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Better burgers, better pizza, better Mexican? Been there, done that. A big new buzz in the elevated fast-casual world is all around chicken, with a new flock of next-gen, chicken-centric brands taking flight.

Global coffee behemoth Starbucks opened its first store in Uruguay, in the capital city of Montevideo. 

Fast-casual, build-your-own-pizza chain The Pizza Press plans to open 20 new locations in Florida. 

Nick Reader started out with a love of both food and football (he’s a former chief financial officer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), joined forces with his friend Bob Basham (co-founder of Outback Steakhouse), and created PDQ in 2009.

When it comes to integrating new technologies like self-checkouts, self-serve ordering kiosks, advanced equipment controls, highly integrated POS platforms and other software meant to enhance operations, many restaurants have had to figure things out on their own.

A roundup of interesting bits of news that came across the editor’s desk in the last month, including mergers and acquisitions, chain news, development executive happenings and international expansions.

Connecticut-based Wing It On is moving its six-location chain into new markets this summer with the debut of its first food truck. Previously, we’ve seen  casual-dining chains with a focus on wings  move into the fast-casual space.

The food truck craze resulted in the founding of several brick-and-mortar restaurants.