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Restaurant News Roundup

Latest Restaurant News January 2, 2025

Restaurant news

We have selected only the most up-to-date restaurant news to save you time and keep you informed. Subscribe to our blog to get first-hand news and useful articles.


Restaurant News Roundup, 01/03/2025


Here’s a news roundup that can run in the next couple of days.  The picture attached can be used for the top of the page to illustrate the restaurant industry.  Tag words could include: restaurants, inflation, labor costs, deportations, tariffs, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Red Lobster.

Even though inflation is cooling and there’s no economic recession looming, the restaurant industry faces uncertainty with the upcoming change of presidential administrations.  President-elect Trump’s promises to enact mass deportations of illegal immigrants and across-the-board tariffs could hurt restaurant profits, say some experts.
Read more here:
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/restaurants-head-2025-more-economic-uncertainty-abounds

Labor, food costs and credit card swipe fees are among the biggest expenses that will continue to impact the restaurant industry in 2025.  Read more here:
https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-12-31/top-7-challenges-issues-facing-restaurants-in-2025

Wendy’s, Denny’s, and Red Lobster are among almost two dozen restaurant chains that shuttered hundreds of locations in 2024 because of rising costs and underperforming stores.
Read more here:
https://www.eatthis.com/restaurant-chains-closing-locations-2024/


Restaurant News Roundup, 12/20/2024

While 2024 saw bankruptcies, rising labor costs and other headwinds for restaurants, some like Chipotle and Cava, had a good year.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/restaurant-winners-losers-2024/735701/

More shopping malls are becoming home to restaurants as landlords are devoting more square footage to eateries and bars.  Read more here: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/19/mall-restaurants-like-cheesecake-factory-eataly-help-to-draw-shoppers.html

Door Dash, the delivery app, is partnering with a drone service to deliver meals from more than 50 restaurants to customers in the Dallas, Texas, area.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/doordash-wing-launch-drone-delivery-dallas-area-malls


Restaurant News Roundup, 12/10/2024

President-elect Trump’s plan for mass deportations, which he most recently outlined in a network television interview this past Sunday, could hurt restaurants, farmers and other industries that rely on immigrant workers, according to experts. Read more here: https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2024/12/10/immigrants-deportations-food-industry-restaurants

A new survey says tips as a share of income for restaurant workers are declining as base pay has increased.  The study, conducted at full-service restaurants across the country, was released by ADP Research.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/restaurant-tips-hold-steady-as-base-pay-rises-adp-finds/735028/

A popular Mexican chain, Chi-Chi’s, that shut its doors in 2004 is looking to make a comeback. The son of Chi-Chi’s founder says he wants to combine the classic Mexican restaurant with an “updated dining experience.” Read more here: https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/popular-mexican-restaurant-set-to-return-20-years-after-closing-all-us-locations/


Restaurant News Roundup, 11/22/2024

Restaurant executives are looking forward to 2025 after a year of slow sales and soaring bankruptcies.  Read more here: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/17/restaurant-industry-2025-outlook-mcdonalds-starbucks-aim-to-improve.html

Gen Z is expected to have a greater influence on restaurant menus in 2025, according to a new study.  Read more here: https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/27236-gen-z-influencing-restaurant-menu-trends-for-2025

Ground Round, an iconic family dining chain known for classic American fare, is trying to make a comeback 20 years after filing for bankruptcy.  Founded in 1969, it eventually lost too many customers to rivals Chili’s and Applebee’s.  Read more here: https://www.eatthis.com/ground-round-making-comeback/


 

Restaurant New Roundup, 11/08/2024

Restaurant owners can expect lower corporate taxes, fewer regulations and ending taxes on gratuities for tipped workers under a Trump 2.0 administration when it takes office in January.  Read more here: https://www.nrn.com/news/how-2024-election-results-will-impact-restaurant-industry

Sit-down restaurant chains like TGI Fridays and Hooters are struggling as inflation-weary customers are increasingly unwilling to pay more for restaurant food.  Read more here: https://time.com/7172240/chain-restaurants-struggles/

Menus are pricier now because of inflation and other factors as restaurant owners struggle to maintain profit margins.  Read more here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmariani/2024/11/06/why-are-restaurant-prices-so-damn-high-and-why-you-cant-do-anything-about-them/


 

Restaurant New Roundup, 10/16/2024

TGI Fridays is undergoing a wave of closures with six location shutdowns just in the past week.  The fast-casual chain, which started out as a singles bar in New York in 1965, has been struggling for years because of shifting customer demand.  Read more here:  https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/tgi-fridays-closes-more-us-restaurants-troubles-continue

It’s becoming clear that TikTok and other social media platforms can either boost or destroy your restaurant brand…almost instantaneously.  Read more here: https://www.nrn.com/technology/tiktok-generation-demands-more-restaurant-brands-or-else

Immigrant Food, which showcases the diverse culinary heritage of immigrants, is expanding its footprint since opening in 2019 in the Washington, DC area and now operates five eateries.  Read more here about the chain’s guiding philosophy that has brought it success: https://www.forbes.com/sites/geristengel/2024/10/16/immigrant-food-restaurants-with-a-mission/


 

Restaurant News Roundup, 10/04/2024

Cafe, restaurant

Hiring at restaurants and bars took off last month, according to the latest report by the U.S. Department of Labor.  With almost 70,000 jobs added, more than one in four workers hired in September filled positions at a restaurant or bar.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/workforce/restaurant-job-growth-took-last-month

Red Lobster’s new CEO, 35-year-old Damola Adamolekun, acknowledges that he is taking over a chain that is in a deep hole. Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/04/business/red-lobster-ceo-restaurants/index.html

South Carolina-based Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ, California’s Angry Chikz, and the New York City-born concept Tacombi are among six emerging restaurant chains deemed to have great potential.  Read more here: https://www.nrn.com/emerging-chains/6-emerging-restaurant-chains-huge-potential


 

Restaurant News Roundup, 09/20/2024

A Gallup survey says American’s opinions of the restaurant industry has declined this year to its lowest point since 2008 but still remains much higher than how Americans view grocers. Read more here: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/consumer-trends/americans-view-restaurants-has-tumbled-year

Instead of being a job killer, McDonald’s touchscreen kiosks preserve jobs by increasing sales and transferring labor to other tasks like handling pickup orders.  Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/20/business/self-service-kiosks-mcdonalds-shake-shack/index.html

Major CEO shakeups at restaurant chains continue following the high-profile ouster at Starbucks last month, with changes reported in September at On the Border, BJ’s Restaurants and Whataburger.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/restaurant-ceo-switch-up-season-stretches-into-september/727433/


 

Restaurant News Roundup, 09/06/2024

Restaurant hires people

The latest federal jobs reports shows the restaurant industry continues to hire workers at a stable clip despite some signs of worsening economic conditions.  Friday’s U.S. Labor Department report says restaurants and bars added almost three thousand jobs in August.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/workforce/restaurant-hiring-held-steady-august-providing-rare-spot-good-macro-news

Despite Friday’s positive jobs report, restaurant chain bankruptcies are nearly double this year compared to 2023.  There are multiple factors contributing to this wave of Chapter 11 filings, according to a bankruptcy expert.  Read more here: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/why-so-many-restaurant-chains-filing-bankruptcy-year

McDonald’s Value Meals and Collectors Cups are apparently drawing more customers, with traffic up five of the six weeks in July and August since the burger chain introduced the program.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/value-cups-appear-be-helping-mcdonalds-regain-customers


 

Restaurant News Roundup, 08/28/2024

Red Lobster is closing 23 more restaurants across the country by the end of this month as the chain seeks to cut costs amid its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.  The Orlando-based seafood chain, which has already shut down some 100 locations, filed for bankruptcy protection in May.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/red-lobster-close-more-struggling-restaurants-week

Roti, a fast-casual chain, has filed for Chapter 11, becoming the latest brand to join Red Lobster, Tijuana Flats and others seeking bankruptcy protection this year.  Read more here: https://www.fastcompany.com/91179584/roti-mediterranean-fast-casual-restaurant-chain-bankruptcies-list-2024

The debate over presidential campaign proposals to not tax tips heats up among restaurant workers across the country, with some seeing benefits and others not so much.  Read more here: https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/no-tax-on-tips-debate-heats-up-restaurant-chef-server-clash-how-theyre-paid


 

Restaurant News Roundup, 08/14/2024

While restaurant prices continued to outpace grocery prices last month, the increase has slowed according to the latest CPI report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Read more here: https://www.nrn.com/finance/restaurant-menu-prices-decelerate-continue-outpace-grocery-prices

The new incoming CEO of Starbucks, Brian Niccol, has a short time window to turn around the faltering coffee giant.  Read more here:  https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/starbucks-ceo-ousted-what-brian-niccol-faces-new-top-boss

Economists say the election year campaign proposals to eliminate federal taxes on tips won’t do much to help service and hospitality workers.  Read more in this analysis: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/08/13/trump-harris-tax-free-tips/


 

Restaurant News Roundup, 08/03/2024

Restaurant staff

Latest U.S. jobs report shows restaurants and bars added more than 19,000 jobs last month.  Read more here: https://www.nrn.com/node/434208

Taco Bell is expanding the use of voice-activated AI in the drive-thru to hundreds of its restaurants around the country. Taco Bell has been working on the technology for the past two years.  More details here: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/taco-bell-expanding-drive-thru-ai-hundreds-restaurants

Cheesecake Factory says traffic remains steady at the casual-dining chain despite tough times for full-service restaurants.  Read more here: https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/cheesecake-factory-sees-no-change-consumers

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