Hospitality

San Mateo, Calif. -- Coupa Software said Monday that sandwich chain Quiznos, India, will deploy its cloud spend optimization software service in the region.

Apollo Elixirs Pvt., Ltd., a master franchisee of Southern India, selected the Coupa for Retail e-procurement solution based on its ability to harness the stores’ collective spend intelligence and predict the future purchasing needs of each Quiznos location.

Chicago -- A report released Tuesday by research firm Technomic found that sales among the 500 largest U.S. restaurant chains increased 3.4% to $242 billion in 2011.

That compares to just a 1.8% increase in 2010.

Of the 500 restaurants analyzed by Technomic, more than 60% posted at least nominal sales increases; just 193 saw sales declines in 2011, compared with 231 in 2010.

Dallas -- Davaco announced that it has promoted Tim Currier to VP operations.

In this role, Currier will oversee the company’s restaurant division and provide oversight of project management and field execution teams.

Currier, who was most recently director of operations for Davaco, will report to Mike Murray, senior VP operations.
 

Columbia, Md. -- Micros Systems said Tuesday that restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday has implemented its Table Management System across its 750+ units. 

A fully integrated component of the Micros Restaurant Enterprise Solution point-of-sale software solution, Micros TMS provides visibility to all aspects of the guest dining experience.

Columbia, Md. -- Micros Systems, a provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, has partnered with yogurt retailer Pinkberry to implement Google Wallet. The system, which allows Pinkberry customers to tap their device on an NFC (Near Field Communications) reader to quickly make their purchase and simultaneously redeem coupons and receive discounts, is now live in 69 Pinkberry locations in the United States.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. opened its first-ever juice bar under its newest banner, Evolution Fresh. The shop, which also features wraps, soups, salads and vegetarian items, is located in Bellevue, Wash.

Starbucks purchased the Evolution Fresh juice brand in November for $30 million. The coffee giant plans to roll out Evolution Fresh juices to its coffee shops later this year.

New Canaan Conn. -- Gridiron Capital, LLC, in partnership with the founder and existing  management team of Quality Sollutions Inc. announced the acquisition of QSI.

St. Louis -- Panera Bread Co. announced that founder and executive chairman, Ron Shaich, and president and CEO, Bill Moreton, will become co-CEOs, effective immediately.

The announcement formalizes a relationship that has evolved over the last year and is a reflection of the way in which Shaich and Moreton have been operating as partners, the company said.

Each individual's formal title will be as follows: Ron Shaich, chairman of the board and co-CEO; Bill Moreton, president and co-CEO.