Starbucks employees head to New Orleans

October 26, 2008

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Starbucks' annual leadership meeting begins today in New Orleans. The meeting, behing held outside of Seattle for the first time…

Rubio's rejects takeover bid

October 23, 2008

CARLSBAD, Calif. —The board of directors of Rubio's Restaurants Inc. has rejected the unsolicited acquisition proposal it recently received from Kelly Capital…

FreshBerry expanding to Inland Empire of California

October 23, 2008

TULSA, Okla. — FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Café has signed a franchise agreement that will produce at least three FreshBerry stores in the Inland Empire region…

Smashburger signs East Coast franchise deal

October 22, 2008

DENVER — Fast casual burger chain Smashburger has secured its first franchisee and "Founders Club" member, Jersey City, N.J.-based Mascott Corp. The company…

Chipotle comps up on price increases

October 22, 2008

DENVER — Comparable-store sales at Chipotle Mexican Grill increased 3.1 percent for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the company announced. Year-to-date comps…

Traffic slump a topic for debate

October 22, 2008

Chain Leader: Consumers are pulling back spending because of the current economic situation, according to recent surveys. The reasons for the decline in the…

Quiznos franchisees feel recession pain

October 21, 2008

Advertising Age: While the recession and banking crisis have hurt the entire restaurant industry, some Quiznos franchisees claim to have been…

Restaurants bound to suffer from financial crisis, Technomic finds

October 21, 2008

CHICAGO -- In a recently-completed survey of consumers, Chicago-based foodservice consultants Technomic Inc. found that the financial market meltdown is likely…

Panera net up 15 percent in Q3

October 21, 2008

ST. LOUIS — Comparable-store sales at Panera Bread increased 3 percent in company-owned stores and 3.5 percent in franchised stores for the quarter ended Sept.

Coalition advocates uniform nutritional info

October 21, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new coalition has announced that it will support federal legislation that provides consumers with detailed nutrition information in…

Keeping a legal workforce

E-Verify can help protect against immigration battles.

NY suburb delays vote on calorie count

October 20, 2008

WABC7 (New York): Lawmakers for the New York City suburb of Westchester County have postponed a vote on whether to require chain restaurants to post calorie…

NC restaurant operator acquires 18 Qdoba locations

October 20, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — QCarolina Restaurants LLC has acquired 16 Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurant in North Carolina and two in Tennessee.   QCarolina Restaurant…

Fresh City adopts ONOSYS for online ordering

October 20, 2008

NEEDHAM, Mass. — Fast casual chain Fresh City has launched a new online ordering Web site in partnership with ONOSYS Online Ordering, a provider of remote…

Papa Romano's and Mr. Pita opens in Houston

October 19, 2008

COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Papa Romano's and Mr. Pita have opened a co-branded restaurant in Houston. The new unit, which features the foods of both Papa…

Juan Valdez throws down the gauntlet

October 19, 2008

Houston Chronicle: The Juan Valdez Cafe chain plans to add 500 coffee shops across the United States, Latin America and Europe by 2010, adding to its existing…

NRA, Fishbowl expand partnership for online services

October 19, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Restaurant Association has announced that it is expanding its partnership with Alexandria, Va.-based marketing…

Rubio's Restaurants receives unsolicited buyout offer

October 19, 2008

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Fresh Mex restaurant operator Rubio's Restaurants Inc. has received an offer from San Diego Kelly Capital to buy all of the company's…

FDA seeks advice to improve produce tracking

October 16, 2008

Google/Associated Press: Prompted by this summer's salmonella outbreak that exposed flaws in the nation's food safety system, the government has begun…

Wingstop plans northeast expansion

October 16, 2008

DALLAS — Fast casual chicken wing chain Wingstop has announced plans to focus its expansion efforts on the Northeast U.S., including New Jersey, Pennsylvania…