Popular Articles

El Pollo Loco Beats Q4 Estimates, Outlines 18-20 New Openings and 65-75 Remodels for 2026

El Pollo Loco posted adjusted Q4 EPS of $0.25, beating consensus by $0.04, and unveiled an aggressive 2026 growth plan anchored by a smaller, cheaper store prototype and a push into non-traditional venues.

Starbucks' Green Apron Model: How 650 Pilot Stores Beat the System by 200 Basis Points

At Starbucks' January 2026 Investor Day, CEO Brian Niccol revealed that 650 pilot stores running the Green Apron service model outperformed the broader fleet by 200 basis points in comparable store sales. Here is what changed at the store level, why it worked, and what QSR operators can take from the playbook.

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.

The Plant-Based Pivot: Why QSR Chains Are Quietly Replacing Impossible Burgers with Hybrid Menus

The first wave of plant-based QSR items over-promised and under-delivered. A quieter, more pragmatic second wave is emerging, built on hybrid proteins, vegetable-forward formats, and the economics operators actually need.

Franchise M&A in 2026: Why Q2 Is Shaping Up as the Busiest Deal Quarter in Years

A wave of private equity dry powder, maturing PE hold periods, and a bankruptcy auction putting 18 restaurant brands on the block has the franchise M&A market tracking toward its most active stretch in recent memory. Here is what operators and investors need to know.

Brinker International's $6.25 Billion Comeback: How Chili's Big Smasher Turned a Casual Dining Chain Into QSR's Biggest Threat

The 2026 Chicken Sandwich Wars: Why Every Major QSR Chain Is Doubling Down on Poultry

With ground beef hitting $6.69 per pound and the U.S. cattle herd at a 75-year low, QSR chains are racing toward chicken with an urgency that goes beyond trend-chasing. From McDonald's Chicken Big Mac to Taco Bell's poultry pivot to Raising Cane's 1,000th location, the competitive dynamics of 2026 are reshaping how every operator thinks about protein.

KFC's American Decline: How the Original Chicken Chain Fell to Fifth Place

KFC, the chain that invented fast-food fried chicken in America, has fallen to fifth place among US chicken chains. Consumer spending dropped 4% to $4.34 billion as Raising Cane's and Wingstop surged past the Yum Brands stalwart, exposing structural problems no LTO can fix.

GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Are Quietly Rewriting QSR Menus in 2026

From Shake Shack's GLP-1 friendly 'Good Fit' menu to Smoothie King's dedicated drug-user section, chains are engineering menus around a growing cohort of Americans on weight loss medications. Operators who ignore this shift do so at their own risk.

The Kiosk Takeover: 80% of QSRs Now Run Self-Service and the Counter Will Never Be the Same

Eight out of ten QSR locations now have self-service kiosks, McDonald's alone has deployed them in 20,000 stores worldwide, and operators report 15-30% higher average tickets. With a 73.8% annual quit rate hollowing out front-of-house teams, the traditional counter is being redesigned from scratch.

The Great QSR Bifurcation: Why the Gap Between Winners and Losers Is Widening in 2026

Only one-third of restaurant brands saw positive comp sales in 2025, and 2026 is shaping up as the year the middle disappears. The gap between QSR's strongest performers and its struggling chains is turning into a chasm, driven by consumer spending polarization, digital investment gaps, and a brutal new calculus on value.

Yum Brands Has Processed Over 2 Million AI Drive-Thru Orders. The Pilot Phase Is Over

Yum! Brands has crossed 2 million voice AI orders across 300-plus Taco Bell drive-thrus, making it the largest QSR voice AI deployment in the world. For the industry, the message is clear: this technology has graduated from experiment to infrastructure.

Bob Evans Gets a New Owner: 4X4 Capital's Bet on Comfort Food's Staying Power

New York PE firm 4X4 Capital acquired Bob Evans Restaurants from Golden Gate Capital in a deal announced February 5, 2026, closing the book on an unusually long 8-year hold for a private equity owner.

McDonald's Race to 50,000: Inside the Biggest Expansion Bet in QSR History

McDonald's plans to open more than 8,000 new restaurants by the end of 2027, reaching 50,000 locations worldwide. The ambition is historic, and the risks are just as large as the opportunity.

The Tariff Whiplash: How the IEEPA Ruling and Section 122 Pivot Are Creating New Supply Chain Uncertainty for QSR

The Supreme Court struck down IEEPA-based tariffs in February, then the White House pivoted to Section 122 authority within four days. For QSR procurement teams, the legal ground has never shifted faster.

The Restaurant CEO Pay Gap: What Top Chain Executives Earn vs. the Workers Serving the Food

When McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski earned $19.2 million in 2024, the crew members at the counter made around $14 an hour. That gap is wider than most industries, and it's becoming a real operational problem for chains struggling to hire and retain staff.