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Would You Eat This Wise Guy Burger?
If the world's largest burger wasn't too much for you, maybe you can appreciate the newest addition to the burgerverse. Grub Street reports that casual chain Red Robin has created a breakthrough called the Wise Guy Burger, which consists of a burger patty, marinara sauce, pepperoni slices, peppers, tomatoes, and yes, mozzarella sticks. Although they say it "just seems wrong" to go there, as a lover of The Palin sandwich at Ike's, I must respectfully disagree.
Denny's Strives to Hit the Late-Night Sweet Spot
2009 has been a rough year for casual dining, with many restaurant chains struggling to stay afloat. The solution proposed at Denny's? Become friends with the cool kids.
Jamba Juice Goes Beyond Smoothies, Debuts Food
Starbucks isn't the only beverage chain looking to regain its footing: Jamba Juice is also struggling to get its mojo back. In addition to its recently introduced oatmeal and licensed supermarket products, the smoothie giant will also unveil a new menu of food items.
Jamba's new menu will contain food items such as wraps, salads, and flatbreads, and will debut next week in California, with stores in the rest of the country following over the year.
One Million Customers Double-Charged at Starbucks
Starbucks recently lowered some prices on its drink menu, but now the chain is making headlines for just the opposite — double-charging customers for their purchases. On Friday, May 22, and half of Saturday, May 23, the coffee chain unknowingly double-charged a million customers in 7,000 stores for their debit and credit card purchases. Starbucks explained that most of its customers never noticed the "settlement processing error" — although consumers' receipts indicated the correct amount had been deducted, later twice that figure was taken out of the buyers' accounts when stores settled the transactions at the end of the day.
Starbucks Aims to Be Healthier, Greener
America's largest coffee chain has decided to jump-start its own eco-friendly food revolution: Earlier this week, Starbucks announced it would be rolling out a new food menu on June 30 as part of its "Real Food. Simply Delicious" campaign. And yesterday, the chain said it would install new water faucets in its stores as part of an environmental initiative.
While Casual Chains Drop Prices, Fast Food Trades Up
Regardless of its location, price point, or popularity, no restaurant has remained untouched by the deteriorating economy. While many high-end restaurants have made adjustments, some of the most drastic changes taking place are happening between fast and casual food chains.
Casual restaurant chains such as Applebee's, Chili's, and TGI Friday's have desperately tried to keep sales steady with bargain deals.
Burger King Goes High-End
Number two fast food chain Burger King has been testing a new line of premium items. This includes ribs and thicker burgers, made with grills, batch broilers, and other costly new kitchen equipment.
The fast food chain's decision to move in the direction of higher-price items comes at a time when the casual restaurant industry is struggling.
Red Lobster Adding Wood Grills in Attempt to Revive Sales
Darden Restaurants announced that beginning next week, it will install wood-fired grills in all 680 Red Lobster restaurants.
The company has been testing the wood-grilled menu for over a year, and will train 3,500 employees on the grills. New items will be going on the menu, such as wood-grilled lobster, wood-grilled sirloin and shrimp, and wood-grilled fish.
Bennigan's and Steak & Ale: Back From the Dead?
Two months ago, we reported the end of restaurant chains Bennigan's and Steak & Ale. Well, we've just learned that they're coming back to life! Private equity firm Atalaya is buying the two brands and their trademarks.
Match the Tagline to the Restaurant Chain!
With all of the recent happenings in the chain-restaurant world, I decided to put together a quiz for you. How much do you know about national restaurant chains and their advertising slogans? Take my quiz to find out!
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