June 20, 2013
Industry News
Brands Band Together For Ongoing Hurricane Sandy Relief

It’s been nearly eight months since Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast, but for many in the affected areas, recovery is still a long time coming.

That’s why nearly 2,000 restaurants across the nation are teaming up on Wednesday, June 19, for National Dine Out Day...

Read Full Story // read more about: Auntie Anne's, Charitable Giving, Marketing
Quick serve operators must strategic plan how to market their brand online.
Social Media
All the World’s Your Stage

In February, Taco Bell made the long-awaited announcement that it would soon launch the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco, a follow-up to 2012’s fanfare-inducing and record-shattering Doritos Locos Taco.

But it didn’t break the news through a press release or company statement....

Read Full Story // read more about: Dunkin' Donuts, KFC, Subway, Taco Bell, Marketing, Consumer Trends, Promotions
Industry News
Taco Bell Foundation Creates Times Square Yearbook

The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, together with Get Schooled, invites teens to take part in a one-of-a-kind project, “Yearbook Time! Upload Yourself Into Times Square Using Instagram.”

To participate, students are asked to make the Graduate for Mas promise to graduate high...

Read Full Story // read more about: Taco Bell, Charitable Giving, Social Media, Promotions
Industry News
La Madeleine Debuts New Summer Selections

As the warm summer months quickly approach, la Madeleine Country French Café invites guests to unwind and cool down with its new French-inspired menu offerings and refreshing pomegranate berry iced tea.

Chopped Salmon Niçoise Salade – Inspired by the flavors of southern France, this...

Read Full Story // read more about: La Madeleine, Menu Development, Menu Innovations
Industry News
Chefs, Executives Unite For Menus Of Change Conference

Attendees at the first annual Menus of Change leadership summit, which took place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, examined the future of food and the challenges facing the country in terms of health, health care, and the food systems.

Read Full Story // read more about: Healthy Menus, Menu Development
Industry News
Rutgers Grads Debut Bonchon Chicken in New Brunswick, NJ

Korean-style fried chicken restaurant chain Bonchon Chicken officially opens on Saturday, June 8, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The first 100 customers will receive five free chicken wings.

The New Brunswick Bonchon Chicken, available for dine-in, takeout, or delivery, is conveniently...

Read Full Story // read more about: Bonchon Chicken, Franchising, Growth
Industry News
Taco John's New VP Plans to Double Store Count

Shawn Eby has been named the vice president of operations for the Mexican quick-service restaurant chain Taco John’s International. Eby joins Taco John’s with 26 years of experience in the restaurant industry and was most recently the senior director of franchise operations in the...

Read Full Story // read more about: Taco John's, Franchising, Human Resources
Industry News
Garbanzo Hits the Town for First Orange County Unit

Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, a Colorado-based fast-casual restaurant concept featuring healthy Mediterranean cuisine, announced the grand opening of its first Orange County, California, franchise location on Wednesday, May 29.

The new restaurant is the Mediterranean concept’s 22...

Read Full Story // read more about: Garbanzo, Healthy Menus, Franchising, Growth, Fast Casual
Five to Seven will invest in healthy and sustainble fast food brands globally.
Healthy Menus
Good Food for All

Five to Seven, a new restaurant funding initiative launched in May by foodservice industry veterans Brad Blum and John Vincent, has goodness at its core and as its goal. “Good food for the planet” is the initiative’s tagline, as Blum and Vincent want “good food”...

See More
Corner Bakery's new menu items use fresh ingredients to offer premium quality.
Breakfast
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...

See More
Beverage
Ensure Ice Safety by Cleaning Frequently, Handling Properly

When it comes to ice, the Food and Drug Administration is crystal clear: Ice is considered a food—and it must be as safe as drinking water. The rule applies whether the ice is to be consumed or placed in contact with food or beverages to cool them.

See More
New fast food brands like Live Basil first start as innovative business ideas.
Finance
Birth of a Brand

It always starts with a simple idea.

For Brian Bailey at Ichor Restaurant Group, it began with the idea that Ohioans needed better barbecue. Six years after that idea initially took hold, Old Carolina Barbecue opened the doors to its first unit, in Canton, Ohio. The company later opened...

See More
McAlisters Deli franchisee says casual dining experience helps in quick service.
Sandwiches
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....

See More
Food Safety
The Low Down on High Chair Cleanliness

The high chairs you keep on hand for your youngest customers are a welcome convenience for their moms and dads. But ensuring that high chair surfaces are cleaned and sanitized is often overlooked even in quick-service restaurants that employ the most disciplined hygiene procedures.

See More
The Boston Fire Department was treated to free meals at Firehouse Subs.
Charitable Giving
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...

See More
Operators must protect their quick serve business from credit card fraud.
Point Of Sale
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...

See More
A Wing Zone franchisee changed his cooking equipment to get better results.
Back of House
The Transformational Franchisee

Army and Air Force foodservice provider The Exchange has been serving U.S. military families since 1895 with meals in cafeteria lines and snack bars. It wasn’t until 1985, however, that it first signed a license agreement with a name-brand food franchisee—at the time, Burger King.

See More
 
Industry News
SPIN! Pizza Touted by Local Missouri Publications

SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza has been named best pizza by two local publications in Missouri. Both Kansas City Magazine and 435 South Magazine have awarded SPIN! top honors in their annual “City’s Best” issues.

Kansas City Magazinereported that SPIN! was “far and away” the leader in its readers’ votes. The repeat awards join a raft of local and national awards that SPIN! has accrued for its food and environs since opening its first location in 2005.

Read Full Story // read more about: SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza, Design, Pizza, Women in Foodservice, Franchising, Growth, Ingredients & Dayparts
Industry News
Dickey's Barbecue Pit Serves Up $1 Pulled-Pork Sandwiches

Dickey’s franchise owners Peggy and Joe Anicka have enjoyed serving the Commerce Township, Michigan, community slow, pit-smoked barbecue.

On Friday, January 25, Dickey's will be offering $1 Pulled Pork Big Barbecue sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in honor of its grand-opening celebration.

Read Full Story // read more about: Dickey's Barbecue Pit, Marketing, Women in Foodservice, Franchising, Promotions, Growth
Industry News
Cousins Subs Makes it Better with New Foundation

Cousins Subs restaurants has established The Make It Better Foundation to improve the welfare and quality of life in the communities Cousins Subs serves.

"Cousins Subs has a longstanding tradition of commitment to the communities we serve," says Christine Specht, president and COO at Cousins Subs. "We have supported a multitude of causes and organizations throughout our 40-year history. By establishing The Make It Better Foundation, we hope we can do even more."

Read Full Story // read more about: Cousins Subs, Charitable Giving, Sandwiches, Women in Foodservice
Industry News
Nancy Clark Joins Fiesta Restaurant Group as Chief People Officer

Fiesta Restaurant Group, the owner, operator, and franchisor of the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana fast-casual restaurant brands, announced that Nancy Clark has joined the company as vice president, chief people officer, effective January 10, 2013.

Clark is a highly regarded human resources business leader with more than 15 years of experience at several high-profile and diverse organizations, including J.C. Penney Corporation, PepsiCo, and General Electric Company.

Read Full Story // read more about: Pollo Tropical, Taco Cabana, Women in Foodservice, Human Resources
Industry News
Industry Vet Sheri Miksa Takes the Reins at Boneheads

Boneheads Grilled Fish & Piri Piri Chicken, the popular six-unit Atlanta-based fast-casual restaurant chain known for its signature Piri-Piri Chicken and distinctively flavored fresh grilled seafood menu, hasnamed 25-year hospitality and restaurant industry veteran, Sheri Miksa, as its new CEO and president. 

Read Full Story // read more about: Boneheads, Women in Foodservice, Human Resources
Industry News
CIA Students Serve Up Comfort Food for Travelers

Global restaurateur HMSHost is proud to announce the winners of the Fast & Fabulous Recipe Contest, a program that the company cosponsors with The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

Jessica Hargrove and Lauren Fury, students at the CIA, were recognized as the winners of the contest for their Toasted Flatbread Mac n’ Cheese and Chicken and Waffles recipes, respectively.

Read Full Story // read more about: Menu Development, Women in Foodservice
Industry News
Golden Tiger Pounces on a New Website for Asian Products

It may have been Jean Lee’s father who first opened the popular Chinese Deli in Chinatown back in 1963, but it was Jean Lee’s menu of Asian specialties that eventually became the first “Chinese fast-food concept” in America.  

The model Lee created has evolved into what’s now an extensive line of authentic Dim Sum under the brand Golden Tiger. To promote the brand, the most advanced online site for Asian products in the country has just been launched.

Read Full Story // read more about: Menu Development, Women in Foodservice, Ingredients & Dayparts, Technology
Industry News
Burger King Selects Jerrell Moore as Chief Diversity Officer

Burger King Corporation, a subsidiary of Burger King Worldwide, announced the appointment of Jerrell Moore as chief diversity officer.

In this role, Moore will be responsible for continuing to grow efforts in support of BKC’s four-pronged diversity and inclusion strategy focused on workforce, guests and community, franchisees, and supplier diversity.

Read Full Story // read more about: Burger King, Burgers, Women in Foodservice, Human Resources