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February 16, 2016

Young Customers Supported Chipotle Throughout Food-Safety Issues

It is not exactly economic news, except to the employees and investors in Chipotle, but a recent NPD Group report on how the fast-casual Mexican chain’s recent food-safety problems affected traffic by demographic segment is instructive. Teens and young adults, who generate the largest share of the chain’s traffic, continued to support the chain throughout…

February 16, 2016

Blue Chip Economists Cut 2016 U.S. GDP Forecast, But Not Key Foodservice Indicators

The 50 major economic forecasting groups surveyed monthly by Blue Chip Economic Indicators got a case of the “glums” in their most recent monthly macroeconomic forecasts, released February 10. The consensus forecast for growth of real gross domestic product in the U.S. in 2016 dropped by 0.4 point to only 2.1%, a performance that would…

February 16, 2016

EU Blocks Supermac’s European Expansion Plans

No Happy Meal for Supermac’s. The 100-unit Irish QSR chain has lost its two-year trademark battle with McDonald’s to expand across Europe. The Galway-based chain had been fighting protests from the U.S. company over the use of “Mac” in the name of its restaurants outside of Ireland. In a split decision, the European Union’s Office…

February 16, 2016

Restaurant Sales Weakened In January, Preliminary Data Suggests

Retail foodservice sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.6% from December, according to the advance report of retail sales from U.S. Census Bureau, released February 12. The decline compares with a revised 1.3% seasonally adjusted gain in December, compared to November. Even with the weak January, advance retail sales data show foodservice sales up 6.1% for…

February 16, 2016

House Passes Revised Menu Labeling Rules

Chances of passage are slim, but legislation to change the Food and Drug Administration’s menu-labeling requirements made it through the House last week and now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. The Obama Administration opposes the measure. The Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015 (H.R. 2017) would allow a foodservice establishment…

February 16, 2016

Gas Price And Consumer Confidence Watch

We’ve been repeating for some time now that the big five drivers of foodservice in the general economy are employment trends, disposable income, consumer spending, consumer confidence, and gasoline prices. Since we’ve already touched on the outlook for the first three in this issue (all three are very positive), we might as well look at…

February 16, 2016

NRA Acquires National Registry Of Food Safety Professionals

In an acquisition that merges the foodservice industry’s leaders in food safety certification, the National Restaurant Association has acquired the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals. The NRA’s ServSafe program, which recently issued more than million ServSafe certifications, is the leader in food safety training; NRFSP, a U.S.-based certification body, focuses on providing certificates for…

February 16, 2016

World Of Beer Aims For 100-Store Footprint

The Tampa-based craft tavern continues to roll out new locations. It cut the ribbons on 22 new outlets last year, and now the 77-unit chain says it should have more than 100 locations opened by the close of 2016. World of Beer has a footprint in 20 states, and will debut in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Oklahoma,…

February 16, 2016

New Owners For Flat Top Chain

BD’s Mongolian Grill wants a bigger share of the fast-growing Asian segment. In February, the Minneapolis-based company acquired the nine-unit Chicago chain Flat Top Grill. Flat Top Grill was founded on Chicago’s north side in 1995 and serves create-your-own Asian fare. BD’s Mongolian Grill operates 11 locations in the U.S. and franchises 16; it also…

February 16, 2016

BK Adds Hot Dogs To Its Grill

Burger King is making room on its grills next week for hot dogs. The Miami-based chain has begun offering flame-grilled hot dogs at select locations, a precursor to a February 23 nationwide rollout to its more than 7,000 domestic outlets. The hot dog was tested in five markets last year: Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis…

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