DineEquity Continues Its Transformations of Applebee"s, IHOP

Cory and Anna Asbury Devotional, Brian Mccleery iHop Prayer Room

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Diners may soon notice more big changes at their Friday evening happy hour spot, DineEquity (DIN - Get Report) owned Applebee"s.

Long known as a suburban staple with a menu featuring tried-and-true entrees and cocktails, Applebee"s has been undergoing a transformation of its menu and dcor during the last few years. Since December 2007, 90% of the Applebee"s menu has been upgraded or changed, according to the company.

The makeovers at Applebee"s and fellow DineEquity-owned chain IHOP have certainly attracted the notice of investors, who have sent DineEquity shares to a 52-week high recently, spurred by a strong finish to last year.

In the fourth quarter, Applebee"s reported a 2.8% increase in same-store sales, its best showing since the second quarter of 2011. IHOP"s same-store sales rose 6.1% in the fourth quarter, representing its highest quarterly sales increase since the first quarter of 2004.

Together, the two chains account for about 70% of DineEquity"s total annual revenue.

As part of its revamp, Applebee"s is now advertising its shareable and pub plate bar snacks, which includes novel, chef-inspired dishes such fried shrimp with BBQ spice & sriracha chile lime sauce (see photo below), as well as desserts such aschurro s"mores. At the bar, drinks such as the Fireball Whiskey Lemonade are sure to appeal to thirsty millennials.

Applebee"s restaurants are also receiving a facelift. Franchisees are rolling out sleeker-looking bars with more modern seating, and dining sections for families that are devoid of funky patterned cushioning.

"We have made progress on this notion of the modern grill and bar," said DineEquity Chairman and CEO Julia Stewart in an interview with TheStreet at the world"s largest Applebee"s,locatedin New York City. DineEquity expects Applebee"ssales to rise by 1% to 4% this year due to improvements to the chain"s dcor and menu. Stewart also sees a significant opportunity for Applebee"s to expand internationally. As of the end of 2014, there were 1,870 domestic Applebee"s locations, with 26 franchisees operating just 147 sites internationally.

"The international side of the business is small, but a huge opportunity for us in terms of growth," said Stewart. "Internationally, we really have a lot of malls, especially in the Middle East, as it"s the place to entertain and go, so Applebee"s in a mall is an opportunity."

According to DineEquity"s latest annual report, the Applebee"s development agreements currently in place call for the opening of 102 domestic restaurants and 19 international restaurants in 2015 and 2016. DineEquity does not disclose same-restaurant sales for international locations. Meantime, IHOP is also about to undergo a menu revamp, and is starting to roll out a new prototype restaurant. According to Miller Tabak restaurant analyst Stephen Anderson, IHOP"s performance has been the main driver of DineEquity"s surging stock price, while Applebee"s has more work left to do to close the gap with rivals such as Chili"s, which is owned by Brinker International (EAT - Get Report). "I think Chili"s has done a successful job of focusing back on its Tex-Mex roots within the mid-scale bar-and-grill segment," Anderson said.

For the quarter ended Dec. 24,Chili"s produced a 4.2% same-restaurant sales increase at franchised locations in the U.S.Must Read: Go Inside Dunkin" Donuts Plans to Dominate the K-Cup Industry

Source: http://www.thestreet.com/story/13066369/1/dineequity-continues-its-transformations-of-applebees-ihop.html

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Muere Daniel von Bargen, actor de Seinfeld

Seinfeld - The Best of Mr. Kruger
Daniel von Bargen, actor ed seris como Seinfeld y Malcolm, el de enmedio, muri el fin de semana a los 64 aos de edad.

Segn el portal web de la revista People, el actor muri despus de una largada enfermedad.

"Nos enteramos de este evento al mismo tiempo que el resto de la industria y estamos profundamente triste de saber sobre la prdida de Daniel", declararon en un comunicado sus agentes de Access Talent.

El actor padeca de diabetes, y en 2012 haba sido hospitalizado tras un fallido intento de suicidio.

"En los pasados cinco aos haba estado lidiando con problemas de salud que impidieron su bsqueda activa de trabajo. Lo recordamos profundamente por su profesionalismo e ingenio, que contrastaban con los roles de manitico que interpret con frecuencia, con energa e intensidad. Fue un placer trabajar con l", declararon los antiguos agentes.

Von Bargen interpret el personaje de Kruger en Seinfeld y al Comandante Edwin Splangler en Malcolm, el de enmedio.

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Source: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/2015/muere-daniel-von-bargen-actor-seinfeld-malcolm-1081925.html

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LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray, Adrian Peterson Are Proof That NFL RBs ...

BLOCKBUSTER TRADE - LESEAN MCCOY TRADED TO THE BILLS!! | Thoughts and Analysis

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy reportedly has been traded for a Bills linebacker who missed all of last season with a knee injury. DeMarco Murray, the leagues leading rusher in 2014, was allowed to walk into free agency by the Cowboys, because they didnt want to sign him to a massive long-term deal. Adrian Peterson, the most-feared running back of this decade, probably wont be back with the Vikings in 2015.

All of the aforementioned are elite running backs. Murray gained 1,845 yards and a league-high 13 touchdowns for Dallas last season and was a big reason the Cowboys made the playoffs for the first time in five years. They didnt feel forced to keep him. McCoy was the leagues leading rusher in 2013, and in the past two seasons, hes combined to gain nearly 3,000 yards. Not good enough for Philadelphia. Peterson, despite his suspension last season for violating the leagues personal policy, has gained more than 10,000 yards in his career. That doesnt mean Minnesota wants him to return.

And thus, the position in football that gave birth to the extraordinary Jim Brown, the mesmerizing Walter Payton, the incredible Barry Sanders and the enduring Emmitt Smith that of the once all-mighty running back continues its course of marginalization into todays pass-happy NFL. The position isnt irrelevant with the possible exception of fullback but its heading that way.

Actually, thats incorrect. The position isnt irrelevant. Its that high-priced running backs are. Better for NFL teams to find solid production for a couple years from a back who wont cost much money and then, when that back eventually wants more money, discard him and find another cheap producer.

Is Adrian Peterson, at nearly 30 years old, on the downside of his career?

It used to be that once a running back hit 30 years old, his days of domination were just about finished, but until that time, he still could be handsomely compensated by his team that theory has now been downshifted a couple of years to the age of 27. Thats where Peterson comes in to play. h**l turn 30 later this month, and after more than 2,200 career touches the fourth-most among all active players theres little doubt that the Adrian Peterson of today is not nearly as explosive as the Adrian Peterson from 2012.

Even though he played only one game last season and, thus, theoretically, would be well-rested, he probably wont return to Minnesota (though, interestingly, Peterson in the past has been linked to the Cowboys who, as you know, will have a gaping hole at running back next year).

But McCoy who will be traded to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso is only 26 years old. As is Murray. The problem with McCoy is that hes owed a base salary of $9.75 million for 2015. The problem with Murray is that hed probably like to be paid as well as McCoy.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshkatzowitz/2015/03/04/lesean-mccoy-demarco-murray-adrian-peterson-are-proof-that-nfl-rbs-more-marginalized-than-ever/

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Sweet Briar College to Close Because of Financial Issues

Sweet Briar College - Riding Program

Sweet Briar College a small, private school for women near the Blue Ridge Mountains will shut down this summer because of financial issues.

The college announced the Aug. 25 closure Tuesday. The college says its board of directors approved the closure Saturday.

Sweet Briar attributed the decision to what it calls "insurmountable financial challenges."

President James F. Jones says in a statement that he, the board and several alumnae have searched for solutions but concluded they couldn"t change two realities. First, Jones says, is a decline in the number of students who choose to attend small, rural, private liberal arts colleges. Second, he says, is the unsustainability of the college"s tuition discount rate that it used to attract students.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/sweet-briar-college-close-financial-issues-29380001

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Kelly Gissendaner Death Unfair? Boyfriend Gregory Owen Did The Murder, Gets ...

Woman on Death Row HUGE Last Meal Request Kelly Renee Gissendaner, Georgia death row inmate

The execution date for Kelly Gissendaners death has been delayed multiple times for various reasons, and now its being argued that enacting the death penalty on this woman may be considered unfair since it was her boyfriend who actually committed the physical act of murder.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Georgias execution was postponed due to issues with the drug used for capital punishment in the southern state. In the past, botched lethal injections have caused some states to consider bringing back the firing squad or the guillotine.

According to 11 Alive, defense lawyers are attempting to delay Kelly Gissendaners execution date by multiple means, and the Georgia Department of Correction issued this statement as the reason for Mondays delay.

Within the hours leading up to the scheduled execution, the Execution Team performed the necessary checks. At that time, the drugs appeared cloudy. The Department of Corrections immediately consulted with a pharmacist, and in an abundance of caution, Inmate Gissendaners execution has been postponed.

Besides arguments over lethal injection, they claim the high courts should consider a stay because Gissendaner didnt kill her husband, Douglas Gissendaner, herself in February of 1997. Instead, Gregory Owen carried out the gruesome stabbing.

Gissendaner said she has accepted responsibility for her actions and expressed deep remorse for the pain she has caused her family. As Gissendaner admits in her clemency petition, she is guilty but now claims she has been thoroughly rehabilitated.

There are no excuses for what I did. I am fully responsible for my role in my husbands murder. I had become so self-centered and bitter about my life and who I had become, that I lost all judgment. I will never understand how I let myself fall into such evil, said Gissendaner according to Christianity Today.

I have learned first-hand that no one, not even me, is beyond redemption through Gods grace and mercy. I have learned to place my hope in the G*d I now know, the G*d whose plans and promises are made known to me in the whole story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Multiple officers and pastors in the state prison system attest to her changed life, but the reason Gissendaner faces execution instead of Owen is due to the way the two cases were handled. When both were arrested they were offered plea bargains which would guarantee them only life sentences. Owen took the offer, but Gissendaners lawyer talked Gissendaner into refusing the offer since he never thought a jury would hand down the death sentence.

Due to this difference, Gregory Owen is serving a life sentence but is up for parole in eight years, while Kelly Gissendaners death sentence may be carried out any day now.

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/1894125/kelly-gissendaner-death-unfair-boyfriend-gregory-owen-did-the-murder-gets-parole-in-eight-years/

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Looking For A New Diet? DASH Diet is the Best

My Results are in ! The Dash diet weight loss solution

So, here we are. It is a couple days into January; the New Year. And most people have probably made at least one resolution to live healthier. Whether that is about losing weight or getting into better shape or just feeling better, it all starts with what you put inside your body.

Yes, it is time to take a look at your diet.

But as easy as it is to decide it is time to get healthy, actually doing it is not quite so easy. Part of this, of course, is just sticking with it for as long as it takes. Discipline is difficult.

But part of what makes it so hard to adjust your diet is knowing which diet will serve you best.Fortunately, U.S. News & World Report has just offered up its list of this years best diet plans.

The Best Diets of 2015 is the fifth edition of this survey which ranks dozens of popular diet trends according to efficacy to better assist people trying to figure out which one they should try.

If you read the report last year it may not surprise you to find that the DASH diet tops the list again as the best overall diet for optimum health and wellness. The DASH dietwhich stands for Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertensionwas developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to help prevent as well as treat high blood pressure. The diet stresses eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and even some low-fat dairy items while minimizing salt intake.

Weight Watchers also continues to hold a top spot, ranking #1 in weight loss diets by a panel of experts in various health fields including diabetes, weight loss, nutrition, heart health, and diet.

Source: http://diabetesinsider.com/looking-new-diet-dash-diet-best/37325

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"The Bachelor": Relive the 11 most awkward and outrageous limo exits!

The Bachelor Juan Pablo Finale - TOP 15 Shocking Moments

It"s a new season of "The Bachelor" which means one thing: a whole new batch of crazy ladies!

To help kick your year off with a laugh we"re taking a look the most awkward, outrageous and cringe-worthy limo exits from Monday"s season premiere with new bachelor Chris Soules.

Warning: There are some ridiculous gimmicks ahead so brace yourself for plenty of groans and severe eye-rolling.

First up we had Britt, a waitress from LA who loves to give loooong hugs -- and her first embrace with the bachelor clocked in at just under six Mississippi-worthy seconds!

Alissa the flight attendant buckled Chris up for a bumpy ride, Nicole was looking to ham things up by wearing a pig"s nose, and Carly tried to sing her way into the spotlight. (And truth be told, she wasn"t a very good singer...)

Ashley -- the 24-year-old hair stylist -- followed shortly and she awkwardly slipped a lucky penny into the Bachelor"s shoe. While Reegan, a cadaver tissue saleswoman, thought it would be fun to give Chris a gift from the heart -- aka a slimy, blood-covered human heart. (It was fake, but still... yuck!)

And how could we forget Tara? After showing off her country side to Chris, the "sports fishing enthusiast" raced inside, changed into a gown and snuck back into the limo to greet her guy again. "I want to show you that you can take the girl out of the country but you can"t take the country out of the girl," she told him with a heaping helping of cheesiness.

But perhaps the most cringe-worthy moment of them all was when Kaitlyn shocked Chris with a very forward offer. "I don"t know much about you," she admitted. "I know your name"s Chris. I know you are a farmer. And you can plow the f--k out of my field any day." Wow. Just... wow.

Hang in there Chris, we"d like to say that this is the end of the craziness, but unfortunately you"re just getting started.

Tell us: Which girl do you think had the worst first impression?

Copyright (c) 2015 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-bachelor-relive-the-11-most-awkward-and-outrageous-limo-exits/

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