Restaurant chains bet on better food to win back diners

Restaurant chains are turning their focus back to food quality, upgrading core menu items from bacon to Frosties to chicken nuggets in a bid to win back diners who have eaten out less and grown pickier about where they spend, CNBC reported.

Wendy’s, Burger King, Chili’s, Applebee’s and McDonald’s have all announced menu improvements in recent earnings calls. The shift comes after two years in which “value” has been the buzzword for restaurant executives. Now CEOs are turning to their corporate chefs to beat rivals on taste.

The strategy has a precedent. In 2009, Domino’s Pizza changed its recipe, swapped its sauce, added garlic to its crust and switched to shredded mozzarella with a hint of provolone. Along with blunt commercials that compared its old crust to cardboard, the changes drove U.S. same-store sales growth of 9.9% the following year.

Wendy’s turnaround

Wendy’s unveiled a five-part turnaround strategy on Thursday that includes “quality food at real value” as a pillar. CEO Bob Wright told analysts the chain is testing improvements to core items, including thicker and crispier bacon, a richer and creamier Frosty, whole leaf lettuce on sandwiches and improved salads.

The announcement came on the same day Wendy’s reported its seventh straight quarter of same-store sales declines and publicly rejected a $1.4 billion takeover bid from Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners. Wendy’s said the proposal did not account for the value its turnaround plan could unlock.

The rejection is a bet that Wendy’s can fix itself faster than Trian could. Seven quarters of declining same-store sales is a deep hole, and better bacon and a creamier Frosty are not enough to climb out of it alone. But the Domino’s precedent shows that food quality changes, combined with honest marketing about why the changes were needed, can move the needle.

Burger King’s copycat

Some of the same team that led the Domino’s turnaround is now running Burger King’s U.S. restaurants. The chain’s multiyear comeback plan started with the Whopper, which received a better bun and a new mayonnaise earlier this year. In September, it rolled out an overhaul of its nuggets, switching to 100% white meat, crispier breading and a more flavorful marinade.

The results are encouraging. Whopper sales were up by a double-digit percentage in the third quarter, and nugget sales climbed more than 35%. Burger King’s U.S. same-store sales jumped 8.4% in the quarter.

CEO Josh Kobza said the chain focused on its biggest categories first, and on the ones where the fixes were straightforward. Like Domino’s, Burger King is highlighting diners’ past complaints with its Whoppers and nuggets in its ads, which star Burger King U.S. president Tom Curtis, a former Domino’s executive.

The chains that are already winning

Better-tasting food is not just for chains in trouble. Chili’s has seen its same-store sales soar 52% over the past three years, and it is still improving its menu. After tackling its baby back ribs, burgers and nachos, Brinker International CEO Kevin Hochman said the chain will turn next to salads and steaks, including dry-aging its beef in-house rather than at a plant.

Applebee’s launched a juicier chicken tender during its latest quarter. John Peyton, CEO of parent company Dine Brands, said the chain plans to overhaul more of its protein options in 2027. “Proteins are our biggest opportunity,” Peyton said. “They’re a big focus of the way people are thinking about eating right now.”

McDonald’s is testing hand-breaded wings, strips and a sandwich in Chicago-area restaurants, with plans to expand the trial in early 2027. It is also trying to improve its coffee with fresher beans and upgraded equipment. But the burger giant’s U.S. same-store sales fell 0.2% in the third quarter, and it is leaning into training with a multiyear “Make It Golden” program for employees and franchisees to improve the consistency of its core items.

What I think

The Domino’s playbook works, but it works best when one chain does it at a time. In 2009, Domino’s was the only major chain making a public bet on food quality. Today, Wendy’s, Burger King, Chili’s, Applebee’s and McDonald’s are all doing it simultaneously. When every chain improves its food, the competitive advantage of better food shrinks. The bars for “good enough” rise, and consumers gain more options to choose from.

Burger King’s 8.4% same-store sales jump is the strongest evidence that the strategy works. The Whopper and nugget changes are concrete, specific improvements that customers can taste. Wendy’s is earlier in the process, still testing changes rather than rolling them out, and seven quarters of declines will not reverse overnight. The rejected Trian bid puts pressure on management to show results fast.

Chili’s is the interesting case. A 52% same-store sales gain over three years is extraordinary, and the chain is still investing in food quality rather than coasting. Dry-aging beef in-house is expensive, but it is the kind of change that creates a gap competitors cannot close with a marketing campaign. Chili’s is building a moat with taste.

McDonald’s is the laggard. A 0.2% decline in U.S. same-store sales is not a crisis, but it is a sign that the value strategy has run out of steam. Hand-breaded wings and better coffee are the right moves, but the “Make It Golden” training program is an admission that the problem is not just the recipe. It is the execution. Improved menu items mean little if the changes are not well executed in the restaurants.

The restaurant industry is in a moment where discounting alone is no longer enough. Consumers have pulled back on dining out, and when they do spend, they want the food to be worth it. The chains that deliver on taste, not just on price, will be the ones that survive the contraction. The ones that keep discounting while their food stays mediocre will lose share to the ones that invested in the kitchen.