On the Front Burner

• Study: SF eateries don't spend all the health care fees
  About 40% of the $14 million collected last year by San Francisco restaurants and other businesses under the city's 5-year-old health care ordinance was not spent on employee health care, according to an analysis by the Associated Press. Some businesses cited confusion about how the funds were allowed to be spent, and many said they spent what was needed and will save the balance for future employee health care needs. San Francisco Chronicle/The Associated Press (9/8)      

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• 7-Eleven revamps stores with a focus on food
  7-Eleven is updating its stores and adding a slew of new quickservice food options including pizza and tacos prepared in Turbochef ovens. The stores will showcase prepared foods in new glass-fronted hot-food cases and will also expand their heavily-trafficked coffee bars. San Diego Union-Tribune (9/9)      

• Starbucks and the art of negotiating the daily deal
  Starbucks turned heads with last week's LivingSocial deal offering $10 worth of coffee for $5, a popular offer that sold 1.5 million in less than a day, but sources say the daily deal site paid the price. Starbucks lent its name and clout to the deal, but LivingSocial subsidized it as part of a push to top rival Groupon, according to insiders. FastCasual.com (9/7)      

• Other News

• Jack in the Box to phase out pork gestation crates by 2022
  QSRMagazine.com (9/8)      

• Are your tipped workers entitled to more?
  A court ruled recently that tipped workers of a large Applebee's franchisee showed that 20% or more of their work time was spent on cleaning, picking up trash and other tasks that fall outside the scope of their serving duties, which means the employer must pay full minimum wage for the time spent on those jobs. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Food & Beverage (9/10)      

• Chains mix healthy eating and helping others
  Restaurant chains including Subway and Chipotle are increasingly finding new ways to emphasize healthy eating while helping philanthropic causes. Chipotle's efforts include a partnership with Veggie U and its non-profit "Earth to Table" program which provides DIY garden kits to schools. QSR Magazine (9/2012)      

• The serious business of BBQ competitions
  The Kansas City Barbeque Society hosts 400 barbecue competitions around the country each year, including the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue, an invitation-only event amateurs must work up to, writes Louisiana-based competitive cook and food writer Jay D. Ducote. He shares a primer for BBQ lovers looking to break into the competition circuit. The Huffington Post/Menuism blog (8/28)      

• Zagat: Business gets better at London's eateries
  About 40% of London restaurateurs responding to a survey said the city's dining scene has improved since last year, a sign that the sector is starting to pull out of the downturn, according to Zagat Survey. Bloomberg Businessweek (9/9)      

• KFC beefs up vegetarian offerings in India
  Like McDonald's and its other Western rivals, chicken chain KFC has boosted the number of vegetarian dishes on the menu in India. "It will play a large role in our strategy in the context of variety. We had to broaden the relevance of KFC across different consumer types in the country," said Tarun Lal, general manager at KFC India. The Economic Times (India) (9/9)      

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

Restaurants get tough on on-the-job drinking (USA TODAY)

Study: Organic food not healthier or safer (The New York Times (tiered subscription model))

Checkers/Rally's finds new look for signature design (BurgerBusiness.com)

Taco Bell to pour Mtn. Dew mix in the morning (San Jose Mercury News (Calif.))

	Darden workers file federal wage lawsuit (Orlando Sentinel (Fla.))
Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

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