Welcome to the very first Fryer Wire—your fast, fun rundown of the biggest food-service headlines, served with hot takes from host George Penyak and co-host ChatGPT. 🔥 Stories on the grill

1. Wendy’s drives into the future with FreshAI
   • CEO Kirk Tanner says voice-AI ordering will jump from ≈100 pilots to 500-600 drive-thrus by year-end 2025. Early results: higher accuracy, faster speed, and bigger checks via smart upsells. Business Insider
2. Chili’s “all-time” turnaround
   • Parent Brinker International posted a 31 % same-store-sales boom and +21 % traffic in fiscal Q3 2025, crushing earnings estimates and stunning analysts who called it one of casual dining’s greatest comebacks. Brinker Investors
3. Waffle House finally delivers (literally)
   • The 24/7 icon partners with Olo Dispatch for “Late-Night Delivery” at 500 locations, with plans to extend across its 2,000-unit system; online orders route through 27 delivery providers. Hashbrowns, scattered-smothered-covered, right to your couch. Olo
4. Holy beef! Portillo’s creates “The Leo” for the first U.S. Pope
   • To celebrate Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, Portillo’s is renaming its legendary Italian-beef for a limited time. Just ask for “The Leo” and the kitchen will know. Los Angeles Times