Category: Operations


Back of the House



Charitable Giving

Penn Station Raises Over $1M for People with Down Syndrome

Those with Down syndrome stand to benefit from a generous donation presented by Penn Station East Coast Subs at Sunday’s Cincinnati Reds baseball game. This leading fast-casual sandwich restaurant franchise continues its long-standing tradition of community support with the contribution of $153,964.43 to Down syndrome organizations across the Midwest. This year’s donation brings the total […]

Ben’s Soft Pretzels to Give Away Free Pretzels in Exchange for Donation to Nonprofit

Ben’s Soft Pretzels, the beloved purveyor of warm, doughy delights, is gearing up for a pretzel-filled celebration on National Pretzel Day, which falls on April 26th. As pretzel enthusiasts across the nation mark their calendars, Ben’s Soft Pretzels is rolling out an irresistible offer that combines philanthropy with indulgence. The Deal: Donate and Delight On April 26th, visit […]

Pollo Campero Celebrates 100th Opening with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Commemorative Cup

Pollo Campero, the Guatemalan-born fast-casual restaurant specializing in uniquely flavorful chicken, is celebrating its 100th U.S. restaurant opening with the release of a new limited-time St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital commemorative cup that unlocks free Pollo Campero drink refills for life. Starting April 10, 2024, guests who purchase the exclusive 32-ounce cup for $5 will enjoy free […]



Customer Experience

Alberto Sosa Bringing Pollo Campero to Smyrna, Tennessee

Alberto Sosa, who already owns two Pollo Campero franchises in Tennessee, is bringing the Central American chicken concept to the Nashville suburb of Smyrna. With over 100 U.S. locations and another 350 worldwide, the Central American chicken franchise is growing quickly, bringing family-recipe-inspired, flavorful chicken meals to the markets it enters. Smyrna’s new Pollo Campero […]

Nick the Greek Opens in Santa Barbara

Nick the Greek, a West Coast-based chain serving up authentic Greek street food, announced the opening of its Santa Barbara, California, location. The new location is owned and operated by restaurant industry veterans Niko Heliotis and brothers Dimitri and Panayioti Trembois. The new Santa Barbara restaurant grows the brand’s presence in Southern California to 15 […]


Pei Wei Plots Notable Growth and Menu Enhancements in 2023

The woks are burning bright at Pei Wei Asian Kitchen! After being acquired in 2019 by West Coast Capital, Pei Wei has been busy with enhancements to the flavor, growth and technology of the brand. Pei Wei’s partnership with Celebrity Chef Jet Tila has helped reinvent the menu with a wide variety of craveable pan-Asian […]


Shake Shack Opens First Drive-Thru in Southern Nevada

On Thursday, December 14, Shake Shack opened its first drive-thru location in Southern Nevada. The new Shack is the brand’s fifth location and first drive-thru in the state, located at 1830 W. Craig Rd., North Las Vegas, NV 89031. The first 100 guests attending the grand opening received a complimentary branded cold cup. Additionally, as […]



Taco Bell Expands Recycling Program with TerraCycle

On Monday, Taco Bell is announcing the expansion of their popular recycling program with TerraCycle to also collect and recycle any brand of sauce dipping cups, souffle cups/lids & coffee creamer pods. To make it official, the program has been renamed the Taco Bell Sauce Container US Recycling Program. “Taco Bell’s category-wide recycling program, along […]

Krystal Rolls Out New Under $3 Menu

Krystal Restaurants LLC, the original quick-service restaurant chain in the South known for its iconic square sliders, is making it Krystal clear that value is available around the clock. Starting April 22 for a limited time, guests can enjoy the Krystal Meal Deal for $4.99, the 2 for $4.99 breakfast deal and the new Krystal […]

Marco’s Pizza Launches New Brand Platform

Marco’s Pizza, one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, announced the launch of a new brand platform, But Wait, There’s Marco’s, designed to disrupt routine ordering behavior and remind consumers of a tastier option – Marco’s Pizza. The opportunity to awaken consumers to the flavorful choice is significant. In fact, 66% of consumers had pizza […]

Roy Rogers Signs Lease to Open in Leesburg, Virginia

Roy Rogers Restaurants announced the signing of a lease for its newest location in Leesburg, Virginia. Set to open in late 2025, this eagerly awaited expansion will signify the chain’s third venture in Loudoun County, one of Northern Virginia’s strongest retail, commercial and residential markets. Located within “The Shops at Russell Branch”, a vibrant 62,000 […]

Beef-A-Roo to Open New Store in Freeport, Illinois

Beef-A-Roo, a Midwest-based restaurant that offers fresh meals at an affordable price, announced the upcoming launch of its newest restaurant in Freeport, Illinois through its innovative modular container location concept. Located at The Meadows Shopping Center on 1810-1876 S. West Ave., the new Beef-A-Roo location will mark a significant advancement in the brand’s franchise expansion strategy. Responsible for […]

The Human Bean Opens in Los Lunas, New Mexico

Baristas at The Human Bean will begin pouring coffee and other specialty beverages at 2680 Main Street NE beginning Saturday, April 20th. Customers are invited to come get a first taste of the drive-thru’s offerings, including specialty-grade coffee, real-fruit smoothies, whole-leaf teas, and hot breakfast items to-go. Local owner of the new The Human Bean location, Keith […]





POS Solutions

Restaurants Fight Back Against Pandemic with Paytronix Order & Delivery

The toughest situations foster innovation and experimentation, and that’s just how companies using the Paytronix Order & Delivery platform have tackled the COVID-crisis. Paytronix Systems, Inc., recently highlighted five brands that have successfully ramped up their takeout business with such innovations as grocery and alcohol sales, a ghost kitchen, and email marketing to support their […]

PAR Technology Announces New Brink POS Software API Integration

ParTech, Inc., a leading global provider of point of sale  solutions to the restaurant and retail industries, announced today a new partnership with Altametrics and Hubworks, a leading provider of cloud-based enterprise restaurant systems that provides food, workforce, and supply chain management to the world’s most successful restaurant companies, including Denny’s, Taco Bell, and Pizza […]



Mountain Mike’s Releases Jalapeño Not-Knots

Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a leading family-style pizza chain, is bringing the heat with its new Jalapeño Not-Knots, a doughy fusion of butter, cheese and sliced jalapeños! Made with house made dough, sliced jalapeños, mozzarella cheese, butter and ranch, this side joins its preceding counterparts, the Cinnamon Not-Knots and Garlic Not-Knots. The Jalapeño Not-Knots are available now […]

Cousins Maine Lobster Opens 65th Unit in Rhode Island

Cousins Maine Lobster, the Shark Tank phenom known for serving up wild caught Maine lobster rolls, authentic New England clam chowder, and delicious whoopie pies is celebrating it’s 12th anniversary with the opening of their 65th unit in the Rhode Island market. CML invites the community to join them as they celebrate with an official ribbon cutting and launch party, featuring an appearance […]

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue Unveils Lineup of 2024 Openings

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, the fast-casual brand renowned for its authentic Hawaiian-style cuisine, announces its lineup of initial openings of 2024 through two successful networks of multi-unit franchise owners in Colorado and Texas. Founded in Honolulu, HI in 1952, L&L continues its mission to share aloha with their popular ‘Plate Lunch’ offerings throughout 230 locations across […]


Sustainability

The Human Bean to Host Earth Day Giveback with Planting Partner Trees of the Future

The Human Bean is hosting its annual Earth Day Giveback at all locations across the U.S. next Monday, April 22nd. On this special day, every drink sold will result in one tree planted through Trees for the Future, an international nonprofit with 30+ years of history planting trees and teaching sustainable farming practices in impoverished communities. […]

Craveworthy Brands Forges Sustainability Partnership with Budderfly

Budderfly, the premier sustainability partner for businesses with repeatable footprints, announced a corporate partnership with restaurant platform company Craveworthy Brands to drive down energy consumption at Cravewothy’s corporate and franchise-owned restaurants. Craveworthy Brands owns, operates, and franchises multiple restaurant brands across the country, including Genghis Grill: where Budderfly’s Energy as a Service (EaaS) offering will first be […]

Restaurant Technologies Breaks its Own Sustainability Record

Restaurant Technologies broke its own sustainability record by recycling and converting more than 314 million pounds of used cooking oil (UCO) into renewable diesel or biodiesel in 2023, breaking the record set in 2022 by 25 million pounds. The company continues to help its 40,000 customers nationwide be more sustainable and reach their Environmental, Social, […]

Sabert Corporation Leans Into Sustainable Food Packaging

Sabert Corporation, a leading global manufacturer of innovative and sustainable food packaging solutions, announced the launch of its new Earthtel r-PRO line of round bowls and containers. Made with Sabert’s proprietary polypropylene blend containing 25% post-consumer recycled content (PCR), the new collection is 100% recyclable and meets APR guidelines for recyclability. Designed with sustainability in […]


HME Hospitality and Specialty Communications Releases New Text-to-Speech Feature

HME Hospitality and Specialty Communications announced the release of Text & Connect, a powerful new NEXEO | HDX feature used to send  real-time, personalized, text-to-speech alerts to select restaurant teams and stores via the NEXEO headset. Text & Connect revolutionizes store operations by enabling restaurant leaders to build  employee engagement, recognize outstanding performance, and deliver consistent  […]

MOD Pizza to Begin Using Bikky’s Customer Analytics Solutions

Bikky, a customer data platform built exclusively for multi-unit restaurants, announced a partnership with MOD Pizza, the purpose-led, people-first, fast casual pizza pioneer. By leveraging Bikky’s customer analytics capabilities across its entire portfolio of over 500 locations, MOD is deepening its knowledge of what marketing and menu decisions resonate with customers and as a result, increase […]

ItsaCheckmate Unveils Kiosk Solution

ItsaCheckmate, a leading restaurant ordering solutions provider, unveiled its new Kiosk solution, engineered to enhance the visual and operational standards of kiosks in the restaurant industry. This release marks a significant step forward, addressing common user experience and branding limitations found in other offerings. Many of the market’s existing kiosk solutions force brands to compromise on […]

Sparkfly Forges Partnership with Olo

Sparkfly, an award-winning retail technology solutions company, has forged a strategic partnership with Olo, a leading restaurant technology provider, to create the next-generation intelligent guest engagement ecosystem. With tens of thousands of restaurant locations already supported by Sparkfly and Olo collectively, there are significant expansion opportunities supporting growth and innovation for enterprise restaurant brands.  The […]

Steak ‘n Shake Locations Add Biometric Check-in and Checkout

PopID and Steak n Shake announced that all Steak n Shake locations in the United States now accept PopID Check In (to review favorite orders and loyalty points) and PopPay for checkout. With more than 300 locations, Steak n Shake is the first national restaurant brand in the United States to adopt biometric check-in and […]