#fast-casual-restaurants

#fast-casual-restaurants

Just because a restaurant gets as successful as Cracker Barrel doesn't mean everything it touches will turn to gold. By almost any measure the Southern comfort food chain is one of the biggest names in American food, boasting over 650 locations and a cultural ubiquity that is understood by even those who haven't experienced it firsthand. But stepping out of its comfort zone can be a big challenge for any restaurant.

If 2025 had a flavor, it was whatever came in a bowl. Americans this year spent their lunch breaks shoveling in salads, burritos, and grain bowls, according to new data from Uber for Business. Consider this roundup your Slop Bowl Wrapped - the definitive look at what workers actually ate between Zooms, commutes, and creeping existential dread. Residents from more than half of the US ordered healthy bowls and salads more than anything else, Uber found.

John Vincent is going back to the future. Four years after selling Leon, the fast food chain named after his father and founded in 2004 with two friends, he has bought it back with hopes of reviving its fortunes. In a crisis you need a pilot in full control, the martial arts fan says, speaking to the Guardian from Leon's headquarters near London Bridge.

CAVA posted 19.9% revenue growth but missed EPS estimates by 7.7%, while Chipotle grew revenue 7.5% and met expectations despite margin pressure.

Born in Scotland and brought up in England, Ramsay is arguably the most famous British chef in the U.S. With dozens of restaurants around the globe, one of Ramsay's U.S. endeavors has been a fast-casual restaurant chain called Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips. Not to be confused with potato chips, British chips are what Americans consider french fries, and are often paired with battered white fish in the U.K.

But move over, Chick-fil-A and KFC, because there's another chicken joint on the block. It's Dave's Hot Chicken, a company that's exploded over the past few years. Chances are, if you're on foodie social media, you've seen a lot about the company. But whether you've tasted the chain's chicken yet or not, there's probably some things you still don't know about the brand.

Our seatbelts are (literally and proverbially) buckled for fairly low-quality food, but an experience that's more about low-cost and high-pleasure. At Panera Bread, however, comparatively higher price tags (think $10-$15 for a salad) suggest closer attention to "the little things." You get what you pay for...or, reason might suggest you should. In reality, a wave of apparent Panera employees is flooding Reddit to voice their dissatisfaction with one ingredient from the chain's kitchen - the chicken.

The burger was piping hot with perfectly melted cheese and all the promised toppings. I loved the flavorful addition of the secret Wahl Sauce, a condiment that adds a creamy convergence of tang and sweetness.