Darden’s ‘Back-to-Basics’ Approach is Beating the Competition

“In the second quarter, Darden’s total sales boomed 14.6 percent, year-over-year, to $1.88 billion…[even as] BDO’s latest edition of The Counter, an industry benchmarking update that collects data from publicly traded restaurant companies, showed that sales at casual and upscale casual restaurants fell 0.9 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, across the board, in the past quarter.”

“The 500-unit LongHorn has reduced its menu by nearly 30 percent over the past couple of years. The change has led to higher level of execution, Lee said. It’s also allowed LongHorn to focus on quality, guest experience, and service.”

Report: Fast Casual Sales Hit Hardest in 3Q – QSR Magazine

“As tough as the climate was in general, it was noticeably difficult for fast casual. The segment experienced the largest change of any, reporting an overall 2.1 percent decrease…”

“As companies work to cater to consumers’ demands for high quality and freshness, restaurants will have to get creative with menu engineering to satisfy these cravings while managing somewhat unpredictable costs,” BDO said.”

Soil Power! The Dirty Way to a Green Planet

"The last great hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change may lie in a substance so commonplace that we typically ignore it or else walk all over it: the soil beneath our feet."

"The earth possesses five major pools of carbon. Of those pools, the atmosphere is already overloaded with the stuff; the oceans are turning acidic as they become saturated with it; the forests are diminishing; and underground fossil fuel reserves are being emptied. That leaves soil as the most likely repository for immense quantities of carbon."