This site is developed and maintained by Raymond Cote, author of:

       

 

HOSPITALITY ARTICLES

• This website offers recommendations for healthy restaurant dining: http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/site/

• Printable discount coupons for Kentucky Fried Chicken (expire 3/30): http://www.kfc.com/coupons/confirm.asp

• Some restaurants charge the wait staff for credit card fees: http://www.record-eagle.com/business/local_story_044094557.html

• Deciding if franchising is feasible: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/investing/bal-bz.ml.franchise09mar09,0,1697368.story

• Top VIP Lunch Spots: http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2008/03/07/lunch-deal-business-forbeslife-cx_pl_0307food.html

 

U.S. NEWS

Trend of Purchase Costs and Selling Prices

• National and regional chains are slashing prices in to maintain sales levels. Quickservice restaurants are adding bigger sandwiches to dollar menus.

• Increasing food costs are requiring a review of menu ingredients and forcing some chefs to retool dishes with expensive ingredients and leave low-profit items off the menu.

For Sale/Sold

• The Sizzler restaurant chain is for sale; Sizzler operates and franchises more than 300 restaurants in 17 states and Puerto Rico, Australia and Asia.

• Mama Fu's Noodle House has sold its Mama Fu's Asian House brand in the United States and Mexico to Austin, Texas-based Murphy Adams Restaurant Group, and presently the largest franchisee of Mama Fu's.

Chain News

• Burger King restaurants will feature some new menu item such as a wrap, the Angry Bacon and Cheese Whopper, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese for children, and Smoothies.

• CiCi’s Pizza, an all-you–can-eat restaurant for a very low price has 600-restaurants in 30 states and plans to expand into the California, New York and New Jersey markets, with around 185 new franchise locations giving the chain a nationwide presence.

• CKE Restaurants, owner of Hardee's and Carl's Jr. chains will focus on premium burger instead of price-cutting.

• Dunkin' Donuts will expand its breakfast menu to target afternoon and evening consumers with offerings such as flatbread sandwiches and personal pizzas.

• Little Caesars is targeting St. Louis, Savannah, and New Orleans for growth of its pizza chain.

• Outback Steakhouse restaurants are being revamped with menu changes and updating of the interiors with the use of bolder colors; other changes are smaller dining rooms and less of its trademark Australian artifacts.

• Ruby Tuesday completes its re-imaging; all of the company's restaurants have now been remodeled. The restaurants now feature upholstered chairs, tablecloths rather than the former Tiffany lamps, hardwood tabletops and roller skates on the walls. The beverage and appetizer menu items feature 10 handcrafted beers and several new menu items like a parmesan Caesar salad and new burgers.

• Wendy's is introducing a spicy version of The Baconator featuring six strips of bacon, chipotle ranch sauce, two slices of pepper Jack cheese and jalapenos; the sandwich will be sold at the its 6,250 U.S. and Canadian stores through mid-April.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Australia

• Australian developer and construction giant Laing O'Rourke plans a new AUD $80 million multi-level resort condominium and residential building on Palmer Street in Townsville, Australia, to be managed by Outrigger Hotels & Resorts. Construction is to begin in mid-2008, with a planned completion date in late 2009.

Bahrain

• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is planning a St. Regis hotel in Bahrain to be located on a reclaimed island facing Manama's city centre. The 300-room hotel is scheduled to open in 2011.

Canada

• North Vancouver, British Columbia; Edmonton, Alberta; Toronto; and other Canadian cities are considering regulating or even banning restaurant drive-throughs because of their environmental impact.

• Quebec has withdrawn a bill to give the City of Montreal power to levy municipal taxes on restaurant meals, parking, and entertainment events such as movies, sporting events and performing arts events.

• Staybridge Suites (a member of IHG InterContinental Hotels Group) is expanding its Canadian portfolio with the opening of two luxurious new hotels, Staybridge Suites Guelph and Staybridge Suites Oakville-Burlington. With these two hotels, there are now seven Staybridge Suites properties in Canada. Staybridge Suites first entered the Canadian market in 2000.

China

• McDonald's offers home delivery in Shanghai, China to boost sales and compete with rival Yum! Brands. Yum! operates almost twice as many outlets in China and offers home delivery at its more than 2,000 Pizza Hut and KFC eateries across the country. McDonald's has a fleet of 300 motorcycles to deliver hamburgers from 42 restaurants in Shanghai covering half the city's 14 million population.

• Dunkin' Donuts' expansion plans include permitting franchise rights for the city and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhijiang, to Mercuries & Associates, its franchise partner in Taiwan.

Germany

• The federal states of Germany now have smoking bans in bars and restaurants. Businesses are trying new ideas to work around the bans: one small Berlin bar is now doing business as a private Smokers' Club and requires patrons to ring a doorbell to enter.

Mexico

• Wyndham Hotel Group plans to develop a Wingate by Wyndham hotel in Chihuahua, Mexico to open later this year. The 137-room property is being developed by Mexico-based Desarollos Juventud SA de C.V. 20 minutes from Chihuahua International Airport and near one of the city's premier shopping malls and convenient to nightlife and fine dining.
  

• Mama Fu's Noodle House has sold its Mama Fu's Asian House brand in the United States and Mexico to Austin, Texas-based Murphy Adams Restaurant Group, and currently the largest franchisee of Mama Fu's.

South Africa

• South Africa's new middle class and growing economy are attracting quick-service restaurants that are seen as a great value for the money who offer quality food at affordable prices.

Turkey

• An upscale Mövenpick Hotel has opened in the city of Izmir. The 185-room Mövenpick Hotel Izmir is now the Swiss premium group's third hotel in Turkey, after Istanbul and Bodrum.

United Arab Emirates

• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc plans to open in 2011, the Luxury Collection in Ras Al Khaimah, the fourth largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates; the hotel will operated under a long-term agreement with Saraya Islands, PJSC.

Vietnam

• Vietnamese quickservice companies are using Western methods to get ahead before major U.S. chains enter their growing market. McDonald's and Starbucks have no plans at present to enter the Vietnam market.

Hospitality News/March