Restaurant Report: Week of April 1, 2022

Amex: Independent Restaurants Make Digital Adaptations but Thrive on in-Person Service

  • https://www.pymnts.com/restaurant-innovation/2022/amex-independent-restaurants-make-digital-adaptations-but-thrive-on-in-person-service/
  • Earlier this month, American Express has announced the launch of their second installment of its Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program in which they will offer $1 million in grant money to help preserve historic small restaurants across the country.
  • “The impacts of the pandemic continue to be a prominent issue facing many independent restaurants,” Colleen Taylor, president of U.S. Merchant Services at American Express, told PYMNTS in an interview. “From new waves and variants threatening in-person business to supply chain issues, there are still many challenges that restaurant owners are having to navigate.”
  • “Restaurants have done an incredible job of pivoting with the pandemic,” Katherine Malone-France, chief preservation officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, told PYMNTS. “We saw that with last years’ grantees, where grant funds helped to support not just working on their historic buildings, but creating outdoor spaces, upgrading outdoor spaces and things like that … but the pandemic is requiring these small businesses to pivot and then pivot again and then pivot again.”

 

Small businesses that provide services face a pricing dilemma

  • https://www.marketplace.org/2022/03/31/small-businesses-that-provide-services-face-pricing-dilemma/
  • The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that spending on services in the United States rose to $93.8 billion in February with the heaviest hits to services like restaurants.
  • Resturants like the Crowbar & Grill in Lamarie, Wyoming which is known for selling a lot of pizza and burgers have noted how food has become much more expensive to produce. A basic burger of fries is now $14, which manager Emily Madden explained.
  • “Beef prices are higher, cheese has essentially doubled,” Emily Madden said. She said the restaurant has also increased wages to attract workers. To keep pace with those expenses, “we’ve had to raise prices about 20% in the last two years.”

 

Restaurants continue to struggle without additional COVID relief funds

  • https://spectrumnews1.com/ma/worcester/politics/2022/03/28/restaurants-continue-to-struggle-without-additional-covid-relief-funds
  • The $1.5 trillion spending plan that Congress passed this month did not include any additional COVID relief funding. Mike Whatley of the National Restaurant Association said that while it might appear like the restaurant industry is experiencing a comeback, some owners are still deeply in debt because of business they lost during the height of the pandemic.
  • “It’s been incumbent upon us, and our independent restaurant members, to really tell lawmakers and show them look, you know, I’m in trouble. It may look busy. But you know, there’s so much we have to make up for in the past,” said Whatley. 
  • “Only 1/3 of eligible restaurants got even a penny, the ones that applied and got it got all of it, the ones that applied and didn’t get the funding got $0 and that’s 177,000 restaurants across this country,” said Whatley.
  • “The pandemic has taken a massive toll on our local restaurants, and too many local staples have been forced to close their doors already. Many restaurants have overcome unimaginable challenges but are still hanging on by a thread. They need a lifeline and replenishing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund is how we can and must keep them afloat. I strongly support replenishing this critical program and making sure the smallest of restaurants here in Massachusetts – many of which were left out of the first round of funding – are prioritized with the relief,” said. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA).

 

House readies relief package for restaurants, other industries

  • https://rollcall.com/2022/04/01/house-readies-relief-package-for-restaurants-other-industries/
  • The House is looking to vote on a small-business pandemic aid package that would provide $42 billion for additional restaurant relief and $13 billion for other “hard hit” industries.
  • Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., said in an interview Friday that he has been working with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for months to provide additional aid to restaurants and other small businesses that were not able to access previous pandemic relief programs. Speaking a few hours before the bill was released, Phillips said he was hopeful for a vote and that there would be bipartisan support given the measure is offset with recaptured fraudulent awards.
  • Other sectors the group wrote that are deserving of aid include live events venues and planners, hotels and fitness centers. Phillips said aid recipients could also include the motor coach industry and minor league baseball teams, though the new House bill doesn’t specify.

 

Hiring Slows for Restaurants and Bars, New Stats Show

 

Plant-based food sales hit $7.4B in 2021

  • https://www.fooddive.com/news/plant-based-food-sales-hit-74b-in-2021/621160/
  • Recent data on sales have shown that plant-based meat have grown three times greater than all other food in the grocery store.
  • In addition, plant-based milk now represents 16% of the entire milk category.
  • Plant-based dairy once again saw impressive growth across the board, with dollar sales of $2.6 billion in 2021. While its 4% growth in 2021 is much lower than the 20% increase in dollar sales tallied a year earlier, it’s big for the sector. Animal-based milk sales actually fell by 2% in 2021. In its analysis of the results, PBFA puts it this way: plant-based milk contributed $105 million in growth to the milk category, while animal-based milk led to a $264 million loss.

 

Hormel’s Jennie-O confirms presence of bird flu in its supply chain

  • https://www.fooddive.com/news/hormels-jennie-o-confirms-presence-of-bird-flu-in-its-supply-chain/621174/
  • Jennie-O, the turkey brand owned by Hormel Foods, announced in a statement last weekend the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, has infected poultry in its supply chain. The flock carrying the disease are at a farm in Minnesota.
  • According to U.S. Agriculture Department estimates, there have been 77 instances of the lethal bird flu among commercial and backyard flocks as part of this year’s outbreak.

 

FDA will conduct research on front-of-pack ‘healthy’ symbol

  • https://www.fooddive.com/news/fda-will-conduct-research-on-front-of-pack-healthy-symbol/621040/
  • The FDA is conducting consumer studies in order to find a regulated, voluntary front-of-package symbol that will show whether a product is considered “healthy”
  • There are two studies being conducted: an online survey of about 2,000 adult consumers focusing on clarity, relevance and appeal of several symbols, and an online study of about 5,000 adults testing their reactions and understanding of what a “healthy” symbol means on package mock-ups.
  • It’s unclear how long it will take for this research to be conducted and tabulated, but there will be time in the interim period for the FDA to release its updated “healthy” definitions. After all, it’s been more than five years since comments were collected on a new definition, both through Regulations.gov and a public hearing. Given the time and expense for products to make any sort of packaging changes, though, it behooves the FDA to have both done at the same time.

 

Flytrex and Brinker International bring drone delivery partnership to Texas

  • https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/flytrex-and-brinker-international-bring-drone-delivery-partnership-to-texas/621402/
  • Brinker International has expanded their partnership with drone delivery company Flytrex, which now offers five-minute delivery of Brinker’s brands including two virtual brands It’s Just Wings and Maggiano’s Italian Classics. Meals are delivered to front and backyards.
  • The expansion into Texas follows Flytrex’sdomestic debut in North Carolina in September 2020. Since then, the drone company has expanded into two additional North Carolina markets, including a delivery station in Holly Springs Towne Center, where the company delivers from Brinker’s It’s Just Wings brand.
  • “As we continue to drive awareness and grow our virtual brand, It’s Just Wings, we continue to explore and leverage technology and innovation. With a focus on guest experience and convenience — alongside our killer wings — this new outpost in partnership with Flytrex is another exciting step in the right direction,” Wade Allen, SVP, Innovation, Brinker International, said in a statement emailed to Restaurant Dive.

 

Yelp partners with Hazel Analytics to expand health scores on its platform

  • https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/yelp-partners-with-hazel-analytics-to-expand-health-scores-on-its-platform/621150/
  • Yelp has partnered with Hazel Analytics to expand access to local health department data on its platform, according to a Yelp blog post. Hazel Analytics is a Seattle-based company that specializes in the use of data-driven technology solutions to improve food safety and public health and monitors regulatory compliance at over 300,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
  • Hazel Analytics will collect or estimate health scores for Yelp’s nearly 700,000 pages, using data from health departments in 48 U.S. states as well as Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia.  
  • The partnership builds on Yelp’s health scores feature, which includes the Local Inspector Value-Entry Specification (LIVES) program, which launched in 2013 and features information about food safety, health scores and restaurant inspections. In 2020, Yelp expanded that program to include health alerts flagging restaurants with the worst health inspection violations.

 

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