Special Reports

How We Got Here: 1960s

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 19, 2019

The restaurant industry faced a critical challenge when President John F. Kennedy posed a hike in the federal minimum wage as a patriotic way of combating poverty and a growing disparity in incomes.

Special Reports

How We Got Here: 1990s

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 19, 2019

When war broke out with Iraq over its invasion of Kuwait, U.S. restaurants braced for a downturn in traffic.

Special Reports

Concepts gone but not forgotten

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 19, 2019

Bold attempts to disrupt the business often fizzled, but not before influencing the industry’s direction.

Special Reports

How the state and national restaurant associations dovetail

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 19, 2019

As the entities continue to work together to support the industry, a formal document sets out the rules of interaction.

Special Reports

Confessions of a time traveler

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 19, 2019

Here's what Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo learned trekking through 100 years of the restaurant industry.

Special Reports

There from the beginning

By Sara Rush Wirth on Feb. 19, 2019

A deep dive into the industry’s history sheds light on where we’re going.

Special Reports

The eruption of World War II brought shortages of food, equipment and labor—precisely as demand for meals prepared outside the home soared to 60 million meals per day, triple the prewar level. Some es...

Special Reports

How We Got Here: 1970s

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 19, 2019

The decade kicked off with an industrywide promotional campaign that would live on for years and whose tagline would ultimately be “borrowed” by the city of Chicago for its tourism promotion efforts: “We’re Glad You’re Here.”

Special Reports