Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is taking actions to cut costs for the national restaurant chain. One step of this plan includes cutting 60 positions in both management and staff. Almost all of the employees that lost their jobs worked at the company’s headquarters. This will improve the efficiency of the administrative duties of the company.
Perkins & Marie Callender’s has filed their plan of reorganization as part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. If the filing goes as planned the company will be exiting bankruptcy by the fall of this year. The bankruptcy deals with all of the 14% Senior Secured Notes and almost all of the 10% Senior Secured Notes.
Bugaboo Creek Steak House, a small steakhouse chain with 12 locations located in the Eastern Corridor, has been purchased by Capitol BC Restaurants. The new ownership entails few changes for the restaurant chain but menu improvements and higher quality service are on the way. The chain will also be holding its annual “LobsterFest” until August.
Tilman J. Fertitta has announced the end of the standing acquisition offer to buy common stocks from McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants. The deal, which he first started at the beginning of this year, offered $9.25 in cash tender for each stock. He has dropped the purchase order to participate in the buyout process the company is currently undergoing.
Domino’s Pizza Vice President of multimedia marketing, Dennis Maloney, gave concrete evidence of how he helped boost the brand through social media marketing. His talk at the ANA Social Media Conference helped large and small business owners alike understand the importance of social networking. The chain combined the marketing with improvements in the pizza quality.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is the world’s second largest fried chicken fast food chain. The new restaurant location opening in Memphis, Tennessee on July 18th will be the chain’s 2000th location. The restaurant will celebrate being number 2000 by giving away 2000 pieces of original fried chicken to guests on grand opening day.
Burger King spends $300 million dollars a year on multimedia marketing, and it has shifted the bulk of this spending to Starcom. Mindshare was the company’s media agency of record for a few years, but the two companies have decided to terminate their agreement. Mindshare will manage existing campaigns for a few more months as Starcom transitions to the major agency.
Dunkin’ Donuts is targeting Arkansas as their next location for growth. Two new franchisees will develop a total of 11 locations in the state within the next few years. Seven of them will be located in Northwest Arkansas around Little Rock and Ft. Smith. The rest will open in Hot Springs and Benton.
Iowa will also see new Dunkin’ Donuts locations popping up in the next few years as well. A new agreement with Eastern Iowa Food Services will bring 12 locations to Cedar Rapids, Iowa by 2018. The chain is also seeking other franchisees for markets like Ottumwa, Des Moines and Sioux City.
Arkansas only has one Dickey’s Barbecue Pit currently in operation, so new franchisee Por Yang saw a great opportunity for success. Yang will open his restaurant next week in Siloam Springs. The only other location is in Lowell. The company has other opportunities within the state for motivated franchisees.