Top Fast Casual News

Newk’s Opens in Brentwood As Part of Nashville Expansion

Newk’s Eatery is bringing its signature brand of fresh dining to the Brentwood community with the grand opening of a location in the CityPark development. Opening its doors today at 11 a.m., the new Brentwood Newk’s Eatery is located at 7020 Executive Center Drive. Owned by franchisee Phillip O’Reilly and his MTN Hospitality team, the […]

Pei Wei Pays It Forward With Texas Flood Relief

Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen, a fast casual focused on Asian cuisine and wok’d-to-order dishes, is broadening its focus to help the thousands affected by the damaging storms Mother Nature has been doling out over the last two weeks. Relentless rainfall in southern Texas has bested levies and left many areas under water, displacing residents and […]

MOD Pizza to Open First Michigan Store

MOD Pizza, the Seattle-based fast-casual pizza company, announced its expansion into Michigan, with the opening of its first store in the Detroit suburb of Livonia. This will be the 55th MOD location in the U.S. with the company on track to be operating 100 stores by the end of 2015. To lead this expansion, MOD […]

PizzaRev Rolls Out Delivery via Postmates in L.A.

PizzaRev fans can now order their favorite custom, personal pizza delivered to their door. The award-winning fast-casual pizza concept recently launched the delivery of online and mobile orders through Postmates, a leading on-demand delivery service. The partnership ensures PizzaRev customers a flat $4.99 delivery fee, and the service is available for seven PizzaRev restaurants in […]

Chronic Tacos Looks to Take SoCal Flair Across U.S.

Fueled by authentic, third-generation family recipes and a thriving cult-like following, Chronic Tacos is looking to bring its Southern California flair and high-quality Mexican cuisine nationwide through multiunit franchise ownership and area developer agreements. As part of its targeted franchise growth strategy, the fast-casual franchise will be exhibiting June 18–20 at the International Franchise Expo […]

Third Crushed Red Now Open in St. Louis Area

Crushed Red Urban Bake & Chop Shop, a fast-casual franchise known for chopped-to-order salads and whole-grain pizzas, opened its third St. Louis location on June 16 in Creve Coeur, Missouri. The new restaurant follows two successful locations in Kirkwood and Clayton. The Urban Bake & Chop Shop in Creve Coeur will offer artisan-crafted salads and pizzas, […]

Salata Opens New Location in Fort Worth

Salata opened a new Fort Worth, Texas, location on Monday, making it the 44th location nationwide for the fast-growing salad and wrap restaurant brand. The new Fort Worth Salata restaurant is owned and operated by franchisee Raul Ruiz, who owns three other Salata restaurants in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, including Sundance Square, his first location […]

Burger 21 Targets Tri-State Area For Expansion

Burger 21, an award-winning, “beyond the better burger” fast casual franchise, today announced it is targeting the Tri-State Area—including communities in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania—for future expansion. The Tampa-based fast casual concept aims to develop new restaurants in Long Island, the New York City boroughs, and northern New Jersey, as well as upstate New York […]

Original Pizza Patrón Store Breaks Weekly Sales Record

The original Pizza Patrón store has been open since April 16, 1986. Despite being surrounded by more pizza and food competition than ever before, it just set the company’s all-time record in an almost 30-year span. Not only did the original store hit the highest number of weekly transactions in its history, but it also […]

Quick Serves Follow Fast Casuals’ Lead in Table Tracking

Many fast casuals boast a dine-in experience comparable to full-service establishments: unique interiors, comfortable seating, and tableside delivery of an order. That final element can prove difficult for limited-service operators, as food runners generally have to call a customer’s name or search for the right order number on a table tent.   But new technology […]

Villa Italian Kitchen Offers Two New Flatbreads

Villa Enterprises, a multi-brand restaurant operator and franchisor celebrating 50 years in business, announced Villa Italian Kitchen has introduced two Flatbreads to their menu, featuring Pesto Caprese and Spinach & Artichoke at participating Villa locations nationwide, beginning today, June 15 through September 28, 2015. The new Pesto Caprese Flatbread features cherry tomatoes, fresh Galban Mozzarella cheese, and basil pesto along with Italian […]

Kneaders Introduces Viva L’Italia Summer Menu

Kneaders Bakery and Café invites its customers to experience a taste of Italy during its “Viva L’Italia” summer promotion. Beginning Wednesday, July 1, six authentic, Italian-themed dishes and small bites will be added to the menu. Diners will be transported to Italy as they indulge in specialty drinks, savory sandwiches, fresh salads, and decadent desserts inspired by […]

Atomic Wings Brings Buffalo Flavors to Charleston, SC

While the South has long been a hotbed for hot chicken, this American favorite has its roots in Buffalo, New York, and they are the staple of Charleston, South Carolina’s new Atomic Wings location, scheduled to open on June 27. The new restaurant is the first of several to open in the state by franchisee, […]

Capriotti’s Partners With Olo For Improved Online Ordering

Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, a 100-plus unit fast casual sandwich chain based in Las Vegas, announced its partnership with Olo, the leading provider of online and mobile ordering capabilities for the restaurant industry, to launch a new and improved online ordering experience for customers. Available via web and mobile app at Apple’s App Store and Google Play, the new platform is […]

Paavo’s Pizza Expands in Dubai With Multi-Unit Deal

Emirates Petroleum Products Company LLC has acquired master franchise rights and opened six Paavo’s Pizza units in Dubai. Paavo’s is the newest pizza concept from Orion Food Systems, featuring fresh, made-from-scratch pizza coming from the heart of the Midwest in South Dakota. Danny Abou Aoun, food and beverage manager for EPPCO, says the new fast […]

The Family Band: At PizzaRev, Two Father/Son Sets Drive Success

Hospitality has long been known as a family value, and every now and then it also becomes the family business. In Los Angeles’s thriving restaurant scene, two father/son sets paired up to bring hospitality from their home dining tables to a quick-service concept. Nicholas Eckerman had a background in fine dining, working in food and […]

Kneaders Bakery Gives Away 100 French Toasts

Kneaders Bakery & Café are calling residents of Arvada, Colorado, to experience the smell and deliciousness of freshly baked bread and mouth-watering pastries. The premier fast-casual restaurant and retail shop will open its newest location at the Northridge Shopping Center on Friday, June 26. On June 26, the first 100 customers will receive a free […]

Navy Veteran Opens New Dickey’s BBQ In Washington

Navy Veteran and professor, T.L. Driver, will open his second Dickey’s Barbecue Pit location on Thursday, June 11 at 11 a.m. in Poulsbo, Washington. Driver opened his first location in Port Orchard last summer. To celebrate, he’s hosting a three-day grand opening in Poulsbo, where the first 50 guests will receive gift cards ranging from $5 to […]

At Blaze Pizza, It’s Not (Quite) Delivery

Rick Wetzel wasn’t really thinking about delivery when he and his wife Elise founded Blaze Pizza in 2012. Part of what differentiated the build-your-own pizza concept from competitors like Domino’s and Papa John’s was the fast casual’s emphasis on dining in the restaurant. Wetzel says he kept the idea of delivery on the backburner until […]

Dunkin’ Adds Three Wichita Airport Locations

Dunkin’ Donuts announced today the opening of one new Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant and two new Dunkin’ Donuts Express locations at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. A joint venture led by franchise partners, MSE Branded Foods, will operate the new locations. MSE Branded Foods, led by founder and president Jack Hough, has a cross-functional team […]

Del Taco Adds Avocado To UnFreshing Believable Menu

Del Taco is offering guests yet another fresh ingredient at an UnFreshing Believable value with the introduction of fresh Hass avocado. The new addition of fresh avocado is one of many menu developments Del Taco has in store for 2015 as part of the company’s continued commitment to deliver fresh, quality ingredients. Del Taco has […]

Pizza School of New York Launches Fast Casual Program

The Pizza School of New York is launching its new fast casual pizza concept design program. After many years of success at being an international pizza school and consulting experts for the pizza industry, they have now turned their focus to the fast casual segment. The fast casual pizza segment is one of the hottest […]

Which Wich Debuts New Digital Ordering Option

Which Wich, the award-winning, national, fast-casual sandwich brand, today announced its partnership with Olo, the leading provider of online and mobile ordering solutions for the restaurant industry. The partnership debuts a new mobile app and digital ordering program, giving loyal fans the option of ordering and customizing their favorite hand-crafted superior sandwiches online via web and […]

People’s Choice: The Unlikely Pioneers At Pincho Factory

Less than a week before becoming the co-founder of Pincho Factory, Nedal Ahmad placed a frantic call to his cousin after discovering the mere $6.27 left in his bank account. Despite a load of logistical setbacks, including a complete lack of trained staff, Ahmad insisted that the restaurant open that very weekend, “because there really […]

3 Features Brands Should Borrow from Fast Casual

In recent years, fast casual has cast a shadow over traditional fast food. Touting higher quality, fresher foods, these concepts are becoming major players within the greater foodservice industry. Established fast food brands need not convert to fast casual, but they could stand to learn a few things from these luminaries on the rise. Steve […]

Freddy’s Opens 21 Stores in 21 Weeks

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers disclosed that, with the opening of three new restaurants last week, including a company site in Kansas City, Missouri, and two franchise locations in Jacksonville, Florida, and Caldwell, Idaho, the system has added 21 stores in the first 21 weeks of 2015. This expansion came during the same timeframe in […]