Growth in the fast-casual sector is having a deep impact on the restaurant industry as operators in other segments try to imitate its successful strategies, the NPD Group said Wednesday.

Fast-casual restaurant chains grew their unit counts by double digits over the last three years, according to NPD’s Recount, a biannual census of restaurant unit counts.

Still, the fast-casual segment remains relatively undeveloped, accounting for only about 4 percent of the more than 60 billion visits to all restaurants in the year ending in June 2011, NPD said. By comparison, about 61 percent of those visits were to quick-service restaurants.

Since 2007, however, fast-casual chains also have seen dramatic increases in traffic, while quick-service and casual-dining restaurants have seen minimal increases or declines.

NPD’s “Fast Casual: A Growing Market” report also found that consumer demand for fast-casual dining outpaced the industry’s rate of expansion, and several chains in the segment have built strong customer loyalty.

“Many fast-casual concepts were positioned as a fresh, made-to-order alternative to traditional fast food options, and consumers responded positively,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst. “The segment benefited from fast-food consumers trading up and full-service consumers trading down.”

As a result, several quick-service chains have begun offering more premium products and healthful options, and upgrading interiors with upscale and modern looks that can compete on a fast-casual level, the NPD report said.

For example, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Jack in the Box and Burger King have introduced more premium burgers and upgraded menu items in recent years.

Taco Bell is testing a new fast-casual-like chef-inspired menu, and McDonald’s has been re-imaging its units, with 800 scheduled to be remodeled this year.

Riggs said traditional quick-service operators can compete with fast-casual restaurants if they pay attention to consumers’ wants and needs, especially in terms of the freshness and quality of food.

“Fast-casual concepts are in an excellent position for growth, relative to the overall industry,” she said. “However, the same growth opportunities are available to any restaurant operator able to innovate, provide value for money and not just keep up, but surpass competitors.”

Contact Lisa Jennings at lisa.jennings@penton.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @livetodineout

Red, chocolate and heart shapes are the unsurprising themes for chains as they gear up for Valentine’s Day.

Baskin-Robbins is taking the opportunity to add two flavors to its line of ice cream cake bites, introduced last October.

Love Potion #31 is white chocolate and raspberry ice cream with a raspberry ribbon, raspberry-filled chocolate hearts and chocolate chips, served on chocolate cake, covered in chocolate-flavored coating and finished with a raspberry-flavored chocolate drizzle.

The Chocolate Dipped Strawberry cake bite is Very Berry Strawberry ice cream served over chocolate cake, covered in chocolate-flavored coating, drizzled with strawberry glaze and topped with miniature chocolate hearts.

The 6,600-unit Dunkin’ Brands subsidiary also is offering a Valentine’s Day “Box of Chocolates” four pack of ice cream cake bites for a suggested retail price of $9.99. The cakes are available individually at a suggested retail price of $2.99.

In addition, Baskin-Robbins’ February flavor of the month is Superfudge Truffle — chocolate fudge ice cream with chunks of chocolate ganache and toffee truffle pieces.

Sister brand Dunkin’ Donuts is introducing a new heart-shaped dessert for the holiday. The Chocolate Heart Donut is frosted with chocolate, filled with the chain’s vanilla Bavarian Kreme and sprinkled with chocolate chips.

The 10,000-unit chain also is reprising its Cupid’s Choice Donut, filled with Bavarian Kreme and topped with strawberry icing and pink, white and red heart-shaped sprinkles.

The donuts are available for a suggested retail price of 89 cents each.

Krispy Kreme also is selling heart-shaped doughnuts in February. The Drizzled Heart is a chocolate iced doughnut with a red-icing drizzle, while the Heart with Sprinkles has white icing, and red and white sprinkles.

In addition, the 660-unit chain based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is offering its regular-shaped chocolate iced doughnut with red and white sprinkles.

Krispy Kreme is promoting the holiday with a set of 12 Valentine cards, which it is giving away with the purchase of a dozen doughnuts while supplies last.

Dairy Queen’s heart-shaped offering is a cake made with a layer of chocolate soft serve topped with fudge and crunch, and then a layer of vanilla soft serve decorated with icing.

The 5,900-unit chain based in Minneapolis also has named the Choco Cherry Love Blizzard its flavor of the month for its signature blended milk shake treat. It is a blend of chocolate flavored chunks with cherries and vanilla soft serve.

Darden Restaurants' 21-unit subsidiary Seasons 52 has added a holiday themed item to its line of Mini Indulgence desserts through February 15. The Chocolate Raspberry Valentine is chocolate cake layered with chocolate syrup, raspberry purée and raspberry mousse. It’s garnished with whipped cream and a chocolate kiss.

All Seasons 52 mini indulgences are priced at $2.50 each.

Although desserts dominate when it comes to specials for this holiday, take-and-bake pizza chain Papa Murphy’s is offering a HeartBaker — a heart-shaped pizza topped with grated cheese, and pepperoni for the red color, to be taken home and baked by its customers. Prices for the pie vary by location for the 1,300-unit chain, but will average about $7 each.

Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
 

Marco’s Pizza, the franchisor of more than 280 restaurants in 21 states, has partnered in a $100 million deal with privately held movie rental chain Family Video to open Marco’s outlets within as many as 350 of its movie stores.

Jack Butorac, chief executive of Toledo, Ohio-based Marco’s, said the partnership was an “exciting match” of like-minded brands with systems that can help each other grow.

“When you choose whom you align with, you want to align with folks that share your culture and goals,” Butorac said. “Even though Family Video is the largest privately owned video chain in the country, they’re completely down to earth and value partnerships.”

In this arrangement, Family Video would become Marco’s largest franchisee. Because Glenview, Ill.-based Family Video owns all of the real estate for its more than 735 movie rental stores in 19 states, the company had the flexibility to fill available space in its buildings with new revenue streams, Butorac said.

Plans for the franchised Marco’s units call for about 1,500 square feet of space, and most Family Video stores have that capacity available in their buildings, which typically encompass about 7,000 square feet.

Marco’s first entered Family Video when a franchisee leased parts of four Family Video stores about three years ago. The movie rental company became familiar with Marco’s and approached executives at its franchise convention last March to pitch this deal.

Despite the fact that the retail video rental business is declining — particularly given the intense competition from companies like Netflix — Marco’s is confident that this line of franchising is sustainable.

“They said they wanted to be our franchisee, and they wanted to be treated special,” Butorac said. “At first it didn’t make sense to me, because I thought if they were looking for a replacement concept [for an empty video store], the answer is ‘no’. But their same-store sales were up 4 percent last year, and they had record profits. They’re planning ahead for what consumers are saying they want.

“When you have very little debt and lots of cash, you don’t need a lot of money to make money.”

The first co-located Marco’s restaurant is scheduled to open within a Family Video store in Wheeling, Ill., in the first quarter of 2012. Officials from both companies said the majority of the 350 conversions to follow would be in the Midwest, beginning with Illinois and Indiana.

Butorac said Marco’s and Family Video share not only demographics for core customers but also similar criteria for selecting sites for new stores.

“If we know who our current customers are, we can forecast potential customers at future sites,” he said, “and when we looked at Family Video’s 735 stores, we were shocked that so many of their stores were located exactly where we’d want to be. We look for what we call ‘rooftops’ in an area we’re scouting, and they look for ‘rooftops.’”

Marco’s and Family Video are working on a joint online-ordering system for cobranded locations that would allow customers to order their pizza, select a DVD from Family Video’s library, and have both delivered by the same driver.

For now, Family Video will have the same contribution requirements as any franchisee in terms of sales royalties, national marketing fund dollars and investment toward the Marco’s University online-training platform, Butorac said.

“But as they grow, I’ll give them some economic advantages,” he said. “They would like to build as many as 500 stores, so if they make it past 350, I’ll give them some incentives. It’s good for them and good for me.”

Contact Mark Brandau at mark.brandau@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @Mark_from_NRN
 

Panera will expand a test of table service and drive-thrus this year, Panera Bread Co. executives said Wednesday.

Company executives spoke with analysts after reporting Tuesday that profit increased 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter after special charges.

The St. Louis, Mo.-based bakery-café chain said earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 27, 2011, rose to $38.6 million, or $1.31 per share, up from $36.5 million, or $1.21 per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 15.8 percent, to $495.8 million, from $428.2 million in the previous year.

In the coming months, Panera plans to offer more table-delivery units in what has been a predominantly fast-casual service model.

“We now have table delivery in 132 company bakery-cafés and 214 across our system,” said William W. Moreton, Panera’s chief executive and president. “We continue to believe this is the right way to position our concept to deliver the type of customer experience we are striving for.”

Moreton emphasized that table service is designed to position Panera competitively. “We think it’s very consistent with the rest of the Panera experience we’re trying to provide,” he said, adding that it increases consumer scores in friendliness. “You’ll see this evolve and unfold.”

In addition, Moreton said about 50 of the 115 to 120 new Panera units in 2012 will feature drive-thrus. “In 2011, 30 of our new bakery-cafés were drive-thru units, bringing our total at the end of 2011 to 119 drive-thrus.” An additional 25 will be converted to drive-thrus in retrofit remodels, he said.

During the company’s earnings call with investors, executives also discussed:

Same-store sales: The company expects a 7-percent to 7.5-percent increase in same-store sales for the year. In the fourth quarter, Panera reported that same-store sales had increased 5.9 percent in the quarter at company-owned restaurants and 3.2 percent at franchised units. “So far in 2012, our first-quarter to-date company comparable-store sales are up 8.9 percent,” Moreton said.

Continued from page 1

New products: A Mediterranean egg white breakfast sandwich rolled out this year, and Moreton said it has “been performing very well.” A new roasted turkey-cranberry panini, which was tested in the Chicago market in the fourth quarter, will be introduced later this year. Panera debuted sandwich grills in the second quarter of 2011, he said, and panini sales have increased 16 percent since then. Hot breakfast-sandwich sales increased 15 percent in 2011.

Marketing: Panera plans to increase advertising spending again this year. “We continue to be early-on in our advertising journey and spend relatively less money on advertising than most of our national competitors,” Moreton said.

Panera increased its advertising spending 32 percent in 2011 over 2010 levels, reflecting an increase to 1.3 percent of systemwide sales from 1.1 percent. “In 2012, we intend to increase our advertising spending by 26 percent over 2011 levels and go from 1.3 percent to 1.5 percent of sales,” Moreton said. Panera gets more than $1 of profit from each $1 of spending, he added. The brand plans to run its first national cable television ad at the end of the first quarter.

Loyalty program: The “My Panera” loyalty program, introduced in 2010, has grown to 9.5 million members. “Now we truly are moving to one-to-one marketing,” Moreton said. Each member will have an individual program based on buying patterns, Moreton said, with tailored rewards.

Catering: The Panera catering program’s sales grew 29 percent in 2011 and contributed more than 1 percentage point to same-store sales growth.

Urban units: The company plans to take advantage of urban real estate as reasonable opportunities arise, executives said. Panera opened its 1,500th restaurant in New York this month. “Our entry into Manhattan is building upon the success that we’ve had with our urban openings in Washington, D.C., Boston and Chicago,” Moreton said. Two more Panera units will be opening in Manhattan this spring.

Commodity inflation: The fourth quarter saw the highest inflation point of the year, at about 4.7 percent, said Jeffrey Kip, who will depart as Panera’s chief financial officer on March 15. In the first quarter of this year, he added, “We expect a little more modest unfavorability as we continue to roll through some of the higher-inflation items.” For the year, he said, the inflation should be “modestly favorable,” with a total inflation expectations of 2.75 percent in 2012.

Panera operates 1,541 restaurants under the Panera Bread, St. Louis Bread Co. and Paradise Bakery & Café brands.

Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless
 

McDonald’s Corp. reported a 6.7-percent increase in global same-store sales for January, with each of its three operating regions across the world beating previous estimates.

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said a calendar shift for January, resulting in one fewer Saturday and one additional Tuesday than a year earlier, negatively affected same-store sales around the world between 0.5 percent and 1.9 percent.

However, for the more than 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the United States, January same-store sales rose 7.8-percent, compared with a 6.9-percent consensus estimate on Wall Street and lapping a year-earlier gain of 3.1 percent.

The brand also began lapping the January 2011 launch of Fruit & Maple Oatmeal at breakfast.

McDonald’s credited sales of breakfast, beverages and core menu items for driving January’s performance in the United States. The chain also began national advertising on Jan. 23 for its Chicken McBites limited-time offer, which will be available through April.

View and ad for McDonald's McBites; story continues below

Jeffrey Bernstein, restaurant analyst for Barclays Capital, wrote in a research note that McDonald’s performance in January also benefited from slightly more than 3 percent of menu price increases gradually implemented during 2011.

As they do most months, Europe’s four big markets of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Russia contributed heavily to the division’s same-store sales increase, which was 4 percent in January.

McDonald’s said limited-time offerings, promotions of core products and ongoing remodeling efforts in Europe led to the 4-percent increase, which beat Wall Street’s 3.4-percent consensus estimate and lapped a 7-percent increase in January 2011.

Throughout the European division but excluding Russia, McDonald’s had taken price increases of about 2 percent heading into 2012, Bernstein noted. He added that many European countries’ austerity measures enacted in 2011 have not shown a meaningful impact for the most part in the first month of 2012.

In McDonald’s Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, or APMEA, division, same-store sales rose 7.3 percent in August. That result was higher than the 6.5-percent analyst consensus and the 5.2-percent increase reported in January 2011.

The brand pointed to China as a significant contributor to January same-store sales, due in large part to a favorable calendar shift this year for Chinese New Year. Bernstein noted that Japan and Australia also had positive same-store sales for the region.

McDonald’s operates or franchises more than 33,000 restaurants in 119 countries.

Contact Mark Brandau at mark.brandau@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @Mark_from_NRN
 

Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread and Chipotle topped a list of limited-service restaurant chains with “excellent” customer satisfaction ratings for 2011, according to a survey by Sandelman & Associates.

The San Clement, Calif.-based market research firm’s Quick-Track study found Chick-fil-A led the pack of limited-service chains with 500 or more U.S. units, with 63 percent of customers who had visited the brand in the past three months rating customer satisfaction as “excellent.” The Quick-Track surveyed more than 107,400 limited-service restaurant users in 87 U.S. media markets.

“These Top 10 chains offer high-quality fresh food, served in comfortable and inviting surroundings,” Bob Sandelman, founder and chief executive of Sandelman & Associates, said. “Several of the fast-food giants have responded with better food and better spaces.”

The Top 10 rankings for limited-service restaurant chains with 500 or more units and the percentage rating of “excellent” for the most recent visit:

1. Chick-fil-A, 63%
2. Panera Bread, 58%
3. Chipotle Mexican Grill, 57%
4. Jersey Mike’s Subs, 53%
4. Five Guys Burger & Fries, 53%
6. Papa Murphy’s Pizza, 52%
7. Zaxby’s, 51%
8. Starbucks, 50%
9. Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, 48%
10. Whataburger, 45%

Sandelman also looked at smaller chains and recalculated a ranking that included chains with fewer than 500 units. Café Rio, a fast-casual Mexican chain based in Salt Lake City, Utah, led that list.

When Sandelman incorporated smaller, regional chains with fewer than 500 units into the list, the top 10 included:

1. Café Rio Mexican Grill, 65%
2. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, 63%
2. Chick-fil-A, 63%
2. In-N-Out Burger, 63%
5. Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, 61%
6. Pei Wei Asian Diner, 59%
7. Lenny’s Sub Shop, 58%
7. Panera Bread, 58%
9. Chipotle Mexican Grill, 57%
9. Firehouse Subs, 57%

Sandelman ranked on 16 attributes of the dining experience, such as “taste and flavor of the food” and “value for the money.”

Sandelman said that for the fourth consecutive year, Little Caesars held the top spot for “value for the money” and “affordability of the prices.” Subway continued to be the highest rated for healthy and nutritious food. McDonald’s was ousted as No. 1 for the first time in the kid appeal category by Chick-fil-A.

Nation’s Restaurant News, in partnership with WD Partners, also presented the top 10 rankings of consumer preferances last year in its “Consumer Picks” special report.

Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless

A group of noteholders that includes affiliates of Tennenbaum Capital Partners, Z Capital Partners and J.P. Morgan Investment Management has the winning bid to acquire all assets of Real Mex Restaurants Inc. in a bankruptcy auction.

The board of directors for Real Mex, parent of the El Torito, Acapulco and Chevys Fresh Mex brands, approved the bid late Tuesday.

The sale is subject to court approval in a hearing scheduled Friday.

If approved, the noteholder group could close the deal as earlier as 30 days after the hearing, allowing the casual-dining operator to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and operate with “a substantially improved balance sheet,” Real Mex said in a statement.

“We remain confident in our turnaround plans and are looking forward to putting this challenging but necessary process behind us,” said Real Mex chairman and chief executive David Goronkin. “We are close to accomplishing our objectives in the Chapter 11 process and have the right teams in place to move our brands and company forward. A stronger financial foundation will allow us to accomplish this more quickly.”

According to court documents, RM Opco LLC, the acquiring entity established by the noteholder group, offered an $80 million credit bid for Real Mex’s second-lien notes, as well as about $49 million in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities.

The offer by Tennenbaum, Z Capital and J.P. Morgan was one of two bids for the Cypress, Calif.-based Real Mex, which filed bankruptcy in October.

The other bidder was Harshad Dharod, president and owner of Friendly Franchisees Corp., a franchisee of the Carl’s Jr., Papa John’s and Denny’s chains.

Real Mex said the restructuring was necessary because of its struggles with high debt loads, certain above-market rents and a weak economic environment, particularly in California, where most of Real Mex’s restaurants are based.

The company operates about 141 restaurants under the El Torito, Acapulco and Chevys brands, as well as single-unit Sinigual, Las Brisas and the small regional concepts Who-Song & Larry’s, Casa Gallardo and El Paso Cantina. The Chevys chain also includes 20 franchised locations.

Real Mex is owned by private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners, based in Boca Raton, Fla.

If the acquisition is approved, RM Opco will emerge holding about 85 percent of equity interests. The remaining 15 percent would be held by holders of senior secured notes due in 2013, according to court filings.

The new company would have a “more profitable store base, lower cost structure and improved cash flow that will fund future growth,” filings said.

About 40 restaurants have been closed between January 2011 and January 2012, and the company has renegotiated leases across its portfolio, according to RM Opco’s filings.

The noteholder group indicated they would continue Real Mex’s current brand re-imaging campaign, including new menus and marketing initiatives for each brand, as well as offering value-priced, quality food.

Contact Lisa Jennings at lisa.jennings@penton.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @livetodineout

Dunkin’ Brands, the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, has named Giorgio Minardi president of its international division, the company said Tuesday.

Minardi replaces Neal Yanofsky, who left the company in September, four months being named to the newly created position. Dunkin’ Brands president and chief executive Nigel Travis assumed the duties in the interim.

Minardi’s duties include “strategically expanding the presence of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins outside the United States and … delivering a consistent, but culturally relevant, brand experience” for its customers, the Canton, Mass.-based company said.

Minardi will report directly to Travis.

A foodservice and retail veteran who has held high-level positions at McDonald’s and Burger King, Minardi most recently was managing director for Europe and the Middle East at Autogrill, a food, beverage and retail company, where he was responsible for the company’s operations in 40 countries.

“With an impressive career as an international executive with some of the leading brands in the food-service and retail industry, Giorgio is eminently qualified to help us capitalize on the tremendous global growth opportunities available to Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins," Travis said.

"He has a unique blend of marketing, operational, development and general management experience, as well as on-the-ground experience in Asia Pacific, Europe and the U.S.,” he said.

Minardi also served as Burger King’s division vice president of Northwest Europe, and vice president for the Asia Pacific. Prior to that he spent 16 years at McDonald’s Corp., where his last job was vice president and chief marketing officer for Greater China. He currently serves on the board of directors of Volotea Airlines in Europe.

“I am excited about being a part of the Dunkin' Brands team,” Minardi said. “The company is among the world's largest quick-service restaurant companies and includes two of the most recognized and beloved brands in the industry."

During the first nine months of 2011, Dunkin' Brands opened a net total of about 480 net new locations worldwide. In the third quarter, a net 83 Baskin-Robbins international units were opened.

Although Dunkin’ Donuts has a larger presence in the United States than its sister company, Baskin-Robbins is the larger international brand and accounts for about 15 percent of Dunkin’ Brands’ total revenue, the company said. Dunkin’ Donuts International accounts for about 3 percent of total revenue.

When announcing third-quarter earnings last November, Travis called Baskin-Robbins International “a real jewel in the crown.” He said Dunkin’ Donuts International had more work ahead of it.

Dunkin’ International closed a net 24 units in the third quarter of 2011.

Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
 

Three groups of investors acting in concert are proposing to replace the full board of J. Alexander’s Corp., officials of the casual-dining company said Monday.

The investors said in regulatory filings that their effort to place new directors on the J. Alexander's board was motivated by a desire to “assist the company in improving its operational and financial performance.”

The three investor groups — which hold a 12.6-percent collective ownership stake in the restaurant company, which operates 33 locations — are Privet Fund Management LLC, led by Ryan Levenson; JCP Investment Management LLC, led by James Pappas; and Ben Rosenzweig, a lone investor.

In a notice to J. Alexander’s management, a representative of Atlanta-based Privet Fund LP — the investment fund overseen by Levenson and Privet Fund Management — said the restaurant company had dismissed the outside investors’ “efforts at constructive dialogue” during a Jan. 30 phone call.

As a result, the group was availing itself of its rights under the company’s bylaws to nominate directors for the upcoming annual shareholders meeting.

The group’s nominees are Levenson, Pappas, Rosenzweig and Todd Diener, a past president of the Chili’s Grill & Bar and On The Border casual-dining chains.

J. Alexander’s said it was reviewing Privet’s notice for compliance with the company’s governing documents and applicable law.

Lonnie J. Stout II, president and chief executive of J. Alexander’s, said in a statement the Nashville, Tenn.-based company is “always receptive to productive dialogue with our shareholders.” But apart from making their wishes for new board members known, he said the outside investors “failed to discuss with the company any constructive ideas or suggestions about actions the company should or should not take.”

Stout continued, “In addition, we are concerned with Privet’s attempt to take control of the company without paying a full and fair price to all of the company’s shareholders.”

The J. Alexander’s board comprises four highly-qualified and experienced directors, Stout said, three of whom are independent, whom, as a group along with their affiliates, own an aggregate of about 6.4 percent of the company’s outstanding stock.

According to filings with securities regulators, Levenson and affiliated entities beneficially own 9.1 percent of J. Alexander’s Corp.’s common shares; Pappas and affiliated entities own 3.4 percent; and Rosenzweig owns less than 1 percent.

Those filings indicated that Pappas and his affiliated entities acquired all of their shares in J. Alexander’s since Dec. 13 at share prices ranging from $5.83 to $6.65, and that Rosenzweig purchased all of his since Sept. 27 for $6 apiece. J. Alexander’s stock has traded between $5.00 and $7.30 per share over the past 52 weeks.

For the nine months ended Oct. 2, J. Alexander’s Corp. reported net income of $513,000, or 8 cents per share, compared with net income of $2.3 million, or 38 cents a share, for the same 2010 period.

It said net sales totaled $116.3 million, up 5.4 percent from a year earlier, reflecting same-store sales growth of 5.5 percent.

Contact Alan J. Liddle at alan.liddle@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @AJ_NRN

Panera Bread Co. on Tuesday said profit increased 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter after special charges, and same-store sales rose at both its corporate-owned and franchised locations.

The 1,541-unit St. Louis, Mo.-based bakery-café chain said earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 27, 2011, rose to $38.6 million, or $1.31 per share, up from $36.5 million, or $1.21 per share, in the prior-year period.

Revenue was up 15.8 percent, to $495.8 million from $428.2 in the year-ago quarter.

The company said same-store sales increased 5.9 percent in the quarter at company-owned restaurants and 3.2 percent at franchised units.

For fiscal 2011, the company said it saw systemwide new-unit average weekly sales rise to a new high of $41,416, surpassing a record set in fiscal 2010.

Panera also said it was in the process of acquiring back from a franchisee the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., market for $48 million, a deal expected to close by the end of the first quarter.

Panera’s earnings for the quarter reflected a $5 million charge for the proposed settlement of an employment legal matter in California, the company said. That proposed settlement was related to breaks and meal periods for employees in the state.

During the fourth quarter, Panera said it opened 24 new bakery-cafés and its franchisees opened 16 restaurants. That brought Panera’s total to 1,541 units as of Dec. 27.

RELATED: Panera eyes urban locations

Panera also said Jeff Kip, chief financial officer for the past six years and executive vice president, would be leaving the company March 15 to join IAC/InterActiveCorp. A search for his replacement is underway.

Panera operates restaurants under the Panera Bread, St. Louis Bread Co. and Paradise Bakery & Café brands.

Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless

A strong fourth quarter of sales and unit growth helped drive a more than 31-percent increase in Buffalo Wild Wings 2011 annual net income compared with a year earlier.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 25, 2011, the Minneapolis-based casual-dining chain recorded net income of $13.6 million, or 73 cents per share, a 34-percent increase from $10.2 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter rose 34.5 percent to $220.5 million, compared with $163.9 million a year earlier. That figure reflected a same-store sales gain of 8.9 percent at company-owned locations and 60 more corporate units compared with the fourth quarter of 2010.

Same-store sales grew 5.9 percent at franchised locations, of which there were 25 more than at the end of 2010’s fourth quarter.

Full-year net income rose to $50.4 million from $38.4 million in fiscal 2010. Revenue for the year rose 27.9 percent to $784.5 million, or $2.73 per share, from $613.3 million, from $2.10 per share, a year earlier.

For the full year, same-store sales increased 6.1 percent at company-owned locations and 3.6 percent at franchised locations.

Chief executive Sally Smith said in a statement that sales momentum was continuing into the first quarter of 2012, with same-store sales for the first six weeks of the year up 12.9 percent at corporate units and 10.8 percent at franchised restaurants.

She added that the chain would debut a new marketing campaign this year and would execute a phased rollout of online ordering.

Buffalo Wild Wings operates or franchises 827 restaurants in 47 states and Canada.

Contact Mark Brandau at mark.brandau@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @Mark_from_NRN

As part of a move to open more urban locations, Panera Bread recently debuted its first unit in New York. The bakery-café unit in busy Midtown Manhattan marks the St. Louis-based chain’s 1,500th restaurant.

Panera chief operating officer Scott Davis discussed the new restaurant and the chain’s ongoing initiatives with Nation’s Restaurant News at the opening.

Are there unique challenges to opening in New York City?

The hardest part of New York is getting the right real estate. Because of the size of a [typical] Panera, over 4,000 square feet, that’s usually the biggest challenge for us.

Panera already operates 90 restaurants in the New York metropolitan area. Are there any specific regional tastes here?

We don’t see major regionality here. New Yorkers love great food, we make great food, so we know it’s going to be a great fit.

New York requires restaurant chains to post calorie information. Does that pose challenges?

We’ve been providing calorie information on the menu across the country for about a year.

We had franchisees operating in the New York area, so that was a test market for us. Consumer response was very positive. A lot of them didn’t even notice it, but for those that it mattered, too, it was a cue of trust between us and them, and it helped them decide what they wanted to order.

I ended up losing 40, 50, 60 pounds in the process of learning [our nutritional information]. I think in the end if you don’t have anything to hide it’s going to be great.

Did ordering patterns change when Panera began providing calorie information?

There was a little bit of a shift around, but not tremendous. We saw a lot of people go for You Pick Two [giving customers a choice of two from the options of half a sandwich, half a salad or a cup of soup]. That really works well for us — soups in particular because they tend to be lower in calories.

What new initiatives is Panera working on?

We’re really pushing the quality of our protein. Last year we added steak for our panini and steak salad. We have a new, all-natural, antibiotic-free turkey that was introduced last fall. We’re seeing how protein can be a differentiator for us. We’re also pushing more for certified humane [proteins] and sustainability.

We also installed a new style grill that delivers a higher quality panini. And breakfast sandwiches continue to grow for us. We just rolled out an all-egg-white Mediterranean sandwich this past month.

What are the added costs of those protein changes?

When you start the program, there’s some added cost, but typically as demand rises the suppliers realize that it’s a bigger market, and the prices start to get more normalized.

Are Panera customers concerned with the treatment of animals?

The typical customer of Panera is very food-engaged, and I’m seeing that, particularly in places like Manhattan, [statements about the origins of ingredients] is more and more the standard. I think you’re going to see more of that tipping across the nation in the next year or two.

Given that you’ve got folks like us and folks like Chipotle taking the lead nationally, I think people are really starting to worry about where their food comes from and responding by going to the places they can find it in the restaurant.

Are the prices higher at the New York City Panera than at suburban restaurants?

They’re more than in the suburbs, but in line with our [other] city pricing. We’re not in Times Square, so it’s appropriate for the rent structure and the market.

Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary

Yum! Brands Inc., the parent of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, said expansion abroad and profit growth in the United States would enable the company to maintain the earnings momentum it achieved in fiscal 2011.

Yum’s strategy for adding more than 600 restaurants in its fast-growing China division and more than 900 locations in Yum Restaurants International, or YRI, requires that it make major investments in those markets, while also reducing ownership in its three brands’ domestic systems and spurring innovation, the company said.

“Our philosophy is pretty simple: reduce corporate ownership in highly penetrated markets, and increase exposure in underpenetrated markets,” said chief financial officer Rick Carucci.

EARLIER: China, new unit growth drive 4Q results at Yum! Brands

Carucci and chief executive David Novak outlined several strategies for building up Yum’s international system and rebuilding sales domestically in 2012 during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call with investors.

Bullish on China’s prospects

Coming off a fiscal year in which same-store sales at its three major brands in China grew considerably — up 19 percent at KFC and Pizza Hut Home Service and 17 percent at Pizza Hut Casual Dining — Yum is looking to bolster that system even further through the growth of its East Dawning concept and newly acquired Little Sheep chain, Novak and Carucci said.

“What we’re talking about now in our development engine is having KFC be the leader in Western QSRs and Pizza Hut as the leader in Western casual dining in China,” Novak said. “We’re obviously also going to develop Pizza Hut Home Service, East Dawning and Little Sheep, so our goal is to keep this engine primed and pumped.”

Carucci said the Chinese government’s rapid pace of infrastructure development is creating new opportunities for Yum, especially in emerging city clusters and transportation hubs.

Percentage increases in food and labor inflation in China are both expected to be double digits in 2012, which means that Yum likely would have to raise menu prices on top of the 7-percent increase it implemented over the course of 2011, Carucci said.

Novak expressed confidence that inflation in China, while significant, would moderate in the second half of 2012 and allow Yum to rehabilitate profit margins in that country back toward its goal of 20 percent.

Continued from page 1

U.S. expected to return to profit growth

Domestically, the company said it should complete its refranchising of KFC and reduce corporate ownership of the chain to 5 percent by the end of the year.

Although Taco Bell’s same-store sales finished down 2 percent for the fourth quarter and the full year, Novak noted that sales began turning positive late in the fourth quarter and continued into the first quarter of 2012.

Taco Bell’s rollout of breakfast to 800 U.S. stores, as well as the expansion of the more upscale “Cantina” menu and forthcoming rollout of the Doritos Locos taco in March should turn things around this year at Taco Bell, he said.

Breakfast should help franchisees make money, Novak added, because Taco Bell will take the same gradual approach with the morning meal it did with its Fourth Meal late-night menu — increasing hours of operation incrementally to manage labor costs.

“The franchisees are really excited, and we’re bullish that we’ll have a solid year, definitely better than last year,” he said. “Taco Bell is a huge opportunity for Yum … and if we can get a couple hundred thousand more in sales volume, we can eventually get to 8,000 stores in the U.S.”

Pizza Hut, which finished the fourth quarter with a 6-percent same-store sales increase, built upon a newfound value positioning the chain developed with its $10 any-pizza deal, adding the $20 Big Dinner Box in the fourth quarter, Novak said. That value combination, combined with continued use of Tuscani Pasta Tuesdays and Wing Wednesdays to diversify the brand’s revenue sources, should lead to continued sales and unit growth in 2012, Novak said.

He added that a new delivery-focused prototype with a smaller footprint allowed Pizza Hut to expand into small towns, contributing to the first year of net openings in the United States for Pizza Hut in some time.

Continued from page 1

YRI gets steady investment in 2012

The company has set a development goal of 800 openings in YRI in 2012. Yum also plans to open 100 restaurants in 2012 in India, which was spun off into its own reporting division late last year. Many of Yum’s emerging markets are large countries with established eating-out industries where Yum has yet to add locations at the pace seen in China.

Novak said Yum was close to attaining critical mass in certain markets like France, Germany, Russia and South Africa, which would allow the company to accelerate expansion in those countries and regions, “but we’re not ready to make that call yet for 2012.”

Russia’s growth would result mostly from the rebranding of dual Rostik’s-KFC units to full KFC locations, officials said.

“In France and Germany, we’ll have fewer company-owned restaurants going forward,” Carucci said. “However, it’s still going to be a high-investment model, with what we’re calling ‘business rental,’ where we hold the lease and charge the franchisee a percentage of sales. We like what we’ve seen with it so far, because it facilitates growth. We’re comfortable sharing the upside and downside of those markets.”

Novak added that Yum sees mostly upside in those countries, where KFC has some of its highest average unit volumes in the world. From 133 KFCs in France and 76 locations in Germany, Yum generates less than $50 million in sales, Novak said, yet McDonald’s has annual sales of $1 billion in those two countries, indicating that those markets hold a lot of promise for Yum.

Yum executives credited the buyout of the company’s largest KFC franchisee in South Africa in 2010 for laying the groundwork for expansion across that continent. From a base of the company-operated stores in South Africa, they said, Yum can train managers and franchisees to enter seven new African nations in 2012.

Louisville, Ky.-based Yum operates or franchises more than 38,000 restaurants in about 110 countries.

Contact Mark Brandau at mark.brandau@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @Mark_from_NRN
 

Quick-service chicken chain Chick-fil-A outlined plans for growth in 2012 as it reported annual sales of $4.05 billion in 2011, a 13.1-percent increase over last year.

The privately held company also posted a same-store sales increase of 7 percent in 2011.

Chick-fil-A said it would “generate nearly 7,000 new job opportunities” in 2012 with 92 new restaurant openings and growth in existing restaurants. The Atlanta-based chain said it would open 75 stand-alone restaurants, two mall units and 15 licensed locations.

In addition, the company said it has plans to renovate more than 300 existing locations in 2012, after having refurbished nearly 200 restaurants in 2011.

President and chief operating officer Dan Cathy said in a statement that the chain surpassed 1,600 locations in 2011 with the opening of 75 stand-alone restaurants and 17 licensed units on college campuses, hospitals, airports and business and industry sites.

It also entered two new markets, Hollywood, Calif., and Chicago, and opened its first stand-alone restaurant in Idaho, the company said.

Chick-fil-A also said it will continue to introduce new items to its menu in 2012. In April, it plans to debut several new deserts, including a warm chocolate chunk cookie, a fudge brownie and sundaes.

In January Chick-fil-A rolled out better-for-you options on its kids menu: grilled chicken nuggets and applesauce.

It also added two items to its breakfast menu, a spicy chicken biscuit and multigrain oatmeal.

Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
 

Regional burger chain Whataburger is adding a chicken-fajita taco to its permanent menu.

San Antonio, Texas-based Whataburger on Monday made the taco part of its regular menu after offering a version as a customized option for some time. The chicken-fajita taco is priced at $3.94 à la carte at units in the Dallas market, and also is available in a $6.24 combo meal.

Whataburger for years has offered egg-based breakfast tacos, but this new item pushes the Mexican staple into other dayparts. The item features sliced, grilled chicken breast; roasted poblano and red bell peppers; and grilled onions wrapped in a tortilla.

“At just 420 calories, the chicken fajita taco offers customers a lower-calorie option — perfect for keeping those New Year’s resolutions — but in a size that still satisfies,” said Rich Scheffler, Whataburger’s group director of marketing.

Whataburger has about 700 restaurants in 10 states.

Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @ronruggless

Two bidders have emerged in the bankruptcy auction of Real Mex Restaurants and a decision by the court is expected this week.

One is a group of noteholders including investment funds managed by Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, along with J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., and private equity firm Z Capital LLC.

The second bidder is Harshad Dharod, president and owner of Friendly Franchisees Corp., a franchise operation that, through affiliates, owns and operates 63 Carl’s Jr., 12 Papa John’s and 18 Denny’s restaurants.

The hearing date for approval of a sale is scheduled for Feb. 10.

The Cypress, Calif.-based parent of the El Torito, Acapulco and Chevys Fresh Mex brands filed for bankruptcy in October, and company’s assets were put up for auction Feb. 2.

Proposed terms of the bids were not disclosed in court filings, but both bidders offered a brief statement of intentions.

The noteholders group, which proposed acquiring Real Mex under an entity called RM Opco, would hold about 85 percent of the company’s equity interest under their plan. The remaining 15 percent would be held by holders of senior secured notes due in 2013.

The group said it would continue the company’s current brand re-imaging efforts, including revamping menus and marketing initiatives.

If approved by the court, it would mark the second hospitality investment in recent weeks by Z Capital, which in December joined The Carlyle Group in acquiring Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, parent of the Mrs. Fields cookies and the TCBY frozen yogurt chains.

Dharod’s company in court filings said it would operate Real Mex restaurants with a significant number of current management and employees, and that the acquisition would be made for strategic purposes to hold, operate and grow the company.

Dharod has “no intention of briefly operating the company then reselling it,” the filing said.

Real Mex officials declined to comment on the ongoing legal process.

Real Mex is owned by private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners, based in Boca Raton, Fla., which also owns Friendly’s Ice Cream Corp.

Friendly’s also filed for bankruptcy in October and was put up for auction in December — only to be repurchased by Sun Capital in a credit bid deal that closed last month.

Real Mex operates 144 restaurants under the El Torito, Acapulco and Chevys brands, as well as one-off Las Brisas Restaurant in Laguna Beach, Calif.; and small regional concepts Who-Song & Larry’s, Casa Gallardo and El Paso Cantina.

The Chevys chain includes 24 franchised locations. The company’s assets also include Real Mex Foods, a food production subsidiary.

Roughly 30 restaurants have been closed over the past six months.

Contact Lisa Jennings at lisa.jennings@penton.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @livetodineout
 

Yum! Brands Inc. said Monday fourth-quarter earnings increased 30 percent, driven by a revenue jump of 15 percent from strength in China and new unit openings around the world.

The parent company to Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC said international growth, in terms of revenue and margins, offset a weaker performance in the United States, where revenue fell 4 percent but operating profit rose about 10 percent. Louisville, Ky.-based Yum operates and franchises more than 37,000 restaurants worldwide.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Yum earned $356 million, or 75 cents per share, compared with earnings of $274 million, or 56 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Latest-quarter revenue totaled $4.11 billion, up from $3.56 billion a year earlier.

Fourth-quarter same-store sales increased 21 percent in China, 3 percent in Yum’s international division and 1 percent in the United States. The domestic gain reflected a 6-percent increase in same-store sales at Pizza Hut, offset by decreases of 2 percent at Taco Bell and 1 percent at KFC.

For the full year, Yum booked net income of $1.32 billion, or $2.74 per share, compared with earnings of $1.16 billion, or $2.38 per share, in fiscal 2010. Revenue rose 11 percent to $12.63 billion.

Same-store sales for the full year rose 19 percent in China and 3 percent in Yum International, while falling 1 percent in the United States. Pizza Hut’s domestic same-store sales were even for the full year, while both Taco Bell’s and KFC’s same-store sales declined 2 percent in the United States, the company reported.

Yum opened a record 656 restaurants in China in 2011, and opened another 905 locations in other international markets.

Contact Mark Brandau at mark.brandau@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @Mark_from_NRN

While many quick-service restaurants touted price in January TV ads, not all of them improved their value perceptions with consumers, according to new “value score” data from YouGov BrandIndex, a market research firm.

In order to cut through the clutter in cost-conscious times restaurants need a balance of new-product news and prices that denote value for money — not just price points that undercut the competition, according to BrandIndex senior vice president Ted Marzilli.

BrandIndex calculates a value score by surveying thousands of American consumers every day and asking, “Does this brand give a good value for what you pay?” Negative responses for each brand are subtracted from positive responses, and a moving average is calculated in a range from negative 100 to positive 100, with a zero rating denoting neutral value perceptions.

Throughout January, Wendy’s had the largest lead in value scores, staying consistently in the mid-40-point range, even though it has not been advertising its My 99 Value Menu anywhere near the level of its biggest burger competitor, McDonald’s, and its Dollar Menus at breakfast and lunch.

But value scores are not solely about price points.

“The question asks not who has the cheapest price, but which of these brands provides the most for what you pay,” Marzilli said. “Quality is built into the question and people’s perceptions of value. Wendy’s has a high-quality positioning, and consumers believe that. They also believe Wendy’s is competitive on price.”

Pizza Hut, the biggest improver

Few quick-service segments are as competitive on price as pizza, and in January, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s were locked in a tight contest on pricing. While Papa John’s scores in the high 20s and low 30s reflected its consistent branding with “Better ingredients, better pizza” commercials and the $11 price point, Pizza Hut made bigger improvements in its value scores.

Pizza Hut ran new spots for its $10 any-pizza deal, and its value scores improved 12 points, from 22.0 at the beginning of January to 34.0 at the end of the month. Pizza Hut ended January with value scores ahead of Papa John’s 29.1, although Pizza Hut started the year trailing its rival in that metric, probably because Papa John’s premium price point bolstered perceptions of the quality consumers could get for $1 more, Marzilli said.

“You’d think $11 versus $10 would be pretty clear, but there’s also an evaluation of what you get for that $10 or $11,” he said. “Pizza Hut started out a little bit below Papa John’s, and it could be because of a perception that you do get more quality for $11 [at Papa John’s].”

Pizza Hut may have benefited from the fact that the brand switched up its creative and ran some new commercials around the $10 any-pizza deal, including a spot with a guitarist singing a Pizza Hut jingle, Marzilli speculated.

By contrast, Papa John’s continued its long-running campaign with founder and chief executive John Schnatter, who always reinforces the “Better ingredients, better pizza” positioning in his commercials. The spots also revolved around the $11 price point, which Papa John’s has worked hard to claim the past several quarters, and involved its tie-in with the National Football League, with whom Papa John’s is in the second year of a multiyear partnership.

Watch Papa John’s Super Bowl commercial; story continues below

“If you tweak a campaign and change the creative, that may resonate with consumers, compared with a more continuous one,” Marzilli said. “When people hear the same promotion long enough, they start to think that’s the real price … and it may lower the value perception [of the offer].”

Continued from page 1

Not workin’ for the Weekend Bucket

New-product news and persistent advertising probably drove Burger King’s improvement in value scores, according to BrandIndex’s data. Burger King ended January with a score of 32.7, up 9.6 points from 23.1 to begin the month, in which it promoted its new French fries and executed a large direct-mail campaign with coupon books.

Taco Bell also had a significant improvement in January, taking its value scores from 27.5 to 33.1 on the strength of the Beefy Crunchy Burrito limited-time offer for 99 cents.

Yet some chains, especially KFC, struggled to improve price-value perceptions meaningfully with consumers. The fried-chicken brand got a small boost in its value scores to begin the month, when it heavily advertised the $11 Weekend Bucket and 50-cent Hot Wings. But the value score dropped to pre-January levels in the middle of the month.

Watch KFC’s Weekend Bucket commercial; story continues below

Marzilli theorized that the crowded space of restaurants advertising value deals made it hard for KFC to break through.

“The value or the price promotion is tricky, particularly if you know your competitors are going to be promoting theirs at the same time,” he said. “It has to work for you as a brand and still be profitable. How much it resonates has to do with what everybody else is doing, and it’s a challenging environment.”

The $11 price point may have been problematic for a fried-chicken offer as well, Marzilli added.

“If KFC is advertising an $11 Weekend Bucket, people have to equate $11 with feeding a family of four typically,” he said. “That’s about $3 per person. But there also is somebody not doing the math or who doesn’t have a family of four, making $11 not that relevant. The potential problem is that this may not resonate with singles or couples.

“If we had sliced this data by families,” he said, “it might have been better for KFC.”

YouGov BrandIndex is based in New York.

Contact Mark Brandau at mark.brandau@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @Mark_from_NRN
 

New university research has debunked prevailing theories about how customers read restaurant menus, and instead showcases new data supporting a book-like approach to menu reading, as well as customers’ entrée-focused decision-making process when it comes to choosing a meal.

Scientific research just published by Sybil Yang, assistant professor of hospitality and tourism management at San Francisco State University, indicates customers read two-page menus like they would a book, meaning their eyes don’t flit about and land on a “sweet spot.” That sweet spot was previously believed to be above the midline on the right-hand page.

Yang’s peer-reviewed research, "Eye Movements on Restaurant Menus: A Revisitation on Gaze Motion and Consumer Scanpaths," was published last week in the International Journal of Hospitality Management.

“We have enough evidence from the study to show how people compose their meals,” Yang said Monday. “They choose the entrée first and then build their meal around it.

“They make two passes,” she said. “On their first pass, they spend more time and concentration on the entrée section. On the second pass, their eyes spend more time on other menu categories and skim quickly over the entrée section.”

Since 1978, when graphic designer William Doerfler published scan-path research in a Cornell University quarterly, menu designers played on the conventional wisdom of a menu "sweet spot" where eyes, after zigzagging across the pages, were attracted to a spot just above the midline on the right-hand page.

Thanks to development in infrared retinal eye-scanning technology that used cameras to track retinal movements and didn’t require participants to use bite bars or chin rests to hold their heads steady, Yang was able to create new data that heavily supports the “book-reading” approach.

Yang found people read the menu sequentially like a book, moving from left to right and down the pages of the two-page menu. They read slowly, suggesting that they were reading for information rather than just scanning the pages.

While debunking the “sweet spot” theory, Yang did, however, find menu “sour spots” in her research, which was conducted with 25 subjects in 2008. The menus were printed in black ink on cream stock with the only box being around the antipasto category. Subjects read through the mock menu and then choose a meal. Her research used sequence averaging, such as that used in word-processing spell checkers and DNA sequencing.

The sour spot was found to be at the bottom of the page in the right- and left-hand corners, Yang said. That area contained information about the restaurant and a list of salads.

Yang said she is turning her research attention to restaurant menu decoys, or “the items that are never meant to be chosen, but are placed there to affect your other choices.” An example, she said, includes the $199.99 order of 20 Buffalo wings and a bottle of Dom Perignon at Hooters restaurants.

Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless

Later this year, Starbucks plans to unveil a new juice bar concept somewhere on the West Coast as an entry point into the estimated $50 billion health-and-wellness category.

Not surprisingly, others also see an opportunity in fresh juices. Small independent operations are opening all over the country with a modern take on juice, targeting a crowd that sees traditional smoothie chains — and those offered at some quick-service chains — as less healthful.

The new wave of juice bars typically offer cold-pressed juices made in house and bottled for grab-and-go convenience, or offered in customized blends. Some also offer fresh-squeezed options, and supplements like protein boosts or wheat grass are also common. But all say they never use flavoring powders, concentrates or sweetened blends like sorbet or frozen yogurt.

Fruit and vegetables used are typically never frozen and are organic and locally sourced where possible. Most also offer only a small menu of food options, if at all, preferring to focus on beverages.

Among them are Liquiteria in New York; Daily Juice in Austin; Puree Artisan Juices in the Washington, D.C., area; and Earthbar, Kreation Kafe and Moon Juice in Los Angeles.

The smoothie chain Juice It Up!, with 90 locations, is also adding a fresh juice component to its units. And in Las Vegas, the new fast-casual Daily Kitchen & Wellness Bar concept by The Lev Restaurant Group opened this month with a fresh juice bar.

And Starbucks last year acquired the Evolution Fresh juice brand, which makes bottled juices using a high-pressure pasteurization process that gives juice a longer shelf life while preserving nutrients.

Take a look at some of the juice bars around the country.

Contact Lisa Jennings at lisa.jennings@penton.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @livetodineout