It’s been a busy few days as restaurants and food retailers try to figure out promotions and strategies to entice us. I love restaurant wars and not the “Top Chef “ version, but those on a more human scale like Dunkin’ Donuts’ latest salvo in the Chicago area. They are saying whatever you do McDonald’s, we’re on the same plane. Bring it East; it’ll work here, too. A 99-cent menu–that’s got some weight.

Then McDonald’s shrugs and says we’re not going to sidestep a trend.  Come January they will be rolling out their dollar menu nationwide. BTW, starting today, November 10, and continuing for 10 days, the company has dubbed the pre-holiday period, McHappy Day to help raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Starbucks says change is a’brewing and plans to reward its most loyal customers with a new card strategy that will be rolled out by December 26. “My Starbucks Rewards” will consolidate several of the current card offers into an easier program that increases rewards for the most frequent users. Visits will be more delicious!

T.G.I. Friday’s has decided that appetizers (Appy Hour) are fun and truly great half-priced, and if you read the restaurant trend post, you’ll expect to see more of this shareable concept from a multitude of competitors.

Not to be ignored is the burger everywhere trend. Some analysts believe we are starting to see the death of the gourmet burger, but others think we are still climbing up the hill. They believe  no chef wants to be stuck making sandwiches when they could be tweaking the burger numbers.

Putting all this in perspective is a new study from Alix Partners, “Diners to Restaurants: We Want Some More…For Less.” That is the challenge for restaurants at all price points as the study found that consumers plan to reduce their overall restaurant spending.

Expect more of this type of news as dining establishments and food industry leaders strive to enhance their position during the pre-holiday and holiday onslaught.

Bring on the Specials.