Slicing up pizza delivery. A closer look at restaurant design costs. Exploring office attire for a pancake party. 7-Eleven’s new prototype enters the fast lane. Plus, meet the recipient of the National Restaurant Association’s 2026 Legends Award.

If you thought the rise of third-party delivery parties would make in-house pizza delivery drivers go the way of the Edsel, think again.

While it’s true many pizza chains post listings with some third-party aggregators, the nature of those partnerships vary considerably, as this Restaurant Dive analysis notes. Domino’s, for example, still uses its own delivery drivers, even for orders placed through third-party sites.

In-house delivery still offers several benefits that are hard to replicate. For example, pizza chains and their customers often report better experiences when working with first-party delivery. Some operators can avoid paying third-party delivery fees by using their own drivers.

Plus, consumers often find it appealing to support a local business and maintaining a direct connection to the customer still has considerable value. Along those lines, this past Sunday evening my family ordered a pie – all pepperoni, half sausage – from our local pizzeria and we loved every bite.

Foodservice News

• Restaurant design costs are expected to remain steady in 2026, per the readers of restaurant development + design. Among those participating in the magazine’s Pulse Survey, 28% said design-related costs would stay the same compared to 2025 and 42% project only modest cost increases.
• The numbers continue to add up in favor of 7-Eleven’s newest prototype. When 7-Eleven launched the more food-focused format two years ago, it planned to open 600 units with this design, per a C-Store Dive story. The format’s success, though, re-shaped the company’s plans. 7-Eleven reports locations using the new format generate a 30% traffic increase after one year and its projections say the stores using the new design will generate 44% more sales over four years. As a result, 7-Eleven plans to remodel more than half of its North American stores using the latest design.
• Co-branded units finally have some staying power. The latest example comes from FAT Brands, which opened its fifth tri-branded unit. Located in Manteca, Calif., the location combines the company’s Fatburger, Buffalo’s Express and Hot Dog on a Stick concepts and includes a drive thru. The idea of co-branding, or in this case tri-branding, is nothing new. This time, however, it seems to have more staying power as operators have a better understanding of how to maximize their designs for co-branding, as Juan Martinez writes in this blog post.
• Of course, not everyone is happy with the idea of co-branding. An Applebee’s franchisee is suing multiconcept operator Dine Brands saying the development of co-branded Applebee’s/IHOP locations are infringing on its exclusive territory and hurting sales, per a Restaurant Business story.
• If a company has a pancake party at the office, is it ok to wear pajamas to work? It’s a fair question in light of the fact that a variety of family dining restaurants like IHOP and Cracker Barrel are cashing in on catering, including for the morning meal, as the return to office movement gains more steam, per New York Times story. To be successful in this space, participating restaurant companies continue to invest in catering infrastructure to ensure the food arrives hot and fresh.
• Starbucks is brewing big plans for Nashville. The chain plans to spend more than $100 million to establish a corporate office in Music City and it expects to bring up to 2,000 support jobs there over the next five years, per a Reuters report. Starbucks also plans to relocate some of its teams from Seattle to Nashville, the story added.
• A White Castle kiosk may soon slide into your neighborhood. The chain plans to rollout 1,000 hot-food automated kiosks that serve its world renowned sliders, per a company release. This is the continuation of a program that White Castle unveiled late last year at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
• Richard Marriott is the recipient of the National Restaurant Association’s 2026 Legends Award. This award honors the recipient’s “lifetime contributions to the restaurant and hospitality industry and his enduring leadership within the association,” per a release. Mariott began his career in the hospitality industry as a teen working in his parents’ Hot Shoppes restaurants, officially joining the company as a restaurant manager in 1965. He currently serves as chairman of the board of Host Hotels & Resorts and chairman of First Media Corporation. Marriott served as Chair of the National Restaurant Association Board in 1992.

Economic News

• Consumer confidence improved in April, per data from The Conference Board. Its Consumer Confidence Index came in at 92.8, a 0.6-point increase from March. “Consumer confidence edged up in April but was overall little changed, despite material concern about rising gasoline prices as the war in the Middle East prompted a surge in Brent crude oil prices,” said Dana M. Peterson, the chief economist for The Conference Board.
• How will war in the Middle East impact the U.S. GDP in 2026? Not very positively. In fact, The Conference Board has downgraded its outlook for U.S. GDP to 1.6% year over year, which is 0.5% less than its initial forecast. Given that gasoline prices surfed 20% in March, The Conference Board raised its PCE inflation forecast b\y 0.6 percentage points to 3.5% year over year.
• Could 2026 be the summer of the staycation? Thanks to rising gas prices it is starting to look that way, according to a story from The Food Institute. Cross-country trips to theme parks or even national parks may become too cost prohibitive, travel experts to TFI. The story points out there was a 20% increase, year-over-year, in domestic trip costs in April and May.