News on QSR, Restaurant and Food Service Trends from the United States

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...

La mayor cadena mundial de hamburguesas, McDonald's Corp, reportó un incremento de 2.6% en las ventas de enero en restaurantes abiertos por al menos 13 meses, debido a que los despachos internacionales opacaron un desempeño lento en Estados Unidos. La...

McDonald’s officials are meeting with the Potato Variety Management Institute (PVMI) to talk about potential new varieties of potatoes for French Fries. Jeanne Debons, executive director of the Potato Variety Management Institute (PVMI), is meeting M...

Burger King has been talking for years about how it's targeting 'The superfan', young males who consume prodigious amounts of fast food. But more recently Burger King's description of its target has become a lot more expansive. "The superfan is me...

In a year when the restaurant industry experienced its steepest traffic declines in three decades, the total restaurant unit count was relatively flat, dipping slightly by -0.3 percent or less 1,652 restaurant units nationwide, compared to a year ago,...

A study published in Pediatrics shows that when nutritional information is available on fast-food restaurant menus, parents are more apt to pick lower-calorie foods for their kids. Often spurred on by legislation, many U.S. restaurant chains are now po...

Citing continued concern over job losses, underemployment and continued consumer frugality in dining away from home, Technomic revised its 2010 U.S. foodservice industry sales forecast downward. Foodservice consulting firm Technomic now expects the ind...

McDonald’s Corporation today issued a report outlining its latest global best practices in the areas of sustainable supply chain, nutrition and well-being, environmental responsibility, employment experience, community and corporate governance and ethi...

While the restaurant industry remains in the dumps courtesy of an eroded economy, McDonald's Corp. keeps chugging along, and Friday posted better-than-expected sales and profit for the fourth quarter.The Oak Brook-based company has managed to play up v...

New York Governor David Paterson on Tuesday proposed a budget of nearly $136 billion for fiscal 2011, a 0.5 percent increase from the current year, that will partly close a $7.4 billion deficit by raising taxes on cigarettes and other items.Paterson sa...

Early fourth-quarter sales reports suggest unemployment and anemic consumer spending have continued to hamper sales growth for restaurant chains. With two investor conferences on the calendar last week, a number of restaurant companies released prel...

El alcalde de Nueva York, Michael Bloomberg, sigue con su cruzada por la vida sana. Primero, prohibió fumar en bares y restaurantes de la ciudad. Después, obligó a retirar las grasas trans y a especificar las calorías en los menús. Y ahora lanza una ca...

New Jersey lawmakers passed Wednesday a measure requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets around the country to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards in their locations throughout the state.The state Assembly passed the bill by a margi...