Hangry Joe's promotes insider Brandon Wilhelm to CEO, prioritizing franchisee profitability over rapid unit growth as the chain expands past 90 locations.

Portillo's chief people officer Jill Waite departs as new CEO Brett Patterson reshapes leadership with layoffs and fresh executive hires.

Uber is paying $2.3 billion to acquire ezCater, merging its catering network into Uber Eats and Uber for Business to enter workplace catering.

A new lawsuit claims McDonald's pricing tool pressures franchisees into algorithmic price-fixing, raising fresh antitrust questions for the chain.

What makes Pepper Lunch more than just a sizzling restaurant experience? 🔥🥩 In this episode of CHOMP, we go behind the scenes at Pepper Lunch in Irvine, California with Troy Hooper, former CEO of Hot Palette America and now Strategic Advisor to the Board, to explore the business, technology, and operations behind the growing restaurant brand. From its signature Beef Pepper Rice and sizzling hot plates to automated rice systems, streamlined kitchen stations, kiosk ordering, and a unique hospitality model, Pepper Lunch has built its fast casual experience around simplicity, speed, and consistency. Troy also shares what it takes to scale the brand across North America, including franchise operations, real estate challenges, labor efficiency, kitchen design, technology, and adapting the original Asian restaurant experience for the U.S. market. And of course, we put the famous sizzling experience to the test with Beef Pepper Rice, Creamy Shrimp Pasta, and Korean K-Pep Chicken Karaage. 🔥 If you're a restaurant owner, operator, entrepreneur, or simply curious about what happens behind the scenes of a growing restaurant brand, this episode is packed with ideas worth watching. Featuring: @PepperLunchUSA 👍 Like the video if you enjoyed the episode 💬 What part of the Pepper Lunch experience would you try first? 🔔 Subscribe for more restaurant tours, founder stories, and operator insights from CHOMP. Explore more restaurant industry insights and resources at https://restaurantassociation.com/ #pepperlunch #chomp #restaurantbusiness #fastcasual #restaurantindustry #restaurantassociation

True Food Kitchen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closing 12 locations and shrinking to 34 restaurants across 14 states amid $42.1 million in debt.