DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ McDonald's 'As Featured in Meal' reminds customers that Marvel's 'Loki' is just its latest cameo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

McDonald's new 'Famous Order' meal is inspired by TV shows and films mentioning the chain. The "As Featured In Meal" includes "Loki" sweet 'n sour sauce, a nod to the Marvel series. The company's latest meal will remind diners that McDonald's is a bit of a celebrity itself. In a video, McDonald's showed various films and TV shows where McDonald's was mentioned, including the latest trailer for "Loki" Season 2. The chain is also turning a McDonald's in Brooklyn, New York, into a 1982-themed restaurant, the setting featured in Loki Season 2.

Persons: McDonald's, Travis Scott, Cardi, Loki, Loki Sweet, Tom Hiddleston, Sylvie, Morgan Flatley, Grimace Organizations: Marvel, Service, Disney, . Locations: Wall, Silicon, Brooklyn , New York

☆ New DoorDash customers are turning to the app for grocery deliveries and flowers, not just restaurant meals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

DoorDash is seeing a surge in non-restaurant orders from new customers, including grocery and flower deliveries. The delivery company has 100,000 retail stores on its app, surpassing Instacart's 80,000 merchants. The company said more new customers are turning to the app for non-restaurant orders as DoorDash has grown its retail selection to more than 100,000 stores. In July, online grocery sales dropped 7% to $7.2 billion compared to July 2022 , according to the latest monthly Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey. Driving the downturn was delivery sales, which decreased 13.3% to $2.6 billion , according to the July survey released August 9.

Persons: Tony Xu, DoorDash, Xu, Grubhub, Uber, It's, Petco, Staples, Brittain Ladd, Instacart, confidentially Organizations: Service, Albertsons, Aldi, Target, Walgreens, Dollar Locations: Wall, Silicon, Stanford, PetSmart, North America

☆ Is McDonald's about to drop a 'Loki' sauce? A viral TikTok video says yes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A viral TikTok video appears to show that a "Loki" Sweet 'N Sour Sauce is coming to restaurants. According to a viral TikTok video, McDonald's restaurants plan to serve a "Loki" sweet and sour sauce. "Just a friendly reminder: Get to your local McDonald's so you can get the new Loki sauce because, you know, you don't want to miss out. McDonald's teased a big August 14 promotion with a tie-in to the Disney+ series Monday on X. Screengrab from McDonald's video posted on X. McDonald's X post also briefly showed the character Loki with Sylvie dressed in a vintage McDonald's uniform.

Persons: McDonald's, Loki, Tom Hiddleston, Sylvie, Travis Scott, Cardi, Grimace Organizations: Service, Disney Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ MrBeast sabotaged his own burger brand, his restaurant partner claims in a new lawsuit. The YouTube star recently sued the ghost kitchen operator, accusing it of making 'terrible quality' food.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Last week, YouTube star MrBeast sued the restaurant firm behind his namesake burger brand. YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson used his fame to "torpedo" the burger brand, the VDC suit says. The lawsuit comes a week after Beast Investments sued Virtual Dining Concepts alleging that VDC had ignored the MrBeast Burger Brand. MrBeast Burger debuted in 2020 and is sold in hundreds of restaurants seeking to use excess kitchen space to earn additional revenue. The reality is that the overwhelming majority of customers were highly satisfied, and the product was excellent," the VDC suit said.

Persons: MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson, Burger, MrBeast Burger, Donaldson's, Travis Kalanick's CloudKitchens, Dorothy Calba Organizations: Concepts, YouTube, Service, Beast Investments, Dining, Twitter, Burger, Kitchen United, Euromonitor Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York, MrBeast, Florida, Washington

☆ Another robot will take your order now. White Castle joins 7 other fast-food restaurants using AI at the drive-thru — see the full list.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

AI-powered voice bots are gaining steam among fast-food chains. White Castle is rolling out SoundHound's bots to 100 drive-thru lanes by the end of 2024. Here are 8 fast-food chains adding drive-thru voice bots amid labor challenges. White Castle said this week it was rolling out SoundHound's AI-powered voice bots to 100 drive-thru lanes by the end of 2024. The fast-food burger chain, which has been experimenting with AI-powered drive-thru tech since 2020, joins seven other national chains using conversational bots to process drive-thru orders.

Organizations: Service, National Restaurant Association Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ In-N-Out Burger heiress Lynsi Snyder says she'll reveal the 'whole truth' of the fast-food dynasty in an upcoming book
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder has penned a book titled "The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger." "I have waited so long to tell the true In-N-Out Story," Snyder wrote on her Instagram page. Lynsi Snyder, the billionaire owner of the Southern California burger institution, has written a book that promises a revealing look at the 75-year-old family business. She plans to "share the whole truth" about the business through interviews with "several retired In-N-Out family members," Snyder wrote on her Instagram page. Lynsi Snyder, 41, inherited control of the family business in 2017 and became one of the youngest billionaires in the US.

Persons: Lynsi Snyder, Snyder, It's, Harry, Esther Snyder, Guy Snyder, Rich Snyder, Sean Ellingson Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Southern California, Texas , Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, Tennessee, Burger Pomona, Los Angeles

☆ Shake Shack is adding more tech to its stores — and it could mean a big boost to its bottom line
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Shake Shack says it expects to have self-service ordering kiosks in all of its restaurants by the end of Q3. Shake Shack first began experimenting with kiosks in 2017 when it debuted its first kiosk-only store in New York City. Kiosks encourage premium drink ordersAt Shack Shack, Garutti and Fogerty said kiosks have boosted profits in other ways beyond labor. Kiosks are also helping Shake Shack stores to enhance hospitality, a core mission among all Meyer-founded restaurants. For about a year, Fogerty said Shake Shack workers in some stores have been redeployed to run food to tables instead of having customers respond to buzzers.

Persons: Danny Meyer, Randy Garutti, Katie Fogerty, that's, Brandon Barton, Barton, Jessica Tyler, Taco Bell, Shack, Garutti, Fogerty, Meyer, we've Organizations: Service, New York City, Business, Taco, QSR, Shack, Labor Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York City

☆ The average Chick-fil-A franchise makes nearly $8.7 million in sales and has one of the lowest fast-food franchise startup fee — here's how to open one
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Hayley Peterson | Dominick Reuter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Chick-fil-A 's fee for a new restaurant is $10,000 – one of the lowest of any major fast-food brand. In 2022, most locations average nearly $8.7 million in sales per year, up from $8.1 million a year ago, according to the chain's 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document. McDonald's, for example, requires potential franchisees to pay from $1.5 million and $2.5 million in startup costs — including a $45,000 franchise fee, according to the chain's 2023 FDD. Total costs to launch a franchised Chick-fil-A restaurant ranges from $518,385 to $2,803,435, according to the 2023 FDD documents. No transfer or sale of a Chick-fil-A business is allowed, not even family inheritance in the event of death or disability.

Persons: Mark Kalinowski, Chick, McDonald's, Noam Galai, Jay Reed Organizations: Service, Business, Taco Bell Locations: Wall, Silicon, York

☆ It's the hottest cold drink at Starbucks – and it barely contains any coffee
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cold beverages, especially Refreshers, are driving sales at Starbucks. Starbucks Refreshers, a popular line of fruity drinks infused with green coffee extract, usually sell more in the afternoon. "This includes this summer's launch of our Starbucks Refreshers frozen beverages," Narasimhan said. Cold foam, the fastest-growing add-on at Starbucks, can be added to Refreshers, and Starbucks is rolling out "faster and easier to use" cold foam blenders "to meet the summer demand for Starbucks Refreshers frozen beverages," Narasimhan said. "The new blenders support the additional growth of cold foam, the fastest-growing customization at Starbucks," the CEO said.

Persons: they've, Laxman Narasimhan, Narasimhan, Rachel Ruggeri, Refreshers Organizations: Starbucks, Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Refreshers

☆ A Florida steakhouse is selling a plant-based steak for a whopping $69
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Florida steakhouse chain is joining the fray by selling a $69 plant-based steak by Chunk Foods. Charley's Steak House is billing itself as the first steakhouse chain in the US to add a plant-based steak to its menu. The plant-based steak is so good that some staffers were fooled during blind taste tests, company Executive Vice President Clark Woodsby told Insider. Last year, Beyond Meat's sales slumped as consumers turned away from plant-based meat substitutes. To date, restaurant diners have experienced plant-based foods at fast-food chains like KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and Chipotle.

Persons: mignon, Charley's, Clark Woodsby, Mignon, Woodsby, Seth Miller, Miller, Amos Golan, Golan Organizations: Chunk Foods, Service, Chunk, Town, Texas Cattle Company, Foods, Steak, Foods Chunk Locations: Florida, Wall, Silicon, Central Florida, FishBones, Texas, Charley's

☆ Cold drinks are hotter than ever at Starbucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cold beverages continue to be a fan favorite at Starbucks. Cold foam is the fastest growing add-on at Starbucks. But today, cold drinks are hotter than ever at that coffeehouse chain. Cold drinks accounted for 75% of beverage sales in the company's third quarter. Cold foam, in fact, is the fastest-growing add-on at Starbucks, he said.

Persons: We're, Laxman Narasimhan, Rachel Ruggeri, rollouts, Narasimhan, Ruggeri, That's Organizations: Starbucks . Food, Service, Starbucks Locations: Wall, Silicon, America

☆ MrBeast says 'ghost kitchen' partner is hurting his brand with 'terrible quality' burgers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The burgers' 'terrible quality' was the fault of a business partner, he alleged in a new lawsuit. His company alleged complaints raised to partner Virtual Dining Concepts “fell on deaf ears.”Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Reef, which sells MrBeast Burger, has logged multiple consumer complaints about uncooked burgers, Insider previously reported. Representatives for Virtual Dining Concepts did not respond to Insider's request for comment. Insider's Brittany Chang wrote last year about eating a "mediocre burger" at a physical MrBeast burger joint in New Jersey's American Dream mall.

Persons: MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson's, Travis Kalanick's, Burger, Brittany Chang Organizations: Service, YouTube, Beast Investments Locations: Wall, Silicon, New

☆ CoCo Lee: Funeral held for singer and actress in Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Family and fans bade farewell to singer and actress CoCo Lee at her funeral in Hong Kong on Monday, celebrating a decades-long career that included dozens of successful albums, movies and television shows across the globe. The hearse carrying the casket of singer and songwriter CoCo Lee departs from a funeral home in Hong Kong. Tyrone Siu/Reuters‘Always sunny’Born in Hong Kong and raised in the United States, Lee launched her music career in her birthplace after winning a singing contest. Marvis Lu, 35, was among many fans from mainland China who traveled to Hong Kong for the memorial. Fans leave the funeral of singer and songwriter CoCo Lee, in Hong Kong.

Persons: CoCo Lee, Nancy, “, ’ ” Nancy Lee, Lee, Tyrone Siu, Fa Mulan, Mulan ”, Ang Lee, David Tao, Wang Leehom, Vanness Wu, Jin, MC Jin, “ Singer, ”, Marvis Lu, “ CoCo, Catherine Yang, “ CoCo Lee, Jonathan Serbin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Reuters, Getty, Weibo, Warner Music Asia Locations: Hong Kong, United States, Asia, Taiwan, Shanghai, China

☆ Instacart just slashed pay for delivery drivers — from a minimum of $7 per order to $4. Now they're more reliant on your tips.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Instacart has cut its minimum base pay to $4 from $7 per order, angering many who work for the app. The cut affects base pay, or an amount that Instacart workers are guaranteed to get if they accept an order. Instacart announced the lower base pay in a July 20 blog post entitled "creating new ways to earn." In the post, Instacart said orders that involve picking and delivering many items "may pay $10 or more" in base pay. Lower base pay means more reliance on tipsBoth Hudson and the driver in Tennessee said that the base pay cut makes customers' tips a more important source of income.

Persons: Instacart, Daniel Danker, Danker, I've, Alexia Hudson, she's, it's, Sergio Avedian, Guy, That's, Uber Organizations: Service, Instacart, Shoppers Locations: Wall, Silicon, Instacart, Tennessee, Indiana, South Carolina, Charlotte, she's, Los Angeles

☆ See Chick-fil-A's wild new restaurant design with a drive-thru that runs through the middle of the building
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Chick-fil-A is introducing two new restaurant designs in New York City and Atlanta next year. One concept has four drive-thru lanes that flow below an elevated building with a large kitchen. A walk-up only concept is slated to open next year in New York City. One restaurant design, an elevated building with four drive-thru lanes that flow below the store, is set to roll out next year in the chain's home base of Atlanta. The second concept is a digital-focused walk-up store with no cashiers.

Persons: Ash Organizations: Service Locations: New York City, Atlanta, Wall, Silicon

☆ McDonald's is opening a mysterious new spinoff restaurant named after CosMc in its latest nostalgia play
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The chain announced plans to build a spinoff restaurant called CosMc's. The restaurant is named after a McDonaldland character named CosMc, the company told Insider. The new concept announcement comes as McDonald's steps up the pace of new restaurant openings this year. But the company is also focusing on modifying traditional restaurants to meet the digital demands of today's customers. He pointed to a carryout-only restaurant in Texas and a restaurant in China that uses food lockers.

Persons: Chris Kempczinski, Kempczinski, Ronald McDonald, Grimmace, McDonald's Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Canada, Europe, Texas, China

☆ Delivery drivers are shaming customers for their tips. DoorDash says it's looking into the latest TikTok video calling out the trend.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some delivery drivers are shaming customers who leave tips that they think are too small. DoorDash said it's looking into a TikTok video that appears to show a delivery driver complaining about a $5 tip. It shows a screenshot of an apparent text message from a DoorDash delivery driver. DoorDash told Insider that it was looking into the video. Some DoorDash drivers have told Insider that they are highly dependent on tips for their earnings.

Persons: DoorDash, Ethan Melillo, Melillo Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Domino's is about to go on a driver hiring spree as it gears up for its partnership with Uber Eats
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Unlike many restaurants that work with Uber, Domino's will use its own delivery drivers to get orders to customers. But CFO Sandeep Reddy said the Uber Eats deal should reverse sluggish sales by 2024. Under the deal, Domino's will be listed on the Uber Eats platform, but the pizza deliveries will be made by Domino's. Weiner, who replaced Allison in May 2022, said on Monday's conference call that the Uber Eats deal will bring in new customers. Weiner noted that the Uber Eats deal includes securing "control of our customer data."

Persons: Uber, Domino's, Russell Weiner, Weiner, Sandeep Reddy, Richard Allison, Domino's . Weiner, Allison, That's, we've Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, aggregators

☆ Get ready to make a deal for your ride. InDrive is bringing its ride-hailing-haggling business to the US again.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

InDrive is a ride-hailing app that lets customers haggle with drivers for fares. Many drivers are Uber and Lyft contractors eager to check out inDrive's promise of letting drivers and passengers negotiate ride prices, Arsen Tomsky, inDrive's CEO and founder, said. In 2022, inDrive was the second most downloaded ride-hailing app globally, behind Uber, according to Data.AI. Though it started in Russia, inDrive fully separated from its Russian business last year after the country invaded Ukraine, the company said. In addition to ride-hailing, inDrive in other global markets has added new business segments, including freight delivery, task assistance, and package delivery.

Persons: Arsen, Tomsky, InDrive, haggle, inDrive, Arsen Tomsky, Siberia Tomsky, Uber, Catalyst, verticals Organizations: Service, Fort Lauderdale , West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Taxi, Tomsky, Insight Partners, Bond Locations: Siberia, South Florida, Wall, Silicon, America, Asia, Miami, South Beach, Brickell, Fort Lauderdale , West Palm, New York City, New Yorkers, Pacific, Africa, haggling, Yakutsk, Siberian, Florida, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Starbucks said its app suffered a partial outage and mistakenly blasted 'order ready' notifications to customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Gloria Dawson | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Starbucks app glitch sent an "order ready" notification to customers' phones. Starbucks' app malfunctioned and sent the notifications by mistake, the company told Insider. Dozens of Starbucks customers also reported glitches to DownDetector, a website that tracks app outages. Some users, including Insider staff, are reporting error messages on the app, including a cheeky one that reads: "We're cleaning up a big spill. Last summer, the company faced days of technical issues, including widespread issues with mobile ordering, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Persons: Gloria Dawson Organizations: Service, Starbucks, Twitter, Wall Street Journal, Mobile Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Chipotle is becoming a huge hit in small towns, and it's hurting chains like Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, and Texas Roadhouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now, it's expanding to small towns and hurting chains like Chick-fil-A, according to Placer.ai. Popular steak house chain Texas Roadhouse, which is 1.6 miles from the new Chipotle, saw year-over-year traffic slide by 5.27% in April and by 3.92% in May 2023. A Chick-fil-A less than a mile from Chipotle, saw foot traffic decrease four out of five weeks in May, Placer.ai reports. "I don't see how Chipotle's brand can transfer to small towns." Chipotle isn't betting all of its growth on small towns.

Persons: Chipotle, Placer.ai, Jack Hartung, Tim Powell, Zers, Powell Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Placer.ai, Texas, X Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chipotle, America, Texas, San Angelo , Texas, The Texas, McDonald's, Covington , Louisiana, Camden , Delaware, Washington, Canada, France, Germany

☆ Lidl closes 11 stores as it struggles in the US. See the full list.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

German grocer Lidl opened its first US stores in 2017. It closed 11 underperforming stores this week, according to various news reports. Lidl, whose US headquarters are in Virginia, closed 11 stores recently in North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, South Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the Daily Mail first reported. Lidl has roughly 170 stores in the US and over 12,000 stores worldwide. According to Grocery Business, here are the locations of the 11 recently closed Lidl locations.

Persons: Lidl, Chandler Spivey, Spivey, Sebastian Rennack, Rennack, Cary, Randolph St, King of Prussia, Florence Virginia, Richmond Organizations: Service, Aldi, Daily Mail, D.C, Grocery, Grocery Business, Brooklyn Park, King of Prussia South Locations: Virginia, Wall, Silicon, North Carolina , Virginia , New Jersey, South Carolina , Maryland, Pennsylvania, East, North Carolina, Washington, Lorton , Virginia, Germany, Europe, American, Maryland, Oxon, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Park New Jersey, Howell, Holly, Burlington Township North Carolina, Thomasville Pennsylvania, Dekalb Pike, King of Prussia South Carolina, North Augusta, Palmetto St, Charlottesville, Broad St

☆ In-N-Out is barring staff from wearing masks unless they have a medical note. The burger icon wants customers to see employees' smiles.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The chain said workers must have a medical note to wear a mask in five states where it operates. "No masks shall be worn in the store or support facility unless an associate has a valid medical note exempting him or her from this requirement," the memo said. Employees must provide a valid medical note to a store manager, divisional manager, manager, or human resources, the memo said. "Without disclosing the medical diagnosis or confidential medical information, the medical note should clearly state the reason for the exemption and include the estimated duration, if applicable," the memo said. Employees who require a mask for medical reasons must wear a company-provided N-95 mask, according to the memo.

Persons: Lynsi Snyder, Biden, Lucky Tran, Snyder's, Harry, Esther Snyder Organizations: Service, Twitter, Employees, Public Locations: Southern California, Wall, Silicon, Arizona , Colorado , Nevada , Texas, Utah, Tennessee, California, Oregon

☆ You might be charged a new 99-cent fee on food orders — and some restaurants are fuming
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Restaurants are in an uproar over a 99-cent fee that Toast has begun charging online customers. Instead, you might have to fault the restaurant's digital ordering tech provider, Toast. Toast, which works with 85,000 restaurants in the US, is charging consumers a 99-cent fee for online orders over $10. "If that's a $10 order, that's a 10% increase. That's a big whack of an increase if you ask me," Orsbourn said recently in his podcast, "The Digital Restaurant."

Persons: Toast, Grant Austin, Freddy J's, Baglesbyjarre, Tony Naser, Gil Brucken, Will Toast, Carl Orsbourn, Orsbourn Organizations: Service, Fox Business, Twitter Locations: Wall, Silicon, Jersey, Massachusetts

☆ No one wants Subway
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The move comes as Subway has seen its store count decline by the hundreds over the years. In late January, Buck's foundation, where his two sons work, revealed that the late co-founder had left the charity his 50% stake in Subway . Subway has spent the past few years trimming corporate staff and closing stores under CEO John Chidsey. Despite previous years of slumping sales and store closures, Subway has recently gained some momentum. Are you a Subway insider or franchisee with insight to share?

Persons: Trevor Haynes, Haynes, Peter Buck, John Chidsey, Subway's Organizations: Subway, NY Post, Service, nab, New York Post, Bloomberg, Post Locations: Wall, Silicon, Buck's, Subway

Search resuls for: "Nancy L"

25 mentions found