The Big News
Ruth's Chris to buy Mitchell's Fish Markets, 2 steak brands
HEATHROW , Fla. (Nov. 6) Looking for other growth vehicles within the high-end sector, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Inc. said today that it would purchase 19 seafood restaurants and three steakhouses from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC for $94 million.
Viewpoint
It's Really Not So Bad...Or Is It?
It is undoubtedly a good thing most of us attending the Restaurant Finance & Development Conference in Las Vegas arrived via airliner and had to clear TSA scrutiny prior to departure. I fear if we had handguns many of us might have taken our own lives following the morning economic presentations. Thank heavens John Hamburger had the foresight to book Dennis Miller as the lunch speaker to bring levity to the situation.Branding
Everyone Talks A Good "Brand Game," But Just What Is A Restaurant Brand?
Everyone in the restaurant world is talking about "The Brand"-how to build one, how to nurture one, how to become one. Branding is a really sexy topic, and a whole lot more fun to discuss in public than reducing trans fats or sourcing organic chickens.
FYI Candidates
Gambling on the "Sticky" Employee: Why A Longer Tenure is a Good Investment
There's a great line in "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers that says, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em; know when to walk away and know when to run." What was intended for card sharks still rings true for today's savvy job candidates: Do you know when to hold 'em - or when to run?
Executive Movements
ATLANTA - CHERYL A. BACHELDER, a one-time president of KFC, has been named chief executive of AFC ENTERPRISES INC. and president of its 1,878-unit POPEYES CHICKEN & BISCUITS chain.
PLANO, Texas - METROMEDIA RESTAURANT GROUP
said Tuesday that it had named ROBERT HOFFMAN president of its family-steakhouse group, which includes more than 300 BONANZA and PONDEROSA restaurants.
Financial Overview
BK posts profit jump, discloses secondary offering
MIAMI - On the strength of longer hours, a breakfast value menu and movie promotions, Burger King Holdings Inc. reported on Monday a 23-percent jump in its first-quarter profit over the same period a year earlier, on total revenue that rose 10 percent to $602 million.
OAKVILLE, Ontario - TIM HORTONS INC., owner of the mostly franchised chain of 3,110 doughnut specialty quick-service restaurants, on Friday reported a 30-percent year-over year jump in third-quarter profit on an 18.6-percent increase in revenue to the equivalent of about $494.5 million U.S. dollars.