
How Covid helped Olive Garden and Chipotle dominate the restaurant business
CNN
Restaurants of all sizes have had a difficult few years — but chains are coming out on top.
Several new challenges have made running restaurants and (working in them) even harder than usual, including pandemic restrictions, staffing challenges, supply chain disruptions and increasing costs. About 90,000 US restaurants have temporarily or permanently closed their doors because of the pandemic, according to The National Restaurant Association.
Big chains, even vulnerable ones like casual dining establishments, have fared a lot better than small restaurants and independents, thanks in large part to easier access to cash and the ability to lean on parent companies to lead the way on strategic shifts. In 2021, the top 500 restaurant chains accounted for 63% of total US restaurant sales, up from 58% in 2019, according to restaurant consulting firm Technomic.

Dolls, pencils, backyard chickens and ‘a piece of broccoli’: The Trump team’s awkward austerity talk
Amid the European debt crisis in the early 2010s, a Fox News pundit named Donald Trump warned about a backlash against leaders asking people to tighten their belts.

Tensions flare in Minneapolis after federal agent shoots and injures man who allegedly assaulted him
Law enforcement and demonstrators clashed last night near where a federal agent shot and injured a man after he allegedly assaulted the agent. The city is reeling over last week’s fatal shooting by an ICE agent of Renee Good sparked nationwide protests. Follow for live news updates.

The Trump administration is preparing to use private military contractors to protect oil and energy assets in Venezuela rather than deploying US troops, according to two sources familiar with the plans, setting up a potential boon for security firms with experience in the region and ties to the administration.










