It would be “an absolute home run,” Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said. As markets reopen, can restaurants retain digital business souped-up by COVID-19? How much of that necessity-fueled growth will stick? Niccol, speaking Tuesday during the virtual Evercore ISI Virtual… Read More

Popeyes’ chicken sandwich has already secured its place in fast-food lore. About the only time it lost steam since debuting in August was the second half of March, when hardly any customers frequented restaurants, for any occasion. Even then, Popeyes’… Read More

Dick’s Sporting Goods on Tuesday announced the launch of two new store concepts, Overtime by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Dick’s Sporting Goods Warehouse, according to a company press release. Both concepts are centered in the clearance space. Overtime offers up… Read More

Chili’s customers will notice some big changes to the chain’s reopened dining rooms, like fewer seats at the bar, crossed-out benches in the lobby and disinfecting stations on unavailable tables. The modifications aren’t scaring away consumers. The casual-dining chain’s same-store… Read More

Within the next year and a half, Starbucks will look materially different. Drive thrus, Pickup stores, walk-up windows, and curbside-enabled locations. All thanks to a retail world that has shifted dramatically in light of COVID-19. It’s also a bet on… Read More

Before mid-March, when COVID-19 began its assault on restaurant sales, the industry was tracking toward a fate akin to retail. From 1970–2015, malls boomed at twice the rate of the population. The eventual outcome—a landscape with too much retail and… Read More

Retail sales rose 17.7% in May from the previous month, well above the 8% forecast. Total sales and sales excluding autos set records. Stocks jumped on the news. Retail sales shattered already-lofty expectations for May as consumers freed from the… Read More

Despite last week’s blockbuster jobs report, the Federal Reserve is showing no letup as it continues to respond aggressively to economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic that could linger for years. The Fed on Wednesday held its key interest rate… Read More

For nearly five decades, Nation’s Restaurant News has tracked the performance of the industry’s largest chains through its annual Top 200 research. And in most of those years, the data, which reflects the chains’ most recently completed fiscal year, revealed… Read More

Dollar Tree plans to ride a wave of pandemic-related sales momentum into a second quarter opportunity that the company is uniquely positioned to leverage. The deep discounter says it plans to restart renovation projects and other strategic growth initiatives in… Read More