First Bite Nation's Restaurant News

TikToker “MiriTheSiren” was known for posting her creative Chick-fil-A meals, videos that were meant to inspire consumers to think of innovative ways to eat fast food. The TikToker, whose real name is Miri, was a Chick-fil-A employee, sharing how she mixed items at the store for her free meal every day.
Quickly, Miri gained a following with her videos going viral, garnering tens of millions of views on her videos between January and April of this year. But Chick-fil-A wasn’t happy.
The Atlanta-based chicken chain made Miri stop posting videos because they violated the employee handbook, as she explained, and the company would not be making an exception for her or collaborating on any future posts.
“People do that stuff as it’s convenient, and they back-burner more often,” said Lena Katz, lead, creator-integrated services at Ampersand (AOI-Pro). “Once one side begins to feel exploited, the relationship sours or ends.”

Los Angeles-based Sweetgreen is besting many of its restaurant competitors in the first quarter. The fast-casual chain reported 5% same-store sales increases and a 26% revenue increase year-over-year.
Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman stated that while January was tough with weather, the benefit of two holidays in the first quarter was a boon to business.
The quarter, ended March 31, saw most of its success from 41 net new store openings over the past year, resulting in $21.1 million in additional revenue.
CFO Mitch Reback mentioned that Sweetgreen was impacted by AB1228, increasing wages in late February. While it’s too early to see the full results, he said, the brand has made some adjustments.

Papa Johns’ customers are spending less than they had previously, and when they do spend money on pizza, they are more likely to choose third-party aggregators over the company’s first-party delivery channels. This shift in mix balance was a primary driver behind the Atlanta-based pizza chain’s 2% decline in North America same-store sales, as well as revenue and overall sales deflation for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.  
Sales from aggregator channels have grown to 16% this quarter, as compared with 12% the same quarter of 2023, meanwhile organic delivery has declined year-over-year, while carryout remains flat. This highlights the quandary operators face when utilizing third-party apps: they are crucial to pull in new and non-regular customers, but operators lose revenue from these transactions.  

Dine Brands’ first quarter results included same-store sales declines at both Applebee’s (-4.6%) and, for the first time in 11 quarters, IHOP (-1.7%), highlighting a continuing narrative across the industry about increasing consumer sensitivity. Despite a few exceptions, that narrative has impacted concepts across segments, from McDonald’s and KFC to First Watch and Starbucks.

At a time when many restaurant companies are struggling to get customers in the door, Dutch Bros is one of the better success stories for the first quarter of 2024. In Q1, the Oregon-based coffee chain saw 10% same-store sales growth, attributable mostly to menu pricing increases, discounting, and positive traffic trends.
Traffic will likely continue an upward growth trajectory after Dutch Bros starts accepting mobile order and pay, which the company will begin offering for the first time by the end of 2024, in partnership with Olo. The new partnership and mobile order and pay solution is currently in test mode at seven locations, and is meant to boost operational efficiency, especially for guests that want to cut down on wait times at the drive-thru lane.

During the first quarter of 2024, FAT Brands continued its journey toward profitability and revenue growth through continued acquisition and physical expansion. The company reported skyrocketing revenues of 43.8%, primarily attributable to the acquisition of Smokey Bones in Sept. 2023.
Despite a growing portfolio — which has expanded tenfold in three years — FAT Brands continues to struggle with profitability as the company reported a net loss of $38.3 million, attributable to increased costs and expenses associated with multiple brand acquisitions over the past several years, including Fazoli’s and Nestle Toll House Café in May 2022. FAT Brands chairman of the board, Andy Weiderhorn, noted that the upcoming (though seemingly delayed) Twin Peaks IPO would be used to tamp down the company’s debt to income ratio.