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- U.S. restaurant chains heat up Canada expansion plans
P.F. Chang's is seeing success with its first eatery in Canada, and it and other U.S. chains are looking northward for growth. About 47% of Canadians dine out daily, compared to 44% of Americans, making the market attractive despite the higher costs for salaries, benefits and supply management. "If we can be successful in ... Canada, that means we can be successful in other higher-cost markets around the world," said P.F. Chang's Mike Welborn. Reuters
(9/27)      
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- Study: Restaurants raised prices a bit this year
Quick-service and full-service restaurants raised their menu prices 2.8% in the past year, according to an analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's a moderate increase given the rising costs of commodities during the same period, said Hudson Riehle, senior VP of research for the National Restaurant Association. Nation's Restaurant News (free registration)
(9/27)
- Starbucks taps Tata executive to lead in India
Starbucks will open its first shop in India next month, in a joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, and the company has named Avani Saglani Davda as CEO. Davda began working for Tata in 2002 and was part of the team that developed the joint venture with Starbucks. The Wall Street Journal
(9/28)
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- Turning your eatery into a cult favorite
 How do some one-location independent eateries end up with daily lines out the door and segments on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives"? Often, it's thanks to a recipe that eschews big marketing in favor of focusing on cultivating social relationships that revolve around food and community, writes marketer and self-proclaimed foodie Flora Caputo. "Bottom line: People love food, not marketing. And many love to eat something really special, with somebody really special." SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Food & Beverage
(9/28)
- Upscale restaurants double as art galleries
European restaurants are uniting food with art by turning their dining rooms into galleries and hiring artists to redesign their interiors in any way they choose, all the way down to the cutlery.
"Restaurants are a great medium for art if you get it right. If there's a connection and story behind the work, that is," said chef Mark Hix of Tramshed restaurant in London. "You cannot just go shopping for art." The Wall Street Journal
(9/27)
- Green Mountain videos wake up Americans to "fair trade"
Green Mountain Coffee's latest online and social media campaign through Y&R New York explains the meaning of the "fair trade" designation on its label. New videos feature musicians Grace Potter and Michael Franti visiting coffee plantations and showing how much good the community-development portion of fair-trade coffee does. The tagline emphasizes the cause with a retro feel: "Great coffee, good vibes, pass it on." The New York Times (tiered subscription model)
(9/27)
- Prix-fixe menus on the rise
More U.S. consumers are catching onto the prix-fixe and host's table meals that are popular in Europe, in which chefs focus their energies on perfecting a small fixed menu for a set price. At Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, chef Walter Abrams' introduction of six-to-eight-course prix-fixe meals helped reinvent the 40-year-old eatery earlier this year. Forbes
(9/26)
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From the SmartBrief Library: "The Tasti D-Lite Way"
How did the dessert chain with a cult-like following become a market leader in social media as well? SmartBrief is pleased to share an excerpt from "The Tasti D-Lite Way: Social Media Marketing Lessons for Building Loyalty and a Brand Customers Crave." The book explores how the company -- ranked as one of Mashable's Top 40 Brands on Twitter -- leveraged blogs, Twitter and an innovative rewards system to not only grow customer affinity but revenue, too. In return for updating your SmartBrief subscriber profile, we will send you an excerpt from the book, absolutely free.
 | If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old."
--James Garfield,
20th U.S. president
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Recent Restaurant SmartBrief Issues:
- Thursday, September 27, 2012
- Wednesday, September 26, 2012
- Tuesday, September 25, 2012
- Monday, September 24, 2012
- Friday, September 21, 2012
| | | Lead Editor: Patricia Smith
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