REGION

REGION
Lighted Logos hiresFarris Marketing
BOARDMAN -- Lighted Logos, a Tampa, Fla.-based sports memorabilia company, has retained Farris Marketing of Boardman to handle marketing, communications and sales development. Lighted Logos specializes in making merchandise licensed by NASCAR and the NCAA.
SBA plans loan seminarfor small-business owners
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Small Business Administration will hold a free loan seminar for small-business owners from 10 a.m. to noon next Tuesday at the Youngstown/Warren Small Business Development Center, 241 Federal Plaza West. Call Pat Veisz at (330) 746-3350 for reservations.
NATION
Chick-fil-A again tops listof best drive-up service
DES MOINES, Iowa -- For the second year in a row, Chick-fil-A finished atop trade magazine QSR's annual "Best Drive-Thru In America" rankings.
QSR hired an independent market-research firm, g3ACT, which visited restaurants across the United States between April 1 and June 15. In all, 25 fast-food chains were studied.
McDonald's, despite a recent push to improve service, tumbled to 12th from fourth. The big burger chain ran into problems in order accuracy, QSR said. In that category, McDonald's fell to 19th from ninth last year.
Filling orders incorrectly also hurt Wendy's International Inc., which dropped to 17th from second in that competition.
Wendy's remained the speed king, though, taking an average of just one minute, 56 seconds to fill an order. McDonald's shaved six seconds off its surveyed time, to 2:36, and came in fifth.
The top 10 overall rankings this year, with last year's in parentheses: 1. Chick-fil-A (1), 2. Taco Bell (3), 3. Wendy's (2), 4. Burger King (5), 5. El Pollo Loco (13), 6. Jack In The Box Inc. (10), 7. Taco John's (20), 8. Arby's (6), 9. KFC (19) and 10. Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. (8).
From Vindicator staff and wire reports