Chipotle Mexican Grill will open its first to-go only restaurant, known as the Chipotle Digital Kitchen. Opening November 14 outside Highland Falls, N.Y., the futuristic outlet will operate for pick-up orders and delivery only. With digital sales accounting for nearly half of the Newport Beach, Calif. chain’s sales, a pre-order, no prep-line restaurant makes sense.
Curry Up Now will expand to Texas a result of a new six-unit development agreement. New restaurants will arrive in the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth markets starting next year. In addition, the Indian fast-casual chain will introduce its Mortar & Pestle craft cocktail bar with several of these openings.
Antibiotic and hormone-free chicken-wing concept Atomic Wings will open a relocated location at 980 Second Avenue, New York City in November. This is a relocated storefront restaurant that replaces a commissary kitchen shop on 49th Street. A multi-unit franchise partner, Fahad Samad, will operate the new unit.
Playa Bowls opened its milestone 100th location in Darien, Connecticut. The store is the acai-bowl shop chain’s third in the state. Local franchise partners, Steve Dimovski and Jarrod Jackette, will operate the Darien Playa Bowls store.
A new, Green Chile Brisket debuted at Taco Cabana locations. Green Chile marks the return of brisket to Taco Cabana’s menu. This year, the restaurant chain has been doubling down on menu introductions and LTOs (limited-time offers) to attract new customers and keep its fan base coming back.
Affiliates of Atlanta-based Roark Capital, a private equity group focused on retail and foodservice franchise brands, has sold the Corner Bakery cafe chain to Pandya Restaurant Group. Roark Capital acquired the then-119-unit chain, and its parent Il Fornaio, in 2011.
The chicken sandwich wars appear to be endless as Zaxby’s Signature Sandwich debuts for a limited time. The Athens, Ga.-based fast-casual chain launched its own fried chicken sandwich, hoping to extend the battle and mark its own place in the coveted competition. Wendy’s, Church’s Chicken and now Zaxby’s have become the latest limited-service chains to upgrade or release their own version of the fried chicken staple, now a prized item on many menus.
Fat Brands, the parent of Fatburger and several other high-profile fast-casual and casual-dining chains, opened a new ghost kitchen in Dallas, Texas in partnership with franchise partner Croft Ventures. Out of the new kitchen, customers will order to go from Fat Brands’ restaurant concepts Fatburger, Buffalo’s Express and Hurricane Grill & Wings. Fat Brands will add Yalla Mediterranean to the mix in the coming months.
Chipotle Mexican Grill once again produced impressive third-quarter sales results, with comp(arable) sales increasing 8.3 percent. Total revenue jumped 14.1 percent compared to last year and resulted in $1,601.4M on the top line. Amid a health crisis that for many has correlated convenience with safety, digital sales increased 202.5 percent to $776.4M. Chipotle executives expect digital sales to reach $2.5B this year, putting average unit volume of store-level digital sales at the $1M mark.
Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe has partnered with the Dairy Alliance to launch a new 3-Cheese Mac and Cheese. The fast-casual chain’s work with the Dairy Alliance promotes dairy intake among American families, according to an announcement.
