Why Darden is Thriving in the ‘War for Talent’

There are two ways to look at any pain point, and that’s the case with Darden and labor. First, the rough side, which is a sounding-board subject for restaurants: Regulation by outside parties, perhaps not invested in the success of the business, are putting up costly roadblocks that make it difficult to create more and…

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Former Long John Silver’s CEO Joins Smokey Bones

Smokey Bones appointed longtime restaurateur James O’Reilly as its new chief executive officer. O’Reilly joins Smokey Bones from Long John Silver’s, where he served as CEO for four years. He was selected by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners for his track record of leadership, brand building, and value creation. O’Reilly’s plans are to improve…

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The ‘Clean’ Trend is Shifting from the Label to Processing

The global scope of the clean label trend was on display on the opening day of Food Ingredients Europe, taking place Nov. 28 – Nov. 30 in Frankfurt. It is clear the trend has gone mainstream globally and is beginning to move into ingredient and finished product processing techniques. Processing techniques that may be perceived…

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Middleby Acquires Brava Home Inc.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based company is well-known for its advanced residential cooking technology paired with a chef-powered service. Brava offers proprietary cooking-by-light technology which provides users a fast, flexible, space saving and eco-friendly appliance for their kitchen counter. The patented light technology cooks food up to four times faster, requires no preheat and allows the preparation of multiple…

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Sbarro Set to Open First Location in Costa Rica

Sbarro announces its inaugural location in Costa Rica. In an exclusive development agreement with franchise partner Pizza in Paradise Sociedad Anonima, led by Jorge Moya and sons Jorge and Jose, has opened Sbarro—known for its extra-large New York-style pizza slice—in Lincoln Plaza in the city of Moravia, with more locations to follow. “The restaurant industry in…

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The Cheesecake Factory Puts the Focus on Employees

In an industry where labor costs continue to strain operating margins, The Cheesecake Factory is trying to gain an edge by focusing on staffing and employee retention. According to a study conducted in 2017, a whopping 72 percent of all restaurant workers left their jobs compared to a 47 percent rate across all industries. As…

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In-N-Out Burger: Keeping Quality High and Prices Low

In-N-Out Burger plans to open its first Colorado restaurants in late 2020. And, while the brand is only available in six states, the Southern California-based institution won’t have trouble luring customers to its brand when it enters its seventh state. The iconic 71-year-old year old chain has built a cult following and its reputation precedes…

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TGI Fridays Agrees to Deal to Take it Public

Privately held TGIF Holdings LLC and Allegro Merger Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, have signed an agreement that would take the casual-dining chain public, the companies announced. The Dallas-based parent of the TGI Fridays and New York-based Allegro Merger, said that, at closing, TGI Friday’s holders will receive a combination of cash and stock…

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Wendy is hungry for more frequent customers

A honey butter chicken biscuit sandwich served during breakfast hours. The return of Wendy’s to Europe within 18-months. 50-piece orders of spicy chicken nuggets being ordered by those that saw a bullish Chance the Rapper tweet about them. The Baconator ordered on the Wendy’s app and delivered soon thereafter by Grubhub. Clearly, this is not…

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