C-Stores Won the Foodservice War. Now They Have to Run a Kitchen.
Summary In Q3 2025, 15% of c-store prepared food visits were converted QSR occasions. In 38% of those cases, the consumer had specifically considered McDonald’s first, according to Technomic’s February 2026 Future of Convenience Stores report. C-store foodservice grew 5.7% in 2025, outpacing QSR’s 4.7% growth. The food quality perception gap has narrowed from 13 […]
Your Insurance Policy Has a Maintenance Clause. Most Operators Don’t Know That Until a Claim Gets Denied.
Operators spent six years absorbing some of the highest commercial property insurance premium increases in two decades. Many responded rationally, deferring maintenance to stay solvent. Now, as premiums have finally begun to ease, they’re sitting on aging, undermaintained equipment, and the same insurers who were cashing their checks during the premium spike are scrutinizing claims […]
Not Just an Oil Story: What the Iran Conflict Means for Foodservice Operators
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”] The instinct when a Middle East conflict erupts is to watch the oil price. That instinct is not wrong, but for foodservice operators, it is incomplete. A pressing but less-discussed impact of the […]
Fast Food Isn’t Disappearing, But “Cheap” Is
Fast food built its modern dominance on a simple promise: when you want a quick, convenient, affordable meal, fast food is the answer. However, this appeal has weakened. As chains raise prices to cover labor and ingredient costs, lower-income diners are visiting less often, and they’re noticing when “value” no longer feels like value.1 This […]
Superbowl 26 Special!
We’re Celebrating this Year’s Super Bowl LX. Save 10% on All Cold Dispensing Machine Maintenance. Whether you root for Seattle or New England, you come out a winner when you call Fastcility. New customers will save 10% on Cold Dispensing Machines, including Beer Taps. But this special ends on February 15th so call TODAY! USE […]
2025: Boom or Bust for The Food & Beverage Industry? What Trends Signal for 2026
The vibe in 2025: steady headlines, grind-level reality If you only looked at topline industry commentary, 2025 could pass for a “fine” year. But operators lived a different story: more cautious diners, less forgiving traffic, and an industry that rewarded execution in a way it hadn’t for years.12 So, good year or bad year? Call […]
Tariffs, Parts, and the Margin Squeeze: Why Maintenance Is the Hedge You Control
Food and beverage operators don’t need another reminder that margins are thin. What’s changed is how many cost drivers have become unpredictable at the same time including ingredients, packaging, equipment parts, and labor. All this making it harder to forecast, harder to price, and harder to keep service levels consistent. Trade policy is a real […]
Is alcohol consumption really “plummeting”? Maybe not.
At a headline level, alcohol use is falling. In the U.S., the share of adults who say they drink at all has dropped to about 54%, the lowest level Gallup has recorded in nearly 90 years. ³ That’s a meaningful shift, not a blip. “Gen Z isn’t drinking less, they’re simply drinking earlier, lighter, and with more […]
How Coffee Chains Are Positioning Themselves for 2026
Coffee chains are navigating 2026 amid rising commodity costs, on-again, off-again tariffs, volatile supply, and evolving consumer expectations. Recently Starbuck’s CEO, Brian Niccol spoke about his new approach for the brand. Other coffee chains are each adapting in distinct ways that signal where the broader industry may be heading. Starbucks Under CEO Brian Niccol, Starbucks […]
A Bite of Relief? What Trump’s Tariff Rollback Means for the Holiday Season
In mid-November 2025, the Trump administration announced a dramatic adjustment in U.S. trade policy: some of the tariffs on imported food and agricultural products will be rolled back. An executive order stated that “certain qualifying agricultural products will no longer be subject” to the reciprocal tariffs imposed under earlier actions¹. This shift arrives during a […]