Peter Romeo

The Champagne corks should have been popping for Eric Justice. Barely into his 40s, the admittedly driven chef had achieved the sort of success that instructors recount in culinary schools to stoke students’ dreams and determination. He was overseeing culinary operations for one of the industry’s hottest concepts, making a good income from a company hailed as a great and challenging place to work.

Brand rejuvenators Jon Luther and Sid Feltenstein have been recruited by the new owner of Arby’s to provide their counsel during the chain’s revitalization efforts.

Four veteran chain builders have joined forces to parlay a Mississippi taco and tapas concept into a contender in the casual market.

Presidential candidate Herman Cain will address his former colleagues in the restaurant business with a kick-off presentation at the 2012 Restaurant Leadership Conference, the annual top-to-top event of Restaurant Business and Monkeydish.com.

Howard Schultz has admitted that he visits the Starbucks Gossip website about once a month for a read on what people are saying about the caffeine empire he leads as CEO. If last week was the occasion for a drop-in, he might be sipping an herbal Tazo right now to ease some jangled nerves.

Restaurateurs spit at the mention of Yelp, but a new Harvard study suggests the outraged should quit grumbling and work toward a better review from the service’s civilian critics.