This year’s MarketForce survey has named Five Guys Burgers and Fries as America’s favorite quick-service restaurant. This is the chain’s second year in the top position. Runners up included In-N-Out Burger in 2nd place and Chik-fil-a in 3rd. The survey was compiled from the answers of over 4,500 consumers.
Denny’s new special menu is designed to appeal to serious cheese lovers. The “Let’s Get Cheesy” menu features dishes like the Mac N’ Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt, the Cheese Please Omelette, and the Big Cheese Country-Fried Steak and Eggs. The chain is holding a cheesy joke competition through Twitter to promote the limited time offer.
Zagat’s in-depth, comprehensive coverage of thousands of restaurants is coming to the Urbanspoon smartphone app. Urbanspoon’s app already features consumer reviews and restaurant information, but the curated recommendations of Zagat’s makes it twice as valuable. The application is free to download on a variety of smart phones.
Even though consumers and the restaurant industry have been trying to reduce sodium content in food for over a decade, current restaurant dishes have more salt in them than ever. This comes from new research from Technomic. Salt is one of the cheapest ways to make foods taste better, but can cause a number of side effects to a diner’s health.
A minor slow down in traffic volumes and dropping same-store sales led the overall outlook of the restaurant industry to drop slightly during July, according to the National Restaurant Association. The association compiles the Restaurant Performance Index each month based on the financial reports of top companies.
Subway is working to pair their healthier dining options with environmentally friendly store designs. Five new “eco-restaurants” opened recently. The new store design cuts the amount of energy used for heating and lighting, as well as reducing building materials and waste. Two of the restaurants in North Carolina received LEED certification.
The AllergyEats website has been helping thousands of diners with food allergies share their experiences and find safe restaurants to eat at. Now the website becomes even easier to use with the release of an app for Android smart phones and the iPhone. All of the consumer reviews and restaurant information are available through the app.
The Original Soupman chain now has a new celebrity partner and spokesman. Shaquille O’Neal has partnered with the national chain to promote their healthy and tasty soups. The restaurant has also recently expanded their offerings to include New York style deli sandwiches and has 19 stores around the country.
North Carolina Golden Corral restaurants are joining together to raise $100,000 or more for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society this September. The money will fund scholarships for family members of a person affected by multiple sclerosis. Donations are also accepted online if you aren’t in the state of North Carolina.
Seattle’s Best Coffee, a chain that is now part of the Starbucks’ corporation, reports that the chain has added 12 new locations since April 2011. The last two opened in the past week. The new stores were built in a variety of venues like airports, college campuses and city centers. The chain now numbers over 100 locations in the country.