Fast-casual Just Salad has joined with Grubhub to roll out Housemade, a meal kit delivery service that doesn't require a subscription. The Housemade menu, available from all 44 Just Salad restaurants, includes 10 different meal kit options that are packed to order and can be cooked in one pot in about 15 minutes.
Related Summaries
Florida-based quickserve chain Checkers Drive-In Restaurants received a $20 million investment from owner Oak Hill Capital Partners to fund 2021 growth plans. The chain, which operates 836 Checker's and Rally's units, reversed a sales slump last year and now has 40 new franchisees and 72 new units in the works.
The most recent federal coronavirus aid package passed by Congress was necessary to help restaurants stay afloat this winter, but it's only a start on what's needed to revive the industry, National Restaurant Association Chair Brian Casey writes. "When you add up all the pieces of the bill that benefit restaurants, a framework emerges that will help sustain the industry while we continue to advocate for the Senate version of the RESTAURANTS Act[, which] provides relief for every restaurant business model -- from regional chains, to small franchise owners, to beloved independents," writes Casey, who owns two restaurants in Rhode Island and has served on the Association's board for 12 years.
Major Burger King franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group is shifting back into acquisition mode after hitting pause for much of 2020, CEO Dan Accordino said at a conference Monday. Carrols' portfolio has grown to include 1,000 Burger King units and 65 Popeyes restaurants, largely through acquisitions, and in the future it expects to expand through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth, Accordino said.
Starbucks will create a $100 million fund to back small businesses and community development efforts in 12 US cities with large populations of Black people, Indigenous people and other people of color, the company announced today. The Community Resilience Fund is the latest move in the company's ongoing efforts to promote racial and social equity.
Chefs' predictions for next year's hot food trends also include culinary bubbles likely to burst in 2018, according to the National Restaurant Association's annual What's Hot report. As house-made condiments and new cuts of meat soar in popularity, house-made charcuterie, meal kits, pumpkin spice flavoring, jarred salads and other once-hot trends are on track to cool down, according to the survey of around 700 chefs.