Now is the time to take an overview of the major restaurant chains that offer their menus in Quebec. Many of them have great news to share with their customers and even their future customers. Let's go...
McDonald's
Like all players in the restaurant business, McDonald's has increased the prices of its menu but is able to maintain its image as an affordable restaurant with customers affected by inflation and manages to keep its business afloat. The rate increase is around 10%, but sales still rose 9.5% globally in the last quarter.
It also seems that continually reminding consumers of fast service, promotions, ease of online ordering, pick-up or delivery helps consumers to “accept” this price increase.
To further aid speed at the drive-thru, McDonald's is currently developing a conveyor belt. The tool is first tested in a restaurant in Texas and wants to meet the evolving needs of consumers.
According to a study, drive-thru was 45 seconds slower between 2019 and 2022.
Subway
Speaking of evolution, the Subway chain has commissioned a vending machine at the University of California, San Diego. It offers drinks, sandwiches and cookies prepared by the nearby franchise. Customers only have to dictate their orders directly to the machine.
Subway is therefore trying to get closer to customers without necessarily adding franchises to its arsenal. Just a few years ago, it was selling pre-prepared subs from refrigerators located in casinos, gas stations or airports.
The company plans to add more vending machines in the coming months at other universities as well as airports and hospitals. In a few years, we could also see some in Quebec.
Another acquisition for MTY
The Quebec giant MTY announced in November the acquisition of Wetzel's Pretzels for more than $280 million. This chain of snack bites has branches all over the United States, Canada and also in Panama, for a total of 350 addresses.
With this purchase, MTY now owns over 4,200 locations in the United States alone.
Wendy's
Very few people in Quebec are familiar with the Wendy's chain, which is very popular among our neighbors to the south. But now the management of the hamburger specialist is pressing the accelerator in order to reverse this situation: a development fund has been set up and the objective is to open at least 50 more restaurants in the province. It currently has 13, which are found mainly in the Montreal area.
Over the past few months, the chain has embraced a new global standard for restaurant design, all significantly improving the customer and digital experience. New Quebec restaurants will be built to this standard.
Pizza Salvatore
If there is a Quebec group that has the wind in its sails, it is indeed the chain Pizza Salvatoré.
With now 63 chains located throughout Quebec and the Maritimes, the Abbatiello family is opening a first pizzeria in Ontario, more precisely in London.
In addition to offering delicious pizzas and decadent poutines, Pizza Salvatoré is continually involved in the locality and “invested” in its employees. This is certainly a significant gain for the community of London.
Domino's Pizza
Finally, another chain specializing in pizza has announced that it is making a major ecological shift, at least in the United States for the moment. Indeed, Domino's is adding nearly 1,000 electric cars to its delivery fleet. According to the firm, it will be the largest electric vehicle (EV) fleet for pizza delivery in the United States.
Of course, these EVs will help to reduce emissions to zero, but also reduce operating and maintenance costs. It aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
