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Taco Bell said Friday that it has launched a nationwide advertising campaign to tell customers what’s in the seasoned beef it puts in its tacos, burritos and other fare.
The campaign is in direct response to media coverage of a suit filed last week by an Alabama law firm. The suit claims Taco Bell is incorrectly using the word “beef” to promote its products because the taco mixture doesn’t contain enough of it to use that term. Get the full story »
Spending at restaurants grew 2.1 percent, but the cash register may slow down this year, according to a new survey.
Almost one in four restaurant-goers say they plan to spend less at restaurants this year than they did in 2010, a year in which restaurant-industry spending grew to $403.5 billion, according to Mintel, a Chicago-based consumer research company. Get the full story »
Part of Taco Bell's ad in major U.S. newspapers.
The beef about Taco Bell beef is heating up. The fast-food chain took out ads in several U.S. newspapers to lash out at a law firm that alleges Taco Bell doesn’t use much beef in its ground beef taco filling.
“The lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate facts,” says a statement attributed to Greg Creed, president and chief concept officer of Taco Bell Corp. He said the beef is “just like the quality beef you would buy in a supermarket and prepare in your home.” Get the full story »
McDonald’s Corp. has named Kevin Newell executive vice president and global chief brand officer. He was previously senior vice president and restaurant support officer for McDonald’s USA, West Division. Get the full story »
Starbucks Corp., the world’s largest coffee chain, expects rising coffee prices to hit profits more than it previously thought and forecast full-year earnings below analysts expectations.
That news sent its shares down more than 2 percent, even as the company reported profits and U.S. sales that handily topped Wall Street’s targets. Get the full story »
Taco Bell Corp. is pushing back against a lawsuit that claims the fast food chain’s “seasoned ground beef” is not all it’s made out to be.
Taco Bell said on Tuesday that it plans to take legal action against the “false statements” being made about its food. The chain operates, manages or franchises more than 5,600 locations in the United States, according to the lawsuit. Get the full story »
From the Daily Herald | The first Chicago-area location of Smashburger has opened in the Randall Road corridor in Batavia. It is the first of what company officials expect will be seven Smashburger locations open in the area by the end of 2011. Get the full story>>
From Bloomberg News | McDonald’s Corp.’s management training center, on the outskirts of Shanghai in McDonald’s China headquarters, gets 1,000 applications for every eight slots. That’s a selection rate of less than 1 percent, lower than Harvard University’s record low acceptance rate last year of about 7 percent, according to the school’s official newspaper. Get the full story>>
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Kanye West’s Fatburger franchise at 15100 S. La Grange Road in Orland Park closed this weekend after failing to meet the chain’s financial expectations. West’s Fatburger in Beverly will remain open. He has rights to develop a total of 10 restaurants in the Chicago area. Get the full story>>
A group of private investors is buying the Atlanta-based Hooters of America Inc. and its restaurant chain.
A deal announced Monday will give a consortium of private investors including Charlotte, N.C.-based Chanticleer Holdings Inc. ownership of nearly half of all domestic Hooters restaurants and more than one-third of those worldwide. The sales price was not disclosed. Get the full story »
Taco Bell's lineup of beef tacos. (Taco Bell)
“Where’s the beef?” Wendy’s restaurants once famously asked through its advertising as a swipe at its small-burger competitors.
The same question is now being asked by a California woman regarding Taco Bell’s beef products, which she claims contain very little meat. So little in fact, she’s brought a false-advertising lawsuit against the huge fast-food Mexican restaurant chain. Get the full story »
McDonald’s Corp. will raise prices in the U.S. this year to combat rising commodity costs, the company said in its fourth-quarter earnings call Monday morning.
The Oak Brook-based burger chain estimates that ingredient costs will rise 2 percent to 2.5 percent, with some of those costs passed on to consumers. Get the full story »
McDonald’s Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets are served the world over, but only in Vermont can diners at the fast-food giant now get pure maple syrup with their oatmeal.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Thursday that McDonald’s USA has agreed to offer pure Vermont maple syrup or sugar with its Fruit and Maple Oatmeal menu item, beginning in February. Get the full story »
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. plans to slice away the Arby’s sandwich chain by putting it up for sale, people familiar with the matter said.
The move represents a concession by activist investor Nelson Peltz that Arby’s, known for its roast beef sandwiches, is having trouble competing in an industry where the only viable ways to grow are to steal market share from rivals or expand overseas-two things Wendy’s is better positioned than Arby’s to accomplish. Get the full story »
Crain’s Chicago Business | Chef Rick Bayless has opened his Frontera sandwich shop at O’Hare; a second Frontera offshoot is coming there soon.
