Bubba 33 and BWW Go are poised for growth. The sales outlook for the top 1,500 chains. Business leaders share their thoughts about the economy. Plus, an updated app focuses on risk factors for indoor workers. These stories and more This Week in Foodservice.

Sometimes smaller is, in fact, better.

Take, for example, Buffalo Wild Wings Go, the smaller sibling to the popular sports bar chain. One franchisee in the Chicago area reports $1.5 million in sales for these locations, which is greater than the systemwide average of approximately $978,692 per year, according to a Franchise Times story.

In describing the success of BWW Go, the franchisee notes it checks many of the right boxes: an emphasis on off-premises sales, an ability to drive digital sales and a chicken-centric menu. Plus, the smaller location allows the concept to explore different real estate options and results in lower build-out costs and the operator does not have to go through the many hoops necessary to obtain liquor licenses.

Parent company Inspire Brands launched BWW Go five years ago, and the concept is ready to take flight.

Foodservice News

• Private equity firm Roark expanded its role in the restaurant industry by acquiring Dave’s Hot Chicken. Roark paid $1 billion for the fast-growing, fat-casual chicken chain, per various published reports. The chain’s current leadership team is expected to remain with the company. Dave’s Hot Chicken expects to end the year with more than 400 units in operation, per a release announcing the deal. Roark’s investments include some of the restaurant industry’s biggest names, such as Arby’s, Culver’s, Dunkin’, GoTo Foods, Miller’s Ale House and more.
• Sales at restaurant chains are expected to weaken in 2025, per data from Technomic. The Chicago-based market research firm projects sales among the top 1,500 restaurant chains will grow 2.8% this year, which is 0.3% less than the previous year. This comes as Technomic reports the industry has reached a “generational tipping point.” Specifically, between 2022 and 2024, Technomic data shows that the percentage of consumers using restaurants once a week or more declined among Millennials (from 76% to 73%), Gen X (from 69% to 65%) and Baby Boomers (59% to 58%). Only Gen Z reported an increase, with its usage increasing 1% in 2024 for a total of 74%.
• Why aren’t there more robots actively working in restaurants and other foodservice operations? It’s a question we get asked repeatedly. There are lots of reasons, some of them are industry-wide issues, while others are concept-specific. After touring the 2025 National Restaurant Show in Chicago, Restaurant Dive sought to answer this age-old question in a thoughtful way.
• Can Texas Roadhouse’s playbook lead a sports bar to victory? That is the case with Bubba’s 33, Texas Roadhouse’s 52-unit sports bar sibling. Bubba’s saw systemwide sales increase 20.4% to almost $299.0 million in 2024, per a Restaurant Business story. These results made Bubba’s the fastest growing sports bar chain and the ninth fastest growing casual dining chain.
• Wendy’s has had a fast start to 2025. Thus far this year the quick-service restaurant chain has opened 74 restaurants, including 28 in the U.S., spanning 18 states, the company reported. The new restaurants use the Global Next Gen design that the chain rolled out in 2023, with features that aim to better serve digital customers. The prototype uses a dual-sided kitchen design to maximize the capacity, the company notes. In addition, more than 150 of Wendy’s restaurants now use AI in the drive-thru.
• AIHA has released a mobile tool that includes risk factors unique to indoor workers. The Heat Stress App 2.0 follows the launch of AIHA’s original heat stress app, which helped outdoor workers and their employers assess job-related heat health risks. This free app allows users to select whether they work indoors or outdoors, which then prompts them to select specific criteria about their workplace. For example, the app measures the following factors that can pose health risks for workers in an indoor space: indoor temperature, relative humidity, workload intensity and clothing worn. AIHA is an association for scientists and professionals dedicated to occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS).

Economic News

• Confused about how the ever-fluctuating tariff situation is impacting the economy? You’re not alone. A summary from IFMA The Food Away from Home Association does a good of outlining some of the impacts this is having on the economy. What comes next is anyone’s guess, though.
• Business leaders are starting to sour on the future of the economy, per data from The Conference Board. Its Measure of CEO Confidence study fell by 26 points in the second quarter for a reading of 34. Any reading of less than 50 indicates more negative than positive responses. The top factors souring the CEOs’ outlook are geopolitical instability, followed by trade and tariffs, per a Conference Board spokesperson. CEOs did not revise their capital spending plans for the next 12 months, which could be considered positive. That said, the share of CEOs expecting to revise down investment doubled in the second quarter to 26%.
• Disposable personal income increased 0.8% and personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2% in April, per data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. From the same month one year ago, the PCE price index for April increased 2.1%. Economists had projected the PCE Index would increase at a rate of 2.2%, per a Morningstar article. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 2.5% from one year ago.
• The number of job openings increased slightly in April, per data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Openings for the month came in at 7.4 million, which is up from 7.2 million in March. It is also greater than the 7.1 million openings economists had projected, per a CNBC story. The ratio of available jobs to unemployed workers was down to 1.03 to 1 for the month, close to the March level. Hiring also increased for the month, rising by 169,000 to 5.6 million, while layoffs rose by 196,000 to 1.79 million.
• New orders for manufactured goods declined 3.7% in April compared to the previous month, per the U.S. Census Bureau. This snaps a streak of four consecutive monthly increases, including a 3.4% March increase. Business spending on equipment appeared to have lost momentum as the boost from front-loading purchases to avoid tariffs faded, per a Yahoo! Finance story. Shipments, down two consecutive months, decreased 0.3%.
• Manufacturing activity contracted for the third consecutive month, per the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI came in at 48.5 in May, which is 0.2 percentage points less than April. (A reading of greater than 50% indicates expansion.) The Import Index came in at 39.9, less than April’s total of 47.1. Not surprisingly, tariffs represent the biggest concern among ISM panelists, a spokesperson told Yahoo! Finance. The New Orders Index contracted for the fourth consecutive month. In contrast, the Price Index remained in expansion territory.