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Tag: Restaurant

  • Chipotle Set to Open Digital Kitchen, First Digital-Only Restaurant

    Chipotle Set to Open Digital Kitchen, First Digital-Only Restaurant

    Chipotle has announced its first digital-only restaurant, potentially disrupting the restaurant industry during one of its most challenging periods.

    One of the more controversial COVID mitigation measures has been curtailing restaurants and bars. Around the world, customers and establishments have protested, and in some cases defied, closure orders. In spite of the unpopularity of such moves, however, experts have continued to warn of the dangers of dining in. In fact, a new study by MIT Technology Review has labeled restaurants “covid hot spots.”

    Although not necessarily the focus, Chipotle seems to have the answer to COVID challenges as it prepares to debut Digital Kitchen, its first digital-only restaurant. The new concept will not have a dining room, or a front service line. Instead, guests will place their order in advance using the Chipotle app, Chipotle.com or third-party delivery options. Orders can be picked up via the restaurant lobby.

    “The Digital Kitchen incorporates innovative features that will complement our rapidly growing digital business, while delivering a convenient and frictionless experience for our guests,” said Curt Garner, Chief Technology Officer of Chipotle. “With digital sales tripling year over year last quarter, consumers are demanding more digital access than ever before so we’re constantly exploring new ways to enhance the experience for our guests.”

    Chipotle’s new restaurants will likely be a big hit and help the company expand in locations where full-sized restaurants are not feasible. In addition, it should help the company weather any future COVID crackdowns.

  • Olive Garden Employee Tells Police Officer To Leave Restaurant Because Guns Are Not Allowed

    Olive Garden restaurant apologized to a police officer after one of their employees asked him to leave because he had a gun with him.

    According to Officer Michael Holsworth, he was supposed to celebrate his birthday at Olive Garden with his family, but while waiting for them, an employee approached him and said that guns are not allowed in the establishment.

    He thought that the Olive Garden employee was joking but quickly realized that he wasn’t when he was still asked to leave. “I had hoped to simply enjoy an uninterrupted birthday meal with my family. I never believed I would be asked to leave a public restaurant because I was in full police uniform, which requires me to carry my duty weapon,” Holsworth said. Holsworth took to social media and posted the Olive Garden incident on Facebook. “Please share this post and let everyone know how this establishment is treating their local law enforcement,” he said.

    Officer FB pic

    The Olive Garden manager, spokesperson, and president took action immediately after the post went viral. One of the managers already spoke with Kansas City Police Chief Daryl Forte regarding the incident and assured them they are investigating the matter. “She was very concerned and shared (police officers) are welcome there,” Forte tweeted. “Facts are being gathered.”

    Rich Jeffers, an Olive Garden media spokesperson said that they don’t have any policy refusing law enforcers and that they are always welcome in the restaurant.

    “We apologize for any misunderstanding that might have taken place. It’s unacceptable, that’s what it is. Olive Garden welcomes members of law enforcement all the time in the restaurants. We love serving them. They serve our community. The least we can do is provide them a great meal,” Jeffers said.

    According to Jeffers, Olive Garden chain president, Dave George, reached out already to Holsworth so he could apologize personally.

  • Hulk Hogan: Was There an Anti-Black Dress Code at Hogan’s Restaurant?

    Hulk Hogan: Was There an Anti-Black Dress Code at Hogan’s Restaurant?

    There has been another of those non-scandal scandals afoot in the tabloids lately. This one is about famed wrestler Hulk Hogan.

    The story goes that the Hogan’s Beach restaurant in Tampa, Florida, has a dress code that discriminates against black people. A sign was posted at the restaurant that specified:

    NO Plain White T-Shirts (or otherwise oversized T-Shirts extending past the mid-thigh)
    NO Attire Containing Profanity (or otherwise deemed to be offensive by management)
    NO Sports or Sleeveless Jerseys
    NO Excessively Baggy Attire
    NO Low Hanging Pants or Shorts (pants or shorts must be worn at the waist)
    NO hats, caps or visors worn sideways or back facing (hats must be worn fully forward facing at all times)
    NO Do-Rags, Skull Caps or Bandanas
    NO Torn or Soiled Clothing
    NO Workboots [sic]
    NO Oversized or Excessive Jewelry
    NO Workout Clothing (including tracksuits, jumpsuits, sweatpants, basketball, gym or mesh shorts)
    NO Camouflage (unless with military ID)
    NO High-Top Sneakers

    Once news of this hit the Interwebs, the Hulkster himself had to make a phone call to fix the situation. This is the case, even though Hogan does not own the restaurant, he only licenses the use of his name for it.

    But it turns out that this is not a dress code for the restaurant. The sign was up for a particular party at the restaurant that had a beach party theme. The party organizers who were paying to use the restaurant had listed the dress code rules.

    “We do have promotions companies that come in and want a certain theme for their parties that they do present,” the Hogan’s Beach manager has said. “We actually don’t have a dress code here at Hogan’s Beach. That was for a specifically-themed beach party.”

    In fact, at the bottom of that sign is the statement:

    This is a beach party and beach attire is required.

    If Paul Harvey were here, he would have an appropriate sign-off for this.

  • Lisa Vanderpump Accused Of Being Rude At Restaurant

    Lisa Vanderpump seems like the type of woman who would know proper restaurant etiquette, but earlier this week she was accused of being rude and leaving behind a poor excuse for a tip.

    Lisa and her husband Ken Todd were dining at Bar On 4, located inside Neiman Marcus, as reported by Radar Online and although they ordered several hundreds of dollars worth of food, they only left a one percent tip.

    “They ordered a ton of food and drinks and stayed for several hours, They left $5 cash on a $500 bill!” a source for Radar Online said.

    Lisa is a restaurant owner herself and knows the proper way a server should be tipped, so it’s very strange that she would leave such a small tip, even if service wasn’t very good.

    According to the source, poor tips aren’t the only problem the restaurant workers have with Lisa. She is also very rude to the servers.

    “She comes into Bar on 4 quite often,” the source said. “She is always loud, and doesn’t treat any of the staff with respect,” they said.

    Lisa currently owns a restaurant called Villa Blanca and allegedly doesn’t treat her own employees very well either.

    Several of them have filed lawsuits against her, and one of her former employees, Karina Bustillo, just won $100,000 in punitive damages stemming from a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against former manager Michael Govia.

    In the past she has also been sued for discrimination and wrongful termination.

    A rep for the couple defended them by claiming that the couple left a poor tip because the service was poor and their server was rude. Lisa also claimed that the story was just a rumor.

    “She is the most obnoxious woman ever and gets what she gives,” the rep said of the server. “As owners of 26 dining and nightlife establishments over the decades, Ken and Lisa have always been very cognoscente of a generous tipping.”

  • McDonald’s Plane Crash Sends Pilot To The Hospital

    McDonald’s Plane Crash Sends Pilot To The Hospital

    It was a very close call for one Northern Louisiana McDonald’s restaurant on Tuesday.

    According to airport officials, a small plane that was preparing to land at the Monroe Regional Airport, crashed into the McDonald’s parking lot on Desiard Street in Monroe, barely missing the building, and sending the pilot to the hospital.

    Ron Phillips, the airport’s director, explained that the Beechcraft Bonanza plane was making its way to the landing site when it clipped a tree and started to spin, causing the crash.

    The Monroe McDonald’s is particularly busy, with the Department of Transportation official’s offices across the street. “It could have been a lot worse,” Phillips said.

    The Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office released a statement following the crash. “OPSO is on scene of a small airplane crash in the 8000 block of Desiard St. Initial information obtained is that a v-tail single engine bonanza aircraft with one person on board crash landed into a parking lot at that location,” the statement read. “The pilot (the lone occupant) was removed and airlifted for medical treatment. NTSB has been notified and will investigate the case of the crash.”

    “Hwy 80 from its intersection with hwy 139 to Sandal St. will be closed during this investigation. Updates will follow as information becomes available and as roads re-open,” the statement continued. “The pilot has been airlifted to University Health in Shreveport to be treated for his injuries. There’s no update on his condition.”

    The pilot was identified as Michael Ray Martin, 41, of Calhoun, Louisiana.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Paula Deen Closes Restaurant Without Notice

    “Uncle Bubba’s Seafood & Oyster House,” a restaurant owned by Paula Deen’s brother, Bubba Hiers, closed its doors on Thursday. Deen, a television host and celebrity chef, is part owner of the restaurant. Employees of the Savannah, Georgia restaurant showed up for work and were surprised to see the restaurant closed. The appliances were also being removed from the restaurant.

    The restaurant is known in Savannah for serving fresh seafood. It is located by a marsh, which provides a scenic atmosphere for diners. One of its best dishes is char-grilled oysters. The restaurant also features weekly live band performances.

    “Uncle Bubba’s Seafood & Oyster House” posted a message on their Facebook page saying, “Thank you for 10 great years. Uncle Bubba’s is now closed.”

    The restaurant is at the location where Deen’s racism scandal took place. A former manager of the restaurant, Lisa Jackson, accused Deen and her brother of sexual discrimination and the usage of racial slurs. Deen eventually admitted to using racial epithets, which caused her to lose endorsement deals that amounted to millions of dollars. The lawsuit has since been dismissed, but Deen’s reputation has been permanently tarnished.

    The sudden closing of the restaurant left the relatives of employees disappointed. One relative said “My mother put in some hard work for years with you and she finds out when she shows up for work this morning.” Another user said “My mother worked there for 8 years and no one called her!”

    An official statement from Deen’s side states that employees will be given severance according to their tenure and position in the restaurant. The decision was said to have come from the owner himself, Hiers. The statement also said that the management will be doing their utmost to help find jobs for the employees within other restaurants in Savannah.

    Paula Deen: “I’m Not A Racist”


    Image via YouTube

  • “Tips for Jesus” Tip Thrown Away by Waiter

    “Tips for Jesus” Tip Thrown Away by Waiter

    The year is 2014 and we all now know Harold Camping was wrong; the world did not end in 2011. Regardless of that fact, there are many people out there who still believe the rapture is imminent and that Jesus is coming any minute now. So, what better way to atone for one’s sins immediately by leaving outrageously large tips to waiters and waitresses all over the country?

    While the intent of “Tips for Jesus” is not to buy indulgences and have all of one’s sins washed away, it is making a positive impact across North America. Multiple reports have been filed of restaurant staff receiving irrationally large tips from an extremely good-mannered and well-dressed man.

    Unfortunately for one out-of-touch waiter, the most recent “Tip for Jesus” was thrown in the trash. Ron Kinney, a 67-year-old waiter at a restaurant in West Hollywood, tossed the receipt when he could not recognize the signature on the receipt, thinking the incident was a hoax or mistake: “I was pretty naive, I guess. I thought it was someone who had a drink too many and didn’t realize what they were doing. … We see this all the time. People make mistakes.”

    By the time Kinney and his co-workers realized that the tip was most likely the work of “Tips for Jesus,” it was too late; the receipt was not retrievable: “The money would sure have come in handy for me to help for retirement. We have no such plan at work,” stated Kinney. How much money did Kinney lose out on? Either $4,000 or $7,000 (Handwriting being what it is these days.)

    While “Tips for Jesus” started anonymously and has attempted to stay that way, a waiter at a New York City restaurant recognized the man who left such a tip one night and ousted him as Jack Selby, the former vice president of PayPal.

    Selby accrued his grand fortune when eBay bought PayPal for a cool $1.5 billion in 2002. Since that time, Selby has not pulled a Smaug and sat on his fortune. Rather, he invested his earnings into multiple hedge fund businesses, making millions more.

    With an increase to the federal minimum wage being brought to the table by many members of Congress, perhaps servers will no longer need these monetary boosts. Until any law regarding this matter passes, however, there is only one thing to do: become a waiter / waitress and hope to be stricken by divine intervention.

    Image via Instagram

  • Morton’s Steakhouse Apologizes For Horrible Act

    If you were thinking about going to Morton’s Steakhouse any time soon for a nice end-cut, you better take your hat off when you get there.

    That’s probably what Robert Chambers might suggest, after he was told by the management staff to leave the premises for not taking his hat off. Chambers is a cancer patient who’s currently undergoing chemotherapy.

    It all happened on Friday, Dec. 13 at the restaurant’s Nashville, Tenn. location when Chambers and a dining party of 16 went to Morton’s for a holiday celebration. In total, the bill came to over $2000 and management was told why Chambers had to wear his wool hat, but for some reason the group was still asked to leave and one of the staff people even told Chambers he needed a written doctor’s note if he wanted to keep his beanie on.

    Soon after, word got out via social media and a firestorm against the steakhouse quickly ensued.

    “As disturbing as the treatment of Mr. Chambers was, it is just as disturbing that not one of your employees stood up for the customer, wrote one Facebook user. “From the waitress, to the busboy, to the parking valet, nobody saw fit to question management and console a customer whom had been wronged.”

    Post by Morton's The Steakhouse.

    Post by Morton's The Steakhouse.

    Remarkably, Chambers took the high road and decided to accept an apology from Morton’s and move on. The restaurant chain also announced it would donate $2,000 to St. Jude’s Children Hospital in Nashville to make some sort of amends.

    “Mortan’s fans: We are aware of the situation that happened at our Nashville location over the weekend,” wrote Tim Whitlock, the restaurant’s COO and senior vice president. “We appreciate you all bringing it to our attention, and we have reached out to the parties involved and can assure you that all facts will be uncovered.”

    Chambers then posted a reply: “I just had a 30-minute conversation with Morton’s COO Tim Whitlock,” he wrote. “He and I talked about Friday night and the unfortunate events. He was very apologetic and we had a good discussion. End result, Morton’s will make a donation in the amount of our check to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Apology accepted.”

    However, it’s unlikely the backlash towards Morton’s will go away anytime soon and whether this incident will hurt the chain’s future sales remains to be seen.

    Image via YouTube

  • Customer Finds Marijuana In Wendy’s Cheeseburger

    A customer, who has remained anonymous in the press, found something very startling in her cheeseburger from Wendy’s on November 1. Sitting right on top of her pickle was a half-smoked blunt.

    The customer immediately called 911 to report the extra ingredient found in her burger. Police showed up at the Lovejoy, Georgia location, and arrested Amy Seiber on the charge of possession of marijuana. Once the police arrived at the restaurant, they questioned Seiber who confessed to “misplacing” the blunt. Apparently she had been smoking on the job and conveniently hid the blunt in the burger by mistake. Seiber was immediately fired from her position.

    The customer suffered similar symptoms as having food poisoning and had to be hospitalized. Wendy’s has told the customer that they will pay for her medical bills and even threw in a $50 gift card (if she chooses to eat there again). “Obviously the employee broke the rules and did not follow proper food handling steps … We are deeply sorry that this incident occurred,” a rep for Wendy’s told TMZ.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • McDonald’s Bagged Coffee: Will You Buy It?

    McDonald’s Bagged Coffee: Will You Buy It?

    McDonald’s bagged coffee will soon be coming to a grocery store shelf near you. McDonald’s McCafe specialty coffee went national in 2009, and just four years later, the chain has announced plans to sell bagged coffee in grocery stores.

    Fans of McDonald’s coffee will reportedly be able to purchase ground and whole bean coffee in 12 ounce bags for around $7, plus they will also sell single cup servings. On the plus side, this means McDonald’s coffee fans can enjoy their morning coffee without having to actually wait in a never ending line. On the downside, well, there doesn’t appear to be one, aside from McDonald’s once again expanding its reach.

    The fast food chain is working with Kraft Foods to release their coffee in the U.S. sometime next year. McDonald’s began selling bagged coffee in Canada last year, so the grocery store version must have done fairly well north of the border.

    McDonald’s bagged coffee will be competing with coffee from other national restaurant chains, such as Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. According to The Christian Science Monitor, the bagged coffee industry does around $5.6 billion in sales each year, with 56 percent of Americans reporting that they bought coffee in the supermarket in 2011. It will be interesting to see how the McDonald’s bagged coffee does against the competition. Green Mountain, Folgers and Dunkin Donuts rank as America’s favorite three bagged coffee brands.

    What do you think about McDonald’s selling bagged coffee? Respond below. Let’s just say that most Twitter users were less than enthusiastic about the announcement:

    And in other McDonald’s related news, the burger chain has dropped Heinz ketchup after they hired former Burger King CEO Bernardo Hees.

    [Image via YouTube]

  • Free Chick-Fil-A Breakfast Promo Already Shut Down

    Chick-fil-A has been running a promo recently for a free breakfast entree, but customers had to log on to a website in order to reserve a meal and a time to pick it up; now, with five days left in the giveaway, the company has shut down the site due to an “overwhelming response”.

    The popular Atlanta-based restaurant announced the promotion late last month and the news quickly went viral; between that and an amped-up series of ad placements for the chain’s breakfast menu, word got out at record speed. It’s possible that the company didn’t anticipate just how quickly the spots would fill up or how many people would jump on the site, because several customers took to Twitter to complain about the servers crashing when they tried to make a reservation. A company spokesperson did issue an apology on the social media site, saying that the reservation period was ending early due to so much traffic.

    Steve Robinson, chief marketing officer for the company, says that breakfast has been a huge growth opportunity.

    “The breakfast day part continues to be a tremendous growth opportunity for Chick-fil-A. We have steadily focused on maximizing the breakfast day part with a variety of menu enhancements and promotions over the past several years, and we hope our ‘Breakfast on Us’ promotion will encourage our current customers to try something completely different and also help attract new breakfast customers for us.”

  • Chick-Fil-A Free Breakfast Offer Week of September 9

    There may not be any such thing as a free lunch, but fast food chain Chick-Fil-A is offering customers a free breakfast menu item during the week of September 9. The only thing needed to score the free breakfast is a reservation, which is easily made online.

    This isn’t the first time Chick-Fil-A has offered the “Breakfast on Us” promotion and probably won’t be the last, as the restaurant continues to try to edge into the breakfast market and compete with powerhouse chains such as McDonald’s and Bojangles. With new breakfast items being tested at certain locations, the promotion will likely offer insight on which items to keep on the menu and which items to ditch. “We hope our ‘Breakfast on Us’ promotion will encourage our current customers to try something completely different and also help attract new breakfast customers for us,” said Steve Robinson, chief marketing officer for Chick-Fil-A.

    The restaurant, which came under fire last summer when CEO Dan Cathy made his views on gay marriage public, is offering a limited number of reservations at participating restaurants. Patrons get their choice of a breakfast menu items, including a chicken biscuit, yogurt parfait, oatmeal or a sausage breakfast burrito. If a patron wants something to drink or a side item, that must be purchased separately, but isn’t required to receive the free breakfast entrée.

    The only complaint people have made about the promotion is that making the reservation online is the only way to redeem the free offer, but considering that most people have Internet access, this shouldn’t affect too many free breakfast-seeking patrons. After customers select an available date and time they wish to visit and pick out a menu item, all that’s left is printing out the reservation form.

    Chick-Fil-A’s free breakfast lasts through Saturday, September 14. The promotion is limited to one free entrée per person, and the restaurant is accepting reservations through September 13 as long as slots are available.

    Image via Chick-Fil-A Twitter

  • Restaurant Tip Ban: Sushi Servers Go On Salary

    Restaurant Tip Ban: Sushi Servers Go On Salary

    One New York City restaurant has chosen to forgo the tip route in favor of giving the customer a better dining experience, and many are pretty happy about it.

    Sushi Yasuda co-founder Scott Rosenberg says it was a decision that had a lot of thought put into it, and in the end he feels it was a good one.

    “The diner doesn’t [have to] think about how much to leave and make calculations [after] a contemplative and special meal,” he said. “We’re really sort of just staying connected to that classical approach [of fine Japanese dining].”

    Aside from the benefits for customers, the decision also comes as good news for servers, who are now on salary and receive paid vacations and sick leave. In order to do that, the prices had to be raised slightly…but for a high-end sushi restaurant where the menu often goes well past $100, a little spike in price isn’t likely to affect the demand. While the business model isn’t ideal for everyone, more and more restaurants are taking to the idea of sacrificing tips in order to provide better wages for their employees.

    “Whether or not this is a culinary trend, this is something we’re seeing more of,” Andrew Moesel, spokesman for the New York State Restaurant Association, said.

    The subject of tipping has been a delicate one in recent years as the economy took an ever-increasing hit and servers struggled to survive on a restaurant job alone. In February, an Applebee’s employee was fired after she posted a customer’s receipt to Reddit showing that the woman had written “I give God 10%, why do you get 18%?” The post brought both backlash and support for the waitress and put a spotlight on the restaurant industry.

    For now, it seems customers at Sushi Yasuda are thrilled with the change.

    “One [young guy] said, ‘I’m going to eat 20 percent more sushi,” Rosenberg said.

    Image: Sushi Yasuda

  • Hooters: Free Food on Mother’s Day

    Hooters: Free Food on Mother’s Day

    With their scantily-clad waitresses and focus on sports TV, Hooters restaurants aren’t normally thought of as the place to bring your mother. This Mother’s Day, however, the restaurant chain is encouraging moms to ditch the fancy restaurants for some free chicken wings.

    Hooters this week announced that on Mother’s Day 2013 mothers who bring their children to a Hooters can receive a free (up to $10) entree with the purchase of a drink. No coupon is needed, but each mom must be “accompanied by one or more of her offspring,” according to the Hooters website.

    “Kids of all ages are encouraged to invite their mothers to Hooters for special treatment on Mother’s Day,” said Dave Henninger, CMO of Hooters. “The free entrée deal is just one way for Hooters to show its appreciation for hard-working moms and to provide a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy a delicious meal with the family.”

    This isn’t the first time Hooters has offered a Mother’s Day deal. For Mother’s Day 2012 the restaurant offered moms 10 free boneless wings.

  • ‘Breastaurant’ Trademark Registered by Texas Sports Bar

    Restaurants in which the waitresses wear skimpy outfits have been the norm in the U.S. for decades. Now, one Texas sports bar has taken the moniker “breastaurant” and made it its own.

    Doug Guller, the founder and CEO of Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill, this month trademarked the word “breastaurant” through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Texas restaurant chain has long billed itself as “America’s Only Sports Breastaurant” but has now made the designation official.

    “We’re really excited about receiving this federal trademark,” said Guller. “Our team has worked hard over the last seven years to offer a unique experience to our fans. It just further solidifies that Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill is America’s ONLY ‘breastaurant.’”

    Bikinis offers the standard spread of sports bar fare, such as chicken wings, burgers, nachos, and a variety of beers. The catch is that all of their waitresses dress in cowboy boots, short jean shorts, and bikini tops. The restaurant even sells a yearly bikini calendar featuring its waitresses.

    This isn’t the first time Guller has used naming to gain publicity. Last year he purchased the ghost town of Bankersmith, Texas on Craigslist and renamed the location to Bikinis, Texas. Guller has stated that he intends to turn the town’s empty post office building into a Bikinis hall of fame.

    (Photo courtesy Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill via Facebook)

  • Dunkin’ Donuts Moves Into Southern California

    Dunkin’ Donuts this week announced it will be expanding its stores into Southern California. The restaurant’s goal is to have more than 15,000 Dunkin’ Donuts locations throughout the U.S.

    Multi-unit franchisees are now being recruited throughout the Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Orange counties. New Dunkin’ Donuts locations are expected to open in the area starting in 2015. The company is also looking to sell donuts and coffee in universities, casinos, military bases, supermarkets, airports, and travel centers.

    “This past year was an exciting one for Dunkin’ Donuts’ growth in the United States, and we are delighted to begin 2013 with the long-awaited announcement that Dunkin’ Donuts will be opening restaurants in California, where there is already incredible passion for our brand,” said Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin’ Brands and president of Dunkin’ Donuts U.S. “Expansion to California has always been part of our plan to grow Dunkin’ Donuts’ presence in the U.S. We have maintained our disciplined approach to expand steadily while focusing on initiatives to improve restaurant economics and franchisee profitability. These initiatives include our recent agreement with our franchisee-owned and operated distribution and procurement facility, which ensures the same cost of goods to franchisees in both established and new markets by 2015.”

    Dunkin’ Donuts also announced that it opened 291 new locations in the U.S. during 2012. It has plans to open 330 to 360 new locations in the U.S. in 2013, and not just in Southern California.

    “In addition to California, we believe we have incredible domestic growth opportunities for Dunkin’ Donuts, both east and west of the Mississippi. On a global basis, we remain committed to our long-term development goal, which calls for us to accelerate to approximately a 5 percent net new annual development rate for Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins combined,” said Travis.

  • Chuck E. Cheese Gets a Hip Rock-and-Roll Makeover

    Chuck E. Cheese has apparently lost his appeal with the children. CEC Entertainment Inc., the company that owns the popular children’s pizza restaurants, is attempting to revamp the character for the modern age, a facelift that will include a new look, new attitude, and, yes, a new voice. This Thursday, a brand new campaign for the brand will roll out, featuring Chuck E. Cheese as a guitar-shredding rock star. Jaret Reddick, lead singer for the group Bowling for Soup, will lend his vocal talents to the giant pizza-slinging rat.

    However, this isn’t necessarily good news for all. According to the Associated Press, Duncan Brannan, the man who was hired to transform a cigar-smoking rat into a lovable restaurant mascot, found out about his replacement when he accidentally stumbled across “Chuck’s Hot New Single” online. It was then that he realized the character he’d played for years was being voiced by someone else. CEC Entertainment claims that Brannan wasn’t fire — they simply hired someone else to do the job. What a way to go.

    Of course, the company has had its own share of woes as of late. In addition to watching its shares fall 4.2 percent in the first quarter, CEC Entertainment has also lowered its forecast for the year, citing such factors as rent and the price ingredients. With the new Chuck E. Cheese looming on the horizon, CEC is hoping that it can draw in families with its hipper mascot.

    The first location of Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre opened in California back in 1977. The company was formed by Atari and Pong founder Nolan Bushnell, who used his love of The Walt Disney Company as inspiration for the look and feel of the chain. In 1979, two employees of Chuck E. Cheese left the restaurant to form Showbiz Pizza, which would ultimately utilize the same look and feel while utilizing animatronic animals to lure in customers.

    If you’re curious to know what Chuck’s cool new single sounds like, take a trip to the official website. It’s about what you’d expect it to be. Additionally, you can sample some snarky Twitter reactions to the Cheese shake-up, none of which seem to treat the news very seriously.

    This one isn’t so much about the change as it is flat-out funny.

  • LivingSocial Launches Takeout & Delivery

    LivingSocial Launches Takeout & Delivery

    LivingSocial has just announced the launch of Takeout & Delivery, an online restaurant platform which allows users to order food from thousands of local diners for pickup or delivery. LivingSocial has used its Instant service as a testing ground for Takeout & Delivery, and will be transitioning to and expanding upon all of its markets nationwide.

    Greg Mazanec, GM of LivingSocial Takeout & Delivery explains,

    “We’ve been able to expand our reach and gain new customers by offering Takeout & Delivery through LivingSocial. Consumer adoption of new technologies works best when it simplifies something they were already doing. Consumers aren’t pulling their phones out to search for the nearest real-time discount on a car inspection or framing service. They are, however, looking for a faster and better way to order food from their favorite local restaurants. By pivoting our Instant business to focus on Takeout & Delivery, we’re helping our restaurant merchants better connect with new and existing customers, while also saving our members time and money.”

    Takeout & Delivery users can order carryout or delivery online, bypassing phones and long lines, or searching for cash. First-time Takeout & Delivery users can order for just a dollar with a $1 for $10 introductory offer available at LivingSocial.com.

    Takeout & Delivery offers restaurants an opportunity to advertise their menus and draw new customers – LivingSocial now offers a full suite of marketing services for restaurants, from online ordering with Takeout & Delivery to high-end dining with Gourmet, along with its traditional daily deals.

    Jesse Mencow, Manager of California Tortilla in Washington, D.C. states, “It just made sense to partner with LivingSocial on their new ordering product – We’ve been able to expand our reach and gain new customers by offering Takeout & Delivery through LivingSocial.”

    In addition to D.C., 25 new markets can now utilize Takeout & Delivery from LivingSocial.

  • Flavor Flav Opens Fried Chicken Restaurant In Vegas

    53-year old rapper Flavor Flav, recently best known for his foray into reality television with the show “Flavor Of Love“, has opened a restaurant in Las Vegas called–what else–Flavor Flav’s House Of Flavor.

    Flav says the restaurant will be take-out only and will serve, among other things, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and something called Red Velvet Waffles, which sounds amazing to this foodie. He claims the chicken is made from his own recipe, which is special enough to differentiate it from other chicken joints.

    “Well, first of all it’s the seasonings that I use,” he told The Inquisitor. “And second of all, it’s the way that I fry my chicken. If you take Church’s Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeyes’ chicken, you gotta know their secret is the breading that’s around the chicken. If you peel that breading off, you may taste some of the seasonings from the breading, but it’s really like boiled meat. Now, the secret with my chicken is I season my chicken first real good, then I send it to straight to unflavored flour, and I let the seasonings from my chicken season the flour when it’s fried, that way when you bite into my chicken, you get that double flavor explosion … Mine is double good, theirs is singly good.”

    Public reaction appears to be pretty good so far; hopefully this will be more successful for Flav than his previous delve into the food business, when he opened a restaurant in Iowa that closed after just 13 weeks due to conflicts with his partner.

    (image)@TVreality
    TV reality    PHOTOS Flavor Flav /chicken take-out restaurant in Las Vegas – should be tasty!!!! – http://t.co/xVXll8a6(image) 1 hour ago via HootSuite ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@katiekenner
    Katie Kenner    I’m going to be one of the first!“@vegasnewsnow: Photos: Flavor Flav’s new Las Vegas restaurant House of Flavor http://t.co/TZZ5qhuj #vegas”(image) 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@stevenwbeattie
    stevenwbeattie    On March 15, there is a ribbon cutting ceremony for Flavor Flav’s House of Flavor, a new Las Vegas fried chicken restaurant. Yeah, boyeee!(image) 6 days ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Restaurant Calls 1% Tip Story a Hoax

    Restaurant Calls 1% Tip Story a Hoax

    A Newport Beach, CA banker recently prompted public outrage after apparently leaving a 1% tip for a waitress named Breanna, adding a small note to the check reading “get a real job.” But according to the True Food Kitchen, the restaurant where the tip and advice were given, the whole thing is a hoax.

    Apparently, a picture of the note on the check ended up on a blog called Future Ex Banker, which has since been deleted. The blog was moderated by an employee of the “wealthy banker” in question, and a caption with the original photo of the check read:

    Mention the “99%” in my boss’ presence and feel his wrath. So proudly does he wear his 1% badge of honor that he tips exactly 1% every time he feels the server doesn’t sufficiently bow down to his Holiness. Oh, and he always makes sure to include a “tip” of his own.

    Clever. The deleted blog also read:

    I work in the corporate office of a major bank for a boss who represents everything wrong with the financial industry: blatant disregard and outright contempt for everyone and everything he deems beneath him. On top of that, he’s a complete and utter tool. At the same time, I’m still cashing paychecks, an admittedly willing—albeit reluctant—cog in the wheel of this increasingly ugly industry, so I’ve created this blog as a confessional of sorts. It won’t entirely clear my conscience, but hopefully it’ll help. I’m sure I’ll get fired eventually. Until then, enjoy.

    Soon after Future Ex Banker blew up on the web, the author deleted it, lacking the courage of his or her convictions – though the Occupy Movement surely got very excited about the whole thing, initially – the story was so easy, but in the end, too good to be true. Below is a copy of the actual receipt and tip left for the waitress:

    (image)

    So basically, a Future Ex Banker went out of his or her way to insult a waitress named Breanna, to somehow “confess” to the Occupy Movement anonymously on the internet, only to subsequently take the whole thing offline, likely after those aforementioned paychecks were threatened. This is kind of like when I wear North Face clothes to go stare at kayaks at the mall, never to actually float on one – a pedestrian and cowardly reaction to some vague notion or ideal.