Chipolte Struggles to Stop Food-Borne Illnesses, Win Back Customers
Chipotle Mexican Grill responded quickly when four of its workers called in sick last week with suspected cases of norovirus. The Boston-area restaurant was shuttered for cleaning, and no customers got ill. The company’s management considers that a successful outcome — a sign its updated health protocols are working. But customers, still wary of the chain after a string of outbreaks, didn’t see it that way. Headlines about the...
McDonald’s Fights ‘Joint-Employer’ Label by NLRB
Chicago — McDonald’s tells its franchisees how to staff restaurants, when to clean the bathrooms and where partially completed orders should be placed on counters, an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board said Thursday. That operational nitty-gritty, along with the business consultants, scheduling systems and hiring software provided to franchisees shows the Chicago-area company calls the shots and is ultimately responsible...
Judge: NYC Can Fine Chains That Don’t Post Salt Warnings
New York — Large chain restaurants and fast-food eateries in the nation’s most populous city can be fined up to $600 beginning next week for not posting salt warnings on menu items that contain more than the recommended daily dose of sodium, a judge ruled last week. “Some people love salty food and are just going to eat those salty foods regardless of whether there’s a salt icon next to it,” Supreme Court Justice Eileen Rakower said...
Restaurants Booming Despite Turmoil in Markets
Washington — One part of the U.S. economy is enjoying a surprising boom, and it should prove useful in combating the recent slowdown: Americans are spending more eating out than ever before. The restaurant industry, long a reliable indicator of the underlying economy, has become an economic standout at a time of financial market turmoil and global uncertainty. Sales at food service and drinking places jumped nearly 8 percent last year...
Olive Garden On the Rebound
A little more than a year ago, the criticism of Olive Garden was coming as fast and steady as the all-you-can-eat breadsticks at its restaurants. Amid a long stretch of sluggish or declining sales at the casual Italian chain, an activist investor, Starboard Value, put together a nearly 300-page report that outlined everything it believed was ailing Olive Garden and its parent company, Darden Restaurants: It wasn’t cooking its pasta in...
