McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme expand their partnership. Local restaurants are starting to open off-premises-only units, and pop culture-themed restaurant concepts remain popular. These stories and more This Week in Foodservice. 

Instead of asking “Would you like fries with that” during your next visit to McDonald’s, don’t be surprised if the associate taking the order asks if you might want a doughnut instead. That is because McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme are expanding their partnership to all the burger chain’s locations by the end of 2026, the two companies announced.

The two organizations began testing the sale of doughnuts at McDonald’s back in 2022 before expanding it in 2023, per a Nation’s Restaurant News story. Now the duo will take this initiative nationwide, Krispy Kreme will more than double its distribution reach. Krispy Kreme makes its doughnuts in what the chain refers to as production hubs, which can be in a factory or in a store, and sends them off to retail locations such as grocery stores and gas stations. The company feels it can service roughly 6,000 restaurants with its existing infrastructure, a spokesperson told CNBC. It will continue to ramp up its capacity to accommodate the roughly 7,500 McDonald’s locations it can’t reach as of now.

The rollout of this program will begin in the second half of this year and for the duration of this agreement, McDonald’s will be Krispy Kreme’s exclusive fast-food partner.

Foodservice News

• National chains continue to make headlines by opening off-premises-only locations and now independent restaurant operators are getting in on the action, too. In Chicago, for example, a Jewish deli has opened what Eater describes as a “pint-sized” location “where bagels, babka, and black-and-white cookies have been flying out the door” in the city’s West Town neighborhood. Right now, Steingold’s Bakehouse is pick-up only, but the restaurant plans to offer delivery. There’s no seating inside of this location, which currently serves only a grab-and-go menu. The plan is to eventually serve made-to-order items, too. Steingolds has one location in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood and is about to open another across the street from the venerable ballpark.
• A Wendy’s location Christiansburg, Va., will pilot a drone delivery program with DoorDash. Customers within 2.5 miles of the Wendy’s restaurant will be able to select drone delivery as an option when placing a food order, per a Restaurant Dive story. These customers must have an open space of about six feet in diameter to accept the delivery. This can be something like a driveway or front lawn. The drones travel about 65 miles per hour and the restaurant anticipates making its deliveries within about 30 minutes.
• Pop culture-themed restaurant concepts remain popular, even abroad. The latest example comes from Nickelodeon’s animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. The hit series will open its first standalone restaurant in Brazil next month, per The Hollywood Reporter. The restaurant will seat up to 254 visitors. The first floor of the destination will feature a hamburger restaurant with 144 seats and a design set to make people feel like residents of Bikini Bottom. The Flying Dutchman’s Lounge on the second floor will have 40 seats where “fans can enjoy a unique moment inside the Flying Dutchman’s Ghost Ship,” per the story. Nickelodeon is partnering with a company called Fan&Food in this endeavor.
• A manager at a Nebraska Pizza Hut just celebrated her 50th anniversary with the same restaurant, per a report from KOLN. What started out as a college job to make extra cash has turned into a career that spans decades. The restaurant marked this milestone with discounted pizzas and $1 beers.

Economic News

• The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. increased 0.1% in February 2024. This is the first increase since February 2022 and it comes after a 0.4% January decline. For the six months between August 2023 and February 2024, the LEI contracted by 2.6%, which is 1.2% less than the previous six-month period. Of course, the news was not all good. The Conference Board expects U.S. GDP to slow during the second and third quarters of 2024 due to rising consumer debt and elevated interest rates weighing on consumer spending.
• Initial jobless claims declined by 2,000 for a total of 210,000 for the week ending March 16, 2024, per data from the U.S. Department of Labor. The 4-week moving average was 211,250, an increase of 2,500.
• Sales of existing homes increased by 9.5% in February compared to the previous month, per data from the National Association of Realtors. Sales increased in the West, South and Midwest. Sales were unchanged in the Northeast. Despite strong month-over-month results, sales were down 3.3% compared to February of 2023.
• Sales of new single‐family houses in February 2024 declined 0.3% compared to the previous month, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In contrast, this does represent a 5.9% increase from February 2023.
• New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 1.4% in February compared to the previous month, per the U.S. Census Bureau. This comes after consecutive monthly declines, including a 6.9% January decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.5%. Excluding defense, new orders increased 2.2%.