Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Today's Specials:
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DID YOU KNOWS…
JT Headlines Super Bowl LII
Justin Timberlake is officially headlining the Super Bowl LII halftime show. This will mark his third Super Bowl performance, making him the most-appeared performer at a Super Bowl halftime show. Katy Perry made the record in 2015 for most viewed performance with an astounding 120.7 million viewers. The pressure is on JT.
The Future of Wine
California’s wine industry has begun surveying the damage from the state’s worst wildfires in history. Acres of vines and winemaking facilities were torched through most of the region. Luckily, the 2017 vintage was mostly already harvested, but the focus is now on future supply. Expert analysts indicate that the California wine industry is damaged but can be rescued.
Cold Wash-No Tumble Dry
Brazil has a new trend sweeping the country and it’s a bit strange. People have begun making Brazil’s signature caipirinha drinks in a repurposed washing machine. Munchies collected a whole bunch of videos of people making Brazil’s famous lime, sugar, and cachaça mixture in washing machines. Gross or great?
ALL ABOUT AMAZON
Why it matters to you: Amazon adds a mobile pay feature for restaurants.
The mobile pay boom continues as multiple giant companies jump on board. Beginning in November, Amazon will be testing a digital pay feature for certain restaurants directly through the Amazon app. Essentially, users will be able to browse participating restaurants, place their order, and check out all within the app. Users can then pick up their food at the establishment, having ordered and paid directly through Amazon’s feature. The company said that more than 33 million customers used Amazon Pay in 2016, which doubled from the year prior.
Restaurant operators have heard before that these concepts are worth considering and are likely the way your guests are looking to order. Amazon has expanded into so many different markets that have added additional opportunities for the company’s success. Many operators have considered using Amazon’s Alexa in their existing operations for inventory and order management. This new mobile payment feature is expected to bring their influence into the industry and many of their loyal customers with them. Amazon’s new feature is already available at TGI Fridays and will expand to other locations next month.
THE WAGES OF SIN?
Why it matters to you: Now paying too much in wages haunts Chipotle?
Banks are in the business of making and managing money, so it should come as no surprise that Bank of America’s chief rationale for downgrading our friends at Chipotle is because their wages are too high. In an atmosphere where employees are being threatened by automation and a shrinking restaurant market, just as operators struggle to balance their growth by attracting quality staffers, the bank’s guidance is particularly tone deaf. Chipotle pays an average of $9/hour to their line employees, but BofA didn’t bat an eyelash at Chipotle CEO Steve Ells total compensation of $15.7 million.
We aren’t begrudging the CEO for his compensation and, of course, labor is a major factor in the success of any multi-outlet system. The issue here is the lack of nuance in the guidance and the statement it makes to the line staff about the value of their work. Chipotle has had such a rough run in the past two years, it’s nice to see them barking back at the obtuse observations of Bank of America. BofA comments are both off the mark and completely devoid of any understanding of the labor market or the implications for a fast-casual operator. Better they include labor as a part of a whole analysis rather than making it the analysis itself -- unless they want to dig deeper to understand our business.
