News

News items from around the restaurant scene this week

December 22, 2016

Lots of brands are making end-of-year moves that are making a difference in the lives of their customers and communities. Here are a handful of news morsels that crossed this site's desktop this week, along with an example of a nifty way that casual brand, Bob Evans, keeps connecting with customers, even on holidays. 

• Krispy Kreme goes nuts for Nutella:The doughnut chain is introducing its own tribute to the much-loved hazelnut spread, with its new nutty cocoa ring doughnut in the U.S. The "hole-y" confection is dipped in Nutella, then topped with hazelnuts and chocolate icing, according to a news release. 
• Pizza chain openings:Pieology opened its first Fort Lauderdale location on East Commercial Boulevard, while PizzaRev is opening its second international location in San Pedro Garza García, in the Mexican state of New Leon. It’s the second of 20 PizzaRev restaurants under development by Grupo Galería throughout Mexico City and the states of New Leon and Coahuila. The group’s first Mexican location opened in Monterrey last April.

• GPS joins BK franchise giants:Atlanta-based GPS Hospitality franchisee group has acquired 194 Burger King restaurants, expanding the company's reach into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Florida. The move doubles GPS's size and elevates it to being among the top three largest U.S. franchisees for the brand, with 424 locations nationwide. The new division will be overseen by Joe Waller, who the company said has been promoted to vice president of operations.
• Focused restaurant job finder hits market: Snagajob has launched a new service to connect employers --including those in the restaurant industry -- to a more targeted labor pool. PeopleMatter Find has already increased the number of applications Snagajob processed by 166 percent, according to a news release, and two top restaurant industry brands have committed to using the product across all of their locations. In fact, in beta-testing the new product lent to a 20 percent increase in rate of monthly processed applications. With more than 80 percent of Snagajob’s registered workers operating within the restaurant, retail and hospitality markets, PeopleFind is intended to help this industry's employers reach the specific type of employee needed at any given moment. 
• Auntie Anne's gives $3M to fight kids' cancers:The brand said in a news release that it has donated $3 million to fund childhood cancer research since partnering with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation five years ago. The chain has used everything from in-store fundraising campaigns and coin canisters, to events both locally and nationally. In 2016, Auntie Anne’s raised nearly $700,000 for the charity. 

Casual dining brand's holiday hotline good example of marketing through "helping" 

Even though Bob Evans is closed on Christmas day, it's still managing to market the brand and connect with customers on what some consider the year's biggest holiday. Its take-home-and-serve-as-your-own offerings are accessed by many a busy family for the holiday meal, but this year the brand is augmenting that with etiquette and entertainment expertise via a hotline partnership with The Emily Post Institute, according to a news release. So, in addition to serving as the harried holiday cook's best friend, it's now helping in how that food and fun is served, through the Institute's experts via its call-in helpline for both Christmas and New Year's party hosts.