Peter Romeo

Jack in the Box was dead-on in figuring a suggestively worded ad campaign would stir controversy. The same sort of foresight might’ve helped an upstart chain from sounding racially insensitive. But the true recent nightmares were the actual ones reported by restaurant employees.

One of the chain’s largest operators posted deeper losses and a 6.4% drop in comps.

Not all the fights threatening trouble for restaurants are raging within the industry proper.

Operators’ reliance on gimmicky promos might not bring the long-term traffic gains they hope for.

Starbucks has vowed to cut unit-level administrative tasks in half, while Del Frisco’s is reducing its dependence on beef. And those aren’t the only ways restaurant operators are subtly improving their lot.

The criminal enterprise is believed to have swiped credit card information for 15 million consumers.