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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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

The number of U.S. restaurants is shrinking. But quick-service burger restaurants, both chains and independents, didn’t get that memo and continue to grow. Research released Monday by Chicago-based The NPD Group finds that the total number of U.S. restaurants declined by 6,483 or 1.1% between the fall of 2010 and the fall of 2011. The [...]

A day after Wendy’s said it needs to rebalance its menu by adding more premium-price items, Burger King showed how it’s done. The chain extended its top-of-the-line Chef’s Choice brand introduced just a few months ago with two new burgers. The 5.5-oz.-patty Chef’s Choice burgers are priced at $4.99 as chains continue the previously forecast [...]

Last year Burger King exported its multi-serving NY Pizza Burger from its Whopper Bar in New York City’s Times Square to Japan, where the giant was sold as a Christmas holiday specialty. The novelty burger was enough of a hit that Burger King is reviving the “super size” holiday promotion in Japan. This time Burger King announced it [...]

Peter Backman is managing director of Horizons, one of Britain’s leading foodservice consultancies. I’ve always found his annual analysis of the National Restaurant Association Show to be particularly insightful, and it has proved very popular with BurgerBusiness readers. Rather than give a link, I’ve printed this year’s, titled “A Chastened U.S. Foodservice Market,” for Memorial [...]

Jake’s Wayback Burgers came within a fry’s length of unseating Blanc Burgers + Bottles as winner of this year’s Burger Brackets. Finishing second is never completely satisfying, but its hundred of votes show that the chain has amassed a cadre of loyalists who love its triple-patty Big Jake burger (at right), chicken, hot dogs, house-made [...]

Congratulations to Blanc Burgers + Bottles, its management, its staff and its very loyal fans. The brand—which has locations in Kansas City, Mo.; Leawood, Kan.; and Omaha, Neb.—is the 2011 BurgerBusiness.com Burger Brackets Champion, repeating a feat it achieved last year as well. Blanc’s win meant the end of the Cinderella run for Jake’s Wayback Burgers, [...]

[AND THE WINNER, FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, IS BLANC BURGERS + BOTTLES! CONGRATULATIONS TO BLANC AND TO RUNNER-UP JAKE'S WAYBACK BURGER. CHECK THE FINAL BRACKET SPREADSHEET HERE.  Read the final story here.] It’s March Madness on a bun, baby! It’s the BurgerBusiness.com Burger Brackets. It’s 64 burger concepts facing off in four [...]

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 [...]

[Feb. 3 Update: Smashburger has extended the vegetarian menu to its units in Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern California and Wichita, Kan.] Fast-growing fast-casual Smashburger certainly isn’t afraid of tinkering with the concept. Last fall, it boldly took its menu beyond burgers into chicken sandwiches and salads. Then, this month, it bent its local-flavors approach to accommodate [...]

Despite scurrilous predictions the burger boom would run out of steam, it hasn’t. Five Guys, Elevation Burger, The Counter, Umami Burger, Smashburger, Shake Shack, Bobby’s Burger Palace and others weren’t on the map a few years ago but now they’re booming, opening outside their original markets and spreading.          There’s no reason to suspect this [...]

AOL announced the winners of its City’s Best program, where users vote for their favorite restaurants, bars, theaters, clubs, etc. We’ll skip the rest and home in on the Big Question: Who won Best Burger?             As a resident of the state that elected Rod Blagojevich its governor, twice, I can say with authority that [...]

Apparently it’s crystal-ball-prediction time and I’m already late. So I’ll give one prediction plus a few burger trend observations.  2011 will be the Year of the Stuffed Burger. Why? Because Burger King is going to show off what its new broilers can do by adding cheese-stuffed burgers early next year. Once it does, burger joints [...]