Movie theaters regain the spotlight. A New England chain goes the fast-casual route. Ghost kitchens prove to be anything but haunting. These stories and more This Week in Foodservice.

Think movie theaters are a thing of the past? Think again.

Major movie theater chains AMC Entertainment Holdings and Cinemark Holdings reported record-breaking revenues over the Thanksgiving weekend. Movies such as Moana 2, Wicked, Gladiator II and Red One helped drive consumers back to theaters. And while there, moviegoers certainly hit the snack bar. Specifically, Wednesday through Sunday was the biggest and busiest Thanksgiving holiday in AMC’s 104-year history in terms of attendance and admissions revenue as well as food and beverage sales, per a company release.

“Continuing the trend we have seen for the past several months, these record-breaking box office results, premium formats, and food and beverage results further accentuate the cultural impact an immersive, cinematic experience delivers for content across all genres,” said Sean Gamble, Cinemark president and CEO, in a release.

Theater operators have faced significant headwinds in recent years, including Hollywood strikes that limited the number of new releases, the pandemic and more.

Perhaps, though, this weekend’s success represents the start of a renaissance of sorts for movie theaters. Earlier this year, the National Association of Theater Owners unveiled a $2.2 billion renovation plan that impacts every part of the theater experience from signage to snacks to seats, as CNN reported.

Foodservice News This Week

• C-stores represent one operator segment that really seemed to evolve its approach to design in 2024. From larger units to unique co-location opportunities and more, everything seemed on the table for c-stores this past year. C-Store Dive looked at a handful of trends shaping design in this segment.
• Apparently not all value menus are created equally. Case in point: Subway pulled the plug on its $6.99, 6-inch Meal Deal after it failed to meet expectations for driving traffic, sales and restaurant-level profitability, per a USA Today story. The ubiquitous sandwich chain made the move just days after McDonald’s announced plans to extend its $5 Meal Deal into January and add a wrinkle where customers who buy one full-priced menu item from the McValue menu can add one more item of their choice for $1, per a company release.
• Jack in the Box plans a three-pronged strategy to overcome the economic headwinds the chain faces. The company saw same-store sales decline 2.1% in its fourth fiscal quarter. The company seeks to grow digital sales to 20% of its revenue stream by 2027, up from 14% currently, per a QSR story. In addition, value meals will remain an important part of its recipe for success, given how much it’s resonating with guests. And menu innovation will be important, too. The chain found success with a variety of limited-time offers, including its Spicy Chicken Strips and Mini Chimi Bang Bangs.
• The continuing struggle many restaurants face has been good business for other companies. In fact, for one company that specializes in liquidating shuttered restaurants, business has never been better, per a Restaurant Business story. To date, the company has handled about 400 restaurant closings, the most in its history. The closings include chain restaurants, independents and more.
• A pair of restaurant chains got new financial backers. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers received an investment totaling $8.3 million from JCP Investment Management and Jumana Capital LLC. And Wings ‘N More, a seven-unit Texas-based chain, received what’s being described as an investment from Goode Partners, a New York-based private equity firm. Terms of that investment were not disclosed.

• BurgerFi sold Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza and Wings assets. TREW Capital Management Private Credit 2 LLC purchased Anthony’s Cola Fired Pizza and Wings for $44 million and BurgerFi assets for $10 million to TREW Capital Management Private Credit 2 LLC, per a Restaurant Dive story. In addition, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza was sold a Burger King and Round Table Pizza franchisee, per Restaurant Business.

• In a nod to the staying power of off-premises dining, a New England chain plans to open its first fast-casual location. Bertucci’s Pronto, an off-shoot of Bertucci’s, will offer an expedited, takeout-friendly dining experience, per a Nation’s Restaurant News story. The location, which Bertucci’s expects will open in March, will also offer local delivery and catering. And it will have a 34-seat dining room. Bertucci’s, which had filed for bankruptcy a few years back, has 23 restaurants.
• Ghost kitchens remain a way for operators to expand their market presence without actually building restaurants. The latest example comes courtesy of Olga’s Kitchen, which operates as a virtual brand inside 10 Big Boy restaurant locations, per a FSR Magazine story. Olga’s, which has locations across Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, “sought partners with established infrastructure to help reach untapped markets,” the story notes. Integrating into Big Boy locations required Olga’s to streamline its menu but once that happened it kicked off a digital marketing campaign to get the ball rolling.
• FoodPrep Solutions plans to expand on a national level. The Connecticut-based company sharpens knives and sells some foodservice-related equipment, including slicers and scales. It also services some equipment, per the company’s website. FoodPrep established itself on the East Coast and has since added regional facilities, including warehouses, and logistical resources, per a release.
• A new foodservice industry tradeshow will debut in 2026 in Saudi Arabia. Fiera Milano, the organizers of HostMilano, will work in partnership with Semark to produce Host Arabia. Semark organizes other events for the foodservice industry in Saudi Arabia. The 2026 event is expected to follow a format similar to HostMilano.

Economic News

• Consumer confidence continued to climb in November. The November Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased by 2.1 points for a reading of 111.7. This represents this study’s highest level in 16 months, per Reuters. The Present Situation Index increased by 4.8 points for a reading of 140.9. The Expectations Index ticked up 0.4 points to 92.3. “November's increase was mainly driven by more positive consumer assessments of the present situation, particularly regarding the labor market,” said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. “Compared to October, consumers were also substantially more optimistic about future job availability, which reached its highest level in almost three years.”
• While consumer confidence swelled in October, sales of new single-family homes sank by 17.3%, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. October’s sales were also 9.4% less than the same period in 2023. A total of 610,000 new homes were sold in October, which is significantly less than economists’ projections of 725,000, per a Yahoo! Finance story. Economists attribute to the decline to Hurricanes Helene and Milton impacting sales in the southern U.S. more than expected.
• Although inching up, economic activity in the manufacturing sector remains down. The Manufacturing ISM Report on Business increased 1.9 percentage points in November, per data from the Institute for Supply Management. Despite this growth, at 48.4%, the ISM’s Manufacturing PMI remains in contraction mode for the eighth consecutive month. There may be some signs of brighter days to come, though, as the study’s New Orders Index returned to expansion territory and the New Export Orders Index increased moderately.
• New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 0.2% in October compared to September, per the U.S. Census Bureau. This followed a 0.4% September decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.1%.
• The number of job openings climbed slightly in October, going to 7.7 million for the month compared to 7.4 million in September, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hires during October came in at 5.3 million, compared to 5.6 million in September. Total separations changed little at 5.3 million, compared to 5.2 million in September. Within separations, quits (3.3 million) increased, but layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) changed little.
• Initial jobless claims totaled 213,000 for the week of November 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This represents a decline of 2,000 claims from the previous week. The 4-week moving average was 217,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week. Overall, many economists view the jobs market as being pretty stable. Companies may not be hiring a lot, but they are not laying off too many people, either.
• Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024, according to the second estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.0%. The second GDP estimate is based on more complete source data than was available for the advance estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was also 2.8%.