Domino's delivers on its turnaround plan

Ann Arbor— Domino's Pizza Inc. will celebrateits 50th anniversary Thursday, starting a new half-century on a strong sales surge thanks to a gamble the company took on its core pizza recipe.

Last December, Domino's was at a crossroads. Flat same-store sales forced Domino's to close 108 U.S. stores in 2009, and the company battled a perception that its pizza tasted like cardboard.

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New Resorts owner: All ailing casino needs is love

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Asked about his plans to save Resorts Atlantic City, the first casino in the United States to open outside Nevada, new owner Dennis Gomes briefly touches on spruced up hotel rooms, guest suites and a snazzier casino floor.

But what the place really needs, he says, is a whole lotta love, with some positive spiritual energy thrown in.

Despite his buttoned-down appearance, Gomes is not your typical casino executive.

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Two firms fight over Hooters

An Horry County judge approved the sale of Hooters at a hearing Thursday, but a legal battle is brewing between two companies seeking to buy the international restaurant chain best known for its “Hooters Girls” waitresses.

Chanticleer Investors LLC is trying to exercise a right to block the sale of Hooters of America Inc. to Wellspring Capital Management. Hooters granted Chanticleer “the right of first refusal” in a previous loan agreement that would give it precedence over any other bidder seeking to buy the company.

A sale to either company is expected to close before Dec. 31, said Jim Creel, one of the estate’s five executors, during his testimony.

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Idaman ups bid for Malaysia QSR to match Carlyle offer

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Malaysia's Idaman Saga, a vehicle controlled by tycoon Halim Saad, said on Monday that it had formed a venture with KUB Malaysia and CVC Capital Partners Asia III Limited to match a 6.70 Malaysian ringgit ($2.12) per share bid for QSR from Carlyle Asia.

Idaman had initially bid 5.60 ringgit per share for QSR, the majority owner of the lucrative  Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut franchise in Malaysia.

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Texan ups McCormick & Schmick's stake

Texas restaurant magnate Tilman J. Fertitta took a break from his recent restaurant-buying spree to add 150,248 shares of Portland-based McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants Inc. to his stock portfolio.

The latest move bolsters speculation the colorful Fertitta may be interested in acquiring the 96-unit chain for his Landry’s Restaurants Inc., which is based in Houston.

 

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Another New York eatery in hot water over wages

Dallas BBQ is the lastest restaurant to be slapped with a lawsuit over its pay practices. The eatery has been accused of not paying the correct overtime rate for its tipped employees.
While most wage and hour complaints in the restaurant industry focus on workers who are not paid the minimum wage, are not paid overtime wages or have their tips illegally shared with management, this complaint, filed in U.S. Southern District of New York, is targeting an obscure law, referred to as the spread-of-hours pay.

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Judge upholds $100,000 verdict in hairy steak case

A West Bend man could be looking to collect nearly $130,000 over a hairy steak he got from a restaurant.
It wasn’t just an errant strand of hair on the meat; an angry cook had stuffed the steak with hidden facial or pubic hairs. But whether the shocked diner will get the big payout remains in question.
Kevin Hansen sued Texas Roadhouse after he got the adulterated steak in February 2008. In September, a Washington County jury awarded him $1,500 for lost wages, $3,000 for medical bills, $25,000 for pain and suffering plus $100,000 in punitive damages.

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Muslim restaurant manager in Texas sues for religious discrimination

SHERMAN - The former general manager of a Jack in the Box in East Texas has filed a lawsuit against the restaurant alleging he was a victim of national origin and religious discrimination.

Claiming violations of his civil rights, Mohammed Sohail filed suit against Jack in the Box Inc. on Nov. 23 in the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division.

Sohail is of Pakistani national origin and a Muslim and therefore asserts he is a member of protected groups within the meaning of Title VII.

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Boston's Upper Crust Pizza accused of exploiting immigrant workers

The most coveted destination has long been Boston — more precisely, one high-end local pizza chain. The promise of a job at an Upper Crust shop, passed by word of mouth from one villager to the next, offered the possibility of wages unheard of in Marilac, a community of 4,140 people in the mountains of southeastern Brazil.

Over the past decade, dozens of men from Marilac have made the 7,500-mile trek, risking arrest, deportation, and, in rare cases, death. And Upper Crust, founded by Sharon native Jordan Tobins in 2001, welcomed them.

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Miami Beach Shore Club once again in foreclosure

For the second time this year, the Shore Club hotel in South Beach has been hit with a foreclosure.

Philips South Beach, the New York group that owns the iconic hotel, fell into foreclosure in March when its lender filed a $126 million lawsuit in federal court. It temporarily escaped foreclosure in November, when a federal judge ruled that U.S. District Court was not the proper venue for the complaint.

 

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Jury: Iowa hotel unlawfully fired 'tomboy' worker

A federal jury in Des Moines has ruled that an Iowa hotel chain unlawfully fired an employee with a "tomboyish" appearance for retaliating against the company's sexual stereotypes.
The jury found that Heartland Inns of America fired Brenna Lewis for opposing the hotel's gender stereotypes of how women should look or behave. Lewis, who had described herself in her lawsuit as "slightly more masculine," was fired from the company's Ankeny hotel in 2007.

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Hotel holds hooker, police called

POLICE were forced to come to the rescue of a prostitute who was held in a carpark of a hotel by its owner.
The man allegedly refused to let her see a client in one of the hotel rooms. But hotel management told the NT News the woman was "trespassing". Police confirmed they were called to a hotel on Cavenagh St, Darwin City, about 8.30pm on November 28. The hooker, known only as Heidi, and her driver were allegedly trapped for about 45 minutes in the undercover parking lot.The driver said the drama unfolded when she dropped off the working girl near the fire exit.

The owner had come out to refuse entry.

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Hotel operators see chance to gain Dubai foothold

The global financial crisis and subsequent downturn in the travel industry have presented an opportunity for some new hotel operators to gain a foothold in the region, says the chief executive and co-owner of an Australian hospitality company.
StayWell Hospitality Group, established just four years ago and little-known outside Australia, last month opened the four-star 400-room Kris Kin hotel in Bur Dubai under its Park Regis brand. The Bur Dubai area is well known for having several independently run, unbranded hotels.

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GM arrested for non-payment of Government Taxes

Hospitality Business News) December 5, 2010 – If you are a Hotel General Manager in Kathmandu you better pay the Government taxes. On December 3, 2010 the Metropolitan Police Range (MPR) arrested Harka Bahadur Ayre, General Manager of the Hotel Shangrila Casino for failure to pay Rs 23.9M (US$330,000) in taxes. Ayre had been on the run after an arrest warrant was issued two weeks ago.

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Settlement reached in Marriott rape case

STAMFORD -- A woman raped at gunpoint in front of her children four years ago in the Stamford Marriott parking garage has settled a civil lawsuit filed against the hotel for an undisclosed amount of money.

Attorneys involved in the lawsuits would not comment about details in the case, which was withdrawn this September and resolved using a private alternative dispute resolution firm.

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Owner of hotel wins $810,000 judgment

MOUNT HOLLY — A Superior Court judge awarded a Westampton hotel owner an $810,000 judgment against a tax attorney from New York and a leasing company for vandalism damages to the hotel.

Steven Burn and Northeast Hospitality Properties must pay the money for property damage for the former Howard Johnson hotel leased from owner Peter Tucci. The hotel is on Mount Holly Road at Exit 5 of the New Jersey Turnpike in Westampton

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After a Rough Night, Hotel Investors Are Waking Up

IS this as bad as it gets? For two years, big investors watched the implosion of the lodging industry as hotel values plummeted more than 50 percent. Now as private equity giants like the Blackstone Group and entrepreneurs like Richard Branson are diving into the sector, others are starting to think it has finally hit bottom and may be bouncing back.

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