The appeal of modular construction. How the economy is affecting certain restaurants’ growth plans. Aerowerks’ construction plans. Consumer sentiment sours. These stories and more This Week in Foodservice.

Despite an uncertain economy, consumers remain certain about one thing: they like eating local.

The Placer.ai report “Local Eats on the Rise” takes a look at three local fast-casual chains that continue to enjoy “big-time growth despite their relatively small sizes.”

Here are some takeaways for each chain:

• Pure Vida: The chain is becoming a breakfast and lunch destination, the report notes, and saw visits grow 58.5% year-over-year during the first quarter of 2025.
• Mendicino Farms: With locations in California, Washington, Texas, and Colorado, this chain caters to an affluent customer base, the study notes. It saw visits rise 23% year-over-year during the first quarter of 2025. And Mendicino Farms plans to open 15 new locations this year, including one in Chicago.
• P. Terry’s Burger Stand: This Texas-based chain has “become something of a weekend destination,” the study notes. In fact, 30.4% of its visits came on the weekends in the first quarter of 2025, which is up from 28.1% in the same period in 2024.

Foodservice News

• Why is one CEO of a multiconcept operator bullish on modular construction for some restaurants? Neel Patel, CEO of Rego Restaurant Group, which is the parent company of Quizno’s and Taco Del Mar, sees several key benefits to modular construction. For starters, Patel sees an opportunity to drive transactional growth and unit level profitability, per a Restaurant Dive story. He also sees the prefabricated units as offering franchisees a flexible development option. Other benefits of modular construction include lower cost of development and faster construction times.
• Convenience stores have emerged as a “real alternative” to quick-service restaurants. That’s according to 72% of consumers who participated in an Intouch Insight study shared by Restaurant Business. This is up from 56% who said the same in 2024 and 45% who said it in 2022. Made-to-order food is now only second to gas as a driver of c-store visits.
• Economic uncertainty is forcing some restaurant chains to alter their growth plans. Take, for example, Chicken and Pickle. The chain is about to open a location in Colorado, its 13th systemwide. These locations can be more than 55,000 square feet and include two dining areas, a sports bar, beer gardens, and a variety of game areas, including pickleball courts. Building those locations can, naturally, come with a large price tag. That’s why, after opening the Colorado location, the chain will look to expand via the acquisition of similar eatertainment concepts instead of building its own, per a FSR Magazine story. The company will either look to convert the acquired eatertainment operation into a Chicken and Pickle location or see if the concepts can coexist as partners.
• Are big changes blowing Bahama Breeze’s way? It would appear so. During an earnings call, Darden CEO Ricard Cardenas said the company is considering “strategic alternatives” such as selling the chain to a new owner or converting the locations to other Darden brands, per a USA Today story.
• Foodservice equipment manufacturer Aerowerks plans to build its first U.S. location. Aerowerks, which manufactures custom material handling systems, including return conveyers, tray accumulators and dish machines, will make a $10 million investment in building its location in Gaffney, S.C., per an announcement from the State of South Carolina.
• Call it a bitter ending to a partnership with sweet potential. McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme plan to end their plan to distribute Krispy Kreme donuts at all McDonald’s locations by the end of 2026, the companies announced. Why? It’s simple, really. The initiative just did not work out as planned, per multiple published reports, including this one from NBC News. 

Economic News

• Consumer Confidence weakened in June, per data from The Conference Board. Its Consumer Confidence Index came in at 93.0 in June, a 5.4-point decline from the previous month. The Present Situation Index came in at 129.1, a 6.4-point decline. And the Expectations Index declined 4.6 points for a reading of 69.0. Historically, a reading of less than 80 typically signals a recession is coming, The Conference Board adds.
• The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index declined 0.1% in May for a reading of 99.0. This follows a 1.4% April decline. For the six-month period ending May 2025, the LEI has declined 2.7%, which is faster than the 1.4% rate of contraction for the previous six months. This represents the sixth consecutive monthly decline for the LEI and its steepest decline since the spring of 2020, which was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, per a Reuters story. In explaining the decline, a spokesperson for The Conference Board cited “consumers' pessimism, persistently weak new orders in manufacturing, a second consecutive month of rising initial claims for unemployment and a decline in housing permits.”
• Existing-home sales increased 0.8% in May compared to the previous month, per data from the National Association of Realtors. This represents the slowest rate of sales for May since 2009, per an NPR story. Year-over-year sales declined 0.7%. A NAR spokesperson says the “relatively subdued sales are largely due to persistently high mortgage rates.”
• Two key housing metrics took a hit in May. Permits for privately owned housing units declined 2.0% in May compared to the previous month, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This also represents a 1.0% decline compared to May of 2024. Privately owned housing starts declined 9.8% in May compared to April. May housing starts were also 4.6% less than May of 2024.