Monthly Archives: February 2011

Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald’s

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Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald's

Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald's

Ray Kroc revolutionized the food service industry with food service automation, national training, franchising and national advertising.  You can read his entire story in the book, Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald’s.  This is one of the best business books you can pick up, especially if you are in the restaurant or food service industry.

Ray Kroc is a true business legend and his story in business is very interesting. So is the story of Ray Kroc, the man.  Kroc was 52 years old when he met the McDonald brothers and opened his first franchise.  As a man he was an enthusiast for many things, loved to watch people, and also loved to tell stories.  He was fascinating and very inspirational.  Once you read this book you will never forget it.

Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald’s is perfect for those who want to be in business for themselves in the food service industry because of the story behind the man. It is all about the ins and outs of who he is and how he became the man that became one of the most well-known entrepreneurs in the world.

Today, McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 32,000 locations serving more than 62 million customers in 117 countries.

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Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People

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Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People

Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People

Do you know the story behind those cows that hold up the signs on billboards across America about eating more chicken?  The book Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People is the story of S. Truett Cathy who has been one of the more innovative restaurant entrepreneurs.  Cathy grew up through the great depression and learned principles such as hard work, loyalty, respect, and honesty.  These are all principles that he used to help Chick-fil-A become very successful.

In Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People you will read about how Cathy opened his first Chick-fil-A restaurant in a shopping mall.  It was a very unique thing in America, being the first restaurant to serve in a shopping mall.  It was also the first restaurant of the fast food industry to serve a boneless chicken breast sandwich.

Chick-fil-A does not open on Sundays.  This is practically unheard of in today’s restaurant chain industry, but it’s a guiding principle for Cathy.  You can learn many things from the story of S. Truett Cathy and if you utilize any of the business lessons from Eat Mor Chikin: Inspiring More People, then you will be better off in your restaurant business.

Today, Chick-fil-A operates more than 1,525 restaurants across America.  In 2009, the company realized record sales of $3.22 billion.

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Taco Titan: The Glen Bell Story

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Taco Titan: The Glen Bell Story

Taco Titan: The Glen Bell Story

Want to know how to make $130 million dollars?  Glen Bell did it when he created the concept for Taco Bell, built it up to be incredibly successful, then sold it for $130 million dollars.  So all you have to do is learn how to open a taco joint, right?  You can start with the book Taco Titan: The Glen Bell Story since it is the story about Glen Bell and how his dream became larger than he ever imagined.

Even though Glen Bell faced multiple challenges throughout many of his early years, he had a vision and kept at it, ultimately growing a successful restaurant business.  Few people knew what a taco was at the time and it was unheard of to have a fast food restaurant that consisted of no buns and no mustard.  But Glen Bell stuck with it.

You will be amazed to read the story of struggle that he went through in Taco Titan: The Glen Bell Story.  It is a very fun read and there are many lessons you can learn along the way that you can apply to your own life and to your business, as well.

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Secret Recipe: Why KFC Is Still Cooking After 50 Years

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Secret Recipe: Why KFC Is Still Cooking After 50 Years

Secret Recipe: Why KFC Is Still Cooking After 50 Years

Every American has heard of Colonel Sanders, but probably not many have heard of Pete Harman, who is the other founder of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).  These two individuals never missed a single detail when it came to their business and their story is outlined in the book Secret Recipe: Why KFC Is Still Cooking After 50 Years.

Secret Recipe: Why KFC Is Still Cooking After 50 Years is all about how these two took their restaurant from nothing and paved the way to help make the chain what it is today.  At first, the Colonel and Harman really didn’t have a good understanding of the restaurant business, but they had a product that had amazing flavor.  There are now more than 15,000 KFC outlets in 109 countries and territories around the world serving some 12 million customers each day.

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Pizza Tiger

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Pizza Tiger

Pizza Tiger

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own pizza joint and baseball team, then you might want to consider reading the book Pizza Tiger.  This is the autobiography of Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza and former owner of the Detroit Tigers.  Domino’s is one of the largest pizza companies, having grown to 9,169 locations with global retail sales of over $5.6 billion in 2009.

Tom Monaghan is one of those guys that anybody can learn from and his story is just the same.  Pizza Tiger conveys the philosophy of defensive management that Monaghan used in order to become so successful.  If you want to get into the pizza business, then this is a must read for you.  It is a very easy and interesting read that can help you find more success in the restaurant business.

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Selling ‘em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food

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Selling 'em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food

Selling 'em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food

What is the restaurant that everybody drives through after they leave the bars and the other nightlife?  White Castle, and many of us have experienced this at one time in our life.  The story of White Castle, home of the Original Slider, is featured in the book Selling ‘em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food and it is a very fun read.

The two men, Walt Anderson and Billy Ingram combined their efforts back in the 1920s to make the hamburger the staple it is today.  They committed themselves and their business to quality control, strength of standardization, commitment to cleanliness, and practiced conservative finances.  This story can not only teach you the secrets these two used to make their business so successful, but also it will entertain you as you discover how White Castle became what it is today.

Selling ‘em by the Sack is an iconic story that is very well written and is so much fun to read.  It is not the longest book out there and it is geared towards those that love the restaurant business and want to run their own restaurant one day.

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Dave’s Way

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Dave's Way

Dave's Way

We all know that Dave Thomas was the founder of the fast food chain Wendy’s, but do you know his personal story?  The book Dave’s Way will give you an idea of what Dave was really all about.  Most of us know him as the very plain spokesperson on all the Wendy’s commercials, but this high school dropout was much more than just a plain man.

Dave’s Way is an autobiography that tells the story of how this man went from helping to turn around a couple of failed Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants to creating one of the most successful fast food chains in the United States.  He became a millionaire by the age of 37 and when he opened Wendy’s he didn’t call it a fast food restaurant,  Instead, he used the term “Quick Service”. 

If you’re a fan of the nose to the grindstone mentality, then you will be very pleased when you read this book.  Dave’s Way is full of pointers and tips that Dave, himself, used in order to become very successful and grow his business properly.  There are more tips than you could ever imagine and it is written the way Dave was, in a very folk type of way.

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The Burger King: Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire

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The Burger King: Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire

The Burger King: Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire

Burger King and McDonald’s have always been rivals, and while the story of McDonald’s is much better known, the story of Burger King going from nothing to a multibillion business is still an incredible story.  This can be a very instructive and inspiring story for restaurant owners and managers today. 

The Burger King: Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire is the book that you need to pick up if you want to know about the man that built Burger King.  This franchise went from a handful of struggling drive-ins to the second largest fast food chain in the world.  There are many reasons why this was able to happen and Jim McLamore has some principles that every single business owner should know and use.

The Burger King: Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire is an easy read and very entertaining.  It is not the same as the story of McDonald’s coming into the success that they achieved, but it is a tale that should be read by everybody that wants to open a restaurant.

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The Restaurant Marketing Bible

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The Restaurant Marketing Bible

The Restaurant Marketing Bible

If you want to be successful in the restaurant business, then you have to have an idea of how to market.  If you market incorrectly you could end up spending much more money than you need to and could ultimately fail.  However, if you market properly your restaurant can be packed each and every night.  The Restaurant Marketing Bible can help you figure out how to market your restaurant properly.

Running a restaurant is not easy and restaurant marketing is very important because you have to have people coming through your doors in order to make profits. The Restaurant Marketing Bible is the book that can help you fill seats and build sales.

The Restaurant Marketing Bible will help you to cut your marketing expense and use it to make even more money than you are used to making.  As a restaurant owner or manager, you need to get out and market your business.  This is exactly what The Restaurant Marketing Bible will show you how to do.

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Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers

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Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers

Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers

The book Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers will help you find creative ways to get new business through your restaurant doors and keep guests coming back over and over again.  This book is one that you can use for every day restaurant marketing.

Could you imagine preparing the most delicious meals that you can, but nobody shows up to eat?  This happens a lot and your product has to be good, but your marketing better be just as good or nobody is going to spend money with you.  You can’t just build it and expect them to come.  It isn’t that easy.

Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers will show you easy strategies to make sure you place your advertisement in the right places and that you are doing it for the right prices.  You want great marketing so you can fill your restaurant each and every day and night so you need to know how to get this type of following with your restaurant marketing.

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