Minnesota Restaurant Blog:
Jun 8 - Jun 14, 2008

Tomato Lovers Stay Home?

No tomatoes for your Whopper, your sub sandwich or your tacos for now.

Over 200 people to date in five states have taken ill due to salmonella in tomatoes. The Food and Drug Administration is still trying to find the source.

That leaves restaurants who don't want to take any chances no choice but to throw out their tomatoes and tomato based products like salsa and tomato sauces.

Some restaurants will bring tomatoes back after they get clearance from their supplier that their particular supplies are ok.

Five Guys Opens In St Cloud

Five Guys Burger & Fries, a burger chain located in 25 states, now has its first location in Minnesota. The St Cloud Five Guys is on the site of the former Pho San Vietnamese restaurant.

Based on the east coast, Five Guys shapes their patties by hand and fries are cut on site. They have no drive through because the food is cooked to order.

The owners are Suraj Singh and Molly Millett of St Cloud. The couple plans to open several other Five Guys locations over the next few years.

www.fiveguys.com

Customer Satisfaction on the Rise?

The American Customer Satisfaction Index registered it's first gain in a year - moving up 0.4% to 75.2 out of 100. It is hoped this leads to a boost in consumer spending.

However, the number are different for fast food vs full service restaurants. Fast food moved up 1.0% to 78, while full-service restaurants dropped 1.0% to 80.

Pizza Hut jumped 6% to 76, and McDonalds leaped 8% to 69.

www.theacsi.org

Revival Opens in Downtown St Cloud

A new 'family friendly' coffee joint and music venue has opened in downtown St Cloud - The Revival.

Brandon Surerus, a former Java Joint fan (which closed last year), bought the business which he renamed and relocated to 711 St Germain (across the street from the old Java Joint).

Starbucks Is Tops In Customer Satisfaction

Starbucks got the top score when it came to rating customer satisfaction for limited service restaurant chains.

This was according to the 2008 American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Starbucks is the only specialty coffee retailer in the rankings and they have consistently received top ratings. They tied Wendy's in 2007 and was second only to Papa John's in 2006.

The list is produced by the University of Michigan Ross School of Business in partnership with the American Society for Quality and CFI Group.

www.starbucks.com
www.theacsi.org