The Rush

This week on The Rush: Yum Brands closes its $1.5B sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital, 7 Brew outbids Dutch Bros with a $143M bid for 73 former Salad and Go locations, and Starbucks' pumpkin spice launch breaks sales records yet again.Plus: Nero Group posts a record £670M year, Dunkin' teams up with Walmart for delivery, Chipotle opens its first Saudi Arabia location, Jollibee picks Hong Kong over New York for its international listing, and Jeremy Clarkson's Farmer's Dog pub keeps defying pub economics two years on.Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders.In hospitality, you can't afford to wait. The Rush is your weekly download on what's moving fast in QSR: openings, brand moves, funding, tech, and the trends reshaping how restaurants grow. Every Thursday, in under 30 minutes.Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. New episodes drop every Thursday — follow so you don't miss one.

🚨 EPISODE 2: Burger King's Decision-Free Drive-Thru, Starbucks' Playful Martha Stewart Campaign & Taco Bell x Olivia Rodrigo's Pink Baja Blast Collab In hospitality, you can't afford to wait. The Rush is your weekly download on what's moving fast in QSR: openings, brand moves, funding, tech, and the trends reshaping how restaurants grow. Every Thursday, in under 30 minutes.IN THIS EPISODE: 🔹 Burger King UK tackles "decision fatigue" with its first-ever Decision-Free Drive-Thru 🔹 Starbucks enlists Martha Stewart to defend the "basic" PSL in a new ad campaign 🔹 Taco Bell teams up with Olivia Rodrigo for a first-ever Pink Baja Blast 🔹 Wendy's stock sinks 13% as Trian shelves its take-private bid, erasing the month's gains 🔹 McDonald's shares hit a fresh 52-week low as value pressures bite 🔹 Restaurant software startup Owner raises $240M at a $2.3B valuation 🔹 Loungers is on track to hit £500m turnover and opens its first international site in Germany 🔹 Dutch Bros and 7 Brew battle to scoop up ~130 shuttered Salad and Go drive-thru sites Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders.Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. 🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcast #TheRush #Edify #QSR #Hospitality #RestaurantNews #FoodserviceNews #Podcast

🚨 EPISODE 1: Wendy's Takeover Bid, Starbucks Layoffs & Knoops Crosses the Atlantic In hospitality, you can't afford to wait. The Rush is your weekly download on what's moving fast in QSR: openings, brand moves, funding, tech, and the trends reshaping how restaurants grow. Every Thursday, in under 30 minutes, stay caught up worldwide. IN THIS EPISODE: 🔹 Wendy's stock jumps on reports Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund is preparing a takeover bid 🔹 Starbucks lays off 200+ corporate workers — its 8th round in two years — ahead of its Nashville move 🔹 Blank Street closes a Series B 🔹 UK's Knoops makes its long-awaited US debut in Salt Lake City, eyeing America as its biggest market by 2032 🔹 KFC teams up with La Vieille Ferme for a "Coq au Vin" wine bar pop-up in Shoreditch 🔹 Yo-Chi opens its first UK store in Notting Hill 🔹 Saudi Arabia's F&B sector shifts toward health-led, drive-thru concepts Hosted by Ed Barry, founder/CEO of Edify, who built, scaled, and sold Over Under, the celebrated coffee chain, alongside Kallie Kocourek, founder of GSD Collective and a seasoned hospitality and growth consultant. Decades of franchise experience, broken down for operators and founders. Fast-paced. No fluff. Every Thursday. 🎧 Listen on Spotify #TheRush #Edify #QSR #Hospitality #RestaurantNews #FoodserviceNews #Podcast