Me, Ted Lasso and something in common

by Valerie Gritton

Twenty years ago, I started my career in restaurant journalism. Now, I’m back where it all began as the editor of QSRWeb and Pizza Marketplace.

4 reasons (and a raccoon) why you can't miss the Fast Casual Executive Summit

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Keynoters, Perfect Pitch contestants and a trash panda walk into Arlington; here's your Fast Casual Executive Summit October 4–6 game plan.

How QSRs can drive customer engagement through round-up donations

With more than half of Americans willing to round up their purchases for charity, these small contributions can collectively generate millions for causes…

Loyalty programs have become new front line of QSR fraud

by Stuart Mann — Head of Industry Product Engagement, Accertify

A recently disclosed data breach at Chick-fil-A made headlines for the type of accounts that were targeted. It was reportedly a credential stuffing attack that…

4 misses in Founder-led negotiations

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

Although Founders know their businesses best, their deep emotional investment and daily operational pressures often compromise their negotiating leverage…

3 leaders every Founder must hire to scale

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

To successfully scale a company and transition from an overwhelmed operator to a confident CEO, founders must stop trying to manage everything themselves and…

How AI-powered digital signage drives QSR growth in 2026

by Misty Chalk — Vice President of Sales, Americas, BrightSign

To navigate economic uncertainty and declining consumer sentiment in 2026, quick-serve restaurants can drive growth by investing in AI-powered digital signage…

Build your leadership team: The team that reports directly to you

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

True organizational growth and scalability require distinguishing between mere managers and genuine leaders.

The top 3 priorities for Founder success in 2026

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

To succeed in 2026's highly competitive market, businesses must focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional customer experiences across all channels…

Rethinking the drive-thru experience for today’s conscious consumer

by Michelle Connolly — Director of Sales, Managed Services & Solutions Group, Panasonic Connect North America

To combat modern drive-thru challenges like slow service and order inaccuracies, quick-service restaurants are adopting incremental tech upgrades — such as…

The Power of the Rearview Mirror and the Windshield: An activity of reflection and projection

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

Using the metaphor of a vehicle's small rearview mirror and large windshield, columnist Kathleen Wood shares a structured framework designed to briefly…

The Power of One: Your role as a Founder

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

To successfully escape the "Stuck Zone" and scale a business, a Founder must transition from a hustle-driven operator to an intentional CEO by making three…

Built to Breakthrough: Unlocking your power

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

To successfully scale their businesses, founders must make non-delegable decisions and commit to a written, structured action plan that simultaneously aligns…

De-risking the map: Why traditional site selection is failing modern restaurants

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Whether you're looking to scale your footprint, optimize existing markets or get a clearer picture of where your target customers are spending their time…

Built to Breakthrough: Creating CULTs of engagement

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

As the ultimate foundation of business greatness, a strong culture built on clarity, unity, leadership and team commitment serves as an un-duplicable…

Onboarding at root of QSRs' turnover problem; here’s how to fix it

by Matt Umholtz — President & CRO, AllianceHCM

To combat the quick-service industry's costly 150% turnover rate, operators must replace clunky paperwork with a frictionless, digital onboarding process that…

'You’re not annoying; you’re marketing': Top takeaways from the Restaurant Marketing Workshop

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Check out these 10 highlights of the Restaurant Marketing Workshop.

Built to Breakthrough: Make your brand stand out by being outstanding

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

This installment of the Built to Breakthrough series explains that building a clear, consistent brand with a strong unique strategic position (USP) is…

The Power of One System: Systematize your standards to scale

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

To transition from a chaotic, founder-dependent business to a scalable enterprise, leaders must define, document and continuously improve a unified operating…

The Power of Financial Planning, Financial Visibility leads to business sustainability

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

To achieve sustainable growth and avoid the "stuck zone," Founders must overcome the emotional avoidance of their financials by owning their P&L, hiring expert…