Pizza Hut to invest $10M in LA after restaurant closures

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Yum! Brands Inc.’s Pizza Hut chain plans to invest $10 million in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La., after forcing the closure of more than 40 restaurants operated there by franchisee Lundy Enterprises.

According to a report by The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans, the restaurants closed this week after an ongoing dispute with Dallas-based Pizza Hut. (For more on the closures, click here.)

 

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Owner of 44 Pizza Huts around La. closed over lawsuit

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The owner of 44 Pizza Hut restaurants in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas said Wednesday he has shut them down because of a legal dispute with the parent company.

Dallas-based Pizza Hut Inc. filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court earlier this week against Larry Lundy and Lundy Enterprises.

A spokesman for Pizza Hut said Wednesday that it was developing a fund to help about 1,000 employees out of work because of the shutdown, and planned to build new restaurants in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas.

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A look at the future of Starbucks

A look at the transition of the Starbucks logo

McDonald's Japan sales in 2010 hit record high for 5th year

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TOKYO — Sales at McDonald’s Holdings Co (Japan) Ltd’s own and franchise stores climbed to an all-time high in 2010 for the fifth consecutive year, rising 2% from a year earlier to 542.7 billion yen, according to a preliminary report released by the company Wednesday. Business was strong partly because of brisk sales of the Big America brand of hamburgers introduced in January, McDonald’s said.

But the company’s President Eiko Harada warned that the restaurant industry is facing hard times ahead, the severity of which is ‘‘unforeseeable,’’ when discussing the business outlook for this year at a press conference.

In December, sales on a same-store basis jumped 11.6% from a year earlier and the number of customers leapt 8.9% while spending per customer grew 2.5%.

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Twin Peaks Expects Bust-Out Year of Expansion in 2011

DALLAS, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of its strongest year to date, as well as its crowning as one of America's hottest concepts by Nation's Restaurant News, Twin Peaks is launching an aggressive franchise expansion campaign to nearly double the number of locations of its popular restaurants in 2011.

"Based on the exceptional success we are experiencing with both existing and new restaurants, we are convinced that now is the time to be even more aggressive in our efforts to take the Twin Peaks concept into new markets," said CEO Randy DeWitt, who founded Twin Peaks with Scott Gordon in 2005.

Since the original opened in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville, Twin Peaks has expanded to a dozen restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, and it's aiming to add 10 more by the end of 2011.

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Toby Keith Takes His Restaurant Chain to Ohio

Image via WikipediaToby Keith rocked in the New Year at his I Love This Bar & Grill restaurant in Mesa, Arizona, and just a few days later announced he's expanding the chain to Cincinnati, Ohio.

The new restaurant -- like the others of the same name -- will be a combination restaurant and entertainment venue with live music and dancing, reports KyPost.com. Patrons can expect dozens of high-definition televisions, an outdoor patio, and an 88-foot guitar centerpiece. Both local and national entertainment will perform six days a week.

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Ruby Tuesday Reports Positive Same-Restaurant Sales of 4.2%

Image via WikipediaHighlights for the second quarter of 2011 compared to the second quarter of 2010 include:

• Positive same-restaurant sales of 4.2% at Company-owned Ruby Tuesday restaurants
• Restaurant-level operating margin of 15.1%, compared to 13.7% for the prior year, an improvement of 140 basis points
• Net income of $4.6 million, compared to prior-year net income of $0.4 million
• Diluted earnings per share of $0.07, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.01 for the prior year
• Negotiated a new five-year, $320 million revolving credit facility with attractive pricing and flexibility, which closed on December 1^st
• Book debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.03 represents an improvement over the prior-year ratio of 2.57

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Actor Gary Collins Accused of Felony 'Dine and Dash'

JACKSON, Miss. -- Actor and former TV host Gary Collins was in a south Mississippi jail early Wednesday, charged with a felony after being accused of leaving a restaurant without paying his bill, police said.

Rodney McGilvary, assistant chief of the Biloxi Police Department, confirmed that Collins was charged Tuesday night with defrauding an innkeeper. He was taken to the Harrison County Detention Center in Gulfport and held on a $5,000 bond.

Authorities said Collins was expected to face a court hearing during the day Wednesday.

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New York Tourism Hit Record High in 2010, Mayor Says

Despite the lingering effects of the recession, more people visited New York City in 2010 than in any other year, according to an estimate Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced on Tuesday.

Speaking in the conservatory at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Mr. Bloomberg said the city drew 48.7 million tourists last year, which puts the city back on track to reaching his goal of attracting 50 million visitors annually by next year. The estimated increase of almost 7 percent came after tourism in the city dipped to about 45.5 million visitors in 2009.

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Bankrupt Se San Diego hotel may be put up for sale

The financially troubled owner of the tony Sè San Diego hotel, dogged by controversy since before it opened two years ago, wants to put the downtown high rise up for sale.

The upscale boutique hotel, along with an adjacent building in which the House of Blues is located, could fetch up to $50 million, according to one Southern California broker, although that is significantly less than the $150 million cost to develop the high-profile project

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Waldorf-Astoria Bitten By THIRD Bedbug Lawsuit

Image via WikipediaThe Waldorf-Astoria has been hit with a third lawsuit by a guest who claims she was ravaged by bedbugs during a night at the tony hotel. Svetlana Tendler, a doctor who's currently a stay-at-home mom, visited the Waldorf during a trip to NYC with her family in August 2007. That makes this the earliest known incident of bedbug biting at the hotel, and suggests the Waldorf has been struggling with an infestation for much longer than previously believed. (The other two lawsuits are the result of bedbug bites from 2010.) Tendler wants $10 million from the hotel to compensate her for what the bedbugs did to her, and says she needs plastic surgery!

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Hyatt brings labor contract negotiations to YouTube

Labor-management battles, once fought on picket lines and behind closed doors, are now being waged in cyberspace. Borrowing from the union's playbook, Hyatt laid out its latest offer to hotel workers on YouTube last week. Hyatt also played the video continuously on television monitors in employee cafeterias of properties in Chicago. Hotel workers said the video, which featured actors speaking in English, Cantonese and Spanish, caused a stir by noting that a $1,000 employee bonus expired Dec. 20. "They put it right in front of the cafeteria in a continuous loop. Every day. Every hour. People are just sick and tired of it," said Cristian Saez, 36, a waiter at Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. "The fun part of mocking the videos is over, and now it's just insulting."

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Tampa owner of hotel, club charged in sales tax theft

TAMPA - A Tampa hotel and nightclub manager stole more than $46,000 in sales tax from the state, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.
Jai Lalwani, who operated and was chief executive of the Westshore Hotel and the Temple Lounge, was arrested Dec. 23 in Polk County. Charges against the 32-year-old Wesley Chapel man include tax evasion and theft of state funds.
Lalwani collected tax from customers at the two businesses but during periods in 2008 and 2009 failed to file tax returns or send sales tax to the state, a Department of Revenue release states

New Jersey Restaurants look for Beer and Wine Licenses

New Jersey's restrictive liquor-license laws have some owners of BYOB restaurants looking for ways to uncork their profit potential.

Kitty Stillufsen wants to offer beer or wine with the scallops and lobster at her small seafood restaurant at the tip of Point Pleasant Beach. But state laws limiting the number of licenses based on a town's population mean the licenses can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars—too expensive for owners of smaller restaurants such as Ms. Stillufsen.

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Investors buy Sheraton Safari near Disney

The Sheraton Safari Hotel and Suites near Walt Disney World has been bought for an undisclosed price and its new owners are planning a $25 million renovation.

AREA Property Partners and Winston Harton Holdings LLC, both based in New York City, announced their purchase of the 489-room hotel Tuesday. The companies said they will begin extensive renovations of the facility immediately, and plan to complete the project by spring 2012. Once renovated, the hotel will keep the Sheraton brand.

Located at 12205 S. Apopka Vineland Rd., the Sheraton Safari is just outside the gateway to Walt Disney World's hotel plaza.

Hotel Acquisitions in Americas to Increase 25% in 2011, Jones Lang Says

Hotel sales and acquisitions in the Americas will jump as much as 25 percent this year, buoyed by real estate investment trusts and foreign investors seeking to deploy cash, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.
Transactions may total $13 billion this year, the London- based company said in a statement today. Volume was about $10.5 billion in 2010, almost five times the previous year’s levels, according to Jones Lang.

“Due to additional capital raises, REITs are expected to continue to be dominant buyers in 2011, and private equity groups and institutional investors will increasingly join the mix as leverage levels and terms improve,” Arthur Adler, managing director and Americas chief executive officer at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said in the statement. The U.S. will be one of the most active markets for deals globally, the company said.

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Snotel launches new ski hotel brand

Snotels will innovate the lodging market by launching a niche hotel brand, network and experience, for existing hotel owners and developers, solely in ski resorts and alpine towns, across the world.
 
Snotels is a mid-range hotel brand focused on creating experiences, freedom and altitude for hotel owners and alpine enthusiasts. Negotiations with hotel owners are underway.
 
Independently run and resort owned hotels typically struggle with brand awareness, hotel technology, marketing and service innovation.

The venture founder, Michael Metcalfe says: “Snotels will increase occupancy, guest satisfaction and revenue for Snoteliers with united brand power, reservations and systems, marketing, international reach and support services”.

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