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Two years ago, it seemed that everyone and his brother had started or was planning to debut a fast-casual pizza concept. The build-your-own pizza format of individual pies quickly cooked [...]

Byline: Bloomberg (Bloomberg)-Lenders are having a hard time unloading distressed and bankrupt restaurants, and it's small wonder. After all, who wants to buy an eatery in the middle of a [...]

Byline: Burt Rutherford There's an old saying many of you are familiar with: You gotta dance with the one who brung ya. BEEF Daily was hard on Cargill and others [...]

McDonald's Corp. is widely considered to be one of the forerunners of global brand expansion, with its Golden Arches successfully rooted in many corners of the world. The international push [...]

Some chains in the fast-casual sector seem like adolescents approaching their teenage years, not yet mature like the quick-service or casual-dining segments but no longer fledgling restaurant groups. And like [...]

MIAMI BEACH, FLA. -- The 31st annual Chain Operators Exchange held here last month offered up business strategies, original research results and networking opportunities for operators and suppliers, both indoors [...]

Pleased with the continuing trend of positive same-store sales that began for much of the family segment in the third and fourth quarters of 2003, that category's chains are avoiding [...]

NEW YORK -- Even as the economy shows signs of rebounding and New York's tourism sector continues on its gradual road to recovery, the city's unsettled hospitality marketplace has hotel [...]

MARYVILLE, TENN. -- In a difficult economic and operating environment rife with aggressive growth and media campaigns from larger chains, Ruby Tuesday Inc. is leaving nothing to chance in maintaining [...]

While the tough economy has forced some overextended multi-concept casual-dining operators to shrink their portfolios, a number of top casual-dining operators nonetheless are bullish on expanding the emerging brands in [...]

America's favorite seafood concept is now 35 years old. But instead of growing old and tired, the country's most successful seafood chain is refreshing itself with a new look and [...]

WICHITA, KAN. -- Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Inc., which is raising its menu prices for the first time in three years while readying six unit openings, is closely acquainted [...]

NEW YORK -- An air of uncertainty still hovers over the prospects for an economic recovery, but there is no shortage of confidence among a number of prominent restaurant operators [...]

As the nation's economic downturn continues to buffet the restaurant industry, casual-dining operators are surviving--and even thriving--by borrowing ideas from their brethren in other foodservice segments. Many casual-dining chains are [...]

It's a dream come true for an emerging chain. A big restaurant corporation notices you, likes what it sees, and purchases a stake in your operation. It's a satisfying achievement. [...]

ST. LOUIS -- By the summer of 1998, when it disclosed plans to sell off its Au Bon Pain brand, the operator of the Panera Bread and St. Louis Bread [...]

LOUISVILLE, KY. Bolstered by a dramatic rebound in sales at Taco Bell and a 19-percent increase in 2001 profits, Tricon Global Restaurants plans to drive U.S. sales volumes with an [...]

Five Guys Burgers and Fries' founder Jerry Murrell was initially opposed to franchising the fast-casual concept and finally had to be persuaded by his business partners--his wife and five sons. [...]

This fall, Bloomin' Brands Inc. tried a new tactic in its effort to win over customers who want to eat their restaurants' food at home: It opened a takeout-only location [...]

NEW YORK -- Just weeks after closing the deal to sell the publicly held Smith & Wollensky steakhouse chain, founder Alan Stillman and his son, Michael, are readying plans to [...]

Like senior citizens dancing the Electric Slide at a grandchild's wedding reception and then having a video clip posted on YouTube.com to prove it, the family-dining segment is busting loose [...]

Competition always has been tough in the pizza category, but it's likely to get a little tougher in the months ahead as Little Caesars embarks on an aggressive growth program. [...]

NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Powered by a recent executive reshuffling and the rollout of a five-point turnaround plan, 350-unit O'Charley's Inc. here is pledging a return to the double-digit profits that [...]

The year was 1965, and McDonald's Corp. had just become a public company. The new darling of Wall Street was celebrating its 10th anniversary with the theme 'The Sky's the [...]

Jim Minidis, the founder of RedBrick Pizza, based in Palmdale, Calif., has his sights set on growing his nearly 40-unit company into one of the largest pizza chains in the [...]

Michael Hassel, director of information services for New York's Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group, says he will be stalking labor-management tools while wandering among the more than 150 suppliers, integrators [...]

Los Angeles-area restaurant entrepreneurs and upmarket chef-operators are dishing out another wave of openings that could help the city retain the cutting-edge status its culinary community reclaimed in recent years [...]

ATLANTA -- AFC Enterprises Inc., which posted slightly lower earnings from continuing operations for this year's second quarter, plans to bolster weak guest counts at its 1,809-unit Popeyes Chicken & [...]

BOSTON -- Au Bon Pain, after reining in chain expansion to focus on the revitalization of its menu, decor and operations, launched a prototype restaurant design that the bakery-cafe chain [...]

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Arby's, looking to rebound from a sales slump in 2003, is revitalizing its product development and experimenting with a scaled-down prototype for nontraditional venues. The smaller [...]

When McDonald's named replacements for chairman and chief executive James Cantalupo within hours of his unexpected death April 19, restaurant companies saw a textbook transition of leadership through succession planning. [...]

MIAMI -- Despite Burger King Corp.'s urgent attempts to reverse negative same-store sales by hiring a new ad agency and launching entree salads and bunless burgers as part of a [...]

DALLAS -- Brinker International, in the same week that it revealed new health initiatives at Chili's Grill & Bar and Romano's Macaroni Grill, also unveiled a panel of outside experts [...]

SEATTLE -- Eyeing an ambitious target of at least 50 openings next year, the quick-service Taco Del Mar chain is seeking to attract area developers from other chains, particularly Subway. [...]

AGOURA HILLS, CALIF. -- In a bid to smoke fast-casual competitors, Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill is ramping up expansion of its organic-leaning chain while focusing on product differentiation and a [...]

Growth spurts are not limited to very young concepts alone. In fact, by the time a concept is in adolescent years, many of the kinks have been worked out and [...]

'NIMBY' is not in the dictionary, but one day Webster might define the word as a community's fear of the unknown, prompted by real and imagined repercussions of new retail [...]