Wendy's named top overall QSR in Zagat's 2011 list

September 5, 2011

McDonald's, Subway and Wendy's were big winners in this year's Zagat's National Fast Food Restaurant Survey, released today.

Kids have tastes, too

by Barry Klein — Marketing Directo, Go Roma

The deluge of news about changes and restrictions in Kids Meals, and new offerings that are supposed to make kids healthier and happier is most interesting.

Restaurants gear up for Labor Day as industry outlook softens

August 30, 2011

New research from the National Restaurant Association estimates that 35 percent of American consumers will dine out, takeout or order delivery from a…

QSRs upgrading burgers to keep up with fast casual growth

by Alicia Kelso — Editor, QSRWeb.com

Although McDonald's is still the clear sales-driver in the burger category, fast casual brands now represent a majority of the Top 75 burger concepts in…

Snack attack: Changing lifestyles present sales opportunities

by Alicia Kelso — Editor, QSRWeb.com

Chains are embracing smaller portioned items in post-lunch space.

Growth spurt: Inc. 500 list full of fast casual concepts

by Alicia Kelso — Editor, QSRWeb.com

Annual list measures percentage revenue growth of privately held companies.

Are you delighting your customers?

by Janet Eden-Harris — CMO & SVP Strategy, Market Force

The growth in our industry is just mind-boggling when you think about it. According to the NRF, you and I now spend 49 cents of every food dollar on dining…

Study: Despite more choices, customers still choosing regular coffee

August 16, 2011

Despite an increase in specialty coffee offerings, regular hot coffee still accounts for the highest level of consumption among consumers recently surveyed by…

Restaurant State of the Industry Report, Part 2 now available

August 16, 2011

The Restaurant State of the Industry Report, Part 2: Business Strategy, developed and published by FastCasual.com, is now available for purchase.

Tableside POS is a game changer

by Nate DaPore — President and CEO, PeopleMatter

Higher sales, fewer servers, faster table turns, and happier, more loyal customers – Tableside Point-of-Sale offers all this and more. I foresee that it is…

NPD: U.S. restaurant counts declined 2%

August 8, 2011

U.S. restaurant unit counts declined by 2 percent, for a loss of 9,450 restaurants, based on the most recent restaurant census conducted by The NPD Group.

Are fro-yo stores today's ice cream parlors?

by Barry Klein — Marketing Directo, Go Roma

Fro-yo's comeback is attributed to more variety, a bigger demand for healthy food and a fun, social experience.

Technomic: Multiunit concept owners have best of both worlds

August 1, 2011

Multiconcept operators, those companies that own and operate at least three unique restaurant concepts with annual sales of $10 million or more, find…

Oatmeal goes upscale

by Melissa Abbott — Director, Culinary Insights, The Hartman Group, Inc

Consumers often say they wish they had healthier options for breakfast, yet better-for-you, not to mention better-tasting, has been hard to come by when it…

NRA’s restaurant industry outlook strengthened in June

July 28, 2011

Driven by stronger same-store sales and traffic levels and a more optimistic outlook among restaurant operators, the National Restaurant Association’s…

Who will be 'the Chipotle' of the pizza industry?

An inside look behind a growing trend in the pizza industry.

McDonald's Happy Meals slim down

by Alicia Kelso — Editor, QSRWeb.com

Changes reduce calorie count by 20 percent.

Are you serving flexitarians?

by Melissa Abbott — Director, Culinary Insights, The Hartman Group, Inc

After a decade of intense meat worship, chefs are procuring, preparing and serving vegetables with the same love and attention they previously reserved for…

NPD Group: Fried seafood consumption continues decline

July 18, 2011

New research from the NPD Group, a Chicago-based market research company, has found that total U.S. seafood and fried seafood servings have been declining for…

Asians saying ‘Yes’ to more cheese

July 17, 2011

Pizza and cheeseburgers are getting so popular in Asia that the U.S. is exporting more cheese than ever, boosting commodity costs for companies such as Kraft…