Tariffs take center stage in foodservice as new data reveals impacts on equipment manufacturing. Additionally, Fat Brands’ ongoing bankruptcy saga and potential tariff refunds add complexity to the industry. These stories and more, This Week in Foodservice.

There’s plenty of discussion about the impact tariffs are having on the economy but data released by the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers shines a light on how they are affecting certain aspects of the foodservice industry.

Along those lines, 91% of participating NAFEM member companies participating in a recent study report tariffs having a negative impact on their businesses and 78% said they are passing the increased costs from tariffs and other trade practices on to customers. As a result, NAFEM member companies are updating the strategy behind how they run their businesses. For example, 73% of participating NAFEM member companies are investigating new or local suppliers and 75% are exploring nearshoring and reshoring options. But reconfiguring those supply chains will take time and money.

Beyond tariffs, NAFEM members report that regulatory compliance burdens remain a significant challenge. In fact, 85% say compliance limits their ability to control costs compared to 62% in 2023, which was the last time the association fielded this study. In contrast, 47% say these burdens are impacting their ability to grow compared 54% in 2023.

All these challenges, though, may have an impact on the level of innovation the industry could see in the coming years. Specifically, if manufacturers could reduce the regulatory and compliance burden, they would redirect spending to product development (71%), capital investments (53%), and hiring (35%), per the NAFEM study. In 2023, respondents would have purchased new equipment (58%), hire (34%) and increase wages/benefits (32%).

So how are many manufacturers responding to these challenges? They are standing pat, per the “Mystery Manufacturer,” a column published by FCSI’s The Consultant magazine.

Foodservice News

• The drama surrounding multiconcept operator Fat Brands’ bankruptcy seems never-ending. Andy Wiederhorn, the company’s CEO and chairman, has agreed to a temporary leave of absence, something creditors have sought since last month, per a Restaurant Dive report. Wiederhorn’s family members will end their employment at the company, while all of Fat Brands’ board members, aside from members of the special committee overseeing its bankruptcy, will resign from their positions. In addition, the company appears to be for sale, per a QSR magazine report. The company, which owns 18 different restaurant chains ranging from Fatburger to Johnny Rockets to Fazoli’s, has outlined plans to pursue a court-supervised sales process, which is expected to move quickly. Initial expressions of interest are due early next month, and binding bids are due by April 24, 2026.
• What’s the secret behind Olive Garden’s 3.2% increase in same-store sales for its most recent quarter? In a word: consistency. It’s not that consumers have changed their thinking about Olive Garden and its unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. Rather, as consumers have become more price sensitive, they have come to place a greater emphasis on the predictability of the food, portions and prices, per an analysis from The Food Institute.
• Starbucks plans to reorganize its licensed operations, per a Restaurant Business story. This includes Starbucks locations in airports, grocery stores, hospitals and the like. Rather than operate those licensed locations on a regional basis, Starbucks’ restructuring efforts will focus on the environments in which the stores are located. The goal is to improve service at these locations, where Starbucks typically has less control than it does at corporate stores. That could lead to more ordering channels at places such as airports or grocery stores.
• Wonder continues to fortify its plans to take the company public. The food hall/delivery company hired a chief financial officer to help become “IPO-ready” by early next year, per multiple published reports, including this one from Nation’s Restaurant News.
• Grubhub is the latest meal delivery company to employ the use of drones to deliver meals to customers. A three-month pilot program is about to take flight in New Jersey, per a Flying report. The service will be available to customers within a 2.5-mile radius of Wonder’s Green Brook Township, N.J., location. (Wonder owns Grubhub.) This will be New Jersey’s first commercial drone food delivery offering, the story added. Both DoorDash and Uber Eats have already launched similar initiatives in other states.
• Wetzel’s Pretzels clearly sees c-stores as a fast lane for growth. The company plans to double the number of sites it operates inside convenience stores over the next two years, per a C-Store Dive story. The chain began targeting c-stores five years ago and has 20 units inside them to date.
• In a nod to how consumers feel about the U.S. economy, McDonald’s will launch a $3 value meal in April. The new $3 menu will replace the McValue platform McDonald’s launched last month, per a Fortune story shared by MSN.

Economic News

• Tariff refunds might actually be a thing. It appears so. The Trump Administration has drafted a plan for dispersing the more than $165 billion collected under the protective tariffs that were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, per a story from IFMA – The Food Away from Home Association.
• The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.7% in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Final demand prices moved up 0.5% in January and 0.4% in December 2025. Economists polled by Dow Jones had projected a 0.3% increase, per a CNBC analysis. For the 12-month period ending in February, the index for final demand rose 3.4%. More than half of the February rise in prices for final demand can be attributed to a 0.5% advance in the index for final demand services. Prices for final demand goods increased 1.1%.
• The U.S. economy was showing signs of weakness before the war in Iran, per an analysis from The Conference Board. Some of the contributing factors include fourth-quarter GDP growth coming in slower than initially reported and weakening consumer spending.
• New orders for manufactured goods in January increased 0.1%, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. This followed a 0.4% December decrease.
• Sales of new single-family houses in January 2026 came in at 17.6% less than December of 2025 and 11.3% less than January of 2025, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported. This is the slowest pace of sales since 2022, per a CNBC analysis.