At Costello Sandwich and Sides in Chicago, which uses 10 to 15 cases of tomatoes a week and is now paying $25 a case instead of $15, customers can expect to get a bit less tomato on their sandwiches. The shop hasnt raised prices or stopped serving tomatoes altogether, but manager Matthew Villareal says he can see the tomatoes are soft when the prep cooks are cutting them.

“The tomato prices definitely have gone up and the quality isnt so great either,” he said. “We just kind of eat the cost.”

An unusually cold January in Florida destroyed entire fields of tomatoes - along with some green beans, sweet corn and squash. The cold scarred the tomatoes, damaged their vines, and forced many farmers to delay their harvest.

The average wholesale price for a 25-pound box of tomatoes is now $30, up from $6.50 a year ago. Floridas growers would normally ship about 25 million pounds of tomatoes a week; right now, theyre shipping less than a quarter of that, according to Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, a tomato farmer cooperative in Maitland.

Some parts of Florida saw average temperatures so low that this January and February were among the 10 coldest on record, according to the National Weather Service.

“Anecdotally, from talking to some real long timers, as well as people who watch the weather, this has been the most extended cold in maybe 60 years,” said Terry McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture.

Industry estimates suggest that about two-thirds of the tomato crop in the major southwestern production region was destroyed, according to a Feb. 25 United States Department of Agriculture report.

Theres more bad news, Brown said: Because of the continued cold weather - 38-degree temperatures were predicted Friday in some central Florida growing areas - the current crop of fruit isnt as far along as everyone had hoped.

“We thought theyd recover by early April, but now its mid- April,” he said.

And because high demand has driven up domestic prices, many wholesalers are buying from Mexico instead.

“Were obviously losing market share to Mexico, and theres always a price to pay to get the customer to get back into the Florida market,” Brown said.

At Subway restaurants, the timing of this years shortage was fortuitous: It hit right when the sandwich chain switches its tomato purchases from Florida to other regions.

While they so far havent been impacted, managers are ordering different varieties of tomatoes to keep supplies steady, a spokesman said Thursday.

McDonalds Corp., CKE Restaurants Inc., (which owns Hardees, Carl Jr.) and Darden Restaurants (the nations biggest casual dining chain, which owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse; Capital Grille; Seasons 52) said its business as usual and no shortages are being reported.

Some Wendys restaurants posted signs saying tomatoes would only be provided upon request because of limited availability.

But smaller restaurants are feeling the pinch. In Chicago, where a hot dog isnt a hot dog without chopped tomatoes, you might end up with just a bit less on the bun.

Source

“Its a change from the food that we eat everyday at home and inexpensive,” said Mittal, a student at Mukand Lal National College in neighboring Yamunanagar. “It tastes good.”

McDonalds, the worlds biggest restaurant company, is expanding in India as a middle class predicted to grow 10-fold by 2025 develops a taste for Western-style fast food. Sales are up 30 percent during the first nine months of the year, led by growth in smaller cities, said Vikram Bakshi, managing director of McDonalds India.

There are 170 outlets in India, and the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company and its local partners will invest 5 billion rupees ($108 million) to add 120 during the next three years, Bakshi said. By comparison, McDonalds has 1,080 restaurants in China and plans to open 140 this year, down from the 175 it forecast before the global recession.

McVeggie, Pizza McPuff

The chain famous for hamburgers tailors its menus to local tastes, which means no beef in India since the majority of its 1.22 billion people are Hindus and revere cows. It also doesnt serve pork items in deference to Muslims.

Instead, it offers vegetarian and chicken dishes with items starting at about 40 U.S. cents. All restaurants have separate kitchens for vegetarians, including those who dont eat root vegetables like garlic and onions.

“It really doesnt make sense to sell beef in a country where 85 percent of the population doesnt eat it or will even shun a restaurant where beef is served,” Bakshi said. “About 70 percent of the menu in Indian outlets doesnt exist anywhere else in the world.”

Some items, including the McAloo Tikki and Pizza McPuff, were exported to restaurants in the Middle East. While locals expect the different menu, foreigners used to a Big Mac can be taken aback by a Chicken Maharaja Mac.

30 Percent Increase

“I did know that Indians dont eat beef but the menu was still not what I expected,” said Andy Crab, 37, a construction company executive from Cologne, Germany, doing business in New Delhi. “Even the chicken was different from what we have in Germany.”

McDonalds declined to discuss sales figures for India or China, though the company said Sept. 10 that global sales rose 2.2 percent in August. Sales in Asia, the Middle East and Africa fell 0.5 percent, the first decline since May 2005.

By comparison, sales in Indian restaurants open more than a year rose 16 percent in the first nine months, compared with 11 percent a year earlier, Bakshi said. Overall sales climbed 30 percent in the same period.

Pizza Hut, Dominos

Western fast-food chains, including Yum! Brands Inc.s Pizza Hut and Dominos Pizza Inc., are targeting Asias third- largest economy, where 54 percent of the population is 24 or younger. Indias middle class is expected to expand to more than 583 million people, or about 41 percent of the total population, by 2025, New York-based consulting firm McKinsey & Co. said.

McDonalds opened its first India outlet in New Delhi in October 1996.

The number of fast-food outlets in second-tier cities increased 65 percent last year after increasing 70 percent a year earlier, according to a report by the food wing of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry this year. That is because of cheaper rents than big cities and spreading affluence, said Subhrangshu Pani, Mumbai-based managing director of retail at real-estate broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

Indian restaurant industry sales are estimated to grow to about $10 billion by 2018 from $6 billion last year, New Delhi- based consultant Technopak Advisors Pvt. said.

Source

Lower commodity expenses and general cost-cutting helped offset a 5 percent sales drop in the United States, where operating profit still grew at a strong clip for the three months.

Yums net income for the quarter ending Sept. 5 rose to $334 million, or 69 cents per share, compared with $282 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it earned 70 cents per share.

Revenue for the quarter fell 2 percent to $2.78 billion from $2.84 billion last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected Yum to earn 58 cents per share, excluding one-time items, on revenue of $2.79 billion.

On the downside, Pizza Hut posted a 13 percent drop in U.S. sales at restaurants open more than a year. Larry Miller, a restaurant analyst with RBC Capital Markets, called the chains performance “surprisingly weak” in the highly competitive pizza segment.

“Theyre losing (market) share,” he said. “The category is down, but the other guys are holding (steady). So theyre taking some share from Pizza Hut right now.”

Yum spokesman Jonathan Blum cited the chains “premium pricing” in a challenging economy as a reason for its struggles.

“We need to do a better job to demonstrate the value of our quality offerings,” he said.

Blum noted Pizza Huts expanding offerings in pasta and chicken wings. It launched national ads last weekend for the WingStreet brand, now sold in about half its 6,200 U.S. restaurants.

Reflecting Yums overall strong performance, the company now says it will earn $2.14 for the full year, up from $2.10, excluding one-time items. Yum said the adjustment reflected better performance than expected in China and a lower-than-expected full-year effective tax rate mainly outside the U.S.

Yum, whose brands also include Long John Silvers and A&W All-American Food, reported system sales growth of 11 percent in mainland China and 4 percent in its separate international division.

“We are more confident than ever in the consistent earnings power of our global portfolio,” he said in a prepared statement, though he also said the worldwide business climate remains challenging.

Yums quarterly operating profit in China shot up 32 percent to $217 million in part because of a $21 million benefit from falling commodity prices.

The company opened 88 restaurants in mainland China during the third quarter and now operates nearly 3,300 restaurants there.

Sales at restaurants open more than a year, a key indicator of a retailer or restaurant operators fiscal health, fell 6 percent across Yums U.S. operations, including 13 percent at Pizza Hut.

Commodity deflation cut U.S. costs by $16 million in the quarter, and Yum expects it to reduce full-year costs about $20 million. The company also cut $16 million from general and administrative costs in the U.S. and expects to cut U.S. costs at least $60 million for the year. Its U.S. operating profit rose 18 percent to $171 million.

Source

“Youre not really giving anything up,” he said. “Youre just cutting out the markup, essentially.”

A growing number of consumers are spurning drinking in restaurants and bars to save money. Theyre also choosing less expensive beer, wine and liquor to take home. Some are even trading down from wine and spirits to beer, which typically costs less.

Stogsdill says when he does go out in Milwaukee, its only to happy hours and often for cheaper beers - anything to cut his drinking budget.

Sales of liquor, wine and beer meant to be consumed at home are now expected to rise 4.8 percent this year to $79 billion, according to Mintel International Group. The Chicago-based research firm recently had to revise its 2009 forecast to keep up with how quickly people are changing their behavior.

Mintel expects this to be the first year since at least 2003 that Americans cut their spending on alcohol in bars and restaurants. Alcohol sales in bars and restaurants are forecast to drop 1.2 percent to $54.2 billion.

So its not that were drinking any less; spending during the recession is just shifting to stores. Already in the 12 months ending in February, Americans spent 7.2 percent more on wine at food, drug and mass-merchandise stores than they did in the same period a year earlier, according to Nielsen.

When people socialize at home, not only is there no one to tip, theres also no bar or restaurant mark-up. Having even one glass of wine at a bar can cost as much as a whole bottle to take home - especially as people have gravitated to buying less-expensive wines.

Not to suggest that bars and restaurants are empty. But customers arent spending like they used to.

Nick Terpolilli, a 30-year-old bartender in Chicago, said people are now asking him more often how big their bar tab is getting and are setting lower limits for themselves.

“Theyre more likely to have just a couple of rounds of drinks, ask about specials, whats the cheapest beer,” said Terpolilli, who himself is spending more time at home parties socializing with friends, rather than going out.

David Duncan also finds himself drinking more at home among other measures to trim his budget. The 56-year-old from Portland, Ore., is bidding adieu to French red wines and saying hello to domestic ones. Hes also replacing some of his wine consumption with craft beers, saying there are plenty of delicious deals to be had there.

Phil Bilodeau, the owner of Thief Wine store and bar in Milwaukee, is spending plenty of time these days helping customers looking for wine to take home.

Chris VanMeter, a 51-year-old who stops in regularly for wine to drink at home with his wife, happily left with two Spanish wines Bilodeau suggested, each about $10.

“Im getting good wine for this price point, rather than guessing,” he said.

While Bilodeau says sales at the bar portion of his business are holding steady - especially as he lowered the range his per-glass prices - the shift toward drinking at home is bad news for brands heavily dependent on sales in bars and restaurants.

Miller Lite, for instance, saw its sales volume fall 7.5 percent in last years fourth quarter in part due to weak sales in those places. Owner MillerCoors, a venture of SABMillers U.S. unit and Molson Coors, is now going after consumers who drink at home with a new $100 million-plus ad campaign that includes displays in grocery stores.

Source

Nobu Moscow, fitted with dark wood and burnished gold light fixtures, is on the top floor of Agalarovs four-story Crocus luxury retail building, situated on the corner of Stoleshnikov Lane. Some of the areas previous tenants have fallen victim to the economic crisis, with stores selling PPR SAs Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney fashions closing earlier this year. A Louis Vuitton shop across the street from Nobu remains open.

An average meal will probably cost the equivalent of $89, Emin Agalarov, Arass son and the head of the Nobu project, told reporters. Nobus Las Vegas branch features $50 lobster shiitake salad, Kobe beef at $32 per ounce and a $38, two-piece portion of bluefin toro sushi, its Web site shows.

Nobu will attempt to buck a trend that has seen sales at high-end Moscow eateries drop as much as 50 percent since the financial crisis began, according to consulting group Restcon. Russian retail spending contracted for the first time in a decade in February and disposable income shrank 4.7 percent.

Chinchilla Discount

Matsuhisa, who opened the first Nobu in New York in 1994, said it was “made easy” for him to come to Moscow after he found Agalarov, who provided the funding and bought out a former apartment building to create the venue. The chef spoke to reporters at a briefing with De Niro before the restaurants gala opening tonight.

Agalarovs Crocus Group builds housing and runs luxury malls, an exhibition center and a home-improvement chain. He was ranked No. 92 on Forbes Magazines list of rich Russians in 2008, with a fortune then estimated at about $1.2 billion.

Since the 2008 Forbes list was compiled, many billionaires have suffered a reversal of fortune. Oleg Deripaska, the richest Russian on the 2008 list, has lost 88 percent of his fortune in the past year, Forbes magazine says, and his United Co. Rusal aluminum company received a $4.5 billion bailout loan from a state-owned bank.

Agalarov said that while hes confident about Nobus future, his luxury investments will suffer. Crocus luxury sales may fall 40 percent this year, he said, worse than the 20 percent drop estimated for his Tvoi Dom home-improvement chain.

“If someones asking for loans from the state at the same time hes living a very luxurious lifestyle, its not compatible, so theyll need to adjust,” Agalarov said. “Not because theyve really altered their views, but just because they have to behave in a certain way for the time being.”

The stairs to the 168-seat Nobu restaurant lead through Crocus shops selling Tony Ward gowns starting at 12,000 euros ($15,800). A chinchilla wrap points to the new reality: its been marked down from 628,000 rubles ($18,700) to 211,200 rubles, a 66 percent discount.

Source

Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year gained 5 percent on breakfast orders and the addition of the Southern Style Chicken sandwich. An increase in customers in Russia, France and the U.K. lifted sales in Europe, as revenue in Australia and China drove growth in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa. Excluding foreign-exchange fluctuation, revenue grew 5 percent.

Currency “is the wild card for 2009,” Keith Wirtz, chief investment officer at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cincinnati, told Bloomberg Television. Wirtz helps manage $22 billion in assets, including McDonalds shares. “With the dollar strengthening toward the end of 2008, its acting as a headwind in the overseas marketplace.”

Currency translation trimmed 7 cents a share from earnings, Chief Financial Officer Peter Bensen said today on a conference call. The dollar gained 22 percent over the pound during the quarter and 13 percent over the Australian dollar.

31,000 Restaurants

Sales rose 7.6 percent at European sites and 10 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa in the quarter. The company operates more than 31,000 restaurants in 118 countries, with about two-thirds of revenue coming from outside the U.S.

McDonalds rose 38 cents to $58.40 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares climbed 9.5 percent in the 12 months before today.

Analysts anticipated a profit of 83 cents a share, the average of 15 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. They projected revenue of $5.75 billion.

December sales in stores open at least a year rose 5.8 percent, including 11 percent in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. That compares with the average estimate of 5.6 percent from analysts at Goldman, Sachs & Co., Oppenheimer & Co., Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital.

“The U.S. numbers still look good in December,” said Jack Russo, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis. He recommends holding the stock. “McDonalds is posting the best numbers of any of the restaurant chains.”

Dollar Menu

“Our model remains recession resistant,” Skinner said on the call. “When you look at consumer confidence being at an all- time low, its critical that we maintain that value relationship.”

Skinner, 64, plans to invest $2.1 billion this year to open about 1,000 new restaurants and refurbish existing locations, the company said today. McDonalds said it anticipates opening 165 new locations in the U.S., 245 in Europe and about 600 in Asia, including 175 in China.

To contact the reporter on this story: Courtney Dentch in New York at cdentch1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 26, 2009 16:25 EST Source

Neckwear became optional at lunch years ago. “Why should we say no to somebody who wants to have dinner with us (for lack of a tie)?” Biederman asked. “Times change. … We have to move forward.”

The past has always been prized at the former speakeasy off Fifth Avenue, at 21 W. 52nd St., owned by Bermuda-based Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. A row of 1930s cast-iron jockey statues - originally symbols of patrons private stables - flanks the front door, and antique toys and sports memorabilia line the Bar Rooms walls and ceiling.

Presidents have dined there since Franklin D. Roosevelts day. Forbes magazine once wrote that “more deals are done at 21 than on the stock market floor.”

John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway and Frank Sinatra had favorite tables at 21, and Humphrey Bogart proposed to Lauren Bacall there. It has appeared in films ranging from the 1950 Bette Davis classic “All About Eve” to 1987s “Wall Street.”

Through it all, the restaurant put its foot down about neckties, more or less. Sammy Davis Jr. once arrived wearing a turtleneck under his jacket and looped the tie the restaurant lent him around his head, according to the eatery.

Some patrons lamented the end of the tie requirement as a sign of ever-scruffier times.

“When you lower the standards, people act accordingly, and this formality is one of 21s appeals,” retiree Irene Blazey told the New York Post.

But others saw the tie rule as stuffy and applauded the restaurant for being flexible.

“Its great that they are open to new things,” banker Shirley Cou, 23, told the newspaper.

Still, 21 is hardly going casual: Men still must wear jackets, and jeans and sneakers are out for everyone.

Source: njvin

On Thursday, however, large discount department stores including E-mart, Home Plus and Lotte Mart began selling U.S. beef at 250 local branches, saying customers are demanding cheaper meat, according to the Korea Chainstores Association.

Small supermarkets and restaurants also are expected to resume selling U.S. beef soon, spokesman Ko Sang-bum said.

About 20 activists staged a rally in front of a Seoul E-mart store, chanting anti-U.S. beef slogans voicing their fears of mad cow disease. There were no immediate reports of violence.

“Its sly of them to start selling mad cow beef and exploit consumers who are being pressured by the economic downturn,” said Jeon Sung-do, secretary general of the Alliance of National Farmers Associations. “We will continue to stage protests outside shops that sell U.S. beef.”

American beef is significantly cheaper than domestic Korean brands. At one E-mart store, U.S. beef was selling Thursday for less than half the price of Korean domestic beef: 100 grams of rump sold for 5,500 won - about $3.70 - while an equivalent cut from U.S. cattle was priced at 2,580 won, or $1.70, per 100 grams.

“They go on and on about it, but U.S. beef does taste nice and I dont see whats so urgently dangerous about it,” said one customer, who gave only her surname, Hong. “And its cheap - thats all we consumers care about.”

Source: tnjac

Analysts expected profit of 13 cents per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Starbucks began shutting the U.S. and Australian stores this summer as part of its nearly yearlong campaign to reverse slowing sales and falling profits at the company. Besides closing the stores, Starbucks has cut more than 1,000 positions - many of which were unfilled - and introduced a slew of new products, including Vivanno smoothie drinks and breakfast pastries.

The company also replaced aging espresso makers, launched new single-cup Clover brewing machines in some markets, retrained baristas and began a loyalty card program to offer customers more value for their cup.

But all the changes did little to boost sales in the fourth quarter, particularly in the U.S, where the turmoil in the economy took a gulp out of consumer spending.

Revenue rose 3 percent to $2.52 billion from $2.44 billion. Analysts expected sales of $2.58 billion. Same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, dropped 8 percent in the U.S. as fewer customers came into the stores. Those that did also spent less, the company said. Same-store sales were flat overseas.

On a conference call with analysts, Schultz said the company was doing what it needed to get back on track.

“The fourth quarter may have represented a bottoming-out milestone for our company,” Schultz said, echoing comments he made at a leadership conference in New Orleans at end of last month.

He added that sales have improved somewhat in the past few weeks and noted that unlike other “premium” retail chains, same-store sales declines were not in the double-digits in October.

Many restaurant companies have reported steep drops in same-store sales during the month as consumers became ever more anxious about the state of the economy. Ruths Hospitality Inc., which operates Ruths Chris Steakhouse, reported its same-store sales fell 15 percent, for example.

Schultz said the companys new breakfast items - meant to entice healthy eaters to try a pastry with their latte - have been successful and that its customer loyalty card program has tapped into consumers desire for value.

For the full 2008 fiscal year, Starbucks earned $315.5 million, or 43 cents per share, down from $672.6 million, or 87 cents per share, in 2007. Revenue rose to $10.38 billion from $9.41 billion.

Starbucks said it expects 2009 profit excluding one-time costs of between 71 cents and 90 cents per share depending on how steeply same-store sales decline during the year. Analysts predict profit of 87 cents per share for the year.

The company also cut its prediction for international store openings to about 700 net new stores during the fiscal 2009 year, down from its earlier estimate of about 900 net new stores. In the U.S., the company said it will close about 225 stores and open 205 new ones.

Shares fell 42 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $9.78 in electronic after-hours trading after dipping 35 cents, or 3.3 percent, to close at $10.20.

Source: ncber