Wendy’s, hiring, On the Border
Get all the headlines in today’s Restaurant Daily podcast.
June 25, 2026
Wendy’s is getting the meme treatment. The fast-food chain’s shares soared as much as 40% on Wednesday after traders on the social media site Reddit began a push to “save” the company by buying up its stock. The push may also have had a residual impact on other restaurant stocks, including Jack in the Box, whose shares are up more than 14%. A meme stock is a publicly traded company whose shares soar unexpectedly due to social media discussion. In this case, the investors are betting on a comeback while also pushing to hurt short-sellers betting on the company’s decline. Nearly a quarter of Wendy’s shares are short.
Restaurants are expected to hire fewer workers this summer. The industry is expected to hire less than it did last summer, and for the third straight summer will add fewer than 500,000 jobs. The slowdown in hiring for the summer is not unusual, but it demonstrates the uncertainty felt by much of the industry amid weak sales and cost problems.
On the Border filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on June 19, a week after closing most of its restaurants. The chain had about $753,000 in assets and more than $6 million in debt, most of it owed to parent company Pappas Restaurants. On the Border closed its final 28 company-owned restaurants earlier this month. Only five franchised locations remain in the U.S.
Get all the headlines in today’s Restaurant Daily podcast.
About the Authors
Lisa Jennings
Executive Editor, Restaurant Business
Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts. Her experience includes other industry publications as well as the daily newspaper The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., where she was Food Editor. Her work has been cited in the Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, FoodBeast, The Huffington Post, Time.com and more.
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)
Content Spotlight
The Technomic Top 500: Another tough year for chain restaurants
Top 500 chain restaurant sales slowed again in 2025 as consumers cut back on dining, but sectors like coffee, beverages and snacks and chicken thrived
Featured
Jun 25, 2026
Jun 17, 2026
Recent News
Content Spotlight
Get to know Rick Cardenas, the Darden CEO who started there as a busser
The executive shares his advice, along with his most-binged TV show, favorite sports team, and most-used app
Source: This story originated with Nation's Restaurant News.
View Original Article →