Chick-fil-A’s delivery-led concept Little Blue Menu will transition its last remaining location in College Park, Maryland, into a traditional restaurant. The move is scheduled for January, concluding the experiential brand’s 5-year stint. Little Blue Menu debuted in Nashville in 2021, offering innovations such as pizzas topped with Chick-fil-A nuggets, as well as burgers, onion rings, sweet potato tots, and chicken wings. That location closed in 2023, and the company opened its College Park location later that year, featuring a menu available via delivery, mobile pickup, and catering with orders placed through the chain’s app or third-party delivery apps. In a statement, Chick-fil-A said Little Blue Menu was designed to be a test-and-learn concept. It is one of several concepts to come out of the company’s Red Wagon Ventures subsidiary, founded in 2017 to create services beyond the core restaurant business. The beverage concept Daybright, which opened last year, is also part of Red Wagon Ventures.
Taco Bell has enlisted Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Olivia Rodrigo to co-create a new iteration of its signature Baja Blast. The new beverage is called You Seem Pretty Pink for a Baja Blast is inspired by Rodrigo’s new album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. It is pink with custom packaging inspired by the album’s aesthetic. The company said she brought the idea to the brand after years of making the Baja Blast part of her routine. The beverage will debut at Taco Bell’s Live Mas Cafes in California, Las Vegas, and Texas Aug. 29 before rolling out systemwide Sept. 24 for a limited time.
Long John Silver’s is named after the pragmatic survivor in “Treasure Island,” and the company very much mirrors its namesake by navigating turbulent waters throughout its 57-year history. Founded in 1969 in Lexington, Kentucky, the chain grew to over 1,000 units before facing bankruptcy in 1998. After ownership changes through Yum Brands and LJS Partners, the system shrunk dramatically by 2020, but has since rebounded with a sharper focus on franchisee support and profitability. A 2022 inflection point arrived when Four Oaks Partners acquired the brand, implementing intentional closures of underperforming and co-branded locations to further optimize the system. Since 2022, systemwide sales have grown 9%, average unit volumes are up nearly 40%, and the chain has achieved 16 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth. Read more about Long John Silver’s journey at RestaurantBusinessOnline.com
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