Good (and Other) News! – July 2021

Welcome back to our monthly news roundup. (We skipped June, so some items are a little older than usual). After a fairly optimistic June and full openings in many states, the surge in Delta variation cases among the unvaccinated has put a damper on things. But franchising carries on with expansion, and mergers are on the rise. So are virtual/ghost kitchens. And brands across the franchising spectrum are rethinking not only their real estate strategy, for example, but also fundamentally how they deliver their products to consumers.

Here’s your chance to follow the leaders, every third Tuesday of the month! And if you’re not doing it already, send us your good (and other) news here!

POST-COVID – REOPENING & RECOVERY

Banks Are Reversing Course on PPP Loans to Small Business Owners

The SBA Closed the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Portal on July 14

The Economic Recovery Is Here and Is Unlike Anything You’ve Seen

Big Shopping Mall Owners Back Expanded Delivery-Only Ghost Kitchens in Food Courts

DoorDash & Grubhub Sue San Francisco Over 15% Delivery Fee Cap

Technomic: A Surprising Number of Restaurant Chains Added Locations in 2020

30 Big Restaurant Chains that Got Even Bigger in 2020

Survey: Customers Expected To Increase Spending as Vaccinations Increase

Study: Casual Dining Traffic Is Nearly Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Customers Return to Restaurants – Cautiously and with Bad Attitudes

Pandemic Hangover: Consumers Are Wary as They Resume Purchasing

Pet Startups Are Having a Field Day (Thanks to Covid)

Smartphones, Contactless Service Drive Coffee Shops’ Post-Covid Evolution

Roll-Em-Up Taquitos Signs 12-Unit Development Deal

HIRING & EMPLOYMENT

Restaurants and Bars Added 23% of All U.S. Jobs in June

IFA Among 14 Associations Opposing Nomination of David Weil to DOL’s Wage and Hour Division

Half of U.S. States Ended Federal Covid Jobless Benefits Early. Here’s How They Compare

Expanded Unemployment Benefits Are Not Holding Back the U.S. Economy

How Working from Home Has Changed Employees

Forget Going Back to the Office; People Are Just Quitting Instead

FINANCE/M&A

7 Major Restaurant Acquisitions in June

FAT Brands To Acquire Global Franchise Group for $442.5 million

SPB Hospitality To Acquire J. Alexander’s in $220 Million Deal

Anil Yadav Affiliate YTC Enterprises To Buy Taco Cabana for $85 Million

Luby’s Sells 92-Unit Fuddruckers to a Franchisee for About $18.5 Million

Ampex Brands’ Tabbassum Mumtaz Acquires Au Bon Pain

WellBiz Brands Acquires 49-Unit LunchboxWax, Its 5th Beauty & Wellness Brand

Virtual Brand Company Acelerate Raises $14.4 Million 

Portillo’s Hot Dog Chain, Founded in 1963, Announces IPO Plans

LEADERSHIP

9 Restaurant Companies Tackling Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the C-Suite

LEGAL

Judge Finds Domino’s Website Violated the ADA for the Visually Impaired

Exercise Caution With Covid-19 Vaccine Incentives To Avoid Running Afoul of Gambling Laws

MARKETING

Some Chief Experience Officers Want To Make Their Jobs Disappear

Revenge Spending Will Drive Consumer Trends this Year

Ruby Tuesday Tries a Virtual Concept (Libby’s BBQ) as a Dine-In Draw

Forrester: QSRs Turn to Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising Post-Covid

Papa John’s Loyalty Program Reaches 20 Million

McDonald’s Introduces Customer Loyalty Program

Popeyes Launches 1st Loyalty Program

OPERATIONS

Dickey’s & Combo Kitchen To Open at Least 100 Ghost Kitchens in the Next Year

El Pollo Loco Is Testing Drone Delivery with “Air Loco”

Jack in the Box Reveals the Look of Its Off-Premises-Only Prototype

Krystal Unveils New Restaurant Prototype in Its Hometown Atlanta

TECHNOLOGY

How Technology Was Key to Restaurants’ Success in 2020

Short-Staffed Restaurants Prop Up Table Service With Technology

McDonald’s Plans To Cut Franchisees’ Tech Fees by 62% Following Uproar

PEOPLE & MILESTONES

Red Lobster Names Former Chili’s Chief Kelli Valade CEO