The FTC and city regulators are taking apart the hidden-fee model just as guests rethink how often they order through the apps. Our new member report looks at what’s coming in 2027, which brands are most exposed, and five moves operators should make now.
Track the brands gaining momentum, understand what consumers truly value and identify growth opportunities across more than 23,000 emerging restaurant concepts.
The FTC and city regulators are taking apart the hidden-fee model just as guests rethink how often they order through the apps. Our new member report looks at what’s coming in 2027, which brands are most exposed, and five moves operators should make now.
Every restaurant chain says it's "doing AI." Ten are actually running it at scale. Savor AI 50 research tracked 77 restaurant brands with sourced AI deployments, and 39 of them use AI to take drive-thru or phone orders. But the brands that made the Best Brand AI finalist list didn't stop at the speaker post. They put AI in the headset, the kitchen, the hiring funnel, the kiosk and the reservation line. Meet the 10 finalists for Best Brand AI in the Savor AI 50: The 2026 Restaurant AI Awards. Winners are revealed Dec. 1.
Traffic is the only number that matters now. McDonald’s lost guests, Wendy’s lost more, and Starbucks and Burger King proved you can win visits without winning the price war.
Is fast casual becoming QSR? This fall the evidence says the kitchen is. Raising Cane’s is opening 12 restaurants in one month on a single focused menu, Dillas Quesadillas cut its lineup and said it would “lean hard into QSR+,” and Chipotle is winning traffic back with faster equipment and drive-up lanes. But speed has a price, and fast casual could lose the quality, premium and hospitality that made it. Members get the full answer, what operators should copy and what they should protect, plus this week’s Savor Brand Price Watch.
Cava and Sweetgreen sell to the same guest: young, urban, health-minded and digital. This year they're living in different worlds. Cava grew same-restaurant sales 9% last quarter on 5.3% traffic growth and is opening a restaurant roughly every five days. Sweetgreen's comps fell 6.2%, it now expects to lose money on an adjusted EBITDA basis this year, and it's rebuilding around cheaper wraps and faster lines. The gap has little to do with salads versus Mediterranean. It comes down to value, pricing discipline and execution. Members get the full breakdown ahead of Cava's Nov. 4 report, plus this week's Savor Brand Price Watch.
The restaurant business is getting new owners at every layer. DoorDash is buying Instacart for about $17 billion, Trian and Wendy's biggest franchisee want to take Wendy's private, and Chipotle now runs a third of its sales through loyalty. The message for operators is the same at every level: whoever holds the guest relationship sets the terms. The marketplaces are consolidating, and the brands growing traffic are the ones pulling guests into their own app, their own rewards and their own marketing voice. Members get the full playbook and this week's Savor Brand Price Watch.
One company may soon control most of the money Americans spend on restaurant and grocery delivery. DoorDash is in advanced talks to buy Instacart for about $17 billion, and a deal could land as soon as Wednesday. Meanwhile, McDonald's, Chipotle and Fogo de Chão are all launching November value plays within days of each other, beef supply is getting tighter, and Sweetgreen just set a new pay benchmark for general managers. The lesson for operators: use the delivery companies' couriers, but keep the customer relationship for yourself. Members get the full breakdown.
Who sets your menu price? This week the answer split three ways. A second lawsuit over McDonald's AI-assisted pricing now names Deloitte, while a three-unit franchisee says ChatGPT cut his repricing work from five days to two hours. Walmart is delivering Subway at in-store prices, Pizza Hut's new filing shows 275 U.S. franchised closures this year, and tariffs are pushing some imported cheese past $60 a pound. The lesson: pricing power now belongs to whoever owns the data and the channel. Members get the full breakdown.
Guests aren't just spending less. They're showing up less, and the reason surprised us: in William Blair's latest survey, "inconvenient" beat "too expensive." That changes the playbook. Fast food's discount war is winding down in favor of better food, bankrupt operators are turning into bargain deal flow, and Olo's new app, systemwide drive-thru voice AI and loyalty programs are all fighting over the same thing: who owns the guest's next order. Members get the full breakdown.
