Food & Beverage News

For many sports bars and casual-dining restaurants, the name of the game has been to slow down, cut back locations, and eliminate weak performers. And then there’s Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based sports bar franchise that been expanding at a rapid-fire pace, not scaling back. With 32 locations, the brand’s revenue spiked…

The Cheesecake Factory is ready to speed up development thanks to a growing portfolio. A new location in Gainesville, Florida, opened during the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and another three are expected to debut by year’s end. But beyond the Cheesecake brand, the company expects to build out the footprint of newly acquired North…

Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee Diversified Restaurant Holdings has agreed to be acquired by the private equity firm ICV Partners in an all-cash deal valued at $130 million. The $1.05-per-share price exceeds the value of Diversified’s common shares at the end of trading on Nov. 5 by 123%, according to the deal participants. They noted that…

Bloomin’ Brands Inc. is considering “strategic alternatives” including a possible sale, the company said in a release announcing its third-quarter earnings. “The Company plans to proceed in a timely manner, but has not set a definitive timetable for completion of this process,” according to the news release. “There can be no assurance that this review will…

The U.S.D.A.’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (F.S.I.S.) has developed a guideline to help meat and poultry establishments develop a written program to respond to complaints about foreign matter consumers find in meat and poultry products they purchase. The guideline outlines best practices companies can use to respond to these complaints. But instead of knowing…

The Food and Drug Administration’s approach to regulating food and beverages formulated with cannabidiol (C.B.D.) is creating confusion in the marketplace. The agency’s official stance is it is not permissible to formulate C.B.D. into food or dietary supplements in states where cannabis is not approved for recreational use. Yet finished products featuring the ingredient are…

In 2019, it’s all too easy for restaurant operators to find themselves in a hiring and training crisis. A strong economy has taken potential employees off the market, labor costs are on the rise, and an oft-overwhelming technological landscape is ready and waiting to be integrated into new hiring and training practices. Industry professionals are…

In August, Popeyes hailed the sandwich as its biggest launch in 30 years. That said, not even Popeyes predicted the frenzy. It ran out of the sandwich in about two weeks, roughly a month before it expected to do so. Popeyes restaurants around the country saw unheard-of crowds. Diners turned away in disappointment after learning…

After a challenging third quarter, BJ’s Restaurants is striving to recover its momentum through a batch of new initiatives, including a beer subscription program and technology that enables customers to order and pay via smartphone from their seats without downloading an app. The casual chain also intends to offer a two-for-one deal whereby dine-in customers can take home a…

When Laura Meyer won the World Pizza Championship for pan pizza in Parma, Italy, the Italian judges called her the male word for champion. Despite her first-place victory, she was the only winner who didn’t get a trophy that day. Hers was mailed a year later. “They basically refused to acknowledge that a woman had…