OpenTable has released a new list of the top 50 restaurants in America for outdoor dining. The winners of the Diner’s Choice Awards for Best Outdoor Dining were chosen from thousands of user ratings collected on the OpenTable service website. Consumers enjoy outdoor dining during the summer due to the beautiful weather. This award list will help diners in all states choose a new outdoor dining spot.
California Pizza Kitchen is being purchased by Golden Gate Capital for $18.50 per share. This totals about $470 million dollars. The Board of Directors undertook a serious plan for raising share prices earlier this year and the sale of the company was deemed to be the best route. Golden Gate Capitol is a large investor in the restaurant industry and will provide the company with enough funding for revitalization and new development.
The Apple iPad is being used in unique ways by a variety of restaurants and many establishments are seeing an increase in sales as a result. Bones Restaurant is using the touch screen computer for expansive and easily updated wine lists. The Atlanta location says that they’ve seen a 10-15% increase in wine sales since implementing the devices.
Zagat has released the newest survey results for the Westchester and Hudson Valley area. Over 900 restaurants were critiqued by over 5,000 diners over the last year. Sushi Nanase scored nearly perfect with 29 out of 30 points. X20 Xaviars on the Hudson was named the Most Popular, and Italian proved to be the most popular cuisine in the area.
Tim Hortons, and the Board of Directors of the company, are actively searching for a new CEO. The former CEO and President Paul House has chosen to stay on until a replacement can be found. The Board of Directors is searching within the company extensively but is also conducting a number of external searches for qualified individuals.
National Doughnut Day, on June 3rd, is being celebrated by Krispy Kreme with a free doughnut for each customer. Each visitor to a participating Krispy Kreme location will receive one donut of any variety for free. No purchase is necessary, so even if you’re not sure if you like donuts from Krispy Kreme you can take advantage of the offer to find out.
Outback Steakhouse added a new special promotion to their tasty menu recently with the introduction of the Special Sirloin and Lobster Tail entree. A grilled tail, a 8 oz sirloin steak and a loaded baked potato come with the deal. The Mediterranean Chicken Flatbread appetizer is also returning for a limited time with the Carrot Cake dessert.
Burger King’s latest ad campaign ignited backlash from the United States Postal Service. The ad shows postal carriers delivering mail late due to the French toast sticks and Double Crossain’wich sandwich on the BK breakfast menu. The USPS wanted Americans to know that this wouldn’t happen in reality, and Burger King has pulled the ads and made an apology.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe will be donating a part of the profits made on all Sunrise Sunset smoothies sold until June 26th. The donations will go to Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with life-threatening diseases and their families located in Maine. On June 17, or National Flip Flop Day, many locations will hold additional fund raising events and guests can win free smoothies or other gifts.
To celebrate the release of the new “Pokemon: Black/White” game, McDonald’s newest Happy Meal toys will be Pokemon themed. Eight exclusive figurines will include characters like Pikachu, Zorua, and Snivy. Each figurine will come with a special trading card for the Pokemon trading card game. These new toys will be featured from June 17 through July 7.