News Briefs

Checkers & Rally's merges fun and food in a way never before tasted with its new "Rule the Drive-Thru" weekly game show. The show, which debuts today, surprises unsuspecting drive-thru guests with fry-filled activities and prizes sure to satisfy even the deepest of cravings. 

The Trail Blazer Leading AI in the Drive-Thru at Checkers and Rally’s

This show has all the flavor and seasoning of Checkers & Rally's most craveable burgers, fries and sides – real guests spontaneously heading into the drive-thru lane who work up a true appetite playing a vast array of interactive, quirky activities, including Carpool Car-aoke, Fast Food Trivia, Load Your Ride (with life-sized fries), Paint with Ketchup & Mustard and many more.

"Our guests know the strong value proposition of all craveable items at Checkers & Rally's, and now we can further add to that with the high entertainment value of our never-seen-before 'Rule the Drive-Thru' show in a really playful and energizing way," said Kelley O'Brien, Social Media Director at Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. "Once you jump into the driver's seat and check out new episodes of our show each week exclusively on our social channels, you'll never see any drive-thru the same, all for the better! And who knows what will happen when you next pull up to our window."

To follow the action, check out Checker's & Rally's on Instagram and TikTok.

QSR Automations earned recognition for excellence in customer service and support.

At MURTEC, QSR Automations’ VP of Hardware Solutions and Support, Kathi Klein, received fHospitality Technology ’s 2023 Top Women in Technology Lifetime Achievement Award. 

During her more than 30 years in the restaurant technology industry – half of those at QSR Automations–Klein has amassed incomparable knowledge in understanding and troubleshooting kitchen display, front-of-house, and the associated hardware and networking platforms needed to run them. 

But what truly sets Klein apart is her natural ability to nurture relationships and foster talent, which has made her an effective leader in QSR Automations’ Support Services Team. During her long tenure at QSR Automations, Klein has built one of the industry’s strongest and most effective support teams. In fact, under Klein’s guidance, the team has received a 99 percent satisfaction rate from customers in 2021, and last year handled more than 16,000 inbound and outbound calls, which earned them a bronze award for Excellence in Customer Service from the 2022 Stevie Awards. 

This was the third bronze Stevie award for the team, as last fall, Klein accepted two additional bronze awards from the Stevie Women in Business Awards on behalf of QSR Automations–one for excellence in customer service, and the other for growth. QSR Automations was selected for these honors from more than 1,500 nominations from around the world.

“Just as our technology is the heart of a restaurant kitchen, our people are truly the heart of this business,” said Angela Leet, CEO of QSR Automations. “My colleagues are passionate about innovation both in and out of the office, and it’s immensely gratifying to see them recognized for these achievements.”

QSR Automations, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., with offices in the United Kingdom, is a global industry leader in kitchen automation and guest management services.

Up and coming QSR  Salad and Go  is expanding in Texas with three new locations opening in February in the Houston markets of Katy, Richmond and League City.

The Katy store located opened February 1, the Richmond location at  is set to open February 17, and the League City store plans to open its doors on February 22. These new locations will mark the start of rapid brand expansion across the Greater Houston area.

These suburbs were strategically selected as ideal markets for Salad and Go as some of the fastest growing communities in the region. Conveniently located in some of Houston's most popular suburbs, the new locations will provide fresh, high-quality meals with quick and easy convenience at an affordable price.

As Salad and Go continues growing its national presence with a strong focus on Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nevada, the brand's expansive growth has it on a positive trajectory to provide fresh and affordable food to communities in more than 125 locations by the end of 2023. Houston is the next step in the brand's expansion across Texas with plans to open additional stores in the market throughout the new year.

Salad and Go's chef-curated menu provides guests with food for any time of the day by offering a variety of delicious and healthy items including salads, wraps, breakfast burritos and soup as well as beverages including hand-crafted lemonades, teas and cold brew coffees.

Salad and Go ensures each meal contains fresh, quality ingredients while keeping prices low by vertically integrating operations and distribution, and sourcing ingredients directly from high-quality local farmers and suppliers whenever possible. The brand's mission to make fresh, nutritious food convenient and affordable for ALL extends beyond its stores and is demonstrated in the work the brand does to donate 4,000 meals every week to those in need, as well as in partnerships with nonprofits to support and fundraise for various worthy causes.

Focus Brands says dual branding is the future of QSR, and the parent company of Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s, is leading the charge. Today, the Focus Brands portfolio boasts 175-plus open dual branded units with at least 65 more in various stages of development across the country. 

Drive-Thru Convenience

The Focus Brands portfolio brands have signed agreements to open more than 50 dual and tri-brand locations in the coming year, many of which include drive-thrus for added convenience as interest in dual branded franchise opportunities continues to surge.

Flexible Store Formats

Focus Brands is among the brands introducing new store formats, including Krystal, Jack-in-the-Box and Panera Bread, which opened its Panera To Go, solely offering Rapid Pick-Up and Delivery shelves where guests and delivery drivers can easily pick up orders.  

Focus Brands has long pioneered the concept of dual branding, predominately in malls and non-traditional locations with Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon. Now, the company’s portfolio brands have found new opportunities with streetside dual branded units, which is paving the way for immense franchise growth. 

“Dual branding is the future of our brands, especially on the specialty side of the business,” said Brian Krause, Chief Development Officer at Focus Brands. “There will always be a place in malls, but there is an immense amount of growth opportunity in streetside venues, and, by dual branding, there is more opportunity for enhanced revenue.”

The company invested heavily in consumer research to identify how to create combinations of its iconic brands to resonate with consumers and meet them where they want to be met.

Focus Brands has identified four dual-brand concepts:

• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon
• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon/Carvel
• Auntie Anne’s/Jamba
• Cinnabon/Carvel – Cinnabon Swirl. 

While key consumer benefits vary by dual-brand combination, one consistent benefit has been convenience. Having these brands together in one location makes them far more accessible than they are individually. This convenience also creates opportunity for franchisees, as co-branding leads to an expansive menu that drives enhanced unit-level volume. 

 

Jersey Mike’s Subs and customers across the country rallied to raise a record-breaking $21 million to help more than 200 local charities during the company’s 13^th Annual Month of Giving in March. 

Jersey Mike’s locations nationwide accepted donations throughout the month, building to the company’s Day of Giving on March 29, when nearly 2,500 restaurants donated 100 percent of sales, not just profits, to local charities including hospitals, youth organizations, food banks and more.

“We were humbled to see how our customers came out in droves to support their local charities on Day of Giving,” said Caroline Jones, Senior Vice President, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, Inc., and daughter of Founder Peter Cancro. “Day of Giving is our busiest day, and we look forward to it all year. Thank you to our customers, franchise owners, team members and charity partners for making a difference!”

This fundraising total exceeds the $20 million raised during last year’s campaign. Since Month of Giving began in 2011, Jersey Mike’s has raised more than $88 million for local charities. (View/download b-roll)

“Giving…making a difference in someone’s life” has been the mission of Jersey Mike’s from the beginning. 

For totals raised on behalf of more than 200 charities nationwide, please visit our listing of charities by state.

The luxury travel market size is expected to grow considerably between 2022 and 2029. A recent article in Forbes indicates luxury travelers are trending toward longer lengths of stay, higher average orders and increases in the booking window.

To fulfill guest expectations and provide an exceptional experience across the entire guest journey, the Goldwynn Resort & Residences, an 81-room oceanfront lifestyle resort on Cable Beach in Nassau, Bahamas, has invested in hospitality technology needed to deliver the kind of upscale, seaside experience guests and residents are looking for in a destination resort. The company sought a vendor partner who could provide the right property management system (PMS) and point-of-sale (POS) technology, along with solutions for its condominium concept.

This boutique property which opened February 2023, chose award-winning PMS and POS solutions which are part of the Agilysys Hospitality Cloud^™. Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS) is a leading global provider of next-generation SaaS hospitality software solutions and services that empower hospitality operators like Goldwynn Resort & Residences to optimize Return on Experience (ROE) for guests and staff to achieve High Return Hospitality. ROE measures how technology creates more engaged and empowered staff members as well as guests who return more often, spend more and leave stronger reviews.

After seeing how intuitive and easy-to-use Agilysys PMS was for their staff, the company also selected the recent POS InfoGenesis system version from Agilysys, which combines highly interactive terminal and tablet touchscreen applications supporting Windows, Android and iOS devices. Its robust reporting and analysis features, extensive enterprise-grade menu and item configuration capabilities and multi-language support help drive service flexibility and increase operational efficiency. The result is improved food & beverage (F&B) operations and increased revenue across venues.

Goldwynn Resort & Residences also chose Agilysys’ commission-free, direct-channel, easy-to-use reservation system that helps move guests effortlessly through the booking process.

Goldwynn Resort & Residences provides guests and residents a sleek, private sanctuary, fine dining and lounges, an infinity pool, a full-service spa, a state-of-the-art fitness center and personalized, attentive butler service. The property offers studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom suites with golf course or ocean views – a haven that allows guests and owners to unwind, rejuvenate, relax and rediscover their passions.

"A successful, well-known luxury casino resort in the Bahamas already using Agilysys hospitality solutions was one of the determining factors in our search for the best technology for Goldwynn Resort & Residences,” said the property’s COO, Donald Adam. “We chose Agilysys because of its reputation in the hospitality industry for providing properties with modern, easy-to-use solutions that have already helped staff with advanced sales prior to opening and will enable owner and occupancy rotation and balanced ownership bookings. Agilysys will be key to us delivering end-to-end High Return Hospitality.”

"On an island dotted with iconic resorts, the newest luxury property in the Bahamas knows it must set the bar high for guest and staff experiences since every touchpoint creates a champion or a critic – with guest, owners and staff,” said Jeba Kingsley, Vice President, Professional Services at Agilysys. "Doing so enables Goldwynn Resort & Residences to spend more time with guests and offer more personalized and profitable experiences. We are proud of this project and are looking forward to partner with such an incredible organization."