2003 News Archive
Beef Checkoff Program Joins With Ground Round Grill & Bar® To Introduce Gorgonzola Flat Iron Steak
DENVER (November 7, 2003) – The Beef Checkoff Program is boosting beef offerings at casual dining and quick-service restaurants by teaming with Ground Round Grill & Bar® to introduce a Stacked Gorgonzola Steak made with the new Flat Iron steak. Through funding from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) and state beef councils, the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association (NCBA) has carved out a unique promotional effort with Ground Round restaurants that paves the way for restaurants to begin promoting New Value Cuts from the chuck and round.
Ground Round began introducing its Stacked Gorgonzola Steak at its 140 restaurants on September 22. In a special offer, consumers can order a juicy 8-ounce Flat Iron Steak topped with gorgonzola cheese, crispy onion strings and drizzled with raspberry balsamic vinaigrette. The steak is stacked on bacon-parmesan potato pancakes and served with seasonal vegetables and garlic bread sticks. The meal is being offered for $8.99 through Jan. 6, 2004. The Beef Check logo will appear on all promotional materials featuring the Stacked Gorgonzola Steak.
“Ground Round is offering a great product at an even better value and we`re excited to offer our endorsement,” says Sid Sumner, chairman of the beef industry`s Joint Foodservice Committee. “It is one of the beef industry’s goals is to increase beef offerings at casual dining and quick-service restaurants. Through this promotion, the beef industry`s checkoff investment is helping provide a new product to consumers that can offer incremental sales opportunities for beef.”
In addition, throughout November, Ground Round will run 8-1/2-inch by 11-inch coupon pages in newspapers in the Midwest and Eastern United States. The ad features a four-color picture of the Stacked Gorgonzola Steak alongside the beef checkoff logo. The ads also feature coupons for food purchases at Ground Round.
The Flat Iron steak was developed with beef producer checkoff dollars through its muscle profiling study. Cut from the shoulder clod – an underutilized cut from the beef carcass – the Flat Iron is a tender and lean steak that can be offered at a lower price than most premium steak cuts.
“We have always offered an interesting selection of good food and drink that won’t break the bank and we’re proud to offer the Flat Iron steak on our menu,” says Ken Roffe, executive vice president of marketing for the Ground Round Grill & Bar. “We think our joint promotion with the U.S. beef industry will help convince beef lovers everywhere that this is a quality steak they`ve got to try.”
Ground Round Grill & Bar operates more than 100 restaurants across the United States and Canada. More information about locations can be found on the Web at at www.groundround.com.
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The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.
Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the NCBA is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.
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