It used to be when folks dined out they mostly ordered the more fattening, fried foods available to them, heavy on the sauces and pretty big and beefy. That’s not the case for customers of Palo Alto, Calif.-based contract foodservice...

Consumer choice and healthy balance are two trend areas that go hand in hand at Noodles & Company, a “globally inspired” fast-casual chain. Rather than focus on the cuisine of a specific country, the Broomfield, Colo.-based chain has found success...

Zach Calkins, who joined the Quiznos Sub chain after many years as a fine-dining chef, has a keen eye for the way food trends trickle down, and he’s confident he can take advantage of the phenomenon.He looks for an ingredient or dish that is all...

Eating on the road before automobile cup holders became ubiquitous could be a messy proposition, with drinks spilling from the dashboard and sandwich contents squishing out from the sides of the bread. Now it’s not only beverages that are...

Qdoba Mexican Grill takes a different approach to its business from its fellow Denver-based fast-casual burrito chain, Chipotle Mexican Grill. Chipotle restaurants are all company-owned. Qdoba, whose management has been known to...

Air travel, buffeted by an unprecedented number of flight delays and cancellations, has become more nerve-wracking except among one particular flight-dependent contingent: the airport foodservice operators who are crediting sales increases of up...

Pittsburgh is not known for setting culinary trends, but some restaurant operators in the area are well ahead of the curve. Eat’n Park, a 79-unit family-dining chain based there, rolled out espresso machines in 2003, shortly after improving the...

In the foodservice industry, there usually is no chicken-or-the-egg question of what comes first between a successful restaurant concept and the complex operating model that grows it to a national chain and sustains its market share. Typically...

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