The Rush

This week on The Rush, we’re joined by Caroline Ottoy, Managing Director at WatchHouse, to dig into the biggest stories shaking up food and hospitality. IN THIS EPISODE: Burger King’s ‘Kids Eat Free’ is back, but only until 1 November Auntie Anne’s brings its pretzels-in-a-box container format to Ashford Taco Bell commits to Pepsi until 2036, locking in a decade-long deal Four years after going oat-first, Blue Bottle is back on regular milk Local artists and camel milk: Drinkit marks its UAE milestone Restaurant staff are open to using AI, but rolling it out well is the harder job LA’s latest obsession is a Chicken Caesar Wrap Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. Follow The Rush so you never miss an episode.

This week on The Rush, we’re joined by Shereen Ritchie, CEO of Kuvi Hospitality, to dig into the biggest stories shaking up food and hospitality. IN THIS EPISODE: After 34 years of queuing, Wagamama finally lets you book a table Coyo Taco sets the standard for authentic Mexican in London, while Bar Coyo keeps the margaritas flowing late into the night GoodNews is heading to London, bringing the good vibes with it KFC US switches to Coke, a big win for Coca-Cola in the fight for fast-food fountains AI-generated food photos and menus are quietly appearing on restaurant tables, and what you see may not be what you get Golden Corral’s buffet shrinks as closures stack up Starbucks says it isn’t buying Chipotle, so the burrito-and-latte dream is over Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. Follow The Rush so you never miss an episode.

🚨 Starbucks is reportedly eyeing a takeover of Chipotle, and Subway has set its sights on Greggs. IN THIS EPISODE: Blank Street’s UK Profits Almost Triple as Revenue Hits £58.9M Subway Takes On Greggs and McCafé, and Rolls Out “Blueprint” Across EMEA Jersey Mike’s Confirms Its First Four UK Restaurants Slim Chickens Opens Its First Great Britain Drive-Thru Molly Tea Opens Its Third Singapore Store Daniel Craig Partners With Hospitality Heavyweights to Run a London Pub Starbucks Reportedly Eyeing a Chipotle Acquisition Dave’s Hot Chicken Launches “Save the Dave” in the UK Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. Follow The Rush so you never miss an episode.

🚨 The former CEO of Subway's purchasing co-op has been indicted in an alleged $80M bribery scheme, and Chip City just shut every one of its stores.IN THIS EPISODE: The RUSH Ep.7 Highlight - What's happening in QSR & hospitality this week? Deliveroo to Launch Robot Deliveries in London With Coco Robotics Farmer J Reports 50% Revenue Growth as It Expands in New York Taco Bell Teams Up With Duolingo for Global Taco Day Former CEO of Subway's Purchasing Co-op Indicted in $80M Bribery Scheme DoorDash Overhauls Its Restaurant Operating System With DashOS Chip City Shuts Down All Its Locations Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. Follow The Rush so you never miss an episode.

This Week on The RUSH: Greggs Overtakes Costa as Britain's #1 Coffee Chain While McDonald's Rolls Out a $8.5B AI Overhaul In this episode: Greggs Officially Dethrones Costa as Britain's Biggest Coffee Chain P.F. Chang's Lands in East London With a Halal Menu Dishoom Launches Its First-Ever Set Menu for Office Workers CAVA Hits Its 500-Restaurant Milestone Five Guys Opens Its 2,000th Store, 40 Years In Cheesecake Factory's Viral Salmon Becomes an Ops Case Study The Dunkin' x L.L.Bean Sweater Queues Luckin Coffee's 100th Singapore Store (and Its Wild Fraud Comeback Story) McDonald's Unveils ArchIQ, Its New AI Operating System Burger King Reverses Forced AI Drive-Thru Ordering Inside McDonald's $8.5B "Next" Strategy Why Pickle-Flavoured Snacks Are Suddenly Everywhere "PE Slop": Gen Z's New Word for Over-Polished Restaurant Brands Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. Follow The Rush so you never miss an episode. #TheRush #Edify #QSR #Hospitality #RestaurantNews #PodcastHow #NewsPodcast

This Week on The RUSH: Burger King's Turnaround Keeps Winning While Wendy's Biggest Franchisee Goes Bankrupt In this episode: PizzaExpress Explores a Sale at Up to £500M Pret A Manger Outlines Growth Plans Including Drive-Thru Expansion Greggs Opens First "Bitesize Greggs" Inside a Tesco Supermarket German Doner Kebab Launches Its First-Ever Chicken Nuggets Nationwide McDonald's Pop-Up Butcher Shop Lets Customers Build Their Own Burgers in Shoreditch Burger King's "Reclaim the Flame" Turnaround Keeps Outperforming the Category KFC Escalates the Wings War With Free Buckets Ahead of Football Season Giant Wendy's Franchisee Meritage Hospitality Group Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Tim Ho Wan Opens Global Dim Sum Innovation Lab in Hong Kong Moe's Casa Mexicana Opens Standalone Outlet in South Delhi, Targets 100+ India Stores Wonder Deploys Its First "Infinite Makeline" Automated Bowl-Assembly System Restaurant Stocks Broadly Sell Off as Foot Traffic Weakens Coffee Scents Are the Latest Fragrance Trend Kathryn Turner drives M&S sales with behind-the-scene viral content Knoops CEO steps down Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. Follow The Rush so you never miss an episode. #TheRush #Edify #QSR #Hospitality #RestaurantNews #PodcastHow #NewsPodcast

This Week on The RUSH: Starbucks "Is Back" with profits for the first time in 2 years, a Kardashian-Favourite Chain Goes BankruptIn this episode: America's fast food chains pivot back to humans Starbucks UK revenue grows 6% to £556.3m, with 500 new sites planned Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol declares the two-year turnaround complete Itsu owner Bridgepoint prepares a stake sale as revenue tops £200m Starbucks franchisee Magic Bean Co secures £21m for 75 drive-thru sites Black Sheep Coffee enters the UK drive-thru market Azzurri Group converts ASK Italian sites into Dave's Hot Chicken Sidemen-founded chicken brand Sides signs a Middle East master franchise deal Jersey Mike's prepares its UK debut Dog Haus rolls out its biggest menu overhaul in its history Chick-fil-A remains the undisputed king of foot-traffic growth Franchise-law legend Steven Scheck dies at 77 Long John Silver's brings back Talk Like a Pirate Day Talabat trials delivery robots for Dubai high-rises Jollibee posts record Q2 results and partners with DreamWorks Segafredo Caffè targets 75 stores in Indonesia Walmart adds Papa Johns to its delivery lineup Domino's app redesign backfires with customers Metafoodx launches a real-time kitchen-intelligence app Inspire Brands' CEO takes medical leave ahead of an IPO Denny's franchisee closes five more locations Kardashian-favorite LA chain Marmalade Cafe files for bankruptcy Taco Bell and Topgolf launch the Live Más Open with Kevin Hart Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. Follow The Rush so you never miss an episode.#TheRush #Edify #QSR #Hospitality #RestaurantNews #PodcastHow #NewsPodcast

This week on The Rush: Yum Brands closes its $1.5B sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital, 7 Brew outbids Dutch Bros with a $143M bid for 73 former Salad and Go locations, and Starbucks' pumpkin spice launch breaks sales records yet again.Plus: Nero Group posts a record £670M year, Dunkin' teams up with Walmart for delivery, Chipotle opens its first Saudi Arabia location, Jollibee picks Hong Kong over New York for its international listing, and Jeremy Clarkson's Farmer's Dog pub keeps defying pub economics two years on.Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders.In hospitality, you can't afford to wait. The Rush is your weekly download on what's moving fast in QSR: openings, brand moves, funding, tech, and the trends reshaping how restaurants grow. Every Thursday, in under 30 minutes.Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. New episodes drop every Thursday — follow so you don't miss one.

🚨 EPISODE 2: Burger King's Decision-Free Drive-Thru, Starbucks' Playful Martha Stewart Campaign & Taco Bell x Olivia Rodrigo's Pink Baja Blast Collab In hospitality, you can't afford to wait. The Rush is your weekly download on what's moving fast in QSR: openings, brand moves, funding, tech, and the trends reshaping how restaurants grow. Every Thursday, in under 30 minutes.IN THIS EPISODE: 🔹 Burger King UK tackles "decision fatigue" with its first-ever Decision-Free Drive-Thru 🔹 Starbucks enlists Martha Stewart to defend the "basic" PSL in a new ad campaign 🔹 Taco Bell teams up with Olivia Rodrigo for a first-ever Pink Baja Blast 🔹 Wendy's stock sinks 13% as Trian shelves its take-private bid, erasing the month's gains 🔹 McDonald's shares hit a fresh 52-week low as value pressures bite 🔹 Restaurant software startup Owner raises $240M at a $2.3B valuation 🔹 Loungers is on track to hit £500m turnover and opens its first international site in Germany 🔹 Dutch Bros and 7 Brew battle to scoop up ~130 shuttered Salad and Go drive-thru sites Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders.Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. 🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcast #TheRush #Edify #QSR #Hospitality #RestaurantNews #FoodserviceNews #Podcast

🚨 EPISODE 1: Wendy's Takeover Bid, Starbucks Layoffs & Knoops Crosses the Atlantic In hospitality, you can't afford to wait. The Rush is your weekly download on what's moving fast in QSR: openings, brand moves, funding, tech, and the trends reshaping how restaurants grow. Every Thursday, in under 30 minutes, stay caught up worldwide. IN THIS EPISODE: 🔹 Wendy's stock jumps on reports Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund is preparing a takeover bid 🔹 Starbucks lays off 200+ corporate workers — its 8th round in two years — ahead of its Nashville move 🔹 Blank Street closes a Series B 🔹 UK's Knoops makes its long-awaited US debut in Salt Lake City, eyeing America as its biggest market by 2032 🔹 KFC teams up with La Vieille Ferme for a "Coq au Vin" wine bar pop-up in Shoreditch 🔹 Yo-Chi opens its first UK store in Notting Hill 🔹 Saudi Arabia's F&B sector shifts toward health-led, drive-thru concepts Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. 🎧 Listen on Spotify #TheRush #Edify #QSR #Hospitality #RestaurantNews #FoodserviceNews #Podcast