The three-martini lunch, the power lunch and, most recently, the working lunch have each packed restaurants or takeout spots during midday at one time or another. Now, however, operators are increasingly facing a less lucrative trend: the nolunch...

As 2007 gives way to 2008, foodservice operators are bracing for more difficult times ahead as they tally the less-than-stellar results of the past year.Although there were pockets of success, 2007 was a largely dismal year for the restaurant...

The dinner rush is increasingly quiet as relentless economic pressures force more consumers to eat their evening meals at home.According to new data from The NPD Group, the number of restaurant dinner meals purchased per person has fallen...

The Dallas market is crowded with all manner of ethnic and eclectic quick-service restaurants, but it’s the familiar hamburger chains that are the big winners with the area’s consumers, according to new data from The NPD Group.A recent survey of...

Expanding your quick-service brand abroad? Then you’d best forget what you know about the American market.While quick-service restaurants span the globe, the dining habits of consumers outside the United States—such as the hours at which they...

While globalization has blurred the boundaries between countries in the past few decades, when it comes to consumers’ eating habits, there is still a cultural divide between the United States and the rest of the world. For that reason, quick...

Move over, Happy Meal. While kids’ love for burgers and fries remains true, a growing number of young tykes are ordering chicken sandwiches, Mexican fare and seafood when they dine out.According to new data from The NPD Group, today’s kids have...

Cutbacks in consumers’ discretionary spending, driven by such price pressures as rising gasoline costs, increasingly are impacting the foodservice industry as cost-conscious diners limit their visits to restaurants in all segments, according to...

With a growing number of consumers heeding nutritionists’ recommendations to eat not just three square meals but up to six mini-meals throughout the day, savvy operators are finding that there’s money to be made by adding snack foods and beverages...