SmartBrief’s food and beverage readers clicked on a couple stories of importance to restaurants this week, starting with the news that the Senate voted 90-10 to approve the Restaurant Rescue Plan as part of the larger budget resolution that was the next step in passing President Joe Biden’s pandemic relief package.
The Restaurant Rescue plan would allocate $25 billion for a grant program to help struggling restaurants recover from the financial damages sustained as part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
News that Union Square Hospitality Group and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer filed documents detailing his plans to create a special purpose corporation to fund future acquisitions also caught readers’ attention. The entity would raise $250 million in a public stock offering on the New York Stock Exchange, as part of a plan to invest in companies with similar missions and ethics as Union Square, Meyer said in the filing.
Grocery stories also resonated with readers, including a piece covering Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky’s statement that Jeff Bezos will be able to put a greater focus on grocery when he hands over the CEO reins to Andy Jassy and takes the executive chairman seat later this year. Amazon now has a goal of establishing about 2,000 grocery stores under its banners including Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, analysts said.
The planned merger between Northeast grocery chains Tops Markets and Price Chopper/Market 32 made this week’s Top 10 list, as did a story outlining ALDI’s plans to open new stores and grow its curbside pickup program.
The transformation of the Aunt Jemima Brand into Pearl Milling Company drew in readers. Parent Quaker will roll out the new packaging in June and has also created a $1 million grant program to “empower and uplift Black girls and women,” the company said.
Read the entire Top 10:
- Senate approves $25B restaurant relief measure
- Amazon CFO: “Going into grocery” up next for Bezos
- Aunt Jemima becomes the Pearl Milling Company
- Congress to consider $120B restaurant aid package
- Danny Meyer launches restaurant acquisition arm
- Hershey readies organic, zero-sugar candy lineup
- Price Chopper, Tops Markets strike merger deal
- Crepes are the base of this versatile Italian dish
- P&G’s Microban 24 Super Bowl spot touts competitive edge
- ALDI to expand curbside pickup, open 100 new stores
Related stories:
- 2021 is the year of familiar, healthy, daring flavors
- Is the world ready for meat made from animal cells?
- Restaurants vs. retail: Breaking down consumers’ plant-based appetites
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