The restaurant reservation revolution (The Wall Street Journal)
At places like Next in Chicago, Trois Mec in Los Angeles and Volver in Philadelphia, a new breed of pay-up-front reservation is taking some of the risk out of running a restaurant. Pre-paid tickets give restaurateurs more control over their bottom line, all but eliminating no-shows — a scourge of the fine-dining business — and ensuring the kitchen has just enough food on hand.
—Ron Ruggless
Noodles & Co. eyes expansion in warmer markets (Denver Post)
Like many public restaurant companies, Noodles & Co. cited severe winter weather as a main source of its underperformance in the first quarter, especially since the vast majority of its nearly 400 restaurants are located in the Rocky Mountain, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Broomfield, Colo.-based brand’s near-term growth plans will include more emphasis on warmer markets in California and Florida.
—Mark Brandau
When restaurants Google customers (Good Food)
When a diner walks into a restaurant these days, there's a good chance the maitre d' knows more about them than they realize.
—Marcella Veneziale
Kimchi moves into mainstream (Star Tribune)
The evolution of kimchi is a snapshot of how flavors go from niche to trendy to mainstream.
—Marcella Veneziale
Talking food trends, eating insects (News Talk Florida)
Over the weekend I spoke with Foodtalk on WWBA in Tampa, Fla., about food trends and about eating insects.
—Bret Thorn