Starbucks, Wingstop, swipe fees
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June 12, 2026
Can smaller cafes help Starbucks grow? The coffee shop giant sure thinks so. Starbucks believes it can add another 5,000 locations in the U.S., and believes there are plenty of markets where it can open new units. Company executives argue that building sales in the afternoon, a key goal for Starbucks, coupled with a more efficient buildout strategy, will improve the economics enough to fuel that growth. Starbucks is going into smaller, half-acre sites with smaller footprints with drive-thrus and in-line locations, which it believes will open up more locations in the U.S.
Wingstop is bringing back its Boneless Meal Deal, which includes 20 boneless wings, a large fry and two dips for $16.99. The offering not only coincides with the World Cup but also Wingstop’s broader strategy to re-gain lower-income consumers, who have slowed down their visits to the chain. During the company's most recent earnings call in April, CEO Michael Skipworth said Wingstop is focused on presenting value through abundance and experience and this effort has started to gain traction, with the highest growth cohort coming from the $50,000 to $100,000 income households.
A court has approved a swipe-fee settlement, but restaurants aren’t impressed. A federal court judge has approved a $38 billion settlement of a long-running legal dispute between credit card processors and merchants, including restaurants, that accuse them of monopolistic behavior. The settlement will lower interchange fees, or swipe fees, by 0.1%. But the National Restaurant Association and other trade groups argue that the settlement does not do enough to stop what they see as price fixing, which they argue ultimately killed two previous settlements of the litigation. Restaurants argue that excessive swipe fees now represent operators’ third-highest cost, after labor and food costs.
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About the Authors
Leigh Anne Zinsmeister
Managing Editor
Leigh Anne Zinsmeister is a managing editor for Informa’s Foodservices Vertical, specifically Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, and Foodservice Director. Leigh Anne works on all of the brands’ special reports, including Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual Top 500 report and Restaurant Hospitality’s Best Cocktails and Best Sandwiches contests. She also manages the group’s digital engagement team, and was the managing editor for Supermarket News until December 2024.
Leigh Anne lives in New York City, but also claims Phoenix, Dallas and Cleveland as hometowns. Leigh Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where she also studied European history.
Email Leigh Anne at [email protected]
Leigh Anne Zinsmeister’s experience:
Group Managing Editor, Informa’s Foodservices Vertical (Aug. 2021-present)
Group Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (Feb. 2020-Aug. 2021)
Digital Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (April 2018-Feb. 2020)
Digital Content Producer, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (June 2016-April 2018)
Community Moderator, Mail Online (March 2014-June 2016)
Wire Editor, Gannett’s Phoenix Design studio (The Arizona Republic, The Reno Gazette-Journal, The Statesman Journal, The Great Falls Tribune, The Visalia Times-Delta, The Tulare Advance Register, The Salinas Californian, The St. George Spectrum, The Desert Sun, The Coloradoan) (Jan. 2012-March 2014)
Group Managing Editor, Informa’s Foodservices Vertical (Aug. 2021-present)
Group Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (Feb. 2020-Aug. 2021)
Digital Content Manager, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (April 2018-Feb. 2020)
Digital Content Producer, Informa Restaurant and Food Group (June 2016-April 2018)
Community Moderator, Mail Online (March 2014-June 2016)
Wire Editor, Gannett’s Phoenix Design studio (The Arizona Republic, The Reno Gazette-Journal, The Statesman Journal, The Great Falls Tribune, The Visalia Times-Delta, The Tulare Advance Register, The Salinas Californian, The St. George Spectrum, The Desert Sun, The Coloradoan) (Jan. 2012-March 2014)
Jonathan Maze
Editor in Chief, Restaurant Business
Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants. He writes daily about the factors influencing the operating environment, including labor and food costs and various industry trends such as technology and delivery.
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