Restaurant

Canton, Mass. - Jack Clare, 44, has been promoted to the newly created position of chief information and strategy officer (CISO) of Dunkin’ Brands. Clare, who has served as the company's CIO for the past three years, will be a member of the Dunkin' Brands leadership team and will continue to report to Paul Carbone, CFO.

Clare will continue to oversee Dunkin' Brands' global information technology resources, and additionally, will now focus on developing the strategies that will drive the company's future success.

San Francisco - OpenTable, a provider of online restaurant reservations and part of The Priceline Group is making its Pay with OpenTable mobile payments feature available for Android. To pay with OpenTable, diners who book at participating restaurants add a credit card in the OpenTable Android app before they dine and can then view and pay their check with a few taps.  

Tampa, Fla. – The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. has opened its first restaurant outside of North America in Jakarta, Indonesia. The latest opening comes on the heels of the company announcing its plans for continued international expansion.

The Melting Pot is on track to open its first restaurants in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia later in 2015, as well as its fourth location in Mexico City, Mexico.

Seattle – Starbucks Corp. tackled a wide range of global responsibility projects in 2014, including the ongoing minimization of its environment footprint. In its annual 2014 Global Responsibility Report, the coffee giant noted that it opened its 500th LEED-certified store in 2014, and that 98% of company-operated new stores opened in the United States in 2014 were built to LEED standards. Globally, the percentage stands at 64%.

Alpharetta, Ga. - McAlister's Deli is targeting Phoenix for franchise growth. The fast-casual dining chain is seeking experienced multi-unit restaurant operators to help expand McAlister's presence in the market through multi-unit development agreements in areas such as Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale and Goodyear.

Vancouver, Wash. – Pizza retailer Papa Murphy's Holdings Inc. plans to strengthen and grow its presence in the Southeast.

The company, which currently has more than 1,400 locations in 38 states, recently completed acquisitions of existing Papa Murphy's franchise stores in Jacksonville, Forida, as a springboard for further expansion throughout the Southeast.

By Roy Higgs

Chicago – Bigger is often said to be better, but some big restaurant chains may not agree. The 500 largest restaurant chains in the U.S. accelerated their cumulative sales growth in 2014 to a 4% increase, totaling an estimated $274.4 billion, according to data released by Technomic Inc.

But some of the biggest brands among them, namely Subway and McDonald's, lost ground to focused-menu competitors and emerging fast-casual chains and reported overall sales decreases for the year.