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☆ Subway is adding something big to its menu
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The permanent sides, called Subway Sidekicks, will be available across the US beginning January 22. Sidekicks marks a whole new menu category for Subway, best known for their sandwiches. The additions come from customers demanding more from the menu, according to Douglas Fry, Subway’s North America president. Technomic data shows that Subway also lags in sales for sides and snacks compared to its competitors. Yearly sales at Subway US restaurants are still much lower compared to its sandwich-making rivals.

Persons: Auntie Anne’s, Douglas Fry, “, we’ve, ” Fry, Fry, ”, David Henkes, ” Henkes, doesn’t, Jimmy John’s, Roark Organizations: New, New York CNN, Subway, North America, CNN, “, Sidekicks, US Subway, QSR Magazine, Jersey, Roark Capital Locations: New York, North America

☆ Taco Bell has the fastest drive-thru, and its latest tech could get customers their orders even faster
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementTaco Bell has the fastest drive-thru, and it's testing technology that could get customers their orders even faster. This marked the third straight year that Taco Bell had the fastest drive-thru. Mystery shoppers reported they received their orders in under three minutes at the Taco Bell Defy location. McDonald's ranked eighth with a four minute and 51 second average service time, and Chick-fil-A ranked last with a five minute and 12 second average service time. In the test of the new pilot programs, Taco Bell was also the fastest.

Persons: —, Bell, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Taco, Chris Turner Organizations: Taco, QSR, Customers, Service, KFC, Intouch, Taco Bell, Cowen, Consumer Conference, Yum, Brands Locations: Brooklyn Park , Minnesota, Alpharetta , Georgia, Fort Worth , Texas

☆ Subway has sold itself to a private equity firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Subway has sold itself to private equity firm Roark Capital, ending a six-month long search for a buyer. “This transaction reflects Subway’s long-term growth potential, and the substantial value of our brand and our franchisees around the world,” Subway CEO John Chidsey said in a statement. However, the Wall Street Journal reported the purchase price was “around $9.6 billion,” which would be slightly below the chain’s $10 billion asking price. Despite the sales turnaround, the number of US Subway stores declined to 20,576 last year according to Technomic. Another issue for Roark: Yearly sales at Subway US restaurants are still much lower compared to its sandwich-making rivals.

Persons: Roark Capital, ” Roark, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, John Chidsey, Roark, Roark’s, Dunkin ’, Jimmy John’s, “ Roark, ”, Neil Saunders, GlobalData, ” Saunders, Trevor Haynes, He’s, Douglas Fry Organizations: New, New York CNN — Subway, Roark, Subway, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, ” Subway, “, Wall Street Journal, ”, Inspire Brands, Inspire, US Subway, QSR Magazine, Jersey, Subway’s North Locations: New York, North America, Subway, Subway’s North America, Canada

☆ Chick-fil-A launches first-ever twist on its classic chicken sandwich
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The seasonal chicken sandwich is a twist on the chain's classic chicken sandwich. The Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich will be available on August 28. The fast food chain is adding a seasonal chicken sandwich to its menu that blends sweet, savory, and spicy notes. The Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich, available in restaurants August 28, takes a hand-breaded chicken filet and pairs it with a pimento cheese spread, pickled jalapeños, and a bun drizzled with honey. "We wanted to create a standout sandwich that would deliver a unique spin for our guests, without losing the classic taste of the Original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich," Stuart Tracy, Chick-fil-A Chef and creator behind the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich, said in a statement.

Persons: Honey Pepper, Stuart Tracy, Chick, crumbles Organizations: Service, QSR Magazine Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Shake Shack is adding more tech to its stores — and it could mean a big boost to its bottom line
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Shake Shack says it expects to have self-service ordering kiosks in all of its restaurants by the end of Q3. Shake Shack first began experimenting with kiosks in 2017 when it debuted its first kiosk-only store in New York City. Kiosks encourage premium drink ordersAt Shack Shack, Garutti and Fogerty said kiosks have boosted profits in other ways beyond labor. Kiosks are also helping Shake Shack stores to enhance hospitality, a core mission among all Meyer-founded restaurants. For about a year, Fogerty said Shake Shack workers in some stores have been redeployed to run food to tables instead of having customers respond to buzzers.

Persons: Danny Meyer, Randy Garutti, Katie Fogerty, that's, Brandon Barton, Barton, Jessica Tyler, Taco Bell, Shack, Garutti, Fogerty, Meyer, we've Organizations: Service, New York City, Business, Taco, QSR, Shack, Labor Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York City

☆ Freshly sliced meat and new store designs: How Subway is trying to save itself
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Subway scrambled to make fixes: Adding freshly sliced meat earlier this month was the most recent one. Revamped menuSubway added freshly sliced meat this week. In addition to a more neatly organized menu board, Subway added numbers and new names to speed up service. And this week, it rolled out freshly sliced meat — a major shift from Subway’s previous method of having the meat sliced at its factories before being delivered to its stores. Adding freshly sliced meat “felt like the natural step that we needed to get back to and address,” Trevor Haynes, president for Subway’s North America operations, previously told CNN.

Persons: that’s, –, Dunkin, Jimmy John’s, Anthony Behar, ” Trevor Haynes Organizations: New, New York CNN, Firehouse, Wall Street, Inspire Brands, Subway, North, QSR Magazine, Jersey, Apple, customizations, Subway’s North, CNN Locations: New York, Jersey, North America, Subway’s North America

☆ Subway is making another big change to its menu
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —To undercut its fast-growing rivals, Subway is making a big change to its meats. Subway locations currently fresh slice vegetables and freshly bakes bread and cookies daily. The makeover placed less of an emphasis on customization in favor of a “Subway Series” sandwich menu, which now accounts for 20% of sales. Average yearly sales at Subway US restaurants, however, are much lower compared to its sandwich business rivals. Subway is also up for sale, with Haynes saying that it’s “on track” for an imminent announcement, likely in mid-July.

Persons: Jimmy John’s, ” Trevor Haynes, Haynes Organizations: New, New York CNN, Jersey Mike’s, Subs, Subway’s North, CNN, Subway, QSR Magazine, North Locations: New York, Jersey, Subway’s North America, North America

☆ AI drive-thrus may be good for business. But not for the rest of us
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New AI technology at the drive-thru at a Carl's Jr. location. In real-world situations, reactions to AI drive-thrus are still mixed. “We expect AI to augment the competitive advantages of restaurants with digital culture.”Short-staffed restaurants may see AI as a way to fill in the gaps. “There aren’t enough at-scale examples of voice AI in action, especially in this use case,” to say that people would prefer AI to an employee, said McAllister. By the time those examples exist, AI in drive-thrus may already be the norm.

Persons: CKE, Carl’s Jr, Wendy’s, Joel Angel Juarez, it’s, ” Thomas Kurian, ”, Christina McAllister, Forrester, upsells, Krishna Gupta, Presto, “, Todd Penegor, Penegor, Yong Suk Lee, “ it’s, Brandon Bell, McAllister Organizations: New, New York CNN, Google, USA, Wall Street, Indiana White, Wall Street Journal, Presto Automation, CKE, Presto, Presto Voice, University of Notre Dame, Intouch Locations: New York, White, Wendy’s, Columbus , Ohio, The Republic

That month, it announced five new agreements with multi-unit operators to condense and transfer more than 230 existing restaurants. "There is strong interest in growth opportunities with Subway from multi-unit operators," Subway said in a statement to Reuters for this story. Klein, the franchise attorney, said that since 2022, his firm examined three multi-unit Subway deals on behalf of clients interested in investing in the chain for the first time. Of the 100 largest multi-unit U.S. restaurant franchisees by revenue in 2022, none had a Subway in their portfolio, according to a ranking by Franchise Times magazine. Instead, top franchisees owned hundreds of Wendy's (WEN.O), Yum Brands' (YUM.N) Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, Restaurant Brands' Burger King, Dine Brands' (DIN.N) Applebee's and other chains.

Persons: Justin Klein, John Gordon, Klein, it's, Gordon, Burger, Alicia Miller, Hilary Russ, Matthew Lewis Organizations: YORK, Subway, Reuters, QSR Magazine, Restaurant Brands International Inc, Times, Yum Brands, Bell, Restaurant Brands, Catalyst Insight, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Miami, Jersey, New York, Nevada, New Mexico

☆ Subway is making an epic comeback at the best possible time
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Gloria Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Subway's global same-store sales surged by more than 12% in the most recent quarter, the chain said. In the most recent quarter, global same-store sales surged by more than 12%, the chain said. He told Restaurant Business that Subway currently has 16,500 stores overseas but believes it should have 40,000 or even 60,000. Subway's recent menu updates have helped spur growth. In February, Subway's app was the third-most downloaded fast-food app in the US, logging 1 million downloads, Apptopia said in an article published in QSR Magazine.

☆ Subway will sell 50% discounts for its footlong sandwiches to app users — and they could sell out within hours
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Subway is bringing back its Footlong Pass subscription program. Passes will be available on the chain's app, which has seen a surge in downloads lately, as well as online. And, they're about to surge even more as the chain plans to bring back its wildly popular $15 Footlong Pass deal. One million Subway app downloads in a monthAccording to app intelligence firm Apptopia, Subway's menu overhaul, and recent promotions are causing a surge in app downloads. McDonald's (3.2 million downloads) and Starbucks (1.3 million downloads) came in at No.

☆ Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol is betting that revamping the employee experience is the fast-casual chain's ticket to success
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Brian Niccol's New Year's resolution is to bump Chipotle's internal-promotion rate — the rate of how many current staffers fill open jobs — to 95%. Courtesy of ChipotleBoosting Chipotle's internal-promotion rate is part of a broader move to create career paths for all employees. Under Niccol's leadership, Chipotle has raised employees' wages and helped workers pursue a range of academic degrees, debt-free. In August, workers at a Chipotle store in Lansing, Michigan, formed the first union at the company, the Washington Post reported. But Niccol sees the employee proposition at Chipotle as simple: We're serving high-quality food and we're giving you a place to grow your career.

☆ Uber's polarizing surge pricing is coming for your food deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The food-tech startup Sauce allows restaurants to use dynamic pricing to raise delivery prices. Piada, a fast-casual restaurant chain, is testing dynamic pricing using the tech startup Sauce. Novak, whose VC firm Rackhouse invested in Sauce last year, said price-lowering features are often overlooked when discussing dynamic pricing. Sherri Kimes, a professor emeritus at Cornell's Hotel School, echoed Novak, saying dynamic pricing can give consumers "some control" over how they spend their money. For restaurants, dynamic pricing is still worth a shot.

☆ More good news for workers is bad news for the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

We the people can create the strongest job market in a generation and what do we get in return? Here’s the deal: The labor market is still very, very strong. And while that’s great news for workers, it’s bad news for the Fed. The “quit rate” held steady at 2.7%, or about 4.1 million workers voluntarily leaving their jobs — not a record, but still historically high. In summary: “If you were waiting for signs of labor inflation easing, you’ll have to keep waiting,” said Lightcast senior economist Ron Hetrick.

☆ Chick-fil-A operator whips up winning recipe for employees: three-day workweek
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

One Miami Chick-fil-A owner/operator has been deluged with applications after switching his staff to a three-day, 14-hour workweek. Justin Lindsey was looking for a novel way to reward workers who were “literally working 70 hours a week, week in and week out,” he recently told QSR magazine. In his restaurant’s case, Lindsey said the three-day workweek allows his staff to plan lives outside of work in advance. A three-day workweek is still very rare, but the buzz around a four-day week has been gaining momentum. And when Microsoft tried a shorter workweek in Japan in 2019, it found productivity increased up by almost 40%.

☆ A Florida Chick-fil-A has been following a 3-day work week with so much success it received more than 420 applications for a single job opening
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Chick-fil-A in Miami follows a three-day work week of 13- to 14-hour shifts. Store operator Justin Lindsey told QSR Magazine that since making the switch, there's been 100% management retention, "elite" performance, and more than 420 applications for a job opening. Lindsey said employees had been working 70-hour weeks and skipping vacations before the store adopted a three-day week in February. Since adopting the abbreviated schedule, the store has seen 100% retention among management, Lindsey told QSR, and one job opening that led with the three-day work week received more than 420 applications. "I think people want to work in this industry," he told QSR Magazine.

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