First Salsa Rico franchise opens in Philadelphia

January 24, 2007

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The first franchised Salsa Rico, a Baja-style Mexican grill from Retail Brand Group LLC., opened this week in downtown Philadelphia.   The…

Freebirds World Burrito launches TV ad campaign

January 23, 2007

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Freebirds World Burrito, a fast casual restaurant known for its Monster burritos, announced the launch of their newest advertising…

Chipotle to move offices

January 21, 2007

DENVER — Chipotle Mexican Grill is moving its Denver headquarters to a soon-to-be-constructed 43,000 square-foot building located in the city's lower downtown…

Chipotle calendar sales to support sustainable agriculture

January 18, 2007

DENVER – Chipotle Mexican Grill has started to sell whimsical calendars in its stores for $5 apiece. The calendars, featuring foil-wrapped burritos in…

Freebirds to collect for Habitat for Humanity

January 17, 2007

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Freebirds World Burrito, the Texas-based fast casual known for its Monster burritos, announced a four-week fund-raising campaign to…

Porking up sales

Fast casual certainly isn't hog heaven, but pork consumption is increasing throughout the segment.

Grilling Chipotle's CEO

In a Q&A with Fast Casual, Steve Ells says nothing's really changed since the chain went public or since McDonald's divested.

El Pollo Loco to be on NBC's The Apprentice: Los Angeles

January 8, 2007

IRVINE, Calif. — El Pollo Loco will be featured brand on season six of NBC-TV's hit reality show, The Apprentice: Los Angeles. For one episode, the company's…

El Pollo Loco deploys VPN service

January 7, 2007

COSTA MESA, Calif. — MegaPath, a provider of virtual private network (VPN) solutions, announced that El Pollo Loco is deploying MegaPath's Store Connect VPN…

Moe's Southwest Grill tests trans-fat-free menu

January 7, 2007

ATLANTA — Moe's Southwest Grill announced it will test a zero-grams-trans-fat-per-serving menu in 50 locations throughout the country, looking to extend the…

Baja Fresh gets new blood

January 4, 2007

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Baja Fresh exec team has new faces.   The fresh-Mex chain hired 20-year culinary veteran Jonathan Rogan, director of research and…

CKE repurchases 2 million shares

January 1, 2007

CARPINTERIA, Calif. — CKE Restaurants Inc. has repurchased two million shares of its common stock from its largest shareholder, Pirate Capital LLC, for $37.…

Chipotle founder named newspaper's man of the year

December 27, 2006

Rocky Mountain News: Chipotle Mexican Grill founder Steve Ells' vision and quest for excellence earned him the Rocky Mountain News Business Person of the Year…

Fast Casual 2006: A year in review

Despite lawsuits and mergers, it was a good year for the fast-casual segment.

Carrols might have the hottest restaurant stock

December 18, 2006

The Motley Fool: Since Carrols Restaurant Group's initial public offering hit the market, and the stock price increased $2.20 to $15.20, the company has…

Chipotle appoints its president to board of directors

December 14, 2006

DENVER— Chipotle Mexican Grill has appointed president and chief operating officer Monty Moran to its board of directors.   Moran joined Chipotle as its…

Chipotle CEO sells 5,000 shares

December 13, 2006

Associated Press: The chairman and chief executive of restaurant operator Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. sold 5,000 shares of common stock under a prearranged…

Chipotle employee allegedly stabs wife in restaurant

December 10, 2006

NBC4: Heath, Ohio, police arrested a Chipotle Mexican Grill employee for stabbing his estranged wife while the two were inside the restaurant. Andres…

Desert Moon opens second restaurant in Northwest Indiana

December 7, 2006

VALLEY COTTAGE, N.Y. — Desert Moon Franchise Corp. announced that its multiunit franchisee, Trios Hospitality Group, has opened its second of four units…

Raving Brands names new CDO

December 5, 2006

ATLANTA — Raving Brands, the Atlanta-based fast-casual holding company, announced the promotion of Chris Morocco to executive vice president and chief…