fast-food industry – News Stories About fast-food industry - Page 9

May 19, 2011 2:18 PM CDT

McDonald's: We're Not Ditching Ronald

CEO defends marketing, says clown is 'ambassador for good'

(Newser) - McDonald’s isn’t going to stop marketing to kids anytime soon if CEO Jim Skinner has anything to say about it. At the company’s annual meeting today, Skinner defended the practice and said parents should be able to decide for themselves whether McDonald’s is healthy enough. “...

Starbucks Is America's New No. 3 Chain, Unseats Wendy's, Burger King

New No. 3 US Chain: Starbucks

Apr 27, 2011 6:55 AM CDT

New No. 3 US Chain: Starbucks

Unseats Burger King, Wendy's

(Newser) - The Whopper and the Frosty have officially been replaced by the Frappuccino: Starbucks is now the nation's No. 3 chain, having leapfrogged in front of burger giants Burger King and Wendy's, who, according to one researcher, have been struggling to find "their niche." In terms of...

McDonald's Coffee
Drinkers Most Loyal

sorry, starbucks

Apr 15, 2011 11:55 AM CDT

McDonald's Coffee Drinkers Most Loyal

McD's fans beat out Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks customers

(Newser) - It may be a burger chain, but McDonald’s is winning the battle for coffee customers’ devotion, a study finds. In a given month, just 29% of McDonald’s customers hit up Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts for coffee or breakfast. Meanwhile, 53% of Starbucks and Dunkin’ fans “roam,”...

KFC Looks to Conquer Africa
With Fried Chicken

KFC Looks to Conquer Africa With Fried Chicken

Chain to open hundreds of restaurants in a dozen countries

(Newser) - Kentucky Fried Chicken wants to take over Africa. Like McDonald's and other fast-food giants, KFC parent company Yum Brands has been countering the slowdown in American spending with expansion overseas. Having populated China with KFC outlets, Yum now plans to double the number of stores in Africa to 1,200,...

6 Months Later, McDonald's Happy Meal Is Mold-Free

Oct 12, 2010 10:14 AM CDT

6 Months Later, McDonald's Happy Meal Is Mold-Free

Artist has been photographing the burger, fries since April 10

(Newser) - What started as art has turned into mad science. Sally Davies took a photo of the McDonald's Happy Meal she bought on April 10—and she's taken a picture of that same meal every day since. Now, six months on, the hamburger and fries seem to defy the laws of...

Sold! Burger King Goes for $4B

Sep 2, 2010 9:02 AM CDT

Sold! Burger King Goes for $4B

3G Capital to acquire company for $4B

(Newser) - Burger King got itself a whopper of a deal: The country's second-largest hamburger chain will sell itself to private equity firm 3G Capital for $24 a share. Final price tag: about $4 billion, reports Bloomberg . That price is 46% more than Burger King’s $16.45 close on Tuesday, before...

For Sale:
Burger King

Sep 1, 2010 6:32 AM CDT

For Sale: Burger King

Chain seeks whopper of a private equity deal

(Newser) - Burger King wants it its way, right away: The world's second-biggest burger chain is looking for a buyer to take it off the stock market. Burger King execs have been in talks with various private equity firms in recent weeks, sources tell the Wall Street Journal , naming British firm 3i...

Don't Touch That Receipt!
It May Be Toxic

Don't Touch That Receipt! It May Be Toxic

40% of receipts tested were slathered with bisphenol A

(Newser) - Sheesh: The same toxic chemical—bisphenol A—that's shown up in baby bottles and canned goods is apparently also all over the receipts you get from stores and restaurants, and in much greater amounts. BPA was found in the coating used on cash register receipts in 40% of businesses tested,...

McDonald's:
Soon-to-Be
Chi-Chi
Destination

WANT FRIES WITH THAT LINGER ZONE?

May 19, 2010 1:49 PM CDT

McDonald's: Soon-to-Be Chi-Chi Destination

Burger joint goes yuppie with 'linger zones'

(Newser) - You know those giant golden arches thrust into the sky on a pole in front of your local McDonald's? Kiss 'em goodbye. They're just one of the casualties of an upcoming total redesign of the McDonald's franchise, Salon reports. Gone, too, will be the red, double-sloped roofs, and the cafeteria-like...

Calif. County Moves
to Ban Happy Meal Toys

Apr 27, 2010 1:01 AM CDT

Calif. County Moves to Ban Happy Meal Toys

First-of-its-kind ban aimed at tackling child obesity

(Newser) - California's Santa Clara may soon be the first place in America to ban the little toys that come with McDonald's' Happy Meals and other fast-food promotions. County officials say the move—which would outlaw free toys with any meal that has over 485 calories or high levels of salt, sugar,...

Fast Food Worse Than
the Double Down

Fast Food Worse Than the Double Down

Nate Silver finds the KFC monstrosity is really only average

(Newser) - So by now you've heard of—or God help you, sampled—the gluttonous monstrosity known as KFC's Double Down , but how does it stack up in the less-than-healthy world of fast food? Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight runs the numbers, creating an index of fat, cholesterol, and sodium in which the...

Double Downs,
Touchscreens Don't Mix

Double Downs, Touchscreens Don't Mix

iPad disabled by the touch of KFC diners

(Newser) - While foodies were debating the culinary merits of the Double Down yesterday, two selfless Gizmodo reporters sacrificed their guts and their gadgets to confirm the somewhat foregone conclusion that the sandwich might not pair so well with a touchscreen device. The pair were presumably unsurprised to find their iPad disabled...

KFC's Double Down
Is Double Blech

CULINARY ATROCITIES

Apr 12, 2010 2:24 PM CDT

KFC's Double Down Is Double Blech

Reviewers not so fond of latest fast-food monstrosity

(Newser) - Congratulations, KFC, your Double Down stunt has gotten more publicity than a Nazi-themed romp with Jesse James. So here's a little more, in the form of what the reviewers are saying:

The Double Down "arrives at a new low," writes Sam Sifton of the New York Times . Even

...

Burger King Offers Beer
With Whoppers

Jan 22, 2010 6:47 AM CST

Burger King Offers Beer With Whoppers

First 'Whopper Bar' will open in South Beach, Miami

(Newser) - Burger King plans to pair beer and burgers in a new joint called the Whopper Bar in South Beach. The restaurant will offer a range of burgers, toppings and beer, with a 'Whopper Combo' costing $7.99, or about two bucks more than regular. But unless you live in a...

How Arby's Lost Its Beefiness

FLOUNDERING CHAIN

Nov 8, 2009 10:26 AM CST

How Arby's Lost Its Beefiness

Don't blame recession: fast-food chain just isn't trying

(Newser) - The recession has had its winners and losers, and when it comes to fast food, Arby's is bringing up the rear. Same-stores sales have been down for the last seven quarters, writes Daniel Gross for Slate, but the economy can't take the entire rap on this one: Arby's just doesn't...

Fast-Food Star of
Recession: $5 Footlong

analysis

Nov 7, 2009 11:34 AM CST

Fast-Food Star of Recession: $5 Footlong

Subway is rewarded for listening to franchisee

(Newser) - BusinessWeek has found what it calls the "fast-food success story of the recession"—the $5 footlong sandwich from Subway. The simple idea began with a franchisee who noticed slow sales on weekends and decided to knock down prices to bring in customers. After sales went through the...

Soda Tax
Threat a Boon for Food Lobbyists

Nov 5, 2009 12:25 PM CST

Soda Tax Threat a Boon for Food Lobbyists

Industry pours millions into fight against it

(Newser) - Capitol Hill’s flirtation with a national excise tax on sugary drinks has been good for someone: food lobbyists. Soda makers, supermarkets, and fast-food restaurants have spent more than $24 million fighting the tax, the Huffington Post reports. “We are reacting to the situation we find ourselves in,"...

Oldsters Behind
Counter Boost
McDonald's Sales

Aug 13, 2009 5:42 AM CDT

Oldsters Behind Counter Boost McDonald's Sales

(Newser) - Having workers in their golden years is key to the Golden Arches' success, according to a British study. Researchers found that customer satisfaction levels were 20% higher in outlets where people over 60 were employed. The boost comes from the older workers' better people skills, strong work ethic, and influence...

Recession?
McDonald's
Is Loving It

Analysis

Aug 12, 2009 1:42 PM CDT

Recession? McDonald's Is Loving It

(Newser) - Now that the recession’s supposed to be just about over, it’s time to survey the battlefield and pick out winners, and nobody was a bigger winner than the Golden Arches, writes Daniel Gross for Slate. McDonald’s sales grew more in 2008 than in 2006 or 2007, and...

Let's Do to Big Food
What We Did to Big Tobacco

OPINION

Jul 24, 2009 11:30 AM CDT

Let's Do to Big Food What We Did to Big Tobacco

'Big Food' and 'Big Tobacco' have a lot in common

(Newser) - After decades of anti-smoking campaigns, Big Tobacco has been brought low and ashtrays have “gone the way of spittoons,” writes Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe. It’s high time we gave Big Food the same treatment. “Now that two-thirds of Americans are overweight, the lethal effects...