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Luby’s Inc., which purchased burger chain Fuddruckers two years ago, came back for seconds this week, announcing it will acquire the 23-unit Cheeseburger in Paradise chain. Houston based Luby’s will pay $11 million plus “customary reimbursements for cash-on-hand, inventory, and accounts receivable offset by liabilities assumed at closing.” Prior-year revenues for those Cheeseburger in Paradise [...]

McDonald’s is making significant strategic changes in Japan where the chain sees a shift in consumer dining toward in-home dining. As a result, it plans a national rollout of home delivery service as well as expansion of McCafé in its second-largest market. McDonald’s Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd., an affiliate company 50% owned by McDonald’s Corp., [...]

Memphis-based burger chain Back Yard Burgers filed a pre-negotiated Chapter 11 reorganization plan on Oct. 17, 2012, with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Southeast regional QSR characterized the filing as the final phase of a plan to restructure debt, reduce operating expenses, and “position Back Yard Burgers to grow its [...]

The latest survey of McDonald’s franchisees conducted by Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski offers some insight into how remodeling investments and marketing programs such as discounting are viewed by some operators. Their unease about the cash-flow impact of “re-imaging” contrasts with the standard corporate view that such investments are vital to keep brands relevant [...]

Itself the target of a territory invasion by Pizza Hut’s P’Zolo, Subway is breaking down restaurant category barriers, too, with its take on burgers. A three-item line of Angus Melt sandwiches is being offered this month in 1,236 Subway restaurants in Atlanta, Detroit, Nashville and Macon and Northeast Georgia. The line includes Classic Angus Melt, [...]

Pal’s Sudden Service is almost unknown nationally but loved with cult-like ardor in its Tennessee/Virginia territory. Its 23 funky, boxy double-drive-thru restaurants tell you that Pal’s isn’t like other QSRs, which has been a point of pride since Pal Barger founded it in 1956. The Kingsport, Tenn.-based chain’s menu is limited to a few burgers, [...]

A year ago, Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s brash “We Believe in Burgers” TV commercial proclaimed, “We believe in putting hot models in our commercials because ugly ones don’t sell burgers.” That commercial may not have been politically correct but it is empirically true: The two chains reported solid sales for the 16-week quarter ended May 21, 2012, a [...]

Starbucks’ $100 million acquisition of San Francisco-based Bay Bread LLC and its La Boulange bakery brand speeds the transformation of its coffee shops into bakery/cafes. As such, many observers see Starbucks looking to take share from top bakery/cafe brand Panera Bread. But Starbucks may also be moving to blunt the rapid growth of McCafé. Coffee [...]

Craig Culver, his wife, Lea, and his parents opened the first Culver’s Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers restaurant (a converted A&W) in Sauk City, Wis., in 1984. Culver’s now is the 11th largest burger chain in the U.S., with more than 450 locations in 19 states. Craig Culver remains its CEO and its guiding force. Last [...]

CKE Inc., the parent of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger chains, is the latest restaurant company to jump back into the public-ownership pool, filing for an initial public offering of stock that could raise an estimated $100 million. This reverses the public-to-private route taken in July 2010 when CKE was acquired and taken private [...]

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers expanded and reconfigured its F&B-development staff by hiring away executives from three other restaurant chains. The new hires will work with Scott Schooler, VP-Food & Beverage, and Executive Chef David Woolley, both of whom continue in those roles. Scott Weaver joins Red Robin in the newly created post of director of [...]

Fast-casual continues to be the engine driving overall restaurant growth, and Five Guys Burgers and Fries remains the leader among fast-casual burger-menu restaurants, according to new data from Chicago-based Technomic. Technomic has increased to 150 from 100 the number of top fast-casual chain brands covered in its annual report, in itself an indication of the [...]

Each year, Peter Backman travels from London to the NRA Show in Chicago to have a look at what’s up with the U.S. foodservice industry. The managing director of Horizons, the UK’s leading provider of data and insights about foodservice there and across Europe, Backman brings a unique perspective and authority to his assessment not [...]

Burger King announced a surprisingly strong beginning to 2012, reporting positive sales gains for most of its system. The U.S./Canada division had comp sales growth of +4.2% for the quarter that ended March 31, 2012 (compared with -2.0% for Q4 and -6.0% a year ago). This is the chain’s best showing in North America in [...]

Coming to Chicago for the NRA Show this weekend? Then you’ll want to visit several of the city’s best burger joints.  You don’t think former President Bill Clinton’s coming just to deliver the keynote address do you? Even if you’re not coming to the Show this year, you’ll want to know what some of the [...]