Taco Bell revs up drive-thru AI deployment
Taco Bell is expanding AI-powered voice ordering in its drive-thrus through a partnership with Omilia, which already operates in nearly 900 U.S. restaurants, signaling continued industry momentum towa

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Taco Bell is expanding AI-powered voice ordering in its drive-thrus through a partnership with Omilia, which already operates in nearly 900 U.S. restaurants, signaling continued industry momentum towa

Domino's Pizza is expanding its presence in China.

Golden Chick is launching a new marketing campaign, loyalty program, and digital-first strategy to compete in the competitive chicken tender category.

Thanx has integrated its first-party ordering system directly into Square's POS platform, combining Thanx's ordering interface with Square's commerce infrastructure.

Jersey Mike's filed for a public listing on the NYSE under ticker JMKE, signaling confidence in the sandwich chain's business model and potentially unlocking capital for expansion or franchisee buyout

Audivi AI has released a new pricing model designed to make drive-thru automation more accessible to quick-service restaurant operators.
Pizza Ranch has selected NCR Voyix to manage restaurant operations across its system, signaling a shift toward modernizing point-of-sale and back-office infrastructure.
Despite access to unprecedented guest data, restaurants struggle to retain customers, suggesting that loyalty programs alone may not drive repeat visits without translating data into personalized expe

Nearly half of U.S. diners switched their favorite restaurant last year, up from 33 percent the prior year—a shift that signals growing customer volatility and potential vulnerability in restaurant lo
Nation's Restaurant News reports on restaurant industry headwinds including mass closures and job losses, alongside Jersey Mike's planned IPO and recent employment data.
Dutch Bros reports 74% rewards penetration among customers, with the company attributing boosted transactions and digital engagement to its loyalty program; the metric signals rewards programs' growin
Fast food chains are leveraging collectible cups and limited-edition merchandise to drive loyalty while menu prices have climbed significantly since 2019, signaling an industry strategy to offset cost
Wendy's is investing in digital sales, AI-powered ordering, and menu innovation to address weak customer traffic.
Starbucks' loyalty program, personalization features, and faster service are cited as drivers of higher store traffic and customer engagement.
Woof Gang Bakery, a pet-food-focused bakery brand, has secured private equity backing from Great Hill Partners.
Restaurants are treating in-store audio as a trackable engagement channel alongside other customer touchpoints like loyalty programs and mobile apps, signaling a shift toward measuring and optimizing
Inspira has provided ₹1,800 crore in credit financing to fuel a Burger King India acquisition, signaling continued consolidation activity in the Indian QSR market.
Eric Knott, who scaled PDQ as COO before becoming CEO of Kansas City-based Tiki Taco, joined Restaurant Tech Trends to discuss growth discipline learned from both successes and failures.
Quick-service restaurants are receiving a higher share of citations in AI search results compared to fast-casual chains.
Ben Leventhal's Blackbird Labs tackles independent-restaurant invisibility and profitability through frequency-driven loyalty — a template applicable to multi-unit brands rethinking guest retention.
Jollibee launched new chicken nuggets, a move the market views as potentially supporting its U.S. IPO ambitions and franchised expansion plans.

Birdcall is pursuing Midwest expansion supported by technology and real estate capabilities.
Labor scheduling is moving to AI — the trade headline signals cost pressure and tech adoption spreading across QSR.
Restaurant operators are adopting voice AI technology to capture phone call data as a way to recognize and engage customers across locations, suggesting the phone channel may become a key loyalty and

Domino's is expanding its global presence while prioritizing digital ordering channels.
Pizza Hut partnered with SMG to consolidate customer feedback from surveys, reviews, and delivery platforms into a unified system, signaling the industry's shift toward integrated customer experience

Fuzzy's Taco Shop is running a summer promotion through August 30 featuring limited-time menu items, rewards offers, and events designed to drive repeat visits and engagement during peak season.

Restaurant technology adoption remains a critical challenge; even sophisticated software fails to deliver value without consistent team engagement, according to a discussion with Decision Logic's CEO
GoTab has acquired Fishbowl, a guest marketing and loyalty platform, to expand its restaurant commerce ecosystem that includes POS, ordering, payments, and mobile solutions.
Liberty Mutual provided $320 million in financing to inKind, a platform designed to help restaurants access capital for expansion, renovations, and operational needs.
Skyline Essentials launched SkAI, an AI forecasting platform designed to help independent and multi-unit restaurant operators predict revenue and labor costs—capabilities historically available mainly

MarginEdge added real-time cost management, AI forecasting, and back-office automation capabilities to its platform.
Domino's is distributing $1 million in rewards to loyalty members following a penalty card issued to U.S. soccer player Folarin Balogun during a World Cup match, triggering a promotional commitment th
Restaurant brands are increasingly centering their apps around loyalty programs, personalization, and direct customer engagement rather than just order-ahead convenience, signaling a shift toward usin
Social-first growth playbook — organic content scaled The Taco Spot to 400-unit pipeline, showing how brands can use owned channels to accelerate franchising velocity.

MashMore Potato introduced an AI operating system it says is reducing management workload at its Albany location; the company frames this as a step toward making its model more scalable and software-d
Restaurants are increasingly treating catering as a dedicated sales channel rather than an ad-hoc service, suggesting a shift toward more systematic catering operations and revenue capture.

Commerce media platforms struggle with measuring ad impact due to probabilistic attribution and modeled incrementality, but in-store data offers a potential solution to verify whether digital ads tran

Bojangles attributed business growth to drive-thru improvements enabled by AI and operational insights focused on consistency.

ezCater is positioning its platform to help restaurants access workplace catering demand through enhanced connectivity features.
Operators who share physical space face pressure to align menus across brands, raising operational and brand-consistency questions.
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation partnered with American Express and Resy to launch a free leadership development program featuring James Beard Award-winning restaurateurs as

A report indicates quick-service restaurants are receiving higher citation shares than fast-casual chains in AI search results.
A podcast episode explores how restaurants can use guest recognition and personalization technology to improve customer loyalty, addressing what the source frames as widespread guest retention challen
Edgy marketing campaigns produce mixed results across brands like Liquid Death, Pepsi, Burger King, and Starbucks South Korea, with experts attributing outcomes to whether a brand has built sufficient
Home Depot expanded its pro loyalty program to include 7-Eleven and Jimmy John's as partners, with offerings refreshed quarterly across lifestyle and business categories.

Resy faces criticism over its reservation platform interface, signaling potential friction in how diners book at restaurants and suggesting the market may be opening to alternatives.

A Toast survey of 1,466 U.S. adults found that 64% of guests discovered new restaurants in 2025, suggesting diners are increasingly balancing exploration with loyalty to established favorites.
Peter Piper Pizza is testing a redesigned prototype location in Mesquite, Texas that combines its longstanding family appeal with modern digital features and expanded adult amenities, signaling an eff

Palmer Digital Group has launched a dual-concept fast casual restaurant chain under the Canopy brand.