Story

Finance, News, Outside Insights, Story

The Retail Foot Traffic Shock Markets Aren’t Seeing

An adviser’s goal is to anticipate material risks before markets price them in. A careful analysis of data from 2025 shows the presence of a very material risk. As year-end earnings from America’s largest brick-and-mortar companies arrive, executives are being asked to forecast 2026 using signals from one of the most unusual consumer years since […]

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Burgers, Fast Food, Finance, Franchising, News, Story

Jack in the Box Targets Stability in 2026 as Value, Operations, and Tech Gain Traction

With Del Taco officially leaving the picture in December, Jack in the Box will now spend the rest of its 2026 fiscal calendar—and beyond—focusing on the core business. And there is much work to do. Systemwide same-store sales declined 6.7 percent in Q1 year-over-year, comprising a 7 percent decrease among franchises and a 4.7 percent […]

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Fast Food, Marketing & Promotions, News, Outside Insights, Story

QSR Ad of the Month: Panda Express’ ‘Wishes’ Takes Customers on an Emotional Journey

Panda Express kicked off their “Have You Eaten Yet?” campaign at Lunar New Year last year with a quirky family comedy. This year they went bigger and better, welcoming the year of the Horse with a beautiful, animated commercial created with Opinionated and Oscar-winning animation house Passion Pictures. The ad, “Wishes,” takes a young girl […]

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Fast Casual, Finance, Franchising, Growth, News, Story

After Rare Sales Decline, Wingstop Targets AI Kitchens, Loyalty, and Marketing to Reignite Growth

For the first time in 22 years, Wingstop’s same-store sales turned negative. Comps fell 3.3 percent in fiscal 2025 and 5.8 percent in Q4. But the company views this dip as an anomaly, with expectations of flat to low-single-digit comp growth this year. Longer term, the goal is $3 million AUV (AUV was $2 million […]

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Burgers, Fast Food, Finance, News, Story

Billionaire Nelson Peltz Once Again Considers Buying Wendy’s Outright

Former Wendy’s chairman Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian Fund Management revealed they are reviewing strategic alternatives for the burger giant, which could include gaining full control of the fast-food company and taking it private, according to an SEC filing. Trian, which is the chain’s largest shareholder at more than 16 percent ownership, believes the […]

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Fast Casual, News, Start to Finish: What Inspires Execs, Story, Women in Restaurant Leadership

6 Questions with Farmside CEO and Cofounder Meg Schiffman

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been the friend or family member unwilling to settle for a sub-par meal. I was lucky to grow up during a period when restaurants were evolving, sourcing better ingredients, getting more creative, and becoming something closer to art than just sustenance. Looking back, my personal journey with […]

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Fast Casual, Franchising, Growth, News, Story

Dave’s Hot Chicken Architect Bill Phelps Sets Sights on Birria Tacos

After helping scale Dave’s Hot Chicken from an early stage concept into a global franchising force, Bill Phelps is placing his next big bet on birria. Phelps and partner Andrew Feghali, through their franchising investment firm Four Wall Partners, have made an early stage investment in San Diego-based Mike’s Red Tacos and are backing a […]

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Consumer Trends, Fast Casual, Fast Food, Finance, News, Outside Insights, Story

What Top Restaurant Performers Did Differently in Q3 

The Q3 2025 earnings season has offered a look into how restaurant brands are navigating value-seeking guests, sticky wage and commodity pressure, and channel mix shifts. In this analysis, we look at how brands performed on two critical metrics: quarter-over-quarter revenue growth and operating margin change to understand who’s pulling ahead and how.  Analyzing Growth Performance  Evaluating restaurant growth performance through a four-quadrant framework helps clarify how effectively […]

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Fast Casual, Fast Food, News, Outside Insights, Story, Technology

Is Your Restaurant AI Vendor Selling You a Mirage?

AI has become the new dot.com. We are seeing a digital gold rush where companies are rebranding products, services, and even their corporate identities to cash in on the hype. For those who remember the late 1990s when slapping dot.com onto a company name could instantly inflate a valuation, this era feels eerily, even frighteningly, […]

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Fast Casual, Fast Food, Marketing & Promotions, News, Outside Insights, Story

How QSRs are Turning Limited-Time Offers into Long-Term Strategy 

Limited-timed offers began with very simple goals: drive urgency and test new ideas without permanently altering a menu. The concept also helps fight menu fatigue, because even the most loyal customers eventually crave something new. That’s how the world met icons like the Shamrock Shake and the McRib from McDonald’s, proving that novelty, when timed right, can become tradition. For decades, LTOs followed a predictable […]

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