• Caribou Coffee fills the niche by buying digital space
  Caribou Coffee is expanding its menu items while maintaining an unpretentious presence in fourth place among coffee chains. Restaurant-industry analysts such as Jefferies' Andy Barish say it has a good chance of staking out a middle ground between the American light coffee of Dunkin' Donuts and the serious dark of Starbucks. The chain is relying on digital and social media in lieu of broadcast ads. "To try and compete with McDonald's and massive broadcast marketers -- we're not going to win that game, so we have to fight a smarter fight," says Senior Vice President of Marketing Alfredo Martel. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model)/CMO Strategy blog (6/18)      

• Mrs. Fields picks Denver area for new HQ
  Famous Brands International, the parent of Mrs. Fields and TCBY, will relocate its headquarters from Salt Lake City to Broomfield, Co., near Denver, CEO Tim Casey said Friday. The area is already home to the headquarters and franchise operations for several chains including Quiznos, Red Robin, Smashburger and Noodles & Co. American City Business Journals/Denver (6/15)      

• Penn Station restaurants report growing data breach
  A data breach first reported earlier this month that exposed credit- and debit-card information on Penn Station customers has grown from 43 to at least 80 franchised locations in nine states, the company said. FastCasual.com (6/15)      

• Other News

• Burger King to open 1,000 units in China by 2020
  Honolulu Star-Advertiser/The Associated Press (6/15)      

• Bob Evans boosts sausage sales to other eateries
  American City Business Journals/Columbus, Ohio (6/15)      

• NYC eateries open the windows for summer
  Some New York City restaurants are looking to boost summer revenue with pick-up windows that will stay open after the dining room closes. “There are not a lot of options when you’re hungry in this neighborhood, especially late at night,” said Rob DeFlorio, co-owner of Sauce on the Lower East Side. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Diner's Journal blog (6/15)      

• S. Fla. eateries seek to spark up slow summer sales
  As eateries across the country gear up for busy summer seasons, things are slowing down in Florida as snowbirds head north to beat the heat. More and more South Florida eateries are adding promotions driven by events and summer holidays including Father's Day and Cinco de Mayo, says Technomic's Darren Tristano. Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (6/14)      

• Celebrity chefs dish on restaurant marketing
  Celebrity chefs and restaurateurs Jose Andres, Rick Bayless and Danny Meyer took time out from the tasting at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic to talk marketing, stressing the key role restaurant websites and social media have begun to play in driving traffic to local eateries. "It’s still important to be mentioned in local newspapers, but what matters more is that people from whom your customers get their news -- such as their Facebook friends and who they follow on Twitter -- mention you," Meyer said. Nation's Restaurant News (free registration) (6/15), Zagat.com (6/16)      

• Cookbook author offers a taste of global street food: Restaurateur, TV host and cookbook author Susan Feniger shared tips and recipes for international street food gleaned from travels to India, Vietnam, Turkey, Mongolia and Singapore at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic on Sunday. The recipes Feniger demonstrated included a cucumber honeydew drink and a Burmese melon salad. The Aspen Times (Colo.) (6/18)      

• New Jersey chefs struggle to find the right barbecue offerings for customers
  Several barbecue joints have opened throughout New Jersey in the past few years, but because of the state's lack of a strong regional barbecue tradition, many have shuttered their doors. Jay Lippin, who had to close his first barbecue venture but opened a new one, The Blind Boar, knew he had to offer sweeter sauces that resembled chain restaurants' offerings in addition to satisfying comfort foods to keep his new restaurant open. "It took me 50 years to figure this out, but you’ve got to give the customers what they want," he said. NorthJersey.com (Hackensack, N.J.) (free registration) (6/17)      

Top five news stories selected by Restaurant SmartBrief readers in the past week.

More reviewers include noise-level ratings (Los Angeles Times)

Starbucks "Indivisible" brand helps save Ohio ceramics firm (The New York Times (tiered subscription model))

Snacks, spices make the list of 2012 quickservice trends (QSRWeb.com)

Darden drops membership in restaurant trade group (Orlando Sentinel (Fla.))

	Commentary: How the food world overuses "innovation" (FastCasual.com)
Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

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