Anand Varadarajan, Amazon Vice President of product and technology and worldwide grocery stores speaks during the Delivering the future conference in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, on October 9, 2024. Seth Herald | Afp | Getty Images Starbucks announced Friday that it has hired its new chief technology officer, Amazon veteran Anand Varadarajan. Varadarajan, who spent nearly…
An Olive Garden restaurant in Milpitas, California, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported strong sales growth, fueled by demand at Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse as thrifty diners look for good deals. For the second straight quarter, the company hiked its full-year…
Kraft Heinz announced plans to split into two separately traded companies, reversing its 2015 megamerger, which was orchestrated by billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images Kraft Heinz on Tuesday announced that former Kellanova CEO Steve Cahillane will lead the company ahead of its planned split next year. Cahillane…
Consumers are still dining out, but instead of higher-priced entrees, many are ordering more appetizers. As food inflation and affordability dominates the conversation about the U.S. consumer, new restaurant purchasing data shows even among Americans who are going to restaurants, many are in the mindset of cutting back. “Appetizer orders are up 20% year over…
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the McDonald’s Impact Summit at the Westin Hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S., Nov. 17, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters President Donald Trump on Monday said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is “laying siege on the minimum wage.” Trump’s comments at the McDonald’s Impact Summit likely referred to California’s…
The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images At 12:30 p.m. in midtown Manhattan on mid-week office days, long lines still form outside Chipotle, Cava, and Sweetgreen. Fast-casual bowls remain the defining lunch of the hybrid-work era, something quick to carry, simple to eat at a desk, and familiar enough to order without…
Shoppers walk through Manhattan on Nov. 7, 2025, in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images High-income consumers are trading down, Gen Z is spending less, and low-income shoppers are still struggling, according to many consumer companies that shared their latest quarterly results in recent weeks. Those trends may not bode well for the…
Workers picket in front of a Starbucks outlet in New York City, U.S., Oct. 1, 2025. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Starbucks Workers United launched an open-ended strike in at least 40 cities Thursday on Red Cup Day, one of the chain’s biggest sales days of the year. The protest, which the union says involves more than…
Fast-casual salad chain Sweetgreen is struggling as its traffic and sales continue to fall and it reports millions in losses each quarter. Its earnings worsened in its third quarter this year, as same-store sales declined 9.5% due in part to a 11.7% drop in foot traffic. Sweetgreen revolutionized the quick service industry after launching in…
Starbucks workers and supporters practice picket outside a Starbucks location in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images More than 100 lawmakers urged Starbucks to resume bargaining talks with Workers United, the union representing the coffee giant’s baristas, in letters sent to CEO Brian Niccol on Monday….
