earnings

Olive Garden hints at end of Never-Ending Pasta Bowl

By Joe Guszkowski on Dec. 17, 2021

Executives said the popular promotion had negative impacts—and it did just fine without it this year.

Vaccine mandates, fewer private parties bring slowing sales for Dave & Buster’s

By Heather Lalley on Dec. 08, 2021

The food-and-games chain said it saw same-store sales dip in Q3 in markets that required patrons to be vaccinated and that its special events business remains far from 2019 levels.

Financing

Cracker Barrel gets back to pre-COVID form—sort of

By Joe Guszkowski on Nov. 23, 2021

The chain’s same-store sales are back to status quo thanks to better staffing. But the underlying business looks a bit different.

Financing

Jack in the Box turns to technology and training to ease its labor shortage

By Jonathan Maze on Nov. 23, 2021

With sales hurt from a lack of workers, the burger chain is turning to a variety of strategies to keep workers, including automated shake machines and mobile applications.

Operations

Cracker Barrel has high hopes for its delivery business

By Joe Guszkowski on Nov. 23, 2021

The chain expects its virtual brands and ghost kitchens to generate incremental sales, though it’s still too early to tell just how well they’ll do.

Financing

Supply chain and labor issues hurt Jack in the Box sales

By Jonathan Maze on Nov. 23, 2021

The burger chain estimates that closing hours and problems getting products hurt same-store sales by 4% last quarter.

Premium

Financing

Sweetgreen has a strong IPO. Now what?

By Jonathan Maze on Nov. 19, 2021

The Bottom Line: The salad chain’s market debut was one of the year’s best in the industry. But skepticism about its long-term prospects remains.

Financing

Newly public Portillo’s feels the margin squeeze

By Heather Lalley on Nov. 18, 2021

The fast-casual chain’s margins dropped more than four percentage points over last year due to higher labor and commodity costs. But the company said its new restaurants are far exceeding expectations.

Financing