The growth of tax receipts at the state and local level has slowed dramatically since the second quarter of 2015, according to Census Bureau data compiled by the Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York-Albany. Total major state taxes for the first quarter 2016 rose only 1.6% versus the year prior…

Phil Keiser, Culver’s president and CEO and a veteran of 20 years at the chain, passed away on October 15. Co-founder Craig Culver will assume the role of interim CEO until a successor is named. “Culver’s would not be what it is today without Phil’s influence,” Craig said. “Yet as great a loss as this…

AutoQuotes Inc. has named Susannah Albright as CEO. She succeeds AutoQuotes founder Kent Motes, who takes on the title of Chairman Emeritus. In addition, the Jacksonville, Fla., company has named Motes’s three children, Kate (Motes) Schmidt; Kent Motes Jr.; and Alex Motes to the board of directors; Schmidt will succeed her father as the board’s chair.…

Bob O’Brien, senior v.p. of global foodservice for The NPD Group, caught our attention with a recent blog post about restaurant traffic in the United Kingdom. Traffic growth continued positive in the second quarter 2016 in the U.K. (the Brexit vote was June 23), following equally strong growth in the first quarter of this year.…

In the second quarter of 2016, restaurant traffic counts were strongest in the United Kingdom, even as it was voting to leave the European Union, and weakest in Brazil, despite the impending Summer Olympics, according to the latest CREST data from The NPD Group, a U.S.-based research practice. Traffic in the other 10 major foodservice markets…

After ending its collaboration with Subway and Franchise Brands following the death of Subway founder Fred DeLuca a year ago, New Zealand-based BurgerFuel is moving ahead with plans to launch in the U.S. The chain is eyeing the Midwest for its first store. BurgerFuel has 47 domestic outlets and more than 80 outlets in six…

The American “better burger” franchise has inked a multi-unit development agreement with Essam Abu El Hassan to open 20 restaurants throughout Egypt. The first restaurant will open in Cairo later this year. Currently, the brand has 25 restaurants in the Middle East including Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. Elevation Burger offers organic, halal-certified…

Comptoir, marketed as a purveyor of affordable and healthy Arab cuisine, has opened six new sites in the U.K. Founder Tony Kitous has 16 locations of the Comptoir Libanais canteen and delicatessen chain already in London, as well as restaurants such as Pasha in South Kensington and Levant on Wigmore Street. This autumn, the Comptoir…

The UAE’s Marka PJSC is opening Bahrain’s first Reem Al Bawadi Restaurant and Café, the latest in a series of expansions for the restaurant across the Gulf Coast Countries. The franchise in Bahrain marks the 11th branch of the chain, which offers traditional Middle East cuisine and cocktails, throughout the region and is the fifth…

Boojum Mexican Burrito Bar has opened its third—and largest restaurant to date—in Belfast, Northern Ireland, while also releasing plans for further expansion in the Republic of Ireland. The new 95-seat Belfast outlet is the first of four stores in the pipeline for Belfast, Dublin, and a city yet to be named. There are now seven…