Restaurants

  1. Data & Insights

Drive-Thru Under Pressure: Why Fast Food’s Core Profit Engine Is Stalling

  The drive-thru remains the dominant revenue engine for quick-service restaurants (QSRs), generating 60%–75% of total sales at many brands. Yet today, operators are confronting a convergence of pressures: elevated labor costs, persistent food inflation, declining traffic, and slower service times according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® this is […]
5 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

OffBeat:  The Big Not-So-Easy

If you are not already watching “Shrinking,” on Apple TV, you should be. “Shrinking,” which just finished its third season and has been renewed for a fourth, is a gently comedic look at the lives and relationships of three therapists – played by Jason Segal, Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford – in the Southern California […]
3 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Fire, Flavor, and Frequency: Why Tucson’s Tito & Pep Is Goldmine in Disguise

  A Modern Desert Dining Experience From the vantage point of the Grocerant Guru®, what’s happening inside Tito & Pep isn’t just “fine dining”—it’s a case study in how experience-driven foodservice is outpacing traditional retail food models. Set in Midtown Tucson, the restaurant delivers a chic mid-century modern aesthetic paired with an intimate yet energetic […]
3 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Just Eat and Starship Technologies tie up brings food delivery robots to streets of Barnsley

Starship Technologies has partnered with Just Eat to roll-out a pilot scheme involving self-driving delivery robots in North East Barnsley. The launch will initially see a small number of the orange, talking robots serving thousands of residents, delivering food from restaurants to customers’ doors within minutes. The service starts today in Carlton, Athersley, Monk Bretton […]
2 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Grocery Stores Race for Relevance with Time-Starved Consumers

  Today’s consumer is not just value-driven—they are time-starved, convenience-focused, and increasingly replacing restaurant visits with retail meal solutions. This behavioral shift is forcing grocery retailers to rethink their role, moving from traditional food sellers to meal solution providers competing directly for “Share of Stomach.” Stop & Shop: Repositioning Dinner Around Convenience Stop & Shop […]
4 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Asda taps Deliverect retail technology to support UK grocery giant’s on-demand delivery push

Deliverect has announced a partnership with Asda involving the UK grocery retailer’s on-demand operations across Asda Express and the wider store estate. In a LinkedIn post, Joe Heather, Regional General Manager – Northern Europe at Deliverect, said: “Asda continues to lead in the on-demand space, delivering strong performance at scale. We support this by enabling […]
2 min read
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  1. Data & Insights

Reoccurring Customer Visits Drive Incremental Revenue Faster

  The growth algorithm across all sectors of food retail—restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery service delis—has converged on one immutable truth according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®:  frequency of visits is the most reliable driver of incremental revenue and long-term profitability. What was once a convenience-store insight is now […]
5 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Two Examples Of Effective Customer Communications

As frequently mentioned here on MNB, I have a weakness for effective customer communications – I love it when retailers go beyond the simple communication of prices and product. Last week there were two great examples of this, from two of my favorite retailers. First up, on social media Jennifer Mayne, e-commerce director at Dorothy […]
2 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

What Goes Around Comes Around: Why “Back to Basics” Is Winning the Modern Plate

  In foodservice, trends rarely disappear. They cycle, evolve, and return with sharper relevance. In 2026, one of the most telling examples is the resurgence of traditional cooking fats such as butter, lard, and beef tallow. This shift is not driven by nostalgia alone. It is supported by clear, data-backed consumer demand, particularly among younger […]
4 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Grocers’ Biggest Strategic Misfire: Chasing Shelf Rent While Consumers Chase Dinner Tonight

  The data is not ambiguous—it is directional and disruptive. According to FMI – The Food Industry Association, the percentage of consumers replacing restaurant meals with deli-prepared foods jumped from 12% in 2017 to 28% in 2025. At the same time, 53% of consumers are assembling hybrid meals, blending prepared foods with items already at […]
5 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

The VETO Vote Wins: What Amy’s Drive Thru Closure Signals About Organic & Vegan Foodservice

  The closure of Amy’s Drive Thru—including its final unit at San Francisco International Airport—is not an indictment of organic or vegan food. It is a case study in consumer relevance, price elasticity, day-part fit, and the ultimate authority of the “consumer-facing VETO vote.” From the perspective of the Grocerant Guru®, the takeaway is clear: […]
5 min read
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  1. Department: Beverage

Beer, Basket Building: How 7-Eleven and Budweiser Turn a Holiday into High-Margin Momentum

  Let’s get straight to it: beer isn’t just a beverage—it’s a traffic driver, a margin enhancer, and when merchandised correctly, a meal solution multiplier according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. The latest limited-time promotion from 7-Eleven proves exactly that, leveraging National Beer Day (April 7) as a strategic […]
4 min read
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  1. Holiday & Events

Easter Joy Is Not Optional — It’s Profitable (Especially with Adults)

  Easter is no longer a kids-only holiday—it’s a full-scale adult participation event, and more importantly, a high-margin, multi-day consumption cycle that food retailers and foodservice operators can no longer afford to misunderstand according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA Based Foodservice Solutions®. What began as “Adultoween” has now evolved into a broader […]
4 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Why Foodservice Retailers Must Embrace the Grocerant Era

  The latest NielsenIQ report confirms what  Steven Johnson the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® has been signaling for years: the convenience channel is losing trips because it is still merchandising for yesterday’s consumer. The data is unambiguous—33% of shoppers say they’re visiting less often, and trips per buyer are down 2.2% […]
4 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

McDonald’s Has Lost the Plot — and Consumers Are Walking Away

  For decades, McDonald’s has been the gravitational center of American fast food — a brand so large, so omnipresent, that it seemed immune to the pressures reshaping the rest of the restaurant industry. But in 2024–2026, the Golden Arches have begun to flicker. Not because of a single scandal or a fleeting trend, but […]
4 min read
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  1. Channel: Restaurants

Panda Express: A 40-Year Case Study in Scalable Grocerant Strategy

  From a single mall-based concept in 1983 to a $6+ billion powerhouse, Panda Express has quietly engineered one of the most disciplined growth stories in foodservice. For restaurant operators, c-stores, and grocers, Panda is not just a brand—it is a blueprint for how the “Grocerant” model (prepared foods + convenience + bundling) scales profitably […]
4 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

US fashion brand Edikted opens Carnaby Street London store and makes European debut

Shaftesbury Capital reports that US fashion brand Edikted has opened its flagship store at 52-55 Carnaby Street, London, marking the brand’s first standalone physical location in Europe. This comes as Italian fashion brand Subdued commits to an upsized space at 14–18 Foubert’s Place, at the northern end of Carnaby Street. Spanning 4,800 sq ft, this is Edikted’s first bricks and mortar location outside of […]
2 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Easter 2026: A $25 Billion “Grocerant” Moment — What Restaurants, C-Stores, and Grocery Must Do To Win

  Easter is no longer just a holiday—it’s a high-velocity, cross-channel food commerce event. With consumers projected to spend nearly $25 billion this year, Easter 2026 represents a record-setting opportunity to capture incremental visits, increase basket size, and reinforce brand relevance across restaurant, convenience store, and grocery channels. Data released by the National Retail Federation […]
4 min read
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  1. Department: Food

Co-op opens 11th store with EG on the Move

A Co-op franchise store opened this week at a new EG on the Move roadside service station in Essex. The Co-op and petrol station in Norton Heath, Chelmsford, also includes a Greggs bakery. Co-op’s store will offer meal deals, self-service Starbucks coffee, bakery products, fresh,… This story continues at Co-op opens 11th store with EG […]
< 1 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Mix & Match Meal Bundling Is an Invitation to Customer Migration: Why Little Caesars’ Four-N-One Stix Signals the Next Competitive Battleground

  From the vantage point of Foodservice Solutions® in Tacoma, WA, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the fastest way to steal share in today’s foodservice landscape is not through price alone—it’s through strategic bundling that invites customer migration across dayparts, channels, and occasions. The latest move by Little Caesars—its new Four-N-One […]
4 min read
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  1. Technology & Innovation

Your Views:  A Surge In Dynamic Opinions

Got a lot of responses to our coverage of the national backlash against electronic shelf labels, and concerns about dynamic/surge pricing. MNB reader Rudy Dory wrote: We have had ESLs for over twenty years. We have never had a complaint about surge pricing. Wanting to ban ESLs in smaller units like ours would penalize people […]
9 min read
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  1. Channel: Restaurants

Crowning the Comeback: How Burger King Is Reclaiming Its Throne in Fast Food’s Marketing Cycle

  The quick-service restaurant (QSR) sector has always been defined by cycles—periods of menu innovation followed by simplification, bold brand storytelling followed by value-driven messaging, and digital disruption followed by a return to operational basics. Few brands illustrate this pendulum swing more clearly than Burger King, which is now signaling a strategic return to form […]
4 min read
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  1. Shopper & Customer

Gen Z Eats on the Move: Why Value, Convenience, and Brand Trust Are Reshaping Every Meal Occasion

  Gen Z isn’t abandoning brands—they’re recalibrating how, when, and where they spend. New data from First Insight reveals a nuanced shift: while national brands still dominate preference across food and beverage categories, Gen Z is actively reallocating spending, prioritizing value in everyday consumables while trading up in lifestyle-driven categories. For food marketers, operators, and […]
5 min read
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  1. Trends & External Forces

Assessing The Impact Of GLP-1 Drugs On Food Consumption

From CNBC: “The cost of GLP-1 drugs is falling, and pill versions are hitting the U.S. market. For restaurant chains and snacking giants, higher adoption of weight loss and diabetes treatments poses a threat to their sales — or an opportunity. “GLP-1 drugs slow digestion, suppress users’ appetites and increase satiety. For many restaurants and […]
2 min read
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Editor’s Choice

  1. Trends & External Forces
  2. Shopper & Customer
  3. Technology & Innovation
  4. Trends & External Forces
  5. Associates & Employees
  6. Merchandising
  7. Stores & Formats

Walmart to Expand Digital Shelf Labels Chainwide

Walmart will deploy digital shelf labels (DSLs) chainwide this year, doubling the approximately 2,300 U.S. locations currently using the technology (Walmart U.S. operates more than 4,600 stores). With more than 120,000 items in a typical Walmart store, managing price changes manually requires significant associate hours. Additionally, these DSLs are equipped with LED lights that make […]
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