March 30, 2009
Industry Headlines
CiCi's Pizza has announced that the endless concept earned top marks in the recently released Men's Health "Eat This, Not That!" Restaurant Report Card. Eat This, Not That! launched an investigation of 66 major chain restaurants to better educate families providing insider tips and strategies so that they can continue eating out responsibly. CiCi's Pizza scored top marks for their salad bar and healthier pies, including the Zesty Vegetable, Alfredo and the Mexican-inspired Olé.
"We believe it's important to demonstrate a sense of social responsibility for our guests, so that they feel good about the choices they have on our buffet line," said Craig Moore, President and CEO of CiCi's Pizza. "What's important is a person's average food intake over a few days, not just in a single meal. What's different about CiCi's is that we are not providing our guests with restaurant portions that are larger than an average serving. Our guests have control of how much they want and what they chose to eat including a salad bar and several pizzas that are robust in flavor - but not calories."
Founded in 1985, CiCi's Pizza has grown to almost 650 restaurants in 30 states.
Stanislaus Food Products - Since 1942, our family-owned cannery has specialized in premium tomato products "packed from fresh tomatoes, not from concentrate" for quality-oriented Italian restaurants and pizzerias throughout the United States and Canada. For more information, we invite you to call us at (800) 327-7201! www.stanislaus.com
Indianapolis based Noble Roman's, Inc. has announced that for the second consecutive year, Noble Roman's Pizza was named the 2009 recipient of the "Consumers' Choice Award for Business Excellence" in the pizza category for the greater Indianapolis metropolitan area. Noble Roman's also received the award in 2008. The "Consumers' Choice Award" is an initiative of the Consumers' Choice Institute to identify and promote business excellence, and is based on independent consumer research.
Noble Roman's pizzas are made with specially milled flour and cornmeal, fresh-packed, uncondensed tomato sauce, real meat toppings with no soy fillers, fresh-cut vegetables and fresh, never-canned mushrooms. Noble Roman's Pizza was founded in 1972, and has been franchising stand-alone quick service pizza restaurants ever since. In 1997 it also began franchising locations inside facilities such as hospitals, bowling centers, convenience stores, entertainment facilities and other non-traditional venues.
Noble Roman's, Inc. is the franchisor of two restaurant concepts, Noble Roman's Pizza and Tuscano's Italian Style Subs, and has locations in 45 states across the country, and serves our GIs on select military bases overseas.
As households continue tightening purse strings, families are choosing to prepare their Easter meals at home rather than dining out, according to industry research firm IBISWorld. Sales from dining out, predominately in full-service restaurants, are expected to decline six percent this holiday. Supermarkets on the other hand will experience a 3.5 percent rise in food sales.
"The large drop in sales can be attributed to the fact that dining is considered a discretionary Easter activity," explained George Van Horn, senior analyst with IBISWorld.
Total sales from Easter clothing, candy, flowers, decorations, food and greeting cards are expected to fall from $14.8 billion in 2008 to $13.6 in 2009.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld offers a comprehensive database of unique information and analysis on every U.S. industry.
Pizza Patrón, the premier Latino pizza brand, announced today that systemwide comparable sales increased 10.5 percent in February, up significantly from its January comparable sales gain of 7.9 percent.
“We continue to be very pleased with the sales increases we are experiencing,” said Andrew Gamm, director of Brand Development for Pizza Patrón. “Great food and every day values combine with our unique Latin vibe to create an uncommon experience for our guests that has very broad appeal, as demonstrated by the up-tick in traffic at our stores.”
In 2008, the company made a strategic decision not to raise any of its menu prices, despite skyrocketing commodity costs. Instead, an extensive evaluation of the business model was initiated to find ways to decrease waste and lower operating costs. The chain also launched the AMIGO PIZZA under the banner “Un Amigo para Todos” (an Amigo for everyone) which offers customers a “Choose Your Amigo” value option – one-topping $4, two or three toppings $5 and specialty pizzas for only $6 each.
"Believe it or not, we have operated successfully for over 22 years without a medium size pizza option on our menu,” says Gamm. “Current market conditions created an opportunity for us to develop a wider variety of value choices for our customers. The Amigo Pizza™ has played an important role in our comps being up this year.”
Pizza Patrón has been credited with creating the country’s first chain of Latino-Hispano focused restaurants. The company currently operates nearly 90 stores in six states and plans to have 750 stores nationwide within a decade.
The Loop Pizza Grill is trying out a new player this spring in its all-star salad lineup: the new Asian Chicken Salad.
Available for a limited time, The Loop Pizza Grill is introducing the Asian Chicken Salad - a tasty combination of crisp romaine lettuce, shredded carrots and cabbage, toasted walnuts and crispy noodles. It’s topped with grilled chicken, and tossed in a homemade Honey Lime Vinaigrette. Beginning April 20 and running through June 13, Loop guests can enjoy the new Asian Chicken Salad at their favorite Loop restaurant.
It’s too soon to tell whether the new Asian Chicken Salad can beat the Loop’s most popular salad of all time: Gorgonzola Walnut Salad, with fresh mixed seasonal greens, Roma and sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and freshly baked croutons served with balsamic vinaigrette.
Other popular salads in The Loop’s lineup include Crunchy Broccoli, Classic Chicken Caesar, Cajun Chicken, Goat Cheese, Walnut and Cranberry, Greek, Grilled Chicken and Crispy Chicken.
The Loop Pizza Grill was founded by Mike and Terry Schneider in 1981 as a 60-seat restaurant. Today there are 18 locations in three states.
The gas industry experts of the Gas Food Equipment Network (GFEN) have chosen the Middleby Marshall WOW! Oven as the sole recipient of the 2009 Product of the Year. The award was presented at the NAFEM show in Orlando on February 5.
The award is given to the product that is the most technologically advanced in energy saving technology. Middleby Marshall submitted gas consumption data from actual sites using the WOW! Oven as part of its winning entry.
“We are thrilled to be recognized with this honor from the highly knowledgeable GFEN members,” said Mark Sieron, President of Middleby Marshall. “We are proud to be a leader in energy saving technology, as it is a win-win for restaurant operators to lower gas consumption and save money on their energy bills.”
Middleby Marshall has more than 4000 WOW! Ovens installed worldwide cooking more than 3 million pizzas every day.