Bennigan's follow-up

A couple bits of good news have come to my attention as the result of this story I wrote for Wednesday's Taste section.

All Florida Texas Roadhouse restaurants will exchange Bennigan’s and Steak and Ale gift cards for a free entrée certificate. There is no limit on which menu item diners can choose. One card per table.  The offer expires August 30. Texas Roadhouse will also exchange the cards through the mail by calling the guest relations department at 1-800-TEX-ROAD. The closest location locally is located at 26409 Silver Maple Pkwy., Wesley Chapel, (813) 907-8188.

And I got this e-mail: "Your online coverage for tomorrow’s print edition of the Bennigan’s story was about the best I’ve read." [alright, I just had to leave that part in] "That said, I did want to let you know that there are glimmers of hope in casual dining. T.G.I. Friday’s has recently announced a loyalty program with member recognition components that has them, well, jumping the line and getting lots of free food. They've had over 380,000 members signed to-date. That’s well over 600 members per US restaurant, a staggering figure given the program was officially launched just three weeks ago. For more information about the Give Me More Stripes program, visit here."

In addition to free food, early Give Me More Stripes benefits include:
• Personalized & customized membership card
• Free appetizer or dessert upon sign-up (up to $8 value)
• One-time use jump-the-line-pass
• $8 certificate for every $100 spent (excluding alcohol)
• Exclusive communication about specials and food/drink previews