Jonathan Maze (@jonathanmaze) started following @gfelix on Oct 12, 2024

RT @Chilis: it's giving McSpensive Chili's is the only place you can get a Crispy Chicken Sandwich with fries, bottomless chips and salsa,…

RT @Chilis: WONDER HOW EXPENSIVE THIS ONE WILL BE??? just a reminder you can get a Crispy Chicken Sandwich with fries, bottomless chips an…

RT @HuinGuillaume: The Las Vegas Sphere is now a Big Mac. https://t.co/9gyplIc4L9

Me: Messy. Took away from the experience. But the flavors worked for me and the giant chicken nugget was quite good. 7/10.

Family reviews on the Chicken Big Mac: Wife: Won’t get it again, too messy and bland, won’t get it again. Youngest: Best sandwich he’s had at McDonald’s Eldest son’s fraternity pledge required to review the sandwich to get in the frat: “8 fucking McChicken Big Macs” out of 10

Here we go … https://t.co/62dJUHM8bD

George Felix, CMO of Chili's, noted at the CREATE conference that the chain has been going after fast-food chains for prices with tweets like this. "McSpensive."

Chili's has cut 25% of its menu the past two years, with a focus on its "core four," fajitas, margaritas, burgers and chicken crispers. $EAT

What's the dress code at Chili's? "You have to be dressed," said CMO George Felix at the CREATE conference. "That's probably it."

RT @JoeGuszkowski: Happy Chicken Big Mac day to those who celebrate. I got a chance to try it yesterday. Same components as the original, m…

How @wendys social posts are created depends on the post itself. Some posted quickly with little oversight because the team is trusted to speak with the brand's voice, per Kristin Tormey, global director of social media for the brand. Others take a major team, "perhaps legal."

So Wendy's social media team gets together once a quarter for meetings on their "passion points," so they bring themselves into their work to help develop the brand's social media voice. And apparently, @wendys social media team is loaded with @BravoTV fans.

Interesting stuff from Rodney Scott here on the difficulty of opening new whole hog BBQ restaurants: “It’s a challenge to open modern restaurants. With whole hog barbecue there’s open fire. People are afraid of open fire.” https://t.co/7yG3KVOP3D

Jerry Morgan on why Texas Roadhouse doesn't do limited-time offers. "For us, it's about delivering on the expectations of our guests. If we do it right, we don't have to do those things necessarily." $TXRH

Apparently, if you go to the Texas Roadhouse fast-casual chain Jaggers, get a Banana Split milkshake and tater tots. Dip a tot into the shake. That is per Jerry Morgan. I am just the messenger. $TXRH

The worst same-store sales performance for Texas Roadhouse since 2020 was 7.3%. $TXRH

Jerry Morgan: "We do a lot of things different from other places. And it's harder. We have standards and expectations." $TXRH

Jerry Morgan, on being thrust into the CEO role following the death of founder Kent Taylor: "You have to be able to make decisions. As I was healing from losing my friend and partner, I also had a job to do." "He would not let us quit just because he was gone." $TXRH

Jerry Morgan, CEO of Texas Roadhouse, on why the company succeeds despite not doing national advertising: “Being locally owned and operated, partnering with the community, that’s where we win.” $TXRH https://t.co/1m7oEIfmDu

Holy shit.

Nick Stone, who moved to the U.S. 15 years ago and ultimately started Bluestone Lane, on his first impression of the U.S. coffee market: "I couldn't believe I went to the same place twice a day, every day, and nobody knew my name. I was just a homogeneous transaction."

Oh: Restaurant menu prices rose at a lower monthly rate than grocery prices last month, 0.3% v. 0.4%. First time in more than a year, I believe. Still, over the past year, food away from home prices are up 3.9%, v. 1.3% for food at home.

Domino's earnings call summary: Sales weakened in August Low-income consumers are bargain hunting Frozen pizza is not a big competitor International is going to be weak for a while Company will eventually be on DoorDash Pizza wars $DPZ

"I think we're in the pizza wars right now." Domino's CEO Russ Weiner on the current environment. $DPZ

Domino's throwing a bit of cold water on the idea that frozen pizza promotions at grocery stores hurt its sales. Customers may opt to eat at home, but "it has nothing to do with any frozen pizza promotion." $DPZ

Domino's taking some shots at unnamed competitors' marketing. "If you look at our competitors' marketing, it's very similar to our marketing." But the company says that it has the strength to win in a value-focused market. $DPZ

@davidhenkes So, what happened in 2002? This did: https://t.co/BfWyMEOrMx

Per @davidhenkes: System sales in 2002 Chipotle: $225 million Baja Fresh: $249 million System sales in 2023 Chipotle: $9.8 billion Baja Fresh: $64.4 million

Lot of people say they expect to decrease restaurant use. Why? Per @technomic and @davidhenkes ... 71%: Prices are too high 57%: Budget for ordering foodservice has decreased 39%: Not enough deals 37%: Gas prices too high 33%: Delivery fees to high.

Restaurant sales and traffic data is disconcerting, says @davidhenkes, because the economy is doing generally well. One reason? 62% of people say they're living paycheck to paycheck, including 48% of people making over $100k/year.

QSR burger chain price growth from the first quarter to the second quarter, per @technomic and @davidhenkes: National: 1% New York: 0.8% Texas: 0.5% California: 2.7%

Per @davidhenkes at the Create conference: Restaurant wages since January 2020 are up 32% Food and supply costs are up 25% Menu prices are up 25% "We are not going back to prices that were charged in 2019, 2018."

Sent some messages via Teams to one of my coworkers and apparently they ended up with a different coworker and man I'm glad said messages were completely benign. Also Teams sucks.

Fascinating story by @joeguszkowski of the bankruptcy of a 14-unit Applebee's franchisee, which was forced into Chapter 11 by a lender after the franchisor terminated and took over the restaurants. https://t.co/B2ohAZISls

Anand Gala, founder of Gala Capital Partners, speaking at the Create Investment Summit, on one key criteria he looks at when investing in a growth chain: "Are they an asshole? If they are I don't want to be involved with them."

Wendy's selling $1 soft drinks all day for a limited time. Little surprised they haven't done this before. $WEN https://t.co/TCNmeYLy1j

Domino's is bringing back its "Emergency Pizza" promotion through Jan. 19. The promotion gives customers a credit for a medium two-topping pizza whenever they order a pizza from the chain. Last year CEO Russ Weiner called it the best BOGO of his career. https://t.co/ES31duI8SD https://t.co/i5WLXwbapH

RT @business: Milton strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane as it bears down on Florida’s west coast https://t.co/RqFNu0GhZT

Me looking at my fantasy football score. https://t.co/l3e1MfaWpN

RT @NFLonFOX: VAN GINKEL PICK-6 IN LONDON‼️ (via @NFL) https://t.co/B1Bw6ZpgE7

Don’t be jealous. https://t.co/SlQEsL9pjd

Dolly Parton is awesome.

For all the hand-wringing about the economy and inflation, the number of jobs continues to grow and people generally keep spending. Amazingly resilient economy if you think about it.

Jesus. Restaurants and bars added 69,400 jobs last month. Last month's industry jobs count was revised upward. Restaurants and bars now have 12.47M jobs. Average monthly gain had been 14k the past 12 months. Economy added 254k jobs. Unemployment at 4.1%.

RT @nataliegwinters: Your government used FEMA funds to build a Migrant Welcome Center. Now they don’t have the funds to help Americans im…

RT @JDVance: Last night was fun! Remember: Kamala Harris has been in power for the last 3.5 years. She opened the border. She cast the dec…

If McDonald's had any guts they'd steal an idea from Culver's and put some cheese curds on a Big Mac.

RT @EllenYChang: If you prefer to buy items to donate, I recommend the following. Please make suggestions. 1. diapers 2. women's bras and…

Guess I won’t be spending my weekend hoarding bananas and liquor I guess.

RT @EdPiotrowski: Well this a first for me. An alligator takes a dive off a dock at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet! I’d give…

RT @WaffleHouse: Our Operations Team is dedicated to restoring a sense of normalcy in our communities hit hardest by Helene. Here are the…

Taco Bell did something like this in February and it was fantastic.

McDonald's pulling the cover off the year's worst-kept secret: The Chicken Big Mac is coming to the U.S. Finally. https://t.co/0I5LShrJNQ

Wendy's square burgers meet SpongeBob's square pants. https://t.co/lGSr3WUxq0

RT @US_Stormwatch: Palm Springs, California, just hit a scorching 117°F (47.2°C), not only breaking its own October heat record but also ma…

RT @ReedTimmerUSA: ****NEW: Elderly, and persons needing immediate medical assistance, needing rescue in Appalachian flood zones: *Donald…

Some interesting data in this story by @JoeGuszkowski about Chuy's defending its sale to Darden, including some multiples of recent acquisitions. News flash: Casual dining chains just do not fetch good multiples right now. https://t.co/LQx5I1K68t

RT @EvanDonovan: NEW: I was able to get some great ground video in Chimney Rock, NC this afternoon — a gorgeous mountain tourist town near…

I’m apparently at the age where I consider anyone younger than 40 a “kid.”

The barbecue franchise Dickey's, which was one of the fastest-growing chains in the U.S. a decade ago, has closed 85 U.S. locations over the past year. Also, nearly a quarter of its domestic franchise-owned stores changed hands over that period. https://t.co/SnVXmWLnQv

RT @RB_magazine: A Deeper Dive: Cameron Watt, president and CEO of Intouch Insight, joins the Restaurant Business podcast to talk about his…

RT @PowerOutage_us: 2.73 million electric customers remain without power, from #Florida up to #Ohio, due to #HurricaneHelene. With 914k o…