Whole Foods Opens First “Dark” Store For Online Orders And Delivery Only
Whole Foods Market, the Amazon-owned grocery chain, has opened its first online-only location in Brooklyn, New York. While the move comes as grocery delivery has soared in recent months, the store had been planned pre-pandemic, according to Whole Foods Northeast president Nicole Wescoe. “We started working on this over a year ago,” said Wescoe, “and it was really an opportunity for Amazon and Whole Foods Market to come together and create this vision for the future of grocery online.” Unlike traditional Whole Foods stores, this “dark” store will not include a prepared foods department and there will not be a pickup option. The store does include familiar aisles and refrigerated sections but it is not open to the public, function more like a warehouse for staff to fulfill orders. Online orders will be delivered with Amazon drivers as well as some bike delivery, according to Wescoe.
Netflix Queues Up The Competition With American Barbecue Showdown
Netflix is launching a new video series, American Barbecue Showdown. The food competition show will follow some of the country’s best backyard competition pitmasters as they vie for the title of American Barbecue Champion. The eight-part show begins airing on September 18th and will be hosted by popular NASCAR host Rutledge Wood. BBQ judges include Kevin Bludso, founder of L.A.’s always-busy Bludso’s BBQ, and Melissa Cookston, owner of Memphis BBQ Company and 7-time world barbecue champion. “Competition doesn’t get more delicious than in the world of barbecue,” said the show’s producer John Hesling, “especially when it comes to our eight hopeful pitmasters as they stoke their flames against each other, and the clock, to be crowned American Barbecue Champion.”
Bon Appetit Names Book Publishing Veteran Dawn Davis As Editor In Chief
The food media outlet Bon Appetit has named Dawn Davis as the new editor-in-chief after facing racial conflicts with former editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport, who resigned in June. Bon Appetit’s parent company, Conde Nast, announced that Davis is expected to begin her new role on November 2nd. The position gives Davis editorial control of Bon Appetit, Epicurious, Healthyish and Basically, the company’s food outlets, across all media, including print, digital, social media, and video. Ms. Davis is currently a vice president at Simon & Schuster, where she founded and publishes 37 Ink, an imprint emphasizing marginalized voices. Davis also wrote “If You Can Stand the Heat: Tales From Chefs and Restaurateurs,” a book including chef profiles such as Anthony Bourdain.
World’s Most Expensive Sheep Sells For $490,000 In Scotland
A ram sold for the equivalent of $490,000 US dollars in Scotland has broken the record for the world’s most expensive sheep. The Texel breed of sheep named Double Diamond was bred via artificial insemination with another champion ram and a ewe. The father ram was valued at $86,000, and the mother ewe was valued at more than $46,000. The Texel breed is known for its fast growth and ideal musculature that makes it easy on butchers preparing the animals for sale. The previous record of more than $300,000 was set in 2009, according to the BBC.
Amazon Opens First Physical “Fresh” Grocery Store
Last week, Amazon did a soft open of its new in-person grocery store called Fresh. The e-commerce company invited select California customers to test drive the store’s features, including Amazon Dash Cart, which allows customers to skip the checkout line, and Alexa AI to keep customer shopping lists in order and to help shoppers navigate through the aisles. The store will also be offering same day delivery and pickup. Amazon hasn’t released the exact date the store will open to the general public but has confirmed that there will be at least three more locations opening in California and Illinois. Amazon will be implementing strict COVID-19 related safety measures throughout the stores.
Library of Congress Includes AmazingRibs.com In Foodways Archives
The United States Library of Congress has picked AmazingRibs.com to be added to its historic Food and Foodways Web Archive. Only 43 other websites are currently archived at the Library of Congress, including sites such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, James Beard Foundation, Southern Foodways Alliance, Grub Street, Jose Andres, Pioneer Woman, and US Food & Drug Administration. The Library of Congress is the country’s oldest federal cultural institution, a national library that maintains important “cultural artifacts” and gives US citizens access to them. Entirely independent, AmazingRibs.com has no corporate parent and has been in the barbecue game for more than 15 years. AmazingRibs.com began in 2005 just as a hobby and has grown into a professional website with an experienced staff and a Pitmaster Club that has more than 16,000 members.
Without Stimulus Checks, Americans Are Spending Less At The Grocery Store
While grocery spending has generally soared during the pandemic, it shifted rapidly when $600 in additional weekly unemployment pay from the U.S. government expired in July. According to market research firm IRI, sales growth in August fell in several grocery categories compared to July and the months prior. Frozen dinners, for example, averaged only 9% growth in the first three weeks of August, compared to around 17% growth for the previous two weeks in July. In August, cereal sales averaged only 2% growth while they had seen 6% growth in the latter part of July. Gordon Reid, president of grocery chain Stop & Shop, said he anticipates that consumers will feel the pinch of high grocery prices during the last quarter of the year and continuing into next year. Walmart US Chief Executive John Furner said, “People perceive they’re spending more money on food, despite eating out less. So we’ll be thoughtful about the way we plan the rest of the year and react to changes in the trends we see from our shoppers.” The typical pandemic grocery bill has dropped enough that stores have begun offering additional discounts to attract shoppers. President Trump signed an executive order in early August authorizing an additional $400 in weekly stimulus pay, but payments have been delayed by state unemployment systems that required reconfiguring for the new payment. Only three states are currently distributing the new stimulus payments.
Chocolate “Snow” Dusts Swiss Town After Lindt Factory Malfunction
The Swiss town of Olten was treated to a light dusting of chocolate “snow” after the ventilation system malfunctioned at a local chocolate factory. Leading Swiss chocolate maker, Lindt & Spruengli, which also owns Ghirardelli, Whitman’s, and Russell Stover chocolate brands, said that the ventilation issue occurred during the production of roasted cocoa nibs. Strong winds that day, combined with the malfunction, caused a fine chocolate powder to lightly blanket the area surrounding the factory. Many locals in Olten reacted positively to the malfunction, saying things like, “2020 is turning around” and “My dream come true.”
46-Year-Old Association Of Food Journalists Shuts Down
After 46 years of serving America’s food editors and writers, the Association of Food Journalists has dissolved. The organization is known for its journalism ethics code, including strong commitments to diversity and transparency while avoiding conflicts of interest. The association also held a popular annual conference and gave prestigious food media awards. Hanna Raskin, AFJ board president and food editor at South Carolina’s Post and Courier newspaper, explained the closing in a letter: “To make a sad story short, AFJ’s financial model was long based on print newspapers footing the cost of members’ dues, contest entries and conference attendance. Unfortunately, it didn’t shift course until it was too late, leaving the organization fiscally dependent on the magnanimity of laid-off staffers and underpaid freelancers.”
Company Offering Home Cooked Meals Delivered On Demand Raises $8.8 Million
As tens of thousands of restaurants remain partially or fully closed due to the impact of COVID-19, food delivery has dominated the restaurant industry. A new home-cooked meal delivery platform, Shef, recently raised $8.8 million in funding to expand its network of chefs who prepare home cooked meals for delivery. Chefs who apply to the Airbnb-like platform must have their home kitchens certified and inspected to meet food safety laws. “Shefs” then set up a profile and a menu, and each dish has a detailed ingredient list. The company’s co-CEOs Alvin Salehi and Joey Grassia prioritize immigrant cooks, first-generation cooks, and newly laid-off restaurant workers, and they currently have more than 4,000 pending “Shef” applications. The platform offers home cooked meals in a wide variety of cuisines, including Shanghainese, Bangladeshi, and Maldivian, and the company estimates that some “Shefs” earn up to $1,000 a week. Shef currently operates in areas of California and New York, and Salehi regularly lobbies other state governments to ease restrictions on selling food prepared in certified home kitchens.
