QSR, Restaurant and Food Service Trends

Carrols Restaurant Group Inc., the largest Burger King franchisee, provided the first official glimpse into the No. 2 burger brand’s latest sales trends, and it wasn’t good.While analysts and observers have predicted that Burger King sales trends would...

“There are people that are huge fans of fresh crinkle cut fries,” according to Ken Schiller, owner of the newly opened Mighty Fine Burgers Fries Shakes in Austin, Texas, “If it’s frozen, it’s no good.” Schiller tested thirteen different size fries with...

One of the country's leading manufacturers of frozen potatoes worked more than 20 years trying to perfect a french fry vending machine, with little success. In the 1990s, another company promised just such a machine but foundered amid allegations that...

There are 4,000 fewer restaurants in the United States this spring than there were last spring, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research company. NPD’s Spring 2009 ReCount®, which is a census of commercial restaurant locations in the Unite...

Most Denny's meals are dangerously high in sodium, putting the restaurant chain's customers at greater risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, according to a class action lawsuit filed today by a New Jersey man with the support of the Ce...

A study by the British-based World Action on Salt and Health, or WASH, compared the salt content of 260 food products under global brands such as KFC, McDonald's, Kellogg, Nestlé, Burger King and Subway. Not a single product surveyed had the same sal...

McDonald's proved Thursday it's not immune from the world's economic problems, as the fast-food giant disclosed June sales (McDonald's Q2 results) that were below Wall Street's expectations, prompting a selloff in its stock.McDonald's shares fell $2.73...

At first glance, the menu at La Papa may fail to impress some jaded NYC diners. After all, it’s “just” a place that sells topped baked potatoes. But to dismiss La Papa so quickly would be doing both the restaurant, and yourself, a disservice. Modeled ...

How's this for a global marketing strategy? Each month target a different international market with an ad that offends some segment of the population, then, after earning a lot of media attention, apologize and pull the ad.   That's the pattern of off...

Newly released research from a trio of sources points to slowed restaurant industry sales trends and weakened consumer confidence in the early summer months, snapping a string of recent positive news that had sparked operator optimism.The National Rest...

Chain restaurant operators throughout California said they are prepared to comply this week with the first phase of a state menu-labeling mandate, but many noted that preparation did not immediately include posting calories on menus and menu boards. Be...

In New York City, it was a straightforward suggestion that left a lingering aftertaste in many people’s mouths: The city’s Department of Health and Hygiene exhorted restaurants and food manufacturers and the marketers serving them to reduce sodium cont...

Idaho Fry Co. co-owner Blake Lingle said Tuesday that he and his business partner met with officials at the Idaho Potato Commission and came to an agreement on a new name for the business. Plans for a naming contest were scrapped in favor of resolving...

Restaurants could see their margins squeezed as inflationary pressures return to the commodity markets, especially as the chains find it harder to wean customers off a steady diet of meal deals. Analysts expect higher ingredient and energy costs for re...

La mayor cadena de comida rápida a nivel global, McDonald's, reportó un crecimiento de 5.1% en sus ventas de mayo (en los locales abiertos hace al menos 13 meses), empujado por la fuerte demanda en Europa y la región Asia Pacífico. Sin embargo, el cre...

Maybe the owners of the Idaho Fry Co. should have done a little more research before picking a name for their startup restaurant in Boise.On the other hand, their alleged violation of the Idaho potato trademark hasn't exactly hurt business.Traffic pick...

A negotiated bipartisan agreement by three U.S. lawmakers that combines key elements of two existing Senate menu-labeling bills is drawing wide praise from inside and outside the industry. Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Tom Carper, D-Del., and Lisa Murkowsk...

McDonald's Corporation announced today that global comparable sales rose 5.1% in May. Comparable sales increases by segment were as follows: U.S. increased 2.8% Europe increased 7.6% Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa increased 6.4% "May's st...