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Nation's Restaurant News
The top 25 stories of 2017
Dec 05, 2017

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1 25

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25. Exclusive: Chipotle closing ShopHouse chain

The company has sold leases on the 15-unit Asian chain. 

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24. Applebee’s to close up to 135 locations
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar

The news followed a 6.2% dip in same-store-sales.

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23. The sad decline of Macaroni Grill

Problems have plagued the chain's many owners in a decade-long flameout that ended up in bankruptcy court.

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22. My Fit Foods closes all locations
Ron Ruggless

The health-focused chain began closing units last year.

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21. Restaurants put the brakes on growth

Chains were slowing growth and cutting units in 2017 amid weak sales and traffic.

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20. 5 chains facing a tough year in 2017
Pie Five

Weak traffic and limited pricing power made things difficult for several concepts.

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19. Why Subway is shrinking

Overaggressive expansion and brand problems hurt sales.

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18. Cheryl Bachelder to step down at Popeyes

The CEO left after the sale to Restaurant Brands International was complete. 

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17. The re-colonelization of KFC

Read the inside story of how the return of Colonel Sanders’ values brought KFC back to life.

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16. Golden Corral rolls out brunch systemwide
Golden Corral

Tests of the new daypart improved sales, traffic and profit. 

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15. Pie Five closes 9 restaurants amid lawsuit

A franchisee sued over disclosures regarding sales and profits. 

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14. Goodbye Ruby Tuesday?

Buyers will be there, thanks to the chain's real estate.

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13. The 3 chains for sale, and 4 that could be next

With five big restaurant deals already in the books for 2017, here’s who could have been next. 

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12. Papa John’s sales sacked by NFL ratings plunge
Ildar Sagdejev

Published reports listed the pizza chain among NFL sponsors complaining to the league about viewership decline.

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11. 15 food and beverage trends to expect in 2018
Liz Clayman

Andrew Freeman & Company says to expect more regional Mexican and Chinese and less waste.

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10. Private-equity group buys Bob Evans Restaurants for $565M

The restaurant division was sold to Golden Gate Capital.

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9. McDonald’s bets on fresh beef to order

The chain believed it could improve its reputation and sales with better burgers.

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8. JAB Holding to buy Panera Bread for $7.5B
Panera Bread

The acquisition continued the investment fund’s restaurant chain stockpile.

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7. Applebee’s sales decline pushes out Julia Stewart

The long-tenured executive was undone by persistent woes at the casual-dining chain.

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6. Fertitta wins Ignite bankruptcy auction

A judge ruled on the deal for Joe’s Crab Shack and Brick House parent.

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5. Dunkin’ Donuts takes shorter name for test drive
Getty Images

The company said the Dunkin’ only branding would reinforce a beverage-led image.

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4. Teen ignites Twitter storm with Wendy’s chicken nugget request
Wendy’s

The chain and celebrities Ellen DeGeneres, Bradley Cooper and more got in on the #NuggsForCarter retweet challenge.

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3. Bloomin’ Brands closes 43 restaurants

The closures came as same-store sales at three of its brands fell.

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2. 2017 Top 100: Top 10 fastest-growing chains

This is part of the Nation’s Restaurant News annual Top 100 report, a proprietary ranking of the foodservice industry’s largest restaurant chains and parent companies.

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1. McDonald’s introduces fry-fork utensil with new sandwiches
McDonald's

The marketing for the Signature Crafted Recipes line included an infomercial starring the “frork.” 

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