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Burger King’s owners have continued the housecleaning they began by installing Bernardo Hees as CEO last fall. Now the 3G Capital ownership group has reorganized the global brand management and operations functions. The most visible shakeup is the immediate departure of EVP-Global Chief Marketing Officer Natalia Franco after just nine months on the job. And once again [...]

[Updated 3/1 with Czech McBox news] McDonald’s has broadened its test of boxed family meals by introducing two Family Breakfast Box meals in Malaysia. At the same time, McDonald’s has introduced the dinner concept in Europe, offering McBox meals in the Czech Republic. With enough breakfast food for 2-to-3 or 3-to-4 family members, the new Malaysian boxes [...]

There may be more grilled sandwiches and new chicken items in Jack in the Box’s menu future, while burger and salad LTOs could be downplayed as a result of rapidly rising costs for many commodities. Jack in the Box reported positive same-store sales for both company (+1.5%) and franchised stores (+0.9%) for its first fiscal [...]

Tom Galis loves burgers but the burger business itself is starting to leave him a little cold. Galis (officially Gialamboukis, but no one calls him that) operates the six Goodburger locations in New York City, and he readily concedes that his restaurants’ are like reliable Toyota Corollas parked among amenity-laden BMWs. It may not be flashy, [...]

Breakfast and lunch sandwiches neatly intersect at Burger King in Japan, where the chain is promoting  BK Single with Egg and BK Single with Egg & Cheese burgers. These are a Japanese extension of the egg-topped-burger trend BurgerBusiness.com noted last month when Smashburger rolled out the egg-topped Sin City Smashburger, Red Robin revived its Royal Red [...]

opted last year to keep “I’m lovin’ it” as its global ad slogan, but if the chain rethinks that decision, “There’s a McDonald’s for everyone” is in the running. That’s the positioning used in the “Favourites” TV campaign in the UK, created by Leo Burnett/London. The first commercial, in October 2009, was built around a [...]

Monday is Presidents Day. It’s a holiday for many, though a difficult one to celebrate. No one goes out to dinner to toast George Washington’s birthday, and candy or flowers seem excessive. But some sort of recognition is due.       Given President Obama’s propensity for ducking out of the White House for visits to Five Guys [...]

Former NFL coach and current steakhouse entrepreneur Don Shula announced plans to open a chain of fast-casual burger restaurants under the Shula Burger name.  Shula said in a release that the first franchisee is being sought in Florida, with 100 locations projected within 10 years. That’s an ambitious timetable in this economy, but the chain [...]

Already crossing into fast-casual territory in menu and pricing, McDonald’s in France is testing limited table service that could continue to move brand perceptions out of the “fast food” realm. At 50 of its 120 Paris locations that have McCafés and touchpad order/pay terminals, McDonald’s staff bring out McCafé orders to seated customers. The chain [...]

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers next week begins what may be its most important promotion ever as it brings back the Prime Chophouse Burger, tries a bold pricing tactic and adds happy hours.  The chain introduced the Prime Chophouse Burger one year ago, putting it on the menu at the discount price of $5.99 (most of its [...]

Hooters hasn’t given up on its signature chicken wings nor asked its servers to dress like adults, but it is conceding that a full menu needs an array of burger choices. The 450-store chain today announced that the work week henceforth kicks off with “Burger Mondays,” a new year-round promotion that offers guests a choice [...]

It’s Super Bowl Monday, when the game itself fades as we address the important question: “What was the best commercial?”  If you voted for the exuberant excess of the Kia Optima commercial (helicopter, spaceship, Mayans, Neptune rising etc.), keep in mind that it’s the work of El Segundo, Calif., agency David & Goliath. Who? That’s what many [...]

Those who’ve hoped McDonald’s would follow Wendy’s lead and introduce a burger topped with blue cheese are in luck. As long as they’re in France.  McDonald’s/France further burnishes its global reputation for innovative menu development with three new burgers as parts of a “Big Cheese Cravings” promotion (“Les Grandes Envies de Fromages”). One is topped with Bleu, [...]

Barry Klein knows the McDonald’s brand from the inside and outside, having served as an executive as well as an operator. As a member of the chain’s marketing department in the 1970s, he created the Ronald McDonald character and led the “You Deserve A Break Today” advertising campaign. Klein also spent five years as a McDonald’s franchisee [...]