Profits in the restaurant unit, which includes the Baskin-Robbins chain, rose 14percentt after its international division returned to profitability.
"The growth of the mobile restaurant unit is a long-term trend," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the National Restaurant Association.
And, this month, Swiss Chalet, a 190-restaurant unit of Cara Operations in Scarborough, Ontario, bought a new version of Exit 41's software.
The only business that had slowed was the company's restaurant unit due to less foot traffic in sit-down restaurants.
He said Pret A Manger was opening a shop, JD Sports was expanding and Cafe Rouge was taking a restaurant unit.
This conservative approach to restaurant unit expansion will continue into the foreseeable future".
When the British alcoholic beverages company Grand Metropolitan PLC made a hostile bid for Pillsbury, the company devised a plan to spin off the financially flailing restaurant unit in hopes to raise an estimated US$2 billion that could be used to fend off the unwanted suitor.
Daiei Inc. will sell two restaurant units as it tries to slash its obligations.
Church's franchisees -- about 60percentt of the restaurant units are franchised -- applauded the spots at a recent meeting, he noted.
By noon, people are battling to squeeze onto the communal tables that line the bright, lofty space, and the little restaurant units are already doing a brisk lunchtime trade.
