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[12/1 Update: See announcement of McD's President Ralph Alvarez's impending retirement here.] McDonald’s redesigned midtown Manhattan restaurant, reimagined with what the Associated Press called “European style,” received an astonishing amount of wide-eyed coverage and surprisingly little analysis. French architect Philippe Avanzi’s interior is nice but it’s most important as a tangible indication of a significant shift in [...]

[July 2010 update: BK repositions the Bourbon Whopper as "Taste of the Deep South"] While Burger King arm wrestles with U.S. franchisees over the mandated $1 Double Cheeseburger, the chain has rolled out a new premium-price burger in Canada. The Bourbon Whopper takes its name from the nonalcoholic, “sweet & tangy,” bourbon-flavored sauce that partners with [...]

Burger King is trying again to establish itself as a breakfast power in the UK, this time by actually opening during breakfast hours and by reengineering the menu. BK units now open for breakfast at 8 a.m. after previously waiting until 10 a.m., after the breakfast rush was over. And the chain wondered why it [...]

[Update: We were correct on Hardee's Portobello Mushroom Melt Thickburger. See our earlier trend-spotting post on melts.  See Hardee's commercial here.] ► Hardee’s today will announce another new menu product because it has been about 19 minutes (OK, three weeks) since the last new item—Smothered Country Potatoes—made their debut. We reported last week that sources say the [...]

Projecting same-store sales in the current quarter to be as much as 10% below year-earlier levels, Jack in the Box Chairman-CEO Linda Lang boldly outlined significant strategic changes in menu product mix, advertising message, media buys and more in the months ahead. In the chain’s 2009 fiscal fourth quarter earnings call with securities analysts on [...]

In July, CKE Restaurants CEO Andrew Puzder told this site that the sagging economy has resulted in declining combo-meal sales, and he stressed that he wouldn’t mimic competitors’ deep discounting. Now, after reporting a sharp decrease in same-store sales for Carl’s Jr., CKE has a new strategy to boost combo-meal sales and is discounting  its Original Six Dollar Cheeseburger.  Introducing the [...]

Burger King operates under a different name—Hungry Jack’s—in Australia, but it is following the same fearless, feisty marketing strategies it uses in the United States. Although outnumbered by McDonald’s down under, BK/Hungry Jack on Nov. 17 launches the Angry Angus burger to take on the Grand Angus and Mighty Angus burgers unveiled in August by [...]

Richard Blais gained notoriety as the faux-hawked favorite on Season 4 of “Top Chef.” Now he’s best known as chef-proprietor of Atlanta’s Flip Burger Boutique, where almost everything—from ossobuco to Korean barbecue to country-fried steak—can be inspiration for a new-age burger on one of the burger world’s most interesting menus.     But Flip—which opened in December 2008—is [...]

If you can’t change the beef, change the bun. Checker’s/Rally’s this week became the latest restaurant chain to dump a bun in favor of toast by introducing a new Toasted Spicy Queso Melt. The double-patty burger is topped with “crunchy fire sticks,” pepper-Jack cheese slices and cheese sauce. The classic American Toasted Double Melt with American [...]

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b9j0Y2pV_MOn Sept. 30, McDonald’s in Australia (where it’s known as Macca’s) launched “Macca’s Chef,” a 9-episode, weekly online series that airs during the popular “Celebrity MasterChef” program. McDonald’s series is a parody of chef competitions, following two restaurant trainees—Steve and Chris—and their chef/mentor Jean-Pierre as the guys learn to properly cook the new Mighty Angus burgers. [...]

Five years ago, Russ Klein began a presentation to the Harvard Business School with a slide that read, “When they know you more than love you.” Burger King Corp. announced today that Klein (left) has resigned as president for global marketing strategy and innovation, effective on Dec. 15, 2009. And it can be argued that [...]

Good morning! Here’s what to watch for today: ► Wendy’s today launches yet another element in its “When it’s real” campaign, this one self-contained on Twitter. “The Hunt for the Biggest Bacon Fan” invites consumers to follow Wendy’s UrBaconMeCrazy site and send tweets that include the hashtag “#bacon.” Doing so earns points; the person with [...]

[Dec. 14 Update: Jack in the Box accelerating breakfast push. see it here.] [Dec. 4 Update: BK testing $1 English muffin sandwich to compete. See it here.] McDonald’s reportedly will expand nationally the “Mix from Six” $1 breakfast menu it has been testing in Chicago. Meanwhile, Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts—one of the breakfast category’s toughest [...]

Often it takes a tragedy to make two parties’ feud seem trivial and bring them back together. For Red Robin Gourmet Burger and television advertising, that sad situation is the very challenging business environment that has severely depressed the casual-dining chain’s sales. Reversing a very public breakup earlier this year, when it dismissed TV advertising [...]

What we’ve learned: However tasty, applewood-smoked bacon isn’t powerful enough to counter this recession’s downward suction. How we know that: Same-store sales for company-owned Wendy’s units declined 4% in October despite the $75 million launch of the “You know when it’s real” ad campaign and the Bacon Deluxe cheeseburger. What happens now: Wendy’s may want [...]