Summer 2026 Restaurant Labor Law Updates
Stay compliant with key restaurant labor regulations in Summer 2026, including minimum wage increases, scheduling laws, and retirement requirements.
Jul 24, 2026
Stay compliant with key restaurant labor regulations in Summer 2026, including minimum wage increases, scheduling laws, and retirement requirements.
Jul 24, 2026
Discover how restaurant apps help owners manage labor, payroll, inventory, food safety, reporting, and back-office operations more efficiently every day.
Jul 24, 2026
Cicis Pizza’s systemwide sales have surged over 50%, fueled by digital innovation, modern operations, and a revamped franchise strategy. Learn what restaurant owners can take away from Cicis’ transformation.
Jul 24, 2026
Fogo de Chão has announced Daniel Duran as its new CFO, marking a strategic leadership transition designed to enhance global growth and financial innovation for the renowned restaurant brand.
Jul 24, 2026
Learn how to calculate, benchmark, track, and improve restaurant payroll percentage while balancing staffing costs, sales, service, and profitability effectively.
Jul 24, 2026
KFC Global has selected experienced leader Maria Cacciapuoti as its new Chief Operations Officer. Discover how her extensive expertise will help shape KFC’s global operations and franchise partnerships.
Jul 23, 2026
Portillo’s welcomes industry veteran Christopher Hansen as Executive Chef and Senior Director of Culinary Innovation to steer menu strategy and fuel national growth.
Jul 23, 2026
Ziggi’s Coffee welcomes Stacey Pool as Chief Growth Officer to spearhead national expansion and enhance franchise profitability as the brand celebrates a decade of franchising success.
Jul 23, 2026
Cinnabon grows 30% in U.S. units, adding 308 net stores as flexible formats expand into travel centers and convenience; 95 more openings forecast and 359 in pipeline.
Jul 22, 2026
QDOBA targets 2,000 restaurants in 10 years, powered by franchising and recent securitizations, aiming for $5B sales, $2.7M AUV, and 28% margins.
Jul 22, 2026
A refined look at how editors chase memorable dining moments amid rising costs, from lobster rolls to matcha beverages and multi-venue concepts.
Photo by Stella He
Pat Cobe, the senior menu editor at Restaurant Business, opens the season with a blend of reverence and audacity. The tour maps tradition against invention, a quiet duel played out on beaches and in gleaming city rooms. The annual lobster-roll ritual in Salavar’s Montauk persists as a sunlit anchor, even as prices nudge perception and appetite. This year the lobster is a symbol of indulgence with restraint, a once-a-year treat that invites memory, not excess. And yet the beverage world hums with color: Blank Street Coffee’s summer matcha refreshers brighten the day with mango, yuzu, or watermelon purée. What price do we place on a moment of glow? The answer unfolds in measured steps:
Across the ocean of cuisine, editors chase the same rhythm in different keys: Montauk memory meets Philadelphia curiosity as Bret Thorn treks the map to a hop-water option at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant and a tasting at Zahav, Solomonov’s acclaimed Israeli restaurant. The through line is not merely novelty but the sense that a creature of indulgence can coexist with price discipline when the experience is precise and generous.
From coast to city, the tour suggests a single mood: a yearning for memorable, shareable moments that reward careful spending. The season’s frame is not simply extravagant display but a curated balance of memory, craft, and cost. The invitation is clear: savor with selectivity, and let each encounter teach a new way to measure value.