May 22, 2013
Emerging Concepts

Prior to purchasing Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina from its founder in 2011, CEO Phil Friedman spent 11 years expanding McAlister’s Deli from 27 to 300 units. These days, he and Salsarita’s president and COO Larry Reinstein are looking to grow the fresh-Mex concept. And grow it has, with a double-digit percentage growth in...

Menu Innovations

Superfoods have swept the culinary world into a frenzy, enticing consumers with a taste of the exotic and courting them with nutrition and functionality, to the point where restaurants across the country are trying to stake a claim in this fledgling movement. Quick-service restaurants are keeping in stride, and many have ventured beyond...

Ingredients & Dayparts

No longer is local sourcing just a utopian ideal. It’s a practice coming to life and continually gaining momentum in foodservice, with the number of local ingredients on menus growing by 73 percent over the last four years, according to market research firm Mintel. But, at its most basic level, it’s a tale of two industries....

Denise Lee Yohn: QSR’s Marketing Guru

Q: I've got a solid logo and look for my business, an ad campaign that works pretty reliably, and a good following on Facebook. What can I do to take my brand to the next level? A: Try this: Imagine your brand as a source of light. In an ideal world, the light of your brand would shine brightly and directly on your...

Industry News

This past fall (August 30-December 31, 2012), Dole challenged schools nationwide to create videos that promote healthy eating and incorporate fruit consumption in a school foodservice setting. Packaged Foods LLC is pleased to announce the grand prize winner of this 2nd annual DOLE Fruit Flash Mob contest is Indian River High School...

Industry News

In a push to distinguish itself from growing competition in the fast-casual bakery-café space, Corner Bakery Café is doubling down on menu innovation. The 22-year-old, Dallas-based chain recently leveraged its high-quality kitchen equipment and capabilities, as well as more than 40 fresh fruits and vegetables delivered daily to its...

Industry News

Frozen-yogurt chain TCBY may be the category leader—ahead of brands like Pinkberry, Red Mango, and Menchie’s with nearly 18 percent market share, according to an October 2012 report from IBISWorld—but it refuses to get too comfortable in its place out front. In fact, following several major moves over the last few...

Industry News

New research from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) shows that more than one-quarter of American adults will celebrate Mother’s Day by dining out, and nearly one in 10 will rely on restaurant takeout or delivery for their special Mother’s Day meal. Overall, the NRA projects that 80 million American adults will enjoy...

McAlisters Deli franchisee says casual dining experience helps in quick service.
What You Can Learn from Casual Dining

David Blackburn has been in the foodservice business his entire adult life. Since 1979, the McAlister’s Deli franchisee has cataloged more than 25 years of experience in the casual-dining sector, spending 16 of those as regional vice president of operations at O’Charley’s....

Fast casual brands attract customers with alcoholic beverage programs
Buying into Booze

Fast-casual restaurants were once able to claim premium food, modern décor, and all-around upscale service as hallmarks of their category. But with more quick-service chains retooling in those areas to compete for post-recession consumers, fast casuals have been left to search for new ways to...

Operators must protect their quick serve business from credit card fraud.
How to Prevent Credit Card Fraud

Every merchant that accepts credit and debit cards is required to be compliant with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS), whose next set of standards will be released in October 2013. Yet despite these compliance requirements, the food and beverage industry had the...

The Boston Fire Department was treated to free meals at Firehouse Subs.
Nurturing Boston

As soon as he learned about the April 15th Boston bombings, Dave Tucci, the New England area representative for Firehouse Subs’ DMA, called the Firehouse franchisee closest to the bombings.

Tucci was relieved to find out that all employees at Firehouse’s Copley Square location...

Tin Drum Asia Cafe used equity firm investment to stay debt free in growth.
Striking Gold

Steven Chan’s business was at a crossroads last year. His Atlanta-based fast casual Tin Drum AsiaCafé launched in 2000, sold its first franchise in 2001, and was growing slowly due to Chan’s determination to keep it debt-free. At the beginning of 2012, Tin Drum had 10 franchises in...

Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey is innovativing the POS space with Square.
Can Square Change POS Forever?

Jack Dorsey, who cofounded Twitter and Square, was raised by parents in the quick-service industry. His father owned a pizza restaurant, and his mother ran a coffee shop.

It’s little surprise, then, that Dorsey’s latest initiative with Square is to broaden its use within quick...

Superfoods like whole grains and oatmeal offer healthy menu alternative.
The Other Side of Super

Superfoods have swept the culinary world into a frenzy, enticing consumers with a taste of the exotic and courting them with nutrition and functionality, to the point where restaurants across the country are trying to stake a claim in this fledgling movement.

Quick-service restaurants are...

Corner Bakery's new menu items use fresh ingredients to offer premium quality.
The Corner of Innovation

In a push to distinguish itself from growing competition in the fast-casual bakery-café space, Corner Bakery Café is doubling down on menu innovation.

The 22-year-old, Dallas-based chain recently leveraged its high-quality kitchen equipment and capabilities, as well as more than 40 fresh...

 
Industry News

Passport Food Group announced the hiring of Jeffrey Taveres and Jim Debiase, two experienced sales executives.

Tavares joined Passport Food Group as the Asian market account manager, and will be responsible for supporting the Asian foodservice and retail customers in California, Arizona, and Nevada. He was most recently with the Asian sauce and ingredients company Lee Kum Kee.

Debiase joined the company as the Southern California territory sales manager, and will be responsible for supporting all non‐Asian foodservice accounts in Southern California.

Executive Insights

The most powerful woman in the restaurant industry isn’t intimidating, nor is she larger than life. She isn’t cold, tight-lipped, terse, or abrasive. She doesn’t talk down to you. She doesn’t double-book you and cancel at the last second.

Certainly one might expect such a person to be and do any number of those things; overseeing nearly 1 million members that collectively earn more than $650 billion in sales and represent 4 percent of the entire U.S. GDP isn’t a walk in the park.

Industry News

For the first time, QSR had the honor of attending the Women’s Foodservice Forum’s Annual Leadership Development Conference, held this year on April 14–17 in Orlando, Florida.

Industry News

Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) has launched a mobile application that offers easy, portable access to WFF tools and information. The app, called WFF Access, serves as a navigable mobile version of the organization’s website. Some key features of the app include WFF event schedules and social media feeds. The app also provides a central hub for connecting with other members based on similar interests, job function, or industry.

Industry News

Edible Arrangements announced three new additions to its e-commerce team to support the company’s online and social media expansion efforts. 

With rapidly increasing sales, and more than 50 percent of orders placed through the Edible Arrangementswebsite, the company has tripled the size of its e-commerce team since 2010. 

In addition, the company has launched an aggressive social media strategy, such as a recent, highly popular Facebook promotion to help launch the new Edible Arrangements Make Today a Little Sweeter collection.

Women in Foodservice

Though research and development used to be an old boys’ club in the limited-service industry, the tables are slowly starting to turn.

As quick serves and fast casuals expand their gender horizons both in the C-suite and beyond, more women are leading R&D efforts and bringing their unique viewpoint to the menu-creation process.

Industry News

Global restaurateur HMSHosthas been selected as a finalist for the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) 2013 Operator Innovations Awards.

HMSHost is one of three finalists in both the food safety and the menu development categories vying for a chance at being named the top innovator in each category, and potentially the overall Innovator of the Year.

The NRA is the leading restaurant industry organization in the United States, and this is the second consecutive year for the Operator Innovations Awards.

Industry News

The foodservice industry is expected to have its fourth straight year of growth, reaching sales in excess of $660 billion, according to the NRA Industry Forecast. The results of this growth are seen every day in headlines—the pressure for innovation, mergers and acquisitions, the struggle for talent recruitment and retention. These forces are what Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), a leadership development organization, attributes to its unprecedented demand and what provides the basis of its latest campaign.