NATIONAL REPORT With fall rolling in, restaurants are shifting their promotional spotlight to all things pumpkin. The first flush of products range from pumpkin cream cheese on a pumpkin bagel at Einstein Bros. and sister concepts Noah’s and Manhattan Bagel, to the Pumpkin Spice Latte, now an end-of-summer tradition for Starbucks and some competitors.
Delilah’s in Chicago will showcase pumpkin-flavored brews this week at its Harvest and Pumpkin Beer Festival. So many pumpkin-flavored beers are hitting the market that BeerAdvocate.com, a website for suds aficionados nationwide, is touting a pumpkin beer round-up and tasting for Sylvania, Ohio. The special brew has been a traditional offering of such beer-focused concepts as BJ’s and Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.
Bob Evans Farms, the family dining chain, has rolled out a new fall menu that includes both pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. Other seasonal items include hot cider.
The Au Bon Pain bakery-cafe chain is featuring pumpkin in both sweet and savory applications, with a pumpkin muffin and a pumpkin soup.
In addition to its seasonal latte, Starbucks is featuring a variety of pumpkin-flavored bakery items, including a pumpkin loaf, a pumpkin scone and a pumpkin cream cheese muffin.
Meanwhile, the blogosphere speculated that Dunkin’ Donuts would soon complete the limited-time rollout of its pumpkin muffin, another fall tradition. Last year, Dunkin' also offered a pumpkin doughnut and its own version of the pumpkin latte.
