Restaurant Rewind

`Those who don’t know their history are destined to relive it', to riff on the words of a famed philosopher. For anyone in the restaurant business, that oft-quoted saying may be more of a heartening promise than a dire admonition. The industry’s past is packed with tales of scoundrels and heroes, big thinkers and pinheads, colossal successes and dismal failures, breakthrough moves and self-inflicted destruction. Few soap operas pack as much color and drama. Yet those yellowed snapshots provide insights relevant to the challenges of today. Join Peter Romeo, a 41-year veteran of the business with a penchant for restaurant history, as he explores those pivotal moments from the past. 

Marketing

Here's how Woolworth's—yes, Woolworth's—democratized dining out

The dining counters of the budget-priced retailer were a stage for history and the introduction of dining out for many.

Marketing

How a pop star's lid drove Arby's awareness sky high

Restaurant Rewind: Hardee's well-timed tweet last week echoes two of the restaurant industry's greatest marketing moments.

Restaurant Rewind: Here's the little-remembered saga of the casual-dining pioneer that gave us fried ice cream.

How Pizza Hut landed an unlikely pitchman, the late Mikhail Gorbachev.

Restaurant Rewind: Ernie Royal was a quiet pioneer in changing racial attitudes. Here's why he should never be forgotten.

Restaurant Rewind: The onetime marketing superstars have lost the spotlight to food, guests and less-controversial employees. The spokesfigures' past may explain why.

Restaurant Rewind: Draws like pumpkin spice latte and the McRib weren't always the surefire hits they've become.

Restaurant Rewind: Here's how a mothballed Burger King was hidden for 13 years.

Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze joins Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo in looking at how the Noid has snuck back into the pizza giant's headquarters.

The theft of intellectual property was so extreme that the matter went all the way to the Supreme Court.

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