News You Can Chew On
By
Rick Aristotle Munarriz
May 28, 2008
|
It's been a busy week on the eatery front, with several casual dining and quick-service chains stepping up with earnings, changes, and introductions.
If you're reading this on an empty stomach, let's see how many of these newsy nuggets it takes to fill you up.
CBRL Group (Nasdaq: CBRL) posted fiscal third-quarter results this morning. The chain of throwback restaurants offering comfort-food staples in a country-store setting posted a 13% dip in earnings from continuing operations. You may not notice the dumpling if you limit yourself to per-share profitability. Earnings from continuing operations clocked in at $0.46 a share. That's better than the $0.44 a share it generated a year ago, but Cracker Barrel's parent company has been aggressively buying back stock over the past year.
Farewell to hotcakes? IHOP (NYSE: IHP) is ditching its corporate moniker and its ticker symbol. The company will change its name to DineEquity next week, adopting the ticker symbol DIN along the way. Now that the company has completed its acquisition of Applebee's, it's only fitting that IHOP follow in the footsteps of multi-concept operators like Darden (NYSE: DRI) and Brinker (NYSE: EAT), taking on a neutral name.
Hello to night owls? Denny's (Nasdaq: DENN) is embracing its iconic spot as a hotbed of wee-hour feedings by rolling out a new Craveable menu, served exclusively from 10pm to 5am. I won't try to sell you on the culinary merits of cinnamon sugar-sprinkled nachos or sausage-speckled kettle chips. After-hours diners aren't known to be all that discriminating. However, Denny's is really getting into the shift, even having its uniformed servers change into jeans and "Get Your Crave On" T-shirts during the wee hours. The Muzak will get an alternative rock makeover, with some popular indie bands even creating dishes that will be served at Denny's this summer. Just say no to Fall Out Flapjacks.
Pizza isn't high on health lists, but at least Papa John's (Nasdaq: PZZA) is trying to make it less like junk food. The delivery chain introduced a whole wheat pizza crust this week, becoming the first national chain to do so. The new pies have more fiber and less sodium than the original Papa John's pies.
Kona Grill (Nasdaq: KONA) is enacting anti-takeover provisions this morning. No, poison pills and casual dining don't usually mix well, but apparently the chain of Hawaiian-themed eateries thinks that someone is out to nibble on its Macadamia-crusted chicken.
Still hungry for more news? I'll be back with another update when more meaty news breaks.
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