Site name: Fuddruckers

URL: www.fuddruckers.com

Background Information:

Fuddruckers operates and franchises restaurants that specialize in upscale hamburgers cooked to order. It encourages guests to garnish their own entrees by providing an array of fresh produce and condiments. Some restaurants have a butcher shop where beef is ground fresh every day, and some have on-premise bakeries where bread and dessert items are baked fresh daily. Fuddruckers operates more than 200 restaurants throughout the United States and around the world.

Site name: Wendy's

ULR: www.wendys.com

Background Information:

When Dave Thomas opened the first "Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers" restaurant, he created something new and different in the restaurant industry. He offered high-quality food made with the freshest ingredients and served the way the customer wanted it. Wendy's is a quick-service restaurant that has over 5,000 stores.

Site name: McDonald's

ULR: www.mcdonalds.com

Background Information:

McDonald's is the world's leading food service retailer, with more than 31,000 restaurants in 119 countries serving 47 million customers each day. It is one of the world's most well-known brands and holds a leading share in the globally branded quick-service restaurant segment of the informal eating-out market in virtually every country in which it does business.

EXERCISE:

All three of the above restaurants are "burger joints" but they differ in many ways. Discuss how each restaurant tries to differentiate itself from the other two, especially with respect to target market, menu, interior/exterior décor, and corporate goals.

Some recommended Sources:
1. www.restaurant.org
2. http://www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/2009Factbook.pdf
3. National Restaurant Association "2009 Restaurant Industry Forecas