Foodservice Equip & Supplies News

Brands ranked below the category average in alphabetical order: Applebee’s, Bahama Breeze, Benihana, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Dave & Buster’s, Denny’s, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Romano’s Macaroni Grill and Italian Restaurant, Ruby Tuesday, Shoney’s, TGI Fridays​. TEXAS ROADHOUSE: Casual dining: The heartbeat of the American consumer.…

In a surprise announcement, family dining chain Cracker Barrel revealed July 23 it has entered into a strategic partnership with Denver-based Punch Bowl Social. Cracker Barrel plans on investing as much as $140 million and taking on a non-controlling position in the eatertainment brand. The agreement allows Cracker Barrel to acquire a controlling position or full…

“We have the meats!” The unmistakable Arby’s tagline is voiced by Golden Globe–winning actor and unmistakable baritone Ving Rhames, who has saved the world time and again by crafting spy gadgets as Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible franchise. For Arby’s, he presents “the meats”—an equally essential weapon in the fast food arms race. “We put a…

A federal bankruptcy court has approved the sale of 24 Kona Grill polished-casual restaurants for $20.3 million to Williston Holding, the company headed by former Kona CEO and co-founder Marcus Jundt. The sale would pare the holdings of Kona Grill’s bankrupt parent to three restaurants, according to bankruptcy court documents. But local news reports indicate that…

McDonald’s Global Chief Marketing Officer Silvia Lagnado plans to leave the world’s largest restaurant company in October and the Golden Arches will move on without a global CMO, Ad Age has learned. Lagnado’s pending departure was announced Monday morning in a message sent to McDonald’s employees by CEO Steve Easterbrook. Lagnado, an executive VP and…

Amid activist pressure, Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group said it has “commenced a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives.” This review will consider a full range of options, the company said, including a possible sale of DFRG or any of its dining concepts. There’s no guarantee a deal will take place, however. “The board believes that conducting…

The behavior of a third-party delivery user typically plays out as follows: Sort by proximity, or sort by cuisine. Where does that leave a restaurant that doesn’t box its food into a single category? This was a question Famous Dave’s chief operating officer Geovannie Concepcion found himself asking. “One of the classic marketing riddles we’ve…

Barry McGowan, the president of Dallas-based churrascaria chain Fogo de Chão, will take on the added role of CEO at the end of the year, when Larry Johnson retires from that position after holding it for 11 years, the company said. Johnson, who led the chain’s 2015 initial public offering and also took it private…

Flynn Restaurant Group L.P. has acquired 368 Arby’s from U.S. Beef Corp., expanding its casual-dining and quick-service portfolio of franchised concepts to $2.3 billion in annual sales, the company said. The acquisition by San Francisco-based Flynn’s wholly owned RB American Group LLC brings the parent company’s restaurant total to 1,245 in 33 states, including locations…

With Americans love for chicken on the rise, Charleys wanted to cash in. Since its founding more than 30 years ago, Charleys Philly Steaks has expanded along a robust non-traditional path. Is there one in every major mall in America? The reality is probably not that far off. In September, the chain, started in 1986,…