Nov. 10, 2010 at 6:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
Wendy's new fries. (Wendy's)
With an eye toward appealing to foodies, Wendy’s is remaking its fries with Russett potatoes, leaving the skin on and sprinkling sea salt on top as it changes its menu to focus on “real” ingredients to win more fans.
The first move in the strategy was a new line of salads such as Apple Pecan Chicken in the summer. Now, the fries, which first appear on Thursday and roll out over the next two weeks. This is the first major overhaul of the 41-year-old company’s fries, although it has adjusted the recipe in the past. Get the full story »
Nov. 9, 2010 at 5:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Health care,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
San Francisco has become the first major American city to prohibit fast-food restaurants from including toys with children’s meals that do not meet nutritional guidelines.
The city’s Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 in favor of the measure Tuesday after giving it preliminary approval last week. That’s enough votes to survive a likely veto by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
By Wailin Wong
A meal from Reza's Restaurant delivered to Tribune food critic Phil Vettel through GrubHub, Jan. 24, 2008. (Abel Uribe/Tribune)
GrubHub, the Chicago-based technology start-up that connects consumers with restaurants that deliver to their neighborhood, has raised $11 million in its third and largest round of venture-capital funding.
The company received the funding from Benchmark Capital, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm that has also backed companies such as restaurant reservation service OpenTable, review site Yelp and real estate site Zillow. GrubHub launched in 2006 and had previously raised $3.1 million in two rounds of funding from Origin Ventures, Leo Capital and Amicus Capital. Origin Ventures and Leo Capital are both based in Northbrook.
Matt Maloney, GrubHub’s co-founder and chief executive, said the company was looking for funding to expand into new cities and develop new products and features in areas such as mobile applications. Get the full story »
Nov. 8, 2010 at 7:03 a.m.
Filed under:
Education,
Food,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
Casual dining chain International House of Pancakes LLC is planning to develop more restaurants on college campuses with partner Aramark.
“The trend of breakfast all-day and late-night dining is growing on college campuses,” said Ann Marie Solomon, Aramark vice president of national brand partnerships, in a statement. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 3:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants,
Retail
By Associated Press
Starbucks says its fourth-quarter net income nearly doubled as revenue spiked, beating analyst estimates, and it raised its targets for fiscal 2011.
Nov. 4, 2010 at 11:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Dow Jones Newswires
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is developing an Asian restaurant concept modeled after the successful fast-casual burrito chain.
Chipotle founder and co-Chief Executive Steve Ells and a small team from the company are developing the concept, whose name wasn’t disclosed. They plan to open one location next year. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 6:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
Burger King is looking to put some pep into its new breakfast push by giving out free cups of coffee every Friday morning this month. The goal is to promote the company’s new breakfast menu, which rolled out in September. The company launched a major marketing blitz, with the aim of eating up some of McDonald’s market-leading morning business. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 11:24 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Hotels,
Personnel moves,
Restaurants,
Retail,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
McDonald’s announced today that European president Denis Hennequin will resign to become Chief Executive Officer of the Accor Hotel Group. His departure will be effective at the end of the month.
Before Don Thompson’s promotion to president and chief operating officer early this year, Hennequin was considered to be a dark horse candidate for the position, which is widely considered to be CEO-in-waiting. Jim Skinner, the current CEO, is 66.
“Denis’ leadership made a tangible difference in our key segment of Europe,” Skinner said in a statement. ”The European team’s dedication to our Plan to Win business strategy elevated the restaurant experience for our customers. We wish Denis well in his new role at Accor.” Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 6:47 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants,
Work culture
By Associated Press
An undetermined number of McDonald’s employees at a northeastern Ohio franchise received handbills in their most recent paychecks suggesting they vote for three Republican candidates.
The fast food chain’s corporate headquarters in Oak Brook quickly condemned the action by the Canton, Ohio, restaurant, saying it was not reflective of the company’s position. Get the full story »
By Emily Bryson York
A group that lobbies against fast food and meat consumption will ask Mayor Richard Daley to temporarily stop fast food restaurant construction.
In a Nov. 4 letter shared with the Tribune, a director of nutrition at The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine writes that fast food consumption leads to obesity and heart disease.
“This step is urgently needed because Chicago’s high-fat, meat-heavy diets are literally breaking hearts,” Susan Levin, the director of nutrition, writes. “A moratorium on new fast-food restaurants could be a critically important step toward fighting this epidemic.” Get the full story »
Oct. 22, 2010 at 5:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
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 »
Oct. 21, 2010 at 12:06 p.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Food,
International,
Restaurants,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
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 »
Oct. 20, 2010 at 4:55 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants,
Tourism,
Updated
By Kathy Bergen
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 »
Oct. 19, 2010 at 7:47 a.m.
Filed under:
Restaurants
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>>
