Minnesota Restaurant Blog:
Nov 11 - Nov 17, 2007

SoupMan and Cold Stone Creamery Team Up in New York

The soups of Al Yeganeh (the inspiration for the Seinfeld soup episode) and Cold Stone Creamery have teamed up to open the first The Original SoupMan/Cold Stone Creamery at 2 Astor Place in New York.

At the grand opening one customer will win a free cup of soup per day for life, while another customer will win a cup of ice cream per day for a year.

The are no Original SoupMan locations in Minnesota yet (the closest is probably St Louis), but we do have Cold Stone Creamery locations both in St Cloud and Brainerd.

www.originalsoupman.com
www.coldstonecreamery.com

Hong Kong McDonalds Head Charged with Taking Bribes

The managing director of McDonald's in Hong Kong, Lau Si-sing, has been charged with taking bribes from a Thailand-based food supplier.

Lau allegedly received kickbacks from a corn supplier in return for recommending and placing orders for more than 200 Hong Kong McDonald's locations. Allegedly he received 10% of the orders placed in gifts, loans, cash and other incentives.

McDonald's has suspended Lau without pay, pending the outcome of the trial.

www.mcdonalds.com

Construction Nearing an End in Watkins

All summer long it's been tough getting around in Watkins Minnesota - with a lot of their roads being worked on and torn up.

While there's still some construction being finished up, it was much easier getting around town when I recently visited - especially for the places on Central Avenue.

It's much easier to get to Bud's Bar and Shorty's. Also now open on Central Avenue is another Pizza Works Deli (pictured), complementing the first location in Annandale.

Caribou Coffee CEO Resigns

Michael J Coles, the Chairman and CEO of Caribou Coffee has stepped down from his leadership position after five years. He will remain on the board.

The new non-executive chairman is Gary A Graves, who is currently CEO of American Laser Center. He has also worked with Boston Market and Pepsi.

Rosalyn T Mallet was named interim CEO. She had been with Caribou Coffee since earlier this year as President and COO.

www.cariboucoffee.com

New Industry Report on Franchise Companies

Food service consulting company Technomic has a new industry report which provides detailed information and reporting on the 200 largest restaurant franchise organizations.

The current top franchise company by far is NPC International who mainly deals with Pizza Hut. Carrols Restaurant Group, which works with Burger King, is second.

The report, which can be purchased from Technomic, also contains appendices listing franchise companies alphabetically and by sales - as well as listing key company contacts.

www.foodpubs.com
www.npcinternational.com