for 30 consecutive days. The company's collapse from a $14 billion peak now threatens the supply chain for restaurant chains that built menus around its products.

MAR 25, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
3
industry
Industry Analysis

Salad and Go Cut Its Store Count in Half. The Turnaround Playbook Is a Lesson for Every Fast-Growing Chain.

The drive-thru salad chain went from 146 locations to 71 in less than a year. New CEO Mike Tattersfield says the brand was growing just for growth's sake. Here is what operators can learn from one of the sharpest contractions in recent QSR history.

MAR 25, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
4
industry
Industry Analysis

Counter Service Is Steve Ells' Second Act. This Time, the Tech Is the Point.

The Chipotle founder and a Peloton cofounder are building a sandwich chain on proprietary technology. Four Manhattan locations in, Counter Service is a test case for whether data-driven infrastructure can scale real food the way Chipotle once did.

MAR 25, 2026 · 5 MIN READ
5
industry
Industry Analysis

15% of U.S. Restaurants Face Closure Risk in 2026, BBI Data Shows

Black Box Intelligence data flags 15% of U.S. restaurants as closure risks in 2026, up from earlier estimates of 9% for full-service operators alone. With 42% of operators reporting unprofitable operations in 2025 and food costs still 35% above pre-pandemic levels, the shake-out has begun.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
6
industry
Industry Analysis

Restaurant Industry H1 2026: No Catalysts in Sight, Say Analysts

Industry consultant John Gordon's March 2026 assessment is blunt: there are no visible catalysts to shift the current conditions facing restaurant operators. With $1.55 trillion in projected sales masking flat traffic, 1,000+ chain closures, and margin compression on every front, the first half of 2026 is shaping up as a grind.

MAR 24, 2026 · 9 MIN READ
7
industry
Industry Analysis

McDonald's Race to 50,000: Inside the Biggest Expansion Bet in QSR History

McDonald's plans to open more than 8,000 new restaurants by the end of 2027, reaching 50,000 locations worldwide. The ambition is historic, and the risks are just as large as the opportunity.

MAR 24, 2026 · 9 MIN READ
8
industry
Industry Analysis

The Mediterranean Menu Invasion: Why Legacy Chains Are Chasing CAVA's Fast-Casual Playbook

Jimmy John's launched a gyro LTO on March 5, 2026, becoming the latest legacy chain to chase the Mediterranean wave CAVA turned into a billion-dollar category. For operators, the trend raises real questions about who wins when everyone borrows the same playbook.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
9
industry
Industry Analysis

White Castle's Texas Gambit: Why the Slider Icon Is Finally Crossing the Red River

White Castle will open its first-ever Texas location at Grandscape in The Colony this summer, marking only the chain's seventh outpost outside the Midwest and a calculated bet on the nation's most competitive QSR battleground.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
10
industry
Industry Analysis

International Pizza Expo 2026: What the World's Largest Pizza Trade Show Reveals About a $46 Billion Industry

The International Pizza Expo returns to Las Vegas this week with 10,000 professionals, 500 exhibitors, and a competitive landscape that mirrors the industry itself: winners pulling away while weak operators struggle to survive.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
11
industry
Industry Analysis

Record Beef, Cheap Eggs: The Protein Cost Divergence Reshaping QSR Menus

Beef hit $9.64 per pound in February, the highest price ever recorded. Eggs are projected to fall 27.4% this year. The widest protein cost gap in decades is forcing operators to rethink menu engineering, daypart strategy, and pricing architecture.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
12
industry
Industry Analysis

One in Eleven Full-Service Restaurants Could Close This Year. Here's the Data.

Black Box Intelligence data shows 9% of full-service restaurants are at risk of closure in 2026, with 3% already past the point of no return. The format divergence between fast casual and traditional sit-down dining is accelerating.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
13
industry
Industry Analysis

CAVA's Billion-Dollar Year: How the Mediterranean Chain Became Fast-Casual's Newest Powerhouse

CAVA crossed $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time in 2025, growing 22.5% year-over-year while opening 72 new restaurants. With 76 more planned for 2026 and a 1,000-store target by 2032, the Mediterranean chain is rewriting the fast-casual growth playbook.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ
14
industry
Industry Analysis

Solo Dining Hits 47% of QSR Visits as the 'Me Economy' Reshapes Restaurant Strategy

Nearly half of all quick-service restaurant visits are now solo occasions, up from 31% four years ago. The chains adapting their menus, store formats, and loyalty tech to single-guest economics are pulling ahead.

MAR 24, 2026 · 6 MIN READ
15
industry
Industry Analysis

GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Are Quietly Rewriting QSR Menus in 2026

From Shake Shack's GLP-1 friendly 'Good Fit' menu to Smoothie King's dedicated drug-user section, chains are engineering menus around a growing cohort of Americans on weight loss medications. Operators who ignore this shift do so at their own risk.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ
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