Extra Serving: A restaurant industry podcast · April 27, 2026 · 42 min

Starbucks’ east coast move, McDonald’s major milestone, and Little Caesars’ new delivery method

On this week’s Extra Serving, NRN editor in chief Sam Oches and executive editor Alicia Kelso discuss the latest restaurant industry news, including Starbucks’ new Nashville office, McDonald’s unit-count surge, and Little Caesars’ new drone delivery test. First up is Starbucks, which announced two initiatives last week: a $100 million new office in Nashville that helps it establish a stronger East Coast presence, and a new scheduled ordering tool that will help customers be more precise with their orders. Sam and Alicia break down these headlines and try to fit them into the broader puzzle that is Brian Niccol’s plan for Starbucks. Next up is McDonald’s, which grew its U.S. store count by 149 last year — the largest jump since 2002. Alicia explains why this is significant news, and she and Sam summarize the impressive momentum that the Golden Arches has built for itself in the past two years. They then turn to Little Caesars, which is testing drone delivery with Flytrex. With so many drone tests in the past five years but little to show for it, are we sure this is the direction Little Caesars should be going? Sam and Alicia break it down and explain why this particular test could be different. Finally, in the Quick Fire portion of the episode, they tackle Wendy’s seven new menu items, Chipotle’s sustainability report and Honey Chicken release, and Steak ’n’ Shake’s new Chief MAHA Officer role. For more on these stories: Starbucks will soon let you plan your pickup times McDonald's added a lot of new U.S. restaurants in 2025 Little Caesars deploys high-capacity drone delivery