Popular Articles

Solo Dining Hits 47% of QSR Visits as the 'Me Economy' Reshapes Restaurant Strategy

Nearly half of all quick-service restaurant visits are now solo occasions, up from 31% four years ago. The chains adapting their menus, store formats, and loyalty tech to single-guest economics are pulling ahead.

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154 articles|645 total published

QSR Pro Staff

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QSR Pro Staff•8 min read•3

Chipotle's Record Expansion Meets Margin Pressure: Inside the Q4 2025 Results and What They Signal for Fast Casual

Chipotle opened a record 334 restaurants in 2025 and grew revenue 5.4% to $11.9B, but restaurant-level margins contracted to 23.4%. The fast-casual leader faces a new equation.

QSR Pro Staff•8 min read•3

White Castle's Texas Gambit: Why the Slider Icon Is Finally Crossing the Red River

White Castle will open its first-ever Texas location at Grandscape in The Colony this summer, marking only the chain's seventh outpost outside the Midwest and a calculated bet on the nation's most competitive QSR battleground.

QSR Pro Staff•9 min read•3

Jollibee's Quiet American Invasion: From Filipino Favorite to 500-Unit U.S. Chain

Jollibee Foods Corporation is pursuing one of the most aggressive international expansion plays in quick service, targeting 500 U.S. locations by 2030 with a U.S. IPO on the horizon. Here's what operators and investors need to understand about the $4.5 billion Filipino giant's American bet.

Port of Subs Is Coming to Your City: The 450-Location Expansion That Could Reshape the Sandwich Wars

Port of Subs, a Nevada sandwich chain that's operated quietly in the West for five decades, has inked deals for more than 450 new locations nationwide. Backed by Area 15 Ventures and RE/MAX co-founder Dave Liniger, the brand is targeting markets where Subway is retreating and Jersey Mike's hasn't yet saturated the field.

Why Korean Fried Chicken Is Taking Over American QSR

Korean fried chicken chains grew from 200 to 500+ U.S. locations in six years. Bonchon (120+ stores), bb.q Chicken (50+), and Pelicana (40+) are expanding aggressively. Double-frying, thin crispy skin, and gochujang glazes are winning customers from KFC and Popeyes.

Burger King's Whopper Gets Its First Overhaul in a Decade. Here's What It Costs Franchisees.

Burger King announced its first major Whopper recipe change in 10 years on February 26, 2026, updating the bun, mayo, and packaging. The upgrade carries a $4,000-per-year cost per location across 7,000+ US restaurants, arriving at an unusual moment: the brand is simultaneously closing 400+ locations and pressing through a $400 million turnaround plan.

Buc-ee's: How a Gas Station Became America's Most Beloved QSR Destination

Individual Buc-ee's locations generate M-M annually, 5-10x typical gas stations. The chain operates 50+ stores with 100-120 gas pumps each, legendary bathrooms, and brisket sandwiches that drive cult loyalty. This isn't a gas station. It's a phenomenon.

Salad and Go Cut Its Store Count in Half. The Turnaround Playbook Is a Lesson for Every Fast-Growing Chain.

The drive-thru salad chain went from 146 locations to 71 in less than a year. New CEO Mike Tattersfield says the brand was growing just for growth's sake. Here is what operators can learn from one of the sharpest contractions in recent QSR history.

QSR Pro Staff•10 min read•2

The Real Reason McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken

A $900 million lawsuit, an FTC investigation, and the story of how copyright law turned soft serve maintenance into a federal case. Inside the Taylor Company monopoly and the right-to-repair battle that followed.

QSR Pro Staff•6 min read•2

Gong cha Buys Back 170 U.S. Franchise Locations to Fuel National Push

Gong cha's acquisition of master franchise rights covering 170 U.S. locations signals a structural shift in how the global bubble tea leader plans to control its American growth.

Restaurant Brands International's 2028 Growth Algorithm: Can Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes Deliver?

RBI has reaffirmed its target of 8%-plus organic operating income growth through 2028 and plans to return $1.6 billion to shareholders in 2026. With Burger King's turnaround still proving itself, Tim Hortons expanding internationally, and Popeyes moderating, the question is whether the math works.

Wendy's Project Fresh Hits a Wall: U.S. Same-Store Sales Drop 11.3% as the Turnaround Stalls

Wendy's reported an 11.3% decline in U.S. same-restaurant sales in Q4 2025, with global systemwide sales falling 8.3% to $3.4B. Digital grew 12.4%, but is it enough?

Yum Brands Closes 2025 With a 27% Profit Surge and 4,500 New Restaurants Worldwide

Yum Brands posted a 27% jump in Q4 net income to $535M, opened 4,500+ new KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut locations in 2025, and hiked its dividend 6%.

Dave's Hot Chicken and Roark Capital: A Billion-Dollar Bet on Becoming the Next Wingstop

Roark Capital paid roughly $1 billion for a 245-unit Nashville hot chicken chain in June 2025. The math only makes sense if you understand the Wingstop playbook Roark has already run once before, and why Dave's Hot Chicken might be the one brand positioned to repeat it.

Zaxby's Crosses 1,000 Restaurants and Sets Its Sights on a National Footprint

Zaxby's quietly surpassed 1,000 restaurants in January 2026, operating across 22 states with 60+ new openings planned for the year. The brand's Modern Farmhouse prototype and Goldman Sachs-backed expansion push raise a core question for the industry: can a deeply regional chain scale to national relevance without losing what made it work?

The Drive-Thru Is Being Redesigned from the Ground Up

Multi-lane configurations, mobile pickup windows, AI-powered order verification, and accuracy scales are transforming the fast food drive-thru. After 75 years with essentially the same design, the industry's most important channel is getting a complete overhaul.