en-us http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417.html?nid=3973 Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/330050433.html?nid=3973 The New York Times published a profile on Saturday of the unusually tight-lipped Ruby Tuesday chain--which had never invited a reporter to its Mayville, Tenn., headquarters. What makes this article worth reading isn't that the 37-year-old restaurant company is doing thi… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1020050302.html?nid=3973 Since spring of 2007 restaurant analyst Nicole Miller of Piper Jaffray has been asking high school students (54 percent male, 44 percent female) to list their favorite chain restaurants in order of preference. Some 1,200 students, age 16 on average, are t… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/890050289.html?nid=3973 SBUX management met with numerous investors in recent months in both the U.S. and Europe and the feedback is pointing to continued improvement in [same-store sales] and significant progress on the cost cutting front.Trading at 9X 2010 EBITDA… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/630050263.html?nid=3973 I would have posted this note as soon as I spotted Bruce Buschel's "dont's" list on his blog "The Art of Running a Small Business," but I didn't take my computer to Denver last week, where a bunch of editors, operators and… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/760050076.html?nid=3973 Shall we start with a 50 percent tax on the retail value of beef? That's the suggestion of Princeton University professor and author Peter Singer in today's New York Daily News. Why tax red meat? ...Read More http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1790049979.html?nid=3973 Conventional holds that now is not the time for restaurants to raise prices. See my last blog post. But, in fact, menu prices have been climbing, if stealthily, according to Boston-based Intellaprice. Particularly drink prices, which have risen 2 percent in 2009. … http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/250049825.html?nid=3973 "Both restaurant and food companies are pointing to stable commodity prices in 2010 as production capacity cuts are offset by still soft consumer demand." &n… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1470049747.html?nid=3973 Like watching car wrecks? Then you'll love Adweek columnist Barbara Lippert's brutal dissection of Friendly's new television commerical. But before linking to it view the spot more than once--otherwise you'll find yourself replaying it to grasp the mis… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1750049575.html?nid=3973 There were a few good moments during last night's Rachel Maddow Show. The best came during an interview with Rick Berman, a former Brinker International executive-turned-public affairs specialist (see videos below). The Washington, D.C.-based Berman opposes many liberal causes … http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1040049504.html?nid=3973 Does putting the kibosh on the development of fast-food restaurants reduce obesity or spur development of restaurants offering better-for-you fare? A year ago Los Angeles City Council decided to find out, enacting a year-long ban on new QSRs in South Los An… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1650049365.html?nid=3973 Darden Restaurants stock price is tumbling as I write this, down almost 9 percent, with shares trading below $33 or roughly $10 off their 52-week high. That's good news for many investors, who would like to scoop up shares of the casual-dining giant for less than $30… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1510049151.html?nid=3973 Last month, Food Arts published an essay that every restaurant executive ought to read carefully. Written by culinary consultant Patrick McDonnell, it suggests that what separates struggling casual-dining chains from their betters is innovati… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1040049104.html?nid=3973 Last week, Pillsbury, a Los Angeles-based law firm, used a webinar to talk about online and mobile marketing. Lawyers with expertise on the subject explained what's legal, what's not, and what's changed in the area of restaurants. Risky stuff included hirin… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/60049006.html?nid=3973 Earlier this week I received an email from ColorOfchange.org, which bills itself as "the largest online African-American political organization in the country." Last month the group launched a boycott of the Fox Network's "Glenn Beck Show" after host Glenn Bec… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1600048760.html?nid=3973 Yesterday, the New York Times launched a blog called "Start-Up Chronicle: Are You Nuts?" The first post is about a restaurant start-up. True, there's nothing inherently interesting in that subject given the thousands of ambitious people who have opened restaurants … http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/790048679.html?nid=3973 When I'm sitting in a meeting and someone opens her laptop and begins typing, I … ♦ Think that individual is disrespecting others in the room. ♦ Think that individual i… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1780048578.html?nid=3973 To celebrate Labor Day, a day on which most Americans do not labor, a small quiz is in order. As usual, a correct answer will demonstrate your smarts. A wrong one takes you to, where else, work. 1. Martin O'Dowd, a restaurant cha… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1170048517.html?nid=3973 Rankings are fun to contemplate, and certainly a source of bragging rights for companies -- management and rank-and-file, alike -- whose names appear on them. The Irish firm Franchise Direct recently published a list of global franchisors in order of worl… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1010048501.html?nid=3973 Mel's Drive-In, in an apparent effort to boost its reputation and traffic, pulled a fast one on people who trust Yelp.com. Well, sort of. According to Kim Severson in the New York Times, the San Francisco-based chain invited anyone to&… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/330048433.html?nid=3973 The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending inched up 0.2 percent in July over June. And the National Restaurant Association said today that its Restaurant Performance Index was less negative than a month earlier. Those may be indications… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1270048327.html?nid=3973 As usual, the restaurant business bumped fitfully along this week, with an upside or two. One was news from Technomic Inc. that the beleaguered economy was causing many consumers to scarf down less healthfully food. Which could only be good news for some restaur… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1890048189.html?nid=3973 Industry veteran Greg Dollarhyde came close to guessing the ingredients, anyway, in Chipotle's new breakfast menu. In May I asked the former Baja Fresh CEO to weigh in on what the Mexican fast-casual chain should serve for breakfast at Dulles International … http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/1600047960.html?nid=3973 Maybe because I am only now reading Pour Your Heart Into It, Howard Schultz's story of how he created Starbucks "one cup at a time" that a recent profile of the CEO in BusinessWeek caught my attention. It's not a flattering picture insofar as it reve… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/40047804.html?nid=3973 "Free" is back on the national stage. IHOP, which had been promoting all-you-can-eat menu, is now giving away its kid's menu. Restrictions apply. Kids have to be hungry between 4 o'clock and 10 o'clock in the evening to eat gratis -- and… http://www.chainleader.com/blog/170000417/post/50047605.html?nid=3973 One knock against chain restaurants of all stripes is that they try to be all things to all people. As a result, critics complain, there is a boring sameness to them. This is particularly true in full-service restaurants, which are struggling to hold on to customers during the…