June 19, 2013
Industry News
Baskin-Robbins Takes On Turkey Day with LTO Desserts

Baskin-Robbins, the world’s largest chain of ice cream specialty shops, is offering ice cream lovers an extra treat this Thanksgiving holiday with its delicious Turkey Cake and new Turkey Leg individual novelty, now available at participating Baskin-Robbins locations nationwide. To delve deeper into turkey day trends,...

Read Full Story // read more about: Baskin-Robbins, Desserts, Food & Beverage, Menu Innovations
Industry News
Subway Donates to WWP to Thank Veterans for Their Service

Subway Restaurants, the world’s largest restaurant chain, will partner with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors, and support its vision to foster the most successful and well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.

Read Full Story // read more about: Subway, Charitable Giving, Charitable Giving, Promotions
Consumer Trends
Meet Your Consumer

There is no average quick-service customer. Or so says Kim Holman, director of marketing for Wixon Inc., a flavor researcher and manufacturer. She believes the U.S. has become such a melting pot of age, race, and other demographics spread out across disparate regions that fast-food operators have no way of singling out any one typical,...

Read Full Story // read more about: Arby's, Famous Dave's, Marketing, Competition, Promotions, Growth
Industry News
ShopKeep Steps into Quick Service with POS System

ShopKeep POS, the simplest way to make smarter business decisions, announced its entry into the quick-serve market with full kitchen printing capabilities. To meet customer and merchant needs, ShopKeep POS has developed the simplest way to modify an order, adjust the price accordingly, and print it to the kitchen all on an iPad POS. ...

Read Full Story // read more about: Point Of Sale, Technology
Industry News
Pizza Patrón Takes New Mexico By Storm

Pizza Patrón has signed an exclusive development agreement with one of its franchisees, TWE Hospitality Group, to bring the premier Latin pizza brand to the state of New Mexico.  Eight stores are planned, and development will focus first on Albuquerque, then turn to Las Cruces. The franchisee opened Pizza Patrón’s 100 th ...

Read Full Story // read more about: Pizza Patron, Pizza, Franchising, Growth
Industry News
Pizza Patrón Kicks Off Promotion with Hispanic Soccer Great

Pizza Patrón announced that it will kick off a co-branded promotion, “Ponte La Diez” or “Wear the 10,” with Pepsi starting November 1, 2012, and scheduled to run through the end of the year. The “Ponte La Diez” promotion offers customers a super-value $10 combo, which includes a large Choriquezo...

Read Full Story // read more about: Pizza Patron, Marketing, Promotions
Industry News
NYPD Pizza Gets Veggie-Heavy with Vegetarian Pizza

Just in time for World Vegan Month in November, NYPD Pizza is excited to announce the debut of The Veganizza, a specialty vegan pizza made with Daiya dairy-free cheese and topped with spinach, garlic, Roma tomatoes, and fresh basil. Daiya cheese is now available for all pizzas on its expansive menu at no additional cost.  

Read Full Story // read more about: NYPD Pizza, Menu Development, Pizza
Industry News
How to Heat Up Fro Yo

Frozen-yogurt brands, like other frozen-dessert concepts before them, are staring down the harsh reality of slower sales during colder months. They’re also facing stiff competition from dozens of similar brands growing across the U.S. Some fro-yo chains, however, are finding ways to conquer both challenges this fall and winter.

Read Full Story // read more about: Desserts, Menu Innovations, Promotions, Ingredients & Dayparts
Industry News
Blaze Pizza Rolls Out New Franchises

Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza announced that an affiliate of Levy Family Partners has signed an agreement to develop 15 franchise stores in Chicago and 10 franchise stores in Miami. Levy Family Partners was established by entrepreneur Larry Levy, founder and chairman of Levy Restaurants, as the...

Read Full Story // read more about: Blaze Pizza, Pizza, Food & Beverage, Franchising, Fast Casual
Industry News
Jake's Wayback Celebrates Summer with Free Milkshakes

Jake’s Wayback Burgers, with 70 locations announced that on Monday, June 17, the hometown burger joint will celebrate the start of summer by giving away free 12 oz. Black & White hand-dipped milkshakes. The free milkshakes will take place at every Jake’s Wayback Burgers locations...

Read Full Story // read more about: Jake's Wayback Burgers, Burgers, Desserts, Promotions
Industry News
Pie Five Breaks the Double-Digit Unit Threshold

For fast casual Pie Five, the start-up days are officially over.  

On Monday, June 10, Pie Five Pizza Co. is opening the doors to its 10th corporate-owned location in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and its eleventh store for the entire chain, with its newest restaurant in...

Read Full Story // read more about: Pie Five, Pizza, Franchising, Growth, Fast Casual
Industry News
Arctic Circle Conducting "Mission to Pluto"

Arctic Circle, the Utah-based restaurant chain, recently unveiled its new advertising campaign – “Mission to Pluto” – with new TV and radio commercials, an online and social media campaign including an interactive website, and in-store promotional marketing materials....

Read Full Story // read more about: Arctic Circle, Marketing, Social Media, Promotions
Industry News
Pizza Hut Canada Taps Into Roots With Poutine Pizza

In a Canadian first, Pizza Hut Canada is giving Canadians the chance to try their favorite foods in a new and unexpected way. 

For a limited time, Pizza Hut Canada is offering a new pizza menu that features five fresh recipes inspired by Canada’s cultural diversity. They...

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Industry News
Symplicity Laundry, Warewashing Gets Update

Betco Corporation announced updates to the Symplicity line of laundry and warewashing products.

Betco now offers Symplicity Classic Premium Laundry Detergent, Symplicity Classic Economy Laundry Detergent, and Symplicity Classic Dry Bleach in a 50-pound fiber drum and new packaging. The...

Read Full Story // read more about: Back of House
Industry News
Yogurtland Introduces Three New Flavors

Nothing beats summer heat like an old-fashioned root beer float, a frozen orange-cream pop, or the cool refreshing taste of hibiscus and passion fruit. Beginning today, Yogurtland will offer these three (non-fat) flavors – Orangesicle Frozen Yogurt, Root Beer Float Frozen Yogurt, and...

Read Full Story // read more about: Yogurtland, Desserts, Menu Innovations, Social Media
Industry News
What's Da Scoop? Launches in Dallas

Launching in Dallas/Fort Worth in May 2013 and delivering hand-scooped, premium old-fashioned ice creams fresh from Wisconsin to DFW-area ice cream enthusiasts, What's Da Scoop? is anything but your ordinary neighborhood ice cream truck. With the ever-growing...

Read Full Story // read more about: What's Da Scoop?, Desserts, Growth
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...

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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”...

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Food Safety
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.

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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...

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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.

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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...

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Fast casual brands attract customers with alcoholic beverage programs
Beverage
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...

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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...

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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....

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Industry News
WFF Partners with MGM for Conference

Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) is entering a partnership with The MGM Resorts Foundation, the non-profit foundation driven by employees of MGM Resorts International, one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, to present the Seventh Annual Women’s Leadership Conference. WFF and the MGM Resorts Foundation will collaborate on programming and content for the Foundation’s conference.

Read Full Story // read more about: Training, Executive Insights, Women in Foodservice
Industry News
WFF Provides New Perk for Members

After more than a year in development, Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) has launched its Leadership Library, a custom, best-in-class collection of books, articles, best-practices, and videos members will use to develop their leadership competencies.

 

Read Full Story // read more about: Women in Foodservice
Women in Foodservice
All Fair in Foodservice?

The foodservice industry has come a long way since the days when it was dominated by men, with more than half of the restaurant talent pool now made up of women. From the front counter to the corner office, women are increasingly influencing the future of the industry.

Read Full Story // read more about: Cinnabon, New Miami Subs Grill, Human Resources
Industry News
WFF CEO Woods Earns Dallas Directors Award

Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) president and CEO Fritzi Woods was recently recognized as an honoree of Dallas Business Journal’s 2013 Outstanding Directors Award. The Outstanding Directors Award program operates in conjunction with the National Association of Corporate Directors and is sponsored by Ernst & Young. The program honors directors from Dallas-based nonprofits and public and private companies.

Read Full Story // read more about: Women in Foodservice
Women in Foodservice
Cleared for Launch

Starting any business can be a difficult prospect, but in an industry where men have historically outnumbered women, the roadblocks to doing so can be even more challenging when you’re female.

For many female foodservice entrepreneurs, being taken seriously as a business owner is often the biggest challenge, says Arzu Esendemir, CEO and cofounder of Mediterranean fast casual Flatbread Grill in Upper Montclair, New Jersey.

Read Full Story // read more about: Flatbread Grill, Suzy's Swirl, Back of House, Finance, In the Store, Growth
Industry News
Passport Food Group Hires Duo of Execs, Opens New Facility

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.

Read Full Story // read more about: Food Safety, Women in Foodservice
Executive Insights
The Advocate

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.

Read Full Story // read more about: Healthy Menus, Competition, Women in Foodservice, Growth
Industry News
8 Lessons from WFF's Annual Leadership Conference

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.

Read Full Story // read more about: Marketing, Operations, Executive Insights, Women in Foodservice, Outside Insights