Good morning!

Let’s take the old format back for another spin, but first… two plugs:

And check us out at FS Supply — we’re helping more and more restaurant chains with branded packaging and customized supply projects.

3 Numbers

1,000

Net new stores that Wendy’s wants to open in the next three years, which would bring the company to around 8,200 worldwide units by the end of 2028. On a recent earnings call, CEO Kirk Tanner signaled that international growth will be of particular focus for the brand.

3,000

“Cat” robots currently deployed by Japan’s largest table-service restaurant chain, Skylark Holdings. The server bots are helping address severe manpower shortages in Japan’s labor market.

$9.99

Price for Shake Shack’s first-ever discounted combo meal, a Chicken Shack Sandwich, fries and small soft drink. Shake Shack made the deal exclusive to online and kiosk orders only.

What’s On My Mind

Our office building is located about 15 feet from an In-N-Out. Its hood system sits parallel to where I typically park my car, and as I walk through the parking garage, I’m overwhelmed most days by an unmistakable burger-and-fry scent. I’ve often felt actual, literal saliva form in my mouth. Pavlov could not have designed a crueler trick.

Breaking news: In-N-Out is good. The burger is reliably delicious, and while some find the fries to be divisive, for those of us who prefer a more potato-y cut, In-N-Out’s hit the spot.

But dedicating a newsletter to that hot take wouldn’t be a great use of your time. I’d much rather argue that In-N-Out is incredibly interesting as a business case study. Because—and you may be sensing a theme here—it’s one of the only brands that’s “led” by its supply chain. In fact, its supply chain is its secret sauce spread.

A few weeks ago, In-N-Out announced that it would close its Irvine, CA office and split its corporate workforce between Baldwin Park, CA and its future Eastern office, outside of Nashville, TN. The news about the Tennessee office garnered more than a few breathless posts on X — with many erroneously reporting that “In-N-Out is breaking up with California.”

But the Tennessee announcement actually happened over two years ago. And In-N-Out stores aren’t even coming to the state until 2026.

Why the long timetable? This company focuses on ensuring quality in its supply chain to a wildly methodical degree.

The Tennessee “office” will undoubtedly be more than some back-of-the-house support for local stores. It will be a fully-fledged meat processing and distribution center. How do we know this? In-N-Out boasts a vertical integration stack that’d make John D. Rockefeller proud:

• It delivers supplies in its own proprietary truck fleet

• It processes its own beef with fresh patties made from whole chucks that are boned and ground by In-N-Out butchers

• When it expanded to Texas and Colorado, it secured local bakers to produce its sponge-dough buns

• It also built dedicated distribution and beef processing facilities in the states

In fact, the company refuses to place its restaurants more than 500 miles from its distribution hubs. Nashville is over 600 miles from the closest distribution center in Lancaster, Texas, which is why we’ll see an In-N-Out warehouse in Tennessee soon.

This explains the 3-year-long ramp-up. In-N-Out is currently rebuilding its supply chain a couple thousand miles away from its home base. That’s a hell of an undertaking.

Can other chains take anything from this strategy? It’s difficult to say — In-N-Out has been around for over 75 years, and, while it’s famously private, it seems to be doing quite well from a cash perspective. It can afford to make large, really long-term bets.

But certainly a renewed focus and emphasis on the supply chain, as a table stakes part of a restaurant’s business, would benefit any restaurant chain looking to improve the quality of its food. After all, Man cannot live on vibes alone; the bread needs to taste good too.

Headlines

Cracker Barrel is in its comeback season as same-store-sales rose 4.7% last quarter. Garnett Station’s Authentic Restaurant Brands bought Tavern in the Square and named Alex Macedo Authentic’s CEO. And Craveworthy Brands scooped up the Shaq-backed concept Big Chicken. Sweet and savory combos are having a moment — Chipotle launched its Honey Chicken LTO systemwide last week. Restaurants cut 27,500 jobs last month. Our long national nightmare is over: Domino’s introduced its own stuffed crust pizza.

Name That Chain!

You’ve got three guesses to name this week’s mystery chain. Good luck.

• This dessert-themed concept was founded in 1997 in Zhengzhou, China

• It’s famous for its low prices — its signature ice cream is around 6 Chinese yuan (approximately $0.83)

• As of this month, it’s the largest restaurant chain in the world by unit count

Find the answer at the bottom of the email…

#Content Recs

• For the second year in a row, Taco Bell has hosted Live Mas, an Apple-style launch event, to hype its new menu items. This year’s featured the Short Rib Chili Relleno Burrito, an In Memoriam segment on failed chicken products, and much more, as detailed in this fascinating piece.

• Inside Robert Earl and Guy Fieri’s concept Chicken Guy!

• McDonald’s gave some details on how it’s implementing AI in its stores — including use of computer vision to check order accuracy.

• The challenge and opportunity of incorporating robotics into a kitchen line.

• The newest destination on the Texas arts scene: the Whataburger Museum of Art.

‘Member When?!

The world you grew up in no longer exists — but take comfort in this nostalgic collection of old photos taken in McDonald’s, Wendy’s and other favorite chains.

Thanks for reading! We’ll be back next week with more Industry Bites.

Andy

GUESS THAT CHAIN ANSWER: Mixue Ice Cream and Tea, which now has 45,000 units spread throughout China and Southeast Asia. It just went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and reportedly has an eye on the US market…