Food makes people happy, but sometimes food mishaps in the hospitality field can mean bad business if they aren’t handled the right way. Spin it correctly, and a restaurant might even come out on top of a mishap. Here are 21 examples of scandals, hoaxes, accidents, and other crisis communications challenges that tested restaurant companies’ PR skills and what we can learn from them.

1. COMUNICATIONS
CRISIS
THE
BIGGEST
2
1
Challenges in Restaurant History

2. THE 21 BIGGEST CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS CHALLENGES IN RESTAURANT HISTORY
CRISIS
COMMUNICATION
Food makes people happy, but sometimes food mishaps in the hospitality field can mean bad
business if they aren’t handled the right way. Spin it correctly, and a restaurant might even come
out on top of a mishap. Here are 21 examples of scandals, hoaxes, accidents, and other crisis
communications challenges that tested restaurant companies’ PR skills and what we can learn
from them.

3. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
DENNY’S OVERCOMES RACIST REPUTATION
By the ‘90s, Denny’s had built up a reputation for racism that culminated in 1994 with the $54
million settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by black customers claiming discrimination. It
was the largest lawsuit pursued under the Civil Rights Act.
Denny’s poured millions into an anti-racism campaign and education strategy in the mid ‘90s,
particularly aiming to educate its employees. It brought on a black-owned company to run
numerous franchises and promised to franchise more minority-owned restaurants. Since the early
2000s it’s topped several diversity employment lists and awards and been quick to respond to
any cases of racism in its restaurants.
STATS
• Following the lawsuit, increase of minority officers on board increased from 0 to 11 percent
between 1993 and 1996.
• 20 percent minority director positions in 1996 up from 0 in 1993
• 27 African American owned franchises in 1996 up from one in 1993
1

4. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
DOMINO’S EMPLOYEES DISGUST ONYOUTUBE
In 2009, Domino’s Pizza discovered that a viral prank video can do a
lot of damage. Two employees filmed themselves performing
disgusting acts with Domino’s food and posted it to YouTube.
Domino’s issued a statement on its website 24 hours after the video
was posted, leading to the original video getting more exposure. A
survey of brand perception showed Domino’s perception had turned
negative after the video.
Two days after the incident, the company posted its own video to
social media. In the video, Domino’s president Patrick Doyle
apologized for its employees’ actions, saying the two offenders were
fired, and assuring the public they were stepping up their food safety
vigilance. Domino’s also later created a Pizza Tracker where guests
can follow their food in real time from store to home delivery.
The genuine and quick response to the scandal helped Domino’s
recover, as well as its emphasis that this was an isolated incident by
two employees, not a company-wide attitude. Since then, the
Domino’s incident has become a case study of a positive response to
a crisis communication situation.
2
STATS
• Hundreds of dollars of food were immediately
discarded at the Conover, N.C., store where the
video was filmed.
• The Conover store later closed due to bad
business after the scandal. Surrounding Charlotte,
N.C., stores’ sales were also affected.
• The top Google search results for Domino’s
referenced the scandal in the days afterwards.
• Video received 700,000 hits in one day.
• 2011 earnings had rebounded after the incident,
surpassing analysts’ estimates by 22 percent in its
second-quarter earnings.

5. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
CHI-CHI’S HEPATITIS A OUTBREAK
Mexican restaurant chain Chi-Chi’s was brought down by the largest outbreak of Hepatitis A in
U.S. restaurant history in 2003. Already suffering from bankruptcy filing, the Hep A cases knocked
out the rest of Chi-Chi’s stamina. Four people died, one needed a liver transplant, and hundreds
were sickened.The culprit: Green onions from Mexico that were used to make a mild salsa at the
restaurant.While the fault was the suppliers, Chi-Chi’s was not financially solvent enough and did
not have enough liability insurance to meet all the claims that came out after the outbreak.
Outback eventually bought the remaining Chi-Chi’s and converted or closed them.
There are still restaurants in Europe, the Middle East and Indonesia and Chi-Chi’s products are
sold in the U.S. But it’s a long fall from the chain’s peak of 230 restaurants.
STATS
• $6.25-million settlement to man who needed a liver transplant
• $800,000 settlement to a class action lawsuit
3

6. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
JACK INTHE BOX E. COLI OUTBREAK
Jack in the Box’s 1993 E. coli outbreak in the Northwest comes up
over and over again as a classic communications crisis example. The
outbreak from infected meat sickened almost 600 people and killed
four, including children.Tens of millions of dollars in profits were lost
as a result and it took the restaurant years to recover.
In its first press release on Jan. 18, 1993, three days after it was told E.
Coli had been linked to its meat, Jack in the Box initially tried to
distance itself from total responsibility, saying other sources could be
at fault. A Jan. 21 release however confirmed that it was the
restaurant’s meat that was the source of E. coli.The chain soon after
pledge to “do everything that is morally right for those individuals
who had experienced illness after eating at Jack in the Box
restaurants as well as their families.”
The chain switched suppliers, destroyed existing meat, raised meat
cooking temperatures, and pledged to pay all medical costs related to
the outbreak. This was the first major, public E. coli outbreak in
modern U.S. history and led to new food safety laws.
4
STATS
• 20,000-pounds of destroyed meat
• Foodmaker parent company lost $138
million and Moody’s downgraded debt to
junk bond status
• Foodmaker stock dropped 30 percent in
immediate aftermath
• $20-30 million in losses total
• 600-plus people sickened, 4 dead

7. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
WENDY’S FINGER INTHE CHILI
One woman’s ploy to get money out of Wendy’s led to one of the
most well-known restaurant “scandals” in history. In March 2005, a
customer reported she’d found a severed fingertip in her cup of chili
at a San Jose Wendy’s. It would later turn out to be a hoax, the finger
planted by the guest, who was later found guilty of extortion.
In the meantime,Wendy’s did not respond as well as it could have. It
did immediately, in the days after the finger was found, verify that it
didn’t come from store employees or a supply problem. It also
offered a reward and set up a tipline for finding whoever left the
fingertip in the chili. It gave away free food as well.
But Wendy’s was widely thought to have not communicated with its
guests or the wider public enough during the crisis. It failed to
distance Wendy’s general cleanliness and standards from the hoax.
The chain, for example, didn’t offer outside expert verification of
Wendy’s store hygiene management. Chili was never removed from
the menu even temporarily, which would have been a clear signal the
chain was taking the allegation seriously.
5
STATS
• 2.5 percent sales loss or about $15 million
between March 23 and April’s end after
crisis
• Approximately $21 million in lost sales
total
• Business down by close to 50 percent at
some nor thern California Wendy’s
branches
• Some workers laid off and hours cut at
other stores

8. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
#MCDSTORIESTWITTER CAMPAIGN BACKFIRES
McDonald’s thought it had a clever social media campaign on its hands when it launched its
#McDStories hashtag and paid Twitter to promote the campaign in January 2012. It was hoping
for heartwarming “shared fries with my sister” sorts of tweets. Instead it found its hashtag hijacked
by disgruntled McDonald’s guests who had food poisoning stories and ingredient complaints to
share.
The campaign only lasted two hours before McDonald’s pulled it. It immediately followed with
what it thought was a tamer #littlethings hashtag to try and compensate for the previous Twitter
damage.
6
STATS
• #McDStories was used 1,600 times
in two hours
• 68 percent of tweets using hashtag
were negative
• McDonald’s stock fell 3 percent four
days after the campaign

9. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
TACO BELL BEEF LAWSUIT
Taco Bell was sued in 2011 by a guest who said the restaurant chain’s beef was mostly filler.The
company quickly rolled out a campaign responding to the lawsuit, which was later dropped.
Taco Bell’s campaign received widespread kudos for countering the “where’s the beef” scandal
with a video response, cheeky print and TV ads, food item discount, good social media exposure
and a counter suit.There was also a popular free taco Facebook giveaway.
7
STATS
• $3 million ad campaign
• 88 cent item discount

10. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
AJISEN RAMEN FIBS ABOUT SIGNATURE SOUP
Japanese-based noodle chain Ajisen Ramen is very popular in China and has 600 stores
worldwide. But its China stores got hit in 2011, not for food safety issues, but for bad marketing. It
had promoted its signature pig-bone soup as being made from scratch using slow-cooked bones
in every bowl. In actuality, the soup was mass-produced from a factory-made concentrate.
Ajisen Ramen had also exaggerated the nutritional claims of the soup using a university analysis of
its concentrate, not the later diluted soup. In addition, it had earlier been fined $122,000 for using
sorbitol in its noodles.
All together, the ingredient revelations led to a tank in stock prices. The company apologized,
provided details of its soup base production process. But only vaguely referenced how it planned
to regain consumer trust after the incident and could have used a stronger PR push.
STATS
• 50 percent stock drop on Hong Kong stock market in month after ingredient news
• 6.7 percent stock drop in the day after trading resumed following temporary suspension
• UBS AG downgraded Ajisen Ramen stock from “buy” to “hold” and lowered stock target
price 35 percent
• 163.com poll found 90 percent of 2,434 people surveyed said controversy affected their
decisions on where they’d eat out
8

11. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
BURGER KING’STWITTER ACCOUNT HACKED
Burger King found that social media can get totally out of control
in February when its Twitter account was hacked in one of the
most high-profile social media “disaster” cases since the
medium’s advent. The hackers changed Burger King’s name to
McDonald’s, claimed BK had been bought by the other company,
switched its background and profile images, and tweeted odd
and drug-related posts for an hour before the account was
suspended.
McDonald’s quickly tweeted its innocence saying,“We empathize
with our @BurgerKing counterparts. Rest assured, we had
nothing to do with the hacking.” And by the end of the day,
Burger King had returned its account to normal, tweeting,
“Interesting day here at Burger King, but we’re back! Welcome to
our new followers. Hope you all stick around!”
Burger King also released a statement within hours of the hack,
apologizing for the “erroneous tweets.” While it was an
embarrassing episode for the company, it ended up spinning
positive with lots of media exposure and gaining more followers.
But hopefully the company got a more secure password both for
itsTwitter account and its social media-related email accounts.
9
STATS
Gained 30,000 new followers during hack
5,000 new followers in first 30 minutes of hack
300 percent increase in Twitter mentions during
hack with 450,000 tweets on the topic worldwide
Make sure usernames and passwords are secure.

12. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
WHAT IS IN A NAME AT “SAMBO’S”
Sambo’s was a popular mid-19th century pancake chain that refused to see its name as the racist
liability it became.The chain’s name came from the two owner’s names combined and used the
story of Little Sambo and a tiger because of its connection to pancakes, which the chain was
known for.At its peak, Sambo’s had 1,117 restaurants. But a series of lawsuits and protests alleging
Sambo’s use of its name was tied to racism began in the 70s.
While Sambo’s did change the name of several of its restaurants, it was the corporate position
that the name was never racist to begin with that showed true hubris. A proposed expansion in
Toledo in the late 70s led to Sambo’s suing to use its name in the new restaurants.
There was an innate branding issue.The company would later claim its name was not related to
the “Little Black Sambo” books, but older restaurants had the little boy and his tiger as décor and
in signage.The company eventually had to file for bankruptcy with its restaurants closed or sold.
The owner of the one remaining Sambo’s today tried to relaunch the restaurants in the late-90s
using the original name. It was a no go.
STATS
• One remaining Sambo’s, the original in Santa Barbara
• $77.8 million in losses in 1979, $11.6 million in 1980, and $29 million in part of 1981
10

13. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
YO! SUSHI RESPONDSTO POOR HEALTH INSPECTION
Popular British sushi chain Yo! Sushi got hugely negative
feedback in 2008 when it was rated as the worst restaurant
hygiene offender in prominent British newspaper, The
Independent. Eight of 23 Yo! Sushi restaurants in Britain at
the time were rated as having two stars or less, putting it
below legal hygiene requirements.
The chain responded saying hygiene was very important to
its restaurants, going over its policies. Yo! Sushi also
expressed “concerns” over the UK health inspection “scores
on the doors” program. It said that it felt sushi rice could be
kept out for four hours rather than two for normal hot
food.
Despite, its protests, Yo! Sushi followed up its hygiene hit
over the next several years by establishing new health and
safety monitoring systems, as well as, online employee
training.The sushi chain has continued to expand outside of
Britain, including into the U.S. since then and has been voted
one of the country’s best chains.
11
STATS
• Almost $56,000 saved on employee hygiene
training costs by instituting a consistent online
training program
Image Credit: http://www.yosushi.com

14. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
PAT & OSCAR’S E. COLI BANKRUPTCY
California restaurant chain Pat & Oscar’s experienced an E. coli outbreak in its restaurants in 2003
when 40-plus guests fell ill. The restaurant rapidly apologized, but sales dropped off 70 percent
immediately after the outbreak.
Pat & Oscar’s used a crisis management company to strategize immediate actions. The chain
offered free meals to guests in the wake of the outbreak, set up a toll free number for people to
call to report any suspicions they were affected, and fired the supplier that had sold them the
lettuce that was responsible for the outbreak.The free food giveaway brought long lines and good
press coverage with its “breadstick diplomacy” (named after the chain’s signature food). It also
increased ad spending.
However, Pat & Oscar’s eventually declared bankruptcy. Many of the restaurants were later
bought by former franchisees and collectively renamed O’s American Kitchen to distance them
from the E. coli scare.
STATS
• $500,000 in free food given out over one weekend after the outbreak to win back guests
• Same-store sales fell 13.6 percent in 2004 following the outbreak
• $300,000 remodel for one converted O’s American Kitchen restaurant from the old Pat &
Oscar’s brand
12

15. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
McLIBEL CASE
Historically it’s much easier to prove libel in Britain than the
U.S. McDonald’s Corp. had successfully prosecuted people in
the U.K. for libel before suing two environmental activists for
the 1986 publication of an anti-McDonald’s brochure.
This case however carried on for years and became known
as one of the worst PR disasters for McDonald’s. Instead of
dropping the case against the duo, the franchise ended up
increasing the negative publicity exposure of the brochure
and looking like Goliath going after David.
A judge ruled in McDonald’s favor in 1997, but not before
calling out the corporation for cruelty to animals,
exploitation of children, misleading advertising and paying
low wages in his verdict.
13
STATS
• Case became longest trial in British history,
lasting 313 days
• McSpotlight website on the case accessed
184,675,000 times by summer 2003
• McDonald’s legal fees in the millions of dollars
Image Credit: cdn.mymovies.ge

16. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
BURGER KING SELLS HORSEMEAT BURGERS
When news of the widespread 2013 horsemeat scandal first broke, Burger King had quickly
announced its burgers were untouched by the trouble. It was eating its words soon after however
when tests revealed traces of horsemeat in some of its UK and Ireland patties.
Social media backlash was fast and furious, with thousands of anti-Burger King postings. BK’s vice
president of global quality apologized saying, “While the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has
stated that this is not a food safety issue, we are deeply troubled by the findings.”The company
placed ads in several British newspapers apologizing. Burger King fired its meat supplier, assuring
the public it would make sure all its future beef sources were British based. More troubling
though was that Burger Kind had to retract an initial statement.
STATS
• Burger King’s “buzz score,” or perception of the brand, fell with UK consumers from 2 to -15
and with the overall brand from -8 to -18
14

17. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
IKEA RESTAURANT FOODTROUBLES
IKEA doesn’t just sell minimalistic and affordable furniture
worldwide. It’s also known for its restaurants, cafes and food
products. However in 2013, during the horsemeat supplier
scandal that spread through many countries, IKEA discovered
that some of its famous Swedish meatballs had used some of the
offending horsemeat. The meatballs were pulled from markets
worldwide immediately. IKEA released a statement quickly, saying,
““We do not tolerate any other ingredients than the ones
stipulated in our recipes or specifications, secured through set
standards, certifications and product analysis by accredited
laboratories.”
The meatballs were returned to markets in March with IKEA
proclaiming reforms from “farm to fork.” But IKEA has had
further supplier issues as it examined its food. Its cake was found
to be contaminated with sewer bacteria in March, and in April, a
newspaper revealed that traces of pork were found in its moose
lasagna and had been pulled from stores the prior month.
On the one hand, it was proactive of IKEA to quickly examine its
food sources for contaminates. But multi-month revelations of
“gross” things in IKEA restaurant food meant a negative publicity
blitz. And IKEA only copped to the lasagna incident after a
newspaper published a story about it.
15
STATS
• IKEA dropped 8 of 15 suppliers after
horsemeat incident
• 23 countries had IKEA cake recall
• Estimated 150 million IKEA meatballs
consumed worldwide
• 5 percent of IKEA’s $35.6 billion revenue
comes from food sales

18. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
VITELLO’S BUSINESS INCREASES AFTER MURDER
An established Studio City Italian eatery, found itself in the
news in 2001 after actor Robert Blake and his wife Bonny
Lee Bakley dined at the restaurant immediately before she
was found shot nearby. Blake, who was acquitted of her
murder but later lost a civil suit, claimed he couldn’t have
killed his wife because he’d left a gun in a booth in Vitello’s
that he’d gone back for at the time his wife was shot.
The Hollywood-related murder meant a morbid increase in
business for Vitello’s after the Blake incident, but probably
not for the reasons the restaurant wanted. Crime scene
tour buses frequently drove past and diners came in
wanting to sit in Blake’s booth.Vitello’s was sold in 2005 for
$3.1 million.The new owner did a complete overhaul design
and menu overhaul in 2012 to try and distance the
restaurant once and for all from the Blake killing.
16
STATS
• 20 percent increase in business reported after
the murder
• $1,000 – the reported eBay auction starting
price for the booth Blake and his wife were
sitting in before she was killed nearby. Vitello’s
planned to auction it off in Aug. 2012 after
renovations.
Image Credit: http://www.vitellosrestaurant.com

19. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
SIZZLER RAT POISONING HOAX
In 2006, rat poison pellets were found in pasta, soup and salad bar items at several Australian
Sizzler restaurants.Though a woman was soon arrested and put in a psychiatric facility (and later
escaped), Sizzler closed all of it 28 restaurants’ salad bars, which are a signature aspect of the
restaurant chain.
However the Queensland health minister criticized the restaurant chain for taking 37 days to
report the contamination issue to authorities. Sizzler had sent pellet samples for testing prior to
notifying the health department. A law was soon after passed requiring restaurants to report a
suspected contamination incident within 24 hours or be fined $15,000.
Sizzler Australia put extra salad bar security measures in place afterwards, including cameras and
employees watching food and restaurant managers doing random taste tests and checks.
STATS
• Salad bars close for a week with company estimating losses in the “hundreds of thousands of
dollars each day”
• Several million estimated in lost revenue from closure of popular salad bars, which are 60
percent of Sizzler Australia’s revenue
• Undisclosed investment in security cameras and supervisor watch time
17

20. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
BROWN’S CHICKEN MASS MURDER LEADSTO
BANKRUPTCY
After seven people, including the store’s owners, were murdered during a 1993 robbery of the
Palatine, Illinois, branch of Brown’s Chicken, the Chicago-based chain struggled to remain solvent
after guests were scared away. The Palatine restaurant was torn down and a wave of Brown’s
Chicken stores also closed.
It took a decade for the killers to be arrested. Brown’s sales dipped again around their trial time.
Brown’s majority owner Frank Portillo fought back by speaking out at community events, joining
anti-crime groups, donating to nonprofits, and increasing security training and installing security
cameras at every one of his franchises.
A lawsuit battle between Portillo and a minority-share owner led to the company filing for
bankruptcy in 2009 and the chain being auctioned off. Today it has 32 stores under the new
owner and understandably makes no reference to the murders. But the ’93 murders have now
become known as the Brown’s Chicken Massacre.
STATS
• 100 of 150 restaurants closed in wake of murders
• 35-40 percent sales drop in Chicago area after murders
• $585,000 – amount chain sold for in 2010
18

21. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
BENIHANA KUWAIT SUES CUSTOMER FOR BAD
REVIEW
Here’s one way to win over no customers – sue someone
for posting a mildly negative review. That’s what happened
with Benihana’s Kuwait restaurant in 2011 when a Lebanese
restaurant visitor left a review online saying the restaurant’s
chicken was chewy and he wouldn’t return. Benihana’s
responded back threatening legal action, something that is
easier to pursue in Kuwait.
Benihana did take the blogger to court for $18,000 in
damages. The blogger lost on appeal and was told to pay
$3,600. But the restaurant has lost more than that amount
in court fees and negative press after the incident became
public.
19
STATS
• 5,200-plus mentions of the case on Twitter
between Jan. 30-Feb. 15, 2011 according toThe
Rights Lawyer s and Action Global
Communications/Clique Social
• In 800 sample social media postings, 164 of
them mentioned “boycott”-ing the chain

22. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
SUBWAY FOOTLONG MISSESTHE MEASURE
Need another example of how you shouldn’t toy with your
restaurant’s most popular items? In early 2013, an Australian
Subway guest posted a Facebook picture of his Subway
footlong with a ruler on top showing the sandwich was
short of a foot. Similar measuring photos popped up
worldwide on social media as people began complaining
that the sandwich chain’s footlongs were inadequate in
length.
A handful of lawsuits were soon filed over the false
advertising.
Subway initially protested that the name was just that and
not an actual measurement. It also said that bread baking
inconsistencies could also be at fault. But the negative
coverage continued, including from U.S. television
personality Stephen Colbert. The company was soon
pledging to increase its sandwich size to the accurate foot-
long dimensions. The restaurant quickly realized the power
of social media in this case, as news from Australia spread to
the U.S. and worldwide in a matter of days.
20
STATS
• 12 inches = foot
• 11 inches = average size of footlongs people
were finding as “the footlong scandal” broke
• Subway has 38,000 restaurants in 100
countries where bread is baked fresh

23. The 21 Biggest Crisis Communications Challenges in Restaurant History
YUM! BRANDS CHINA STRUGGLES WITH CHICKEN
AND MUTTON SCARES
Food safety issues recently hit Yum! Brand, China, which owns KFC, Taco Bell, Little Sheep and
other restaurant chains in China – in particular its KFC restaurants. The chicken chain has been
the brand’s top moneymaker in China and had a huge grasp on the country’s fast food market
until recently. KFC was called out for dangerous antibiotic levels in its chicken supply in December
2012. Sales fell 20 percent in China KFC’s first quarter of 2013 due to the scandal and avian flu
worries. Sales had begun to recover by June.
The company was not fined for the antibiotic levels, but received lots of negative press and social
media coverage.Yum! apologized in January for the food issues. It took them another month to
announce it would begin “an aggressive marketing campaign” to revive KFC’s image.
Yum!’s Little Sheep hot pot chain also tried to ward off any whiff of scandal in May saying that
none of its mutton supply was among the fake mutton found in the country recently.
STATS
Yum! Brand had three straight quarters of lower earnings due to KFC scare
Yum shares were down 63 cents on the NYSE in May due to the food supply scandal and avian
flu worries
75 percent ofYum! Brands 6,000 China restaurants are KFC’s
21

24. THE 21 BIGGEST CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS CHALLENGES IN RESTAURANT HISTORY
ABOUTTHE AUTHOR
Third generation restaurateur Aaron Allen has held every industry
position from line-level employee to unit manager. By age 19, he
was running a $10 million food and beverage operation at a 625-
room resort. By 20, he was overseeing a $4 million gulf-front
Caribbean-themed restaurant that served more than 1,800 covers
per day.
Having cut his teeth in operations, Allen eventually transitioned to
restaurant-focused marketing. In 2001, he founded his own
consultancy. By 2008, he’d skyrocketed the company to become
the world’s largest restaurant consulting firm. Major clients
included esteemed brands such as Starwood Resorts and Hotels
Worldwide, The Cheesecake Factory, TGI Fridays, FEMSA (Dos
Equis), BJ’s Restaurants, Hofbrau, Land O’ Lakes, Marriott, SSP and
dozens of other global restaurant chains, regional powerhouse
brands, high-volume independents, food and beverage
manufacturers, distributors, resorts, entertainment districts, hotel
chains and more.
Allen has become one of the most sought-after speakers and
sources for restaurant industry media. He has been a go-to source
for esteemed media outlets such as the Wall Street
Journal, Entrepreneur, Smart Money, MSNBC, TIME, Forbes, USA
Today, Nation’s Restaurant News, Chain Leader, Restaurants
Institutions, European Food Service News, Food Service Middle
East, QSR Magazine, and hundreds more.
24
Aaron Allen

25. THE 21 BIGGEST CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS CHALLENGES IN RESTAURANT HISTORY
Aaron Allen Associates provides strategic marketing, concept development, and
executive-level advisory services to leading foodservice and hospitality companies
worldwide. We identify and distill the latest restaurant and hospitality marketing trends.
We prepare tailored presentations for executive management of growth-minded
companies, and then support the development and implementation of innovative
restaurant marketing initiatives within their system.
Collectively our clients post more than $100 billion in global sales and span more than
100 countries across all six inhabited continents. We have worked with a wide range of
clients including high-volume independent operators, multi-billion dollar restaurant chains,
hotels, contract foodservice providers, manufacturers, distributors, and trade associations.
We have direct consulting experience in nearly all cuisine types and operating models.
ABOUT AARON ALLEN ASSOCIATES
25

26. www.aaronallen.com
www.aaronallen.com
United States
390 North Orange Ave
Suite 2300
Orlando, Florida 32801
407-936-1010 (US)
(866) 436-4002 (US fax)
Central Europe
1051 Budapest
Október 6. utca 17,
Budapest, Hungary
+36-1-798-3578 (Europe)
contact@aaronallen.com
© 2013,Aaron Allen