If you don’t mind going out in public dressed as a black and white spotted cow you can net yourself a free meal. July 8^th will be the next national promotion day where Chick-fil-A awards visitors dressed as cows with a free combo meal. The Cow Appreciation Day was started as an annual promotion to encourage customers to have fun.

Arby’s is adding an exciting new roast beef sandwich option to their menu. The new Angus Cool Deli Sandwich features cooled Angus top round roast beef topped with Swiss Cheese, pickles and a special onion and herb vinaigrette dressing. The sandwich is sold nationally for $4.99 or as part of a combo meal at $6.99.

Smashburger is one of America’s fastest growing burger chains due to their focus on high quality burgers. The chain is about to expand into Atlanta with a new location on Piedmont Road. 20 other locations are expected to open over the next two decades in the metro area. The restaurant serves the full menu as well as a few regional specialties.

NRD Holdings, an Atlanta-based franchise restaurant operators, has acquired 23 Domino’s Pizza restaurants in Florida. 17 of the restaurants are located in Jacksonville and the other 6 are in Orlando. This moves the company into the top 25 rankings for largest operators in the Domino’s franchise.

GE Capital Franchise Finance has extended a new $28.9 million dollar credit agreement to the Rottinghaus Company. The credit is split into a $4.4 million dollar revolving line of credit and a $24.5 million dollar fixed loan. The Rottinghaus Company is responsible for 359 Subway brand restaurants across the Midwestern U.S.

Chipotle Mexican Grill challenged visitors to “Wrap What You Love” in their most recent contest. The grand prize winners wrapped their four year old baby in the company’s 18^th anniversary gold wrapper and took home $10,000 dollars. Eric Timperly, the baby’s father, was chosen as the winner by both the official judges and by popular vote.

Baskin-Robbins invited ice cream lovers to vote on their favorite classic flavor from the chain in their recent “The Big Thaw” contest. Over 80,000 enthusiasts responded and picked the Pistacho Almond Fudge flavor from the 60s to return. The chain will offer the flavor in packed quarts at all locations later in the summer.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit grows its numbers again with a new location opening in Huntsville, Alabama. The chain has been a part of the city for some time but demand has made it possible for a second location. The brand now has a total of 153 restaurants around the country.

McDonald’s popular slogan may be “lovin’ it” but consumers beg to differ, the fast food icon was joined by Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell among the lower ranked chains in Consumer Reports first ever major fast food ratings.

The survey, based on responses from 36,733 subscribers who made more than 98,000 visits to 53 fast-food chains revealed that readers found them to offer uninspiring food, only so-so service. Other major chains with relatively low scores: sandwich shops Arby’s and Quiznos and pizza joints Domino’s and Pizza Hut.

“Chains like McDonald’s and Taco Bell boast supersized values, but consumers don’t necessarily think they offer much bang for the buck,” said Tod Marks, Senior Projects Editor, Consumer Reports. “Fifty four percent of our subscribers cited low prices as a reason for picking a particular fast-food restaurant.”

By contrast, CR’s survey revealed good deals and even better meals at dozens of ever-present fast-food restaurants. Consumer Reports readers gave 21 of the 53 chains high marks for food.  Among the winners:

• For burger fans, In-N-Out Burger rated highest of all 53 chains rated in Consumer Reports Survey with high scores for food, service, value and speed.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill was among the best of 8 leading Mexican food chains, and earned high scores for food, politeness of staff and speed of service.
• One chicken chain topped the rest hands down: Chick-fil-A. With outstanding scores for politeness of staff, and high marks for food, value, and speed of service, respondents rated it higher than seven other leading poultry stops.
• If you’re craving a top-notch wedge, hero, hoagie, or sub served quickly with a smile on the side try Jason’s Deli or Firehouse Subs. Readers gave them the highest marks for food and favorable scores for politeness of staff and speed of services among 11 sandwich and sub chains.  
• The single standout for pizza: Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza, which has an unconventional concept where the patrons order a pizza to bake at home. It earned the highest marks for food, and exceptional scores for value, staff politeness and speed of service among the pizza chains.

Other Key Findings:

Diners want better food. Many restaurants scored higher for service—specifically, speed and politeness—than for food. At chains with the highest scores for food, 42 to 54 percent of patrons called the fare excellent, but at Burger King, KFC, McDonald’s, and Taco Bell, no more than 11 percent of patrons did. In fact, 15 to 19 percent of respondents who ate at one of those chains thought the food was fair, poor, or very poor. At Sbarro, an Italian chain, 27 percent of patrons judged the food fair, poor, or very poor.

Diners want a better experience. Whether they ordered cafeteria-style, at a counter, or at a drive-thru, or had food delivered, readers were much less pleased overall with fast-food restaurants than with casual full-service eateries like Cracker Barrel, Outback Steakhouse, and Red Lobster. Sixty percent of respondents said they were completely or very satisfied with their fast-food dining experiences vs. 68 percent of casual-restaurant patrons.

For the complete ratings of 53 popular fast-food quick-service chains, to find out which chains offer the best food according to Consumer Reports readers, or to learn more about survey results, visit www.ConsumerReports.org starting June 30th, or pick up a copy of August issue of Consumer Reports  wherever magazines are sold.

Truett Cathy, founder of the Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, has experienced both “poverty and plenty” in his lifetime. In his new book Wealth: Is It Worth It?, Cathy explores the opportunities and responsibilities that accompany financial success, and recounts the lessons he learned while growing up in a financially poor family.

“My message is caution,” Cathy says. “Wealth has the power to build or to destroy. When we use wealth to help people who are in need, we experience tremendous joy. But I’ve seen many people and families damaged by the wealth they have gained because they became complacent or jealous.”

In his book, available nationwide in major bookstores and through online retailers in early July 2011, Cathy explains his belief that wealth is “worth it” only if it is earned honestly, spent wisely, saved responsibly and given generously.

Cathy, age 90, acquired his business philosophy early in life. He entered the business world when he was 8 years old during the Great Depression. Forty-six years before he would open the first Chick-fil-A restaurant, he showed his entrepreneurial skills by setting up a Coca-Cola stand in his front yard, and he delivered the local newspaper throughout his public housing neighborhood in Atlanta. These experiences helped Cathy develop the “people first” business philosophy that distinguishes the Chick-fil-A brand today.

He and his wife, Jeannette, worked 21 years behind the counter of their mom-and-pop restaurant, where the Original Chick-fil-A Sandwich was developed, before they opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in 1967 in an Atlanta shopping mall. Today, the chain of 1,562 restaurants generates annual sales approaching $4 billion.

Cathy says he wrote the book as a personal message to current and future generations, as well as to his “Chick-fil-A family,” as it is his hope the company will remain a successful family-owned and operated business through multiple generations.

“If you want to have a healthy respect for wealth,” says Dave Ramsey, radio show host and author of The Total Money Makeover, “go find a wealthy person who’s doing it right. I can’t think of anyone better suited for this task than my friend Truett Cathy.”

Ken Blanchard, co-author of the One-Minute Manager adds, “Truett’s book asks an important question: Is money worth the trouble it takes to attain it? Is it worth the trouble it can bring if you happen upon it through good fortune? His answer is profound and just what you’d expect from a man famous for his generosity. Wealth is worth it only if you give it away.”

Today, the way Americans eat on-the-go will change forever as Heinz announces the national availability of Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup, the new packaging innovation that allows for both dipping and squeezing and holds three times as much Heinz Ketchup as the traditional packet.¹ After 42 years of messing with ketchup packets, people can now eat America’s Favorite Ketchup with ease.

To celebrate the availability of the new package, Friday March 4^th will be declared FREE FryDay at Chick-fil-A restaurants. Between 2 and 4 p.m. local time, ketchup lovers who ask for Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup at all Chick-fil-A restaurants will receive a FREE medium order of Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries, limit one per customer. Chick-fil-A is the first restaurant partner to carry Dip & Squeeze Ketchup nationwide.

The Wait Is Over

Heinz Ketchup fans have been eagerly awaiting their chance to try Dip & Squeeze Ketchup since it was unveiled in 2010. Since then, the Heinz Ketchup Road Trip, a mobile tour featuring Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup with a side of free fries traveled more than 5,500 miles to give ketchup lovers a chance to try the new package and share their feedback.

“The response from consumers who have had the chance to experience the new Dip & Squeeze Ketchup package has been overwhelmingly positive,” said John Bennett, Vice President of Marketing at Heinz. “People have been telling us that they love the convenience and functionality of the new package, and we are thrilled that it is now available to people nationwide.”

To Dip or to Squeeze? That is the question.

After trying Dip & Squeeze Ketchup with French fries on the Heinz Ketchup Road Trip, more than 1,000 people were surveyed about their ketchup eating habits. The findings? Sixty-three percent of people said they were “dippers,” while 37 percent considered themselves “squeezers.” If you’re a double dipper, you’re not alone! A majority of ketchup lovers weren’t embarrassed to admit to ‘double dipping’ when sharing Heinz Ketchup.

Join the Fun

Now that Dip & Squeeze Ketchup is available nationwide, ketchup enthusiasts everywhere are encouraged to join in the fun on FryDay and beyond.

Facebook – Post FryDay photos of dipping and squeezing in action on the Heinz Ketchup and Chick-fil-A pages: www.facebook.com/HeinzKetchup and www.facebook.com/ChickfilA.

Twitter - Twitter users can follow @DipAndSqueeze and @ChickfilA and use the hashtag #FreeFryDay to answer trivia questions for a chance to win Heinz and Chick-fil-A prizes!

Mobile Game – The fun doesn’t stop after mealtime. With the new Dip & Squeeze Ketchup Craze Mobile Game now available for free on iTunes, dipping and squeezing skills can be tested in ten different games – from dipping nuggets to squeezing ketchup onto a burger.

Locator Application – To find the closest Chick-fil-A restaurant serving Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup, check out the Dip & Squeeze Ketchup Locator at www.HeinzKetchup.com/Dip-and-Squeeze/Locator.

YouTube Channel – For more ketchup-themed entertainment including “Great Moments in Ketchup” and other fun videos, visit the Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup YouTube channel – YouTube.com/HeinzDipAndSqueeze.

Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup is now available at Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide and will be rolling out in select quick-service restaurants in the coming months.

For more information on Heinz Ketchup, please visit www.heinzketchup.com or check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HeinzKetchup or @DipAndSqueeze on Twitter.

For more information on Chick-fil-A, visit www.Chick-fil-A.com or www.facebook.com/ChickfilA

¹ One package of new Heinz Dip & Squeeze equals three, nine-gram ketchup packets.

For many Americans, a banana pudding recipe isn’t just a recipe. It’s an institution. A good serving of banana pudding provides the perfect comfort-food remedy to a long day at work, and avid banana pudding enthusiasts claim that the delectable dessert is even known to cure a headache. Starting Monday, Feb. 28, customers can satiate their cravings for the Southern classic with the new Banana Pudding Milkshake available in Chick-fil-A® restaurants nationwide through June 4.

With a taste sure to evoke memories of your grandmother’s best recipe, the new Banana Pudding Milkshake will be offered in 14 oz. or 20 oz. cups and priced at $2.49 and $2.89, respectively (at most locations). The milkshake is made with fresh bananas, real Nilla® wafers, a splash of vanilla, and is hand-spun with Chick-fil-A’s popular “home-style” Icedream® and topped with light whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.  

To celebrate the new milkshake recipe, Chick-fil-A is inviting customers to submit their favorite heirloom or family banana pudding recipes and the story behind them on the chain’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ChickfilA.

“As we continue to offer limited time flavor milkshakes, we ask customers what flavors they would like served at Chick-fil-A.  Again and again, customers said ‘banana something.’  We wanted to offer something unique, yet connected to our Southern roots, instead of the typical banana milkshake option. In the South, banana pudding reigns supreme as one of the favorite traditional desserts, most commonly associated with family.  Our new Banana Pudding Milkshake is like drinking your grandmother’s recipe through a straw,” said Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand development.  ”Our customers continue to tell us how much they enjoy our hand-spun milkshakes, so we want to continue to satisfy their tastes while also surprising them with occasional limited-time new flavors!”

The Chick-fil-A hand-spun milkshakes have proved to be one of the most popular products on the menu. As a result, the chain adds a variety of limited-time flavors to its milkshake menu annually.

In a year of major new product introductions, geographic expansion and new store openings, Chick-fil-A announces yet another year of consecutive sales growth. The Atlanta-based chain finished strong in 2010, reporting system-wide sales of $3,582,473,798 an 11.37 percent increase over the chain’s 2009 overall sales performance and a same-store sales increase of 5.92 percent. The company’s record sales performance in 2010 continues a trend of year-over-year growth the chain has sustained since its inception in 1967.

“We have been very blessed with our sales performance, which is a testament to our family of franchise Operators who remain committed to the business and dedicated to attracting the very best restaurant team members,” said Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Dan T. Cathy. “Their dedication to go above and beyond our customers’ expectations with warm, friendly service and gracious hospitality is key to sustaining our momentum. It’s said, ‘build a strong brand and sales will follow,’ and we believe the Chick-fil-A brand will continue to thrive as long as we continue to focus on providing exceptional customer service and high-quality products.”

Chick-fil-A’s sales performance complemented a number of other business achievements in 2010:

• Introduced the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, the chain’s first new sandwich to hit menu boards since the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich was introduced in 1989. Chick-fil-A sold more than 10 million Spicy sandwiches within less than two months after it became available on the menu in June.
• Continued its deliberate restaurant expansion strategy:
  • Opened 80 new restaurants, including 66 stand-alone restaurants, two mall/in-line locations and 12 licensed outlets (e.g. college campuses, hospitals, airports, businesses and industrial sites), a year-over-year increase of 5 percent.
  • Celebrated the opening of the chain’s 1,500th store location in downtown Los Angeles, adjacent to the University of Southern California.
  • Entered the Chicagoland area for the first time, opening three restaurants in Aurora, Orland Park and Wheaton.
  • Dedicated reinvestment resources to renovate 164 of its existing restaurants.
• Provided nearly 4,500 new job opportunities through restaurant growth.
• Recognized with a number of prominent industry awards, including:
  • 2010 Zagat Fast Food Survey’s “Best Value” and “Best Milkshakes”
  • 2010 J.D. Power and Associates Restaurant Satisfaction Study “Top Restaurant Brands in Customer Satisfaction”
  • 2010 Advertising Age “Marketer of the Year” Runner-Up
• Granted more than $1.5 million in scholarships to Chick-fil-A restaurant team members.  
• Awarded 54 franchise Operators new cars as part of the chain’s Symbol of Success sales incentive program. Through the program, franchisees are awarded a new Ford vehicle of their choice for meeting individual annual sales goals.

What to Expect in 2011

From expanding the breakfast menu to continued growth into new markets, Chick-fil-A has a number of initiatives planned to help sustain its sales momentum in 2011. Following are highlights of key initiatives Chick-fil-A believes will help continue to grow the business in 2011:

• New Product Introductions: In January, the chain introduced a new Spicy Chicken Biscuit, featuring a hand-breaded boneless breast of chicken seasoned with a fiery blend of peppers and spices, pressure-cooked in 100 percent refined peanut oil and served on a made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuit. In March, Chick-fil-A will introduce a new Banana Pudding Milkshake as a limited-time flavor.
• Restaurant Growth/New Market Expansion: Chick-fil-A will add 90 new locations to its restaurant portfolio, including 71 stand-alone locations, four mall/in-line restaurants and 15 licensed outlets. Chick-fil-A will also expand into entirely new markets for the chain, with plans to further its expansion into the Chicago metro area this spring, enter the San Francisco Bay area in the fall, and open in Boise, Idaho in the fall.
• Restaurant Reinvestments: In addition to opening new restaurants, Chick-fil-A will dedicate reinvestment resources to renovate more than 200 of its existing locations in an effort to enhance the guest experience and introduce new efficiencies that will help attract and accommodate greater sales volumes.
• Scholarship Donations: In 2011, Chick-fil-A will award $1.6 million in scholarships to its restaurant employees.
• Celebrating the Great Legacy of S. Truett Cathy: In March, Chick-fil-A will host a tribute in honor of the 90th birthday and life of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is the nation’s second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain (based on sales), with more than 1,540 restaurants in 39 states and Washington D.C.  Credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich and first introducing the chicken nugget concept, Chick-fil-A serves nutritious and freshly prepared food products in mall locations, stand-alone restaurants, drive-thru-only restaurants, Chick-fil-A Dwarf House and Truett’s Grill full-service restaurants, and through licensed outlets in college campuses, hospitals, airports, businesses and industrial sites.  More information about Chick-fil-A is available on the chain’s websites, located at www.chick-fil-a.com/pressroom, or through Facebook at www.facebook.com/ChickfilA or Twitter: www.Twitter.com/ChickfilA.

Chick-fil-A is offering customers a new alternative to break-up their breakfast routine in 2011. On Jan. 10, the Atlanta-based restaurant chain will introduce a new Spicy Chicken Biscuit to its breakfast menu to complement the Spicy Chicken Sandwich Chick-fil-A added to its lunch and dinner menus in June.

To celebrate, Chick-fil-A is giving customers a chance to taste the new biscuit for free before it is officially added to the menu. Beginning Dec. 27, customers can visit www.getspicychicken.com to reserve a free Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Biscuit at participating Chick-fil-A restaurants. Reservations may be redeemed the week of Jan. 3 – 8 during breakfast hours (6:30 to 10:30 a.m.) at the selected restaurant by presenting a printed confirmation from the reservation web site. Reservations may be redeemed in both the restaurant and drive-thru.

The Spicy Chicken Biscuit features the chain’s signature hand-breaded boneless breast of chicken seasoned with a fiery blend of peppers and spices, pressure-cooked in 100 percent refined peanut oil and served on a made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuit. The biscuit starts at $2.25 as an entree and is also offered as part of a Chick-fil-A Breakfast Meal, which includes a beverage and an order of Hash Browns or other side item, starting at $4.09.

“Customers began asking for a spicy version of our hero breakfast offering, the Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit, as soon as our Spicy Chicken Sandwich hit menu boards in June, and the demand for spicy products in general continues to grow,” said Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand strategy and design, who is responsible for the chain’s menu. “The Spicy Biscuit will give our customers the option to start their day with something truly different, and certainly a whole lot ‘hotter,’ as we continue to expand and vary our breakfast menu. The Spicy Biscuit will give customers another reason to visit Chick-fil-A for breakfast – a day-part that continues to grow.”

Faulk added that Chick-fil-A’s new Spicy Chicken Biscuit also gives customers another option to break up the habitual breakfast routine. According to marketing research firm NPD Group, 48 percent of people say their breakfast choices are driven by routine, with “most consumers looking at breakfast as part of a ritual for getting started in the morning. It’s the only meal when eating the same food every day is not only common but acceptable.”  

“Breakfast is an extremely routine-oriented day-part,” Faulk added. “People typically travel to and from work the same way each day and they also tend to have a list of stops they frequent during the work week. Even more importantly, people are time-starved in the morning, so when they make a stop, they expect prompt, accurate and courteous service. Chick-fil-A continues to meet these needs with new offerings that appeal to a broader range of customers who may eventually make Chick-fil-A’s breakfast a part of their morning routine.”

NPD Group also found breakfast sales accounted for 60 percent of growth in foodservice traffic over the past five years. Their foodservice market research also shows that for the year ending March 2010, there were over 12 billion morning meals served at U.S. restaurants, and 80 percent of restaurant morning meals were purchased from quick-service restaurants. Over the past five years, morning meal traffic increased an average of two percent per year, comparatively, while lunch visits were flat, and supper traffic declined by two percent per year on average.

Chick-fil-A’s entry into the breakfast market came in 1986 when the then mall-based chain expanded outside of shopping centers and began building stand-alone restaurants that opened for breakfast. The chain has steadily focused on building the breakfast day-part over the past five years and has diversified its morning menu with breakfast burritos, bagel sandwiches, fruit cups and yogurt parfaits.  Its signature breakfast item continues to be the Original Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit.

“This has been an exceptional year for Chick-fil-A,” said Chick-fil-A’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Steve Robinson. “In June, we made our largest new product introduction ever with our Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Just six short months later, we are fortunate to be in a position where our business is healthy enough to add another new entree item to our breakfast menu with the Spicy Chicken Biscuit.”

Robinson noted that these menu additions coincided with strong restaurant growth as well. While many quick-service chains have slowed restaurant expansion plans, Chick-fil-A has remained committed to its deliberate growth pattern of adding some 75 to 80 restaurants annually. The chain will end the year with the addition of 81 new eateries across the country, including its first three Chicagoland locations, for a 2010 growth rate of more than five percent.

Menu enhancements coupled with stable restaurant expansion have helped fuel Chick-fil-A’s sales in a sluggish economy. As a result, the chain anticipates exceeding last year’s overall and same-store performance to maintain its streak of consecutive sales gains over its 43 years of existence (since 1967).

Be sure to check out this nice series of articles from the folks at Minyanville.

The Origins of Cult-Favorite Fast Food Restaurants: Chick-fil-A

The Origins of Cult-Favorite Fast Food Restaurants: Domino’s

The Origins of Cult-Favorite Fast Food Restaurants: In-N-Out Burger

The Origins of Cult-Favorite Fast Food Restaurants: McDonald’s

The Origins of Cult-Favorite Fast Food Restaurants: Sonic

The Origins of Cult-Favorite Fast Food Restaurants: Starbucks

The Origins of Cult-Favorite Fast Food Restaurants: White Castle

The Origins of Cult-Favorite Fast Food Restaurants: Yoshinoya

The second time around was the charm for Jay Early.

Six years ago, he was in line for his own Chick-fil-A franchise when he was deployed to Iraq for a year with the 77th Brigade Combat Team of the Army National Guard, based in Houston.

“I was actually up for a store in 2004,” Early said. “But my (National Guard) unit was activated, and we went to Iraq in 2005. That put everything on hold.”

All told, he’s been working with the company for almost seven years now, trying to get his own store, and Thursday his dream became a reality.

Continue reading . . .

Landry’s has purchased Claim Jumper’s in a bankruptcy auction for a total of $76.6 million.  The selling price is more than $20 million more than Claim Jumper’s had originally agreed to be sold for.  Because the restaurant was an asset in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the sale was required to happen through an auction to return the highest price possible.  Claim Jumper’s had originally agreed to sell to Private Capital Partners for just under $55 million.

A person posing as a health inspector has hit again.  An unidentified caller has been calling restaurant owners and operators claiming the need for an emergency inspection.  The person then asks restaurateurs for detailed and sensitive personal and business information.  It is unknown how many restaurants have been impacted by the scam.

Chick-fil-A will once again release a cow themed calendar for the holiday season.  This year’s calendar will feature the familiar Chick-fil-A Eat Mor Chikin’ Cows paying homage to a number of popular reality television shows.  The calendar is available for purchase now.

White Castle has announced it will introduce 13 new members into the restaurant’s Cravers Hall of Fame.  The Hall, which opened in 2001, will include 67 members after the class of 2010 is inducted.  More than 6,600 people have applied for inclusion in the White Castle Hall of Fame since opening its doors.

Burger King thinks the Kinect for Xbox 360 will be the hottest gift this holiday season and wants you to be able to get in on the action.  The company is offering guests a chance to win Kinect Xbox 360 Prize Packs by entering a code found on large and medium beverage containers, Whopper wrappers, and large frypods.  The promotion is currently running.

IHOP has announced the introduction of a special Festival of Flavors menu.  The new menu will include three new breakfast items for guests to pick from.  The menu will offer Banana Bread French Toast, Cinnamon Apple Crepes, and Pumpkin Praline Pancakes.  All items will be available for a limited time at participating locations.

Little Caesars, Inc. has announced the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes.  The promotional contest gives players multiple opportunities to win football and pizza related prizes in a three- tier system.  Prizes range from winning a Little Caesars Pizza Party to winning a trip for two to the college bowl game of your choice.

SONIC has announced the SONIC Flavor Touchdown Sweepstakes.  The contest will run from November 1 through December 12 and offer players a chance to win a VIP football trip for six to a college bowl game of their choice along with an additional prize package.  Players can enter the contest at FlavorTouchdown.com

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. has announced the results for their third quarter ending September 28.  The company saw comparable store sales increase by 4.3% at company owned locations and a 4.4% increase at franchise operated stores.  Texas Roadhouse also announced they had opened three company owned locations during the quarter and that restaurant operating margins had increased by 79 base points.  Diluted earnings per share increased by 28% over the same quarter last year.

Morton’s Restaurant Group, Inc. has reported the unaudited financial numbers for their third fiscal quarter ending October 3.  The company reported that system-wide revenues were up by 3.9 % over last year’s same quarter and that comparable store revenues were up by 3.2% over the same time.

The Chick-fil-A Eat Mor Chikin’ Cows are taking reality TV by stampede this holiday season with the chain’s new 2011 Cow Calendar. The seasonal cheer at Chick-fil-A doesn’t stop there. The Atlanta-based restaurant chain will also sell gift cards and add the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake back to menus as a limited-time flavor to celebrate this special time of year.

The latest edition of the cow-themed calendars, entitled “The Cows of Reality TV: You Can’t Script the Fight Against Burgers,” pays homage to some of today’s most popular reality TV shows. In an effort to prove cows can do more than just make a good meal, the clever bovines star as the leading mammals and contestants on the reality shows featured each month in the calendar. Shows include “Boogyin with the Bovines,” a dance competition featuring cows attempting to “show the world that it’s better to see a cow cut a rug than see one become a cold cut” and “The Beefcake,” a dating show starring 20 heifers vying to win the affection of a “prize bull.”

The calendars can be purchased at any mall or stand-alone Chick-fil-A restaurant or at www.Chick-fil-A.com for $6 (plus tax) beginning Nov. 1 through early January (or until supplies last). The calendar also includes monthly food and beverage offers.

The holiday excitement continues with the seasonal Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake, which is back by popular demand on Chick-fil-A menus nationwide starting Nov. 1. As with the chain’s year-round milkshake flavors, the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake is hand-spun with Chick-fil-A’s popular “home-style” Icedream and topped with light whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. Milkshakes are offered in 14 oz. or 20 oz. cups and are priced from $2.55 and $2.95, respectively.

Four chicken restaurant chains think Atlanta will add sizzle to their sales.

Bojangles’ Restaurants Inc., Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Chick-fil-A Inc., and Church’s Chicken plan to add roughly 55 stores collectively to the Atlanta market within the next three years.

Both Bojangles’, based in Charlotte, N.C., and Popeyes, owned by Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises Inc., expect to double their size in the market.

Fried chicken is big business and Atlanta-based companies are well represented.

Continue reading . . .

Chick-fil-A is issuing a cattle call! On Friday, July 9, Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide will celebrate the company’s annual Cow Appreciation Day event by offering a FREE meal to any customer who visits one of the chain’s mall or stand-alone restaurants fully dressed as a cow.

Customers dressed “head to hoof” in cow attire will receive a free Chick-fil-A Meal which includes an entrée of choice, a side item and a Dr Pepper (or other beverage choice). For customers partially dressed in cow attire, such as a cow-spotted scarf, purse, hat or other accessory, Chick-fil-A will award a complimentary entrée.

Two online photo contests are also part of the festivities. A photo contest for adults is hosted on the Chick-fil-A Facebook page. A second photo contest for kids 10 and under called Show Us the Cow is available at www.showusthecow.com. Both contests will award free Chick-fil-A products for a year to the best cow-dressed customers, and children will also have the opportunity to win a $1,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond and a digital camera through the “Show Us the Cow” photo contest.

“Cow Appreciation Day continues to be one of our best indicators of the great passion our customers have for our brand,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “It takes a loyal fan to dress like a cow for a free meal. Cow Appreciation Day is our way of thanking them for their loyalty, not to mention a day simply to have fun!”

For the past 15 years, the renegade “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows have entertained consumers with their desperate, self-preserving antics in an effort to convert beef eaters into chicken fans. The Chick-fil-A Cows and the “Eat Mor Chikin” campaign have enjoyed such widespread public success that the chain has evolved the campaign into a fully integrated marketing program. In addition to clever roadside billboards, the “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows are the focal point of Chick-fil-A’s in-store point-of-purchase materials, promotions, radio and TV advertising, and clothing and merchandise sales.

To learn more, go to www.cowappreciationday.com

On Friday, July 9, 2010, Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide will celebrate the annual Cow Appreciation Day event by offering a free meal to any customer who visits one of the chain’s mall or stand-alone restaurants fully dressed as a cow.

Customers dressed “head to hoof” in cow attire will be rewarded with a free Chick-fil-A Meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner), which includes an entree of choice, a side item and a Dr Pepper (or other beverage choice). For those “too chicken” to wear full cow costumes, Chick-fil-A will award a complimentary entree to customers partially dressed in cow attire, such as a cow-spotted scarf, purse, hat or other accessory.

Chick-fil-A will launch a special website dedicated to the occasion, www.CowAppreciationDay.com, on June 24. In addition to providing further details about the event, the site offers cow costume ideas and tips, as well as downloadable cow spots, masks and other bovine-themed accessories for customers to use to create their costumes. For the first time, the Chick-fil-A “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows will embrace social media by tweeting, checking in on Foursquare and providing Facebook updates throughout the day from their profile pages.

Young Chick-fil-A fans have an additional opportunity to show their cow spirit and win prizes in the annual Show Us the Cow photo contest June 21-August 31. Parents with children ages 10 and younger can submit a photograph to one or both of the contest’s categories: an original photograph of their child dressed as a cow or an original photograph of their child’s decorated Cow Herd Figurine, available in Kid’s Meals through July 24.

Show Us the Cow participants and fans may enter and vote for their favorite photos at www.ShowUsTheCow.com. The 10 entries with the most votes in each category will be selected as semifinalists and win a Chick-fil-A prize pack. Chick-fil-A, Inc. will select three finalists and one grand prize winner from both categories. Grand prize winners will receive free Kid’s Meals for a year, a Chick-fil-A party at their school, a $1,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond and a digital camera. The winning designs may also be featured on an upcoming Kid’s Meal bag. There will be a similar photo contest for adults on Facebook beginning July 8.

Now in its sixth year, Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day continues to build momentum. Last year’s event – and the resulting turnout – confirmed that Chickfil-A has a strong following of customers willing to go to great lengths to show their appreciation for cows. More than 300,000 cow-clad customers stampeded Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country. Costumes ranged from simple cow-spotted t-shirts to full cow suits complete with furry ears, cow bells and homemade sandwich boards with personalized renditions of the Chick-fil-A “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows’ quirky messages. 

“Cow Appreciation Day continues to be one of our best indicators of the great passion our customers have for our brand,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “It takes a loyal fan to dress like a cow for a free meal and, based on the stories we hear from our restaurant Operators around the country, we have quite a large – and constantly growing – base of Chick-fil-A fans.  Cow Appreciation Day is our way of thanking them for their loyalty, not to mention a day simply to have fun!”

The additional excitement around Cow Appreciation Day each year offers further proof that the passion for Chick-fil-A’s beloved bovines is stronger than ever. For the past 15 years, the renegade “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows have entertained consumers with their desperate, self-preserving antics in an effort to convert beef eaters into chicken fans. The Chick-fil-A Cows and the “Eat Mor Chikin” campaign have enjoyed such widespread public success that it has evolved into a fully integrated marketing program. In addition to clever roadside billboards, the “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows are the focal point of Chick-fil-A’s in-store point-of-purchase materials, promotions, radio and TV advertising, and clothing and merchandise sales.

When Chick-fil-A rolled out its new Spicy Chicken Sandwich, it could have tried a variety of traditional marketing tactics: a downloadable coupon, free samples or a sandwich giveaway to any customer dressed like a cow.
 
But the company had tried those tactics before and was never quite satisfied. For example, although last year’s Labor Day promotion, in which fans dressed in sport attire received a free chicken sandwich, drew crowds, customer service suffered. Chick-fil-A wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again when it launched its first new sandwich platform in more than 20 years.

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Chick-fil-A fans across the country have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the restaurant chain’s new Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Beginning today, the sandwich is available at Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide. It is the first new sandwich to hit menu boards since its Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich was introduced in 1989.

Building on the heritage of the chain’s namesake sandwich, the new Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich is hand-breaded, seasoned with a fiery blend of several peppers, pressure-cooked in 100 percent refined peanut oil and served on a toasted buttered bun with dill pickle chips. The Spicy Chicken Sandwich starts at $2.99 and is also offered in a “deluxe” version that includes lettuce, tomato and Pepper Jack cheese for $3.59.

“Our Spicy Chicken Sandwich offers a unique, well-balanced and ‘cravable’ spicy flavor that is perfect for our growing customer constituency that enjoys spicy food. Most spicy chicken sandwiches available today just heat up your mouth and do not boast a distinctive flavor. We wanted to focus on providing customers with a memorable spicy taste experience that you could only enjoy from Chick-fil-A,” said William F. “Woody” Faulk, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand strategy and design, who is responsible for the chain’s menu strategy. “As for the heat level, well, we offer a wide choice of beverages to cool things down! The sandwich will definitely wake up your taste buds – so much so that we’re printing a lighthearted message on the packaging warning customers that the sandwich ‘may start mouth fires’.”


Faulk also noted that there are various ways for customers to temper or enhance the spicy flavor of the sandwich. “One of the delicate aspects of developing this recipe was finding the right spice level to suit the majority of our customers. While we believe we found the happy medium as far as the ‘kick level’ is concerned, there are ways to cool down or even heat up the sandwich. Adding ranch dressing or lettuce and tomato help lower the temperature, but we also offer Pepper Jack cheese or Buffalo sauce for those who can’t get enough spicy flavor.”

The Spicy Chicken Sandwich was given free to more than one million customers across the country last week during a special Premiere Week event at the chain’s stand-alone and mall restaurants. Customers were able to reserve a time to try the sandwich at a local restaurant through a special website, www.getspicychicken.com. In addition, the chain market-tested the sandwich in Jacksonville, Fla. and Baltimore, Md., and then expanded the test to include its restaurants in California last spring. Customers gave the sandwich a 4.4 out of 5 rating on overall taste, and the Spicy Chicken Sandwich continues to account for at least six percent of overall sales at the test restaurants more than a year later. This figure is similar to the percentage of sales garnered by Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meals.

Considering the capital investment and marketing expenses required to introduce a totally new sandwich, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich rollout is Chick-fil-A’s largest product introduction in 20 years. The rollout requires a number of kitchen equipment additions, including the installation of new pressure cookers and ventilation systems at most restaurants in order to prevent the spicy recipe from crossing over to other menu items. Chick-fil-A is also in the midst of one of its most aggressive marketing campaigns in chain history to support the sandwich rollout. In addition to the online, reservation-based Spicy Premiere Week sampling effort, Chick-fil-A has purchased rare television and radio ad buys in key markets across the country, and is using online marketing campaigns to promote the sandwich.

“We are extremely fortunate to be in a position to make these multi-million dollar investments during tough economic times,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “Much of our competition is hesitant to make new product investments these days and instead have chosen to focus on dollar menus and product discounts to drive traffic. However, Chick-fil-A is focused on adding value to the restaurant experience through well-developed product introductions and the continued value placed on our second mile service. We firmly believe our business will continue to grow as long as we take deliberate measures to ensure the quality of our products and our customer service standards remain at the highest level.”  

Robinson added that “Chick-fil-A has the utmost confidence at this time in our move to add this totally new Spicy Chicken Sandwich and we believe the product will help sustain the positive sales momentum we have sustained during the unstable economy.”  

Coming off a record-breaking $3.2 billion sales year in 2009, the chain is already enjoying a positive start to 2010 with a 3.6 percent same-store sales gain and a 9.3 percent overall sales increase through April. “Based on the performance of the Spicy Chicken Sandwich during the test and Premiere Week, we are anticipating that this product will help attract new customers for our restaurant Operators throughout the country and will also encourage more frequent visits from our current customers. We have no doubt that our Spicy Chicken Sandwich will become an industry leader before too long and a new favorite among our customers,” said Robinson.

The Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich complements the other spicy entrées currently offered by the chain, including the Spicy Chicken Cool Wrap and Southwest Chargrilled Salad. Based on the general popularity of the spicy category, Chick-fil-A also plans to expand its line of spicy offerings by adding a Spicy Chicken Biscuit to its “made-from-scratch,” hand-rolled biscuit-based breakfast menu in January 2011.

Chick-fil-A® is “fired up” over its newest product offering. Beginning June 7, Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide will offer a new Spicy Chicken Sandwich, the chain’s first new sandwich to hit menu boards since its Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich was introduced in 1989.

Building on the heritage of the chain’s namesake sandwich, the new Chick-fil-A® Spicy Chicken Sandwich is hand-breaded, seasoned with a fiery blend of several peppers, pressure-cooked in 100 percent refined peanut oil and served on a toasted buttered bun with dill pickle chips. The Spicy Chicken Sandwich starts at $2.99 and is also offered in a “deluxe” version that includes lettuce, tomato and Pepper Jack cheese for $3.59.

“Our Spicy Chicken Sandwich offers a unique, well-balanced and ‘cravable’ spicy flavor that is perfect for our growing customer constituency that enjoys spicy food. Most spicy chicken sandwiches available today just heat up your mouth and do not boast a distinctive flavor. We wanted to focus on providing customers with a memorable spicy taste experience that you could only enjoy from Chick-fil-A,” said William F. “Woody” Faulk, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand strategy and design, who is responsible for the chain’s menu strategy. “As for the heat level, well, we offer a wide choice of beverages to cool things down! The sandwich will definitely wake up your taste buds – so much so that we’re printing a lighthearted message on the packaging warning customers that the sandwich ‘may start mouth fires’.”

Faulk also noted that there are various ways for customers to temper or enhance the spicy flavor of the sandwich. “One of the delicate aspects of developing this recipe was finding the right spice level to suit the majority of our customers. While we believe we found the happy medium as far as the ‘kick level’ is concerned, there are ways to cool down or even heat up the sandwich. Adding ranch dressing or lettuce and tomato help lower the temperature, but we also offer Pepper Jack cheese or Buffalo sauce for those who can’t get enough spicy flavor.”

The Spicy Chicken Sandwich will officially be added to the Chick-fil-A menu on June 7, but the chain is giving customers nationwide a chance to taste the sandwich for free during a special Premiere Week event prior to the rollout. Beginning May 24, customers can visit www.getspicychicken.com to reserve a time to taste the sandwich at a local Chick-fil-A restaurant between May 31 and June 5. Each customer who registers and attends Premiere Week will receive a complimentary Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Offers are limited, and customers are encouraged to register early.

“We are especially excited about the reservation-based sampling of our new sandwich with our loyal customers,” added Faulk. “We want to invite our customers to taste the flavor and quality of this spicy sandwich, but we don’t want a cattle-call setting where we won’t be able to extend ‘second mile’ service to our customers. This reservation system provides a more personalized way to introduce our exciting menu addition. It’s like hosting a dinner party in your home – you know in advance who is coming.”

Chick-fil-A’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich has been in some form of test for years. The chain market-tested the sandwich in Jacksonville, Fla. and Baltimore, Md., and then expanded the test to include its restaurants in California last spring. Customers gave the sandwich a 4.4 out of 5 rating on overall taste, and the Spicy Chicken Sandwich continues to account for at least six percent of overall sales at the test restaurants more than a year later. This figure is similar to the percentage of sales garnered by Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meals.

Considering the capital investment and marketing expenses required to introduce a totally new sandwich, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich rollout will be Chick-fil-A’s largest product introduction in 20 years. The rollout requires a number of kitchen equipment additions, including the installation of new pressure cookers and ventilation systems at most restaurants in order to prevent the spicy recipe from crossing over to other menu items. Chick-fil-A is also launching one of its most aggressive marketing campaigns in chain history to support the sandwich rollout. In addition to the online, reservation-based Spicy Premiere Week sampling effort, Chick-fil-A is making rare television and radio ad buys in key markets across the country and using online marketing campaigns to promote the sandwich.

“We are extremely fortunate to be in a position to make these multi-million dollar investments during tough economic times,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “Much of our competition is hesitant to make new product investments these days and instead have chosen to focus on dollar menus and product discounts to drive traffic. However, Chick-fil-A is focused on adding value to the restaurant experience through well-developed product introductions and the continued value placed on our second mile service. We firmly believe our business will continue to grow as long as we take deliberate measures to ensure the quality of our products and our customer service standards remain at the highest level.”  

Robinson added that “Chick-fil-A has the utmost confidence at this time in our move to add this totally new Spicy Chicken Sandwich and we believe the product will help sustain the positive sales momentum we have sustained during the unstable economy.”  

Coming off a record-breaking $3.2 billion sales year in 2009, the chain is already enjoying a positive start to 2010 with a 3.6 percent same-store sales gain and a 9.3 percent overall sales increase through April.  ”Based on the performance of the Spicy Chicken Sandwich during the test, we are anticipating that this product will help attract new customers for our restaurant Operators throughout the country and will also encourage more frequent visits from our current customers. We have no doubt that our Spicy Chicken Sandwich will become an industry leader before too long and a new favorite among our customers,” said Robinson.

The Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich will complement the other spicy entrees currently offered by the chain, including the Spicy Chicken Cool Wrap® and Southwest Chargrilled Salad. Based on the general popularity of the spicy category, Chick-fil-A also plans to expand its line of spicy offerings by adding a Spicy Chicken Biscuit to its line of “made-from-scratch,” hand-rolled biscuit-based breakfast menu in January 2011.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is the nation’s second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain (based on sales), currently with more than 1,485 restaurants in 38 states and Washington D.C. Chick-fil-A produced record sales in 2009 of $3.22 billion – an 8.6 percent overall increase and an 2.52 percent same-store sales gain that helped extend the chain’s streak of consecutive sales gains to 42 years since founding in 1967. 

Credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich and first introducing the chicken nugget concept, Chick-fil-A serves nutritious and freshly prepared food products in mall locations, stand-alone restaurants, drive-thru-only restaurants, Chick-fil-A Dwarf House® and Truett’s Grill® full-service restaurants, and through licensed outlets in college campuses, hospitals, airports, businesses and industrial sites.

The federal government is mandating calorie counts, cities and states are instituting trans-fat bans, and boomers are starting low-sodium diets. But fried chicken is still a good business for the chains willing to go whole hog. Last year, at a time when most Americans needed some good comfort food, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, Bojangles’, Church’s and Zaxby’s built sales and share in the chicken segment.

Chick-fil-A, for example, has gradually become a phenomenal growth story. Opening fewer than 100 stores each year, and all from cash on hand, the chain has only 1,500 locations. But its restaurants gross an average $3 million, more than the average McDonald’s. And that’s with shorter weeks: Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays for religious reasons.

Although KFC is still the chicken-category leader, the chain has lost nearly six points of market share since 2005 and two points last year alone, according to Technomic, to competitors who’ve gained by finding their core brand stories — whether it be chicken or regional roots — and pushing those hard in marketing efforts.

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S. Truett Cathey, the 89-year-old founder of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, grew up in Atlanta, where his first business venture was operating a Coca-Cola stand in his yard at age 8.

In 1946, he and his brother opened a small restaurant, the Dwarf Grill, across the street from the Ford Motor Co. plant in Atlanta. There, Cathey developed the boneless chicken-breast sandwich that was to become the basis of his Chick-fil-A fast-food chain.

Today, the Cathey family still owns Chick-fil-A, which has expanded to 1,483 locations in 38 states, including Tennessee. Annual sales exceed $2.8 billion.

Cathey also is known for philanthropic work, including his WinShape Foundation, which operates foster homes, summer camps for children, college scholarship programs and a retreat in the north Georgia mountains for marriage-enrichment programs and church conferences.

His restaurants are always closed on Sundays, a reflection of the company’s statement of purpose: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward to all that is entrusted to us.”

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For many people, a job is nothing more than … well, a job.

But Dan T. Cathy, president and chief operating officer of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, considers his work a labor of love.

And it’s been a family affair.

The story began back in 1946 when Cathy’s father, Truett Cathy, opened his first restaurant, the Dwarf Grill, in Hapeville, Ga.

Truett has been credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich, and he later founded Chick-fil-A in the early 1960s. The true hallmark of the company, according to Dan Cathy, is the quality of the food and Chick-fil-A’s attention to detail.

“The first thing you’ll hear about us is our fresh-squeezed lemonade and our fresh, hand-breaded chicken that’s cooked in 100 percent refined peanut oil,” he said. “It’s an uncompromising commitment.”

And that commitment encompasses a large footprint.

The Atlanta-based company currently operates about 1,500 sites in 38 states and Washington.

Last year, the company’s sales hit $3.2billion, an 8.5percent increase over 2008.

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