{"id":12900,"date":"2019-10-30T11:26:36","date_gmt":"2019-10-30T15:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom.chainstoreguide.com\/?p=12900"},"modified":"2019-10-30T11:26:36","modified_gmt":"2019-10-30T15:26:36","slug":"datatrac-restaurant-foodservice-october-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/2019\/10\/datatrac-restaurant-foodservice-october-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"DATATRAC: Restaurant & Foodservice \u2013 October 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Personnel Updates<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u2022\u00a0Black Bear Diners Inc. (27) <\/strong>has announced the appointment of Steve Sparks to CFO. This role was previously handled by company President Anita Adams in addition to her other duties.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Brinker International (52)<\/strong> has promoted Ellie Doty to Chief Marketing Officer and Senior VP of their Chili\u2019s Grill & Bar<\/strong> brand.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Bubbakoo\u2019s Burritos (7)<\/strong> has hired Gus DiGiovanni as Vice President of Operations and Development. DiGiovanni spent the past nine years serving as Director of Operations for Dunkin\u2019 Brands.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Coolgreens (8)<\/strong> has announced the promotion of Amanda Powell to VP of Operations. Powell previously served as Director of Operations and Training at the company.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Doctor\u2019s Associates Inc. (72)<\/strong> has announced the appointment of Carrie Walsh as Chief Marketing Officer. Walsh most recently served as Senior VP of Marketing at Michael\u2019s Companies.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Dunkin\u2019 Brands Group Inc. (65)<\/strong> has announced that CMO Tony Weisman will be stepping down on December 1st<\/sup>. A search for a replacement will take place immediately. The company also announced the appointment of Pancho Gonzalez to Regional VP of Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Global Franchise Group (19)<\/strong> has announced that Chris Cheek has been hired to serve as Chief Development Officer. Annica Conrad has been promoted to Exec VP of Brand Marketing, Pam Maxwell was promoted to VP of Franchise Operations and Lisa Cheatham was named VP of Growth Marketing.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Good Times Restaurants Inc. (13)<\/strong> has announced the resignation of CEO Boyd Hoback. CFO Ryan Zink will serve as the company\u2019s Interim CEO.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Huddle House Inc. (21)<\/strong> has announced Tim Linderman as Chief Development Officer. Previously, Lindermann was in the same role at Global Franchise Group LLC.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Inspire Brands (22)<\/strong> has promoted Christopher Fuller to the role of Chief Communications Officer. Fuller previously served as senior vice president, brand and corporate communications director for the company\u2019s Arby\u2019s brand.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Jack in the Box Inc. (39)<\/strong> has announced that three executives will be leaving the company in Q1 next year. Chief Legal and Risk Officer Phillip Rudolph will leave the company February 28th<\/sup>, 2020. Additionally, Chief of Staff and Strategy Mark Blankenship and Controller and Treasurer Paul Melancon will both be leaving January 3rd<\/sup>, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Juice It Up (11)<\/strong> has announced the appointment of Natalie Eaglin as Director of Marketing. Eaglin had previously served for seven years at California Pizza Kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Native Foods Caf\u00e9 LLC (6)<\/strong> has announced Carin Stutz will be taking over the CEO and President roles. Stutz most recently served as COO of Red Robin.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Noodles & Company (21)<\/strong> has announced that Chief Brand Officer Chas Hermann will be leaving the company effective January 31, 2020. The search for a new Chief Brand Officer has begun.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Paris Baguette USA Inc. (8)<\/strong> has hired Gregg Koffler as VP of Franchise Sales and Development. Koffler had previously held positions at Smashburger and Corner Bakery Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Premier Food Concepts, LLC (13)<\/strong> has announced the appointment of Rich Pinnella as the company\u2019s first Chief Brand Officer. Bob Bartlett has also been named the company\u2019s new Chief Financial Officer.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0RAVE Restaurant Group Inc (17)<\/strong> has named Brandon Solano as CEO. Solano replaces President Robert Bafundo who was serving as Interim CEO in addition to his duties as President.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (29)<\/strong> has announced that new board member David Pace will become Chairman November 1st<\/sup>. He will replace current chair Pattye Moore.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Shake Shack Inc. (68)<\/strong> has given CFO Tara Comonte the additional title of President. This expanded role will be in conjunction with her current duties as CFO.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Taco Bell Corp (41)<\/strong> has announced that Chief People Officer Frank Tucker will be stepping down effective January 1st<\/sup>, 2020. He will be replaced by Kelly McCulloch who currently serves as Chief People Officer of sister brand Pizza Hut.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Tim Hortons Inc. (21)<\/strong> has announced that former Global CMO Axel Schwan has been promoted to Regional President for the U.S. and Canada. He will report to Global President Alex Macedo.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Tropical Smoothie Franchise Development Corp. (28)<\/strong> has announced the appointment of Michael Lapid to serve as Chief Information and Digital Officer and Mark Montini as Chief Marketing Officer.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Your Pie Corporate (11)<\/strong> has announced that Lisa Dimson will serve as the company first Chief Marekting Officer. Dimson has previous served in positions at Yum! Brands and Tropical Smoothie among others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mergers & Acquisitions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u2022\u00a0Arc Group Inc. <\/strong>has purchased Winghouse Inc.<\/strong> from Third Lake Capital for $18 million. The deal consisted of $12 million in cash and $6 million in stock payments over the next three years.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.<\/strong> has purchased Maple Street Biscuit Company<\/strong> for $36 million.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Inspire Brands<\/strong> has completed their acquisition of Jimmy John\u2019s Franchise LLC. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Kona Grill Inc. <\/strong>has been purchased by The ONE Group LLC<\/strong>. The transaction cost $25 million in cash and had the company take on $11 million in working capital liabilities.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Landry\u2019s Restaurants Inc.<\/strong> has purchased Del Frisco\u2019s Double Eagle Steakhouse and Del Frisco\u2019s Grill. Del Frisco\u2019s Restaurant Group Inc. had just been acquired by L Catteron<\/strong> but as part of the deal the company sold two of the Del Frisco\u2019s concepts to Landry\u2019s. Landry\u2019s also purchased 17 restaurants under various banner names from the failing Restaurants Unlimited Inc<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Salad Collective<\/strong> is the newly formed entity of fast-casual brands MAD Greens<\/strong> and Snappy Salads<\/strong>. Darden Coors, CEO of MAD Greens will retain that position at the newly formed company. Snappy Salads CEO Chris Dahlander will now serve on the new company\u2019s board of directors.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0WKS Restaurant Corp<\/strong> has purchased 94 Denny\u2019s locations from QK Holdings LLC<\/strong>.\u00a0 This makes WKS the largest franchisee for the brand which is a title held by QK prior to the transaction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Industry Insight<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u2022\u00a0Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. <\/strong>has announced that they are expanding their \u2018Chipotle Cultivate Education\u2019 program. The company has said it is offering debt-free college degrees for eligible employees. The program included 75 different degree types from partnered universities.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Coffee & Bagel Brands<\/strong> has announced the testing of a new product for their Einstein Bros. Bagels brand. The company is testing the \u2018Bagelrito\u2019 at five locations in Denver.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0KFC Corporation<\/strong> on October 17th<\/sup> launched their \u2018Seasoned Tickets\u2019 marketing campaign. 500 people were able to purchase tickets entitling them to 48 Kentucky Fried Wings every week for 10 weeks for the price of $75. The tickets completely sold out in less than two hours.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0McDonald\u2019s Corporation<\/strong> is conducting a 12-week test of their own meat alternative product. The \u2018P.L.T.\u2019 is comprised of a Beyond Meat branded patty that was made specifically for McDonald\u2019s. The trial is taking place in 28 restaurants in Ontario.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Noodles & Company<\/strong> has launched a Cauliflower-infused pasta. The product maintains the same texture and taste as their core product but merits more nutritional value.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Pizza Hut Inc.<\/strong> is conducting a market test at one location in Phoenix Arizona. The company will be serving a plant-based sausage by MorrningStar Farms and will be serving pizza in a ROUND box.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc.<\/strong> has announced the return of their coveted Chicken Sandwich on November 3rd<\/sup>. The company is coincidentally releasing the sandwich on a Sunday; the one day of the week that a certain competitor happens to be closed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Financial Focus<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u2022\u00a0Burger King Worldwide Inc.<\/strong> announced that their initial trial of their Impossible Whopper back in August in Saint Louis drove an 18% increase in traffic. Since the nationwide release of the Impossible Whopper Burger King has seen a 2% jump in traffic when compared to McDonald\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. <\/strong>posted an 11% increase in same-store sales growth for the third quarter. The company brought in $1.4 billion in revenue this quarter compared to $1.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc.<\/strong> helped fuel the Chicken War feud back in August with the release of their Chicken Sandwich. This feud actually helped drive a 2% traffic increase in August for quick-service restaurants. With the impending reintroduction of their chicken sandwich starting November 3rd<\/sup> it will be interesting if the product will cause a similar effect this time.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Twin Restaurant Holding LLC<\/strong> saw a 3.3% increase in sales and a 1.3% increase in traffic for the third quarter. The company has seen rising numbers since the beginning of the year which sets a positive outlook for the 4th<\/sup> quarter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Real Estate<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u2022\u00a0Burger King Worldwide Inc.<\/strong> has signed a deal to open their first locations in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The deal is in partnership with Tallink Grupp who has exclusive rights for the Baltic countries. A location in Estonia will open this winter with locations in the other two countries expected in the first half of 2020.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Captain D\u2019s LLC<\/strong> is expanding its reach in the Midwest. The company recently signed deals to bring two new locations to Illinois. The company also plans to open locations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chillicothe, Ohio by year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Chick-fil-A Inc.<\/strong> has been told that they will not be able to extend their lease past their six-month test trial in England. The Reading, England location is located in a shopping center and after pressure from local LGBTQ rights groups the owners of the plaza have stated they will not extend the lease.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Cowboy Chicken Inc.<\/strong> has announced the opening of their third location in California. On October 16th<\/sup> the brand offered its customers original menu pricing from 1981 in order to celebrate the new location\u2019s opening and pay homage to when the brand first started.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0CraftWorks Holdings<\/strong> has announced the opening of their first Utah location of their Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom concept. It is the 109th<\/sup> location of the concept nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Famous Dave\u2019s of America Inc.<\/strong> has announced the opening of its new prototype store in Minneapolis. The store will be opening in Q4 of this year and will emphasize the company\u2019s focus on reducing the square footage of their locations size.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Farmer Boys Food Inc.<\/strong> has announced that their milestone 100th<\/sup> restaurant will open in November in Perris, CA. This is significant in the fact that the brand originally started in Perris almost 40 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Fat Brands Inc<\/strong>. has announced the company\u2019s first Texas location. The space will be a co-branded store of the company\u2019s Fatburger and Buffalo\u2019s concepts.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Fazoli\u2019s Restaurant LLC<\/strong> has announced that two new franchised locations are coming to Missouri in early 2020. The company also plans on bringing three new locations to Florida as well.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0FreeRange Concepts<\/strong> has announced the signing of a new franchise deal that will bring three new locations of their MUUTS Canine Cantina concept to the Denver, Colorado area.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0McAlister\u2019s Corporation<\/strong> has entered into a franchise agreement to develop 47 restaurants in Florida, Louisiana and Texas over the next seven years.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0MOD Pizza LLC<\/strong> has announced plans to break into the Canadian market. The company has signed a development deal to bring five locations to Vancouver Island. The company has also increased a deal with one of their franchisees. 20 additional locations will be coming to Colorado and Wyoming over the next few years.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Moe\u2019s Southwest Grill LLC<\/strong> has opened their first location in Minnesota in partnership with HMS Host. The restaurant is located in the St. Paul airport.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0MOOYAH Franchise LLC<\/strong> has announced their plans to bring 26 locations of their MOOYAH Burgers and Fries concept to the greater Houston, Texas area by 2021.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Nathan\u2019s Famous Inc.<\/strong> has announced that the company plans on expanding their footprint into the Middle East and Dubai.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Potbelly Corporation<\/strong> has announced a franchise deal to bring 4 locations of their brand to Macy\u2019s department stores in California and New York.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Restaurant Development Group LLC<\/strong> has announced that they will be bringing their BurgerFi concept to Air Force bases starting next year. The first unit is predicted to be a base in Arizona with locations in Alaska and Montana to follow.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Schlotzsky\u2019s Ltd.<\/strong> has signed a franchise deal with Lotzapan LLC to bring 10 new locations to southern Texas.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Starbucks Corporation<\/strong> has announced the opening of their first location in Turks and Caicos. The store is located on Grand Turk.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Super Chix, Inc.<\/strong> has opened the company\u2019s first ever franchised location. The restaurant is in Huntsville, Alabama and the company intends to open another location by year\u2019s end in Utah.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0The Krystal Co.<\/strong> has announced that they have inked a 3 unit franchise deal with Slider Joint, LLC. This will be the brand\u2019s first new franchisee in almost 15 years. The locations will be in the Jonesboro Arkansas market.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Tropical Smoothie Franchise Development Corp.<\/strong> has signed an additional 64 franchise agreements in the 3rd<\/sup> quarter while already having explosive growth throughout the year. The company plans to sign a total of 200 agreements by year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Technology<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u2022\u00a0Burger King Worldwide Inc.<\/strong> has now partnered with Uber Eats nationwide for delivery. To stimulate the campaign, Uber Eats offered free delivery during a portion of the month.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Chick-fil-A Inc.<\/strong> has launched a \u2018Dine-in mobile ordering\u2019 option for their guests. While using their proprietary app, customers can sit at a table in the restaurant\u2019s lobby and order their food without waiting in line. A server will then bring the food to their table.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0KFC Corporation <\/strong>has rolled out QSR Automation\u2019s ConnectSmart Kitchen software in the U.K. and Ireland. The software was launched across 900 locations and helps reduce order errors and improve customer experience by decreasing wait time.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0McDonald\u2019s Corporation<\/strong> has launched their new \u2018Apply Thru\u2019 campaign. Users can start the process of filling out a job application for the nearest McDonald\u2019s simply by activating their voice-activated device such as Amazon\u2019s Alexa or Google Assistant.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Outback Steakhouse Restaurants<\/strong> has had AI learning analyze customer and employee interactions at a handful of their franchised locations. The tech, developed by Presto, has cameras set up in the lobby to analyze interactions as well as collect data about wait times and if customers are being greeted promptly after entering the restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Rubio\u2019s Restaurants Inc.<\/strong> has partnered with Healthy Dining to launch their \u2018MyMenu 2.0\u2019 platform. The service allows customers to find menu options based on their personal dietary lifestyle such as vegetarian or keto. It also provides nutrition and allergen info as well as pictures of the menu options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Personnel Updates \u2022\u00a0Black Bear Diners Inc. (27) has announced the appointment of Steve Sparks to CFO. This role was previously handled by company President Anita Adams in addition to her other duties. \u2022\u00a0Brinker International (52) has promoted Ellie Doty to Chief Marketing Officer and Senior VP of their Chili\u2019s Grill & Bar brand. \u2022\u00a0Bubbakoo\u2019s Burritos… Continue reading DATATRAC: Restaurant & Foodservice \u2013 October 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"post-template-no-sidebar.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-12900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-restaurant-foodservice","tag-eupdate","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12900\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}