Latest news with #Kobza
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Burger King to remodel 400 of its US restaurants in 2025, hundreds more to come
Burger King sees its plan to remodel about 400 of its locations this year as a way to help it rule fast food. The fast food chain is in the midst of a multi-year plan to modernize its restaurants and has seen sales at remodeled locations increase in the mid-teens, said Joshua Kobza, CEO of Burger King's parent company Restaurant Brands International, during a May 8 earnings call, according to a transcript from S&P Global Market Intelligence. "We still have a lot of remodels to get done," he said. "We've got a lot of restaurants that aren't at the modern image." Starbucks: Coffee chain has new drinkware collection with FARM Rio: See Brazil-inspired designs Burger King is expected to complete about 2,000 remodels by 2028; at that point, more than 85% of the U.S. restaurants would reflect the new "Sizzle" modern image, which emphasizes digital ordering and drive-thru. That initiative is part of Burger King's "Reclaim the Flame" plan, announced in September 2022 to enhance and renovate its U.S. restaurants. The Miami-headquartered Restaurant Brands International (RBI) plans to spend up to $700 million through 2028 as part of its plan to revitalize Burger King. In addition to Burger King, RBI also owns Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs. Restaurant updates have helped Burger King weather better than some of its competitors a fast-food industry sales slump in the three month-period ending March 31, company executives said. Burger King reported a 1.1% decrease in comparable sales in its U.S. restaurants for the period, outpacing McDonald's, which saw a 3.6% decrease. Wendy's reported a 2.6% decline for the quarter. "Burger King U.S. continued to outperform the broader burger QSR (quick service restaurant) category, reflecting the ongoing progress of our 'Reclaim the Flame' plan in capturing share," Kobza said. Still, there are some Burger King's restaurants struggling. Consolidated Burger Holdings of Destin, Florida, which operates 57 Burger King locations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 14 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida, according to court documents. The restaurants will continue operating as the company seeks a potential buyer. Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Burger King remodeling 400 restaurants, with more to come by 2028
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Burger King to remodel 400 of its US restaurants in 2025, hundreds more to come
Burger King to remodel 400 of its US restaurants in 2025, hundreds more to come Show Caption Hide Caption Burger King sued for fraud over Whopper ads Burger King is heading to federal court over allegations that it falsely advertised the size of its iconic Whopper sandwich. unbranded - Newsworthy Burger King sees its plan to remodel about 400 of its locations this year as a way to help it rule fast food. The fast food chain is in the midst of a multi-year plan to modernize its restaurants and has seen sales at remodeled locations increase in the mid-teens, said Joshua Kobza, CEO of Burger King's parent company Restaurant Brands International, during a May 8 earnings call, according to a transcript from S&P Global Market Intelligence. "We still have a lot of remodels to get done," he said. "We've got a lot of restaurants that aren't at the modern image." Starbucks: Coffee chain has new drinkware collection with FARM Rio: See Brazil-inspired designs Burger King is expected to complete about 2,000 remodels by 2028; at that point, more than 85% of the U.S. restaurants would reflect the new "Sizzle" modern image, which emphasizes digital ordering and drive-thru. That initiative is part of Burger King's "Reclaim the Flame" plan, announced in September 2022 to enhance and renovate its U.S. restaurants. The Miami-headquartered Restaurant Brands International (RBI) plans to spend up to $700 million through 2028 as part of its plan to revitalize Burger King. In addition to Burger King, RBI also owns Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs. Restaurant updates have helped Burger King weather better than some of its competitors a fast-food industry sales slump in the three month-period ending March 31, company executives said. Burger King reported a 1.1% decrease in comparable sales in its U.S. restaurants for the period, outpacing McDonald's, which saw a 3.6% decrease. Wendy's reported a 2.6% decline for the quarter. "Burger King U.S. continued to outperform the broader burger QSR (quick service restaurant) category, reflecting the ongoing progress of our 'Reclaim the Flame' plan in capturing share," Kobza said. Still, there are some Burger King's restaurants struggling. Consolidated Burger Holdings of Destin, Florida, which operates 57 Burger King locations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 14 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida, according to court documents. The restaurants will continue operating as the company seeks a potential buyer. Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day.
Miami Herald
09-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Burger King menu's new Whopper blends Mexican, American tastes
Burger King has made the Whopper the cornerstone of its innovation. The famous burger, which was actually launched about a decade before the McDonald's Big Mac, offers a sort of blank canvas for innovation. Related: Pepsi quietly discontinued a fan-favorite soda flavor At its core it's a fairly simple burger. The iconic sandwich has a flame-grilled beef patty, sesame-seed bun, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and sliced onion. Any of those toppings can be swapped out to make something entirely new. The chain has been very innovative in its use of the Whopper, which has really been the core of the chain's "Reclaim the Flame" effort to redo its restaurants and change its reputation. "By emphasizing operational excellence and investing in modern, welcoming restaurants, we're setting the brand up for long-term success. Recent menu initiatives - such as the Addams Family Menu (featuring Wednesday's Whopper), the Million Dollar Whopper campaign, and the Melts platform - have reinforced that guests crave innovation and high-quality food at a great price," CEO Josh Kobza shared during the chain's fourth-quarter earnings call. Melts are Whoppers that use bread instead of a bun. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Aside from introducing a Breakfast Whopper (although there have been limited-time-offer Breakfast Melts), Burger King has done nearly everything imaginable with its signature sandwich. Now, it has added a new version of the classic to one of its menus, but not in the United States yet. Restaurant Brands International's (QSR) Burger King in Japan has often added menu items that would seem out of place in the United States. Sometimes the chain uses ingredients that are popular locally but have not crossed over to the chain's home market. In this case, the "Home of the Whopper" has added a new variant of the famour burger in Japan that seems like it would fit in immediately on the American menu. The chain's Japanese operations shared a Tweet on the new burger (translated from Japanese). This is not the first time Burger King has sold a "Mexican" Whopper in Japan. Earlier versions of this burger, in single, double, and cheese versions, were offered in 2023 and 2024. The chain has not yet brought the offering to its U.S. stores. Burger King faced some franchisee-related struggles in the U.S. in 2024, but its global business has been growing steadily. "Shifting now to international, which continues to be a strong growth engine, [we are] closing the year with over 15,600 restaurants and over $18 billion in system-wide sales, approximately 60% of which was driven by our top 10 markets. We feel very good about the relative performance of our international business versus our global peers," Kobza said. Overall, Burger King's restaurants have been performing well. "In 2024, international comparable sales grew 3.3%, including 4.7% growth in the fourth quarter. We saw solid growth in many of our largest markets, including Australia, Spain, the U.K., and Brazil, thanks to well-executed calendar initiatives, compelling core value offerings, and great restaurant-level execution," he added. Related: Another burger, fast-food chain closing all locations The chain has also been adding restaurants. "We achieved net restaurant growth of 6.1%, despite temporary headwinds from geopolitical pressures in certain markets, as well as net closures in BK China. While we don't have an update on BK China today, we're optimistic we'll have a resolution relatively soon," he added. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Fried Chicken Chain Is Going Through A Major Brand Overhaul
America loves that chicken from Popeyes, the nation's number-two fast food chicken chain (second only to Chick-fil-A, per CNBC), but the Louisiana-born chicken empire is making some major changes to its American restaurants. In an earnings call with investors, as reported by Restaurant Dive, Popeyes revealed its plans to massively modernize the technology in front and back of house, while also remodeling stores and boosting advertising to drive sales back up after a somewhat disappointing 2024. Popeyes intends for every U.S. restaurant to have fully revamped technology within 22 months, according to Restaurant Brands International CEO Josh Kobza. This includes (but is not limited to) cloud-based point-of-sale systems, order-ready boards for in-store customers who want to track their food's progress, automatic batter makers, and improved hot holding units to keep batches of chicken warm. So far, about 85% of franchisees have committed to this plan. New methods in back of house also call for new organization. Kobza also revealed that Popeyes franchisees will have the option to install a newly redesigned production line. Each store can exercise this option either when it receives the new equipment or during its next remodel. Read more: Popular Fast Food Items That Aren't What You Think Over the next two years, Popeyes isn't just aiming to modernize its U.S. restaurants' technology. RBI CEO Josh Kobza revealed on the earnings call that 85% of Popeyes franchisees have also committed to boosting their marketing budgets as yet another prong to drive customers back to Popeyes. As a restaurant, Popeyes is not short on acclaim. Popeyes was a favorite of the late Anthony Bourdain, its Cajun turkey is a Thanksgiving legend, and the Louisiana chain also helped spark the Chicken Sandwich Wars, which defined an era in fast food. Yet despite all this impact, Popeyes reported that sales growth lagged significantly in 2024. Its growth shrunk from over 6% in Q1 (after multiple quarters of growth) to just 0.6% in Q2, and it actually went negative by almost four points in Q3. The new changes coming to your local Popeyes are meant to reverse this surprisingly low sales growth, which rounded out at 0.6% for all of 2024. To help, RBI is also increasing its ad spend and offering a $4,000 ad credit to each franchised restaurant. Hungry for more? Sign up for the free Daily Meal newsletter for delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks, and more, delivered straight to your inbox. Read the original article on The Daily Meal. Sign in to access your portfolio
