QSR, Restaurant and Food Service Trends from the United States

April 08, 2010

Burger King's packaging innovations

While the economic climate could lead companies in the sector to cut back on the development of new packaging ideas, some, as Deanna Dixon Sievers, packaging manager at Burger King reveals to Packaging and Converting Intelligence (PCI), are pressing ah...

April 08, 2010

Apollo Management group bidding on CKE Restaurant group?

The rival buyout offer received by CKE Restaurants Inc. this week was from private-equity firm Apollo Management, Reuters reported Thursday. CKE, the Carpinteria, Calif.-based parent to the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains, has until April 27 to evalua...

March 22, 2010

Health Care bill causes big changes in Restaurant Industry

As President Barack Obama prepares to sign a sweeping health care reform bill into law, the foodservice industry faces changes of historic proportion. In addition to requiring many restaurant operators to contribute to health care coverage for their ...

Center for Science in the Public Interest

March 21, 2010

Health Reform to Deliver Calorie Counts to Chain Restaurant Menus Nationwide

Tucked neatly inside the health reform legislation headed to the Oval Office for a presidential signature is langcode that will require calorie labeling on chain restaurant menus, menu boards, and drive-through displays, as well as on vending machines....

March 17, 2010

New York City Restaurants to Display Letter Grades after Sanitary Inspections

New York City’s trailblazing Department of Health and Mental Hygiene voted yesterday to require the city’s restaurants to post letter grades reflecting the establishment’s cleanliness. That move was applauded today by the nonprofit Center for Science ...

March 17, 2010

QSR same-store sales trends

Nearly all public restaurant companies reported fourth-quarter same-store sales results this month, and winter storms and lingering economic pressures pushed most into negative territory. Some, mainly because of value messaging, moved in a positive di...

Centro para la Ciencia en el Interés Público (CSPI por sus siglas en ingles)

March 17, 2010

Los restaurantes de Nueva York obtendrán calificación según su nivel de higiene

Los restaurantes más limpios de Nueva York podrán pronto enarbolar su excelencia colocando la calificación 'A' en su entrada, mientras que los que reciban una mala nota ('B' o 'C') tendrán un mes para enmendarse. Según una directiva de los servicios ...

March 14, 2010

Do French Fries cause cancer?

A poster adorning the walls of KFC restaurants in California may just take your appetite away. Or at least make you consider giving up the fries. Here's what it says: "Cooked potatoes that have been browned, such as French fries, baked potatoes an...

March 12, 2010

Other buyers interested in CKE Restaurants?

CKE Restaurants' $928 million buyout offer last month from a private-equity firm has sparked speculation that more suitors will line up for the Hardee's and Carl's Jr. parent, according to sources familiar with the restaurant M&A environment. One...

March 08, 2010

New French Fries at Jack-in-the-box

French fry connoisseurs are a most discerning sort, perhaps even more so than their wine-tasting counterparts. Whereas wine aficionados practice five basic evaluations – color, swirl, smell, taste and savor – a true fries connoisseur also considers thi...

March 08, 2010

McDonald's posts positive sales in February

McDonald’s Corp. regained some of its same-store sales momentum in February, as its Olympic-theme promotions helped offset weather-related sales softness in the United States while the company’s international divisions continued to execute well. The...

March 08, 2010

Las ventas de restaurantes comparables de McDonalds crecen un 4.8% en febrero

McDonald's informó el lunes que las ventas a nivel mundial en restaurantes comparables, o aquellos abiertos durante al menos un año, aumentaron el 4,8% en febrero, superando las expectativas de los analistas gracias a la solidez de las ventas en el ext...

March 04, 2010

Potato growers take McDonald's Pesticide survey

Farmers who grow potatoes that end up as french fries at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants have begun taking surveys about how they produce the crop.About a year ago, McDonald's bowed to pressure from activist shareholders and agreed to make a...

March 04, 2010

Winter weather hurts CKE sales

CKE Restaurants Inc. reported mixed results for its two brands in February, with winter weather taking a toll at Hardee's but new products helping sales at Carl's Jr. Blended same-store sales fell 4.2 percent for the four weeks ended Feb. 22, compar...

March 03, 2010

Restaurant Industry Ends Tough Year with Visits Down Across All Foodservice Segments

Restaurant visit losses in each of the four quarters of 2009 contributed to a -3 percent decline for the year compared to a year ago, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research company. NPD’s foodservice market research reports that due to ...

February 26, 2010

CKE Restaurants agrees to $918M buyout

CKE Restaurants Inc., the parent to the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains, said Friday it has agreed to a $918 million acquisition offer from private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.The deal includes the assumption of $309 million in debt, leaving the ...

Flavored french fries (Idaho Potato Commission)

February 21, 2010

No more 'Would you like fries with that'

It's time to bury that negative fast-food cliché, "Would you like fries with that?" In today's restaurant world, whether it's quick service or full service, operators are finding new ways to present and flavor fries, and customers are eating...

February 12, 2010

Bright spots in restaurants' 4Q results

A few encouraging signs emerged this week as several restaurant companies reported fourth-quarter results that reflected improving sales trends. Buffalo Wild Wings Inc., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Panera Bread Co., which have performed better ...