fast-food industry – News Stories About fast-food industry - Page 9

Sep 2, 2010 9:02 AM CDT

Sold! Burger King Goes for $4B

3G Capital to acquire company for $4B

(Newser) - Burger King got itself a whopper of a deal: The country's second-largest hamburger chain will sell itself to private equity firm 3G Capital for $24 a share. Final price tag: about $4 billion, reports Bloomberg . That price is 46% more than Burger King’s $16.45 close on Tuesday, before...

For Sale:
Burger King

Sep 1, 2010 6:32 AM CDT

For Sale: Burger King

Chain seeks whopper of a private equity deal

(Newser) - Burger King wants it its way, right away: The world's second-biggest burger chain is looking for a buyer to take it off the stock market. Burger King execs have been in talks with various private equity firms in recent weeks, sources tell the Wall Street Journal , naming British firm 3i...

Don't Touch That Receipt!
It May Be Toxic

Don't Touch That Receipt! It May Be Toxic

40% of receipts tested were slathered with bisphenol A

(Newser) - Sheesh: The same toxic chemical—bisphenol A—that's shown up in baby bottles and canned goods is apparently also all over the receipts you get from stores and restaurants, and in much greater amounts. BPA was found in the coating used on cash register receipts in 40% of businesses tested,...

McDonald's:
Soon-to-Be
Chi-Chi
Destination

WANT FRIES WITH THAT LINGER ZONE?

May 19, 2010 1:49 PM CDT

McDonald's: Soon-to-Be Chi-Chi Destination

Burger joint goes yuppie with 'linger zones'

(Newser) - You know those giant golden arches thrust into the sky on a pole in front of your local McDonald's? Kiss 'em goodbye. They're just one of the casualties of an upcoming total redesign of the McDonald's franchise, Salon reports. Gone, too, will be the red, double-sloped roofs, and the cafeteria-like...

Calif. County Moves
to Ban Happy Meal Toys

Apr 27, 2010 1:01 AM CDT

Calif. County Moves to Ban Happy Meal Toys

First-of-its-kind ban aimed at tackling child obesity

(Newser) - California's Santa Clara may soon be the first place in America to ban the little toys that come with McDonald's' Happy Meals and other fast-food promotions. County officials say the move—which would outlaw free toys with any meal that has over 485 calories or high levels of salt, sugar,...

Fast Food Worse Than
the Double Down

Fast Food Worse Than the Double Down

Nate Silver finds the KFC monstrosity is really only average

(Newser) - So by now you've heard of—or God help you, sampled—the gluttonous monstrosity known as KFC's Double Down , but how does it stack up in the less-than-healthy world of fast food? Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight runs the numbers, creating an index of fat, cholesterol, and sodium in which the...

Double Downs,
Touchscreens Don't Mix

Double Downs, Touchscreens Don't Mix

iPad disabled by the touch of KFC diners

(Newser) - While foodies were debating the culinary merits of the Double Down yesterday, two selfless Gizmodo reporters sacrificed their guts and their gadgets to confirm the somewhat foregone conclusion that the sandwich might not pair so well with a touchscreen device. The pair were presumably unsurprised to find their iPad disabled...

KFC's Double Down
Is Double Blech

CULINARY ATROCITIES

Apr 12, 2010 2:24 PM CDT

KFC's Double Down Is Double Blech

Reviewers not so fond of latest fast-food monstrosity

(Newser) - Congratulations, KFC, your Double Down stunt has gotten more publicity than a Nazi-themed romp with Jesse James. So here's a little more, in the form of what the reviewers are saying:

The Double Down "arrives at a new low," writes Sam Sifton of the New York Times . Even

...

Burger King Offers Beer
With Whoppers

Jan 22, 2010 6:47 AM CST

Burger King Offers Beer With Whoppers

First 'Whopper Bar' will open in South Beach, Miami

(Newser) - Burger King plans to pair beer and burgers in a new joint called the Whopper Bar in South Beach. The restaurant will offer a range of burgers, toppings and beer, with a 'Whopper Combo' costing $7.99, or about two bucks more than regular. But unless you live in a...

How Arby's Lost Its Beefiness

FLOUNDERING CHAIN

Nov 8, 2009 10:26 AM CST

How Arby's Lost Its Beefiness

Don't blame recession: fast-food chain just isn't trying

(Newser) - The recession has had its winners and losers, and when it comes to fast food, Arby's is bringing up the rear. Same-stores sales have been down for the last seven quarters, writes Daniel Gross for Slate, but the economy can't take the entire rap on this one: Arby's just doesn't...

Fast-Food Star of
Recession: $5 Footlong

analysis

Nov 7, 2009 11:34 AM CST

Fast-Food Star of Recession: $5 Footlong

Subway is rewarded for listening to franchisee

(Newser) - BusinessWeek has found what it calls the "fast-food success story of the recession"—the $5 footlong sandwich from Subway. The simple idea began with a franchisee who noticed slow sales on weekends and decided to knock down prices to bring in customers. After sales went through the...

Soda Tax
Threat a Boon for Food Lobbyists

Nov 5, 2009 12:25 PM CST

Soda Tax Threat a Boon for Food Lobbyists

Industry pours millions into fight against it

(Newser) - Capitol Hill’s flirtation with a national excise tax on sugary drinks has been good for someone: food lobbyists. Soda makers, supermarkets, and fast-food restaurants have spent more than $24 million fighting the tax, the Huffington Post reports. “We are reacting to the situation we find ourselves in,"...

Oldsters Behind
Counter Boost
McDonald's Sales

Aug 13, 2009 5:42 AM CDT

Oldsters Behind Counter Boost McDonald's Sales

(Newser) - Having workers in their golden years is key to the Golden Arches' success, according to a British study. Researchers found that customer satisfaction levels were 20% higher in outlets where people over 60 were employed. The boost comes from the older workers' better people skills, strong work ethic, and influence...

Recession?
McDonald's
Is Loving It

Analysis

Aug 12, 2009 1:42 PM CDT

Recession? McDonald's Is Loving It

(Newser) - Now that the recession’s supposed to be just about over, it’s time to survey the battlefield and pick out winners, and nobody was a bigger winner than the Golden Arches, writes Daniel Gross for Slate. McDonald’s sales grew more in 2008 than in 2006 or 2007, and...

Let's Do to Big Food
What We Did to Big Tobacco

OPINION

Jul 24, 2009 11:30 AM CDT

Let's Do to Big Food What We Did to Big Tobacco

'Big Food' and 'Big Tobacco' have a lot in common

(Newser) - After decades of anti-smoking campaigns, Big Tobacco has been brought low and ashtrays have “gone the way of spittoons,” writes Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe. It’s high time we gave Big Food the same treatment. “Now that two-thirds of Americans are overweight, the lethal effects...

Burger King Aims to Burn McD's With $1 Cheeseburger

Jul 9, 2009 2:15 AM CDT

Burger King Aims to Burn McD's With $1 Cheeseburger

Burger joint looking for more lettuce in battle for consumers

(Newser) - Burger King is spoiling for a cheeseburger price war, the Chicago Tribune reports. The chain is trying to persuade franchisees to halve the price of double cheeseburgers to just $1 for several months. McDonald's recently hiked the price of its double cheeseburgers to $1.19, under pressure from their franchisees,...

Tough Times
Push Chains to
Try New Fare

May 27, 2009 10:00 AM CDT

Tough Times Push Chains to Try New Fare

McDonald's classy coffee, grilled KFC widen menus

(Newser) - Desperate times are driving chain restaurants to desperate measures—straying from their bread-and-butter dishes and diversifying the menu. KFC now sells grilled chicken, Domino’s offers subs, and McDonald’s dips into the world of espresso coffee, USA Today reports. “This is a defining moment for the industry,"...

'Healthy' Fast Food Eaters
Mull the Salad, Buy the Fried

OPINION

May 17, 2009 9:20 AM CDT

'Healthy' Fast Food Eaters Mull the Salad, Buy the Fried

Companies like KFC know how to play to customers' cravings

(Newser) - KFC's grilled chicken giveaway may have been a bust, but the company actually got what it wanted—luring health-conscious eaters back to the franchise, argues Steve Almond in the Washington Post. The chicken chain's CEO appeared on Oprah to apologize for pulling the plug on the offer, yet "his...

Why Our Brains Want
What's Bad for Us

INTERVIEW

Apr 30, 2009 1:46 PM CDT

Why Our Brains Want What's Bad for Us

(Newser) - Former Food and Drug Administration chief David Kessler thinks Americans are victims of “conditioned hyper-eating,” and he’s written a book about it: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. The Wall Street Journal poked him for some answers about how food can “...

Student Obesity Jumps in Schools Near Fast-Food Joints

Mar 23, 2009 12:20 PM CDT

Student Obesity Jumps in Schools Near Fast-Food Joints

Rate 5% higher when kids can walk to outlet

(Newser) - Students are more likely to be obese when their schools are located within a tenth of a mile of fast-food restaurants, researchers found. In a study of more than a million California ninth-graders over 8 years, they found that the incidence of obesity at schools near the restaurants was 5....