Nation's Restaurant News

3 days ago | nrn.com | Ron Ruggless

Tariffs will likely cost Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. $5 million in the fourth quarter, executives said Thursday. The Lebanon, Tenn.-based full-service dining company, which includes a retail store component, said it is negotiating with vendors in China and domestic vendors who source from China “to mitigate the tariff impacts,” Julie Masino, Cracker Barrel’s president and CEO, said in an analyst call Thursday for the May 2-ended third quarter.

3 days ago | nrn.com | Ron Ruggless

David Schmidt, president of Orlando, Fla.-based Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, has unveiled a new design package and updates for the 18-year-old concept’s offerings. Having just opened the 73rd restaurant in Dallas, a company market like Nashville, Tenn., the brighter colors and modified menu has become a hallmark of the Denny’s Corp. brand. “When I started in ’22,” Schmidt said, “one of the very first things that I did is I brought in I brought in a firm to help us.

4 days ago | nrn.com | Ron Ruggless

Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, the 73-unit daytime brand owned by Denny’s Corp., has been updating the look of its stores as it expands, the president says. David Schmidt, president of the Orlando, Fla.-based brand, said he started with the brand in 2022, when it had 54 units. “When I started in ’22,” Schmidt recalled, “one of the very first things that I did is I brought in I brought in a firm to help us.

4 days ago | nrn.com | Sam Oches

The pizza category had a tough year in 2024. According to Technomic’s Top 500, 61% of pizza chains experienced declining sales last year, including two of the four biggest chains: Pizza Hut (year-over-year sales down 0.5%) and Papa Johns (down 4%). Mountain Mike’s Pizza was one of the few bright spots. The California-based brand with more than 300 locations in 10 states enjoyed sales growth of 5% in 2024, while its unit count grew by 7%.

4 days ago | nrn.com | Ron Ruggless

Blaze Pizza has named Jaime Denney as chief operations officer, the company confirmed Tuesday. Atlanta-based Blaze said Denney joins the company with more than 25 years of leadership experience in restaurant operations. She succeeds Kevin Moran in the role. Most recently, Denney served as vice president of franchise operations at Omaha, Neb.-based Scooter’s Coffee, where she oversaw more than 840 franchised locations and $720 million in system sales.