Casual Dining

Top 500 Chains

Hard Rock Cafe

The rock music-themed chain is known for its nostalgic decor

Inside Saltine

Converting a 1920s schoolhouse in Jackson, Miss., that’s on the historic registry into a restaurant was no easy feat for designer and co-owner Rachel Horn Houston, especially on a “really tight” budget.

It will slow development over the next two years to focus on meeting guests where they are

Restaurateurs taught consumers more than a few lessons this week, but hold off on the gloating. Enlightening parties who need a moment to recall the occupant of Grant’s tomb isn’t exactly a demonstration of genius. Still, there were occasions when industry savants took to the blackboard in what proved a head-turning education fest.

In an upscale riff on grab-and-go, some operators are adding picnic blankets, silverware and even a bike tour to off-premise options.

For its high-budget second location in New York City, Food & Wine deferred to famed architect David Rockwell to design a supper club that “allows every guest to feel like a part of the [culinary] process,” says Business Development Manager Louise Vongerichten. That meant paying homage and setting a stage for the featured chefs who rotate through its kitchens.

Restaurants influenced more than food trends this week. Just ask those waifs in outlandish outfits who strutted the runways this week in New York City.

The restaurant industry should say yes to a minimum-wage hike, and focus its energies on determining the size of the increase and the schedule for implementing it.

Chicken entrees from Asia are especially increasing in menu mentions.

Big data says that consumers of various ages and demographics have different preferences and priorities when it comes to service at restaurants.

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