Seattle — In its continued effort in prioritizing the health and well-being of partners (employees) and customers, Starbucks has announced that, beginning on July 15, it will be requiring customers to wear facial coverings while visiting all company-owned café locations in the U.S. At select locations where a local government mandate is not in place, customers that may not be wearing a facial covering will have various options to order their Starbucks, including ordering at the drive-thru, curbside pickup through the Starbucks app or placing an order for delivery through …
restaurants
— By Peter Teska — With heightened expectations around hygiene, consider these best practices when you reopen. In many countries, restaurants were among the first to feel the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Bookings disappeared almost overnight, followed by long imposed periods of closure and staff inactivity. The onset of coronavirus hasn’t diminished the hard work you have put into your business, but the subsequent rapid change of circumstances and focus mean that you are in effect at ground zero. Putting effective cleaning procedures in place is crucial …
Canton, Mass. — As previously announced in its Q4 2019 earnings call in February, Dunkin’ remains on track to close 450 locations inside Speedway convenience stores by the end of 2020. According to Michelle King, senior director, global public relations for Dunkin’ Brands, the closures are specific to Speedway-owned and operated limited menu Dunkin’ locations only. “As we stated during our 2019 fourth quarter and fiscal year earnings call in February, Dunkin’ reached an agreement with Speedway earlier this year to exit the approximately 450 Speedway owned and operated limited …
Riverside, Calif. — Farmer Boys® has hired restaurant industry and finance veteran Joseph Ortiz to serve as its new vice president of finance and accounting. In this position, Ortiz is responsible for leading the finance and accounting teams through proactive coaching and mentorship, creative strategies and improved workflow. Ortiz brings with him over 14 years of finance, strategy and organizational leadership experience, much of which has been within the quick-service restaurant industry. He most recently held the position of director of finance at Bakemark and has also led successful teams …
San Francisco — Uber Technologies, Inc. and Postmates Inc. have reached a definitive agreement under which Uber will acquire Postmates for approximately $2.65 billion in an all-stock transaction. This transaction brings together Uber’s global Rides and Eats platform with Postmates’ distinctive delivery business in the U.S. Postmates is highly complementary to Uber Eats, with differentiated geographic focus areas and customer demographics, and Postmates’ strong relationships with small- and medium-sized restaurants, particularly local favorites that draw customers to the Postmates brand. Additionally, Postmates has been an early pioneer of “delivery-as-a-service,” which …
Smokey Bones Fully Reopens All Restaurants, Adds a New Location with Ghost Kitchen and Virtual Restaurant
by Katie Lee
Aventura, Fla. — Smokey Bones reopened all of its 61 restaurants in 16 states on June 30. During the pandemic, Smokey Bones created and opened its 61st restaurant, a ghost kitchen in Chicago and opened a new brand, The Wing Experience, in June as a virtual restaurant located inside its ghost kitchen. “We are proud to not only have reopened all of our restaurants, but we have demonstrated, with the launch of our ghost and virtual kitchens, that Smokey Bones is a growth brand, now and in the future,” says …
Helena, Mont. — Slim Chickens, a leading fast-casual franchise which features dine-in and drive-thru in the “better chicken” segment, is expanding into Montana. Mike Sartwell, who is an existing multi-unit franchisee with Slim Chickens, is bringing four new restaurants to Montana. The first location, which is a conversion, will be located at 1450 Prospect Ave. in Helena. Sartwell has an extensive portfolio of restaurants across North Dakota, Montana, Missouri and Illinois. His portfolio consists of quick-service and fast-casual brands. “Our group has developed Slim Chickens restaurants in North Dakota, and …
Minneapolis — Leading casual and quick-serve restaurant brand veteran Aric Nissen has joined Restaurant Technologies as chief marketing officer. Previously, Nissen served as vice president of revenue management for Subway, helping build out revenue strategies for the global chain. His role at Restaurant Technologies, a top provider of foodservice cooking oil and hood and flue management solutions, will be to lead the company marketing efforts through the next stages of growth, following on the successful acquisitions of AutoMist and Grease Lock. These solutions, along with the company’s flagship Total Oil …
Riverside, Calif. — Farmer Boys®, the fast-casual concept known for its award-winning burgers and exceptional service, has promoted John Lucas to vice president of brand consistency. Previously, he was director of franchise operations. In this new role, Lucas is responsible for ensuring that Farmer Boys maintains consistent operational standards across every element of the brand and delivers a high quality, reliable guest experience in every restaurant. Lucas joined the Farmer Boys team in 2017 as a franchise business consultant and has served the company as director of franchise operations since …
Irvine, Calif. — Juice It Up!, one of the nation’s leading handcrafted smoothie, açaí bowl and raw juice chains, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020, is opening the brand’s flagship “new store prototype” location this summer in Costa Mesa, Calif. This corporate-owned location will be the first to feature the brand’s new store design and will serve as an innovation kitchen for R&D, as well as a training and test center to continually share best practices with franchisees systemwide. The flagship location is opening on Costa Mesa’s 17th …