Popular Articles

Whataburger: why Texas won't share its burger chain

How BDT Capital turned a regional cult favorite into a controlled national expansion - 88 new stores in 2024, $3.54M AUV, and a $6B+ valuation built on Texas identity.

MAR 20, 2026 · 10 MIN READ

The Real Reason McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken

A $900 million lawsuit, an FTC investigation, and the story of how copyright law turned soft serve maintenance into a federal case. Inside the Taylor Company monopoly and the right-to-repair battle that followed.

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ

Chick-fil-A's $1 Billion International Bet: Can the Owner-Operator Model Work Overseas?

Chick-fil-A has committed $1 billion to expand into Europe and Asia by 2030. With $9.3 million AUVs and a fiercely guarded owner-operator model, the chain faces a fundamental question: does the formula translate?

MAR 24, 2026 · 9 MIN READ

Jollibee's Quiet American Invasion: From Filipino Favorite to 500-Unit U.S. Chain

Jollibee Foods Corporation is pursuing one of the most aggressive international expansion plays in quick service, targeting 500 U.S. locations by 2030 with a U.S. IPO on the horizon. Here's what operators and investors need to understand about the $4.5 billion Filipino giant's American bet.

Dutch Bros' Drive-Thru-Only Model: Genius or Limitation?

Dutch Bros went public at , hit , crashed to , now trades around -. The chain operates 900+ drive-thru-only stands doing .8M-.2M per unit. Is the model a competitive advantage or a structural ceiling?

MAR 24, 2026 · 7 MIN READ

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 25, 2026 · 7 MIN READ

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.

Inside Shake Shack's Company-Owned Strategy

Shake Shack reported $1.45 billion in total revenue for 2025 and opened 85 new Shacks system-wide, all while keeping its domestic restaurants company-owned. The strategy defies conventional QSR wisdom, and the numbers show why it works.

Raising Cane's Hits 1,000 Restaurants and Is Not Slowing Down: Inside the Fastest-Growing QSR Story in America

Raising Cane's opened its 1,000th restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard in March 2026. The privately held chain plans 100+ new locations this year as it targets 1,600 total and top-10 QSR status.

MAR 25, 2026 · 5 MIN READ

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 24, 2026 · 6 MIN READ

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

KFC's American Decline: How the Original Chicken Chain Fell to Fifth Place

KFC, the chain that invented fast-food fried chicken in America, has fallen to fifth place among US chicken chains. Consumer spending dropped 4% to $4.34 billion as Raising Cane's and Wingstop surged past the Yum Brands stalwart, exposing structural problems no LTO can fix.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe: the health-forward QSR winner

176 new locations in 2024, $2B Blackstone acquisition, and 12 straight years of same-store sales growth. Why smoothies plus wraps is a winning QSR formula.

MAR 20, 2026 · 6 MIN READ

Scooter's Coffee: the drive-thru coffee dark horse

850 locations, $881K AUV, and 16% annual growth. Can Scooter's drive-thru kiosk model compete with Dutch Bros and Starbucks?

MAR 20, 2026 · 2 MIN READ

RBI’s 2025 growth and Burger King’s remodel plan

Year-end results and restaurant investment plans, explained.

MAR 20, 2026 · 8 MIN READ

QSR in Airports and Stadiums: The Captive Audience Premium

A Big Mac costs .49 normally, .99 at JFK Airport. Airport QSR locations generate M-M annually vs .2M-M for standard stores. Stadium locations do M-M in just 80-100 operating days. The economics, the markups, and why customers pay.

MAR 24, 2026 · 8 MIN READ

Chick-fil-A's Daybright Cafe Is Its Biggest Strategic Bet in Decades

Chick-fil-A is testing a standalone beverage concept called Daybright, its first venture outside the core chicken restaurant format. With Starbucks in turnaround mode and the U.S. specialty beverage market worth over $48 billion, the timing could not be better.