May 26, 2013
Industry News
DQ Takes a Walk on the Light Side with New Smoothies

For any brand—quick service or not—being a pioneer is often the ultimate dream. And this week, Dairy Queen is making this dream a reality as it becomes the first quick-service restaurant in the industry to offer light smoothies. The new product line comes as part of the national rollout of Orange Julius Premium Fruit...

Read Full Story // read more about: Dairy Queen, Beverage, Healthy Menus, Menu Development
Industry News
Bruster's Gives Fans a Taste of What's to Come

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, ranked No. 10 out of 100 limited-service restaurants nationwide by premier consulting firm WD Partners, has introduced the first of three new spring flavors. Freshly made Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, with ribbons of raspberry sauce and creamy chocolate cheesecake ice cream, is the latest indulgence to...

Read Full Story // read more about: Bruster's, Desserts, Menu Development
Panera CEO Bill Moreton Steps Down

In this newscast: Chick-fil-A introduces a trio of new salads and salad dressings; Ignite Restaurant Group purchases Macaroni Grill; Panera CEO and president Bill Moreton steps down; and more.

Industry News
Destroyed Freddy's Gets Back on Its Feet in Joplin, MO

Nearly two years after a devastating F5 tornado ravaged Freddy’s, the restaurant is returning to Joplin, Missouri. The new, freestanding location is about one mile south of the former site. The official grand opening is Sunday, May 5, and the crew has been training for the past several days.

Read Full Story // read more about: Freddy's, Burgers, Growth
Industry News
Arby's Channels the Spirit of Hawaii For LTO Sandwich Duo

Arby’s announced a new twist to the classic Roast Beef sandwich. For a limited time only, Arby’s is partnering with the iconic King’s Hawaiian brand to introduce two new sandwiches to its menu:

Read Full Story // read more about: Arby's
Industry News
Gold Star Chili Partners Up with Local Fire Department

In a new series of television commercials, Gold Star Chili, The Flavor of Cincinnati, enlisted the aid of neighborhood firefighters to introduce Cincinnati-style chili lovers to the chain’s hotter menu options: Firehouse cheese coneys and 3, 4, and 5-Ways. 

Read Full Story // read more about: Gold Star Chili, Menu Development, Food & Beverage, Menu Innovations
Industry News
2013 NRA Show Guide

Carin Stutz Q & A Saturday, May 18 Sunday, May 19 Monday, May 20 Tuesday, May 21 Dine-out Guide It’s the foodservice industry’s big

Read Full Story // read more about: Cosi, Competition, Growth
Marc Halperin: Resident F&B Expert
A Super Marketing Tool

Sit down and relax, Mr. and Mrs. Menu Developer. You look tense. Here, have a sip of this blueberry-kale-sun-dried-tomato-açai-green-tea-flaxseed smoothie I’ve just whipped up. It’s loaded with antioxidants, vitamin B, fiber, and lycopene. I think you’ll find it both restorative and refreshing.

Read Full Story // read more about: Marketing, Promotions, Health, Ingredients & Dayparts
Restaurant operators learn valuable tips at restaurant industry's largest show.
Industry News
2013 NRA Show Guide
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NRA CEO Dawn Sweeney helps protect restaurant operators interests.
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...

Read Full Story // read more about: Healthy Menus, Competition, Women in Foodservice, Growth
Food production systems like hydroponics help restaurants use more local goods.
Ingredients & Dayparts
Can Quick Serves Save the World?

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...

Read Full Story // read more about: Chipotle, Mad Greens, Sloco, Green, In the Store, Consumer Trends, Menu Innovations
Industry News
Dunkin' Donuts Grows Healthy Menu With Turkey Sausage

Helping guests greet the warm weather with more smart choices, Dunkin’ Donuts announced a permanent addition to its DDSMART menu: the Turkey Sausage Breakfast Sandwich.

A breakfast sandwich option under 400 calories, the new sandwich features a fried egg topped with turkey sausage...

Read Full Story // read more about: Dunkin' Donuts, Breakfast, Healthy Menus, Menu Development, Sandwiches
Industry News
Offering Value Isn't Enough; Taco Bell Wants to Redefine It

It may seem like a lofty goal, but Taco Bell is dead set on not only redefining value at the quick-service level, but also delivering it to consumers in a variety of ways.

Specifically, the brand is focusing on four key areas: the low- and high-price end of the menu, new menus and...

Read Full Story // read more about: Taco Bell, Menu Development, Executive Insights, Promotions
Low calorie menu options boost quick service restaurant sales.
Health
Slimmer Items, Hefty Sales

The lower the calorie counts in restaurant menu items, the better for business, according to recent research by public policy research organization Hudson Institute.

The report analyzed 21 of the nation’s largest restaurant chains, including quick-service brands like McDonald’...

Read Full Story // read more about: Healthy Menus, Consumer Trends, Menu Innovations, Ingredients & Dayparts
Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey is innovativing the POS space with Square.
Industry News
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...

Read Full Story // read more about: Little Muenster, Kiosk, Online & Remote Ordering, Point Of Sale, In the Store, Consumer Trends, Ordering
Fine dining brand Shula's opened fast casual sister restaurant Shula Burger.
Competition
The Great Migration

On Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s 17th Street, tucked in the shadow of giants Chipotle and Panera Bread, an upstart burger joint dreams of someday entering the same upper ranks of the fast-casual world that those two brands helped create. Though the restaurant carries a familiar name, its vibe...

Read Full Story // read more about: Larkburger, Shula Burger, Operations, Consumer Trends, Growth, Fast Casual
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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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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Women leaders like Flatbread Grill's owners successfully launch new brands.
Finance
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...

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Superfoods like whole grains and oatmeal offer healthy menu alternative.
Healthy Menus
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...

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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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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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Innovations like the Marinara Tower were featured on the NRA Show floor.
Back of House
Recapping the NRA Show

As the lights went out on the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show (NRA Show) in Chicago on Tuesday, there was plenty to consider about the future of the industry.

The show featured no shortage of technological advancements, not just in computing hardware...

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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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Emerging Concepts
One to Watch: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

There’s been no lack of new faces and places on the frozen dessert landscape in the past 10 years, but with innovative flavors like Wildberry Lavender ice cream and Riesling Poached Pear sorbet, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams stands out in the crowd.

In 2000, Jeni Britton Bauer was studying art history at Ohio State University and considering career possibilities. She had worked in a French bakery through college and thought pastries might be her calling, so she practiced her skills at home.

Read Full Story // read more about: Jeni's, Desserts, Women in Foodservice, Growth
Executive Insights
Top Movers & Shakers Under 30

What’s hot in foodservice?

Ask the entrepreneurs of the Millennial generation. Their ideas reflect Gen Y values such as sustainability, nutrition, and charitable giving.

Their dedication is unwavering. Mary Lemmer skipped her high school prom to go to the Northeast and research Italian water ice. Seth Priebatsch debuted his first online company—he admits it was a complete failure—at 12, and kept conceiving ideas until one stuck. Deepti Sharma kissed law school goodbye when an all-night study session inspired an ordering website for food trucks.

Read Full Story // read more about: Freebirds World Burrito, Iorio's Gelateria, Mooyah, Sweetgreen, Burgers, Green, Loyalty, Online & Remote Ordering, Social Media, Women in Foodservice
Roy Bergold: Tales from McDonald’s
The Kids’ Meal Compromise

Recently I was talking with Barry Klein, an old friend of mine who was one of the original advertising guys at McDonald’s. He is a marketing consultant now with a large interest in kids marketing. We were discussing the kids’ meal situation and the critics who claim these meals are responsible for our childhood obesity problems.

Barry has a heated position that I would like to share with you, and then I’ll share my comments as well.

Barry: Restaurant operators, which way will you go?

Read Full Story // read more about: McDonald's, Healthy Menus, Women in Foodservice, Promotions, Ingredients & Dayparts