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The flagship State Street store of Chicago-based Berry Chill LLC, a frozen yogurt purveyor that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, is closed.
A sign on the door at 635 N. State St. said the location is “temporarily closed due to emergency repairs,” though postings on its Facebook page and Twitter stream said it’s in a “legal battle” with its landlord. Get the full story »
Nestle USA is recalling some packages of Nestle Raisinets that may contain peanuts, putting those with an allergy at risk if they consume them. Get the full story »
McDonald’s Corp. plans to raise menu prices to blunt higher costs, including what would be its first such increase in the U.S. in more than a year — a time when the burger chain’s sales have thrived amid lower prices.
The company expects to increase prices in the U.S. and Europe amid projections that commodity costs will rise between 2 percent and 3 percent in 2011, Chief Financial Officer Peter Bensen said Thursday during a conference call after McDonald’s reported a 10 percent increase in third-quarter earnings and added that October sales appear strong. Get the full story »
A McDonald's restaurant in Bismark, N.D. (AFP/Karen Bleier)
McDonald’s shares hit an all-time high after the restaurant chain said its third-quarter profit surged 10 percent to $1.4 billion on growth in “all areas of the world.” Shares in McDonald’s were up 2.57 percent to $79.40 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Comparable sales grew 6 percent worldwide, 5.3 percent in the U.S., 4.1 percent in Europe and Asia/Pacific, and 8.1 percent in the Middle East and Africa.
Earnings per share increased 12 percent to $1.29. Revenues were up 4 percent to $6.3 billion. Analysts polled by Thompson Reuters had been expecting $6.23 billion in revenues and earnings per share of $1.25. Get the full story »
Jimmy Buffett. (John Fitzhugh/Biloxi Sun Herald/MCT)
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant is sailing into Navy Pier for a 10-year run.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns and operates the pier, announced the lease Wednesday morning.
“So, we’ll have the Caribbean in February on Navy Pier,” said David Mosena, chairman of the authority, known as McPier. The authority is hoping the restaurant and entertainment venue will serve as an attendance magnet year-round. Get the full story »
Tate & Lyle PLC, the maker of Splenda, announced Tuesday that it will open a $26 million innovation center in Hoffman Estates. The company plans to relocate about 80 employees from Decatur to Hoffman Estates, where an additional 80 jobs will be created. Get the full story »
From the Chicago Sun-Times | Pop-Grip LLC, an investment company backed by the children of a spurned vice president of Brown’s Chicken, submitted the highest bid of $585,000 at an auction Monday to take over the chicken franchise. The company said it intends to invest in the 28 Brown’s Chicken stores and “bring it back tasting better than ever.” Get the full story>>
Jewel-Osco parent Supervalu says it had a steep loss of $1.47 billion in the fiscal second quarter due to charges tied to a labor dispute at its Shaw’s chain and employee-related costs. Adjusted to exclude the charges, earnings totaled $59 million, or 28 cents per share. That is a penny shy of the 29 cents a share analysts expected. Get the full story »
Something new is on the menu at a renovated Starbucks in Seattle: beer and wine.
A store that reopened Monday is the first under the Starbucks brand to offer alcohol. Get the full story »
Russia is exploring the creation of a regional wheat futures market and this month held talks with senior executives at CME Group Inc., according to a senior official at the Chicago-based exchange operator.
The planned venture would add another global platform for trading alongside Chicago and Paris, serving the fast-growing “bread basket” of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, which has become an increasingly important source of European food imports. Get the full story »
Dominck’s parent Safeway Inc. said lower prices drove its third-quarter profit down 5 percent, from a year ago, to $128.8 million.
Sales fell slightly, to $9.4 billion from $9.5 billion. The Pleasanton, Calif. company’s same store sales fell 2 percent, excluding fuel sales. Safeway pointed to lower prices for the same-store sales decline. Get the full story »
Shoppers at a Wal-Mart in Orland Hills, Ill. (David Pierini/Chicago Tribune)
Wal-Mart is planning to double the sales of fresh produce it sources from local farms in its U.S. stores by the end of 2015, part of a strategy to revamp its global produce supply chain.
The world’s largest retailer said it would also sell more than $1 billion each year in food sourced from 1 million small and medium-sized farms in emerging markets by the end of 2015. That would help increase income for those farmers by 10 to 15 percent in the same time frame, Wal-Mart said. Get the full story »
Burger King Holdings Inc .said it did not get any superior buyout offers during the “go-shop” period following its agreement to sell itself to investment firm 3G Capital for $3.26 billion.
The world’s second-largest hamburger chain had time until Oct. 12 to solicit a richer offer from other buyers. Get the full story »
Baristas participate in espresso training at Starbucks, Feb. 26, 2008. (Keith Bedford/Handout)
From the Wall Street Journal | Starbucks customers could be stuck in longer lines now that the company has told baristas to slow down and only work on two beverages at a time. The Wall Street Journal reviewed company documents instructing employees to steam milk for each drink individually, rising pitchers after each use and using only one espresso machine. The changes are designed to address criticisms about assembly-line coffee. Get the full story>>
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Champaign-based Jimmy John Enterprises LLC has filed a lawsuit accusing the Chicago-based parent of Halsted Street Deli, for infringing on two of its trademarked sandwiches — Turkey Tom and Hunter’s Club.. Get the full story>>
