SAN FRANCISCO The California Restaurant Association has filed a lawsuit in federal court that seeks to stop San Francisco from requiring certain chain restaurants to post nutrition information starting in September. The association argues that the...

COLUMBUS Ohio Shareholders of Max & Erma’s Restaurants have approved a $10.2 million acquisition deal that takes the casual-dining company private, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday. G&R Acquisition Inc., led by Pittsburgh...

GLENDALE Calif. Franchisees of the IHOP and Applebee’s chains together will form a purchasing cooperative to improve buying leverage now that the two brands are under parent company DineEquity Inc. “The purchasing power of that combined...

SPARTANBURG S.C. Denny’s has launched a national online contest to find the best impersonators of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Consumers who look like, sound like, or “just vaguely resemble” either...

CARY N.C. Smithfield’s Chicken ’N Bar-B-Q has named Holy Cow Branding Inc. its agency of record. Holy Cow, a strategic branding agency, will be responsible for managing all of Smithfield’s marketing efforts. Smithfield’s is a 34-unit chain...

AUSTIN Texas Norman Abdallah said he is stepping down as chief executive of Fired Up Inc. here, the parent to the 150-unit Carino’s Italian Grill chain, to join the Egyptian-based Amer International, a longtime licensee of the concept. ...

HARRISON N.Y. Zane Tankel, the chief executive and founder of Apple-Metro Inc., one of Applebee's largest franchisees, was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Metro New York region. Tankel, whose company operates 25...

HARTFORD Conn. Restaurant employees are expected to be among the participants in a new health insurance program that Connecticut is launching this week in hopes of extending coverage to all residents. Gov. M. Jodi Rell hailed it as the first in...

GLENDALE Calif. Applebee’s parent DineEquity Inc. has completed the sale of 26 company-owned restaurants to Southern California franchisee Apple American Group LLC for an estimated $27 million in after-tax cash that will be applied toward the...

LEBANON Tenn. CBRL Group Inc., operator of the 577-unit Cracker Barrel Old Country Store chain, on Tuesday reduced its full-year profit and revenue guidance and said June same-store sales were below company expectations. Citing “continuing...