Help a Canuck out?

[HC]

Okay ... I need the help of the good folks at SJ with this one.

I've been put in charge of researching prizes for a bimonthly contest to do with our company newsletter.  We're based in Toronto but our clients are based mainly in the US.  The plan is to do Gift Certificates for either a restaurant chain or a movie chain.  I've come up with Darden Foods who  own Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones and Bahama Breeze.  Does anyone know of any other corporate chains like this?  And, my clients like these kind of restaurants so no cracks. 

The one I'm not sure of is which are the large movie chains in the US?  All help is eagerly welcomed. 

 

[slappy4428]

http://www.rarehospitality.com/home.asp
RARE owns high dollar Captial Grille and medium priced Longhorn Steakhouse

http://www.landrysrestaurants.com/pages/restaurants/pg_restaurants.htm
Landrys owns Landry seafood (mostly seafood with these), Rainforest Cafe, Joe's Crab Shack, all the old Joe Muer's restaurants....and more


As for Movies, AMC, Rave...

 

[markvid]

Loews Theatres

And it sounds like good calls on the food.

 

[HC]

It's starting to look like AMC could be good, especially since they now own Loews.

 

[slappy4428]

Be sure to take a look to see where your client base is. One metro area might not have AMC/Loews or any of the restauarants....

 

[HC]

Be sure to take a look to see where your client base is. One metro area might not have AMC/Loews or any of the restauarants....

The problem is that they are too scattered - right across the US, some in large cities, some in small. My plan is to have a choice so that if they win, they can choose a $ 50 gift certificate from either the restaurant chain, the movie chain or Home Depot. (Our software program is used for maintenance in Senior Living facilities and those guys looooove Home Depot).

 

[JR]

Send the winners a Tim Horton's gift pack. ;D

Funny how none of the restaurants that Slappy recommended are up here. Those guys are really missing the boat.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Send the winners a Tim Horton's gift pack.  ;D

Any way to freeze a couple of cases of Timbits and send them south? Krispy Kreme could use some competition down in my corner of the world.

 

[slappy4428]

Send the winners a Tim Horton's gift pack. ;D

Funny how none of the restaurants that Slappy recommended are up here. Those guys are really missing the boat.

Dude, I would KILL for Tim Horton's. Raspberry filled with vanilla icing...
I mean, I love Krispy Kreme, but me miss my morning Tim Horton's donuts


And I'm told that HArvey's makes a hamburger a beautiful thing (You can keep Swiss Chalet, however...)

 

[JR]

Hey, I hear Tim's is creeping across the border. Sam, maybe even coming to a town near you.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Hey, I hear Tim's is creeping across the border. Sam, maybe even coming to a town near you.

I hope you're right, JR. Problem is, it will have to do more than creep across the border - it will have to leap the Mason-Dixon Line as well. Dunkin Donuts has no hold on this region, so if TH is proactive, it could have a chance.

 

[Armchair_QB]

http://www.hooters.com/