Just links today. 

 Wow. Here is a real possibility for segmentation - the KING will love this http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/22/news/companies/burger_king_whopper_bar/?hpt=P1

Deep Dish Trouble: Owner of Pizzeria Uno Files for Bankruptcy Protection - http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/deep-dish-trouble-owner-of-pizzeria-uno-files-for-bankruptcy-pr/19325537/?icid=main|htmlws-main-w|dl3|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyfinance.com%2Fstory%2Fcompany-news%2Fdeep-dish-trouble-owner-of-pizzeria-uno-files-for-bankruptcy-pr%2F19325537%2F

Great thinking outside of the box right here - includes flowers on the table too AND a photographer to remember the event — for only 11.99 - reservations needed. http://news.holidash.com/2010/01/15/candle-lit-valentines-day-dinner-at-white-castle/?icid=main|htmlws-main-w|dl8|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.holidash.com%2F2010%2F01%2F15%2Fcandle-lit-valentines-day-dinner-at-white-castle%2F I can’t see why this same idea couldn’t work for other FF’s.

Fast Food Jobs and What They Pay - http://jobs.aol.com/articles/photos/fast-food-jobs-and-what-they-pay/2475605/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl4|link7|http%3A%2F%2Fjobs.aol.com%2Farticles%2Fphotos%2Ffast-food-jobs-and-what-they-pay%2F2475605%2F And the winner is ……….. Arby’s

And, Arby’s scores again right here - http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/20/arbys-lures-sports-fans-with-free-food/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl6|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashfood.com%2F2009%2F11%2F20%2Farbys-lures-sports-fans-with-free-food%2F

Read more about the services I offer at www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys thanks.

The trend for dayparting and weekparting continues - this time it’s Moe’s with an American Idol ad last night saying `Two For One on Thursdays with purchase of two drinks’ - expect to see even more in 2010 as more and more fast food retailers realize that this is the new normal of the Great Recession.

Just a quick post today to note the continued positioning being taken by various fast food restaurants locally - today - as the title suggests - Checkers had a reader board advertising lower evening combo pricing. Excellent idea and could encourage more combos during this higher customer transaction size period/daypart. This joins the limited 1/2 price - daypart pricing by Sonic and Steak And Shake for mid-day drinks.

Lastly for today - thanks for your support in 2009. Here’s some statistics about this website. In 2008 this website had 5,788 unique visitors - in 2009, 18,805 unique visitors (as many as 2,572 in a month). In 2008 this website had @9,300 page views and in 2009, over 28,000 page views.

Much more will be coming soon too - bookmark and return. Oh, and make sure to see in the sidebar an overview of the important posts of 2009.

It seems that many fast food restaurants have too narrow a target demographic and don’t spread out their age targeting on television commercials as they should - including a direct targeting of the customer aged 18-24  (Krystal being an exception.) - especially considering how hard it is to get the 18-24 age group to actually USE a FF coupon. Indeed, I’ve done research where less than 2% of the age group used coupons while upwards of 30% in other older age brackets was the case. So, the question is how to motivate usage within the young 18-24 year old cell.

Answer. VISUALLY target them with `frequency club’ bounceback card/coupon - make sure the dated card only involves a reasonable frequency level like I’ve described in my recent posts. (For example, 2 visits in 2 months - with a discount for each of those purchases.) So, if the young person KNOWS that the next two times they use your restaurant they get 20% off (or similar) the total bill - anytime in the next two months — that will be much more likely to influence a spontaneous purchase with the brand — versus a 1% chance of usage of a coupon in the paper or mailbox mailing.

Restaurant links for today:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/11/11/subway-wants-your-breakfast-business/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl8|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F11%2F11%2Fsubway-wants-your-breakfast-business%2F Subway moves into the breakfast daypart. Can Subway bakery or Atlanta Bread Company positioning be far away?

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/10/29/chinese-chickens-which-fast-food-chain-may-serve-you-this-scary/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2F29%2Fchinese-chickens-which-fast-food-chain-may-serve-you-this-scary%2F - Chinese chicken: Which fast food chain may serve you this scary import?

www.RestaurantNews.com BTW, you can see my ad at this website - which has lots of interesting content too.

Nothing like being a bit late to the party - or - making the move while a 5.01 Combo advertising campaign is going onward - but Arby’s has finally moved to match the direct FF competition. Seems the shift away from advertising specific products and tastes continues.

Also seen lately is Capt. D’s once again positioning their food and prices compared to Red Lobster - this time showing a party of two that they could have fed a party of four AND gotten 15.00 back. The tradedown customer is a legit positioning for sure for `dinner’ FF restaurants.

Finally, some other restaurant links:

Hundreds line up to apply for a job at In-N-Out Burger - http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8366210

Study: Consumers Prefer E-mail Interaction to Social Media - http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/marketing-tips/study-consumers-prefer-e-mail-interaction-to-social-media/2009/10/16/

As I’ve mentioned in the last few posts - the customer frequency of your customer base is the number one attribute of concern to your fast food restaurant. And, if you want your customer base to `listen’ to your promotions - perhaps it is time to treat them like a `listener’ to your channel/brand. One that they can be `loyal’ to (as I mentioned in the last post) - one they are connected with - involved with.

Indeed, it might be time in this new era of the Great Recession - to use one of the old standards of giveaways that radio used for decades to `maintain’ and grow listenership - and that is — give away LOCAL MONEY. Literally at the store level. To `listeners’ (customers) who followed the `promotion’ for entry.

So, for `drink-only, drive-thru’ customers - that meant using `their’ Drink Only `clubcard’ (which had a discount for drinks two and three) twice more for a chance at entry in the `monthly customer loyalty drawing’. Other folks would be turning in their `nite-owl’ cards with a similar idea to forming a (sub) brand loyalty - or a breakfast club.

Likewise, operators need to reach out to other - mainstream frequency programs - and use them in the same manner; (such as combo club, sandwich club, dessert club, or all milkshake purchases today get entry, etc.) - all for a chance to enter the LOCAL `money giveaway’. Indeed, the chance to `win’ 100 or 200 bucks - EVERY month - will stay in the customers mind.

Winners will be `announced’ on the outside reader board (giving customers a reason to read it at other times too) and inside too. The drawing will be LIVE in the store - creating an event. The winner will be posted on a winners board for all to see. JOE SMITH - 200 DOLLAR WINNER - COMBO CLUB CUSTOMER.

In the meantime, the `entries’ (the club cards with E-Mail addresses or phone numbers/addresses) will provide you with a usable custom marketing base for your selected marketing efforts. For your new loyal `audience’.

My research at fast food restaurants has shown that it takes a `certain’ level - generally - for customers to say `I use this restaurant/brand the MOST’. And, even in the new normal of the Great Recession, that level is around once a week usage. Only about 1 in 5 customers don’t offer a FF restaurant they use most often when asked. A loyalty - often felt with justification and pride almost. “they are the friendliest here” “they know me here” “this is super convenient for me”.

Sometimes, operators need to literally `look’ for ways to develop that special relationship with their customer base. And, once again, ways exist around the margin to create that `special user’ - to develop a loyalty. And, here’s just one example (I have more) - let’s say your restaurant is one of those that likes to advertise or position later summer hours - how about a special `bounceback loyalty card’ that is ONLY given to customers AFTER 10 and for use ONLY after 10? The night-owl club. 20% all summer for those `special folks’ who visit after ten.

Occupying that special place for customers - generating loyalty - almost a must in today’s competitive environment.

Restaurant Links for today:

Wingstop Reaches 25 Consecutive Quarters of Positive Comp Sales - http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS111102+12-Oct-2009+BW20091012

Darden net income up, sales down in 1Q -http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/09/28/daily24.html Including Red Lobster off by nearly 8%.

Food Fight: Franchisees Caught in the Middle - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125492481356270841.html Important read of three minutes.

UPDATE 1-Ruby Tuesday posts higher profit - http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0739123320091007 However, sales were off 3%.

Sales meetings at YOUR store? It’s working for Panera Bread
http://www.nrn.com/landingPage.aspxmenu_id=1416&coll_id=554&id=374238#ixzz0Tp32Jvc2

Recently, my daughter related to me how a national FF restaurant was doing a `bounceback’ (stuffed without mention into a drive-thru bag) `free combo’ promotion. It was either buy 4 more and the fifth one was free or buy 5 more and the 6th was free. You had until the end of the year (so about twice a month to get the freebee).

Now, while I applaud the effort - since the frequency of your CURRENT customer base is most important customer attribute in the `new normal’ of the Great Recession - it falls WAY short of real motivation or of doing what it seeks to do - which is to increase frequency or market share.

Why not?

Because it simply isn’t motivating. To the VAST majority of the customer base as it has too high a threshold for compliance. Additionally, it gives away food for free to those who probably don’t even need a motivation to use your restaurant - your weekly or more often user.

Indeed, the next level of usage - those that use your restaurant once every two to three weeks (which can be a large movable segment) - are generally those who do NOT use your brand most often - for whatever reason (perception of high cost, not as convenient, service issues) and are indeed - UNLIKELY to increase their usage pattern over 2 - 3 months - a long time - for the special deal. We don’t even need to mention the once a month user or less often user — which is the vast majority of the customers of your customer base.

So, what should have been done?

Well, first, if the FF chain really wanted to bring a discount on their combo’s to certain folks over the next 5 visits within a certain time frame — give it to them EACH VISIT. Meaning, the next 5 visits before the new year when you buy a combo it’s 20% off. Saving money EACH time - can address high cost perception problems - and be motivating EACH time.

But, even that is NOT what I would recommend - as the timeframe is too long and the purchase requirement too big. So, obviously, I’m suggesting fewer purchases in a smaller timeframe - at a targeted customer (which you determine by asking your customer ONE question at the time of purchase).

To find out which question - to which type of customer - you need my services. 678-467-8650; ask for Rick.

First, let it be said that my usage of nearly ALL of the restaurants has already assumed the `new normal’ of the Great Recession. Regardless of what cheerleading the media may be doing about the economy - most folks are now cautious on discretionary spending - of which, restaurant visits - even to a degree Fast Food restaurant visits - has been impacted. 

 In alphabetical order:

Arby’s - I `responded’ to the ads for the `Roast Burger’ earlier in the year and was not impressed. I refused to respond to the Marry a Goat `humor’  ad campaign and somewhat like the recent 5.01 combo or pricing (the one cent being for Quality).  That said, generally, I perceive that Arby’s as expensive without having coupons from the coupon mail drop a few times a year. Additionally, they  `streamlined’ their `fries’ - dropping my favorite the Homestyle. How can they NOT promote the Jamoca Shake?

Atlanta Bread Company (ABC) - Remodeled nicely. Upgraded to real plates and silverware. Messy to clean up. Can be crowded and slow service. Female favorite. Good soups and combo prices. Mellow atmosphere.

Burger Inn - Local  legend - all fresh cooked. Great breakfast customer base. Friendly people; newspapers available often. Excellent onion rings. Beefy hamburgers. Male favorite.

Burger King - I like the current billboard promotion about the Double Cheeseburger for a buck, real value - but - haven’t gotten it.  I have ordered the Mini burgers more than once however and view that as an excellent addition. Amazingly, the Woodstock BK got rid of Real Sweet Tea years ago (my assumption is that is still the case) and thereby nearly ended my usage — I can’t stand the fake sweet tea out of a machine. Operations should be aware that changing ICONic drinks can have a big effect. — Finally, where is the KING?

Capt. D’s - Perhaps my favorite FF in Woodstock. Quality, Quick, and Quantity with good value pricing. Covers all reasonable price points including lunch specials and on-going `specialities’ that have all prices. Excellent choice of sides. Funny ads earlier in the year comparing to Red Lobster pricing. Friendly greeting and thanking when exiting. Good inside music.

Checkers - Still a viable concept (double drive thru) - chicken wings were a good addition earlier in year - somehow it fits. Catchy phrase “you gotta eat” recognizable for smaller chain levels of advertising. Covers all price points well with a good mix of products. The Woodstock store does Sunday Pricing - good idea - hasn’t ever motivated me for their `down sized’ versions. Could probably `play-up’ the FUN theme a little bit more.

Chick-Fil-A - Woodstock’s Chick-Fil-A is amazingly busy. Overwhelmingly busy whenever they do a promotion like 2-1 for a chicken sandwich or free food giveaway. Excellent quick service regardless of how long the lines are - especially at the drive-thru. (However, I’ve detected a time or two a usage of `workers in India’ taking my orders — I’m not kidding - and, in this time of underemployment in America - that is NOT right to save a few cents that way.) Real Milk Shakes were genius. Consistent quality. Friendly employees. Clean. ————— All that said, the Woodstock inside service in the sit-down area can be horrid and when is Chick-Fil-A gonna get some normal fries? Also, one takes a chance when getting the baked potato.

Dairy Queen -  The standard in Ice Cream desserts from the drive-thru. Haven’t used but really like the new pricing structure in ads 2/3 3/4 4/5.00 - interesting approach. Unfortunately, for me, the food hasn’t broke thru.

Dunkin Donuts - Right on the Strip - I’ve never used location. Certainly they can advertise donuts and donut prices more.  (IF I knew a quick Donut sweet was 99 cents for example - it would come to mind for `dessert’ or breakfast purchase more often. Never seen a place less concerned with establishing a price point understanding. Just how much does a dozen donuts cost?)

Firehouse Subs - Expensive but Excellent. Can be slow. Friendly employees. TV’s to watch. Good real sweet tea. Small, can be crowded.

Five Guys Hamburgers - Tangential to Woodstock in Sandy Plains area — good operation - waiting for a Woodstock Location (several good places available perhaps too).

IHOP - Expensive, right? What specials?

KFC - Closed but not forgotten. Also was one, like BK, to drop sweet tea for a time.

Krystal’s - Krystal `fix’ a must a few times a year. (Canton Road.) Ad’s featuring Crispy Onions on burger looks very compelling. Wi-Fi add - good idea.

McDonald’s - Woodstocks unit re-designs and updates the interiour often - which is nice. Clean. Service can range from excellent to very poor (weekends). Can often find an AJC or USA today in newspaper bin. Separate kids area - thumbs up. Fries can vary in quality. Best FF fish sandwich.

New China Buffet - Lunch value leader. Good quality food. Friendly employees. Priced by the pound to go. Widest variety of food.

O’Charlies - Stopped going shortly after changed menu restricting Prime Rib to Sundays only.

Panda Express - Have never used. Pass by back of lot 3 times a week on way to Walmart.

Po Folks - AKA Folks —> Expesive for what you get.

Ruby Tuesday’s — How could they get rid of German Potato Salad? (pet peeve). Good miniburgers and platter pricing. Easy to split orders. Great salad bar still.

Sonic - I really like their ad’s inside the car with the main guy and his friend and the main guy and his wife. Classic. Best onion rings in Woodstock at FF. To me, tasteless burgers. Fun to use. Daypart pricing on drinks in the afternoon. Fun music playing.

Steak And Shake -  Best Milkshake in Woodstock. Can be very expensive without coupons and very reasonable with coupons. Great variety of sides. Great music inside.

Subway - Good with pricing with coupons. Good quality. Can be SLOW service. GOOD real sweet tea. Fresh. Daily specials a good way to address pricing. Excellent variety of sandwiches.

Taco Bell - Good cheap price positioning. Good Chalupa’s. Good real sweet tea. Good service speed. Good quality overall.

Wendy’s - Huge variety in quality - excellent one time - poorish the next. What the heck happened to the fries - almost tasteless compared to yesteryear. I’m told good salads. Expensiveish compared to McD’s. Baked potato good price/quality.

Thanks for reading - feel free to comment.

Here’s some links also:

KFC Closes Its Doors to Fight Hunger - http://www.slashfood.com/2009/09/30/kfc-closes-its-doors-to-fight-hunger/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl5|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashfood.com%2F2009%2F09%2F30%2Fkfc-closes-its-doors-to-fight-hunger%2F Community involvemet matters - look at the results of the survey on this page too.

A Real Whopper? NASCAR’s Stewart to take live polygraph test in ad  - http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/09/30/a-real-whopper-nascars-stewart-to-take-live-polygraph-test-in//?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl1|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F09%2F30%2Fa-real-whopper-nascars-stewart-to-take-live-polygraph-test-in%2F%2F BK, attention grabber again.

Eat, drink, and spend money: Restaurants ply diners with cheap booze - http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/29/eat-drink-and-spend-money-restaurants-ply-diners-with-cheap-b/#continued?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyfinance.com%2F2009%2F09%2F29%2Feat-drink-and-spend-money-restaurants-ply-diners-with-cheap-b%2F%23continued

This is a subject I’ve covered before http://restauranttradearearesearch.com/2008/08/10/customer-base-size-it-can-be-calculated/ but, it is well worth revisiting in the economics of The Great Recession and the `new normal’ that many restaurateurs are facing. Indeed, many are waking up to the idea that it will be necessary to `woo’ the existing customer base if one is to survive - as `new customers’ are not likely to be a significant factor. Indeed, in branded fast food restaurants - it’s likely that up to 1/2 of ALL new customers to a store in a given year - are likely `main’ customers of one of the other locations of a particular brand. Meaning - that visit is generated from prior usage in a more convenient location to this user. These are customers that you are likely to get over a year whether you advertise or not - and - other `new customers’ will likely be new `work’ customers - again, to which - little `extra’ marketing is needed. (Many workers are new to a given area each year.)

Now, in the link above - you can calculate that upwards of 40% of all transactions at a unit - were made by about 13% of the customers. Those, of course, are the built in creme for any restaurant - and - really - should be marketed differently than the REMAINING 87% who come less frequently.

Can you afford to ignore 87% of your customer base - without making any special effort to improve their frequency of usage of your store?

Now, in all honesty - part of that 87% may be virtually unmarketable as far as increasing their frequency - but, that said, many ARE marketable in a manner that addresses their frequency. The problem has been that UP TILL NOW - all `frequency programs’ have largely fallen flat on their face . And, there is a good reason for this — they address frequency in a fantasylike manner with this 87%. IE-Customer Frequency Cards.

Indeed, of the 87% who are `infrequent users’ - a full 2/3’s of the customerbase fall into the once a month or less frequency - do you really believe that a `loyalty card’ that has 6 punch-outs is going to be handy, used, or motivating if it results in ONE meal savings a year or at most two? The answer is a clear NO.

In fact, the only ones you are giving free meals to are your customer base that would have visited you anyway. Not much logic to that. (That isn’t to say that the frequent customer base can’t be marketed to - as I will expand on in future posts.)

So, what CAN be done about frequency for infrequent customers - what could be really motivating? Well, bookmark my site and return again for the upcoming answer.

More restaurant links:

Childhood Obesity Report Calls For Government Regulations to Limit Access to ‘Unhealthy’ Restaurant Chains - http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/53374

Hardee’s adds Bologna to breakfast - doing great sales - http://www.slashfood.com/2009/09/10/is-bologna-the-new-bacon/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl6|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashfood.com%2F2009%2F09%2F10%2Fis-bologna-the-new-bacon%2F

http://www.cnbc.com/id/32642565Give Up a Little Privacy, Get a Great Deal - this will be needed to run successful stores in the `economy with a new normal’.

http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6669898.html The top burger chains of the top 400 restaurants.

Who was watching Applebee’s Weight Watcher meals? - http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/07/24/who-was-watching-applebees-weight-watcher-meals/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl2|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2F24%2Fwho-was-watching-applebees-weight-watcher-meals%2F One has to live up to expectations of customers - especially if you are using someone elses brand name.

Hello, welcome back to Restaurant Trade Area Research (RTAR) - thanks for visiting today. And, today, I answer the ultimate question often in the minds of folks who develop markets for Fast Food brands - and that - is - how many folks can I really count on to become users of this restaurant?

First, the basics - obviously, it depends on the number of competitors and the number of restaurants that you have serving a particular zipcode - the fewer the competitors and the more restaurants you have - the higher the penetration. That said, very few FF brands can have more than one store per zipcode or perhaps two stores at the most serving a particular zip. ————- So ——- what is that number?

Generally, it’s between 15-25% for most brands — with more than one restaurant serving a zipcode - up to 40%+.

Restaurant links for you today:

http://www.slashfood.com/2009/07/22/felony-franks-causing-a-red-hot-controversy-in-chicago/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl5|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashfood.com%2F2009%2F07%2F22%2Ffelony-franks-causing-a-red-hot-controversy-in-chicago%2F Felony Franks Causing a Red-Hot Controversy in Chicago

Various `reasons’ can produce a research result for a unit that shows `low home zipcodes’ locally - compared to the full data. As I indicated in Part 1 - some stores can have figures as low as having only 23% or so of their customer base coming from their main two home zipcodes - other stores can be as high as over 50%.  One reason for a low figure might be the stores proximity to an interstate or along a very busy business corridor. Indeed, by have REAL customer data via the MarketView - an owner can establish a particular level as a goal - focusing efforts in the market to establish a minimum home market for all units. 

In Part 2 - I showed that these different levels of `home zipcodes’ in a customer base could mean the difference of having 10,000 available customers to market to versus under 5,000 (meaning available customers in the top two zipcodes to a store - often the one the store is in and the next nearest - most primary areas for homes to the unit). Once again, with the customer data - owners can decide best how to allocate marketing funds.

So, what else can be done with MarketView Customer Base data?

How about taking the known number of customers in a given zipcode and compare that to the census figures for how many live in a zipcode - and - voila - you suddenly have the Penetration Percentage of Customers within a zipcode for a FF unit. And, real research can show differences in these top two zipcodes of units to vary from 6% to over 20%. (The final penetration figure is the number of users as opposed to customers - and yes - the MarketView gives you that by knowing the nunber of customers per order.)

Finally, knowing this real data - via the MarketView - allows for the allocation of funds to achieve an objective; be it - boosting the poorest of penetration stores or targeting the best penetrated stores.

More Restaurant Links for Today:

http://www.slashfood.com/2009/08/25/kfc-double-down-chicken-sandwich-loses-the-bun/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl4|link5|http%3A%2F%2F  KFC new product an amazing sight — I can see protests by the food police on this one. Must see picture.

http://www.rimag.com/info/CA6670228.html The 400 largest restaurant chains. Lots of sales data too.

http://www.qsrweb.com/article.php?id=15565&na=1&s=2 Popeye’s Chicken sales higher.

When you use the MarketView design - part of the findings via our customer base formula - tells the owner, literally, an estimate on `how many’ customers do I have at this unit. Then, when that is combined with the knowledge of what percentage of transactions are with customers in the top two zipcodes for a store — the operator ends up knowing the number of customers that live in a certain zipcode(s).

In the same market I spoke of yesterday - one store had over 11,000 customers who lived in the top two zipcodes to that store; whereas, other stores had less than 5,000 customers in the top two zipcodes. So, once again, in this time of limited marketing dollars - targeting the most customers is good business and smart money.

More restaurant links for you:

http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=370226 Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s sales slip in June, July.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ak1s1RK9PVp4 Wendy’s and Arby’s sales off too. This link also talks about how restaurant visits overall were down for the first time since 1981 (shows how my post about spring research `expecting an increase’ was dead on http://restauranttradearearesearch.com/2009/04/19/does-new-restaurant-research-point-to-real-surge-in-confidence-and-more-restaurant-spending-or-not/)

http://www.qsrweb.com/article.php?id=15504&na=1&s=2 Taco Bell about to add breakfast.

http://www.couponcravings.com/2009/08/wednesday-free-fruittea-with-sandwich.html Arby’s `free sandwich’ with drink purchase today.

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/07/06/new-mcdonalds-to-include-recharging-stations-for-electric-cars/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl5|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloggingstocks.com%2F2009%2F07%2F06%2Fnew-mcdonalds-to-include-recharging-stations-for-electric-cars%2F Yep, McDonald’s to offer re-charging for electric cars at some new units.