May 22, 2013

Women in Foodservice

Industry News
Tropical Smoothie Café Rides Waves of Growth

After opening 40 franchise locations and signing 41 new franchise agreements in 2012, Tropical Smoothie Café is accelerating expansion in 2013 with plans to open 40 new cafés this year across the U.S.

The unrivaled brand position of “healthy food with a tropical twist” that...

Read Full Story // read more about: Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Beverage, Menu Innovations, Franchising, Growth
Industry News
WOW Café Expands its 'Wings' and Rebrands as American Grill

New Orleans’ favorite wing joint WOW Café has gotten a facelift and will roll out a new trade dress among locations across New Orleans and the U.S. 

Read Full Story // read more about: WOW Cafe, Marketing, Food & Beverage, Menu Innovations
Industry News
Panera's Bill Moreton Steps Down; Shaich To Be Sole CEO

Panera Bread Company announced that president and co-CEO Bill Moreton will transition to executive vice chairman, due to a recognition of his need to spend increased amounts of time on a family matter.

Read Full Story // read more about: Panera Bread, Sandwiches, Human Resources
Industry News
One Year After Acquisition, Krystal Keeps Growing

As Krystal marks its first year under the ownership of Argonne Capital Group, president and CEO Doug Pendergast is sharing significant milestones and changes that will pave the way for the iconic brand’s future success.

Pendergast says in just the nine months of 2012 following the...

Read Full Story // read more about: Krystal, Burgers, Finance, Growth
Industry News
McAlister's Grows 5 Percent in Q1 2013

McAlister's Deli, a leading fast-casual restaurant, announced a same-store sales increase of 5 percent during the first quarter of 2013. 

This marks the 11th straight quarter of positive sales growth. Comp sales were driven primarily by an increase in entrée...

Read Full Story // read more about: McAlister's Deli, Finance, Sandwiches, Growth
Industry News
Wendy's Celebrates National Salad Month

May is National Salad Month and no other quick service chain has more reason to celebrate salads than Wendy’s.

Read Full Story // read more about: Wendy's, Menu Development, Food & Beverage, Menu Innovations
Panera Bread markets company values in new promotional campaign.
Promotions
Focus On the Values

Panera Bread’s “Live Consciously, Eat Deliciously” platform, which launched in late February after nearly a year of testing and research, is a first for the brand. Rather than touting Panera’s products, it focuses on the concept’s philosophy.

“We really...

Read Full Story // read more about: Panera Bread, Marketing, Social Media
Industry News
In a Victory for Gamers, Pizza Hut and Xbox Unite

The video game industry has a history of introducing dynamic duos. And now comes another: Xbox and Pizza Hut.

The two category giants have joined forces to launch a first-of-its-kind ordering app that allows users to purchase physical goods straight from the Xbox 360 video game and...

Read Full Story // read more about: Pizza Hut, Online & Remote Ordering, Pizza, Promotions
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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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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Tin Drum Asia Cafe used equity firm investment to stay debt free in growth.
Finance
Striking Gold

Steven Chan’s business was at a crossroads last year. His Atlanta-based fast casual Tin Drum AsiaCafé launched in 2000, sold its first franchise in 2001, and was growing slowly due to Chan’s determination to keep it debt-free. At the beginning of 2012, Tin Drum had 10 franchises in...

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Operators must protect their quick serve business from credit card fraud.
Back of House
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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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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Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey is innovativing the POS space with Square.
Point Of Sale
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...

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