http://www.foodservice.com/news/ Foodservice.com Daily Buzz en-us Copyright 2009 Foodservice.com. http://www.foodservice.com.com/rss/ Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:00:00 EST http://www.foodservice.com/images/foodservice_home.jpg http://www.foodservice.com Roland Smith, president and CEO of parent Wendy's/Arby's, will assume the role of interim president at Arby's, effective immediately. The company said it has begun a search for a permanent president of Arby's, which is known for its roast beef sandwiches. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8415 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:03:04 EST Amidst one of the toughest years the restaurant industry has ever endured, Papa Murphy's International today announced that its total U.S. systemwide sales grew to $630 million in 2009, up over 7% from 2008. The take 'n' bake pizza pioneer ended the year with 1,185 locations, opening 83 in 2009. Same-store-sales were up more than 2%, while most industry watchers estimated the pizza category to be down about 7%. 'There's a lot to be proud of,' said CEO John Barr, commenting on 2009's results. 'We share this pride, of course, with our hundreds of franchisees, our field support teams and our vendor partners. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8414 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:00:43 EST In late December, the Tribune profiled a young blind woman chasing her dream of becoming a chef. Laura Martinez will finish her work at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary program at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago this spring, but she was worried her disability might make it difficult to find work doing what she loves. Passionate about food and, according to the head of the program, tremendously skilled, Martinez's worries are now over. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8413 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:58:58 EST McDonald's confirmed today that LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers has agreed to a multi-year deal with team-McDonald's. The relationship will kick-off with James' appearance in a remake of the iconic 1993 Super Bowl commercial 'The Showdown,' which is set to launch during pre-kick of Super Bowl® XLIV, in Miami. Although financial details of the contract will not be disclosed publicly, James' agreement includes support of several McDonald's programs and promotions, as well as McDonald's charity of choice, Ronald McDonald House Charities®. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8412 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:58:04 EST As several big chains roll out new healthy offerings for weight-conscious consumers, a recent study found that restaurants often provide substantially inaccurate calorie counts on menus. Some of the restaurants mentioned in the study, however, are questioning its accuracy. In the study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association’s January issue, Tufts University researchers found that on average, the calorie counts of different items at 29 quick-serve and sit-down restaurants were 18 percent higher than stated by the brands. Federal regulations generally allow for a 20 percent standard deviation. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8411 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:57:04 EST The Super Bowl is more than a week away, but some local businesses are already preparing for a boost in chicken wing sales. 'Wing sales are tremendous. They typically double or even triple from what we normally do,' said James Fisher. Fisher is the owner of Lee's Chicken in Columbia. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8410 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:55:10 EST As couples across the country begin to plan for Valentine’s Day, OpenTable, Inc. (Nasdaq:OPEN) (www.opentable.com), a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants, today announced the 50 winners of its 2010 Diners’ Choice Awards for Most Romantic restaurants in America. The list of winners is derived from nearly four million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for over 10,000 restaurants. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8409 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:54:05 EST An Appleton woman who tried to extort money from an upscale restaurant by putting a rat in her lunch has entered no-contest pleas to two criminal charges. The Appleton Post-Crescent reported 43-year-old Debbie R. Miller was found guilty after she entered the pleas to a felony extortion charge and a misdemeanor for obstructing police. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8408 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:22:29 EST In the good old days, it was easy to spot the person who brought her ethics to the dinner table: She didn't eat meat. Now it's the carnivore who claims moral high ground. As long as her steaks and chops were raised locally on sustainable ranches and respected from birth to the bitter end, she can feel as though eating meat isn't promoting animal cruelty and is encouraging greater stewardship of the land. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8407 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:21:06 EST McDonald's Corp.'s German unit is engaged in a dispute with several franchise holders who accuse the world's largest hamburger chain of using aggressive tactics to try to force them out of their contracts. Court records show McDonald's hired a team of private detectives to dig up evidence of conflicts of interest against one of the franchisees. In other instances, at least five franchisees say. http://www.foodservice.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=8406 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:19:12 EST