News Briefs for December 5, 2011
December 5, 2011•Pernod Ricard’s Kahlúa liqueur brand has partnered with Food Network chef Marcela Valladolid for the launch of the Delicioso Brunch Club. An online application designed to help consumers plan brunch gatherings, the Delicioso Brunch Club features décor tips and cocktail and food recipes from Valladolid. Consumers also can use the app to build a guest list and send brunch invitations via Facebook, as well as enter to win a trip to Valladolid’s hometown of San Diego and a four-day stay in Kahlúa’s birthplace, Veracruz, Mexico.
•France-based Dans Le Noir, a “dark dining” concept restaurant chain, is expanding into the U.S. with a new location in New York City’s Times Square. Headed by Chef Tourangeau Olivier Romain, the New York outpost will offer four prix fixe menus—including a secret menu and menus catering to meat, vegetarian and seafood diets—ranging from $43-$57 a person, as well as a wine list selected by Dans Le Noir’s wine expert, Christophe Garnier. In addition to its 80-seat “Dark Room” dining area, the restaurant will also feature a bar lounge. Owned by Ethik Investment, Dans Le Noir first launched in Paris in 2004, offering patrons the unique experience of dining in “complete darkness, guided and served by either a visually impaired or blind staff.” Dans Le Noir has since opened additional locations in London, Barcelona and St. Petersburg and has developed similar dining experiences in Moscow, Warsaw, Geneva and Bangkok.
•The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has issued a winery permit to Wine.com for a new location in Houston, Texas. Wine.com can now start selling and shipping online wine purchases directly to consumers in Texas. The wine retail site is now one of over 200 such permit holders in Texas. Wine.com currently ships wine to U.S. consumers in 43 states through its network of licensed warehouses.
•The Beach Boys have partnered with Caesars Entertainment and the Monsoon Group to open the Beach Boys Good Vibration Restaurant inside Bally’s casino in Las Vegas in the summer of 2012, the year of the band’s 50th anniversary. Operations manager Nick Raymond said the casual-dining restaurant will debut in Las Vegas, with plans for future expansion into other U.S. markets. Raymond described the restaurant’s theme as “surf fusion” with a diverse, affordable food and bar menu.
Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.
Tagged : Kahlua, Las Vegas, New York City, restaurants, retail, Texas
