The rationale behind Fidelity National Financial's bid for O'Charley's is clear: Buy the company's three concepts, integrate them with FNF's American Blue Ribbon Holdings venture — or sell Ninety Nine and Stoney River — and then look to improve operations before expanding across more of the country. But one independent restaurant analyst says it's no sure thing that O'Charley's can consistently make money anymore.

“O’Charley’s has been a leaky bucket for years,” says Bob Goldin, an executive vice president at restaurant researcher Technomic in Chicago. “I don’t know if there’s a miracle worker who could turn this thing around.”

Cracker Barrel received top billing on a number of key attributes: food and beverage quality, quality of the kid's menu, being treated as a valued individual, delivering food the way consumers wanted it, delivering good value through prices, service and ambiance, and a pleasant experience overall. "We're very pleased that Cracker Barrel received such outstanding results, specifically in regard to food quality, hospitality, and value," said Cracker Barrel President and CEO Michael A. Woodhouse. "This is independent confirmation that our efforts to continually meet our guests' expectations are effective in providing our guests with the Cracker Barrel experience they have come to expect."

"Having the information available before customers order makes a huge difference, and when consumers see the information, it is pretty eye-opening," says Bob Goldin, a food consultant in Chicago at Technomic Inc. The firm studied the effects of putting calories on chain-restaurant menus in New York. "Restaurants heavily opposed this in the past, but they have realized it's inevitable now and consumers want it."