restaurant industry

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Twitter a Delicious Marketing Tool, Restaurants Find

Microblogging website allows for quick communication with customers

(Newser) - Restaurants are finding Twitter a highly useful marketing tool, allowing for direct communication with customers other forms of advertising can’t provide, the Boston Globe reports. Boston’s Tupelo (@tupelo02139), for example, used a Twitter feed to post updates as the restaurant passed inspections, set the décor and decided...

OpenTable Brings (False) Hope for IPOs
OpenTable Brings (False) Hope for IPOs
Analysis
May 27, 2009 1:21 PM CDT

OpenTable Brings (False) Hope for IPOs

Great company creates an old-school frenzy, but it's a one-time deal

(Newser) - A hot website goes public, and investors go wild. Shares soar 59% on the first day of trading. “Is this really May 2009?” asks James B. Stewart of SmartMoney. The stock is OpenTable.com, which went public at $20 and is trading just south of $27. "The company...

Tough Times Push Chains to Try New Fare

McDonald's classy coffee, grilled KFC widen menus

(Newser) - Desperate times are driving chain restaurants to desperate measures—straying from their bread-and-butter dishes and diversifying the menu. KFC now sells grilled chicken, Domino’s offers subs, and McDonald’s dips into the world of espresso coffee, USA Today reports. “This is a defining moment for the industry,"...

Future of Wine Could Be on Tap
 Future of Wine Could Be on Tap 
OPINION
Apr 8, 2009 10:07 AM CDT

Future of Wine Could Be on Tap

Restaurants, consumers save when vino comes straight from the keg

(Newser) - The trickle of American restaurants serving wine on tap may become a flood when owners realize the benefits, Eric Asimov writes in his New York Times wine column. Serving wine through a keg and tap system identical to that used for beer eliminates a lot of waste, Asimov notes, stopping...

Posh Eateries Uncork Deals in Downturn

(Newser) - High-end eateries are rolling out three-course deals and wine specials to lure America's hungry in hard times, CNN reports. "A year ago, to be honest, I didn't have to hit that three-course menu at $35 a head," said a Manhattan restaurateur whose business is down 20%. "...

Food Spending Turns Anorexic
 Food Spending Turns Anorexic 
Feb 13, 2009 9:36 AM CST

Food Spending Turns Anorexic

Restaurants, name-brand food hit hard as diners opt for cheaper fare

(Newser) - Americans have trimmed their food spending sharply, hitting restaurants, food retailers, and brand-name food producers squarely in the gut, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the last quarter of 2008, spending on food plunged an inflation-adjusted 3.7% from the previous quarter, the steepest decline since the government began keeping...

Restaurants See Economy's Effect on Bills

Newest craze is splitting the check, to servers' annoyance

(Newser) - Gone are the days when one friend would insist on picking up the dinner check—and with them, the practice of splitting bills evenly, reports the Chicago Tribune. More and more, newly budget-conscious diners are asking for itemized checks. "Why?" says one restaurant manager. "Because nobody is...

Slowdown Scraps Busboy Jobs
Slowdown Scraps
Busboy Jobs
Jan 27, 2009 2:53 AM CST

Slowdown Scraps Busboy Jobs

Dishes pile up as servers are forced to do double duty

(Newser) - Plates are piling up on restaurant tables across America as full-service eateries seek to save cash by axing busboys, reports the Wall Street Journal. Servers take food orders, then scramble to clear tables, fill bread baskets, scrape plates and perform all the other tasks once done by bussers. The change...

Let Them Eat Fast Food
Let Them Eat Fast Food
Jan 18, 2009 7:23 PM CST

Let Them Eat Fast Food

French restaurateurs open moins cher eateries amid financial crisis

(Newser) - French cuisine just got a little less haute, the Daily Telegraph reports. As the recession hammers consumers and restaurants alike, some of France’s top chefs are opening fast-food offshoots. Expense-account meals running $450 per head are out and $6 ham sandwiches are in as famed restaurants like l'Auberge du...

Hooters Boots Battered Waitress Over Bruises

Injuries violated restaurant's 'all-American cheerleader look'

(Newser) - An Iowa judge has awarded unemployment benefits to an assaulted Hooters waitress who says she was fired because her bruised "body wasn't up to par." Managers testified that the black eye and facial bruising Sara Dye suffered in a domestic violence dispute violated the company-mandated "glamorous appearance"...

Rainbow Room Grill to Close
Rainbow Room Grill to Close 
Jan 4, 2009 4:54 PM CST

Rainbow Room Grill to Close

In throes of recession, rent dispute, the Big Apple landmark will shutter its dining hall

(Newser) - New York’s vaunted Rainbow Room will shut down its dining hall next week amid the recession and a rent conflict, the New York Daily News reports. With the Rainbow Grill’s closure, the tourist hotspot at 30 Rockefeller Plaza will—temporarily or otherwise—be 40 employees lighter and limited...

Eateries Cut Jobs as Diners Tighten Belts

The industry has shed 66,500 jobs over the past five months as consumers spend less

(Newser) - Restaurant workers are losing their jobs in record numbers as consumers rein in spending and the industry contends with rising ingredient prices, reports the Wall Street Journal. One of the largest US employers, the restaurant industry has been a haven for the unemployed and immigrant workers. Over the past five...

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