This contest started on 8/20/22. this contest has a winner.
* Win 2- $10 Wendy’s Gift Cards.
Jeff Eats got a $10 Wendy’s Gift Card to give to one of you guys!
The game- the first 20 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play fair!
The $10 Gift Cards are good at any Wendy’s location (wendys.com for locations, menu, info).
* McDonald’s is bringing a British hit to the US.
Just keeping you guys in the loop…
From cnn.com
McDonald’s is bringing a British hit to the US
By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business
Published 11:37 AM EDT, Fri August 19, 2022
CNN Business
—
McDonald’s Chicken Big Mac was a huge hit in the United Kingdom. Now it’s crossing the pond.
Beginning later this month, the burger chain is testing the fan favorite at select restaurants in Miami for a limited time. The Chicken Big Mac is similar to its meaty sibling, however it replaces the two burgers with two tempura chicken patties. Of course, it also includes the signature Big Mac sauce, pickles, shredded lettuce and a slice of American cheese.
McDonald’s is testing the Chicken Big Mac in Miami.
McDonald’s briefly sold the limited-time offering earlier this year in the UK. The Chicken Big Mac was so popular that it sold out about 10 days after it made its debut. The chain said that it was its “most popular launch ever” in the UK and Ireland.
In a statement, McDonald’s said that it’s “always looking to give our fans more ways to enjoy the classic menu items they know and love.” However, it cautioned that the Chicken Big Mac is just being tested and it will use “this time to gather feedback from both customers and restaurant crew as we consider opportunities to offer more delicious options in the future.”
Chicken is cheaper than beef and is a favorite among fast food eaters (see: the ongoing chicken sandwich war). Poultry is also a “priority area” for the company, according to McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski.
* Krispy Kreme Feels Drag from its Older Operating Model.
Just keeping you guys in the loop…
From qsrmagazine.com
Krispy Kreme Feels Drag from its Older Operating Model
Shops that don’t deliver fresh doughnuts to points of access represented more than half of the chain’s adjusted EBITDA decline in the U.S. and Canada.
Krispy Kreme sold 7 percent more doughnuts in Q2 compared to 2021.
FAST FOOD | AUGUST 18, 2022 | BEN COLEY
Krispy Kreme sold 7 percent more doughnuts in Q2 compared to 2021.
Krispy Kreme is committed to its new hub-and-spoke model, but that’s not to say changes aren’t coming without growing pains.
As a refresher, the chain no longer bases its growth around shops. It’s now focused on building production center hubs that distribute fresh doughnuts every day to multiple “points of access,” including grocery stores, gas stations, carts, food trucks, and smaller retail stores. Krispy Kreme defines hubs as either hot light theater shops or doughnut factories.
The issue is, there are hubs without these points of access, or spokes. These shops underwhelmed in Q2, with revenue growth being 5 percent slower, year-over-year, than hubs with spokes. Krispy Kreme is in the process of reviewing these underperforming locations and expects to close roughly 10 shops in the coming weeks and months.
“We’re still going through the transformation phase as we just talked about in front, which is how do you get to the majority of your business being hub-and-spoke from a system that didn’t have that before,” said CEO Mike Tattersfield during the chain’s Q2 earnings call. “And all you’re seeing is just us moving in a bit faster now on the few hubs that actually don’t fit into the system.”
There are 118 U.S. shops not exporting fresh doughnuts to points of access, and many are “strong and profitable and much loved local community stores,” said CFO Joshua Charlesworth. But there’s clearly financial motivation to switch the system over to the updated model.
Total doughnuts sold was up 7 percent in the second quarter year-over-year. In the U.S. and Canada specifically, Krispy Kreme earned $4.4 million per hub in the trailing 12 months ending in the second quarter. That’s 22.2 percent above 2021 and 2.3 percent better than the first quarter. Organic revenue increased 6 percent, driven by more points of access and strong performances from Delivered Fresh Daily (DFD) doors (grocery, convenience stores, etc.) Weekly average sales per door grew 9 percent year-over-year. There are now 6,053 points of access in the U.S. and Canada, a 8.9 percent rise compared to 2021.
The chain working to make sure customers’ experience at DFD doors are the same as if entering a traditional shop. That includes activating promotional material in these locales.
“One thing to pick up on in terms of global learning is we are selling fresh doughnuts, same quality daily in the grocery store that you get in the retail theater,” Charlesworth said. “So it’s really important that we bring news and excitement to it. And I think moving forward in the U.S., we’re going to be doing more integrated marketing, making sure that there’s plenty of excitement in the grocery store, just like there is in the retail theater. Even if it’s not a hot doughnut, that doesn’t mean we can’t bring more LTOs and special doughnuts to the grocery channel, and that’s definitely an upside for the longer term and what we’ve seen in U.K., Australia, and elsewhere in the world.”
However, adjusted EBITDA in the U.S. and Canada dropped 8 percent to $26 million, and margin declined 180 basis points to 10.4 percent. The brand owed these decreases to higher labor and commodity costs, weaker performance from hubs without spokes, lapping the vaccine promotion, and a delayed price increase. More than half of the EBITDA drop in the U.S. came from hubs without spokes, even though those shops represent less than a third of revenue.
“In fact, when you see the difference between the hubs with spokes and how they are able not just weather inflation, but continue to strengthen compared to the hubs without spokes, it just gets you to really hone in on those hubs without spokes a little faster,” Charlesworth said.
READ MORE: Krispy Kreme Charges Toward 50,000 Points of Access
In the U.K., Krispy Kreme saw a challenged environment because of energy costs, inflation, declines in retail traffic, and a tough comparison to last year, but margins are still in the 20 percent range. Overall adjusted EBITDA in the quarter dropped 9.6 percent to $47.4 million, but Tattersfield noted this is nearly 50 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels and 60 percent better than 2020.
“The reason we can do large 20 percent margins is because we have a great hub-and-spoke and very efficient model,” the CEO said. “We’ll continue to tweak it. The macro environment is challenging customers everywhere in the world. It just shows you the resilience of our brand.”
To offset pressure, the brand took pricing early in Q3 for both the U.S. and U.K. One of the benefits Krispy Kreme has found with delivering fresh doughnuts is that improved quality allows it to price higher. Later this year, the chain expects to launch a fourth price tier for its most premium doughnuts.
“Our customized handmade doughnuts, they’re more expensive,” the executive said. “It’s a premium price. And you can see the customers gravitate to it. They’re always going to look at pricing, and we’re very strategic about it. And our customers are always telling us, is it worth it? Right? And we can see, even as we brought fresh doughnuts to the DFD channel, when they can get access to that even across the brand, they want the fresh doughnut experience. So clearly we haven’t seen the impact from pricing that we take.”
After softer organic revenue growth in May and June, Krispy Kreme is seeing a 10 percent increase in Q3 quarter-to-date, fueled by price hikes and strong LTOs, such as ice cream truck doughnuts in the U.S. Also, inflation appears to be moderating as the brand looks toward 2023.
Because of headwinds, Krispy Kreme lowered its 2022 net revenue guidance to $1.49 billion to $1.52 billion, down from $1.53 billion to $1.56 billion, and sliced its adjusted EBITDA projection from $210 million to $218 million to $189 million to $195 million. Organic revenue growth remained the same at 10-12 percent.
“We’ve got reduced commodity inflation already for 2023, we see the profitability in the U.S., hub and spokes, we have this premium innovation, which means that you’ve got a whole bunch of drivers that we feel good about for the longer term,” Charlesworth said.
This contest started on 8/19/22. This contest has a winner.
* Win A $20 Burger King Gift Card.
Jeff Eats got a $20 Burger King Gift Card to give to one of you guys!
The game- the first 20 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play fair!
The $20 Gift Card is good at any Burger King location (burgerking.com for locations, menu
* Discount Tickets- Hotel California A Salute To The Eagles.
DISCOUNT TICKETS JUST WENT ON SALE!
Trust Jeff Eats on this one, Hotel California is one of America’s best Eagles’ tribute acts.
Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats are down for 2 tickets…
From casinodaniabeach.com
Tickets Online: casinodaniabeach.com (Discount Ticket Promo Code: presale)
Tickets By Phone: 877-788-8208
The Casino @ Dania Beach- Stage 954
301 East Dania Beach Boulevard
Dania Beach, Florida 33004
(954) 920-1511
Open: 9am-3am
https://youtu.be/MHfW0cRene8
This contest started on 8/18/22.
* Win A $25 Wingstop Gift Card.
Jeff Eats got a $25 Wingstop Gift Card to give to one of you guys!
The game- the first 25 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play fair!
The $25 Gift Card is good at any of Wingstop’s 109 Florida locations.
Check menu/prices/locations/info at wingstop.com.
Posted on January 24th, 2011
***** Wingstop, 4570 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073, (954) 935-9464.
Wingstop is a “national” WING chain. For our purposes, there are currently 7 South Florida locations. You can check www.wingstop.com for menu/prices/locations.
Wingstop is a real-easy concept to comprehend… non breaded wings, breaded boneless wings, breaded white meat chicken strips…9 flavors…handful of sides.
A recent outing had me trying—breaded wings/breaded strips/boneless wings/french fries…hawaiian, teriyaki, garlic parmesan flavors. Loved all of the offerings/flavors. Also really enjoyed the fresh hand cut french fries. From what I can tell, everthing is made to order…the stuff came out of the kitchen piping hot.
If you like wings and fries, you’ll like this joint.
Like I said, there are 7 joints in our area, so check Wingstop’s website for a close-by location and its hours.
This contest started on 8/16/22. This contest has a winner.
* Win 2- $10 Shake Shack Gift Cards.
Jeff Eats got 2- $10 Shake Shack Gift Cards to give to one of you guys!
The game- the first 20 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play fair!
The $10 Gift Cards are good at any Shake Shack location (shakeshack.com for locations, menu, info).
This contest started on 8/16/22. This contest has a winner.
* Win A $10 McDonald’s Gift Card.
Real simple story, Jeff Eats got a $10 McDonald’s Gift Card to give to one of you guys!
The game- the first 10 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play fair!
The $10 Gift Card is good at any McDonald’s location (mcdonalds.com for locations/ menu/ prices/info).
This contest started on 8/14/22. This contest has a winner.
* Win 2- $20 Fran’s Chicken Haven Gift Cards.
Jeff Eats got 2- $20 Fran’s Chicken Haven Gift Cards to give to one of you guys!
The game- the first 40 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play fair!
The 2- $20 Gift Cards are good at Fran’s Chicken Haven, 1925 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-0781.
You can check menu/prices at franschickenhaven.com.
Posted on March 13th, 2019 ·
***** Fran’s Chicken Haven, 1925 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-0781.
Let’s just call this tale a “2019-Public Service Announcement”….
Just a quick observation- You guys do know that most cardiologists don’t know dick-about fried chicken!
In any event…
If you “need” to eat absolutely off the chart-dynamite fried chicken (like Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats needed to do last night), read on…
Posted on December 28th, 2015
***** Fran’s Chicken Haven, 1925 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-0781
Let’s just call this- a Jeff Eats’ “Certain Things Bear Repeating” story…
Jeff Eats just has to laugh- when the Sun Sentinel seemingly “year after year crowns” PUBLIX FRIED CHICKEN the best in South Florida! There is an old Irish saying- “Give Me A Fu@king Break.”
Long story short, Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats have been- on and off (see below-as to why “on and off”) “taking-out” fried chicken and “various” sides from Fran’s Chicken Haven in Boca Raton for something like 23 years!- and I gotta tell you -that this joint’s fried chicken/sides are absolute dynamite! Trust Jeff Eats on this one – trying to rank the “best” in the food reviewing game- is a dumb no win game…with that in mind, what I do know, is that Fran’s fried chicken is off-the-chart good and that after you eat it- you will never-want to voluntarily buy or eat Publix fried chicken ever again!
If you want to eat outrageously delicious fried chicken…Fran’s Chicken Haven is a must try.
You can check menu/info at franschickenhaven.com.
Posted on July 5th, 2013
***** Fran’s Chicken Haven, 1925 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-0781.
Got something terrific for you…
That’s assuming that you aren’t a “follower” of NYC Mayor Bloomberg–in that you don’t need “Big Brother” (and no, I’m not talking about Janis’ group) to tell you what you can and can’t eat…
Real fast… from 1964-2000 a woman named Fran (thus the name Fran’s Chicken Haven) and her husband Joe, operated a “hole-in-the-wall” fried chicken joint—Fran’s Chicken Haven in Boca Raton. Maybe 3 tables and 4-5 counter seats. In a nutshell, amazing fried chicken and assorted sides. In 2000 the couple retired and sold the business—for the past 12-13 years Fran’s has had 3-maybe 4 different owners who slowly but surely wrecked the business. Jeff Eats may not be the sharpest pencil in the box, but I do know that when something ain’t broke, you don’t try and fix it…one owner changed the batter-mix and added latin sides, another made the joint a kosher chicken restaurant-closing on Friday nights and all day Saturday—hopefully you get the picture.
Since Fran and Joe sold the joint, Jeff Eats who had previously been a real-steady customer, has maybe picked-up chicken 7 or 8 times in the ensuing years.
Now the news…two brothers- Jake Stuart (aged 19) and Chris Stuart (aged 32) both born and bred—Boca Ratonians—bought Fran’s a month or so ago…and have literally “brought” it back to where it was taste-wise during the Fran & Joe era. How does Jeff Eats know all this? Because…Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats ala Marvin Gaye heard it through the grapevine—and yesterday, picked up an 8 piece fried chicken, French fries, onion rings, fried corn nibblets order—and I gotta tell you, the food tastes just like we “remember” Fran making it…the “boys” told us that the sale/purchase of the business had included all of Fran’s original recipes and that they had visited with Fran and Joe (who still live in Boca Raton) to get a feel on how to run the joint.
Let me leave you guys with this…if you like fried chicken, fries, onion rings, fried corn nibblets—-then you gotta get over to Fran’s Chicken Haven.
One final thought…
Jake and Chris— When the crowds start pouring in, which they will—don’t even think of renaming the joint- Stuart Brothers Chicken Haven or some such variation!
Down below is the original June 20, 2006 Jeff Eats’ review for Fran’s Chicken Haven:
***** “Fran’s makes some of the best fried chicken that you have ever tasted. This joint has been around something like 40 years and is an absolute hole in the wall. Basically a take-out joint, there are a few tables and a counter for those who want to “dine in.” FRIED is the word here…shrimp, corn, french fries, onion rings. Everything is absolutely delicious.
Don’t tell your cardiologist about this joint.
Fran’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.”
This contest started on 8/15/22. This contest has a winner.
* Win A $20 Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria Gift Card.
Jeff Eats got a $20 Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria Gift Card to give to one of you guys!
The game- the first 20 “reader-comments” received – will be entered in a “blind hat pick”! You can submit as many comments as you’d like but- Please, only 1- reader comment – per day…play fair!
The $20 Gift Card is good at Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria, 1906 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33496 (561) 994-0170.
You can check menu/prices at renzoscafepizza.com.
Posted on August 15th, 2019
***** Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria, 1906 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33496 (561) 994-0170.
A recent e-mail received by Jeff Eats…
Jeff,
My husband and I just retired and moved (8 days ago) from Ditmas Avenue & Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn to the Altis Of Boca Raton, 5500 North Military Trail in Boca Raton. Both of us are 68 and like you, were born in Brooklyn. Heard about your site from a new neighbor. Question for you, What’s the best Pizza joint which is close to Altis where we can pickup and get delivery of ‘real’ New York Pizza?
Thanks,
TR
—-
TR,
Welcome to Florida.
Your question is a no-brainer…Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria, 1906 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33496 (561) 994-0170, renzoscafepizza.com- and the joint is maybe a 5 minute drive from your new residence!
Absolutely dynamite pizza and Renzo’s looks, smells, and has the vibe of the neighborhood Brooklyn pizza joints that you guys grew up on…
Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats have been getting stuff from Renzo’s for years…
Thanks for reading…
Jeff Eats
Posted on December 18th, 2009
***** Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria, 1906 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33496 (561) 994-0170.
In Boca, there are a handful of joints that have the name RENZO’s in their “title.” Just so there is no misunderstanding here—I’m talking about the Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria that’s right across from Calusa Elementary School on Clint Moore Road.
Okay…you can eat in (there a handful of tables inside and outside)–but, this is basically a takeout pizza joint. A “what you’d expect” red-sauce menu—appetizers, soups, salads, subs, pastas, calzones, pizza, meat-seafood-chicken entrees. You can check the menu/prices at www.renzoswest.com.
Tried this joint the other night and it is really good. “Sampled” a plain old large pizza, veal parm, chicken marsala, linguini-white clam sauce…like, I said really good—especially enjoyed the pizza which was thin-crispy-sweet sauce.
This is a neighborhood joint.
So you WEST Bocaratonians- now know about a really good joint for eat-in/takeout…that is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.