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Hooters is planning to translate its slogan—”delightfully tacky yet unrefined”–into a few more languages. The chain has announced intentions to debut units in Turkey, India and Japan. Those countries are some of the new markets the casual-dining franchise will target in an expansion plan announced Thursday that would increase new restaurant locations by at least…

Howard Veldhorst, a 36-year veteran of The Vollrath Co., has died. He was 74. Veldhorst was v.p.-national sales accounts at the Sheboygan, Wis., manufacturer; he retired in 1998. Known for his encouragement to friends, family and colleagues, he often said, "Look for the good and then praise it." Veldhorst is survived by his wife of…

Brazil, host of the 2016 Summer Olympics, is going to be eating more Whoppers. Burger King Corp. has signed the largest multi-unit development agreement in its six-year history in Brazil with one of its newest franchisees, the Vierci Group. In addition to their current development agreement in the state of Santa Catarina, the Vierci Group…

Landry’s Restaurants has completed two major acquisitions since CEO Tilman J. Fertitta took the company private in October. After approval from a bankruptcy court, the Houston company acquired Claim Jumper Restaurants for an undisclosed amount after Claim Jumper filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year. The Irvine, Calif., chain, founded in 1977, has units in…

Brats and beer are making room for doughnuts and coffee in Wisconsin. Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a multi-unit development agreement with the Milwaukee Coffee Brewing Co. to open 36 new restaurants in the greater Milwaukee area, which currently has only two DD stores. The new units will be operated by six existing Northeast Dunkin’ Donuts…

Real gross-domestic product in the U.S. grew more slowly in the second quarter than many economists expected. The numbers for personal consumption expenditures were also well below most of the forecasts. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported real GDP increased 2.4% on an annualized basis in the second quarter. The consensus forecast from Blue Chip…

Restaurant traffic fell 1% in the second quarter versus the same quarter last year, according to NPD Group’s CREST research. It is the eighth consecutive quarter of traffic declines according to the Port Washington, N.Y., research group. Noncommercial traffic fell 6% during the period. But in yet another sign that the foodservice market is gradually…