CHICAGO —The secret to attaining a competitive edge is simply to build a “moat” around your brand, said Gary A. Williams, president and founder of Kanbay Research Institute. Cracker Barrel has done that, he said, and so have...
CHICAGO —Black Americans ages 13 to 39 are considered part of the “hip hop generation,” a group of 45 million consumers with $10 billion in spending power that savvy restaurateurs should be ready to target, according to a new marketing...
LOS ANGELES uWink Inc., the new dining and entertainment venture from Chuck E. Cheese founder Nolan Bushnell, said it has inked its first franchise deal, an area development agreement for up to three units in Florida's Miami-Dade County. ...
Restaurant chains continued Wednesday to report weak sales results for last month, with Panera Bread Co. posting just a 1.2-percent systemwide same-store sales gain for the five weeks ended May 29, and Brinker International disclosing a 2.8...
LOUISVILLE Ky. Chili's franchisee ERJ Dining of Louisville, Ky., has agreed to buy 76 additional units from franchisor Brinker International Inc. and develop 49 locations in the Midwest. Terms were not disclosed. With the agreement, Dallas...
NASHVILLE Tenn. O’Charley’s Inc. said it has hired development veteran Mike Ellis as its new chief development officer. Ellis comes from BP Products North America where he served as vice president of asset management. At BP he was...
As competition in the restaurant industry heats up and consumer expectations constantly change, the creation of embraceable, distinct brand identities is increasingly critical for marketers striving to set their concepts apart from the pack.But...
TAMPA FLA. —Personality and behavioral testing is not just for job applicants anymore as restaurant franchising companies increasingly employ such exams to screen prospective franchisees. Franchisors such as Beef ‘O’...
Here’s some horrible news: Two weeks ago Pizza Hut announced the winners of its annual Book It! program, which encourages schools to set reading goals for students and rewards winning classrooms in the “All-Star Reader” sweepstakes with some...
MINNEAPOLIS A federal district court has ruled that Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Domino's Pizza cannot force franchisees under the terms of their existing franchise agreements to buy and install a proprietary computer system sold only by the pizza...
