Continue to Site >>>

Sam Smith

Articles by
Sam Smith

Page 6

The Week in Ideas, May 13, 2011

Arby’s led things off with a challenge to Subway. Fight! Fight! Fight! Some Beef O’Brady’s down south may be regretting a free beer idea. What could possibly go wrong? And an indie in Los Angeles had the bright idea to paint a donkey. PETA, line one.

Marketing

Why restaurants get killed on public opinion

The traditional tools of legislative influence—lobbying, PACs, grassroots efforts—don’t cut it anymore.

Financing

How to tell when a chain is going bankrupt—before everybody else

If you’re going to be the guy who buys that chain that’s fallen on hard times—but might be profitable in your hands—you’ve got to be ready to act early and fast. If you wait until bankruptcy is declared, you’re probably too late.

Financing

RLC’s state of the industry

The state of the industry, through Technomic and GE Capital’s eyes, is improving. Sloooowly.

Guest editor: Julia Stewart

The issue of Restaurant Business you are holding is very similar and very different from past copies. It’s still got great content. But for this month, we decided to give up some control. But not to just anybody.

Marketing

Social media tips and strategies

Restaurant Business partnered with Pepsico to talk with bloggers, social media experts and operators at the BlogWorld conference about how to better capture all this new world of marketing has to offer. We asked, they responded. Click their names for the full interview video!

Jeff Harvey’s innovative instincts

Jeff Harvey’s formula for innovation goes something like this: Enthusiasm plus ownership equals creativity and a willingness to take on challenges. Since he’s been at the helm of Burgerville, the 39-unit chain based in Vancouver, Washington, he’s proven the formula time and again, most notably with a seasonal, gourmet LTO program that hit its stride this year and saw the company improve its new product introduction time from 12 months to 6 weeks—and helped keep sales from declining in the down economy.

  • Page 6