Douglas Wright, president of Upper Saddle River, N.J.-based UGotta Try, launched the online-coupon service last month because, he said, hope is not a strategy. “If I’m a restaurant owner, I want somebody to refer me, and all I...
Anand Gala grew up in the restaurant business, hanging out in his parents’ franchised locations of Jack in the Box in the afternoons and during summer recess in grade school. It wasn’t the typical childhood, he admits, but it...
As high-end steakhouse chains drive a herd of value-meal deals into the market-place to cope with recession-trimmed traffic counts, their executives are keeping a watchful eye on preventing check-average erosion and the tarnishing of the high-end...
Dan Stone, director of franchise sales at The Melting Pot, a 140-unit-plus casual-dining chain, had spent months courting national lender CIT Group to garner preferential treatment for the fondue chain’s franchisees. He wrote...
Taco Bell’s two-minute TV commercial that aired during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game qualifies as an advertising blockbuster, and chain officials credit the decision to premiere a 60-second version in movie theaters as critical to the...
Everyone seems flummoxed by Twitter. While I don’t profess to understand the psychology behind it, I admit I’m addicted to the mini-blogging service, which limits posts to 140 characters.And I’m not alone.I’m joined by thousands of mobile food...
DALLAS Brinker International Inc. on Thursday reported weak sales at its three casual-dining brands, including flagship Chili’s Grill & Bar, during the fourth quarter and predicted that same-store sales would continue to decline in the new fiscal...
Brad Laughner of Buffalo Wild Wings knew the brand had hit on something good when he recently saw a woman camped out in front of a soon-to-open store near Kansas City, Mo., in the middle of the night. She was waiting with about...
