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August 13, 2008
50% of respondents feel it is very important for restaurants to be considered “green” for “taking steps to improve recycling of food and paper waste.”
Source: R&I, 2007 Tastes of America
» For more research from R&I click here.How Panda Express Became the Asian QSR Powerhouse
Andrew Cherng remembers pacing through his Chinese restaurant in Pasadena, Calif., wondering whether any customers would show. He had borrowed from family members and had debts to pay. Thirty-five years later, Cherng, 61, and his wife, Peggy, control one of the largest family-owned fast-food empires in America. Read the full story >>
More Evidence of Consumers Cutting Back on Dinners Out
More than one-third of consumers (35%) said they are eating or buying dinners out less frequently than one year ago, reports foodservice consultancy Technomic. Money issues dominated the reasons for decreased patronage; 77% of those cutting back are doing so to save money, while 59% said they have less money to spend and 46% cited the price of restaurant meals. Read the full story >>
Business: The New Power Brokers
Although multibrand chain operators aren’t new to foodservice—witness the decades-long dominance of Darden Restaurants and Brinker International—a new set of power players is emerging, and these rising stars have the potential to alter significantly the chain landscape of the future. Read the full story >>
Lane Cardwell: Ice, Ice Baby
"Bar wars. On the cocktail front, you have the premium liquors that your customers are clamoring for. You have the hottest glassware to serve them in," writes Chain Leader's Lane Cardwell. "How can you raise the quality any higher? Leading edge customers, the type that set trends, are starting to get picky about the ice that goes into their glass. The ice chosen for a cocktail is the last frontier in making a quality statement." Read the full story >>
Countdown to a Chef: The Exhausting, Exhilarating Day of a Culinary Student
Dominic Zarletti is a culinary student. When he isn't cooking, he's usually sleeping, or he might be working out. But one thing he's usually not doing is carousing with his friends all night. "I wanted to be an accountant," said Zarletti, who is 24 and finishing up his final year at the International Culinary School at the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. "And then I got to college and began thinking: 'I can't do this. I've got to be up and moving.'" He's up and moving now. In fact, a day in his life resembles a race. Read the full story >> |
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