June 20, 2013
Industry News
Charles Morrison Named Wingstop CEO

The Wingstop Board of Directors today announced Charles Morrison has been named president and chief executive officer of the company. Morrison replaces James Flynn, who becomes executive chairman of the Board.

Read Full Story // read more about: Wingstop, Human Resources
Industry News
Clustered Growth Strategy Boosts Toppers' Social Media

By clustering store openings, Toppers Pizza has found a strategic growth strategy that simultaneously protects brand awareness and boosts social media fans. The multiunit growth strategy brings in a seasoned business partner who is dedicated to building at least five to six stores.

Read Full Story // read more about: Toppers Pizza, Pizza, Social Media
Food Safety
The Evolution of Food Safety

Quick-service restaurants have an obligation to their customers to provide safe food no matter which challenges may arise on a daily basis. Staff shortages, supply deliveries gone haywire, and increases in food costs all place pressures on foodservice operations, but few in the industry would argue that the importance of food safety...

Read Full Story // read more about: Food Safety, Healthy Menus, Ingredients & Dayparts
Industry News
Hungry Howie’s Pizza Recognizes Top Franchisees

Hungry Howie’s held its annual national convention from May 15-17 to recognize the best of the best in the company’s stores and franchisees. The Franchisee of the Year Award went to Don Copus for best embracing Hungry Howie’s brand concept and philosophy. Copus also earned the Highest Percent of Sales Increase Award...

Read Full Story // read more about: Hungry Howie's Pizza, Pizza, Franchising, Human Resources
Industry News
Taco Bell Debuts Gourmet-Inspired Menu July 5

Taco Bell will bring gourmet inspired bowls and burritos with its new Cantina Bell menu, an industry-changing partnership with chef Lorena Garcia that launches nationwide Thursday, July 5. The expanded menu, with suggested prices fewer than $5, delivers extraordinary value, incredible convenience, accessibility, and is inspired by...

Read Full Story // read more about: Taco Bell, Menu Development, Menu Innovations
Industry News
Pizza Patrón’s Big Gamble

Pizza Patrón caused a national stir—and was the victim of protests—this week with a promotion that offered free pizza to anyone who ordered in Spanish. But the Dallas-based company stuck to its guns in an effort to assert its unique brand positioning and communicate with its core clientele. The concept’s “Pizza,...

Read Full Story // read more about: Pizza Patron, Pizza, Promotions
Industry News
Cinnabon Spotlights Chocolate-, Cherry-Flavored Items

Cinnabon bakeries are now adding chocolate and cherry flavors to its world famous cinnamon roll and blended beverages. Now through Nov. 3, Chocolate-Covered Minibons, Chocolate-Covered Cherry Chillattas, and Cherry Tangy Chillattas are available at participating bakeries.

Read Full Story // read more about: Cinnabon, Beverage, Desserts, Menu Development, Menu Innovations, Promotions
Industry News
Sandwich Occasions on the Rise, Technomic Finds

Sandwiches are the cornerstone of lunch and dinner menus at both limited- and full-service restaurants, where they are offered more than any other entrée. More consumers report purchasing sandwiches away from home today versus just two years ago, due in large part to operators' innovative responses to consumer demands for lower...

Read Full Story // read more about: Subway, Sandwiches, Consumer Trends, Ordering
Fast casual brands attract customers with alcoholic beverage programs
Menu Innovations
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...

Read Full Story // read more about: Blaze Pizza, Chipotle, Freebirds, Fresh to Order, Starbucks, Uncle Maddio's, Beverage, Menu Development, Competition, Consumer Trends, Ingredients & Dayparts
Superfoods like blueberries offer nutritional and flavorful menu potential.
Menu Innovations
Wonder Food

Look, up on the table! It’s a burdock. It’s a plantain. It’s … superfood!

Although there’s nothing really super-heroic about eating nutrition-rich fruits and vegetables, the foods give customers an opportunity to pursue healthier options at a time when many...

Read Full Story // read more about: Bowl of Heaven, Freshii, Just Salad, Red Mango, Healthy Menus, Menu Development, Health, Ingredients & Dayparts
New fast food brands like Live Basil first start as innovative business ideas.
Industry News
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...

Read Full Story // read more about: Fazoli's, Little Greek, Live Basil, Old Carolina Barbecue Company, Back of House, Finance, Marketing, Operations, Competition, In the Store, Growth
Ice cream brands are increasing innovation to take business back from fro yo.
Consumer Trends
Can Ice Cream Survive?

They seemed to pop up almost overnight. In strip malls and on street corners across the country, frozen-yogurt shops suddenly offered an exciting new option for America’s collective sweet tooth, teasing at healthfulness and innovating with self service and customization. Once concentrated...

Read Full Story // read more about: Baskin-Robbins, Cold Stone Creamery, Jeni's, Sloan's, Desserts, Competition, Menu Innovations, Ingredients & Dayparts
Quick service brands are using big data to streamline and improve business.
Operations
Get a Grip on Big Data

Franchisees, C-suite executives, and marketing experts in the limited-service industry have likely all come across the term big data in some form or another over the last couple of years.

But unless their background or interests lie in analytics or statistics, they probably shrugged it...

Read Full Story // read more about: Haute Dogs & Fries, Jamba Juice, Back of House, Back Office, In the Store, Consumer Trends
Wrap concept BSkis in Chapel Hill successfully delivers food to campus students.
Industry News
Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Burger King hopes its new delivery service will be a great profit-driver for the chain, as the company is banking on customers to put in large orders for office lunches, birthday parties, and other gatherings in the select cities where the service is offered.

But it may not be the only...

Read Full Story // read more about: Burger King, McDonald's, [B]Ski's, Back of House, Online & Remote Ordering, Consumer Trends
Industry News
Toppers Boosts System-Wide Sales by 40% in Q1

Despite the crowded pizza category, Toppers Pizza is taking its share of the more than $40 billion pie.

System-wide sales increased by more than 40 percent for both company-owned and franchised units in the first quarter of 2013, and same-store sales for company units were up 13.59...

Read Full Story // read more about: Toppers Pizza, Finance, Marketing, Pizza, Franchising, Growth
Costa Vida offers fresh Mexican ingredients in a laid back fast casual setting.
Emerging Concepts
One to Watch: Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill

A decade ago, JD and Sarah Gardner returned home to Utah from a trip to Cabo San Lucas, inspired by the surfing culture and local cuisine of the Baja Peninsula Coast. Soon after, the pair opened Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill.

Read Full Story // read more about: Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill, In the Store, Franchising, Growth
Five to Seven will invest in healthy and sustainble fast food brands globally.
Finance
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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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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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.

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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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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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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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Superfoods like blueberries offer nutritional and flavorful menu potential.
Healthy Menus
Wonder Food

Look, up on the table! It’s a burdock. It’s a plantain. It’s … superfood!

Although there’s nothing really super-heroic about eating nutrition-rich fruits and vegetables, the foods give customers an opportunity to pursue healthier options at a time when many...

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.

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