There always seems to be restaurant news on the menu. As I do every week, let's take a look at some of this week's more appetizing stories.
1. Let's be frank
Hot dog champ Nathan's Famous
Nathan's empire consists of 250 namesake stands, with all but five of them operating as franchised locations. The company also has brisk business selling its frankfurters through retail outlets.
2. Hitting up the BK Lounge
Burger King
Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 3% to $634 million. Earnings came in at $0.33 a share, but they would have been $0.38 without the negative impact of currency-rate fluctuations. The country's second-largest burger chain earned $0.36 a share during the previous year's final quarter.
Fast-food chains including Burger King and McDonald's
3. Baseball metaphors during a football game
Did you stop by for you free Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny's
This is a good time to take a Grand Slam swing. Starbucks
Was the free meal a success? Well, roughly 2 million free Grand Slams were served, an average of 130 at each restaurant per hour. The company's website also received 40 million hits after the Super Bowl ad ran. Sounds pretty good, but on the downside, even though tables turned quickly -- approximately every 20 minutes -- the average wait was an hour.
If Denny's wanted to show off its quick convenience, making patrons wait an hour is not going to leave a good impression.
4. Casual dining sees red
Diminishing profitability at casual-dining concepts has turned into losses. Bob Evans
O'Charley's
Check out this week's dessert specials: