This week on Nation's Restaurant News the top story was the demand for restaurant real estate is ‘through the roof’. We’ve tried to articulate the state of the consumer for about a year now and more signs are starting to show of a pullback on discretionary spending. That said, consumers have largely shown a sustained willingness to spend their money at restaurants and on experiences. Perhaps that explains why operators are bullish about finding real estate. According to Emily Durham, senior vice president, brokerage, food and beverage advisory at commercial real estate company JLL, demand on the restaurant real estate side is “through the roof.” In Houston, for example, there is only a 4% commercial vacancy rate.
In other news, McDonald’s is introducing two new sauces – the Sweet & Spicy Jam Sauce and the Mambo Sauce – beginning Oct. 9. McDonald’s Sweet & Spicy Jam Sauce is a red pepper sauce with a Szechuan peppercorn kick and extra heat from cayenne pepper; finished with apple cider vinegar. McDonald’s Mambo Sauce is a tomato-based, sweet, spicy and vinegary sauce inspired by the regional Washington, D.C. area sauce staple.
Also, Red Lobster has named Horace Dawson its new CEO, filling a position that has been vacant since Kelli Valade stepped down in April of last year. Dawson has been the Orlando, Fla.-based casual dining chain’s executive vice president and general counsel since 2014.
See what else was trending on NRN.com this week.
