Like the groundbreaking Cheesecake Factory before it, Fresh To Order (F20) is breaking all the rules with its cutting-edge approach to a new segment that it continues to pioneer, “fast fine.” The largely franchised F2O is gaining rapid traction as it grows outside its Atlanta base, most recently with its development agreement with Giriam Patel, […]

Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint recently took the first steps toward expansion into the Tampa/Clearwater, Florida, market. The restaurant brand is dominating the fast-casual pizza market. In 2013, it will average two new location openings per month. At the last three grand openings, customers were lined up for hours before the store opened. With sold-out markets in […]

Burger 21, a fast-casual concept founded by the owners of The Melting Pot Restaurants, announced that it has signed a franchise deal to open one restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a multiunit deal to develop four new restaurants throughout Fairfax County, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland.  These latest agreements are part of the brand’s aggressive […]

Finding the perfect real estate may be a challenge for many full-service restaurants, but Famous Dave’s—a 186-unit, casual-dining barbecue chain based in Minneapolis—is scaling things down to find the solution. The new Famous Dave’s BBQ Shack, a 3,000-square-foot prototype that allows the brand to scale down its barbecue offerings into a fast-casual setting, helps the […]

Atlanta-based restaurant chain Tin Drum AsiaCafé announced a development agreement with business partners Imtiaz Ramzan, Ali and Ayaz Momin, and their company MRM, Inc. to open the first Tin Drum AsiaCafé restaurant in Gwinnett County, Georgia, a new market for the growing Pan Asian fast-casual chain. The chain also recently announced its newest location in […]

MOD Pizza, founded by Scott and Ally Svenson, announced that Scott Svenson will become CEO of the fast-casual chain. The company, which pioneered the concept of fast-casual pizza with the opening of its first store in 2008, currently operates from eight locations in the Seattle area. Svenson will take the helm effective immediately and focus […]

Taco Cabana, the fast-casual chain with its Mexican patio cafe environment and true flavors of Mexico-inspired menu, opened its newest Dallas restaurant. This is the first time Taco Cabana has opened one of its newly redesigned concepts in Dallas. "We're excited to bring another Taco Cabana location to our fans in Dallas," says Todd Coerver, […]

Meatheads–a fast-casual restaurant that provides a full-service, made-to-order dining experience serving high-quality, fresh, never-frozen ingredients–is opening a new restaurant in Frankfort, Illinois, on November 1. This is a special opening, as it marks the restaurant's 10th location in the state. Members of the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce will help celebrate the opening with a ribbon […]

Muscle Maker Grill announced it has signed a multiunit franchise agreement to develop 15 restaurants in Connecticut. This new contract marks the chain’s first franchise deal in the state and continues Muscle Maker Grill’s growth nationwide. “Muscle Maker Grill continues to expand throughout the country. Our unique concept featuring healthy food that tastes great creates […]

BoCo, LLC is satisfying Robbinsville, North Carolina, residents' craving for Bojangles’ world-famous chicken, made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, and Legendary Iced Tea with the opening of its restaurant on Tuesday, October 16, 2012. Bojangles’ attracts customers with its proprietary, made-from-scratch fare, offering a flavor profile unlike anything on the market and breakfast served all day. The menu […]

Growing as one of the hottest Asian concepts in the fast casual restaurant industry, Mama Fu’s Asian House continues to expand its unique flex casual concept and menu throughout the U.S., establishing the sizzling concept for the first time in Lubbock, Texas. Entrepreneur and restaurateur, Kendall Howard, has opened the newest Mama Fu’s location in […]

Burger 21, a new fast casual concept founded by the owners of The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc., announced today that it is targeting Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina to grow its franchise. The company is hosting a live webinar on November 1 to discuss its expansion strategy to bring its chef-inspired burger creations to more […]

Moe’s Southwest Grill, the fast-growing restaurant franchise best known for its flavorful southwest fare and distinct brand culture, has established its presence in Russia with a restaurant opening in Moscow earlier this month. The restaurant, located on Pyatnitskaya Street near the historic Moscow Kremlin and Red Square, is the first of 50 units franchise group […]

Husband and wife partners, Michele and Gennaro DiMeo, owners of Maryland’s local phenomenon, Squisito NY Pizza & Pasta, opened their first franchised location in July.  The fast casual Italian franchise has joined forces with Fransmart, the franchise development company behind booming brands such as Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Qdoba Mexican Grill, and zpizza, to […]

  Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint held its grand opening of its newest restaurant at 5215 Windward Parkway, Suite A, Alpharetta, Georgia 30004, on Saturday, September 8. Uncle Maddio’s Windward celebrated by giving away free pizza for a year to the first 100 customers and hosted a grand opening party complete with a stilt walker and face painting for the kids. […]

Corner Bakery Cafe, the fast-casual bakery cafe known for its freshly made breakfast scramblers, grilled panini, sweets, and hand-roasted coffees, announced today the company has signed a franchise agreement to open its first restaurants in the Northwest beginning in 2013. Northwest Bakery Cafe LP, a group of veteran restaurant operators who also own 95 Jack […]

BAB Systems Inc., the franchising division of BAB Inc., which franchises and licenses Big Apple Bagels, My Favorite Muffin, SweetDuet Frozen Yogurt & Gourmet Muffins, Jacobs Bros. Bagels, and Brewster’s Coffee, has opened its first unit in the state of Maryland. Annapolis is the home of the newest My Favorite Muffin Your All Day Bakery […]

Successful Atlanta restaurateur Pierre Panos will give franchise prospects, as well as civic and business leaders, an inside look at his newest concept, Fresh To Order (f2o), during tasting events next week in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. Fresh To Order plans to open at least 25 new restaurants in the Carolinas and is using […]

  Quick-serve and fast-casual restaurant customers expect consistently high-quality food. And for restaurants, clean, properly filtered cooking oil helps make this a reality. Unlike the traditional way of manually recording oil filtration practices, restaurants can now improve food quality, create consistent practices, and improve oil management through Filtration Monitoring from Restaurant Technologies Inc. (RTI).   […]

  Denver-based Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, a fast-casual restaurant concept providing guests healthy, Mediterranean cuisine, announced today the awarding of franchise development rights to the first Dallas franchisee The Chickpea Group LLC.   Owning the rights to develop up to 10 Garbanzo restaurants in the Dallas area, The Chickpea Group anticipates opening its initial location in […]

With more and more consumers diving into exotic flavors, the idea of opening an ethnic quick serve is becoming more feasible than ever for operators with diverse culinary backgrounds. And with ethnic minorities poised to become the majority in just a few short decades, limited-service ethnic concepts are only poised to increase in the future, […]

Moe's Southwest Grill has named the top three Facebook fans whose original salsa recipes have raised the bar this summer, during its first "Raise the Salsa Bar Contest." Tatia Williams of Ladson, South Carolina; Kate Elliott of Muncie, Indiana; and Cheryl Gallowitz of Gainsville, Florida have the chance to have their salsa recipe featured in […]

Sweetgreen, the farm-to-table organic salad and frozen yogurt shop, last week opened its 13th location in the Washington D.C. metro area, at 1065 5th Street NW in the City Vista complex. The 1,450-square-foot, two-level restaurant joins Safeway, Vida Fitness, and Capital One, among other retailers and businesses, in the bustling lifestyle hub developed by Edens […]