MIAMI – It has been now 50 years since entrepreneur Al Copeland of New Orleans created Popeyes in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi. The Louisana-born chain was one of the many Southern chains inspired by the success of Kentucky Friend Chicken, and opened June 12, 1972, as Chicken onMORE HERE
LEBANON, Tenn. – Cracker Barrel Old Country Store today launched its first Cracker Barrel Kitchen delivery service in Hollywood, Calif. The restaurant takeout will offer Cracker Barrel meals with delivery services DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub. Cracker Barrel’s Los Angeles ghost kitchen will also serve its existing virtual brand ChickenMORE HERE
CHICAGO – The company owned beer house has not traditionally been a feature of drinking in the United States. But with the success of small brewpubs, and changes in law, larger companies have seen their usefulness. To that end the Guinness Chicago Taproom will open in 2023 in the WestMORE HERE
GLENDALE, Calif. – The old joke about IHOP not being international is long over, and the chain is busily expanding overseas. Dine Brands International will open new locations in the state of Ontario, Canada. The expansions are through Kailash Kasal’s K2 Group, a Toronto-based investment company. A minimum of fiveMORE HERE
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. – The Italian company Ali Group, owner of dozens of professional cooking appliance brands across the world, has made a $24 a share cash offer for Welbilt, a Florida-based maker of brands that include the Manitowoc ice maker and Garland stove. On Tuesday, July 6, 2021MORE HERE
SARASOTA – Local restaurant brands are fickle, particularly the local concept restaurant. The concept restaurant was a relic of the 1960s and 70s, an idea that a diner not only needed food, but a unique atmosphere to make it an experience. In tourist areas, the concept restaurant has a particularMORE HERE
That Arby’s CEO Paul Brown has joined the board of JCPenney has got me thinking. After JCPenney brought back appliances, why not bring reintroduce food? Part of the old joy of going to department stores was the element of surprise, and options for repeat visits. One way to do that is a restaurantMORE HERE
LOS ANGELES – Global Icons, the brand merchandising agency, said in a press release that it would license Bennigan’s, the restaurant chain. Bennigan’s went through bankruptcy last year; many franchised restaurants stayed open. Founded in 1976 in Atlanta, Bennigan’s was an early casual bar and grill chain restaurant and one of the quintessentialMORE HERE
SARASOTA – Many of us can recall when IHOP wasn’t cool. Somewhere between 1980 and 1990, the chain got into the category of undesirable. It was so much so that the chain became a joke; comedienne Paula Poundstone’s “IHOP: It was a dream, I made it happen” routine about workingMORE HERE
So you want to get in the restaurant business? What an awful time to do it. And you want to open a restaurant without capital? And you are unemployed? Your inner negative “no” says no, and people will laugh at you. You dare not tell that to the bank, orMORE HERE