Daphne’s Inc. has acquired Noon Mediterranean out of bankruptcy in a deal expected to be announced later this week. Within 60 to 90 days, Daphne’s parent Elite Restaurant Group of Los Angeles plans to rebrand New York-based Noon, which has 12 units, under the Daphne’s banner. The 12 units in Texas, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts will become… read more

A new survey of teenage consumers has good news for Chick-fil-A and limited-service restaurants and bad news for Starbucks and casual dining. Chick-fil-A has officially displaced Starbucks as teens’ preferred restaurant across income groups, according to the latest Taking Stock With Teens survey by Piper Jaffray. The Atlanta-based chicken chain was preferred by both upper-income teens… read more

Help-wanted signs in North Dakota. The numbers: The number of job openings in the U.S. rose slightly to a record 7.14 million in August, reflecting strong growth in the economy and the best labor market in decades. Job openings topped 7 million in July for the first time ever, revised figures show, and they increased again… read more

Public health officials in Canada have recorded hundreds of laboratory confirmed cases of Salmonella infections linked to raw chicken, including frozen raw breaded chicken products despite efforts at educating the public on safe handling practices. There have been 419 laboratory confirmed cases of Salmonella illnesses investigated as part of foodborne illness outbreaks across Canada, according to the Public Health… read more

The scores were published in a report called “Chain Reaction IV: Burger Edition,” which was produced by the Center for Food Safety, Consumer Reports, Food Animal Concerns Trust, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Friends of the Earth, and Natural Resources Defense Council. The report says 22 chains received “F” grades “for lacking any announced policy to… read more

Starbucks Corp. on Oct. 23 announced it has opened its first deaf-friendly sign language store in the United States in Washington, D.C. The new store format will be a distinctive retail experience that promotes accessibility and offers employment and career advancement opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing people. Twenty to 25 deaf and hard… read more

The Habit Restaurants Inc. has named former Jack in the Box CMO Iwona Alter its chief brand officer, the company said. The marketing executive, who has 13 years of restaurant industry experience, starts Dec. 10. “Iwona is a proven leader and marketing innovator and we are pleased to welcome her to The Habit team,” CEO… read more

Toni Bianco has joined Cicis pizza buffet restaurant as its new chief operating officer. In this role, he will lead day-to-day operations and oversee all training for Cicis’ more than 430 corporate-owned and franchised restaurants. Mr. Bianco was most recently president and c.o.o. of Fatburger North America, a role he assumed in February. Before that,… read more

The 19-unit Taylor Gourmet hoagie chain filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings on Thursday after closing all of its locations in the Washington, D.C. area and Chicago earlier in the week. According to court documents, the liquidation leaves 50 to 99 creditors, but no funds would be available to unsecured creditors after administration expenses were paid…. read more

The Food and Drug Administration on June 19 began issuing draft guidance designed to help industry comply with the Intentional Adulteration (I.A.) Rule under the agency’s Food Safety Modernization Act. The I.A. Rule addresses hazards that intentionally may be introduced to foods, including by acts of terrorism, with the intent to cause widespread harm to… read more