Steak n Shake Co. CEO Sardar Biglari bought $290,000 worth of stock in the Indianapolis-based burger chain last week in another
big bet
the company’s shares are undervalued.
Former dealer saw the end coming, but says customers are following him to Volkswagen and Subaru.
A task force appointed by Bloomington’s mayor will instead look at other options for protecting the small-town character of the city’s downtown from standardized chain stores and eateries.
Pizza chain Noble Roman’s Inc. says plans for its first investor meeting in seven years have no connection to an investor’s
lawsuit.
Indianapolis-based Noble Roman’s Inc. said late Monday that it posted a third-quarter profit of $459,535, or 2 cents per share—a 44-percent improvement over the same period last year. But revenue for the quarter fell to $1.9 million, from $2.2 million in 2008.
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce is opposing Mayor Mark Kruzan’s proposal to restrict chain stores and
restaurants downtown.
J.D. Byrider, the Indianapolis chain of used-car lots, is courting Saturn dealers to come into the fold as Byrider franchisees.
Ricker Oil’s Oct. 22 suit claims British petroleum giant BP is charging unjustified royalty fees while delivering no boost
from its national advertising, its proprietary IT system or its bulk purchase pricing.
Under terms of the deal, Steak n Shake will pay Western Sizzlin shareholders $22.9 million and Western will pay its shareholders
a $15.9 million stock dividend, making the total deal worth about $38.8 million.
The Metropolitan Development Commission has given its blessing to a new CVS store along 82nd Street just east of Interstate
69 over the objection of city planners.
A committee will research a proposal from Bloomington’s mayor to ban new chain or “formula” businesses from parts of the city’s
downtown.
A group of former franchisees of Noble Roman’s Inc. has hired a new attorney to represent them in a case against
the chain after a Hamilton County judge tossed their old lawyer.
The closures come as the parent company reorganizes and competitors pump up their local presence.
Simon Property Group Inc. has filed suit against Spicy Pickle franchisee AJ Enterprises LLC, seeking more than $977,000 in
unpaid rent for a prime space at Castleton Square Mall.
T-Mobile has inked a five-year lease for a 2,200-square-foot space at the 2 N. Meridian St. building on the northwest corner of Washington and Meridian streets.
TV spots for Steak n Shake Co. used to play up the chain’s full-service restaurants, complete with friendly servers, real plates
and glass ketchup bottles—a departure from the "workaraunts" operated by McDonald’s and Burger King. Now, Steak n Shake is developing plans for its own workaraunts.
Indianapolis residents have been passionate about Ritter’s handmade frozen custard ever since it debuted almost two decades
ago. But while the ice cream is sweet, the story of the former mom-and-pop company’s attempts to morph into something grander
is decidedly bitter. Now, New York-based TruFoods, which bought the company in May 2008, is trying to get the formula
right.
Undaunted, some entrepreneurs still count on franchises, despite the shaky economy.
About two dozen franchises based in Indiana are not immune to difficulties during the recession.
More former franchisees have joined a lawsuit against Noble Roman’s Inc., raising the prospect that a courtroom loss could
sink the locally based pizza chain.
