Chain Leader back issues from February 2007:
Slice by slice: pizza chains build most of their pies in the evening and on the weekend.(traffic trends)
Feb 01, 2007; ... National pizza chains receive 17.5 percent of all QSR occasions, according to Quick-Track, a quarterly survey by San Clemente, Calif.-based research firm Sandelman & Associates. But 21-quarter averages show they garner 29.3 percent of dinner occasions, 28.4 percent of carryout occasions ...
The American way: Pizza Patron accepting pesos is not an act for illegal immigration but for capitalism.(editorial)
Feb 01, 2007; ... When I received the press release announcing that Pizza Patron was going to allow customers to pay for their food with Mexican pesos at its 59 restaurants, I thought it was a clever idea. After all, the Dallas-based chain targets a primarily Latino audience. Its pizzas are not topped with ...
Commitment issues: variables in the first half of the year keep an analyst on the fence.(on the money)(Nicole Miller Regan)(Interview)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Nicole Miller Regan, senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis, can't say how well or how badly the 14 restaurant stocks she covers will perform this year. After all, consumer spending and commodity prices are anyone's guess. What's the outlook for restaurant ...
The good ol' days: Coney Beach trades on nostalgia as guests build their own hot dogs and burgers.(first look)
Feb 01, 2007; ... David and Camille Rutkauskas have already made a name for themselves with Camille's Sidewalk Care, a California-influenced sandwich concept. The fast-casual chain they founded 10 years ago has grown to 106 units in 36 states. Now the husband-and-wife team plans to expand their portfolio ...
Swingin' Hash: Hash House a Go Go fuses Midwest food with Los Angeles style to create avant-garde farm fare.(upstarts)
Feb 01, 2007; ... The mission statement calls it "twisted farm food," linking "fun food" verbage with phrases like "farm fresh fare" and "old recipes." But that still doesn't prepare customers for their first glimpse of Hash House a Go Go signature creations. Servers at the two-unit concept are used to ...
Urban renewal: Wing Zone targets inner-city locations to find its fans and build loyalty.(site lines)(Company overview)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Wing Zone didn't begin locating in inner cities for the applause, good will or some higher karmic purpose. Not that it's unhappy with those outcomes. But it did it because those neighborhoods are rich with customers and employees. The 90-unit takeout and delivery ...
By the people, for the people: Moe's latest promotion showcases ads created by its customers.(storyboard)(Moe's Southwest Grill)(Company overview)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Many chains operate on the "give the people what they want" principle. But at Moe's Southwest Grill, it is the people who have been doing the giving: giving the burrito chain ideas for its newest ad effort. In June, the Atlanta-based chain launched an online promotion to ...
Point of difference: O'Charley's prototype reflects its niche to help set it apart from the casual-dining pack.(restauratour)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Its name sounds like an Irish pub. Its brick and dark-green exterior, complete with a Gaelic-like mosaic, looks like an Irish pub. However, O'Charley's is not an Irish pub. And that was a problem, as O'Charley's executives found when they explored expansion into new markets. Customers were ...
Slimming down: Noodles & Company pares down the menu to enhance the guest experience, operations and sales.(menu strategy)
Feb 01, 2007; ... A customer at the local Noodles & Company studies new menu board options. The youthful order taker is eager to help. "May I help you, sir?" she asks. "Well ..." the customer deliberates. "I want the Japanese Pan Noodles, but I'm thinking about a protein." "Oh I can help you with that," ...
Table talk: Red Robin increases specialty-beverage sales with a freestanding menu and table cubes.(liquid measure)(Red Robin International Inc.)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Red Robin guests just couldn't keep their hands off the Disgruntled Elf--or at least the table cube picturing the drink--which led to increased beverage trials, says Vice President of Marketing Kim McBee. Putting photos of Red Robin's 2006 holiday drinks, the Disgruntled Elf and the ...
Repeat business: Lettuce Entertain You CEO Kevin Brown values structure, growth and new concepts.(thought leader)(chief executive officer)(Interview)(Cover story)
Feb 01, 2007; ... For most of its 33 years, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises has enjoyed a reputation for good food and attentive service at its collection of innovative eateries. Yet two things always stood out more than LEYE's vaunted hospitality: founder and Chairman Richard Melman's inclination to keep ...
Cold front: a seasoned executive leads Cold Stone's charge into South Korea.(world partners)(Chin-Koo Chung, Cold Stone Creamery)
Feb 01, 2007; ... Meet Chin-Koo Chung. Since 1985, the 61-year-old executive has opened hundreds of Baskin-Robbins, Popeyes and Starbucks in South Korea. Today, as chief executive of CJ Foodville, a Seoul-based restaurant company he joined in 2004, Chung is introducing young Koreans to superpremium ice ...
Fight club: Pyrogrill's Michael Curcio resorts to kicking and punching to stay fit.(off the clock)
Feb 01, 2007; ... For Michael Curcio, hitting the treadmill and lifting weights just won't cut it. The founder and CEO of North Palm Beach, Fla.-based Pyrogrill prefers something more challenging and exciting to stay in shape. Curcio is a student of mixed martial arts. He took up the sport after ...