Google Expands “What’s Happening” to Multi-Location Restaurants

TL;DR: Google's What's Happening feature – previously available only to single-location restaurants – is now live for multi-location and chain restaurants in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Brands can use this module to showcase timely events, specials, or offers directly on their Google Business Profile.

Google introduced What's Happening earlier this year as a way for food and drink businesses to highlight time-sensitive content, such as promos, seasonal deals, or live events, at the top of their listings.

Until now, it was limited to single-location businesses.

That's changing. Starting this week, restaurant chains operating across multiple locations can now access this feature — unlocking new visibility at the local level.

There are two ways to trigger What's Happening:

1. Google Posts (preferred): Post time-based content — like upcoming events or promotions — directly in your Google Business Profile.

2. Social sync: Link your Facebook, Instagram, or X profiles to your GBP. If Google detects time-based content, they may auto-generate a "What's Happening" item on your Google listing.

Google may display this content differently on Search, depending on format and recency.

If you're managing restaurant locations at scale, this feature is a low-lift way to increase local engagement. To take advantage:

• Post regular offers and event content via Google Posts

• Make sure your social feeds are linked and active

• Localize your posts where possible to improve relevance

Yext makes it easy to scale location-specific Google Posts across all your restaurants — while keeping messaging consistent and on-brand. You can also manage your linked accounts, monitor performance, and adapt content based on results.

This update gives restaurant chains a powerful new surface to drive visibility and local action. Whether you're promoting happy hour or holiday hours, What's Happening helps make sure customers see it first.

Learn how to optimize your Google Business Profile, here.