To honor the legendary Loretta Lynn for blazing a trail for women in country music, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store named the icon its 2019 Cracker Barrel Country Legend Award recipient. The award was presented to Loretta by Cracker Barrel’s “Five Decades, One Voice” partner artist Trisha Yearwood at Lynn’s beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. “Loretta has played such an integral role… read more
Private equity firm L Catterton has completed the acquisition of Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group Inc. for approximately $650 million or $8 per share, as first announced in June. As part of the transaction, L Catterton will be selling two of the restaurant group’s brands — Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse and Del Frisco’s Grille — to hospitality company,… read more
Jimmy John’s Sandwiches, which has grown to more than 2,800 shops since its founding in Charleston, Ill., 36 years ago, is getting sold to the owner of Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In and Rusty Taco. Financial terms of the deal with Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, announced early Wednesday, were not disclosed. After the transaction closes,… read more
First up is expected to be Lowell Café, one of eight restaurant and lounge concepts that will allow onsite cannabis smoking, vaping and consumption of edibles. The restaurant is scheduled to open in September. Lowell is one of 16 businesses planning to combine cannabis and foodservice in some form that have won a first round… read more
“We are leaning in to accelerate the transition of our Pizza Hut U.S. asset base to truly modern delivery/carryout assets,” said David W. Gibbs, president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Yum! Brands, in an Aug. 1 earnings call to discuss second-quarter results. “This will ultimately strengthen the Pizza Hut business in the… read more
Historically, chains like Hooters and Twin Peaks, and their scantily clad waitresses, established a niche audience, of mostly men, in the sports-bar restaurant space. But industry consultants suggest that although they’re holding their own, times have changed, and they need to adapt in order to keep pace. Showing how challenging the category can be, the Arc… read more
Preempting that epic American holiday, National Cheeseburger Day, TGI Fridays has announced the launch of its own National Cheeseburger Day, and continuing on every Tuesday after that. With the firm belief that Americans are hungry for a break, the restaurant brand is celebrating the iconic American meal with an offer that includes TGI Fridays signature… read more
Water. It’s essential for life … and baking. But it can also pose huge risks, from physical hazards to bacteria transport, making it a key consideration for sanitation and food safety. In Saturday’s education session “Food Safety Best Practices for Operations, Engineers and Sanitarians,” Karl Thorson, global food safety and sanitation manager for General Mills,… read more
A food safety audit provides information about how good the total food safety program is and assures the processor how well it’s working. “Audits are a complement to testing,” Mr. Clark said . “They monitor and measure process control. Testing and auditing are used together.” Both approaches can be used in plants of all sizes…. read more
Testing for pathogens in products and plants is part of food safety, but not all of it. “The tests we provide are a look at what pathogens may be there,” said Mike Clark, a microbiologist and global marketing manager in molecular food diagnostics for Bio-Rad Laboratories. “But these tests are certainly not preventive.” The reason is, these… read more