Pizza Hut’s $1.2B China Sale Shakes Up Market
Yum! Brands has finalized a $1.2B deal to transfer Pizza Hut China to Yum China Holdings, signaling big strategic moves for both global franchisors and operators.
Aug 7, 2026
Yum! Brands has finalized a $1.2B deal to transfer Pizza Hut China to Yum China Holdings, signaling big strategic moves for both global franchisors and operators.
Aug 7, 2026
Panera Bread appoints industry veteran Andy Rebhun as Chief Marketing Officer, ushering in a new era of brand growth and consumer engagement.
Aug 7, 2026
Portillo’s trims 18% of its corporate staff in a bid to refocus resources on restaurant excellence and navigate operational challenges. Discover what the changes mean for the chain’s future.
Aug 7, 2026
Scheduling software helps restaurants save time, control labor costs, improve communication, prevent conflicts, support compliance, and make smarter staffing decisions.
Aug 5, 2026
Portillo’s trims corporate and field roles by 18% in a strategic shake-up to support future growth after soft traffic and sales. Read what this means for multi-unit operators.
Aug 6, 2026
Dutch Bros invests $105 million to acquire Salad and Go’s closed locations, targeting rapid expansion in key southern markets. Learn what this means for multi-unit restaurant owners and operators.
Aug 6, 2026
Salad and Go's bankruptcy and closure offer key lessons on growth, risk management, and market dynamics for restaurant leaders. See what every operator can learn.
Aug 5, 2026
Learn how to calculate prime cost, track food and labor expenses, measure percentages, identify problems, and improve restaurant profitability consistently.
Aug 5, 2026
Portillo’s announces industry veteran Kevin Kalicak as its new CFO and Treasurer, underscoring the brand’s growth strategy and financial vision.
Aug 5, 2026
Skye Anderson will lead McDonald's USA as its new president, stepping in to accelerate growth and revive sales. Learn how her leadership could shape the future of the restaurant industry.
Aug 4, 2026
Ziggi’s taps Betsy Hamm to drive a disciplined national expansion, pairing founder-led leadership with structured growth and enhanced guest and team experiences.
Photo by Ruben Ramirez
Ziggi’s Coffee has tapped a familiar face to guide its next phase of growth. In a move designed to shift from a regional footprint toward a national, multi-market expansion, Betsy Hamm has been named fractional chief operating officer to steer the effort. The arrangement signals a readiness to balance speed with cultural continuity, drawing on Hamm’s founder-led playbook to translate early wins into scalable, sustainable growth. She joins Brandon Knudsen and Camrin Knudsen on a leadership team positioned to push into markets where drive-thru coffee remains intensely competitive. The framework speaks to a longer growth trajectory that is data-informed and people-centered, a combination that feels poised to set the stage for what follows.
The move signals a deliberate shift from regional momentum to a scalable, multi-market push. Ziggi’s describes its 117-unit drive-thru concept as the scaffold for rapid expansion, and early 2024 projections suggested the brand would surpass 100 locations by August 2024. In the first quarter, the company celebrated seven grand openings and nine franchise signings, with plans for more than fifty openings by year-end. By 2026, Ziggi’s marks a decade of franchising, signaling a new phase of professionalized growth. Hamm’s appointment is framed as a catalyst: a leadership realignment designed to bring structure, disciplined execution, and analytics‑driven decision-making to a fast-moving growth cycle, while preserving the brand’s culture-forward identity.