MARYVILLE Tenn. A month after acknowledging it had “underestimated the impact” of higher gas prices and general economic factors on consumer spending, Ruby Tuesday Inc. on Wednesday reported a 48.5-percent plunge in first-quarter profit from a...
Vacant stores, empty restaurants and desolate parking lots—that’s the fate that has befallen many older shopping malls in suburban areas that have been eclipsed by the advent of “lifestyle centers,” often resembling idyllic, small downtowns, with...
With overall ad spending this year by national restaurant chains basically flat, quick-service operators are diversifying their spending on more narrowly targeted buys by devoting a larger percentage of their budgets to spot TV than do casual...
DUBLIN, OHIO Wendy’s International Inc., the emergence of two potential bidders to join the parent of Arby’s as suitors has heightened speculation about the No. 3 burger brand’s destiny. ...
GREENSBURG Pa. Unique Pizza and Subs Corp. has agreed to sell franchise rights for 115 namesake units throughout Texas for $2 million, payable in weekly installments by buyer Unique Franchise Operations Inc. The arrangement allows Austin...
JACKSONVILLE Fla. Khalil Elbanna, a longtime Shoney’s franchisee in Florida and Georgia, is suing Nashville, Tenn.-based Captain D’s Seafood for alleged racial discrimination. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court here Friday, alleges...
LOUISVILLE Ky. Papa John’s is dropping its franchise fee for a limited time in certain markets, the company’s website said. According to the website, the deal applies to California, Connecticut and New Jersey, along with the designated...
OAK BROOK Ill. McDonald’s is featuring past winners of its Monopoly promotion in TV spots and on packaging for the first time to encourage participation in this year’s game, which will run through Oct. 29. The chain said it’s using the...
ATLANTA BBAC LLC, the investor group that plans to buy Back Yard Burgers in a $38 million deal, has extended to Oct. 31 the expiration of its committed financing with Regions Bank and Harbert Mezzanine Partners II LLC. BBAC said it wants to...
If ever there were a time for restaurants to engage TV viewers with a memorable ad character, this could be it.Nielsen Media Research recently reported that only a third of TV viewers could recall any commercials they saw, based on findings from...
