Chipotle and the 'elephant in the dining room'

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

The restaurant industry and its players are exhaling today after news that Chipotle might be able to overcome its food safety woes of last week and the…

Denver pizza chain gets a slice of the Shark Week pie

July 26, 2017

The longest-running cable TV event in history, Shark Week, is upon us and one pizza restaurateur isn't going to miss out on this now 29-year-old event…

New way to 'try on' best new bottom line-building restaurant tech

July 25, 2017

POS device provider ParTech has partnered with cloud-based API software developer Omnivore to bridge the gap between restaurants and the tech developers and…

Commodities: Markets yield midsummer merriment for pizza brands

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

It was an especially nice week for pizza stocks, with all four brands monitored here showing healthy gains over the course of the trading week.

Pizza Hut changes its 'DNA' ahead of adding 14,000 new drivers

July 19, 2017

Pizza Hut wants to add a few ... well, actually 14,000 ... good drivers to its ranks over the next few months, so today the Yum brand's leadership said it will…

It’s a jungle out there, all right, and its name is Amazon

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

There may never be a more fitting name than that of Amazon, the mega online retailer that has come to demonstrate what the term “It’s a jungle out there…

Commodities: Last week was 'all mixed up'

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

For pizza operators, last week was a grab-bag of results on the commodities and stock markets, where prices paid for public brands and essential operational…

Blaze moves beyond US with biggest deal ever, announces minority owner

July 14, 2017

After officially becoming the fastest-growing brand in U.S. history earlier this week, Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza today said it's moving beyond North American…

Going UP in a 'Blaze'of glory: Chain now fastest starting in history

July 13, 2017

Blaze Pizza is fastest-starting chain ever, according to Technomic. That's what stories in both Forbes and Quartz are reporting this week, after the chain …

Domino's moo-ves in to milk some action from 'Cow Appreciation' events

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

What do you do when a competitor has a really good annual promotion that they thought of first? If you're Domino's, you apparently tell the competition to…

Everything's bigger in ... China?

July 12, 2017

China's restaurant industry is    one of the nation's main economic growth drivers, according to a report released by Meituan-Dianping, a foodservice-focused…

Study on independent brands: Only the strong survive, but they also thrive

July 11, 2017

Staying independent is a pretty rough game for U.S. restaurateurs. Still, survival is not only possible but also relatively profitable for solid concepts with…

Commodities: Holiday makes for a mild mid-summer trading week

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

It was a relatively uneventful week in commodity and pizza stock trading with only moderate gains or losses on either front, suggesting that a lot of traders…

Be my 'bBff': Marketing guru says best brands 'participate' in diners' lives

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Brands with the most loyal and committed customers know you only earn super-loyalty when you participate in customers' lives, says veteran marketing guru…

Caliburger founder to discuss how $3.1M investment will fuel robotics in the kitchen

The substantial investment is the combined effort of Acacia Research Corporation, Match Robotics VC, and a number of undisclosed strategic investors.

It's good to be Yum China: Q2 operating profit up 64%

July 6, 2017

Yum China continues to be embraced with open arms in China, reporting a 3 percent spike in Q2 same-store sales and mobile payments exceeding 40 percent of…

Japanese mega-retailer proves 'grocery-ification' of eating out goes beyond US

July 5, 2017

Call it the grocery-ification of the restaurant business, and it is happening and not just in the U.S.

Food truck boosts sales for Texas pizza and wings restaurant

by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Il Primo Pizza & Wings in Richmond, Texas has proven that a food truck can do a lot to promote a brick-and-mortar restaurant, and that there are significant…

Utah gets Mod

July 5, 2017

Mod Pizza is debuting in Utah, then coming on strong with a total of five openings there by year's end, a news release said. 

Surprise! Readiness tips for times when bad news lands on your doorstep

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

On any day of the week, any brand in the world can get sucked into the vortex of a negative news event. Read on for tips from a PR veteran and longtime…