The Subway restaurant chain, an industry leader in providing healthier options for consumers, announced the opening of five new “Green” Subway Eco-Restaurants -  with more on the way – each designed with environmentally friendly aspects to reduce energy, water, and waste consumption in cost effective ways.

“All of these new eco-restaurants reflect the brand’s commitment to social responsibility and sustainability,” said Marketing Director Elizabeth Stewart, who heads the Subway brand’s corporate social responsibility efforts. “We have made a commitment to make our restaurants and operations more environmentally responsible. As the largest franchise chain in the U.S., we know we can make a real difference and are working towards that goal.”

Going green is something franchisee Dr. Burhan Ghanayem takes very seriously. Burhan retired as an environmental health scientist, although his passion for conservation continues.

Burhan recently opened two Eco-Restaurants in Cary and Durham, North Carolina, with his brother Marwan. Both restaurants are recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

“I have been a customer of Subway all my life,” said Burhan, who owns a total of 10 Subway restaurants with his brother. “I love the food and the freshness. Compare our food to burgers and other fast food restaurants and ours is a lot healthier.”

Along with the great Customer Service experience his restaurants provide for customers, Burhan says his Eco-Restaurants are educational as well, even down to the automatic shut off faucets in the bathrooms.

Burhan plans to continue building Eco Subway restaurants, with two new locations already on the horizon.

“I actually learned so much from building my first two eco-restaurants that I want to make my next even greener,” Burham said. “I really care about the environment. If we can all chip in, we can really make a big difference.”

LEED is a third-party certification program for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. As part of their Eat Fresh, Live Green™ initiative, the Subway brand encourages franchisees to create Eco-Restaurants when possible. Many who cannot rebuild their restaurants are incorporating Green elements into their stores such as low flow faucets and toilets, energy saving appliances, motion sensor lights, recyclable trash cans, and more.

George Estep, franchisee of the newly opened Eco-Restaurant in Kokomo, Indiana, constructed a free standing drive-thru restaurant entirely from recycled material. Estep’s restaurant also includes a large monitor that displays real time energy usage of the restaurant, which has turned into a customer favorite.

Additionally, two newly renovated rest areas off the Merritt Parkway in North Haven, Connecticut, each includes a Subway Eco-Restaurant. Among their eco-elements, both operate off of a light harvesting system through solar panels, high efficiency air conditioning, and they even have environmentally friendly plants that do not require any water maintenance.

Among the many soon-to-open Eco-Restaurants is the Subway restaurant on the University of California Los Angeles campus, which is located in the newly renovated “Green” student center. The center will even feature a walkable rooftop terrace and garden.

Many more locations have incorporated sustainable elements, such as franchisee Stephen Maycock’s restaurant in Ephraim, Utah, which now includes solar panels to generate electricity.

Subway brand sustainability efforts do not end with Eco-Restaurants, Elizabeth Stewart said. They also include packaging solutions that are functional, operationally efficient, and cost effective. By reducing the amount of packaging, supply chain transportation is cut back, saving fuel costs and reducing mileage and emissions. These reductions are a result of changes such as recyclable cutlery and paper napkins made out of 100% recycled material. Other efforts include the shift from plastic menu panels to recyclable paper menus, and the new Subway cards which use 30% recycled plastic.

The Original SoupMan has announced that basketball superstar, entrepreneur, actor, musical artist and world-wide brand Shaquille O’Neal will join  SoupMan, Inc. as a partner, brand champion, adviser, and all-around SouperMan.

“The soup at The Original SoupMan is Shaqalicious and I am excited to be a part of it,” said Shaquille O’Neal. “I’m looking forward to helping the Company grow, eating all the soup I want and Touting about it. My favorite so far is Lobster Bisque, everyone should try it! The soups are healthy, great tasting and satisfying.”

Shaquille O’Neal is an American icon known around the globe for his superior performance.  He is an NBA legend, business guru, TV commentator, platinum-selling musical artist, social media phenomenon with more than 4 million Twitter followers, starred in his own reality show and has appeared in numerous films. His business ventures include early stage investing in Vitamin Water and Google. Most recently, Shaq is a shareholder in and working to make the 15-second video service “TOUT” a household brand.

Mr. O’Neal is a big fan of SoupMan. Shaq’s lifelong love of soup, passion for promoting healthy eating and The Original SoupMan’s world-renowned taste are a slam dunk recipe for success.

Expanding its new restaurant model to include authentic, fresh-sliced New York Deli sandwiches, the Company has opened its first West Coast restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco as well as new restaurants in New York City and Connecticut, bringing the number of operating units to 19. In addition, the Original SoupMan’s heat-and-serve product lines are expected to be available in the soup aisle of supermarkets nationwide in 2012.

SoupMan Inc. CEO, Arnold Casale, confirmed that O’Neal has become a shareholder in the company and will maintain a visible presence as part of it.

“We are extremely excited that Mr. O’Neal has joined the SoupMan team,” said CEO Arnold Casale, “and believe that Mr. O’Neal will help us further grow the SoupMan brand.”

Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has signed a new franchise agreement with Dave and Lisa Hlavac to develop a location in Bemidji, Minnesota.

“We are thrilled to develop this relationship with Dave and Lisa, while expanding our brand in Minnesota,” said Roland Dickey, Jr., President of DBRI. “They prove to work well together and will be an excellent fit for our family-friendly restaurant.”

Dave and Lisa own a seasonal landscape business and sought out a franchise to supplement their income, ultimately deciding on Dickey’s Barbecue.

“The food is excellent and the business plan really works for someone who is new to the restaurant business.  I also like that the company is family owned,” said Lisa.

There are eight locations currently operating in Minnesota and 170 nationwide, this will be the first franchise opportunity for the Hlavacs.

“We are excited about launching our own franchise location and bringing Dickey’s Barbecue to our hometown,” said Dave, who is from Bemidji.

Dickey’s Barbecue can be found in 38 states, but is rapidly expanding with a 46 percent growth rate.

“Our brand thrives in all markets because we serve timeless comfort food with options for the whole family and this has been our consistent approach since 1941,” said Dickey.

Dickey’s Barbecue offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides and tangy barbecue sauce.

For more information, including a full menu, other restaurant locations and franchising opportunities, please visit www.dickeys.com.

CHICAGO  (RestaurantNews.com)  Efforts to reduce the daily sodium intake of U.S. consumers have been underway for decades with little progress, in part because salt has many desirable properties and serves as an inexpensive way to enhance the flavor of food, making good food taste even better.

Despite national salt reduction initiatives, salt mentions on major chain and independent restaurant menus have increased by 144 percent over the last five years. Technomic’s MenuMonitor analysis of over 2,000 top chains, emerging concepts and leading independent restaurants reports that not only have operators included salt on the menu with greater frequency, but the evolution of salt use across menu categories has shifted dramatically.

“Salt and pepper has always been prevalent on the menu,” says Technomic EVP Darren Tristano.  ”However, we are seeing more artisan, spice blended and designer finishing salts being introduced broadly across appetizers, entrees and dessert menus. Although the roots of this trend originate in fine dining establishments, it’s catching on in mainstream casual dining, fast casual and quick service restaurant chains.”

Tristano also points out, however, that the addition of these menu descriptors does not necessarily indicate a conflict with the restaurant industry’s efforts to lower the overall sodium content in food, and that the salt not included in menu descriptions has been consistently lessened in recent years, even as these artisanal uses of the spice have increased.

Examples include:

• Dragon Salt, a blend of salt, cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger and Cajun spices is offered at Asian stir-fry chain Genghis Grill, as a seasoning for several featured bowls.
• Salt and vinegar French fries appear on the menu at Old Chicago Restaurants while Wendy’s national roll out of Natural-Cut Sea Salt Fries occurred late last year.
• California-based independent operator, The French Laundry menus Caramel Ice Cream and Maldon Salt on their dessert menu while Firebirds Wood Fired Grill menus Warm Chocolate Brownies with Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Sauce.
• O Ya, the haute Japanese fusion restaurant in Boston pairs their Seared Petit Strip Loin with a 2 oz. Potato Confit with Sea Salt White Truffle Oil. Miso Braised Beef Marrow featuring Hawaiian black lava sea salt is offered at Tanuki Tavern Japanese gastropub in New York.
• Ocean Prime offers a specialty martini called Sea Salt Caramel Martini featuring Belvedere Vodka, Navan Vanilla, Caramel and Black Lava Salt while SushiSamba’s Kimori cocktail is served with a Nori-salt rim.

MenuMonitor is an online, searchable menu program that allows users the ability to search menus by key words for over 2,000 global menus in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Canada and Mexico. Now updated quarterly, analysis and reports can be generated on menu and culinary trends over the last eight years.

To learn more about this program please visit Technomic.com or contact one of the individuals listed below.

Contacts
Press Inquiries: Darren Tristano, 312-506-3850, or dtristano@technomic.com
Purchasing Details: Patrick Noone, 312-506-3852, or pnoone@technomic.com
Program Details: Bernadette Noone, 312-506-3853, or bnoone@technomic.com

About Technomic

Technomic provides clients with the facts, insights and consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. Its services include numerous publications and digital products, as well as proprietary studies and ongoing research on all aspects of the food industry.

Lawrenceville, GA  (RestaurantNews.com)  Five Guys Burgers and Fries of Lorton, VA, one of the fastest growing franchise restaurant chains in the US, has selected Touchblock Restaurant Management System in support of its continued growth and expansion, ensuring real time food safety monitoring and reporting at the store level. Nation’s Restaurant News rated Five Guys Number 1 in their list of Top 100 Chains ranked by Growth in U.S. Franchise Units for the last 2 years and this trend is to continue for 2011.

Five Guys selected Touchblock after an extensive search among various monitoring solutions. Touchblock offered the most comprehensive program with regards to equipment monitoring within the restaurant, critical monitoring of food, active responses to problems (HACCP) and the use of cloud computing and data base management to provide real-time access to information previously only available onsite. This access to information helps to ensure compliance with local health inspector’s guidelines and corporate defined best practices. Jim Gibson, Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Five Guys, said “Touchblock has met and exceeded our expectations” with regards to food safety monitoring and compliance versus the traditional paper and pencil method.

By the end of 2011, Five Guys expects to have almost 1000 stores open around the U.S. and Canada and over $1 billion in sales. Five Guys corporate has made the Touchblock system part of the standard equipment package for all new locations effective January 1, 2011. Touchblock has already been implemented in all open corporate owned locations. Currently Touchblock is installed in over 200 stores, coast to coast, including Canada.

About Touchblock Restaurant Management System

Orderite, Inc, designs, sells and supports Touchblock Restaurant Management System to restaurant chains from its main office in Lawrenceville, GA and regional offices in Richmond, VA and Rockford, IL. Orderite specializes in bringing technology to the restaurant industry as a way to automate and validate data collection, retrieval and management. Orderite, was founded in 2000 in Athens GA and moved to its current location to take advantage of the diverse population and proximity to the metro Atlanta area. Orderite continues to expand and implement further enhancements to the Touchblock system to meet the rapidly expanding area of food safety and monitoring systems as they are required.

To learn more about how Touchblock can improve your food safety monitoring, county health compliance, or improve “Back of House” operations, visit http://www.touchblock.com or email sales(at)touchblock(dot)com. Touchblock is a registered trademark of Orderite, Inc.

There’s no better time to dine out and do good!  During the month of September, all Golden Corral restaurants in the state of North Carolina, in addition to some participating locations in South Carolina, aim to raise nearly $100,000 to provide educational scholarships to families affected by multiple sclerosis – a lifelong unpredictable disease of the central nervous system.   This new initiative – The Golden Corral MS Scholarship Program — in partnership with the three North Carolina-based chapters of the National MS Society, will expand the scholarship opportunities provided by the chapters to first-time college students living with MS or children whose parents live with MS.

You can help support the mission to provide college scholarships by dining at your local Golden Corral during the month of September.  You can find your local Golden Corral, learn more about the program and donate online at http://www.gc4ms.org .

“As co-chair of my high school’s annual scholarship program, I get to see hands on how a scholarship can open a door for a student in financial need,” says Woody Fox, a Golden Corral franchisee.  ”I read all of our applications every year and it is amazing that there are so many bright young people in our high schools who can’t afford the average cost of a college education.  We want to make a  real difference in the lives of these families impacted by multiple sclerosis.”

MS can take a significant toll on the family, both emotionally and financially.  The MS Society estimates that MS costs a family $70,000 annually, with a total lifetime cost per family of $3 million. This makes funding a college education challenging. The National MS Society’s scholarship program helps qualified students fund their college educations.

“Golden Corral is making it possible to make sure that MS doesn’t stand in the way of an education,” said Jeff Furst, President of the Eastern NC Chapter MS Society.  ”There aren’t many scholarships out there for people whose lives are touched by MS, and it is partners like Golden Corral that are making a real tangible difference in those lives, now.”

Golden Corral is no stranger to the movement to help create a world free of multiple sclerosis. Their support began in 2006 through Walk MS. From supporting local Walk MS teams to feeding walk participants and volunteers, Golden Corral’s commitment has been steadfast and has continued to grow across the state.

“The Golden Corral MS Scholarship Program is a perfect extension of their commitment to helping people with MS.  We’ve seen firsthand how Golden Corral employees and the company have gotten behind supporting the MS Society and we are thankful for their support,” Furst continued.

TCBY, The Country’s Best Yogurt and frozen yogurt innovator, has long been the leader in taste, attributed largely to a classic line of swirl flavors that turn America’s favorite desserts and holiday treats into healthier indulgences. Its most recent addition is the lavishly decadent Red Velvet Cake, which was initially offered as a limited time only soft serve until consumer demand earned it a permanent spot on the menu. Joining Red Velvet Cake in the core line-up is Caramel Supreme soft serve for those who crave that distinct flavor invented by the Italians before the 18th century. Both fro-yo flavors are 98 percent fat free, and qualify for the brand’s Super Fro-Yo classification.

Expanding its commitment to classical favorites, TCBY announces three fall limited-time Super Fro-Yo flavors – 98 percent fat free Pumpkin Pie soft serve for September and October, and 98 percent fat free Eggnog and Gingerbread soft serve for November and December.

“We take great pride in menu development, working to strike the right balance between comfort flavors that our customers love and innovative combinations that differentiate us from the marketplace,” says Tim Casey, CEO of TCBY. “When our customers speak, we make sure to listen, which ultimately is why Red Velvet Cake was added as a core flavor. It was such a popular choice; stores sold out in only a few weeks. We knew we had a winning flavor on our hands. The addition of Caramel Supreme and the return of our fall limited-time offerings is just the icing on the cake… or should I say the swirl on top.”

Red Velvet and Caramel Supreme fro-yo can be found nationwide at select stores beginning September 1. Pumpkin Pie, Eggnog and Gingerbread will be available in select stores across the country and available in limited quantity so consumers are encouraged to contact their local store for details on each flavor’s availability. Made with TCBY premium real dairy yogurt, the new flavors feature seven live active cultures, calcium, protein, fiber and Vitamins A, C and D so customers can savor indulgent flavors without the empty calories or fat.

For more information, visit http://www.tcby.com.

For more than four decades, families have gathered at The Old Spaghetti Factory to enjoy traditional Italian-style home cooking. From Sept. 11 to 13, The Old Spaghetti Factory locations nationwide will celebrate national Grandparents Day with a free meal for grandma and grandpa. This special deal applies to any item on the menu when dining out with their families.

Grandparents can select their free meals from The Old Spaghetti Factory’s extensive menu of palate-pleasing dishes including: Spaghetti with Tomato, Meat, Mushroom or Clam Sauce; the signature Spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese; Manager’s Favorite; Sicilian Meatballs, or Italian Sausage entrees. And no meal at The Old Spaghetti Factory would be complete without fresh bread, salad and a scoop of spumoni ice cream for dessert.

“My parents opened The Old Spaghetti Factory to give families a memorable dining experience at a price that won’t break the family bank account,” said Chris Dussin, president of The Dussin Group. “We’re continuing that tradition today by honoring grandparents everywhere.”

The Old Spaghetti Factory has 40 locations, and this offer is available at all restaurants for lunch and dinner Sept. 11 – 13 only. Grandparents will receive a free meal with the purchase of a regularly priced entrée. This offer is available for dine-in only. Call-ahead seating may not be available for the offer. For more information and to find a nearby location and hours, visit www.osf.com.

The Old Spaghetti Factory is best known as a memorable family dining experience that offers complete meals that feature an entrée, freshly baked bread, soup or salad, milk, coffee, iced or hot tea, and ice cream at a great value. The restaurant also offers an acclaimed kids menu and is recognized by “Parents” magazine as one of the top 10 family-friendly restaurant chains in the United States.

The Old Spaghetti Factory restaurants are a privately held and family-owned business headquartered in Portland, Ore.

BOSTON  (RestaurantNews.com)  Millions of people with food allergies and intolerances struggle to find restaurants that will accommodate their dietary requirements. Now, there’s an app for that. AllergyEats (www.allergyeats.com), the biggest and fastest growing online source for finding allergy-friendly restaurants, has just launched a free app for the iPhone and Android smartphones, allowing users to access this valuable, peer-based resource anytime, from anywhere.

“The new AllergyEats app builds off the outstanding success of the core AllergyEats website, which has a tremendous – and rapidly expanding – number of users finding and rating restaurants based on their level of food allergy-friendliness. Our new mobile app offers all of the same benefits as the original AllergyEats website, with the added convenience of portability,” explained Paul Antico, Founder of AllergyEats. “Now, users have on-demand access to this wealth of information right at their fingertips.”

“The AllergyEats app offers peer-based allergy-friendliness ratings as well as restaurants’ websites, menus, directions and more, conveniently accessible from users’ iPhone and Android smartphones. Users can search by city or zip code – or from wherever they find themselves – making it even easier for busy, on-the-go families to find accommodating restaurants, whether they’re researching options in advance or grabbing a last-minute meal while out and about,” Antico continued.

AllergyEats is a free, user-friendly resource that provides valuable peer-based feedback about how well (or poorly) restaurants accommodate the needs of food allergic customers. Most restaurant review sites include information about establishments’ food, ambiance or service, but AllergyEats is singularly focused on food allergies, with peer reviews spotlighting where people with food allergies or intolerances have more comfortably eaten and where they’ve encountered challenges.

Both the AllergyEats app and website provide well over 600,000 restaurants nationwide, which users can rate. The peer ratings and feedback allow food allergic and gluten intolerant diners to quickly and easily find restaurants that will more likely cater to their special dietary requirements – and avoid the ones that won’t.

Users can easily access information for many restaurants such as menus (including gluten-free menus), allergen lists, nutrition information, certifications, web links, directions and more.

“AllergyEats has significantly improved the way food allergic and gluten intolerant individuals find allergy-friendly restaurants. Now, our new app makes it even easier and more convenient to locate these restaurants – whether you’re across town or across the country,” Antico continued.

“As an added benefit, the new app also lets diners rate restaurants on-the-spot, while the experience is fresh in their minds. Whether the user’s experience was positive, negative or somewhere in between, their feedback helps the entire food allergy and intolerance community,” Antico explained.

The AllergyEats app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes app store and the Android market, which are conveniently linked from the AllergyEats home page.

AllergyEats has been endorsed by highly-respected food, health and allergy organizations and individuals, including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Gluten Intolerance Group, Massachusetts Restaurant Association, Chef Ming Tsai and more.

For more information, please go to www.AllergyEats.com.

Seattle’s Best Coffee, part of Starbucks Corporation has announced the addition of 12 new locations, which have opened since April 2011. In recent weeks, the final two locations planned for this fiscal year opened, completing a portfolio of locations in a variety of venues, such as city centers, college campuses, airports and office complexes. The two newest cafes are among nearly 100 Seattle’s Best Coffee retail locations in the United States and Canada.

The expansion reflects a Seattle’s Best Coffee strategy outlined earlier in the year to bring great coffee everywhere. The new retail locations build upon the brand’s already broad distribution network of franchised locations, company-operated stores, relationships with restaurant chains, and foodservice locations. Today, the brand has more than 50,000 places where its coffee is served.

“Our retail locations are important to our business and franchising will be the engine for our continued retail growth,” said Jim McDermet, senior vice president and general manager of Seattle’s Best Coffee. “Franchisees find us to be an attractive business opportunity, combining the growth of the premium coffee segment with the strength of an established brand like Seattle’s Best Coffee.”

In the Houston market, Amin Gheewalla, president, Hi Rise Amenities, Inc., opened his third franchised Seattle’s Best Coffee location in late August. The new location is in the El Paso Energy Building in the downtown Tunnel System, an interconnected series of walkways, restaurants and shops servicing all those who wish to navigate the city in air-conditioned comfort. The strategy behind Hi Rise Amenities’ expansion has been putting Seattle’s Best Coffee along pathways for downtown commuters.

“I’m excited to grow with Seattle’s Best Coffee,” said Gheewalla. “I am putting great coffee into the hands of hundreds of commuters in Houston each day, and I’m also creating jobs in my hometown.”

Hi Rise Amenities’ existing locations are at Williams Tower and Two Shell Plaza in Houston. Gheewalla plans to continue to expand with Seattle’s Best Coffee and open new locations.

According to The National Coffee Association 2011 National Coffee Drinking Trends Study, 40 percent of 18-24 year olds drink coffee daily, up from 31 percent in 2010. Most recently, Seattle’s Best Coffee opened the doors of a new franchise location in the student union at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The new cafe is the latest in a series of Seattle’s Best Coffee locations that serve college students at Duke University Medical Center, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, University of Southern California, the State University of New York at New Paltz and Portland State University.

Seattle’s Best Coffee LLC has been roasting premium coffee since 1970 and today roasts more than 20 million pounds of coffee every year and millions of cups of our coffee are served every day. A freshly-brewed cup of Seattle’s Best Coffee is currently available in more than 50,000 locations including cafes, college campuses, restaurants, hotels, airlines, cruise ships, grocery stores and movie theatres. Seattle’s Best Coffee is a featured brand within Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) and is ranked among the 10 best franchise opportunities by QSR Magazine (January 2010).

Dunkin’ Donuts, America’s all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, today announced its location-based promotion through Foursquare and Facebook, “Be The President Of Dunkin’ Nation.” The promotion, set to run for five weeks, allows guests who check in at Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide between August 22 and September 23 the chance to be named the “President of Dunkin’ Nation” and win a “Presidential Prize Package.”

To participate, fans of Dunkin’ Donuts must register for the contest on the Dunkin’ Donuts Facebook Page and select to check in through the Facebook application and/or Foursquare. Once registered, fans can check in once per hour up to 10 times per day at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants. At the end of each week, the fan with the most check ins has the chance to be named the President of Dunkin’ Nation.  Throughout the promotion, fans will have the opportunity to check the leaderboard, which will be updated periodically on the Dunkin’ Donuts Facebook Page, to see where they stand in the race. No purchase is necessary to participate and additional information can be found in the official rules: http://dunkin.placepunch.com/terms-of-service/.

Five Grand Prize Presidential Prize Packages will be awarded, one for each week of the promotion, consisting of a 50″ LCD TV, a Dunkin’ Nation President $200 personalized Dunkin’ Donuts Card, an exclusive Dunkin’ Nation President T-Shirt and a Dunkin’ Nation President mug.  Additionally, anyone who checks in at least once each day will be automatically entered into the daily sweepstakes for a chance to win a $25 Dunkin’ Donuts Card.

“Our goal with this promotion is to celebrate our passionate community of Dunkin’ Donuts fans,” said Dan Saia, V.P. Consumer Engagement at Dunkin’ Brands. “We foster a strong sense of community and celebrate our fans’ dedication on Facebook and Twitter, and feel there is no better way to recognize someone for their loyalty to the brand than to proclaim them the President of Dunkin’ Nation.”

As a result of softer same-store sales and traffic levels and a dampened outlook among restaurant operators, the National Restaurant Association’s (www.restaurant.org) Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) fell below 100 in July. The RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 99.7 in July, down from 100.6 in June and the lowest level in 11 months.

“Although same-store sales and customer traffic levels remained positive in July, restaurant operators’ outlook for the economy took a pessimistic turn,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the Association. “This survey month was burdened with the debt ceiling crisis and the downgrade in the nation’s credit rating, which added an additional layer of uncertainty in an already fragile economic recovery.”

“However, if the economy can avoid additional negative shocks in the months ahead, the overall fundamentals continue to point toward growth in the second half of the year,” Riehle added.

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, and index values below 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indicators. The RPI consists of two components, the Current Situation Index and the Expectations Index.

The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 99.8 in July – down 0.7 percent from June’s level of 100.5. Although same-store sales and customer traffic remained positive in July, the softness in the labor and capital spending indicators outweighed their performances, which led to a Current Situation Index reading below 100 for the second time in the last three months.

Restaurant operators reported somewhat softer same-store sales results in July. Forty-eight percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between July 2010 and July 2011, down slightly from 51 percent of operators who reported higher same-store sales in June. Meanwhile, 34 percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in July, up from 31 percent of operators who reported lower sales in June.

Restaurant operators also reported softer customer traffic levels in July. Forty percent of restaurant operators reported an increase in customer traffic between July 2010 and July 2011, down from 44 percent of operators who reported higher traffic in June. In comparison, 37 percent of operators reported a traffic decline in July, up from 33 percent who reported lower traffic in June.

In addition to softer sales and traffic results, restaurant operators reported a pullback in capital spending activity. Forty-three percent of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months, the lowest level in five 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 99.6 in July – down 1.1 percent from June’s level of 100.7. In addition, July represented the first time in 20 months that the Expectations Index fell below 100, which indicates a softening in operators’ outlook for the months ahead.

Overall, restaurant operators remain relatively optimistic about sales growth in the months ahead. Thirty-nine percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year), essentially unchanged from 40 percent who reported similarly last month. However, 23 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, up from just 16 percent who reported similarly last month.

Meanwhile, restaurant operators are decidedly less optimistic about the direction of the overall economy in the months ahead. Only 17 percent of restaurant operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, down sharply from 26 percent who reported similarly last month. Meanwhile, 31 percent of operators said they expect economic conditions to worsen in the next six months, up from 20 percent last month and the highest level in 29 months.

Restaurant operators also downgraded their plans for capital spending in the coming months. Forty-two percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, down from 50 percent who reported similarly last month.

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 full report and a video summary are available online.

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.

Noodles & Company, the Colorado-based restaurant concept that serves made-to-order noodles, salads, soups and sandwiches inspired from around the world, announced a new development agreement with franchise group Hartford Noodles, LLC, based in Hartford, Conn. The new franchise partner is slated to open its first Noodles & Company location in Hartford County, Conn. in 2012, plus several additional locations over the next five years.

“The management at Hartford Noodles has a proven history of introducing restaurant brands in New England.  Their track record of opening and operating strong restaurant locations underscored our belief they were the right partners to help us grow in the Northeast,” said J.B. Hewetson, Franchise Director at Noodles & Company. “In addition, the group brings a passion and energy that matches how we run our operations.  They are an excellent fit for the brand.”

Added Robert Barton, CEO of Hartford Noodles: “We immediately saw the strength of the brand nationally and the growth potential in Connecticut when we first started talking with Noodles & Company. It’s a great combination of quality and value, and it’s completely unique in the industry. The brand really stood out to us as a great fit for our region.  We’re excited to bring it to Hartford.”

This year, Noodles & Company was ranked as one of the top 10 fastest-growing chains by Technomic, Inc., and named one of Parents magazine’s “10 Best Restaurant Chains.”  In 2010, the company received Nation’s Restaurant News’ prestigious Golden Chain Award and has been named one of “America’s Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants” by Health magazine in 2008 and 2009. The company plans to continue its industry-leading growth by expanding its presence in existing markets and entering new areas such as the Northeast. The Company anticipates double-digit unit growth (both company-owned and franchise-operated) for the foreseeable future.

For Noodles & Company franchise information, please visit www.noodles.com or contact J.B. Hewetson, Franchise Director, at 720-214-1968 or jbhewetson@noodles.com.

Cheese enthusiasts across the nation are set to rejoice with the launch of Denny’s “Let’s Get Cheesy!” menu.  Showing some serious cheese love, Denny’s fromage feast features six new dishes designed to make any cheese lover melt.

Denny’s is encouraging everyone to get a little cheesy with the launch of the new menu – from corny cliches and hokey pick-up lines to unsubtle movie love quotes – and hosting a celebration for all the cheese-lovers out there.  Urging everyone to try something a little different with their favorite dairy, the new menu boasts a medley of both traditional and unconventional cheesy choices covering, smothering, oozing and gooey with every dish.

The delicious new dishes include:

• The ultimate cheesy choice with the Mac ‘n Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt – a hand-pressed beef patty topped with new creamy Mac ‘n Cheese, melted cheddar cheese and zesty Frisco sauce on grilled potato bread, served with a side of wavy-cut French fries.  That’s right, no sandwich is too small or meat too mighty to benefit from just a little more cheese.
• The Cheese Please Omelette – a three-egg omelette with a blend of cheeses folded in, topped off with a creamy cheese sauce and diced tomatoes, served with hash browns and choice of bread.
• The Winner Winner Cheesy Dinner – two golden-fried chopped beef steaks covered in pepper jack cheese sauce, served with a side of new creamy Mac ‘n Cheese, broccoli topped with cheese sauce and dinner bread.
• The Cheesy Breakfast Sampler – featuring a cheddar smoked sausage, two eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese, hash browns topped with melted shredded cheddar cheese and choice of bread.
• Say Cheese Sizzlin’ Skillet – a blend of diced cheddar smoked sausage, fire-roasted peppers and onions, grape tomatoes and seasoned red-skinned potatoes topped with shredded cheddar cheese, cheese sauce and two eggs cooked any way you like.
• The Big Cheese Country-Fried Steak & Eggs – featuring a golden-fried chopped beef steak covered in pepper jack cheese sauce, served with hash browns topped with melted shredded cheddar cheese, two eggs cooked any way you like and choice of bread.

So whether cheddar is your cheese of choice or you’re simply all-American, Denny’s really has got it covered; melted on top, tucked inside or smothered with love all over your plate, each tempting new dish is sure to satisfy your cheesy palate.

As well as serving up six cheesy new ways to celebrate our topping of choice, Denny’s will be encouraging everyone to dig out their cheesiest chat-up lines and jokes to take part in its “Cheesiest Joke” competition via Twitter.  Facebook fans can also take part in a whole host of fun including Cheesy Motivational e-Cards, a Cheesy photo generator and many other exciting ways to get Cheesy.

“With America consuming around 8.8 billion pounds of cheese annually, Denny’s is answering to the appetites of the nation by introducing a dedicated menu that celebrates all things cheesy,” said John Dillon, Denny’s vice president of marketing and product development.  ”Denny’s continually strives to meet the wants and needs of its customers and is always open to trying something a little bit different.  So whether that’s providing healthier alternatives with our Fit Fare menu items, or serving up six new dishes to please our cheese-loving customers, we’ve got something to suit everyone.”

And if the limited-time menu still doesn’t have enough cheese to please you, there’s the option to cheese it up even more by adding some extra ooze to any dish for just 69 cents.  Diners can also substitute America’s favorite cheesy side dish Mac ‘n Cheese, to any entree for no extra charge.  To round off your cheese feast with a sweet finish, the new Strawberry Pancake Puppies with Cream Cheese Icing and the Strawberry Cheesecake Milk Shake are sure to send you home one happy, cheesed-out customer.

Launched nationwide on Aug. 30, the six-item “Let’s Get Cheesy!” menu is available all day, every day for a limited time only and offers price points starting from $4.99. The menu includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert items.

SEATTLE  (RestaurantNews.com)  Urbanspoon, the leading mobile restaurant app, today announced it has signed a deal with Zagat, the original provider of user-generated content and trusted ratings and reviews on restaurants. Through the content partnership, over 25,000 Zagat reviews will now be featured prominently on Urbanspoon, giving users even more rich content about local restaurants.

“Our goal at Urbanspoon is to give users, in-depth content to help inform their decision about what restaurants to try and which favorites to keep on their go-to list,” said Kara Nortman, general manager, Urbanspoon. “Bringing in content from Zagat, arguably the most famous name in restaurant reviews, adds another layer of trusted insight to help people find the best restaurants in their cities.”

Through the partnership, Zagat’s ratings, in-depth recommendations and curated restaurant reviews will run alongside Urbanspoon’s leading critic reviews and trusted consumer “likes.” Users can access a complete snapshot of the restaurant that includes general business information, photos of the restaurant or dishes on the menu and related popular blogger posts, in addition to user reviews.

Urbanspoon’s mobile app, which features the signature restaurant slot machine shake to help users find a restaurant that fits their needs, recently hit a milestone with one billion shakes. In addition, the app has been downloaded more than 20 million times across mobile platforms.

About Urbanspoon

Urbanspoon is a leading online local restaurant guide, aggregating restaurant reviews from across the Web including newspapers, professional food critics, bloggers and diners. Urbanspoon allows diners to make restaurant reservations through its online booking service, Urbanspoon Rez. In addition, Urbanspoon offers restaurants a complete reservation and table management system built to run on the Apple iPad, Urbanspoon Rezbook. Urbanspoon is a subsidiary of CityGrid Media (www.citygridmedia.com), an IAC (NASDAQ: IACI) operating company, and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. has announced the opening of its newest restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, on August 29, 2011. The new BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse is located on the northeast corner of Butler Boulevard and Gate Parkway next to the Costco Warehouse Club. The restaurant is approximately 8,500 square feet, contains seating for approximately 280 guests, and features BJ’s extensive menu including BJ’s signature deep-dish pizza, award-winning handcrafted beer and famous Pizookie dessert. BJ’s highly detailed, contemporary decor and unique video statement, including BJ’s 103″ plasma display as well as several high-definition flat panel televisions, creates a high energy, fun and family-friendly dining environment for everyone to enjoy. Hours of operation are from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

“We are very excited to bring the BJ’s restaurant concept to Jacksonville, Florida,” commented Jerry Deitchle, Chairman and CEO. “Our Jacksonville restaurant is our seventh restaurant in Florida, where we have recently been achieving some of our strongest increases in comparable restaurant sales. We continue to believe that Florida will be a very fertile development ground for the BJ’s restaurant concept going forward. Currently, all seven of our restaurants in Florida are located in the central and northern parts of the state. We plan to open our first restaurant in South Florida later this year in Pembroke Pines, and we have several more potential locations targeted for future development throughout the entire state. To date, we have opened seven new restaurants during 2011. We remain on track to open as many as five to six more restaurants this year, thereby achieving our stated expansion goal to open as many as 12 to 13 new restaurants during 2011.”

BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. currently owns and operates 109 casual dining restaurants under the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse or BJ’s Pizza & Grill brand names. BJ’s restaurants offer an innovative and broad menu featuring award-winning, signature deep-dish pizza complemented with generously portioned salads, appetizers, sandwiches, soups, pastas, entrees and desserts. Quality, flavor, value, moderate prices and sincere service remain distinct attributes of the BJ’s experience. The Company operates several microbreweries in addition to using qualified contract brewers to produce and distribute BJ’s critically acclaimed proprietary handcrafted beers throughout the chain. The Company’s restaurants are located in California (53), Texas (23), Arizona (6), Colorado (4), Oregon (2), Nevada (5), Florida (7), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (2), Kentucky (1), Indiana (1), Louisiana (1) and Washington (2). Visit BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. on the Web at http://www.bjsrestaurants.com .

Starbucks founder Howard Schultz has called for a boycott of campaign contributions to President Barack Obama and all members of Congress until a proper deal on the federal debt is negotiated.

CEOs of major retail companies, including Plano-based J.C. Penney Co. and Austin-based Whole Foods Market , have pledged their support in a partial list that was made public Thursday on Facebook.

In his open letter titled “Our country is better than this,” Schultz invited others to support his boycott and to hire workers without waiting for government incentives. By Monday afternoon, the Facebook page Upward Spiral 2011 said 1,750 had taken the pledge to withhold campaign funds, and 248 pledged to hire.

Schultz said the boycott would be lifted when “a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing.”

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My name is Katie. I went to Dartmouth, and I am a waitress.

I like talking to people and I take pride in what I do. If my customers are nice or my hair looks particularly cute, they might ask me a question about myself. Most often the question is, “So what do you do, other than, you know, waitressing?”

I want my customers to enjoy themselves. But I understand that the moment you step on the floor to ask someone what they would like to drink or whether they have questions about the menu, you become their servant. It’s an adopted role and you are, in fact, serving someone and getting paid to do it. Perhaps some of my hipper colleagues feel bad about themselves. It’s not as if society hails waiters and waitresses—trust me, I just spent a week at the beach with my white-shoed grandfather and never disclosed the profession that I actually really enjoy.

GQ’s Alan Richman recently opened a discussion on declining service standards at popular New York City restaurants, and his article, in the September issue, made me think about how servers’ attitudes and levels of professionalism can vary depending on where they are.

Continue reading . . .

Hurricane Grill & Wings, a restaurant chain famous for its 32 flavors of wings, opens its first location in Syosset, NY today.  After great success with 41 locations, Syosset residents and visitors will now be able to experience Hurricane Grill & Wings’ unique food and atmosphere for themselves.

Offering award-winning jumbo sized chicken wings in 32 original flavors, Hurricane Grill & Wings prides itself on big flavor, quality food and a relaxed beach atmosphere with something for everyone on the menu.  The restaurant is jam packed with delicious trademark items including starters of Hurricane’s World-Famous Garlic Parmesan Fries and Firecracker Shrimp; entrees featuring Churrasaco Steaks, Grilled Mahi-Mahi and Hurricane Phillies, 100% Half-Pound Angus Steak Burgers and Grilled Mahi-Mahi Baja Taco Salad; and desserts Key Lime Pie, Mango Passion Cheesecake and Hot Chocolate Lava Cake.

“We are very excited to expand Hurricane Grill & Wings to Syosset,” said Martin O’Dowd, President of Hurricane Grill & Wings. “This location will continue the tradition of bringing tasty appetizers, meals and desserts to all patrons in a comfortable, laid back environment. We look forward to encouraging our new customers to live with flavor and enjoy the new Hurricane Grill & Wings.”

Hurricane Grill & Wings is located at 275 Jericho Turnpike, Syosset, NY 11791.  For more information about Hurricane Grill & Wings, please visit www.HurricaneWings.com.

Lake Forest, CA  (RestaurantNews.com)  The delicious taste of a Big Train beverage is now available with the healthy benefits of protein, vitamins and minerals. Introducing Fit Frappé™ – a tasty drink that provides a powerful boost of healthy energy for consumers. Customers have been demanding healthier beverage options and this drink has it! Packed with 20 grams of protein, less than 1 gram of sugar and 130 calories, a 16 ounce beverage can be a meal replacement or a refreshing mid-day snack that can be enjoyed guilt-free. Fit Frappe™ also has 19 vitamins and minerals, at least 5 grams of fiber, only 3.5 grams of fat and is gluten free.

This gourmet protein drink comes in three mouthwatering coffee flavors, Vanilla Latte, Mocha and Espresso and two non-coffee flavors, Vanilla and Chocolate. Baristas can combine their espresso with Big Train’s Vanilla and Chocolate Fit Frappe™ mixes to customize their own delicious coffee protein drinks.

Fit Frappé™ protein beverage mix is available in 3 pound bags for the foodservice industry and can be made blended, iced or hot by simply adding water or milk. These options allow consumers to have their favorite drink, their way.

Frank Lindsey, General Manager, Foodservice at Big Train says, “We are really excited to be launching this first-of-its-kind frappe line to the coffee house and broader foodservice communities. It will give our customers an opportunity to capture incremental drink sales with more fitness-minded consumers that might otherwise seek high-protein refreshments elsewhere.”

Robyn Hawkins, CEO of Big Train states, “With the increasing demand from consumers wanting a little extra from their morning coffee latte or afternoon frappe, Big Train is excited to offer Fit Frappe™, a healthy alternative. One 16 ounce size beverage is loaded with protein, vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber without the sugar and high calorie content – a perfect meal replacement option. The variety and ability to have Fit Frappe™ hot, iced or blended will allow customers to stay on track with their fitness goals without sacrificing flavor or taste.”

Big Train (Booth #801) will be featuring Fit Frappé™ at the upcoming Coffee Fest tradeshow for the Specialty Coffee industry at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington on September 23-25, 2011. Attendees will be able to sample this delicious and innovative beverage and learn more about Fit Frappé™ and several other new great tasting Big Train flavors. For more information about Coffee Fest, go to http://www.coffeefest.com or follow @CoffeeFestShow on twitter.

In conjunction with the launch of Fit Frappe™, Big Train will donate a portion of profits from sales of Fit Frappe™ products to Good Sports. Good Sports’ mission is to increase youth participation in sports, fitness, and recreational programs by targeting one of the major obstacles limiting participation – access to sports equipment. Since 2003, Good Sports has provided $5.7 Million worth of equipment impacting over 300,000 kids, while serving the needs of over 750 youth programs across the United States. Big Train is excited to be a part of this great organization and the opportunity to help less fortunate kids get more involved in sports and encourage a lifelong healthy active lifestyle. For more information go to http://www.GoodSports.org.

Samples of Big Train Fit Frappe™ protein drink mix are available to operators through local Big Train distributors or by contacting Big Train directly at 800 BIG TRAIN (800-244-8724).

About Big Train, Inc.

Founded in 1991, Big Train is a leading manufacturer and distributor of premium powdered and liquid concentrate beverage mixes serving the specialty coffee, foodservice and retail industries in the US and abroad. Headquartered in Lake Forest, California with a manufacturing facility in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, Big Train is known for high quality beverage solutions that are great tasting and easy to prepare. Big Train offers a wide array of products including blended ice coffees, coffee-free blended crème frappes, chai teas, fruit smoothies, protein drinks, kids’ beverages, hot cocoas (hot chocolates), low carb beverages and baked goods, powdered soft serve and flavored syrups to more than 20,000 customers including independent and small chain coffeehouses, bakeries, foodservice operators and its extensive international distributor network. For more information, visit http://www.bigtrain.com or call 800 BIG TRAIN (that’s 800-244-8724). Or follow @BigTrain on twitter http://www.twitter.com/bigtrain or like Big Train on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bigtrain.

Novato, CA  (RestaurantNews.com)  Ctuit Software, the leader in business intelligence software for restaurants, announced that Bagger Dave’s Legendary Burger Tavern, a unique, full-service, ultracasual restaurant and bar concept owned and operated by Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB:DFRH) (DRH), has deployed Ctuit RADAR into all of its locations. RADAR provides business intelligence for Bagger Dave’s operations in order for the company’s executive team and management to analyze store information on an individual and consolidated basis, improving the ability to make timely strategic business decisions.

By integrating Ctuit RADAR with Bagger Dave’s existing POS system, DRH can view consolidated information from all locations with the ability to create multiple dashboards and other insightful management tools to track and manage sales, cost of sales, labor and inventory. Managers can easily access RADAR through the internet and obtain accurate and timely information anytime, anywhere. Using the solution’s Labor Scheduling Module to assist store managers in staffing based on forecasted sales, Bagger Dave’s has improved hourly labor efficiencies.

Due to the successful implementation of RADAR into Bagger Dave’s, DRH began rolling out the solution in its 21 Buffalo Wild Wings® restaurants located in Michigan and Florida. With RADAR, management can now have online access to each of its 21 Buffalo Wild Wings locations and the added benefit to view all stores on a consolidated basis.

“Bagger Dave’s management team has been very impressed with Ctuit RADAR – particularly the Online Manager’s Log which has improved communication between store managers and executive management. Ctuit’s business intelligence system is “software as a service” (SaaS) and therefore easily interfaced to our existing POS system without added infrastructure costs,” remarked David G. Burke, CFO and Treasurer, Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc.

Rob D’Ambrosia, President and CEO, Ctuit Software, commented, “We are looking forward to growing with Bagger Dave’s and DRH as they expand into more locations. The ability to access consolidated business information is imperative for success in the restaurant business. Whether there are only a few or multiple sites, RADAR offers managers a pulse on how locations are performing.”

Ctuit RADAR is designed to meet the unique needs of the restaurant industry and, more importantly, to custom fit any restaurant business. The solution imports data across different restaurant concepts, locations, and across multiple POS systems within any organization to provide consistency in data and reporting on an enterprise basis.

About Ctuit Software

Ctuit Software Inc. was founded in San Rafael, California, in 2000 with a mission to develop and deliver Business Intelligence and Decision Support Infrastructure to the restaurant industry. Ctuit’s RADAR – extracts the critical data from sales, labor, and accounting that yields key intelligence upon which profitable business decisions are made. In addition, operational, financial and exception based reporting is available company-wide. With Ctuit RADAR – accounting, finance, marketing and operations can make changes to improve customer satisfaction, sales and margins. Ctuit Software is a private, employee owned company with its corporate office based in Novato, California. For more information, visit http://www.ctuit.com.

About Diversified Restaurant Holdings

DRH (OTCBB : DFRH) owns and operates its own unique, full-service, ultra-casual restaurant and bar concept, Bagger Dave’s Legendary Burger Tavern(R), which was launched in January 2008. The concept focuses on local flair with the interior showcasing historic photos of the city in which it resides. It also features an electric train that runs above the dining room and bar areas. Bagger Dave’s offers a full-service, family-friendly restaurant and bar with a casual, comfortable atmosphere. The menu features freshly-made burgers (never frozen), accompanied by more than 30 toppings from which to choose, fresh-cut fries, hand-dipped milkshakes, and a selection of craft beer and wine. Signature items include Sloppy Dave’s BBQ(R), Train Wreck Burger(R), and Bagger Dave’s Amazingly Delicious Turkey Black Bean Chili(R). Currently, there are four locations in the state of Michigan, with two under construction and scheduled to open in the third and fourth quarters of 2011. DRH is approved to franchise Bagger Dave’s in the states of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. For more information, please visit http://www.baggerdaves.com.

The Company is also a leading BWW franchisee and currently operates 21 BWW restaurants (seven in Florida and 14 in Michigan). A twenty-second location, to be located in University Park, Florida, is under construction and is anticipated to open in the fourth quarter of 2011. The recipient of many franchise awards, including an award for the Highest Annual Restaurant Sales, DRH remains on track to fulfill its Area Development Agreement with Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc., which requires a total of 32 BWW restaurants in Michigan and Florida by 2017. Combined with the six restaurants DRH has outside of this Area Development Agreement, the total restaurant count for the Company will be 38.

Atlanta, GA  (RestaurantNews.com)  American Hospitality Furniture’s restaurant furniture will be featured on an episode of Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible show. The episode airs nationally on October 26th and will feature Chef Robert Irvine and his team’s challenge of turning around failing restaurants all across America. The premise for each show is that Chef Robert and his team travels to a struggling restaurant and rescues it within two days and a budget of only $10,000. On the first day, Chef Robert observes how the restaurant and its staff operate, and then he helps the staff to correct their mistakes while updating the menu. On the second day, the design team updates the look and atmosphere of the restaurant while Chef Robert takes his marketing to the streets and tells the community about the project. The final scenes show the grand opening of the restaurant and a closing statement by Chef Robert himself.

The head designer for the design team of the October 26th episode, Krista Watterworth, contacted American Hospitality Furniture about purchasing furniture for the show after viewing the company’s website, AmericanHospitalityFurniture.com. The company was able to quickly turn around the required quantity of furniture in time for the grand opening. American Hospitality’s PR team was present during the live filming of the opening, along with local business persons and politicians. The meal from the restaurant’s updated menu was delicious and the redesigned restaurant looked absolutely fantastic.

Krista and her design team deserved high marks for the amazing renovations they provided the restaurant. The before and after pictures of the restaurant seating, the restaurant tables, the bar, the walls, and the flooring can be found on the company’s website. American Hospitality Furniture continues to provide quality, affordability, and great customer service, and, with Restaurant Impossible, has cooked up a recipe for success in the restaurant furniture industry.

Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers will open in Downtown Arlington, on Monday, September 5, 2011, at 200 North Center Street located next to Arlington Music Hall.

Owner’s Kim and Montie Slawson are eager to open this new Mellow right on the corner of Front and Center Street. “We are thrilled to open our second location in Texas, and what better of a place then in the heart of downtown. We could have not asked for a better location and community to be a part of.”

Mellow Mushroom features a creative menu with an assortment of pizzas, hoagies, salads, calzones, appetizers, vegetarian and vegan options and gluten-free crust is also available. Enjoy three-dimensional artwork and a lava lamp chandelier. Discover mood rings, a fire swoop and a one-of-a-kind ice bar top, only at this location.

This Mellow will feature an exclusive Beer Club, with select, member-only rewards, and a weekly trivia night. The Mellow Mushroom will operate 7 days a week Monday-Sunday,11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

For 37 years Mellow Mushroom has been serving up fresh stone baked pizza’s to-order in an eclectic, art-filled environment. Each Mellow is locally-owned and operated with a unique feel, focused around great customer service and quality. For more information on Mellow Mushroom, visit http://www.mellowmushroom.com.

Rudy’s “Country Store” and Bar-B-Q has announced that its new NASA store location, the third one in the Houston area, will be open to the public on September 1^st at 7 a.m. The NASA store is located at 21361 Gulf Freeway, Webster, TX.

“We are very excited to be opening our third Rudy’s in the Houston market. It has been a real pleasure working with the City of Webster on this project. We are looking forward to becoming an integral part of this community along with the surrounding communities,” said Pete Bassett, Vice President of Operations at Rudy’s Bar-B-Q.

“Rudy’s makes excellent brisket, maybe the best in Houston,” wrote J.C. Reid, one of Houston’s top bloggers, in a recent article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle. “It may very well be the best barbecue joint as a whole,” added Reid in his review. Reid’s full review can be read at: http://jcreidtx.com/2011/is-rudys-the-best-barbecue-joint-in-houston/.

Additionally, the first 100 guests (limit one per family) to arrive at the new NASA location will receive one $20 Rudy’s Bar-B-Q Buck Card. Guests will also have the chance to win Rudy’s Bar-B-Q merchandise throughout opening day including Rudy’s Bar-B-Q Buck Cards, Rudy’s caps, T-shirts, and koozies. For more details on giveaway items, guests should “like” Rudy’s Bar-B-Q on Facebook at http://facebook.com/rudysbbq and follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rudysbbq.

Rudy’s Bar-B-Q in NASA is open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Since 1989, Rudy’s “Country Store” and Bar-B-Q has been serving up genuine Texas Bar-B-Q to folks in the Southwest USA. Rudy’s Bar-B-Q pits are 100% wood fired with oak. Along with time and oak, Rudy’s Bar-B-Q cooks with a dry spice that ensures perfectly smoked bar-b-q every visit. It is best served with Rudy’s famous “Sause.”

Southern Californians don’t have to wait until London 2012 to get their dose of Olympic competition. Beginning Wednesday, KFC Southern California is putting its best to the test in a KFC Olympics to determine the best chicken cooks in the Southland.

Coming on the heels of the KFC SoCal Colonel’s 120^th birthday tour, in which the second-generation Colonel checked in on Southern California cooks to ensure the Original Recipe chicken was being prepared properly, the never-satisfied Colonel is putting his best cooks to the test in a KFC “Chicken Olympics.” Through mid-October, KFC SoCal and the Colonel, who like his predecessor hails from Kentucky, will host five regional chicken cook-offs that culminate in an Olympic Finals October 11 in Westminster.

Participants will be competing for a cash prize of $500 and the top honor of being designated Southern California’s best KFC Cook, a coveted title in the nation’s chicken capital with more than 700 competing chicken restaurants. Competing cooks will be judged on the preparation of three KFC staples: Original Recipe, Kentucky Grilled Chicken, and the Colonel’s Extra Crispy Strips. Judges will evaluate the three final products on the basis of uniformity and overall appearance.

“KFC makes America’s best fried chicken, so naturally we wanted to seek out and reward the best cooks that deliver on the Colonel’s promise and high expectations with a fun — but very real — competition,” said Shahid Chaudhry, vice president of the SoCal KFC Advertising Association.

Kicking off Wednesday, Aug. 31 in Corona, the regionals stop in Santa Ana, Escondido and Los Angeles before concluding at the finals at a KFC restaurant in Westminster. Awards will be handed out in a ceremony October 12 at the Taco Bell corporate headquarters in Irvine, Calif. Taco Bell is a sister brand to KFC under the Yum! Brands, Inc., umbrella.

KFC Olympics
August 31 — Inland Empire Regional: 1151 W. 6^th St., Corona, CA 92882.
September 7 — Orange County Regional: 762 S. Harbor, Santa Ana, CA 92704.
September 13 — San Diego Regional: 639 N. Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025
September 14 — San Fernando Regional: 1244 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90019
September 21 — Los Angeles Regional: 3061 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066
October 11 — Finals: 6641 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, CA 92683
October 12 — Awards Ceremony: 1 Glen Bell Way, Irvine, CA 92618

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain specializing in Original Recipe, Extra Crispy and Original Recipe Strips with home-style sides, Honey BBQ Wings, and freshly made chicken sandwiches. There are more than 14,000 KFC outlets in more than 80 countries and territories around the world, serving some 12 million customers each day. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky.

With the goal of bringing a convenient better-for-you, meal option to commuters, shoppers and residents of West Valley City, Daljit and Pam Hundal together with Jason and Tara Lindstrom, all principals of Blended Star, LLC, recently celebrated the opening of their first Jamba Juice franchise store location outside of the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, Utah. West Valley Mayor, Mike Winder, was on hand for the official ribbon cutting ceremony which took place on August 10, 2011.

“We are very excited to be able to provide West Valley City fans with an opportunity to enjoy Jamba Juice, the number one top-of-mind smoothie brand with better-for-you, great tasting specialty beverages and food,” said Jason Lindstrom, owner/operator of Blended Star, LLC, Utah’s largest Jamba Juice franchise operator. “We invite West Valley City fans to come by the store and sample one of our more than 30 made-to-order whole fruit smoothies, a delicious baked snack, like our sourdough pretzel, or try some fresh squeezed orange juice with our slow-cooked oatmeal made with organic steel cut oats.”

This is the eleventh Jamba Juice store and the first new store opening for Blended Star, LLC since they purchased ten locations through a refranchising deal with Jamba in February of 2010. “We identified this location about 18 months ago as a great place for our first expansion in the Utah market,” said Lindstrom. “The City of West Valley and the Valley Fair Mall staff have both been great to work with throughout the entire process. They are committed to the revitalization of this area and we are proud to be a part of that effort.”

The Jamba Juice West Valley City location is located outside Valley Fair Mall and is open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.

With the goal of bringing a convenient better-for-you, meal option to busy shoppers on-the-go, Corey Peterson, principal of Just Juice It, LLC celebrated the opening of his first Jamba Juice franchise store at the Northshore Mall, a Simon Property, in Peabody, MA on August 27, 2011.

“We are very excited to bring Jamba Juice to shoppers at the Northshore Mall. With our offering of healthier beverages, wholesome breakfast options and ‘throughout-the-day snacks,’ mall visitors are able to have a great tasting item knowing they are being good to their bodies,” said Corey Peterson, owner/operator of the Northshore Mall Jamba Juice. “Whether you are just walking the mall to get some exercise, doing a little shopping, or just meeting friends for a fun afternoon together, Jamba offers a full selection of healthful, great tasting menu items to help keep you energized and feeling good while you are out and about.”

The Northshore Mall location will feature Jamba’s blended-to-order, real whole fruit smoothies, including their better-for-you and tasty All Fruit or Fruit and Veggie smoothies, fresh squeezed orange and carrot juices, hot coffee and organic teas, a variety of delicious snacks and baked goods, a trio of tasty California Flatbreads and, of course, Jamba’s craveable hot oatmeal made with organic steel cut oats and soy milk.

Jamba will be located conveniently located on the 2nd floor near Nordstrom at the Northshore Mall at:

210 Andover Street
Peabody, MA 01960
Store Phone: 978-531-1330
Office Phone: 781-686-1580

The Jamba Juice Peabody location is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

This is the first Jamba Juice store for franchise owner, Corey Peterson. Peterson has 17 years of experience in the restaurant business and currently plans to open three more Jamba Juice locations in Massachusetts.

Chipotle Mexican Grill has produced a new stop-motion animated short film called “Back to the Start” that depicts a farmer’s journey to sustainable farming. The film — a first for Chipotle — was directed by London-based Johnny Kelly and features a cover of the Coldplay song “The Scientist,” sung by music icon and family farm advocate Willie Nelson.

Chipotle plans to show the two-minute film nationally beginning in September. It will appear on nearly 5,700 movie theater screens in advance of feature films and will educate consumers about Chipotle’s favored farming methods, and demonstrate the differences between industrial farming and more sustainable methods. It can also be viewed online at Chipotle.com or on Facebook at Facebook.com/chipotle.

“We have always understood the importance of serving food that is raised right,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “We produced this film to help illustrate the choices people face in deciding what to eat, and hope that it will encourage people to choose food that is raised with respect for the land, the animals, and the farmers that produce it.”

The film’s subject matter is enhanced by Nelson’s cover of Coldplay’s song, “The Scientist.” It follows the story of a farmer whose family farm has evolved over time into a factory farm. In a moment of self-reflection, the farmer realizes that his animal factory is not consistent with his vision for the farm. As the song lyrics suggest, the farmer goes “back to the start” by ridding his farm of its factory qualities and returning to more sustainable farming methods.

The song is available for purchase on iTunes, with proceeds ($.60 per download) benefitting the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, which provides funding to support sustainable agriculture, family farming, and culinary education.

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Willie Nelson, both as a musician and for his extraordinary efforts to support family farming,” said Ells. “We are thrilled to have his support for this project and hope that working together, we can help people understand the importance of food that is raised right.”

To view the video, visit Chipotle.com/backtothestart or Facebook.com/chipotle.

Food plays a central role in outdoor and vacation activities in the summer time, and new research by the National Restaurant Association (www.restaurant.org) shows that: