Panda Restaurant Group picks talent management provider

January 6, 2011

Panda Restaurant Group Inc. has tapped Taleo Corporation to provide its on-demand talent management solutions for recruiting, onboarding, assessments and…

Jamba Juice launches line of probiotic yogurt beverages

by Valerie Killifer — Editor, FastCasual.com

January 6, 2011

Jamba Juice has announced the launch of its Jamba Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt Blends made with Jamba's specially formulated Probiotic Boost. The beverages…

U.S. Foodservice breaks ground on $24M distribution center

January 5, 2011

U.S. Foodservice-Albuquerque broke ground on a $24 million distribution center that will enable the company to provide better service to customers throughout…

Red Mango 2010: Record growth

January 5, 2011

Red Mango has announced a record year of expansion in 2010 that included the awarding of franchise agreements totaling 147 locations. The company also opened…

Beautiful Brands adds to growing portfolio

January 4, 2011

Beautiful Brands International has announced the addition of Kansas City-based cupcakery, Smallcakes, to its portfolio of restaurants to market and franchise…

Starbucks marks milestone with new logo

by Valerie Killifer — Editor, FastCasual.com

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Starbucks has altered its iconic logo, removing the company name from the label that showcases its memorable mermaid…

Starbucks extends VIA offering, product footprint

January 3, 2011

Building on the momentum of the Starbucks VIA Ready Brew product line, Starbucks has announced the availability of Starbucks VIA French Roast in all U.S. and…

Fazoli’s bakes up 400-calorie menu

January 3, 2011

Just in time for those New Year's resolutions, Fazoli’s is introducing four new, limited-time Mini Bakes, all with 400 calories or less.

Restaurant Performance Index posts November decline

January 2, 2011

As a result of a downtick in same-store sales and customer traffic levels, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) fell below…

Potbelly rolls out Alteryx BI platform

January 2, 2011

Potbelly Sandwich Shop has implemented the Alteryx Geographic Business Intelligence technology platform to manage its sales processes and expansion strategy as…

Heeeers 2011!

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

The media has been focused on recapping the previous year as they do each December. I have never been clear if this is to point out the cleverness and accuracy…

Four score: Loop Pizza Grill testing variety-friendly deal

by Alicia Kelso — Editor, QSRWeb.com

As major chains continue to battle it out in the unending $10 pizza wars, some smaller systems are quietly flexing their own competitive price advantages.

Endurance, determination & training

by Paul Mcginnis — Vice President, Marketing, Ecolab Food Safety Specialties

It was my junior year in high school. I had always wanted to play basketball but due to a variety of circumstances did not have the chance… until now. I…

Private equity firm takes Noodles & Co. control

December 28, 2010

Broomfield, Colo.-based Noodles & Co. has sold a controlling stake in the chain to private-equity firm Catterton Partners.

Fast Casual predicts top trends for 2011

by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance

It seems that 2010 brought about a series of buyouts and capital investments for fast casual chains looking to improve their operations for the year. While the…

Local: The ins, the outs and the details

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

We hear the term local tossed around pretty loosely nowadays. While it's popping up on just about everything with a price tag (local business, locally owned…

Uptown Dallas Smashburger opens

December 22, 2010

Smashburger opened its third Dallas location Wednesday in Uptown Plaza on the corner of McKinney Avenue and Pearl Street. This is the third of 10 Dallas area…

2010: Fast Casual year in review

by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance

Healthcare reform, bankruptcy protection and brand overhauls highlight a year full of the quintessential highs and lows.  

Einstein Noah completes multiyear deleveraging

December 21, 2010

Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. announced that it has completed a multiyear period of deleveraging its balance sheet and will now re-allocate its available…

Pick Up Stix rings in 2011 with new owner

December 20, 2010

Carlson Restaurant Inc. has sold its 74-unit chain Pick Up Stix to Lorne Goldberg, principal of West Coast Capital.