December 17, 2007
.svg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale "Nation's Restaurant News")
“When you ask what the percentage of diverse employees in your group is, some will say 30 percent, others will say 60 percent. I say it should be 100 percent, because diversity is about everyone in the room. It’s leveraging the difference those employees bring to your business, the different elements that make up who we are and the level of perspective they bring to who we are, how we can best serve our clients and meet and exceed their needs.”
Top 100 growth companiesOut of the 100 companies ranked in NRN’s June 25 Top 100 report (FYE=fiscal-year-end date; Revenues=corporate, from U.S. foodservice operations, in millions; Growth=percentage change in domestic foodservice revenues, latest year vs. preceding year)
| RANK | COMPANY | FYE | REVENUES | %GROWTH |
| 1 | Trimaran Capital Partners Inc. | Dec.’06 | $429.1 | 164.88 |
| 2 | Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. | Dec.’06 | 319.0 | 161.48 |
| 3 | Sun Capital Partners Inc. | Dec.’06 | 350.0 | 152.71 |
| 4 | Sagittarius Brands Inc. | Dec.’06 | 518.0 | 130.22 |
| 5 | Triarc Cos. Inc. | Dec.’06 | 1,148.8 | 74.80 |
| 6 | Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. | Dec.’06 | 1,055.0 | 44.52 |
| 7 | Caxton-Iseman Capital Inc. | June ’07 | 1,349.2 | 39.81 |
| 8 | PANERA BREAD CO. | Dec.’06 | 722.7 | 30.52 |
| 9 | Texas Roadhouse Inc. | Dec.’06 | 597.1 | 30.14 |
| 10 | Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. | Dec.’06 | 616.2 | 27.10 |
Top 100 growth chainsOut of the 100 companies ranked in NRN’s June 25 Top 100 report (FYE=fiscal-year-end date; Sales=U.S. systemwide from foodservice, in millions; Growth=percentage change in domestic sales, latest year vs. preceding year) *LEVY RESTAURANTS SPORTS CONCESSIONS; ** RED ROBIN GOURMET BURGERS & SPIRITS
| RANK | COMPANY | FYE | REVENUES | %GROWTH |
| 1 | Zaxby’s | Dec.’06 | 469.2 | 35.57 |
| 2 | Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar | Dec.’06 | 869.0 | 32.37 |
| 3 | Chipotle Mexican Grill/Chipotle | Dec.’06 | 832.0 | 30.82 |
| 4 | Levy Restaurants* | Sept.’06 | 450.0 | 26.05 |
| 5 | Starbucks Coffee | Sept.’06 | 6,017.0 | 21.93 |
| 6 | Red Robin Gourmet Burgers** | Dec.’06 | 967.7 | 21.13 |
| 7 | Panera Bread Co. | Dec.’06 | 1,815.0 | 20.30 |
| 8 | Panda Express | Dec.’06 | 880.5 | 19.68 |
| 9 | Ruth’s Chris Steak House | Dec.’06 | 461.0 | 19.58 |
| 10 | Quiznos Sub | Dec.’06 | 1,780.0 | 16.37 |
Second 100 growth companiesOut of the 100 companies ranked in NRN’s July 23 Second 100 report (FYE=fiscal-year end date; Growth=percentage change in domestic foodservice revenues, latest year vs. preceding year; Revenues=corporate, from U.S. foodservice operations, in millions)
| RANK | COMPANY | FYE | REVENUES | %GROWTH |
| 1 | Leonard Green & Partners LP | Dec.’06 | $274.0 | 334.92 |
| 2 | Palladium Equity Partners LLC | Dec.’06 | 163.8 | 213.79 |
| 3 | The Briad Group | Dec.’06 | 261.6 | 82.30 |
| 4 | Wynn Resorts Ltd. | Dec.’06 | 239.3 | 77.13 |
| 5 | Pacific Equity Partners | April ’07 | 117.0 | 59.18 |
| 6 | Zaxby’s Franchising Inc. | Dec.’06 | 115.8 | 47.08 |
| 7 | Potbelly Corp. | Dec.’06 | 131.5 | 37.27 |
| 8 | BJ’s Restaurants Inc. | Dec.’06 | 238.9 | 34.06 |
| 9 | Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. | Dec.’06 | 278.2 | 32.67 |
| 10 | Valley Services Inc. | Dec.’06 | 190.0 | 30.85 |
Second 100 growth chainsOut of the 100 chains ranked in NRN’s July 23 Second 100 report (FYE=fiscal-year end date; Growth=percentage change in domestic sales, latest year vs. preceding year; Sales=U.S. systemwide from foodservice, in millions) *BJ’S RESTAURANT & BREWERY/BREWHOUSE/PIZZA & GRILL; ** FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE & WINE BARS
| RANK | COMPANY | FYE | REVENUES | %GROWTH |
| 1 | Bonefish Grill | Dec.’06 | $327.0 | 39.15 |
| 2 | Pei Wei Asian Diner | Dec.’06 | 180.2 | 34.58 |
| 3 | BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery* | Dec.’06 | 241.5 | 33.43 |
| 4 | BEEF O’BRADY’S FAMILY SPORTS PUB | Dec.’06 | 181.0 | 27.29 |
| 5 | McAlister’s Deli | Dec.’06 | 260.0 | 25.54 |
| 6 | Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse** | Dec.’06 | 188.0 | 25.33 |
| 7 | Moe’s Southwest Grill | Dec.’06 | 230.0 | 25.00 |
| 8 | The Capital Grille | Dec.’06 | 204.2 | 23.61 |
| 9 | Qdoba Mexican Grill | Oct.’06 | 265.0 | 20.45 |
| 10 | Fire Mountain | Dec.’06 | 182.0 | 19.74 |
Top 10 Stock PerformersCLOSING PRICE*
| EXCHANGE | COMPANY | TICKER | 12/29/06 | 11/30/07 | %CHG. |
| NYS | CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC. | CMG | 57.00 | 133.15 | 133.60 |
| NAS | Pizza Inn Inc. | PZZI | 1.88 | 2.85 | 51.60 |
| NAS | Grill Concepts Inc. | GRIL | 3.01 | 4.50 | 49.50 |
| NYS | McDonald’s Corp. | MCD | 43.19 | 58.47 | 35.38 |
| NYS | Tim Hortons Inc. | THI | 28.73 | 38.43 | 33.76 |
| NYS | YUM! Brands Inc. | YUM | 28.92 | 37.15 | 28.46 |
| NYS | Burger King Holdings Inc. | BKC | 20.93 | 26.30 | 25.66 |
| ASE | J. Alexander’s Corp. | JAX | 8.91 | 11.00 | 23.46 |
| NAS | Nathan’s Famous Inc. | NATH | 14.40 | 17.49 | 21.46 |
| NAS | Ark Restaurants Corp. | ARKR | 32.89 | 36.80 | 11.89 |
Bottom 10 Stocfk PerformersCLOSING PRICE**Closing prices adjusted for dividends and splitsNote: Top and bottom performers taken from NRN’s Restaurant Index. Stocks must have traded above $1 on New York Stock Exchange (NYS), Nasdaq (NAS) or American Stock Exchange (ASE) for the period from Dec. 29, 2006, through Nov. 30.SOURCE: NRN RESEARCH
| EXCHANGE | COMPANY | TICKER | 12/29/06 | 11/30/07 | %CHG. |
| NAS | BUCA INC. | BUCA | 4.81 | 1.14 | -76.30 |
| NYS | Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. | KKD | 11.10 | 2.67 | -75.95 |
| NAS | Max & Erma’s Rest. Inc. | MAXE | 8.00 | 2.50 | -68.75 |
| NAS | Jamba Inc. | JMBA | 10.07 | 3.42 | -66.04 |
| NYS | Triarc Cos. Inc. | TRY | 21.23 | 8.45 | -60.20 |
| NAS | Così Inc. | COSI | 5.09 | 2.36 | -53.63 |
| NYS | Ruby Tuesday Inc. | RT | 26.91 | 13.11 | -51.28 |
| NAS | Caribou Coffee Co. | CBOU | 8.53 | 4.60 | -46.07 |
| NAS | McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Rest. Inc. | MSSR | 24.04 | 14.66 | -39.02 |
| NAS | Mexican Restaurants Inc. | CASA | 11.00 | 6.74 | -38.73 |
BEST NAMES
BARFRY New York (Specializes in raw seafood and tempura dishes)
GRILL FROM IPANEMA Washington, D.C. (Specializes in Brazilian cuisine)
THE WIENER’S CIRCLE Chicago (Specializes in hot dogs and sausages)
THE GRATEFUL BREAD BAKING CO. Seattle (Specializes in baked goods)
CROSS-RHODES Evanston, Ill. (Specializes in Greek food)
THAI TANIC RESTAURANT Washington, D.C. (Specializes in Thai food)
COUNTER CULTURE Santa Fe, N.M. (Specializes in sandwiches, soups and salads)
SEOUL FOOD Centennial, Colo. (Specializes in Korean barbecue)
