QSR, Restaurant and Food Service Trends

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 ...

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...

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 ...

A delicate global balance in potato trading, and the changes tastes of fry-shy boomers, are hammering the Maritimes potato patch, industry experts say. “U.S. people are eating out less these days,” McCain’s Canada spokesperson Calla Farn told the Sta...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Local, sustainable and organic food choices top the list of what’s hot in Canada’s restaurant kitchens.  The trends are revealed in a new survey of professional chefs conducted for the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) by independ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

The National Restaurant Association today announced the recipients of its prestigious 2010 Kitchen Innovations™ (KI) Award, which recognizes the most groundbreaking equipment on the global foodservice market as selected by an independent panel of exper...

McDonald’s Corp. said global sales rose 2.6 percent in January, topping some analysts’ estimates, as demand in Asia and the U.K. countered a decline in the U.S.Sales at U.S. stores open at least 13 months fell 0.7 percent and climbed 4.3 percent in Eu...