January 20, 2010
Industry Headlines
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), November's cheese production in the United States was up 1.9 percent compared to the same month in 2008. Cheese production in November 2009, the most recent month for which figures are availabile, totaled 844.2 million pounds, says the USDA.
Wisconsin led the way with 217.9 million pounds in November, according to Cheese Reporter, which covers the U.S. cheese-making industry. California followed with 170.7 million pounds, while Idaho (67.3 million pounds), New York (64.1 million pounds) and New Mexico (53.7 million pounds) rounded out the top five.
Dallas-based Boston's The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar is teaming up with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the largest charitable funder and advocate of diabetes science worldwide, to support the organization's efforts in funding critical research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications.
During the annual Valentine's fundraiser, all Boston's restaurants across the United States will sell heart-shaped pizzas and desserts and will donate $1 from each item sold to the aforementioned foundation. Additionally, customers can purchase paper hearts for $1 each and personalize them with a Valentine's Day message. The paper hearts and various desserts are being sold now through February 14, and the heart-shaped pizza and dessert promotion will take place February 12-14.
"Working with charitable organizations is a cornerstone of Boston's, and it provides an opportunity for local franchisees to engage, support and give back to the communities they serve," says Mike Best, COO of Boston's. "We hope to surpass last year's benchmark of $31,000 as we continue our partnership with JDRF to raise awareness and funding for type 1 diabetes research."
In other Boston's news, the pizza restaurant and sports bar has partnered with ONOSYS to develop an online ordering platform. The company has begun rolling out the platform in its Canadian stores.
New Orleans-based Naked Pizza is touting a new "Prima Pizza" to its e-mail subscribers this week. The pizza, which features black beans, onions, jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese, comes with chilled lime pico (tomato, onion, cilantro, garlic and lime juice) on the side. The company is also touting a promotion called "2 for 1 Tuesday", which allows customers to purchase any large specialty pizza and get a medium one-topping pizza for free.
In support of National Mentoring Month, CiCi's Pizza is partnering with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. For the month of January, Little Brothers and Little Sisters of the program will be able to eat free when their accompanying Big Brothers and Big Sisters purchase an adult buffet at any of the 178 CiCi's locations throughout Texas.
In 2009, CiCi's donated more than $26,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
"Big Brothers Big Sisters' core values align with those of our own here at CiCi's," says Kyle Smith, VP of Brand Excellence at CiCi's Pizza. "For CiCi's, community involvement has always been important, and we hope many great memories will be shared as 'Littles' dine with their 'Bigs' at our restaurants."