QSR, Restaurant and Food Service Trends from Northern America

August 02, 2009

Restaurant finds solution for crinkle cut fries in Urschel's DiversaCut Sprint™ Dicer

“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...

July 28, 2009

Delaware French fry vending machine startup gets state funding

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...

July 27, 2009

NPD Spring 2009 Restaurant Count Shows Units Down by 4,000

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...

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)

July 23, 2009

Sodium Levels at Denny’s Prompt CSPI supported Class Action Lawsuit

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...

July 23, 2009

WASH study: Foods in Canada contain more salt than elswhere

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...

July 23, 2009

McDonald's stock tumbles as same-store sales disappoint

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...

July 10, 2009

La Papa (NYC) - not your ordinary baked potato

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 ...

July 08, 2009

Burger King's marketing strategy: offend and apologize

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...

June 30, 2009

Restaurant Chains in California prepare for menu labeling

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...

June 30, 2009

Studies show waning optimism among restaurateurs

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...

June 29, 2009

New York City Wages War On Sodium

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...

June 17, 2009

Idaho Fry Co., potato commission agree to new name for Boise business

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...

June 15, 2009

Frugal Consumers Could Squeeze Restaurants As Costs Rise

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...

June 13, 2009

McDonald's aumentó sus ventas un 5.1% en el mundo pese a crisis

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...

June 11, 2009

Eatery's name proves to be hot potato

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...

Starbucks menu in new York (Source: CSPI)

June 10, 2009

Compromise on menu-labeling reached

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...

June 08, 2009

McDonald's May global comparable sales up 5.1%

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...

June 05, 2009

Jim Skinner (McDonald's) picks up CEO honor

Jim Skinner, president and chief executive of McDonald's Corp., was selected as one of Brendan Wood International's 66 TopGun CEOs, the corporate advisory firm said Friday. Skinner was the only restaurant executive out of 750 companies around globe t...