IHG and Hong Leong Group set to open hotels in Taiwan

Britain’s Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Singapore’s Hong Leong Group (豐隆集團) have announced plans to invest in Taiwan’s hotel industry.
IHG last week signed deals to open hotels in Xiamen, China, Hong Kong and Taipei, adding more than 700 rooms to its Asia-Pacific portfolio.

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DiamondRock Hospitality Company Reports Third Quarter 2010 Results

BETHESDA, Md., Oct 19, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- DiamondRock Hospitality Company (the "Company") /quotes/comstock/13*!drh/quotes/nls/drh (DRH 10.69, -0.27, -2.46%) today announced results of operations for its third fiscal quarter ended September 10, 2010. The Company is a lodging focused real estate investment trust that owns twenty-three premium hotels in North America and holds a senior loan secured by another premium hotel.

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Manhattan's Hotel Chelsea, Once Home to Dylan, Warhol, Is Put Up for Sale

The Hotel Chelsea, a Manhattan landmark where Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and Eugene O’Neill once lived, was put up for sale by the families that owned and operated it for more than 65 years.
“It is time to let a new owner, with perhaps some new innovative ideas and resources, to re-energize and revitalize the Chelsea,” Paul Brounstein, a shareholder and board member, said in a statement today.

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Is Open Table worth it?

We’ve often been asked why Incanto is not listed on OpenTable.com.  For those of you not familiar with the service, OpenTable is the most successful online restaurant reservation portal on Earth; a place on the Web where diners can search for and make reservations at leading restaurants, via a browser or smartphone. Restaurants like Incanto that chose not to offer their seats through OpenTable find themselves in a shrinking minority.

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Benihana Reports Total Restaurant Sales and Comparable Restaurant Sales

Benihana Inc., operator of Japanese theme and sushi restaurants, reported total restaurant sales and comparable restaurant sales for the third four-week period (September 13 - October 10,) and the twelve-week period (July 19 - October 10,) of the second fiscal quarter 2011.
According to a release, for the third four-week period, total restaurant sales increased 4.6 percent to $23.1 million from $22.0 million, while Company-wide comparable restaurant sales increased 5.7 percent, representing the eighth consecutive four-week period of comparable restaurant sales increases. By concept, comparable restaurant sales increased 8.7 percent at Benihana Teppanyaki and 0.9 percent at RA Sushi, but decreased 0.6 percent at Haru. There were a total of 384 store-operating weeks in the third four-week period of the second fiscal quarter 2011 compared to a total of 392 store-operating weeks in the third four-week period of the second fiscal quarter 2010.

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Ramsay’s Father-in-Law Steps Down as CEO of Restaurant Business

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gordon Ramsay’s father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, has stepped down as chief executive officer of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd., the TV chef’s main restaurant business.

“We can confirm that Chris Hutcheson has left his position as CEO of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd.,” the company said today in an e-mailed statement. “He retains an interest in the business as a shareholder,” it said. “Interim management will be put in place while the search begins for a full-time replacement. It continues to be business as normal for all GRH operations.”

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Iron Chef Michael Symon will close Bar Symon restaurant

Bar Symon, the Iron Chef's restaurant in Avon Lake, will close at the end of the month. Symon cited disappointing sales and a location in a shopping center with significant vacancies as reasons for shuttering the 9,500-square-feet operation at 32858 Walker Road. His partners in the venture are his wife, Liz, and Doug Petkovic

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3G Capital Completes Acquisition of Burger King Holdings, Inc.

MIAMI & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Burger King Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BKC) (the “Company”) and 3G Capital today announced the completion of the previously announced transaction for an affiliate of 3G Capital to acquire the Company for $24.00 per share in cash, or approximately $4.0 billion in the aggregate, including the assumption of outstanding debt.

“We are thrilled to complete this transaction and eager to continue building the BURGER KING® brand and enhance the guest experience in our restaurants all over the world”

As previously announced, Bernardo Hees will become Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Alexandre Behring, Managing Partner of 3G Capital, will assume the position of Co-Chairman of the Board of the Company effective immediately, alongside John Chidsey, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer prior to the completion of the transaction.

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Sonic Reports Year-End 2010 Results

• Net income per diluted share totaled $0.08 versus net income per diluted share of $0.28 in the year-earlier quarter;
• Excluding special items, net income per diluted share was $0.23 in the fourth quarter of 2010 versus $0.29 in the same period last year (see reconciliation later in this release);
• System-wide same-store sales declined 6.4% during the fourth quarter, with same-store sales declining 6.4% at franchise drive-ins and 6.1% at company-owned drive-ins; and
• Franchise drive-in openings totaled 24 for the quarter versus 40 in the same period last year.

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Whitbread Shares Advance to Three-Year High on Premier Inn Profit Increase

Whitbread Plc, the largest U.K. hotel and restaurant company, rose to a three-year high in London trading after reporting a 58 percent gain in profit on growth at Premier Inn budget hotels and Costa Coffee shops.

The shares advanced as much as 2.1 percent, climbing to the highest since Nov. 1, 2007.

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