Dale Welch recently walked into a Starbucks in Virginia, handgun strapped to his waist, and ordered a banana Frappuccino with a cinnamon bun. He says the firearm drew a double-take from at least one customer, but not a peep from the baristas.

Welch’s foray into the coffeehouse was part of an effort by some gun owners to exercise and advertise their rights in states that allow people to openly carry firearms.

Even in some “open carry” states, businesses are allowed to ban guns in their stores. And some have, creating political confrontations with gun owners. But Starbucks, the largest chain targeted, has refused to take the bait, saying in a statement this month that it follows state and local laws and has its own safety measures in its stores.

“Starbucks is a special target because it’s from the hippie West Coast, and a lot of dedicated consumers who pay $4 for coffee have expectations that Starbucks would ban guns. And here they aren’t,” said John Bruce, a political science professor at the University of Mississippi who is an expert in gun policy.

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Restaurant operators statewide still aren’t feeling optimistic about the economy, a new study released by the Olympia- based Washington Restaurant Association shows.

The association, which collected feedback from about 60 restaurant owners for its January survey, found that 58 percent of the operators reduced staff member hours from January 2009 to January 2010. It also found:

• Eighty-two percent expect to remain at reduced staffing levels or to cut more jobs.

• Sixty-three percent said sales fell last month compared with January 2009.

• Fifty-seven percent of restaurants nationally also reported that sales fell in the same period.

“The fact that this many operators are still down was not a welcoming sign for me,” Washington Restaurant Association President and Chief Executive Anthony Anton said.

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If she doesn’t know what it is, she sniffs it.

Or feels it.

Or tastes it. Culinary arts student Gabrielle Lozano is blind, so she cooks with her other senses.

This summer, the 20-year-old is slated to graduate from Manatee Technical Institute in Bradenton and enter the work force — as a chef.

“People ask me all the time, ‘How is it possible that she cooks?’ ” said her mother Pam Lozano. “They ask, ‘Does she have some sight?’ I tell them no. She is completely blind, reads Braille and uses a cane to get around.”

Her daughter was born with little sight and, at age 3, lost all of it from a brain tumor on her optic nerve.

“Since she’s been about 8 or 9, she started helping me with dinner and just loved it,” her mother said.

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Is it true that most restaurants fail within the first year in business?

Not if you talk to some of the area’s longtimers. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t hear those words of predicted failure.

“Every time I tried to get a loan from a bank, they’d tell me that; even though everybody has to eat,” said Fred Duerr, co-owner and executive chef of the Rising Sun Inn in Franconia Township, reflecting on when he made the big step from working as a cook to restaurant ownership.

Area restaurateurs are unanimous that the most critical elements of eatery operation are consistently good food and personalized service.

“The first thing is you have to pay attention to is your customers. Find out what they like, and serve them well,” said William Quigley, who has run the Washington House Restaurant in Sellersville in partnership with his wife, Elayne Brick, since 1985.

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CKE Restaurants, Inc. (“CKE”), owner of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s quick-service restaurant chains, and Thomas H. Lee Partners (“THL”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which THL will acquire CKE for approximately $928 million, including the assumption of approximately $309 million of net debt.

Under the terms of the agreement, CKE stockholders will receive $11.05 in cash for each share of CKE common stock they hold, representing a 24% premium to the Company’s closing share price on February 25, 2010 and a 29% premium to the Company’s volume weighted average closing share price of approximately $8.60 during the 30 trading days ended February 25, 2010.

Byron E. Allumbaugh, CKE’s Chairman of the Board, said, “We are excited to announce this transaction which provides substantial value to our shareholders.”

Andrew F. Puzder, Chief Executive Officer of CKE Restaurants, said, “We believe this transaction provides excellent value to our shareholders and represents an exciting opportunity to continue the growth and development of CKE Restaurants in partnership with THL. THL’s proven history of success as an investor and value-added partner to its portfolio companies, coupled with its deep financial expertise and experience in the consumer sector, will also benefit all of our stakeholders, including our franchisees and our employees.”

Todd Abbrecht, Managing Director of THL Partners, said, “THL is pleased to partner with CKE’s seasoned management team to continue building on the Company’s powerful brands and strong position in the marketplace. We are committed to making this great company even better, and to working together with the entire organization to provide an even stronger foundation for value creation, expansion and profitable growth.”

In addition, under the merger agreement, CKE Restaurants will actively solicit superior proposals from third parties for a period of 40 days continuing through April 6, 2010. CKE Restaurants does not intend to disclose developments with respect to this solicitation process unless and until its Board of Directors has made a decision regarding any superior proposals that may be made. There can be no assurances that this solicitation will result in a superior proposal.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2010, subject to approval by CKE shareholders, regulatory approval, and other customary closing conditions.

UBS Investment Bank is acting as financial advisor to CKE. Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth is acting as legal advisor to CKE. Ropes & Gray LLP is acting as legal advisor to THL. BofA Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital are acting as financial advisors to THL. Affiliates of BofA Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital have provided a financing commitment to THL to support the transaction.

Additional Information About the Transaction and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed transaction, CKE will file a proxy statement and other materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors and security holders are advised to read the proxy statement and these other materials when they become available because they will contain important information about CKE and the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement (when available) and other documents filed by CKE with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Web site at www.sec.gov.

The proxy statement and such other documents are also available for free on CKE’s website at www.ckr.com under “Investors/SEC Filings” or by directing such request to Investor Relations, CKE Restaurants, Inc., 805-745-7750.

CKE and its directors, executive officers and other members of its management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from its shareholders in connection with the proposed merger. Information concerning the interests of CKE’s participants in the solicitation is set forth in CKE’s proxy statements and Annual Reports on Form 10-K, previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in the proxy statement relating to the proposed transaction when it becomes available.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give CKE’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict and beyond CKE’s control, and could cause CKE’s results to differ materially from those described. These uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, risks associated with this transaction, including the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, the inability to complete the transaction due to the failure to obtain shareholder approval or the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the transaction, including the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and the failure to obtain the necessary debt financing arrangements set forth in commitment letters received in connection with the transaction. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. CKE undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law or the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. Accordingly, any forward-looking statement should be read in conjunction with the additional information about risks and uncertainties as discussed in CKE’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About CKE Restaurants, Inc.

Headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif., CKE Restaurants, Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CKR.” As of the end of its fiscal 2010 third quarter, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,147 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 14 countries, including 1,221 Carl’s Jr. restaurants and 1,913 Hardee’s restaurants. For more information about CKE Restaurants, please visit www.ckr.com.

About Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”)

THL is one of the oldest and most successful private equity investment firms in the United States. Since its establishment in 1974, THL has been the preeminent growth buyout firm, raising approximately $22 billion of equity capital, investing in more than 100 businesses with an aggregate purchase price of more than $125 billion, completing over 200 add-on transactions and generating superior returns for its investors. THL focuses its high value-added strategy on growth businesses, partnering with the best managers in an industry to build great companies through strong organic growth and targeted add-on acquisitions. Notable transactions sponsored by THL include Aramark, Ceridian, Dunkin’ Brands, Experian, Fidelity National Information Services, HomeSide Lending, Houghton Mifflin, Michael Foods, The Nielsen Company, ProSiebenSat.1, Snapple, Warner Chilcott, Warner Music Group and West Corporation.

Restaurant operators gained confidence about future economic and business conditions in the first month of this year, according to the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity. As a result of softening sales and traffic results in January, however, the Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) backed off slightly from December’s 22-month high.  

The Association’s RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 98.3 in January, down 0.3 percent from December’s level.

“Although the current situation indicators remained soft in January, the Expectations Index rose above 100 for the first time in 9 months,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of Research and Knowledge Group for the National Restaurant Association.  ”Restaurant operators are relatively optimistic about improving sales growth and economic conditions in the months ahead, and their capital spending plans rose to the highest level in five months.”

The RPI is based on the responses to the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey, which is fielded monthly among restaurant operators nationwide on a variety of indicators including sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures.  The Index consists of two components – the Current Situation Index and the Expectations Index. January’s mark of 98.3 represents the 27th consecutive month of an index below 100, which signifies contraction in the index of key industry indicators.  The full report is available online: www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/index/201001.pdf.

The RPI is constructed so that the health of the restaurant industry is measured in relation to a steady-state level of 100.  Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, while index values below 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indicators.  

The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 96.6 in January – down 0.8 percent from December.  In addition, January represented the 29th consecutive month below 100, which signifies contraction in the current situation indicators.

After posting a moderate improvement in December, restaurant operators reported a softening in sales results in January.  Twenty-seven percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between January 2009 and January 2010, down from 35 percent of operators who reported higher sales in December.  Fifty-seven percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in January, up from 49 percent who reported negative sales in December.    

Restaurant operators also reported softer customer traffic results in January.  Twenty-six percent of restaurant operators reported an increase in customer traffic between January 2009 and January 2010, down from 30 percent who reported higher customer traffic in December.  Fifty-four percent of operators reported a traffic decline in January, up from 47 percent who reported lower traffic in December.

Capital spending activity in the restaurant industry held relatively steady in recent months.  Thirty-two percent of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the past three months, roughly on par with the levels reported by operators in the previous two months.

The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 100.1 in January – up 0.2 percent from December and its third gain in the past four months.  In addition, the Expectations Index crossed above the 100 level for the first time in 9 months, which signifies expansion in the forward-looking indicators.  

Restaurant operators remain relatively optimistic about sales growth in the months ahead.  Thirty-three percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared with the same period in the previous year), compared with 35 percent who reported similarly last month.  In comparison, 22 percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, and 21 percent reported similarly last month.

Restaurant operators are also cautiously optimistic about the direction of the economy in the months ahead.  Twenty-nine percent of restaurant operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, and 18 percent expect economic conditions to worsen during the next six months.  Last month, 34 percent of operators said they expected the economy to improve in six months, and 18 percent expected economic conditions to deteriorate.  

With a relatively optimistic outlook for sales and the economy, restaurant operators’ plans for capital expenditures ticked upward this month.  Forty-three percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, up from 39 percent who reported similarly last month.  

The RPI is released on the last business day of each month, and more detailed data and analysis can be found on Restaurant TrendMapper (www.restaurant.org/trendmapper), the Association’s subscription-based service that provides detailed analysis of restaurant industry trends.

Also find the National Restaurant Association on Twitter (http://twitter.com/WeRRestaurants) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/NationalRestaurantAssociation).

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 945,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a work force of 12.7 million employees. Together with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve. For more information, visit our Web site at www.restaurant.org.

Among the restaurants in The Leading Hotels of the World, avid diners can find a veritable constellation of Michelin stars. Behind those stars, of course, are creative chefs – each of whom has a story and a style. To whet the appetite, what follows is but a small sampling of the supernovas in the culinary galaxy of Leading Hotels.

Those restaurants that have garnered the coveted three Michelin stars include:

Hotel Windsor Toya in Japan boasts two three-star honorees: Michel Bras Toya Japon and Arashiyama Kitcho. Michel Bras Toya Japon has received three stars for ten consecutive years since 1998. Chef Bras learned food preparation from his mother at family-run auberge and went on to accumulate Gault Millau toques and points, as well as his Michelin stars. One of his classic presentations is gargouille, with 30 herbs and approximately 20 vegetables freshly picked from the surrounding area. A sinfully delightful dessert is his trademarked Chocolate Biscuit Coulant, a cylindrical chocolate cake with a decadently rich filling. The hotel is also justly proud of Arashiyama Kitcho which acquired its three stars in 2009 and offers traditional Japanese kaiseki courses highlighting local seafood, vegetables, wild herbs and dairy products.

At Hotel Le Bristol in Paris, Le Restaurant, which received its first star in 1999 and its third in 2008, is under the guidance Chef Eric Frechon. His goal is to bring back products that he believes were unfairly taken out of the gastronomic vocabulary, but that should be appreciated solely for their simplicity. Throughout the year, he orchestrates menus that highlight seasonal products; for example, Mushroom Month in the autumn or Truffle Month in January. Chef Ferchon began his career at the age of 17, when he joined Jean Sabine’s team at La Grande Cascade in Paris. He then trained alongside noteworthy chefs including Emile Tabourdiau at Hotel Le Bristol, and Claude Deligne at Taillevent.

Another legendary bearer of three stars is Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse at Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo, where diners are invited on a voyage to the very heart of the Mediterranean region. The menu encompasses numerous combinations of tantalizing aromas and flavors from the South. A classic starter might be Provence garden vegetables cooked with black truffle, Terre Bormane Taggiasche olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Vegetables from the morning’s market are cooked separately, sautéed in olive oil, and deglazed with poultry stock.

Two Leading Hotels that have more than one Michelin-starred venue are Hotel Okura Amsterdam, and Grand Hôtel Stockholm.

Hotel Okura Amsterdam boasts two Michelin-starred restaurants: Ciel Bleu Restaurant and Yamazato. Ciel Bleu Restaurant, with two Michelin stars since 2007, offers a unique take on French cuisine and a breathtaking view over Amsterdam. Under the direction of Chef Onno Kokmeijer, its menu includes signature dishes such as a starter of lightly smoked Anjou pigeon with a crunch of potatoes and diced bacon, Cevennes onion compote served with sauce of hazelnut; a main course of sole fillet covered with white wine sauce, squid, sweet-and-sour leek and lobster tail; and crispy caramel with a pineapple parfait of Piña Colada and marinated seasonal fruit for dessert. Since 2002, Yamazato Restaurant has been the only traditional Japanese restaurant in Europe to hold a Michelin star. More than 50 Japanese specialties are prepared by the skilful hands of Executive Chef Akira Oshima, whose extensive experience includes eight years at the famous restaurant Tsurya in Osaka, Japan.

Another Leading Hotel with two dining venues holding Michelin stars is the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm, where Chef Mathias Dahlgren launched his eponymous restaurant in 2007. Restaurant Mathias Dahlgren offers two different dining experiences which complement each other through the dual concept of Matsalen – The Dining Room, and Matbaren – The Food Bar. Within two years of opening, Mathias Dahlgren Restaurant received its second Michelin star for Matsalen, and one star for Matbaren.

For reservations and information, visit www.lhw.com.

The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. is the prestigious luxury hospitality organization representing more than 450 of the world’s finest hotels, resorts and spas, and is the operator of www.lhw.com and www.lhwspas.com – the online sources for your luxury lifestyle. As the largest international luxury hotel brand, the firm maintains offices in 22 major markets across the globe.

Since 1928, the company’s reputation for excellence derives from the exacting levels of quality it demands of its members, each of which must pass a rigorous, anonymous inspection covering hundreds of meticulous criteria spanning from product to behavioral standards. This set of standards is the most stringent in the industry.

The word went out on Twitter: Look for the truck on College Street. Jessica Van Deren got the message—and set out in search of a tasty rainy-day lunch.

Van Deren, who works in admissions at Albertus Magnus College, showed up at the Caseus Cheese Truck at 11:30 a.m. Huddled under an umbrella with two co-workers on the College Street sidewalk, she ordered a Combo #1: grilled cheese and a tomato soup.

The Cheese Truck, a project of Caseus restaurant, debuted last week. It has already caught on, with some new-media help.

With a fully outfitted kitchen on wheels, the Whitney Avenue bistro is using social media tools like Twitter to attract customers to the roving lunch spot.

The Cheese Truck follows in the footsteps of the Cupcake Truck, which also tweets its location each day and has attracted a loyal following.

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Fish consumption spikes during the Lenten season, and western Kentucky is no exception. Tonight many residents will be ordering fish for dinner, and some of those meals will be catfish. Catfish is the 5th most popular seafood in the U-S. The largest catfish producing states are in the South. Recently, some have questioned the quality of imported catfish, and a few groups, including The Catfish Institute have advocated for a ban on all foreign fish.

The weekend is the busiest time at Holmes Restaurant and Lounge in Murray according to owner Robin Holmes. Holmes says catfish is one of the most popular items on the menu.

“We’ll sell 70-percent catfish over anything.”

Customers like Kenny Jones say catfish is just something you eat if you’ve grown up in western Kentucky.

“Well, y’know it’s just a good food and a good alternative to meat and, uh, other things you might normally eat for a meal.”

Holmes says he serves a high-quality American catfish. He refuses to deal in fish from foreign countries.

“Even though the price is terribly cheap, and, and your bottom line, your profits, could be better, if I won’t eat it, I won’t serve it. That’s always been our motto.”

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It’s been nearly five years since carnival operator Frank Sutton bit into a chicken sandwich at a McDonald’s at a truck stop in Virginia. The legal world is still dealing with the ramifications.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court in Richmond reinstated Sutton’s $2 million lawsuit against McDonald’s. In the lawsuit, Sutton claims his fried chicken sandwich exploded with scalding grease when he bit into it, burning his lips and face.

The case went to trial in 2008 in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, but before the jury could deliberate, U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton dismissed it.

“There’s just no evidence here of any kind of negligence. He ordered a hot piece of chicken and he got a hot piece of chicken,” Hilton said when he tossed the case. “It was hotter than he anticipated, and that was unfortunate.”

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Business insights take many forms, and the more you’ve got, the better. In today’s difficult economic climate, marketing insight has to be a top priority for all of us. If you look at the businesses that are making it and those that are not, the ability to sell themselves to their clientele, whatever the industry, often makes the difference.

When it comes to marketing, insight includes the ability to generate new products and profit centers. It enables you to accurately amend your product mix and build customer loyalty. But, most of all, it tells you how to become and how to remain as relevant as possible to your consumers.

In the current economy, such insights become even more valuable as tighter budgets and streamlined staffs make hitting the mark on key marketing programs the first time that much more critical. You need to have a confident grasp of where to concentrate your resources and where the value lies.

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The salad bar–buffet concept is ripe for innovation. That’s the word from the experts who’ve seen the salad bar–buffet evolve from an idea that “was once considered to be something that took away from a restaurant’s cachet to one that has tremendous opportunity,” says Samuel Borgese, president and CEO of CB Holding Corp., the parent company of Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse, Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse, and The Office Beer Bar & Grill. As consumers become more mindful about watching what they eat when they eat out, the salad bar is one feature that satisfies what diners are seeking, Borgese says. The salad bar–buffet feature also allows people on their lunch hour to get in and out of a restaurant quickly with a satisfying meal that also offers good value.

The key to success, experts say, is all in the mix. It’s no longer enough to stock the buffet with a few salad dressings, some iceberg lettuce, and assorted shredded vegetables and expect that alone to drive business. Consumers are looking for much more: a variety of vegetables and protein options; seasonality in what’s offered; sourcing that comes from local farmers; organically grown produce when possible; and a sense of comfort that the food provided is free and clear of bacterial contaminants such as E. coli.

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The relationship with your supplier should be carefully crafted and maintained to insure longevity.

Richard Leivenberg, executive vice president for Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom in Venice, California, knows a thing or two about relationships. He practices his people skills each day as he goes toe-to-toe with folks for the sake of his quick-serve operation.

But the relationships that put Leivenberg through the biggest roller coaster of emotions are those with his food suppliers.

“It’s very much like a marriage, there’s love, hate, and everything in between,” Leivenberg says. “With a good supplier, you can complain or argue and at the end of the day, you’ve corrected any problems and made up. If you can’t maintain a good relationship with them, if problems aren’t corrected, you have to reevaluate the situation and consider a divorce.”

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After a chilling couple of years in a restaurant industry hurt by the recession, Chipotle Mexican Grill is turning up the heat.

The Denver-based burrito chain plans to open restaurants overseas for the first time with London the first city of call this spring.

Paris and other European venues are expected to follow.

Chipotle also plans to launch a major new marketing campaign.

The story line will bear no resemblance to fast-food giant and former majority owner McDonald’s (MCD), which sold its stake in 2006, the same year Chipotle went public.

The print, radio and online campaign will stress its commitment to using natural, organic, locally produced and sustainable food products, “food with integrity.”

Finally, smaller and less costly “Model A” restaurants will be rolled out in second-tier locations — about 25% of the 120 to 130 new unit openings planned this year.

Bold moves, perhaps. But they’re not seen as too risky, either.

Continue reading . . .

OpenTable, Inc. (www.opentable.com), a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants, today announced that OpenTable Chief Executive Officer Jeff Jordan and Chief Financial Officer Matt Roberts will participate in the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Monday, March 1, 2010.

The question and answer session with OpenTable is scheduled to begin at 1:35 p.m. PT. The live webcast will be available on the OpenTable web site (http://investors.opentable.com). The replay of the presentation will be available in the same location one hour after the live presentation.

Jordan will also participate in a panel discussion on the same day at the event focused on the mobile internet.

OpenTable is a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants. The OpenTable network delivers the convenience of online restaurant reservations to diners and the operational benefits of a computerized reservation book to restaurants. OpenTable has more than 12,000 restaurant customers and, since its inception in 1998, has seated more than 130 million diners around the world. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and the OpenTable service is available throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Eddie V’s Restaurants, Inc. owners and longtime friends Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles have announced that they will open their Dallas Eddie V’s Prime Seafood this April in what they consider an ideal location at Avondale and Oak Lawn in near North Dallas. The Dallas Eddie V’s will begin taking reservations for their first evening, April 19, 2010, in early April.  They’ll also begin booking special events at that time.

When planning expansion within Texas, the team saw Dallas as a wonderful opportunity for Eddie V’s.

“Since Eddie V’s inception in Austin in early 2000, many Dallas visitors inquired if we were ever coming to Dallas,” said Mr. Villavaso. “It was never so much if we were coming to Dallas as when.”          

Mr. Foles reinforced their enthusiasm.

“We love Dallas, and we had been waiting for the right time and right location,” said Mr. Foles, a native Texan and Austin resident. “And we feel we found it. Eddie V’s will be an ideal addition to the business, social, and cultural blend thatis Dallas, Texas.”

Located at 4023 Oak Lawn just at the southern edge of Highland Park, the space is tucked into the southwest corner of the Equinox Fitness Club complex. Eddie V’s leadership collaborated closely with Equinox for the past two years to finally bring the restaurant to fruition.

“Equinox has been a great partner and is very supportive of our efforts,” said Mr. Villavaso.

The Dallas opening follows a number of Texas city successes of late. Already, the Eddie V’s owners have received strong followings in Austin, Fort Worth, and Houston.

“We’ve been humbled and gratified by the incredible support we’ve received for our Texas restaurant locations,” said President and General Partner Jim VanDercook.  “Following Eddie V’s Fort Worth’s great success, enduring accolades, impressive sales and positive response over the last year, we’re optimistic and excited about the future of Eddie V’s in Dallas.”

Eddie V’s sees this as an opportunity to develop and sustain a close relationship among all their restaurants, ensuring that Eddie V’s guests enjoy the same level of food, service, and hospitality everywhere, according to the company.

Mr. Villavaso and Mr. Foles and their entire team strive for a world class experience for all five senses. The company’s longtime associates DPA Architects, Inc., worked closely with the owners to collaborate on a finished product that would be stylish and energetic yet comfortable and approachable.

The Dallas Eddie V’s Prime Seafood experience begins when valet parkers greet guests before they enter wooden doors that lead to the refined interiors that set the stage for experiencing Eddie V’s award-winning menu.  The menu will feature selections from the Atlantic and Pacific, all flown in daily, as well as the finest, specialty-aged Midwestern USDA Prime center cut beef—all served with the Eddie V’s signature warm, genuine hospitality that borders on fanaticism.  A distinctive wine list complements Eddie V’s exceptional cuisine.  Nightly live music in the signature V-Lounge is paired with a raw bar and drink specials to tantalize ear drums and taste buds every day of the week beginning with a 4:00 p.m. Happy Hour.

At the helm of Eddie V’s Dallas are General Manager Mario Vega and Head Chef Brad Albers. They will oversee the 300-seat restaurant that includes multiple public rooms, a private dining room and the V-Lounge, all just minutes from downtown Dallas, Highland Park Village, and the Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek and Uptown areas.  The private dining room seats 50 and can open to the V-Lounge through an artful stacked glass system. Artistic glass accents with cove and accent lighting are highlighted throughout the restaurant. A commissioned painting by Austin artist Pablo Taboada will be featured in the V Lounge and custom lighting, mixed wood finishes and natural tone tile walls will round out the décor of the Eddie V’s Oak Lawn restaurant.

Founded in 2000, Eddie V’s Restaurants, Inc. is a privately held, mid-sized entrepreneurial restaurant group representing three distinctive, casually elegant concepts: Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Wildfish Seafood Grille, and The Roaring Fork. Co-founders Larry Foles and Guy Villavaso combined their 30 years of restauranteurship experience and their admiration for great American seafood restaurants to develop Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille. With the development of The Roaring Fork they set out to capture the spirit of bold American West cooking. This company operates their highly profitable restaurants in Arizona, California, and Texas.

For more information about the Dallas Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, please visit www.eddiev.com. “Follow” Eddie V’s on Twitter @EddieVsDallas and become a fan on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EddieVsDallas.

The National Restaurant Association today commended the U.S. Senate for successfully passing the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act, S. 1023, which will provide resources to promote international travel to the United States. The bill is expected to be signed by President Obama next week.
 
“The passage of this legislation has been a longstanding priority for our industry and we view this vote as a major accomplishment for the entire hospitality industry. We are pleased that members of the House and Senate saw this as a priority and worked together in a bipartisan manner to pass the Travel Promotion Act,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs for the Association.
 
“Restaurateurs depend on travelers, with some segments of the industry attributing as much as 40 percent of annual sales to visitors,” said DeFife. “The Travel Promotion act will encourage more international travel and can boost restaurants’ performance, which will spur job growth and help grow the economy.”
 
The Travel Promotion Act creates a public-private partnership campaign to aggressively market the U.S. as a premier travel destination overseas, with the goal of increasing the number of international visitors into the country. The National Restaurant Association has long supported legislation to help attract more international visitors and establish the United States as a travel destination. Roughly half of all travelers report that they dine out when they travel, and dining out is the most popular activity planned after tourists arrive at a destination.

Earlier this week, the National Restaurant Association sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate calling for quick passage of the bill. The full text of the letter to the Senate can be found here.

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 945,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 12.7 million employees. Together with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve. For more information, visit our Web site at www.restaurant.org.

National Restaurant Association President & CEO Dawn Sweeney announced that Dan Solomon will join the organization as Chief of Staff, effective immediately. Marvin Irvy, a Fortune 500 senior manager with extensive experience in the restaurant and hospitality industries, will become Chief Financial Officer March 1, and Beth Solomon will be Senior Vice President of Strategic Communications.

“In a year of increased engagement, services and success for the restaurant industry, I am delighted to announce additions to our staff that will continue to solidify our leadership team,” said Sweeney.

Dan Solomon will work closely with Sweeney on strategy and execution of enterprise-wide initiatives. Solomon is a leading expert in the marketing and media industry and an accomplished entrepreneur. As CEO of Virilion, he leads the firm’s growth, which placed it on the INC. 5000 for three consecutive years. Prior to joining Virilion, Solomon was publisher of nationaljournal.com, the National Journal Group’s “members only” Web site, and was general manager of National Journal’s Daily Briefings Group, which included the Hotline, Greenwire and Technology Daily.

Solomon has had the distinction of working in all three branches of the federal government: he clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, worked in the U.S. Senate as a senior staffer, and held a political appointment with the U.S. Department of Commerce. He practiced law with the firm of Hale and Dorr and is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota Law School. Solomon is also author of Media Rules! Mastering Today’s Technology to Connect with and Keep Your Audience (Wiley 2008) and serves on several advisory boards.

Effective March 1, Marvin Irby will be Chief Financial Officer of the Association and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. In this role, he will develop strategy for and manage all of the organization’s financial operations. Irby was most recently CFO of Shawmut Design and Construction, an $800 million national construction management firm. Previously, he was Vice President of Finance and Global Support for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. At Disney, Irby was responsible for overseeing financial functions for human resources, information technology and labor strategy and analysis. Prior to his tenure there, he held senior finance positions at Pepsico, Kraft General Foods and Proctor & Gamble. Earlier in his career, he was Senior Director of Finance for the Southeast Division of Pizza Hut.

Irby served on the Board of Directors for the Orlando Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants and has acted as an Executive Board Member and Treasurer for Heart of Florida United Way. He currently serves on the Board of the Big Sister Association of Boston. A native of Chicago, Irby received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Beth Solomon was named Senior Vice President of Strategic Communications. In this position, Solomon will plan and direct all communications and outreach for the Association’s President & CEO, Boards and senior leadership across the enterprise.

Solomon comes to the Association from CTPartners, the global executive search firm. Prior to that, she was Director of Communications of the National Association of Manufacturers. She also worked in the entertainment industry at Endeavor, the Hollywood talent agency. Starting her career as a radio journalist in the Voice of America’s East Africa bureau, she then worked for ABC News in Berlin, covering the fall of the Berlin Wall. From there, she joined the staff of U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn as a speechwriter. Beth co-founded Planet Vox, a media production company. She has a B.A. in History from Yale.

“Dan, Marvin and Beth will further strengthen our leadership team as we continue to increase the effectiveness and expand the advocacy efforts of the National Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation on behalf of our industry,” Sweeney said.

Thirteen of the nation’s most acclaimed chefs battled it out for a “good cause” at the fourth annual South Beach Wine and Food Festival’s Burger Bash hosted by the Food Network’s Rachael Ray.  In addition to their skills at the grill, their potato prowess was tested during the Idaho Potato Commission’s (IPC) Side Dish Challenge.  The IPC, a Silver Sponsor of the Festival, enlisted 13 of the Burger Bash participants to go the extra step and prepare a prize-winning Idaho® potato side dish.  The Grand Prize was a $5,000 donation to Florida International University made by the IPC on behalf of Chef Mark Zeitouni.

This renowned group of culinary experts quickly slipped into friendly competition mode as they prepped, peeled and presented their Idaho® potato sides to a panel of judges.  The judging team included Frank Muir, IPC President & CEO; Don Odiorne, IPC Vice President, Foodservice and none other than nationally syndicated TV personality Art Ginsburg, aka “Mr. Food.”  ”This evening’s side dishes once again reminded us of not only the passion and talent demonstrated by these chefs but the breadth of ideas for serving Idaho® potatoes,” said Frank Muir.  ”Tonight was no exception.  All the participating chefs deserve a round of applause.  After we visited all 13 booths, where we conducted our sampling and scoring, we awarded the Grand Prize to Chef Zeitouni for his Homemade Tater Tots.”  

“I am always on the lookout for great tasting recipes that use readily available and low-cost ingredients, like Idaho® potatoes.  Once again, these top-notch chefs over-delivered in this year’s Side Dish Challenge and elevated the Idaho® potato, to ‘celebrity food’ status,” said Mr. Food.  ”It’s important to stay inspired in the kitchen and be reminded that there are endless cooking options with great-tasting, healthy ingredients.  The dishes I tasted tonight are a testament to America’s culinary creativity.”  

“The Homemade Tater Tots are really a simple dish – easy to prepare, healthy and delicious. It’s basically an Idaho® potato cake mixed with shallots and green onions,” said Zeitouni. “Idaho® potatoes work especially well for the Tater Tots because of their high solids content – more potato, less water – they are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.”  

Chef Zeitouni received special kudos from Mr. Food, who after he tasted the Tater Tots, exclaimed “OOH IT’S SO GOOD!!”

In addition to the Side Dish Challenge, IPC hosted a tropical themed booth, serving freshly cut Idaho® Potato Parmesan Fries with savory dipping sauces under the supervision of Chef Todd Downs, President of Food Sense in Fort Wayne, IN.  Students from Florida International University assisted Chef Downs who served hundreds of hungry Burger Bash guests.

The side dishes were judged on a five-point scale for each of the following criteria:  Use of Product, Originality, Presentation and Flavor.  The side dish with the highest total score captured the Grand Prize.  Other participating chefs included

• Govind Armstrong – 8 Oz. Burger Bar    
• Jonathan Bennett – Moxie, The Restaurant and Red, The Steakhouse
• Sean Brasel – Meat Market
• David Burke – David Burke‘s Primehouse
• Thomas Connell – Bistro One LR at The Ritz-Carlton
• Gabriel Fenton – Bourbon Steak
• Stephanie Izard – The Drunken Goat
• Jake Linzinmeir – X Cafe
• Michael Lomonaco – Porter House New York
• Tim Love – Love Shack
• Olivier Muller – DB Bistro Moderne
• Laurent Tourondel – BLT Burger

For consumer and foodservice recipes and tips, visit www.idahopotato.com

The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is a national, star-studded, four-day destination event showcasing the talents of the world’s most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities.

The Idaho Potato Commission is a state agency that is primarily responsible for expanding the markets for Idaho®-grown potatoes through advertising, promotion and research. The Commission also protects the use of the “Idaho®” potato and “Grown in Idaho®” seals, which are federally registered Certification Marks that belong to the IPC. These Marks ensure that consumers are purchasing potatoes that have been grown in the state of Idaho.  For more information visit www.idahopotato.com.

Smashburger, a fast-casual “better burger” restaurant will open its first San Diego location on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. The restaurant will open at 1000 Prospect St. and bring 100-percent Certified Angus Beef, an array of sides and delicious shakes to local residents. This is the first of seven San Diego Smashburger locations.

San Diego Smashburgers will feature a customized local menu created with regional flavors and tastes in mind. The San Diego menu includes:

• The signature San Diego Smashburger featuring fresh avocado, fresh cilantro and onions, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and chipotle mayo on a torta roll, served with a wedge of lime.
• The Pacific Coast Wedge salad featuring a large wedge of crisp lettuce, topped with grilled chicken, fresh cilantro and onions, fresh diced tomatoes and grated cheddar cheese, with spicy chipotle dressing, served with a wedge of lime.
• Regional microbrews from San Diego-based breweries.
• Wine from California-based wineries.

Named for the cooking method used to create the perfect burger, Smashburgers are a one-third or half-pound ball of 100-percent Certified Angus Beef—fresh, not frozen, smashed on a flat grill to sear in the juicy flavor. To further the “better burger” experience, Smashburgers are served on a toasted artisan bun and topped with a selection of real cheeses, the freshest produce, and top-quality condiments.

Smashburger is known for its savory burgers, but the restaurant also serves up delicious Smashchicken sandwiches, Smashdogs, and Smashsalads, with sides like veggie frites, rosemary and garlic–seasoned Smashfries and sweet potato Smashfries. Burger lovers can pair their meals with beer, wine, Häagen-Dazs shakes, and root-beer floats.

“Smashburger is what San Diego burger lovers have been waiting for,” says Smashburger Founder Tom Ryan. “We are excited to bring the La Jolla community our ‘better burgers’.”

“We look forward to becoming San Diego’s favorite burger place,” says San Diego Smashburger co-owner David Whisenhunt. “Our combination of great food, excellent service and convenient location will win rave reviews from San Diegans.”

Denver-based Smashburger is a fast-casual restaurant designed to be every city’s favorite burger place. Developed and owned by private equity and concept-development firm Consumer Capital Partners (CCP), Smashburger develops both corporate and joint venture partner stores. The company has sold franchise agreements that will total more than 275 locations over the next five years. The corporate, joint venture, and franchise development deals are part of Smashburger’s plan to open 500-plus restaurants across the country, 100-125 stores will be open nationwide by the end of 2010. Smashburger was named a 2009 Hot Concepts! award winner by Nation’s Restaurant News. To learn more, visit www.smashburger.com.

Denver-based Consumer Capital Partners (CCP) is an innovative private investment and concept development firm focused on multi-unit retail businesses, primarily in the restaurant, liquor, food, and leisure industries. CCP has deep experience in the fields of private equity, brand, concept and product development, and strategic consulting. To learn more about CCP, please visit www.consumercp.com.

Hasta la Pasta Restaurant wins the highly revered buckle at the Houston Livestock & Rodeo Best Bites Competition as the People?s Choice Champion.

The proof was definitely in the pudding. Hasta la Pasta?s chocolate bread pudding served with coffee liqueur sauce and accompanied by Cabernet ice cream was an enormous hit creating a buzz among the 4,300 in attendance. Kipp Galleymore, chef and sommelier for Hasta la Pasta stated, “I paid attention to the attendees from previous years, along with the International Wine Competition and paired the flavors of the chocolate bread pudding and Cabernet ice cream to please the palate for all those sampling.” Chef Galleymore?s inspiration, creativity and execution bring the buckle to the Hasta la Pasta restaurants which serve Houston suburbs such as Katy, Champions and Atascocita.

This accolade was awarded to Hasta la Pasta at the Best Bites Competition, which received votes from the panel of judges as well as from attendees. “We are thrilled for winning first place in the People?s Choice and to stand alongside second place winner, Del Frisco?s and others recognized in various categories,” said Alan Smith, co-owner of Hasta la Pasta. The Best Bites Competition brings together more than 60 restaurants, catering and hotel vendors. This competition, coupled with the International Wine Competition truly showcases the culinary talent and variety Houston has to offer. John Maliani, writer for national travel, food and wine publications, recently noted Houston as one of the top five restaurant cities in the US.

This year?s event marks the fourth year Hasta la Pasta participated in the competition. “The Best Bites event is an easy fit for us. Excellent food and wine pairing is what we do every day,” said Jeff Smith, co-owner of Hasta la Pasta.

Supporting Chef Galleymore, was the Hasta la Pasta Rodeo team comprised of Teresa Guzman, Lauren Dorn, Brad Trousdale, Tiffany Gutierrez and Eduardo Lopez.

Since 1999, Hasta la Pasta has been bringing the big city dining experience to suburban Houston. Everyone deserves to have excellent food, perfectly prepared, and to enjoy it with a large selection of wines in a comfortable atmosphere served by our highly trained staff.

At Hasta la Pasta, our chefs and staff pride themselves on preparing and serving excellent traditional Italian food with a contemporary flair with entrees ranging from $10-$25. All three restaurants (Katy, Champions and Atascocita) offer amazing wine lists, full service bars, and banquet rooms for private parties. Hasta la Pasta Catering brings top-notch food and service directly to our customers at their venue of choice.

Barbie parks her white Lexus GX 470. She trudges across the lot, Louis Vuitton purse in hand. As she reaches the glass door of Starbucks, she turns and hurries back to her car. She grabs her green apron from the back seat. She’s ready for the morning rush.

Do you really know the people who pull the shot and steam the milk to start your morning? With my daily mocha habit, I thought I did. I was wrong.

Lynne Rutherford is one of the lucky few to make a career out of her passion: the weird niche of voiceovers. You might recognize her voice in American Red Cross or Gold’s Gym commercials. She earns more in one or two sessions as a voice actor than in a dozen shifts as a barista. But each Saturday morning, Lynne drives from Denton to Coppell to work her weekly four-hour shift. A shift not long enough for benefits like health insurance, but long enough to catch up with the baristas and customers she’s known for eight years.

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As dozens of new licensed and unlicensed mobile vendors vie for spaces at San Francisco’s parks and sidewalks, and customers line up for their food, the city is coming to grips with the street food phenomenon.

Officials are concerned that unlicensed vendors are operating without health department inspections, and brick-and-mortar restaurants and shops complain that street merchants’ low costs give them an unfair advantage.

Yet the city doesn’t want to discourage mobile food vending, which can enliven neighborhoods and help entrepreneurs enter the marketplace more easily.

Bevan Dufty, a city supervisor whose district includes Dolores Park and the Castro, where street food sellers and restaurants have clashed, has organized a hearing for March 8. The city’s departments of planning, health, police and parks are all involved in enforcing rules on vending, and Mr. Dufty hopes to clarify and streamline the process.

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Things used to be so simple. When it came to franchise locations serving delicious frozen refreshments your choices were pretty much Dairy Queen or Baskin Robbins. They were really the dominant players in the 60s and 70s.

Dairy Queen is considered to be one of the early pioneers of food franchising, starting with 10 stores in 1941. By 1947 there were 100 stores. Their soft serve formula was developed in 1938 by J.F. “Grandpa” McCullough with some help from his son, Alex McCullough.

The Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlors started as separate ventures from Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins. Burt opened Burt’s Ice Cream Shop and Irv Robbins opened up Snowbird Ice Cream in Glendale, Ca. They were actually brother-in-laws, and merged their operations in 1953.

In the 1980’s, frozen yogurt appeared on the scene in force, and made a strong showing. TCBY was the dominant player back then, and at one time, had 1,582 franchises across the US. Times were pretty good. Mickey Rooney was the pitchman, and reportedly the folks at TCYB headquarters were getting almost 500 franchise inquiries a week.

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The barbecue recipe at The Fifty/50, a bar and grill in Chicago, pulls from a few traditions. Ribs (full rack $24, half rack $18), which are the 140-seat restaurant’s best-selling entrée, are dry-rubbed and slow-smoked, then glazed before taking a turn on the grill. The final glazing, says co-owner Scott Weiner, is nontraditional, as is the sweet sauce that’s thicker than a traditional Texas tomato-based sauce.

What’s going on at Fifty/50 points to a melting-pot trend in barbecue. Barbecue used to be closely associated with different regions—thick, sweet sauce in Texas, vinegar sauce in the Carolinas—but for some restaurants, those rules are falling away like meat from a rib bone.

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If you’ve ever been to Al’s Good Food Cafe in Bernal Heights, then chances are you’ve met “Mama.”

Jean Joseph has been serving coffee and eggs there for nearly four decades – the last three alongside her sister, Joanne – and the two are as effervescent today as when they first began waitressing in 1947.

“She just turned 79,” Jean says of her sister, pointing toward a cluster of balloons in the corner. “Those were for her birthday party.”

And Jean?

“I’ll be 81 in April,” she says with a smile. “Customers are what keep me and her young.”

Still working, still greeting, still handing out Andes mints after all these years – Jean Joseph can’t imagine doing anything but waitressing.

She’s one of the dozen Bay Area women profiled in “Counter Culture: The American Coffee Shop Waitress,” a book that examines the dying breed of career waitresses.

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Although some customers shun “regular” status, it is vital to every restaurant’s base to make customers feel wanted, needed, and important. If you can make them feel like a regular, that’s a plus.

The bar at Park Chow in San Francisco was meticulously set- menu arranged an inch from the rail and every green-leather covered wooden bar stool perfectly spaced down the row. It was ready for business. And it was ready for the regulars. Park Chow is a spot where regulars congregate in San Francisco. With fireplace blazing, a staff graced with a friendly personality, and a casual atmosphere Park chow is comfortably inviting to locals and visitors.

They cater not only to the neighborhood crowd, but to students from UCSF, and tourists visiting Golden Gate Park, just a few blocks away.

In an era where coffee shops have soared in popularity and cafes have bridged the gap from small restaurants where customer quickly eat and go to meeting places to conduct business, Park Chow has mastered the atmosphere of combining a restaurant, bar and meeting place. It may sound easy, but to be all things to all people is a difficult undertaking.

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A $10 Pizza Hut promotion that launched late last year in Dallas and went nationwide last month has helped the country’s largest pizza seller regain some of the sales it lost to lower-priced chains, the company’s president said Thursday.

After shoveling a small clump of dirt to launch construction of a new world headquarters, Scott Bergren said the company had a “much stronger start of the year than we had last year,” though he declined to offer specific numbers. Pizza Hut is part of Louisville-based Yum Brands Inc., which is publicly traded.

Bergren attributed the improvement in part to the company’s offer of “any pizza, any crust, any toppings” for $10. The program is advertised as a limited-time offer, but no end date has been announced.

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• Restaurant Marketing Secrets
• The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget
• Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money
• Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood
• Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers
• The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales
• The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day
• Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success
• Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off
• Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry
• Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)
• 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between
• Bar and Restaurant Logos
• Logos of American Restaurants
• Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

Restaurant community is rallying to support peers in need

Ranking Customer ‘Purchaser Types’ And Specific Marketing To Each

Sebastian McDonald’s sets one-day cookie-selling record, donates money to school, charity

NFL kicker Kaeding to open restaurant

Chef Blanc Shudders at Square Fish, U.K. Food: Richard Vines

Miami Transforms Self into World Capital of Good Food and Drink

Walter Manzke leaves Church & State, says his own restaurant is ‘lined up’

Decorah Woman Re-Opens Restaurant in Honor of Her Daughter

Chipotle Mexican Grill testing one-size-fits all burritos

Pasadena cops to wait tables for the Special Olympics

Blimpie’s target of false advertising lawsuit

Restaurants to help Red Cross fund-raising

A federal appeals court has ruled that restaurants can create a “tip pool” that requires servers to share a percentage of tips with kitchen staff so long as the restaurant pays more than the minimum wage.

The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals this week rejected arguments by a waitress at a Portland restaurant who claimed the pooling arrangement violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Misty Cumbie argued that because the tip pool at the Vita Cafe included employees who are not “customarily and regularly tipped employees,” it was invalid under the labor act.

The cafe requires its servers to contribute their tips to a pool shared by kitchen staff such as cooks and dishwashers, who got more than half the pool. The remainder was returned to servers in proportion to their hours worked.

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The U.S. Department of Labor has launched a concentrated enforcement effort of restaurants throughout Utah to combat violations of federal minimum wage, overtime pay and child labor regulations. With a workforce comprised primarily of youth and low-wage adult workers, the restaurant industry has been identified by the department’s Wage and Hour Division as one for improved compliance.

“During fiscal year 2010, we plan to conduct approximately 65 investigations of restaurant establishments throughout Utah to determine the current level of Fair Labor Standards Act compliance,” said Lee Ann Dunbar, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Salt Lake City. “Historically, we have found low compliance rates in the restaurant industry, and we plan to use the results of this year’s initiative to develop future strategies to increase compliance levels in order to secure fair, safe and healthy workplaces for employees.”

Currently, the Wage and Hour Division has a confidential, online self-survey to help employers determine their levels of child labor compliance. The “Restaurant Employer Self Assessment Tool” may be accessed at http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/selfassess_restaurant.htm or obtained from the division’s Salt Lake City office by calling 801-524-5706.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employers pay covered workers at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, and one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a week, unless otherwise exempt. Employers also must maintain accurate time and payroll records.

The FLSA’s child labor provisions are designed to protect workers by limiting the types of jobs and the number of hours they may work. Children under 14 years of age may not be employed in non-agricultural occupations covered by the FLSA. Youth 14 and 15 years of age may be employed outside of school hours in a variety of non-manufacturing and non-hazardous jobs for limited periods of time and under specified conditions. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds may be employed for unlimited hours in any occupation other than those declared hazardous by the secretary of labor.

For more information on youth employment laws, visit http://www.youthrules.dol.gov or call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). General information on the FLSA is also available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/whd.

McDonald’s on Wednesday allowed coupons issued by its competitors to be used on its McWings or fried chicken wings, stepping up the fierce competition in the country’s fast-food industry.

Along with lowering the price of a pair of McWings from 7 yuan ($1) to 5 yuan, fried chicken wing coupons from any restaurant, including arch-rivals KFC and Burger King, can be used in McDonald’s outlets nationwide to get an additional 10 percent discount.

According to Ren Yuan, a senior public relations manager with McDonald’s China, the promotion will last from Feb 24 to Mar 23, and is the first of its kind since the fast food giant’s entry into the Chinese market in 1990.

Continue reading . . .

• Restaurant Marketing Secrets
• The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget
• Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money
• Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood
• Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers
• The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales
• The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day
• Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success
• Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off
• Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry
• Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)
• 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between
• Bar and Restaurant Logos
• Logos of American Restaurants
• Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

Paul Szelc was in Columbus, Ohio, not long ago – he travels frequently for his job as a college basketball official – and was in the mood for a burger.

So he turned to the Urbanspoon application on his iPhone and found Thurman Café.

Although he might have found the restaurant another way, a user review of the place mentioned that diners needn’t worry about the long lines stretching out the door – the restaurant turns tables quickly, and single diners often can find a seat at the bar.

“Had I driven up to it without reading that review, I probably would have said, ‘I don’t want to wait all day,’?” the Wauwatosa man said. Instead, he got in line and presently was sitting down to the burger he’d been craving.

Apps for Apple’s iPhone and other smart phones are helping users in all sorts of realms; they’re helping diners select restaurants, navigate their way to them, pick a sure thing from the menu and calculate the tip, too.

Of course, other avenues exist for finding the information, though none as handy as having all the resources with you as you’re walking down the street, phone in hand.

Continue reading . . .

At the height of the worst recession in decades, when many casual dining chains began offering deep discounts to lure tightfisted diners, Clarence Otis Jr. resisted.

As some rival restaurant chains halted expansion plans or began closing locations, Otis, head of the company that includes Olive Garden and Red Lobster, continued to expand, albeit at a slower pace.

And when companies across all industries began plotting major job cuts, Otis opted against such layoffs, although he didn’t necessarily replace every worker who left.

As chairman and chief executive of Darden Restaurants, Otis was well aware his company needed to respond to the recession and deep downturn in consumer spending. But he didn’t want to do so in a way that would hurt the brand more than it would help the bottom line.

“We’re a very strong brand, and we wanted to make sure that, even as we responded tactically, we didn’t reduce those brands to the point where price was the primary attribute that we reinforced in people’s minds,” Otis said in a recent interview with msnbc.com.

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Kitchen worker Carlos Garcia envies the waiters who make more money and suffer fewer aches than those like him in the “back of the house.” The very term, common in restaurants, speaks to a divide that is conspicuous yet often overlooked by diners.

The division of labor plays out in Loop steakhouses and Wrigleyville sports pubs: Taking the order or seating the clients is the girl next door, most likely white, while a cadre of young Mexican men construct the meal behind the scenes.

In a first-of-its-kind survey released this month, a Chicago labor advocacy group detailed the segregation of restaurants and the unequal pay and working conditions that exist between the front and back of the house. It found that nearly 80 percent of whites work in the front, nearly two-thirds of Hispanics in the back.

Highlighting the issue, the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Chicago teamed with the Working Hands Legal Clinic this month to file its first federal lawsuit, against an Andersonville eatery that allegedly mistreated its kitchen staff. Meanwhile, the McCormick & Schmick’s chain recently paid $1.1 million to settle a class-action suit by black employees who said they were passed over for jobs as hosts and servers.

But alleged bias explains only part of the story. For restaurateurs, choosing which employees are their establishment’s public face involves complex perceptions of race and class. In some cases, they also are searching for a precise skill set necessary to help a customer pair the right Pinot with the filet mignon.

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Publisher Paul Barron calls the 2009 FastCasual.com Top 100 Movers & Shakers the “fifth act” of fast casual.
 
Ranking the segment’s top 100 brands for the fifth time, FastCasual attempted to refine the fast casual concept as one that offers gourmet-level food or drink and an interior that wows the guest at a price that is driven by value.

Click here to download the FastCasual.com 2009 Top 100 Movers & Shakers.

• Restaurant Marketing Secrets
• The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget
• Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money
• Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood
• Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers
• The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales
• The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day
• Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success
• Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off
• Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry
• Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)
• 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between
• Bar and Restaurant Logos
• Logos of American Restaurants
• Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

Ask any corporate CFO who manages multiple offices and large, remote sales forces how they manage their spending on meals for corporate events, and you’re likely to get a shrug of the shoulders. In an era of micromanagement of nearly every corporate expense line, it’s still a challenge for many corporations to know who’s spending what on delivered meals.

One web-based corporate catering service sees huge opportunity in the need for control over business meetings and the meals that fuel them. Vmeals (www.vmeals.com), a leading online meal ordering service, offers a single point of real-time information for harried corporate accountants.

“In businesses as varied as pharmaceuticals, financial services and consulting, which rely heavily on catering services for client meetings, spending on food is highly fragmented,” said W. Carter Hoerr, chief executive of Vmeals.  ”Companies have multiple credit cards in the hands of office administrators and field salespeople. Budgets are a moving target because catering invoices are coming from many sources, making invoicing a nightmare and monthly expense reporting late and unreliable.

“Our technology gives our corporate customers a level of budget control that has not been available to corporations before,” said Hoerr. “That includes meals ordered in multiple cities by multiple offices from multiple restaurants. It includes meals paid by either invoice or credit card. Finally, our technology provides critical information about each meal order, including date, time, delivery location, buyer, number of attendees, total cost, and more.”

The current economic downturn has increased demand for technology to control meal expenses. Even as spending on delivered meals slumped across some customer segments in 2009, Vmeals increased its investment in technology, marketing, and customer service to meet the demand.  ”We felt that it was critical to continue investing in our brand and web services,” says Hoerr. “As the economy strengthens, we are in a strong position to provide our customers with expanded choices, better service and even more spending controls.”

Vmeals customers in more than 30 metropolitan East Coast and Midwest markets have an easy-to-use catering service that allows them to customize menus and business meal services with a variety of quality local and national restaurants and food services.  Vmeals customers can place a single group order or allow meeting participants to order from a selected menu.

“The advantage to our service is that a meeting planner can visit the Vmeals site and see menus and pricing information for a variety of local restaurants at once, rather than having to spend time contacting each one,” Hoerr said.  ”It’s a convenient service that adds flexibility to planning and adds interest to business meal choices.”

Vmeals, LLC (www.vmeals.com) is an online service for business people who order group meals for meetings and events. The Vmeals website features menus and delivered meals from a wide variety of over 1,400 local restaurants and caterers in 30 U.S. cities. Vmeals customers include Fortune 1000 offices, professional services firms (investment banking, law, accounting, technology, consulting, and training), pharmaceutical sales reps, colleges, non-profits, and medical centers.

The web-based Vmeals system handles all aspects of the delivered meal transaction – marketing, customer acquisition, menu presentation, pricing, order processing, payment, and customer service – except the actual preparation and presentation of the food.

Alessandro Tromba of the El Rey Restaurants in Ventura and Camarillo announced this week that culinary professional, Chef Mario Gonzales has brought his culinary expertise to the El Rey Cantina, 2302 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, CA.  El Rey is located in the ‘Old Town’ section of historic Camarillo.

Mario Gonzales comes to El Rey Cantina with more than 15 years experience in the restaurant industry.  His vast knowledge of his trade will be a great boon to El Rey Cantina.  “I have amassed an understanding and expertise in food preparation over the years… all with a great deal of pride and zeal for my work.  My goal is to add more contemporary options such as steak, pork chops and chicken dishes with a Mexican flare to the menu.  I am very pleased to be joining the El Rey Cantina,” states Gonzales. 

The recently opened El Rey Cantina Mexican Restaurant on Ventura Boulevard in Old Town Camarillo offers homemade Mexican fare and edgy-retro decor and has been a hit with customers.

Tromba opened the downtown Camarillo restaurant as a follow-up to the successful El Rey Cantina in Ventura.  The El Rey Cantina in Ventura, CA opened more than two years ago.

“We are very excited and grateful to continue our growth, especially in this economy,” said Tromba, 32. “We consider ourselves very blessed to be doing well.”

Tromba attributes the steady flow of customers to word-of-mouth advertising. His restaurant offers authentic Mexican food, homemade sauces, salsa and corn tortillas at reasonable prices.

“We invite everyone to come in for a first class, high quality meal for reasonable, current economy inspired prices,” he said.

The location is ideal with California State University Channel Islands close by, local walk-by traffic and a close proximity to the 101 Freeway.  Redevelopment of the downtown area is transforming Ventura Boulevard into a destination spot for locals.

El Rey Cantina, 2302 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, CA is open Daily, 11:00 AM to midnight.  

For more information call 805.484.4433 go to: www.elreycantina.com.

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: TAST), the parent company of Carrols Corporation, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended January 3, 2010.

Highlights for the 14-week fourth quarter of 2009 versus the 13-week fourth quarter of 2008 include:

• Net income of $4.1 million, or $0.19 per diluted share (after impairment charges of $0.07 per diluted share, after tax), compared to net income of $4.4 million, or $0.20 per diluted share (including non-recurring gains and impairment charges, which in the aggregate reduced earnings by approximately $0.02 per diluted share, after tax);
• Total revenues increased 4.4% to $209.7 million from $200.8 million, including a 5.8% increase for the Company’s Hispanic Brands;
• Comparable restaurant sales (on a comparable 13 week basis) increased 0.3% at Pollo Tropical®, decreased 4.5% at Taco Cabana® and decreased 3.0% at Burger King®;

Highlights for the 53-week full year 2009 versus the 52-week full year 2008 include:

• Net income of $21.8 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, (including non-recurring gains and impairment charges, which in the aggregate reduced earnings by approximately $0.06 per diluted share, after tax), compared to net income of $12.8 million, or $0.59 per diluted share (including non-recurring gains and impairment charges, which in the aggregate reduced earnings by approximately $0.02 per diluted share, after tax);
• Total revenues were $816.1 million compared to $816.3 million, including a 1.7% increase for the Company’s Hispanic Brands;
• Comparable restaurant sales (on a comparable 52 week basis) decreased 1.3% at Pollo Tropical, decreased 3.7% at Taco Cabana and decreased 2.6% at Burger King;
• Total outstanding indebtedness was reduced $33.1 million for the full year to $283.1 million as of January 3, 2010.

As of January 3, 2010, the Company owned and operated 559 restaurants, including 312 Burger King, 91 Pollo Tropical and 156 Taco Cabana restaurants.

Alan Vituli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. commented, “We were able to significantly increase earnings in 2009 despite ongoing challenges to top-line growth caused by the difficult consumer environment. The 2009 earnings improvements were brought about by our effective management of controllable expenses, favorable commodity and utility costs, and a decrease in interest expense, all of which more than offset fixed cost deleveraging caused by the decline in comparable restaurant sales. The increase in net income, combined with relatively modest capital expenditures, enabled the Company to reduce outstanding indebtedness by $33.1 million in 2009 which further improved our leverage ratios.”

Vituli continued, “Looking ahead, strengthening our top-line is our greatest opportunity but remains a challenge in the current environment. To stimulate guest traffic at our Hispanic Brands, we continue to focus on our pipeline of new products and compelling promotional offers, supported through television, radio and direct mail advertising. We continue to emphasize the attributes that most differentiate our brands within the quick-casual segment: freshly-made food, distinct flavor profiles and a strong value proposition for the consumer. The Burger King system, on the other hand, has increasingly focused on the customers’ need for extreme affordability with very aggressive price-pointed promotional activities. We remain cautious about sales expectations for our Burger King restaurants in light of recent trends, the competitive environment and continuing pressures on consumer spending.”

Fourth Quarter 2009 Results

Total revenues increased 4.4% to $209.7 million from $200.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, while revenues from the Company’s Hispanic Brands increased 5.8% to $109.8 million from $103.8 million. These year-over-year increases were mostly due to one additional week in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Pollo Tropical revenues increased 7.4% to $45.1 million during the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to $42.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, mostly due to the additional week in 2009. Pollo Tropical comparable restaurant sales (on a comparable 13 week basis) increased 0.3%.

Taco Cabana revenues increased 4.7% to $64.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to $61.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 due to the additional week in 2009. Taco Cabana comparable restaurant sales (on a comparable 13 week basis) decreased 4.5%. The Company opened one Taco Cabana restaurant in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Burger King revenues increased 2.9% to $99.9 million during the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to $97.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 due to the additional week in the fiscal period. Burger King comparable restaurant sales (on a comparable 13 week basis) decreased 3.0%. The Company opened one Burger King restaurant (a relocation of an existing unit) and closed three restaurants in the fourth quarter of 2009 (including the unit closed in conjunction with the relocation).

General and administrative expenses were $13.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to $13.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, and as a percentage of total revenues, decreased to 6.3% from 6.5%.

Income from operations increased to $11.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 from $9.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, and as a percentage of total revenues, improved to 5.4% from 4.7%. Impairment charges and non-recurring losses (gains), in the net, reduced income from operations by $2.5 million in 2009 and $4.9 million in 2008. The effect of one additional week in the fourth quarter of 2009 contributed approximately $2.9 million to income from operations.

Interest expense was $4.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 and $1.9 million lower than the fourth quarter of 2008 due to debt reductions and lower interest rates. During the fourth quarter of 2009, the Company reduced its outstanding indebtedness by $8.1 million to $283.1 million.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $4.1 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to net income for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $4.4 million, or $0.20 per diluted share. The fourth quarter of 2009 included impairment charges of approximately $2.4 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, after tax. The Company estimates that the additional week in 2009 increased earnings by approximately $0.07 per diluted share, after tax. The fourth quarter of 2008 included non-recurring gains and impairment charges, which in the aggregate reduced earnings by approximately $0.02 per diluted share, after tax.

Full-Year 2009 Results

For the year ended January 3, 2010 (which contained 53 weeks), total revenues were essentially flat at $816.1 million compared to $816.3 million in fiscal 2008 (which contained 52 weeks). Income from operations increased to $54.1 million from $44.0 million, and as a percentage of total revenues, improved to 6.6% from 5.4%. Net income increased to $21.8 million in 2009, or $1.00 per diluted share, from $12.8 million in 2008, or $0.59 per diluted share. The full year 2009 results included non-recurring gains and impairment charges, which in the aggregate reduced earnings by approximately $0.06 per diluted share, after tax. The full year 2008 results also included non-recurring gains and impairment charges, which in the aggregate reduced earnings by approximately $0.02 per diluted share, after tax.

Outlook

The Company is not providing specific earnings guidance for 2010 given the continuing uncertainties with regard to the overall economy and consumer spending, and in particular, a lack of visibility regarding the key drivers of comparable sales for its Burger King restaurants. The Company does expect to see continuing improvement in sales trends for its Hispanic Brands. However, uncertainty regarding the impact of Burger King new product introductions and its promotional and discounting tactics make predicting sales and earnings difficult in the current environment.

The Company is providing the following information for 2010:

• The 2010 fiscal year has one less week than 2009, the effect of which is estimated to negatively impact revenues by approximately $13.6 million and earnings by $0.07 per diluted share compared to 2009;
• Comparable restaurant sales for Pollo Tropical are expected to increase 0% to 3%. Taco Cabana comparable restaurant sales are expected to be somewhat soft early in the year, improving as the year progresses and to be flat or slightly positive for the full year;
• Commodity costs are expected to decrease 1% to 2% for Pollo Tropical, to be flat to down 1% for Taco Cabana and to increase 3% to 4% for Burger King;
• Amortization of unearned purchase discounts, which are recognized as a reduction of cost of sales, will decrease $2.2 million for our Burger King restaurants in 2010 since the funds received in 2000 from the Coca-Cola Company and Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up, Inc. became fully amortized at the end of 2009;
• The Company anticipates the opening of four to six new Hispanic Brand restaurants, the net closing of seven Burger King restaurants and the closing of two Taco Cabana restaurants;
• Total capital expenditures are expected to be $40 million to $45 million, increasing from 2009 due to some additional remodeling at the Hispanic Brands;
• Depreciation expense is expected to increase approximately 5% reflecting 2009 capital equipment additions, 2010 new units and increases in reimaging expenditures;
• General and administrative expense is expected to increase 2% to 3%; and
• The Company’s estimated annual effective tax rate is expected to be 37.0% to 37.5%.

Vituli concluded, “All things considered, 2009 results were solid recognizing that earnings growth was driven mainly by lower costs. Earnings in 2010 will be more challenging as improvements in sales will be critical. There remains considerable uncertainty, though, regarding the timing of the economic recovery and improvements in consumer spending. We believe that our Hispanic Brands are well-positioned, resilient and have attractive long-term growth potential. Nonetheless, we have limited new unit growth in the near-term to continue to maximize free cash flow and pay down debt. We would anticipate more aggressive expansion of our Hispanic Brands beyond 2010 as the economy improves. Because we have far less control of the sales at our Burger King restaurants, we remain cautious at this time regarding their 2010 results.”

About the Company

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc., operating through its subsidiaries, including Carrols Corporation, is one of the largest restaurant companies in the United States. The Company operates three restaurant brands in the quick-casual and quick-service restaurant segments with 559 company-owned and operated restaurants in 17 states as of January 3, 2010, and 32 franchised restaurants in the United States, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Honduras and the Bahamas. Carrols Restaurant Group owns and operates two Hispanic Brand restaurants, Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana. It is also the largest Burger King franchisee, based on number of restaurants, and has operated Burger King restaurants since 1976.

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Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ: JMBA) announced today the sale of 12 additional restaurants to experienced franchise operators, with the sale of 10 stores in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Blended Star, LLC, whose principals are Daljit and Pam Hundal, and two stores in Southern California, RPM Foods Inc, whose principals are Michael Razipour and Pouya Moalej. The purchase of the Utah restaurants by Mr. and Mrs. Hundal, includes a development commitment to further expand the Jamba Juice brand. These sales reflect the Company’s continuing progress against its strategic refranchising initiative.

“We purposely structured our refranchise packages to enable prospective franchise operators to qualify for small business loans through the SBA program,” stated Thibault de Chatellus, senior vice president, global franchise and development, Jamba Juice Company. “That strategy, along with the continued progress against our BLEND plan growth initiatives that are transforming the company, is paying off. We are attracting the right kind of investors to the brand and we expect continued success with the remaining locations, many of which are in varying stages of completion.”

“I am exceptionally proud of the work accomplished by this team since announcing our intent to refranchise these stores last May,” said James D. White, president and chief executive officer, Jamba, Inc. “The Jamba brand has always been about inspiring and simplifying healthy living. Our focus on product innovation and brand relevance in the healthy living space, makes Jamba a noteworthy investment opportunity for potential franchisees.”

Since announcing their refranchising initiative, Jamba has successfully been able to attract and engage experienced, multi-unit franchise operators to the brand—those that are established with the brand as existing franchise store owners as well as operators who are expanding their franchise portfolio through the acquisition of a Jamba outlet.

“I own five other franchise operations and I’ve always wanted to own a Jamba Juice. This is an exciting time for us,” stated Mr. Razipour. “We like how Jamba promotes a healthy, active lifestyle in its brand positioning and offerings,” added Mr. Moalej. “Everyone is trying to follow a trend of being ‘healthier for you’, but Jamba is already ahead of that curve with their better-for-you offerings.”

“Pam and I currently run an 18 unit franchise operation. We were looking for ways to diversify and expand and were truly impressed with the Jamba culture, product innovation, and their management teams focus on growing the brand,” commented Mr. Hundal. “We felt Jamba was the right opportunity in which to invest our capital and we are very happy to be a part of the Jamba franchise family.”

These refranchising transactions build on the sale of 35 restaurant locations in Arizona, Oregon, and California, completed since the refranchising initiative was announced.

With close to one-third of the refranchise store sales complete, the company is well on its way towards achieving its goal of refranchising up to 150 company-owned restaurant locations before the close of 2010.

Jamba was assisted in the close of this sale by the Praetorian Group, franchise transaction specialists. For information on the Company’s refranchising initiative, contact the Praetorian Group at 1-888-358-3325 or www.praetoriangroup.net. To learn more about franchise opportunities contact Jamba at http://www.jambajuice.com/#/us_franchise.

About Jamba, Inc.

Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ: JMBA) is a holding company and through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jamba Juice Company, owns and franchises JAMBA JUICE® stores. Founded in 1990, Jamba Juice is a leading restaurant retailer of better-for-you food and beverage offerings, including great tasting fruit smoothies, juices, and teas, hot oatmeal made with organic steel cut oats, wraps, salads, sandwiches, and California Flatbreads™, and a variety of baked goods and snacks. As of October 6, 2009, Jamba Juice had 742 locations consisting of 488 company-owned and operated stores and 254 franchise stores. For the nearest location or a complete menu, visit the Jamba Juice website at www.jambajuice.com or call 1-866-4R-FRUIT.

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Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BAGL), a leader in the quick-casual segment of the restaurant industry operating under the Einstein Bros.® Bagels, Noah’s New York Bagels®, and Manhattan Bagel® brands, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 29, 2009.

Selected Highlights for the Fourth Quarter 2009 Compared to the Fourth Quarter 2008:

• Total revenues were virtually flat at $103.7 million vs. $103.9 million.
• System-wide comparable store sales decreased (1.4%), a 130 basis point improvement over the third quarter trend.
• Total gross margin improved to 21.0% compared with 20.7%, due to strong cost controls as well as a substantial improvement in manufacturing & commissary profitability.
• Adjusted EBITDA improved $1.0 million to $12.7 million compared to $11.7 million.
• Redeemed an incremental $2.0 million in Series Z Preferred Stock on December 29, 2009, for a total redemption of approximately $5.0 million.

Selected Highlights for 2009 Compared to 2008:

• Total revenues declined modestly to $408.6 million from $413.5 million
• System-wide comparable store sales decreased (2.4%), while transactions decreased (2.3%).
• Total gross margin was 19.0% compared to 19.8%.
• Adjusted EBITDA was virtually flat at $42.3 million compared to $42.2 in 2008.
• Maintained an unrestricted cash balance of $9.9 million after making payments of approximately $25.0 million and $8.1 million on the Series Z and term loan respectively.

Jeff O’Neill, Chief Executive Officer and President of Einstein Noah, stated, “The results we reported today underscore the progress we’ve made in building a platform for sustainable long-term growth. Our comparable store sales, transaction performance, and gross margins were the highest of the year in the fourth quarter, and demonstrate the continued build from our marketing and merchandising initiatives, as well as our disciplined approach to execution and cost control. Even in today’s economic environment, I am gratified that we can create equity for our brand, generate substantial cash flow and meet our financial goals.”

O’Neill continued, “Our key strategies for 2010 are straightforward and build upon our prior-year accomplishments. We intend to drive transaction growth by increasing brand trial through our core bagel/breakfast offerings, rebuild gross margins through our focus on supply chain, manufacturing and operational efficiency, and accelerate unit growth primarily through franchise and license expansion. With a committed team and results-oriented culture, I am confident that we can succeed in all of these areas to maximize shareholder value.”

Fourth Quarter 2009 Financial Results

For the fourth quarter ended December 29, 2009, system-wide comparable store sales, which include Company-owned, franchised, and licensed locations, decreased (1.4%). Total revenues were virtually flat at $103.7 million vs. $103.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Company-owned restaurant sales decreased (0.7%) to $93.7 million from $94.3 million, mostly as a result of a (1.7%) decrease in comparable store sales, which was partially offset by a net increase of two additional company-owned restaurants since December 30, 2008.

The Company’s on-going investments in marketing initiatives to build traffic and drive awareness of its brands yielded a modest decline of (1.5%) in transactions during the fourth quarter and a significant build on trends coming into 2009, when transactions were declining in the (8%) to (9%) range. Marketing initiatives and trial generating incentives increased $0.7 million and $0.4 million, respectively, compared to the prior-year period. Company-owned restaurant gross profit was $18.5 million, or 19.7% of restaurant sales in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to $18.9 million, or 20.0% of restaurant sales, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

As a percentage of company-owned restaurant sales, cost of goods sold were favorable by 130 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to last year. Labor costs, as a percentage of company-owned restaurant sales, rose 100 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the prior-year period due largely to higher health benefits costs, along with continued investments in the Company’s catering business.

New Units and Development

The Company benefitted from a net increase of six additional franchise restaurants and 26 license restaurants since December 30, 2008. The effect of the new locations helped drive franchise and license related revenues up 17.1% to $2.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 from $1.9 million in the prior-year period.

Restaurant openings during the fourth quarter of 2009 consisted of 15 outlets, including four Einstein Bros. company-owned restaurants, two Manhattan Bagel franchise restaurants, and nine Einstein Bros. licensed restaurants. Three licensed outlets were also closed during the period.

Other Operating Items

Manufacturing and commissary revenues increased modestly to $7.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 vs. $7.7 million, while gross profit grew 58.3% to $1.1 million, compared to $0.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. The substantial improvement in gross profit was attributed to lower raw ingredient costs as well as production and labor efficiencies at the Company’s bagel manufacturing facility.

Adjusted EBITDA increased $1.0 million to $12.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to $11.7 million in 2008. The 8.5% increase in adjusted EBITDA is attributable to the improvements previously mentioned.

In the third quarter, the Company reversed the valuation allowance on its deferred tax asset. Accordingly, 2009 now includes a charge of $2.9 million for incomes taxes compared to $0.5 million in 2008. The Company also reported $0.7 million of accrued additional redemption costs on the unredeemed portion of the Series Z Preferred Stock. The 2008 results include minimal income tax expense and no charge for the Series Z Preferred Stock.

Taking the aforementioned charges into account, net income was $2.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to net income of $5.8 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

2009 Financial Results

For the full year ended December 29, 2009, system-wide comparable store sales, which include Company-owned, franchised, and licensed locations, decreased (2.4%). Total revenues declined modestly to $408.6 million from $413.5 million last year.

Company-owned restaurant sales decreased (1.7%) to $370.4 million from $376.7 million, inclusive of a comparable store sales decline of (3.4%). Company-owned restaurant gross profit was $66.2 million, or 17.9% of restaurant sales, compared to $73.5 million, or 19.5% of restaurant sales, in 2008.

Franchise and license related revenues increased 17.1% to $7.5 million in 2009, compared to $6.4 million last year. The Company benefitted from a net increase of 32 franchise and license locations, along with a comparable store sales increase of 1.1%.

Manufacturing and commissary revenues increased to $30.6 million, compared to $30.4 million last year, while gross profit grew 125.5% to $4.1 million, vs. $1.8 million in 2008.

Adjusted EBITDA was virtually flat at $42.3 million in 2009, compared to $42.2 million in 2008.

In the third quarter, the Company reversed the valuation allowance on its deferred tax asset. Therefore, income tax expenses for both periods are not comparable. Additionally, the Company recorded a charge of approximately $1.5 million of accrued additional redemption costs on the unredeemed portion of the Series Z Preferred Stock. The 2008 results did not have this charge.

Net income was $72.0 million for 2009, or $4.36 per diluted share, compared to net income of $21.1 million, or $1.29 per diluted share for 2008.

Rick Dutkiewicz, chief financial officer of Einstein Noah, added, “We substantially improved the quality of our asset base this past year, while investing in projects that generate significant returns on our capital. Inclusive of the 45 locations that were upgraded in 2009, approximately 50% of our Company-owned restaurants were built or remodeled in the last four years. Our balance sheet also improved in 2009. It remains well-capitalized, and we paid down a total of $8.1 million of long-term debt and redeemed nearly $25.0 million of Series Z Preferred Stock throughout the year. In addition, our valuable deferred tax asset will minimize our cash taxes paid for the next several years. We will utilize this asset to continue to reduce our indebtedness as well as provide sufficient capital to grow our business. We will continue to accelerate our franchise and licensing development in 2010 and have an asset light business model that sets the stage for strong free cash flow. Together, these items are an important part of driving returns for our shareholders.”

2010 Outlook

The Company anticipates the opening of 10-12 new Einstein Bros. Bagels company-owned restaurants, 12-16 new Einstein Bros. Bagels franchised restaurants, and 35-45 Einstein Bros. Bagels licensed restaurants.

The Company currently has 14 signed development agreements for Einstein Bros. Bagels franchises. This coupled with the efforts to sign additional development agreements in 2010 is expected to ultimately yield an ending pipeline of 90-100 additional franchise openings.

The Company has secured contract pricing on approximately 50% of all major agricultural commodities that will result in favorable prices compared to 2009, with an option to benefit from further reductions in the market.

About Einstein Noah Restaurant Group

Einstein Noah Restaurant Group is a leading company in the quick casual restaurant industry that operates locations primarily under the Einstein Bros.® Bagels and Noah’s New York Bagels® brands and primarily franchises locations under the Manhattan Bagel® brand. The company’s retail system consists of more than 680 restaurants, including more than 175 license locations, in 36 states plus the District of Columbia. It also operates a dough production facility. The company’s stock is traded under the symbol BAGL.

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In a special report issued today, Fitch Ratings says that modest improvement in sales trends are expected for the U.S. restaurant industry during the second half of this year. The special report on the 2010 outlook for U.S. restaurants provides supporting data and commentary to the conclusions listed in Fitch’s outlook press release issued on Nov. 18, 2009, titled ‘Fitch 2010 U.S. Restaurant Outlook: Modest Improvement in Sales Anticipated by Late 2010.’

According to the report, increases in restaurant traffic will be driven by an improving employment situation and continued economic growth resulting in higher personal consumption expenditures for food-away-from-home during 2010. In the near term, restaurants will likely maintain their currently cautious stance on pricing because consumer spending remains weak and the environment remains extremely competitive. ‘We believe weak U.S. traffic trends among the national quick-service chains is a signal that sales declines have bottomed for the entire restaurant industry,’ said Director Carla Norfleet Taylor. ‘While we are not predicting a rapid upturn in same-store sales growth, we do anticipate modest improvement by the second half of 2010.’

Adequate liquidity and positive free cash flow will continue to support a stable credit environment for the large chain restaurants in 2010. ‘Given limited near-term same-store sales visibility, a higher than normal degree of financial discipline is expected,’ said Senior Director Wesley E. Moultrie. ‘However, once top-line trends improve, a return of share repurchase activity is definitely possible.’

Modest food cost inflation, particularly for beef and dairy products, is anticipated, despite recent food cost deflation for many operators. As such, controlling cost will remain a priority. Moderate increases in capital expenditures are possible but a ramp-up in new U.S. unit development is not anticipated.

The full report, ‘U.S. Restaurant/Foodservice Outlook: Modest Improvement in Sales Expected by Late 2010; Stable Credit Environment Anticipated’ is available at ‘www.fitchratings.com‘ under the header ‘Corporate Finance’.

It was about 20 years ago that the casual dining boom got started in the United States. It was a golden, batter-dipped age: We were lured in by the novelty of mozzarella sticks and artichoke dip, marveled at the cluttered walls and uniform flair and gulped down two-liter mango margaritas like every night was Friday.

But the bloom is off the bloomin’ onion when it comes to casual dining. The recession has customers trading down to fast food and the growing “fast-casual” segment of takeout specialists (think Chipotle, Noodles or Panera). Over the last couple decades, while drive-thru burger joints have kept their prices flat, the typical bill at casual dining chains has multiplied three or four times. And the quality of the food has remained pretty much the same while fast food has become better and more diverse. Add to that grumbles about predictable, high-fat menus and stale décor and it’s understandable why in 2009 the category was down 5 percent to 8 percent with a 3 percent to 5 percent drop forecast for 2010.

But some chains are figuring out ways to keep customers coming through their doors. Red Lobster, for one, has designed a quick-turnaround lunch service designed to draw the time-strapped crowd, and its new wood-fired entrees are appealing to the health-conscious. Ruby Tuesday redesigned its menu, retrained staff, modernized its décor–and brought in almost 2 percent more customers in late 2009 than in late 2008.

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