J & B Restaurant Partners, a Friendly’s franchisee based in Long Island, N.Y., closed a third of its 36 locations and filed for bankruptcy protection this month amid steeply declining sales and financial losses.

Read more: http://nrn.com/corporate-news/friendly-s-franchisee-files-bankruptcy

A coalition of restaurant, retail and franchise groups has expressed confidence that they could push changes in the Affordable Care Act’s definition of full-time workers in the new Republican-led House and Senate.

Read more: http://nrn.com/hr-training/restaurant-groups-seek-change-definition-full-time

Three-dimensional printing could be a tool in a whole new realm of food preparation and presentation, and The Culinary Institute of America is working to be part of that process.

Read more: http://nrn.com/technology/3d-printing-could-be-game-changer-foodservice

Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. has signed a franchise agreement with a subsidiary of existing franchisee Sizzling Platter LLC to develop the Dunkin’ Donuts brand throughout Mexico, the company said Monday.

Read more: http://nrn.com/dunkin-donuts/dunkin-donuts-enter-mexico

McDonald's is laying off 63 employees in its corporate operations, the majority of whom work at its Oak Brook headquarters, a spokeswoman confirmed today.

Read more: http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/business-trends/restaurant-news/articles/mcd-s-cuts-63-hq-jobs-eyes-more

Blaze Pizza next week is scheduled to become the first of the rapidly growing crop of fast-casual pizza players to hit 50 units open.

Read more: http://nrn.com/fast-casual/blaze-pizza-lead-fast-casual-pizza-chains-units-open

The restaurant industry couldn’t keep up with a surging stock market in 2014, as weakness at several large brands and a perception that many companies are at peak valuations kept stock prices at bay.

Read more: http://nrn.com/corporate-news/restaurant-stocks-see-mediocre-performance-2014

Fox Restaurant Concepts has sold its nine-unit, fast-casual Sauce Pizza & Wine brand to a company led by the cofounder of RA Sushi, a Fox spokeswoman said Monday.

Read more: http://nrn.com/fast-casual/fox-restaurant-concepts-sells-sauce-pizza

Customizability and fast service are likely to be significant drivers of restaurant business in 2015.

The fast-casual service style, in which customers order and watch their food made in front of them, has trained diners to expect exactly what they want when they want it. Combine that with the rapid spread of highly functional mobile technology, mobile ordering and payment systems, and you have consumers with high expectations for instant gratification. Those expectations will likely drive trends in restaurants in 2015.

Read more: http://nrn.com/food-trends/nrn-predicts-2015-menu-trends

This time of year, trend watchers offer restaurant operators endless lists of what they think consumers will want to eat, drink and do at restaurants in the new year. This year, however, experts at market research firm The NPD Group say restaurant operators should focus on what their specific consumers actually want.

Read more: http://nrn.com/consumer-trends/npd-restaurants-should-target-specific-consumer-needs

The restaurant industry looks poised for higher sales and profits in 2015, thanks to falling prices for gas and food and an economy that finally appears to be accelerating after years of painfully slow growth.

Read more: http://nrn.com/finance/what-restaurants-can-expect-2015

When my editor asked me to come up with a few predictions for the upcoming year in restaurant finance, I was tempted to simply Instagram a picture of myself pointing at a 2014 calendar, with a caption that said, “Ditto.”

Read more: http://nrn.com/corporate-news/nrn-predicts-2015-finance-trends

Gun activists. Rogue investors. The Polar Vortex. Menu labeling. There is any number of distractions that can bandy about most businesses and knock lesser ones off course. Then there are those earth-shifting developments—the Affordable Care Act, the growing Hispanic population, smartphones and others—that spread across the fault lines of the industry, affecting every segment and every aspect of operations.

Read more: http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/business-trends/industry-trends/articles/disruptors

In what franchisors have declared a critical blow to their business models, the National Labor Relations Board has decided that McDonald’s can be held accountable for the labor policies and practices of its franchisees.

Read more: http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/business-trends/restaurant-news/articles/new-ruling-opens-franchisors-legal-liability-franchisees

Taco Bell, which slowly built breakfast excitement amped it up this year by offering breakfast at 5,500 restaurants nationwide. Its television ad campaign to support that, featuring regular citizens who happen to share monikers with the quick-service clown mascot, gained quick attention. Created by ad agency Deutsch LA, the spots feature real people named Ronald McDonald from across the U.S., expressing love for Taco Bell’s signature breakfast items, including the famed Waffle Taco, the A.M. Crunchwrap and Cinnabon Delights. The chain indicated it was the biggest marketing push of its 52-year history.

Read more: http://nrn.com/advertising/5-notable-restaurant-marketing-campaigns-2014

Casual-dining restaurants, long known for boasting tome-like menus to appeal to a broad range of customers, are narrowing their offerings to focus on the cuisines they do best.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-17/chili-s-drops-pizzas-as-restaurants-seek-simpler-menus.html

ublished in Restaurant Business November 2014

Lots of creative thinking goes on in the restaurant industry, making it difficult to narrow down a collection of great ideas to just 50. We came across hundreds of good ones in the 16 months since our last roundup. Some were interesting but too familiar. Others were whimsical but did nothing to drive sales. What separates the “good” from the “great” here is an idea that differentiates a business and moves it forward. See if you agree with our picks.

Read more: http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/improving-operations/50-great-ideas

Tourism remains the strong driver of restaurant traffic and opportunity. As the 2014 Restaurant Growth Index—compiled exclusively for Restaurant Business by Nielsen—shows, consumers continue to loosen their purse strings and indulge in restaurant dining while on vacation.

Read more: http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/boosting-sales/best-and-worst

1. A backlash against self-ordering

Hints of a pushback were evident in a consumer survey the National Restaurant Association conducted in October. The research found a large proportion of restaurant guests had taken to dining-room tablets, kiosks and other devices that enabled them to place their own orders, bypassing servers. But about half of nonusers said they bypassed the touchscreens because they preferred interaction with a human. And that feeling was highest among the so-called wired generation, millennials. Look for full-service places to differentiate themselves in 2015 by pampering guests with high-touch service. The Cheesecake Factory has already declared it would offer nothing else.

Read more: http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/business-trends/industry-trends/articles/5-predictions-restaurant-chains-2015

Burgers, nachos, fries and tacos aren’t the only items attracting coveted 18-34-year-old male consumers anymore, as young people increasingly drive consumption of fruits, vegetables and other fresh foods, according to The NPD Group.

Read more: http://nrn.com/consumer-trends/npd-younger-consumers-eating-more-fresh-food

Earlier this year there was some brief buzz about high-end restaurants Googling guests in advance of their visit. Most notable of them at the time was Eleven Madison Park, the Michelin-starred New York City restaurant. The maître di meticulously Googles every guest each night in order to become more familiar with them and to provide the best possible dining experience.

Read more: http://nrn.com/opinions/googling-restaurant-guests-caring-or-creepy

Steve Davis is stepping down as chief executive of Bob Evans Farms Inc., just months after the activist investor Sandell Asset Management won four seats in a proxy fight against the New Albany, Ohio-based company.

Read more: http://nrn.com/people/bob-evans-ceo-steve-davis-steps-down

Blaze Pizza next week is scheduled to become the first of the rapidly growing crop of fast-casual pizza players to hit 50 units open.

Read more: http://nrn.com/fast-casual/blaze-pizza-lead-fast-casual-pizza-chains-units-open

Wetzel’s Pretzels LLC has put its “Wetzel Men” baker characters to work as the stars of new animated menu boards, which the company is rolling out systemwide

Read more: http://nrn.com/technology/wetzel-s-pretzels-puts-animated-twist-menu-boards

Bruce Dean has noticed a pattern in the 20 years since he and Bob Manley founded their family-dining concept Black Bear Diner

Read more: http://nrn.com/family-dining/gas-prices-breakfast-lift-family-dining-sales

Burger King Worldwide Inc. received a key approval from a Canadian regulator this week for its planned acquisition of Tim Hortons Inc., paving the way for the deal to be finalized.

Read more: http://nrn.com/mergers-acquisitions/burger-king-close-finalizing-tim-hortons-acquisition

Romano’s Macaroni Grill unveiled this week a concept-within-a-concept, fast-casual lunch format called Romano’s Kitchen Counter inside 131 of its company-owned, domestic casual-dining restaurants.

Read more: http://nrn.com/fast-casual/macaroni-grill-debuts-fast-casual-lunch-format

McDonald’s Corp.’s November same-store sales fell 4.6 percent in the U.S. and 2.2 percent globally despite an overall brighter economic picture and lower gas prices.

Read more: http://nrn.com/same-store-sales/mcdonalds-us-same-store-sales-fall-46-november