Restaurant Association: The best source for Restaurant Industry News & Operations Tips

Photo by Bilal Rana on Unsplash

RaceTrac’s all‑cash, $566M acquisition of Potbelly brings 445+ shops under a selective co‑location strategy, as foodservice gains share in convenience retail.

Photo by Tofan Teodor on Unsplash

After a retrenchment, Wahlburgers is scaling into airports, military bases, destination lodges, food trailers, and specialty retail through partners like Delaware North, SSP America, and Adaptiv Provisions.

Photo by Z Graphica on Unsplash

Leaders from Krispy Kreme, Darden, and Fogo de Chão, alongside Circana data, show restaurant traffic remains steady as GLP‑1 users shift toward protein, produce, and smaller portions—prompting menu pivots, new labels, and zero-proof drinks.

Explore McDonald's free McNugget Caviar kit launch. Learn how this luxury-casual pairing is reshaping restaurant marketing strategies for 2026.

Photo by Roman on Unsplash

FAT Brands and Twin Hospitality launched a court-supervised Chapter 11 on January 26, 2026, aiming to deleverage, preserve brand operations across 18 concepts and 2,200+ locations, and push a pipeline of 900 openings and 50 co-branded units.

Photo by Jessica Loaiza on Unsplash

Over 6,000 units of M&M's recalled across 20 states due to missing allergen warnings. Learn how this impacts food businesses and consumer safety.

A 2026 overview of restaurant labor law changes - minimum wage, overtime, tips, scheduling rules, leave, minors, posters, and records.

Restaurant owners can standardize guest experiences by using customer service training covering brand standards, communication, menu knowledge, pacing, recovery, and safety.

Lower food cost percentage by tracking accurate numbers, finding variance leaks, tightening portions, reducing waste, improving purchasing, and optimizing menu decisions.

Use core POS reports - sales summary, dayparts, channels, transactions, item mix, discounts - to build accurate Sales Forecasts for staffing and ordering.