A Lettuce Outbreak Hit One Chain That Never Served the Recalled Product
Salad and Go appears to have done nothing wrong. It did not serve the lettuce linked to this summer’s cyclospora outbreak and was not named in any related case. Still, the fallout reached the company anyway: on August 5, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closed all 70 Arizona and Nevada locations, and shut down […]
Fifty States, Fifty Different Rules for What You’re Allowed to Charge
A Tampa diner noticed a 3% “venue fee” on her bill this summer at RO in Hyde Park, even though the charge did not appear anywhere on the menu. She posted about it on Nextdoor, and restaurant staff reportedly told her other nearby spots were doing the same thing.2 The complaint spread just days before […]
Record Heat Is Closing Restaurant Kitchens This Summer
NOAA-tracked weather stations logged more than 1,000 daily temperature records in June 2026 and another 1,400-plus through July 19, with a heat dome in late June and early July exposing more than 200 million Americans to dangerous heat.⁸ Independent restaurants and cafes in Philadelphia, Manchester, London, and Leicester have each closed kitchens or restructured hours […]
Restaurant Hiring Has Stalled for Three Years
Restaurants and bars shed nearly 33,000 jobs in June 2026, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revised May’s initially reported gain down by 10,300 jobs, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.¹ The industry has added positions at just 0.62% annually over the past four years, compared with 1.8% in the four years before the pandemic, […]
Celebrate America’s 250th with 25% Off Preventative Maintenance
America’s 250th anniversary is a milestone worth celebrating, and Fastcility is continuing the celebration with a limited-time offer for new preventative maintenance customers. Now through July 31st, save 25% on Cold Dispensing Machine Preventative Maintenance. USE CODE: USA250 Summer is one of the busiest seasons for foodservice businesses, making reliable equipment more important than ever. […]
The Trade Negotiations That Will Impact Foodservice Most This Year
There is a trade negotiation happening right now that may have a major impact on restaurant and foodservice operators. July 1, 2026 is the mandatory six-year review date for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the trade framework that governs the movement of food, beverages, and hundreds of other goods across North America. Under Article 34.7 […]
The FDA Is Phasing Out Food Dyes You Probably Really Need.
Ten years ago, General Mills announced it was removing artificial colors from its cereals. Consumers pushed back so hard that within two years, classic Trix, the neon-bright version with Red 40 and Yellow 6, was back on shelves. General Mills publicly acknowledged that customers had rejected the naturally colored version of its product, finding it […]
Is There Hope for Those of Us Who Still Love Craft Beer?
Many of us don’t want craft beer to fail. We’ve spent too many Saturday afternoons in taprooms sampling a flight of beers, then digging into one for the rest of the evening. Looking at the numbers for the business coming out of 2025, it may be hard to stay optimistic but the picture is worse […]
Big Tech Has Been Trying To Take Over Foodservice…. How’s That Going?
One day, you might order a burger from a voice AI, watch a robotic arm serve fries, and have another robot deliver your meal to your table. Tech companies have promoted this vision for nearly a decade. Industry magazines reported on it, and restaurant chains released statements using terms like transformative and revolutionary. The actual […]
GLP-1 Is a Food Story. It’s Also a Beverage Story. Only One of Those Is Getting Told.
The food industry spent 2025 trying to solve the GLP-1 problem. Strategies included offering smaller portions, emphasizing protein-rich dishes, introducing half-size options, and highlighting GLP-1-friendly choices on packaging. The entire conversation was about food. Which is partly correct. GLP-1 users are eating less food. But they are not consuming less across the board. They are […]