Olive Garden passes the $5 billion sales mark for the first time

Dec 15, 2023

Sales and traffic for Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse outperformed category benchmarks, while Darden eliminated third-party delivery from Ruth’s Chris.

11 notable new loyalty programs, revamps, and upgrades of 2023

Dec 14, 2023

From Sweetgreen going all-in on an app, subscription and loyalty program; to Subway’s new MVP rewards program—loyalty got a major upgrade this year

Personalization, globalization, engagement: A look at what's next for McDonald’s marketing

Dec 13, 2023

Last week, McDonald’s executives shared how the restaurant company plans to create more engaging customer experiences and globally unified campaigns.

Chipotle invests in regenerative farming and sustainable fertilizer companies

Dec 13, 2023

Greenfield Robotics deploys autonomous robots to help farmers in their fields, while Nitricity produces eco-friendly fertilizer.

Taco Bell is testing frozen coffee and shakes

Dec 12, 2023

Taco Bell’s Coffee Chillers are in test in Mission Viejo, Calif., while its Churro Chillers are in test in Irvine, Calif.

Why McDonald's created CosMc’s: ‘Specialty beverages is a space we have the right to win’

Dec 06, 2023

CosMc’s opens this week outside of Chicago, with nine more opening early next year in Texas. McDonald’s will spend a year testing the concept.

The 10 biggest U.S. limited-service restaurants that fall into ‘other’ segments

Nov 29, 2023

We’ve arrived at our final Top 500 analysis of 2023, a look at the limited-service restaurant chains that don’t fit neatly into established segments (salad/healthful, pizza, Mexican, dessert/snack, chicken, burger, bakery/café, coffee, or sandwich...

IHOP introduces a Wonka-inspired menu

Nov 27, 2023

The restaurant chain continues to leverage new categories from its ‘largest menu evolution ever,’ launched earlier this year.

The 10 biggest limited-service sandwich restaurants in the U.S.

Nov 21, 2023

It was a good year for limited-service sandwich restaurants, with all 10 of the largest growing systemwide sales and estimated sales per unit in 2022...

McDonald’s takes a bigger stake in its China business

Nov 20, 2023

With the acquisition of Carlyle’s minority stake, McDonald’s increases its ownership stake in China from 20% to 48% as it aims to get to 10,000 units in the market by 2028.