McLean-based Hilton Worldwide will roll out a code of conduct for preventing child trafficking at its hotels by the end of the year, a company spokeswoman said.
The hotel chain attracted negative press after published reports that the Chinese police found a brothel operating in an independently owned karaoke club in a Hilton hotel in southern China in June.
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Monday, November 1, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Gordon Ramsay's father-in-law speaks out
Even for a man as volatile as Gordon Ramsay, it was a spectacular falling out. Twelve days ago, to the astonishment of everyone, it was announced that the celebrity chef and his chief executive, Chris Hutcheson, had parted company, thereby ending one of the strongest, most notorious, partnerships in the industry.
Hutcheson was not just Ramsay’s initial backer and business mentor, he was his father-in-law and the abrupt severing of ties plunged the family into the type of blood feud that may never be resolved.
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Hutcheson was not just Ramsay’s initial backer and business mentor, he was his father-in-law and the abrupt severing of ties plunged the family into the type of blood feud that may never be resolved.
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Landrys buys Claim Jumper Assets
Hospitality Business News -Claim Jumper Restaurants, LLC announced today that Landry’s Restaurants, Inc. has been selected as the highest and best bidder in a competitive auction held October 28, 2010 for substantially all of its assets. Landry’s final bid has been valued by the Company and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors at $76.6 million. The proposed sale to Landry’s is expected to be approved by the Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware on November 2, 2010. The transaction is expected to close on a date mutually agreeable to the Company and Landry’s, subject to satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Bobby Flay Is Expanding His Burger Empire
With a Burger Bash win finally under his belt, chef and Food Network star Bobby Flay is focusing on burger expansion. He's announced plans to launch 12 to 14 new locations of his fast-casual restaurant concept, Bobby's Burger Palace.
Currently there are five burger palaces, and now that Flay knows what works (and what doesn't: he's still adjusting the burger patty recipe), he's thinking big. The new eateries will open over the next 12 months in cities like Baltimore, Princeton, Washington DC, and New York City.
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Currently there are five burger palaces, and now that Flay knows what works (and what doesn't: he's still adjusting the burger patty recipe), he's thinking big. The new eateries will open over the next 12 months in cities like Baltimore, Princeton, Washington DC, and New York City.
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Starbucks Brings Mobile Payments to NYC
Starbucks recently announced the expansion of its Starbucks Card Mobile payment trial to almost 300 stores in New York City as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island. The trial had previously been limited to 16 stores in Seattle and Northern California, as well as more than 1,000 Starbucks in Target stores.
Customers who download the free Starbucks Card Mobile App on their BlackBerry, iPhone, or iPod touch can pay for purchases via their mobile device, manage their card account, reload their card balance using a major credit card, check their My Starbucks Rewards status, or find nearby Starbucks stores.
"Mobile technology is part of our customers' daily routine, and with the expansion of mobile payment in our test cities, we're seeing more and more customers using their smartphones as their mobile wallets," says company vice president Brady Brewer.
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No deal before Hilton hotel's foreclosure, BlackRock says
The New York lender that holds the mortgage on the former Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel didn't work a deal with other companies to resell the hotel before it foreclosed last month, an executive said yesterday.
"We'd always thought about foreclosing as an alternative," said Eloisa Mascarenas, vice president of BlackRock Financial Management Inc., during a bankruptcy court hearing Downtown. It also considered new investors or a joint venture, she said.
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"We'd always thought about foreclosing as an alternative," said Eloisa Mascarenas, vice president of BlackRock Financial Management Inc., during a bankruptcy court hearing Downtown. It also considered new investors or a joint venture, she said.
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Sea Island To Seek Exit From Bankruptcy
On Thursday, Sea Island Co., the elegant Southern resort that tumbled into bankruptcy last August, will ask Judge John S. Dalis of the Brunswick, Ga., bankruptcy court to sign off on its plan to exit Chapter 11 protection.
Sea Island, which sold its assets at a bankruptcy auction earlier this month, is exiting bankruptcy under new ownership. Four firms--Oaktree Capital Management LP and Avenue Capital Group, along with billionaire Philip Anschutz's Anschutz Corp. and Starwood Capital Group Global--bought the resort's assets for $212.4 million.
The resort's plan divvies up the proceeds from the sale. Most of the proceeds are earmarked for the company's lenders, owed at least $340 million. The resort's unsecured creditors are only slated to recoup about $3 million.
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Sea Island, which sold its assets at a bankruptcy auction earlier this month, is exiting bankruptcy under new ownership. Four firms--Oaktree Capital Management LP and Avenue Capital Group, along with billionaire Philip Anschutz's Anschutz Corp. and Starwood Capital Group Global--bought the resort's assets for $212.4 million.
The resort's plan divvies up the proceeds from the sale. Most of the proceeds are earmarked for the company's lenders, owed at least $340 million. The resort's unsecured creditors are only slated to recoup about $3 million.
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California Tosses Worker Class Action Against Chipotle Mexican Grill
This district’s Court of Appeal has thrown out a class action suit alleging that food restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill violated labor laws by denying employees meal and rest breaks.
Div. Eight, in an opinion published yesterday, ruled that employers must provide employees with breaks, but need not ensure that employees take them.
Former Chipotle employee Rogelio Hernandez sued the company after he was terminated in 2006. He sought to certify a class of thousands of current and former non-managerial employees who worked millions of shifts for Chipotle beginning in July 2003.
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Caine Scrapped Cuban Restaurant Plans Amid Political Fears
Acting veteran SIR MICHAEL CAINE scrapped plans to expand his restaurant empire to Cuba, amid fears he would face violent opposition for supporting anti-U.S. revolutionary FIDEL CASTRO.
The Brit moved his restaurant empire stateside in the 1990s when he opened his sixth eatery, Miami's South Beach Brasserie - and admits he was keen to expand south to the Caribbean nation.
But a Cuban friend persuaded him to axe the idea amid concerns the actor would face angry protests for appearing to support the regime of the country's former president.
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The Brit moved his restaurant empire stateside in the 1990s when he opened his sixth eatery, Miami's South Beach Brasserie - and admits he was keen to expand south to the Caribbean nation.
But a Cuban friend persuaded him to axe the idea amid concerns the actor would face angry protests for appearing to support the regime of the country's former president.
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Restaurant Industry Outlook Improved in September as Restaurant Performance Index Rose Above 100 for First Time in Five Months
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Driven by improving same-store sales and customer traffic levels, as well as growing optimism among restaurant operators, the outlook for the restaurant industry improved in September. The National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 100.3 in September, up a solid 0.8 percent from its August level. In addition, the RPI rose above 100 for the first time in five months, which signifies expansion in the index of key industry indicators.
"The RPI's solid gain in September was the result of broad-based improvements among both the current situation and forward-looking indicators," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the National Restaurant Association. "Restaurant operators reported positive same-store sales and customer traffic levels for the first time in six months, which propelled the RPI's Current Situation Index to its highest level in nearly three years.
"In addition, restaurant operators are more optimistic about sales growth in the months ahead, while their outlook for the economy rose to its strongest level in five months," Riehle added.
Watch a video of Hudson Riehle providing an industry update, including the RPI and holiday dining, on the National Restaurant Association's website, www.restaurant.org.
The RPI is constructed so that the health of the restaurant industry is measured in relation to a steady-state level of 100. Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, and index values below 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indicators. The RPI consists of two components, the Current Situation Index and the Expectations Index.
The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 99.4 in September – up 0.5 percent from August and its strongest level since October 2007. However, the Current Situation Index remained below 100 for the 37th consecutive month, as the softness in the labor and capital expenditure indicators outweighed the gains in same-store sales and customer traffic.
Restaurant operators reported a net increase in same-store sales for the first time in six months in September. Forty-four percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between September 2009 and September 2010, up from 38 percent of operators who reported higher sales in August. Meanwhile, 38 percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in September, down from 43 percent of operators who reported negative sales in August.
Restaurant operators also reported a slight uptick in customer traffic levels in September. Thirty-eight percent of restaurant operators reported an increase in customer traffic between September 2009 and September 2010, while 37 percent of operators reported a traffic decline. In August, 35 percent of operators reported an increase in customer traffic levels, while 42 percent reported a traffic decline.
Despite the improvements in sales and traffic levels, restaurant operators reported a slight drop-off in capital spending levels in recent months. Forty-two percent of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months, down from 44 percent of operators who reported similarly last month.
The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators' six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 101.1 in September – up 1.0 percent from August and its strongest level in five months.
Restaurant operators are more optimistic about an improving sales environment in the months ahead. Forty-three percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared with the same period in the previous year), up from 38 percent who reported similarly last month. In comparison, 14 percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, compared with 17 percent who reported similarly last month.
Restaurant operators are also more bullish about the direction of the overall economy. Thirty-eight percent of restaurant operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, up from 25 percent last month and the strongest level of optimism in five months. In comparison, just 16 percent of operators said they expect economic conditions to worsen in the next six months, down from 21 who reported similarly last month.
Along with an improving outlook for sales and the economy, restaurant operators' plans for capital expenditures also grew. Forty-seven percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, up from 42 percent who reported similarly last month and the strongest level in five months.
The RPI is based on the responses to the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey, which is fielded monthly among restaurant operators nationwide on a variety of indicators including sales, traffic, labor, and capital expenditures. The full report is available online (http://www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/index/201009.pdf).
The RPI is released on the last business day of each month, and more detailed data and analysis can be found on Restaurant TrendMapper (www.restaurant.org/trendmapper), the Association's subscription-based service that provides detailed analysis of restaurant industry trends.
"The RPI's solid gain in September was the result of broad-based improvements among both the current situation and forward-looking indicators," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the National Restaurant Association. "Restaurant operators reported positive same-store sales and customer traffic levels for the first time in six months, which propelled the RPI's Current Situation Index to its highest level in nearly three years.
"In addition, restaurant operators are more optimistic about sales growth in the months ahead, while their outlook for the economy rose to its strongest level in five months," Riehle added.
Watch a video of Hudson Riehle providing an industry update, including the RPI and holiday dining, on the National Restaurant Association's website, www.restaurant.org.
The RPI is constructed so that the health of the restaurant industry is measured in relation to a steady-state level of 100. Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, and index values below 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indicators. The RPI consists of two components, the Current Situation Index and the Expectations Index.
The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 99.4 in September – up 0.5 percent from August and its strongest level since October 2007. However, the Current Situation Index remained below 100 for the 37th consecutive month, as the softness in the labor and capital expenditure indicators outweighed the gains in same-store sales and customer traffic.
Restaurant operators reported a net increase in same-store sales for the first time in six months in September. Forty-four percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between September 2009 and September 2010, up from 38 percent of operators who reported higher sales in August. Meanwhile, 38 percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in September, down from 43 percent of operators who reported negative sales in August.
Restaurant operators also reported a slight uptick in customer traffic levels in September. Thirty-eight percent of restaurant operators reported an increase in customer traffic between September 2009 and September 2010, while 37 percent of operators reported a traffic decline. In August, 35 percent of operators reported an increase in customer traffic levels, while 42 percent reported a traffic decline.
Despite the improvements in sales and traffic levels, restaurant operators reported a slight drop-off in capital spending levels in recent months. Forty-two percent of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months, down from 44 percent of operators who reported similarly last month.
The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators' six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 101.1 in September – up 1.0 percent from August and its strongest level in five months.
Restaurant operators are more optimistic about an improving sales environment in the months ahead. Forty-three percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared with the same period in the previous year), up from 38 percent who reported similarly last month. In comparison, 14 percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, compared with 17 percent who reported similarly last month.
Restaurant operators are also more bullish about the direction of the overall economy. Thirty-eight percent of restaurant operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, up from 25 percent last month and the strongest level of optimism in five months. In comparison, just 16 percent of operators said they expect economic conditions to worsen in the next six months, down from 21 who reported similarly last month.
Along with an improving outlook for sales and the economy, restaurant operators' plans for capital expenditures also grew. Forty-seven percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, up from 42 percent who reported similarly last month and the strongest level in five months.
The RPI is based on the responses to the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey, which is fielded monthly among restaurant operators nationwide on a variety of indicators including sales, traffic, labor, and capital expenditures. The full report is available online (http://www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/index/201009.pdf).
The RPI is released on the last business day of each month, and more detailed data and analysis can be found on Restaurant TrendMapper (www.restaurant.org/trendmapper), the Association's subscription-based service that provides detailed analysis of restaurant industry trends.
Mexican Restaurants, Inc. Announces Delisting on NASDAQ; Plans to Deregister Common Stock with SEC
HOUSTON, Oct 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Mexican Restaurants, Inc. announced it has taken definitive action to voluntarily delist its common stock on NASDAQ. Subsequent to the delisting, the Company intends to deregister its common stock and suspend its reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). The Company is taking these steps in order to avoid various public company costs, including Sarbanes-Oxley Act costs, that the Company believes disproportionately affect smaller publicly traded companies. The Company intends to maintain a market in its common shares by having the shares listed on a quotation service that does not require an issuer to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") such as the Pink Sheets, but currently has no arrangement for listing in place. The Company is eligible to deregister its common stock under the Exchange Act because it has fewer than 300 shareholders of record.
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Ruth's Hospitality Group narrows 3rd-quarter loss
Ruth's Hospitality Group Inc.'s third-quarter loss narrowed, benefiting from fewer expenses and improved results at its Ruth's Chris Steak House restaurants.
The restaurant company that owns the famous Ruth's Chris chain also named President and CEO Michael P. O'Donnell as its chairman on Friday.
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The restaurant company that owns the famous Ruth's Chris chain also named President and CEO Michael P. O'Donnell as its chairman on Friday.
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Chinglish: To keep or let go?
What if you were in a hotel bathroom and you saw a notice that said, "take care of the landslide". Could you possibly have guessed what it meant?
The Chinese call it Chinglish and many foreigners have had the experience of reading such confusing Chinese translations of English words and phrases.
To help foreigners better understand Chongqing, a translation center was set up under the foreign affairs office of the municipality in southwest China. It released standard translations to some widely-used words on Wednesday.
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The Chinese call it Chinglish and many foreigners have had the experience of reading such confusing Chinese translations of English words and phrases.
To help foreigners better understand Chongqing, a translation center was set up under the foreign affairs office of the municipality in southwest China. It released standard translations to some widely-used words on Wednesday.
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