These 7 Chain Restaurants May Go On The Chopping Block
While chain restaurants are faring better than independent restaurants during the pandemic, massive business interruption has forced the parent companies of Chuck E. Cheese, Souplantation, and California Pizza Kitchen to file for bankruptcy protection. Franchisees of Subway, IHOP, and Pizza Hut, as well as NPC International, which runs more restaurant locations than any other U.S. franchisee, have also filed for bankruptcy. Who’s most at risk of going bankrupt next? S&P Global Market Intelligence issued a report that estimates the odds of publicly traded restaurant companies defaulting on their debts next year based on share price fluctuations and other “industry-related risks.” Sit-down and buffet chains including Denny’s and Outback Steakhouse were found to be most at risk. Eateries that combine food and entertainment such as Dave & Buster’s are also at high risk of defaulting. According to S&P Global, the median one-year probability of default for U.S. restaurants overall did drop to 10% in July, down from its peak of 35% in April.
35 Influential U.S. Restaurants Permanently Closed By The Pandemic
Between mid-June and July 10th, 72,842 restaurants permanently shut their doors, according to the Yelp Average Economic Report for 2020’s second quarter. 24/7 Tempo compiled a list of 35 notable restaurants that closed down across the nation, including Louis’, a classic San Francisco diner that opened in 1937, shutting its doors after 83 years. Blackbird, a Chicago favorite run brilliantly by Paul Kahan for 22 years also hung up its apron. Fat Rice, another beloved Chicago restaurant known for its Portugese-Chinese fusion closed permanently, although reasons were less related to the pandemic. In New Orleans, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, Paul Prudomme’s foundational Cajun and Creole restaurant, shuttered permanently after 40 years of nightly lines out the door. Other influential restaurants that closed include Daniel Boulud’s Bar Boulud In Massachusetts; David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi, Charlie Palmer’s Aureole, and Alfred Portale’s Gotham Bar and Grill in NYC; and Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon, though some Pok Pok locations remain open.
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Launches Nationwide Ghost Kitchen Network
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit based in Dallas, Texas, is the most recent restaurant chain to join the ghost-kitchen movement. With more than 500 units, Dickey’s is the nation’s largest BBQ chain and its new network of ghost kitchens will include virtual restaurants to expand its reach in Chicago, Houston and Orlando, as well as to enter a new market using only ghost kitchens in Providence, Rhode Island. Five ghost kitchens are opening during this initial stage of the launch, and Dickey’s confirmed there are “90 other agreements for this model down the pipeline.” The ghost-kitchen network is being marketed as a fast and cheap alternative for Dickey’s franchisees to grow their store portfolio or to allow new franchisees to enter the business without investing as much time or money as they would in a typical brick and mortar store. Dickey’s is incentivizing potential ghost kitchen franchisees by offering a discount and other benefits for existing and new operators. The chains system-wide same store sales have gone up 7.4% this July with over a third of sales from digital platforms. From February to July, the average number of digital checks per store also went up 333%.
Pitmaster Rodney Scott Shares Secret Ingredient In His Famous Smoked Ribs
Rodney Scott, an award-winning South Carolina chef and pitmaster, recently teamed up with Today to share the secret ingredient that makes his famous Carolina-style smoked ribs great. “It may be a controversial ingredient, but I unapologetically use MSG in my seasoning rub. It is a flavor maker!” said Scott. “All the savory and hot spices and seasonings in my famous rub and sauce make these tender ribs unbelievably delicious,” he added. Monosodium glutamate, MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. Though glutamic acid is found naturally in many common foods such as cheese and tomatoes, the ingredient has been misunderstood and the subject of controversy over the years.
Italians Reopen Medieval “Wine Windows” To Maintain Social Distance
Wine windows, buchette del vino, are small hatches built into stone buildings that were once used to sell wine directly to Tuscany’s working class residents. The bubonic plague reached Italy in 1629 and by the time it had passed in 1631, nearly 1 million Italians lost their lives to the epidemic. During that time, some of the nation’s best winemakers such as Antinori (which is still a leading winemaker), would sell wine and take payment in a contactless transaction using a metal plate passed through the wine window. Now, for the first time in centuries, several wine windows have been reopened to serve food and drinks while maintaining social distancing guidelines during the current pandemic. The Vivoli ice cream parlor put its wine window to use by selling gelato and coffee through it. More than 150 of these historic wine windows remain throughout the city of Florence, all protected by the city’s Wine Windows Association. While the windows have been frequently vandalized due to their accessibility, Matteo Faglia, President of Wine Windows Association, hopes people change their attitude toward them in light of current social distancing requirements. Fagila told Insider, “We want to put a plaque by all the wine windows, as people tend to respect them more when they understand what they are and their history.”
Actor Morgan Freeman Joins Fight To Save Independent Restaurants
Morgan Freeman has partnered with celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern and his company, Intuitive Content, to produce a new video ad for the Independent Restaurant Coalition urging Congress to pass the Restaurants Act. The ad makes a fervent plea to pass the bipartisan bill to aid ailing independent restaurants with $120 billion in relief. It includes details on how the pandemic has disproportionately decimated independent bars and restaurants, the most prevalent small businesses in America. Within the clip, Freeman mentions the 15 million restaurant workers in the U.S. who would be affected by 85% of restaurants closing permanently. He also reminds us that one in four Americans who have lost their jobs in the pandemic are restaurant employees. “Without your help, our favorite places to eat will be gone forever,” Freeman says. Get the full story here at People or here at ABC News.
A Peek Inside The Cratered Catering Industry
As weddings, parties, and other events continue to be canceled, the pandemic has left the nation’s caterers with almost zero business. David Cingari of David’s Soundview Catering in Stamford, Connecticut says that one wedding cancellation cost him $6,600 and a graduation party this spring would have brought in $300,000 if it hadn’t been cancelled. To make ends meet, Cingari caterer opened up a pop-up restaurant, but it’s $600 in earnings don’t compare to what he was making catering.
“It’s the year of the pivot,” said Holly Sheppard, founder of Fig & Pig catering in Brooklyn. Forty of Sheppard’s wedding events have postponed for next year, and the remainder were cancelled altogether. She has since invested in a barbecue pit and become a female pitmaster on an upstate New York roadside. “We’re creative thinkers,” said Peter Callahan of Peter Callahan Catering in New York, “and right now people are thinking about how to shape their businesses for the need at hand.”
Star Chefs Fade As Restaurant Teams Enter The Spotlight
For centuries, the work of chefs remained behind closed doors. But in the 1970s, more chefs entered the spotlight and agents promoted their charismatic personalities, landing them higher-profile cooking engagements and appearances. At L.A.’s Ma Maison and Spago, Wolfgang Puck hob-knobbed with Hollywood celebrities, becoming a public figure unto himself. In New York, Mario Batali transitioned from distinguished chef at his flagship restaurant Babbo to Food Network star, host of ABC’s television show The Chew, and author of numerous cookbooks. By the 2000s, the celebrity chef had become a widespread, if relatively new, phenomenon. Despite the gleaming reputation of star chefs, they often ran kitchens where the staff who did most of the work rarely got credit for their contributions, even if they created dishes on the menu. Many chefs allowed a notoriously harsh and inhospitable restaurant kitchen culture to continue, or they even encouraged it. But the pandemic has blown the kitchen doors wide open, and hospitality workers are getting organized and more vocal about inequities in the industry. At Tartine in San Francisco and Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon, workers have unionized to lobby for their rights. In Chicago, 20 employees at the popular Fat Rice restaurant levied charges against the chef for creating a hostile work environment, leading the restaurant’s closure. The pandemic has leveled the restaurant playing field, and the value of a restaurant’s entire hospitality team has come into stark relief. It takes more than a great chef for a restaurant to survive and succeed.
Amazon To Buy 16% Stake In Popular UK Food Delivery Service Deliveroo
Amazon’s approval to buy a minority stake in Deliveroo came after a long dispute in which lobbyists tried to convince regulators that the deal would not violate fair competition regulations. Back in May 2019, Deliveroo announced that it had raised $575 million in funding carried by Amazon. Two months later, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority disagreed to the deal. Later last year, the CMA launched a formal probe to test possible anti-competitive implications of Amazon’s investment. But when the pandemic hit this year, the competition watchdog reconsidered. Last week, CMA issued its final decision, giving Amazon the green light to acquire its minority state in Deliveroo. However, regulators warned that if Amazon increased its control of the food delivery service, that additional investment would trigger further investigations.
McDonald’s, Dunkin’ And Starbucks Permanently Close 1,400 Combined U.S. Locations
McDonald’s revenue dropped 30% in the second quarter of 2020 and is permanently closing 200 of its 14,000 locations in the U.S., including all restaurants in Walmart stores. The company said Tuesday that the move has been planned for more than a year, but low sales due to the pandemic have accelerated the company’s plans. Dunkin’ saw a 20% drop in second-quarter revenues this year and is closing 800 of its retail locations by the end of 2020, including 450 Speedway outposts as a result of terminating its relationship with the gas company. Starbucks saw a 38% drop in net sales in the second quarter this year and is closing 400 locations by the end of 2021 while simultaneously investing in pandemic-proof solutions such as mobile pick-up and drive-thru ordering. Several restaurants have shifted to takeout and delivery models to survive the pandemic, according to a study by Harvard Business School. Statistics from search giant Yelp show that 26,160 U.S. restaurants have closed during the pandemic, the largest number of closures among small businesses registered on the platform.
