May 24, 2013
Industry News
Nutella Now Available in Foodservice

Ferrero, the maker of America’s number one selling branded hazelnut spread, Nutella, announces that the spread is now available in foodservice, helping chefs and operators highlight a beloved and delicious ingredient on breakfast and brunch menus. Featuring the simple tastes of roasted hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of...

Read Full Story // read more about: Desserts, Food & Beverage
Industry News
Krispy Kreme Gets Zesty with Summer Donuts, Drinks

Krispy Kreme adds some zest to its Fruit Stand Flavor summer treats with a new lemon and lime duo of doughnuts, including new Key Lime Kreme pie, and three new fruity blended beverages. The new Glazed Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Icing and Key Lime Kreme Pie doughnuts are available through July 8 at participating Krispy Kreme U.S....

Read Full Story // read more about: Krispy Kreme, Beverage, Desserts, Menu Development, Menu Innovations, Promotions
Industry News
OC Metro Magazine Honors Local Wingstop Owner

Orange County, California, Wingstop owner Danny Sonenshine was recently named to OC METRO magazine’s annual 40 Under 40 List. Each year, OC METRO magazine, Orange County’s premier business and lifestyle publication, selects a group of young professionals who have proven that they have what it takes to make...

Read Full Story // read more about: Wingstop, Entertainment, Human Resources
Industry News
Summer LTOs Heat Up Menus

Summer is fast approaching, and with it comes this summer’s crop of seasonal limited-time offers from quick-serve and fast-casual chains. From retro ice cream flavors to salad-sandwich combinations, brands are looking to attract customers with innovation this summer while hearkening back to tried-and-true favorites.

Read Full Story // read more about: Cold Stone Creamery, Daphne's California Greek, Smashburger, Marketing, Menu Innovations, Promotions
Industry News
Taco Bell Big Hitter Box Leverages MLB Sponsorship

Taco Bell’s food innovation experts are at it again. This time, they’ve found a way to put nachos into a burrito. On May 23, Taco Bell will launch the Beefy Nacho Burrito for 99¢, featuring seasoned beef, warm nacho cheese, cool sour cream, and Taco Bell’s new Queso Strips, all wrapped in a warm flour...

Read Full Story // read more about: Taco Bell, Entertainment, Marketing, Packaging, Promotions
Industry News
Great American Cookies Launches Food Truck

Great American Cookies , the national cookie bakery, will roll out its first cookie truck this week in Houston, Texas. The brand, which is is managed by GFG Management, LLC , a subsidiary of Global Franchise Group, is seeking to capitalize on the food truck trend as a non-traditional form of franchising.

Read Full Story // read more about: Great American Cookies, Desserts
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...

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
Industry News
Owner of Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s Plans $100 Million IPO

CKE Inc., owner of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s brands, has plans to go public again. The company filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, May 17, seeking to raise an estimated $100 million IPO. CKE Inc. plans to use the IPO proceeds to repay debts and for other unnamed corporate purposes,...

Read Full Story // read more about: Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Burgers, Finance, Legal
Small portions give customers control over health, values, and variety.
Menu Innovations
Small Portions a Big Idea

Small portions are very big these days.

Many 2013 trend predictions determined that small plates and snacking are expected to be popular among chefs and restaurant operators this year. While diners are still eating during the traditional meal times—breakfast, lunch, and dinner...

Read Full Story // read more about: Pei Wei, Qdoba, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Wendy's, White Castle, Wow Bao, Menu Development, Consumer Trends, Health, Ingredients & Dayparts
Restaurant operators learn valuable tips at restaurant industry's largest show.
Industry News
2013 NRA Show Guide
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Read Full Story // read more about: Cosi, Competition, Growth
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
Celebrity chef Bobby Flay provides strong example of smart restaurant growth.
Alan Philips: Trends to Watch
Be Like Bobby

My idea of “inclusive exclusivity” started in a boardroom many years ago in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I was making a presentation to a group of executives at the Borgata Hotel, Casino, & Spa to explain how they could import the feel of New York’s hottest nightclubs and...

Read Full Story // read more about: Bobby's Burger Palace, Burgers, Growth
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
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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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 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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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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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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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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