Collette’s Notorious BBQ Pie with Vidalia onion petals
This seasonal pizza, prime when Vidalia onions are ripe and thoughts start turning to barbecue, features onion “petals” — wedges of sweet onions coated in flour, then batter, and then deep-fried....
View ArticleFactors beyond food attract Millennial diners
Restaurants have a huge opportunity to market to Millennials, generally encompassing all consumers aged 18 to 34 years old, but they must be prepared to appeal to younger diners with more than just...
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Mother's Day specials boast more than brunch
Mother’s Day is traditionally one of the highest-volume days of the year for restaurants specializing in upscale brunch, but foodservice brands across all segments see the holiday as a sizeable...
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A look at Emeril Lagasse's carryout concept
Emeril Lagasse, who expanded his restaurant holdings earlier this year to Charlotte, N.C., with the opening of his new e2 Emeril’s casual-dining eatery, recently created a carryout-only extension of...
View ArticleDunkin' Donuts: No rush for West Coast expansion
A distribution center for Dunkin’ Donuts is scheduled to open in Phoenix this fall, paving the way for the brand’s cautious return to the West Coast. The hopes of Dunkin’-loving, East Coast-born...
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Restaurant comps wane in April, but operators remain optimistic
Restaurant industry same-store sales were up in April but dipped slightly compared to the prior month due to a decline in guest traffic and a mid-month drop-off, according to the latest NRN-MillerPulse...
View ArticleSetting the record straight on tip income
A new bill introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, would raise the cash wage by 220 percent for employees who earn tip income. State to state, the proposed measures have been even more severe. In...
View ArticleCommunal tables promote shared experience
More restaurant concepts are pushing aside the two-tops and setting a communal table into their dining room floor plans. Once found in only a handful of independent restaurants, shared eating spaces...
View ArticleEditor's Letter: Coming together
Just days after a lively discussion among our editorial team on the pros and cons of communal tables, I found my party of four seated at one in a New York outpost of Le Pain Quotidien. Since I was in...
View ArticleCorn futures prices shrink on crop forecast
The May issue of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, or WASDE, is always interesting as it provides the USDA’s first forecast for the next year. In...
View ArticleA new voice for the pizza segment
Worried that compliance with federal menu-labeling regulations will create problems for the nation’s chain pizza operators, members of a newly formed coalition of pizza companies representing 20,000...
View ArticleMaple flavors sweeten US menus
There’s a long list of foods we Americans like to claim as our own. Mom’s apple pie is the prime example, along with other favorites, such as hamburgers or macaroni and cheese. But the truth is that...
View ArticleSmart brands know how to ‘fail fast’
In the past few weeks I went from never having heard the business term “fail fast” to hearing it everywhere. It came up when I interviewed former McDonald’s executive Ed Rensi at his startup chain Tom...
View ArticleDiners drink up
As consumers gradually emerge from a lingering recessionary spending mind-set and step up their dining-out frequency, many also are loosening up when it comes to ordering drinks — specifically, wine,...
View ArticleStudying social media
Operators sharing social media strategies at the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago quickly dispelled the notion that succeeding in these new marketing...
View ArticleHaving Words With: Bob Barry
Bob Barry joined The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille as chief operating officer in 2007 as part of an investor group that purchased the then-11-unit casual-dining chain from its founders. In...
View ArticleThomas H. Lee Partners to buy Fogo de Chão in deal valued at $400M
Private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP said Tuesday it has agreed to buy the 25-unit Fogo de Chão chain from GP Investments Ltd. GP Investments, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, valued the deal for...
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3 restaurant LTOs that went bad
Too much of a good thing can be bad, especially for restaurants trying to walk that fine line between driving traffic with lower prices and maintaining a profitable average check. Recently, a handful...
View ArticleChef Tre Ghoshal: More than molecular
Tre Ghoshal might have immersion circulators, dehydrators and anti-griddles in the kitchen at his restaurant Adara in Montclair, N.J., but he’s not all about the bells and whistles of molecular...
View ArticleApplebee's sells 33 locations to franchisee
Applebee’s has nearly reached its goal of becoming an almost-all-franchised brand with the signing Tuesday of an asset purchase agreement to sell 33 company-owned locations, primarily in Missouri and...
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