Plus: The Menurkey For Thanksgivukkah
1. Cosmo Kramer Was Not Available For Comment.
“McDonald’s this week launched a pilot program under which patrons can build their own burgers,” the Tribune notes.
“The test, at two restaurants in the U.S., lets customers pick from a variety of toppings. To accommodate the change, and speed food delivery in general, the chain has begun outfitting stores with larger ‘assembly tables’ that can hold more ingredients.”
No worries – it’s all supervised!
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2. Starbucks Burnt.
“Starbucks Corp on Wednesday said breaking up with Kraft was hard to do, but worth the high price, after an arbitrator ruled it must pay a whopping $2.76 billion for ending the companies’ grocery coffee partnership early,” Reuters reports.
“The world’s biggest coffee chain will restate results for the latest quarter to show an operating loss and issue debt following the bigger-than-expected award.”
The restated results will look something like this: “minus $2.76 billion.”
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“[This] is a one-time charge in a single moment in time, and now it’s behind us,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz restated on a conference call with analysts on Wednesday.
“[This] was, without question, the right strategic decision for Starbucks, our brand and our shareholders,” Schultz restated.
“Oops,” Schultz privately restated later.
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3. Rick Bayless Doubles Down.
“Scaffolding has appeared on the facade of the former Salud space on Milwaukee Avenue, meaning construction is underway on the first new stand-alone Rick Bayless restaurant in Chicago since XOCO opened more than four years ago,” Eater reports.
“In fact, that restaurant will be another XOCO – with a couple tweaks, Bayless says. But Bayless also says that his other new restaurant – on Randolph Row – will be ‘a completely new concept that you’ve never seen before.'”
That’s a pretty big promise. We hope he didn’t steal our idea for reprising the school lunchroom as a restaurant, or serving folks while sitting in airplane seats.
Whatever the specific concept is, it’s something that’s been percolating in Bayless’ brain for a long time. “We’ve been thinking (about Randolph) for quite some time,” Bayless says. “That’s the thing that we’re really putting a lot of creative energy into, but working with the landlord on the lease was taking forever and ever and ever.”
He also says it’s “sort of in the Frontera world but it’s super rustic, and there’s virtually nothing like it in the United States.”
So something that exists in the Mexico countryside . . .
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As for Wicker Park, we still miss El Chino’s.
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4. The Menurkey For Thanksgivukkah.
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5. Exporting Chicago.
* Burger Joint Chicago Coming To Downtown Phoenix.
“According to the restaurant’s website, it operates one location on Franklin Street in Chicago. Its menu boasts hamburgers, gyros and a number of specialty French fry options such as spicy feta fries and blue cheese fries.”
* Restaurant Owner To Bring Chicago-Style Hot Dog Cuisine To Downtown Saline.
That’s in Michigan, and oddly the owner calls her joint The Detroit Dog Co.
* Big Beef City Chicago-Style Restaurant In Packers Country.
The Bears play the Packers again on December 29 – the last game of the regular season.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on November 19, 2013