SERVICE: What's There to Smile About?

March 19, 2003

In every industry -- especially the restaurant industry, writes Paul Paz -- a smile is essential to making customers feel welcomed.

OPERATIONS: Cross-training lowers labor cost, boosts morale

March 19, 2003

It's true that cross-trained employees expect to be paid more, but as Jim Moran writes, cross-trained staffs are smaller and those employees stay longer.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Know your numbers

March 19, 2003

The customer is king, and food has to be fantastic, but as Jim Laube writes, success in the restaurant business eventually comes down to the cold, hard…

Round Table Pizza selects CrossCheck for check guarantees

March 19, 2003

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- Check guarantee provider CrossCheck, Inc., announced that a group of 24 franchised Round Table Pizza locations in California have…

Papa's Pizza To-Go rolls out the ''Hundred Pounder'

March 19, 2003

GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- Papa's Pizza To-Go has announced the chain-wide introduction of its "Hundred Pounder" pizza, an 18-inch pizza boasting a pound of cheese…

Pizza delivery driver sentenced for accident that killed two

March 19, 2003

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Pizza delivery driver Jon B. Schneider, whose vehicle hit a minivan during a delivery run on Nov. 29, was convicted of reckless driving…

Veerman to head new SpeedLine customer service team

March 18, 2003

LYNDEN, Wash. -- POS manufacturer SpeedLine Solutions has appointed veteran service technician Mark Veerman its new customer care manager. According to a…

Venture capital group backed for PizzaExpress bid

March 18, 2003

LONDON -- TDR Capital and Capricorn Ventures has confirmed it now has backing for a bid to take over PizzaExpress, and that it has begun talks with the pizza…

Pie selling pizza by the pound in New York

March 18, 2003

NEW YORK CITY -- Don't look for rocker knives, wheel cutters or circular pizzas sold at Pie, a newly opened pizza-centered restaurant in lower Manhattan.

Robber murders CiCi's Pizza employee, shoots another

March 17, 2003

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- One employee was killed and another was wounded during a March 16 robbery at a CiCi's Pizza restaurant in Charlotte.

Kudos and raspberries to this month's newsmakers

March 17, 2003

A few awards and tongue-in-cheek booby prizes go out to this month's pizza industry newsmakers.

Co-founder of Valentino's pizza buffet chain dead at 87

March 17, 2003

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Zena Weiler, who co-founded the 50-store Valentino's Grand Italian Buffet chain with her husband, Valentine, died on March 16 following two…

Delivery fleet is 'Echo' friendly to Portland operator

March 16, 2003

PORTLAND, Ore. -- When it comes to looks, there's little to love about the Toyota Echo.

Private Lives

March 16, 2003

Wall Street neglect spurs the pizza industry's two largest franchisee companies, NPC International and PJ United, to go private.

Control food cost, reap profits, says Ostrander

March 16, 2003

Keeping food cost in line isn't rocket science, but it represents a change of habit for some operators.

Debit at the Door

March 16, 2003

Canadian chain rolls out wireless payment terminals to merge debit cards and pizza delivery.

Truth or Consequences

Restaurant operators are steamed over a Supreme Court ruling making them liable for employees' underreported tips.

Yum! Brands to repurchase $300 million in stock

March 16, 2003

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Stock buybacks have become popular financial strategies for foodservice companies in recent weeks.

Internet education for operators

March 16, 2003

Once a mere information source, the Internet has become a classroom and a wealth of educational materials for pizzeria operators.

Pizza Hut memo warns of cut in driver reimbursements, hints at sales declines

March 16, 2003

Pizza Hut moves to standardize its delivery driver reimbursement rate to 50 cents, while AAA figures say operating an auto for an employer's purposes costs…