Another chain gets acquired out of bankruptcy. C-stores continue to expand their footprint. Consolidation comes to the robotics and automation segment. These stories and a few more This Week in Foodservice.

Celebrity chef Michael Symon is lending his culinary prowess to the blue-collar segment of corporate dining.

Through a partnership with Sodexo’s Kitchen Works, Symon has developed what’s described as “hearty and nutritious meals” that the contract feeder can serve in less than 30 minutes at 200 client sites across the U.S. The target audience for this endeavor is Sodexo’s clients in manufacturing and other blue-collar work environments.

Sample menu items include corned beef with cabbage and Irish soda bread, traditional goulash with sour cream and chives, and sticky pork with coconut rice and papaya relish.

Foodservice News

• As many restaurant chains look to shrink the size of their units, c-stores are going in the opposite direction. Retailers like Rutter’s and 7-Eleven are upgrading their locations to feature new food offerings, as C-Store Dive reports. This translates into needing more equipment and more staff, among other things. Collectively, that creates the need for a larger footprint.
• Bucca di Beppo was sold out of bankruptcy for $27 million to lender Main Street Capital, per multiple published reports, including this one from FSR Magazine. Main Street Capital was Bucca di Beppo’s lender and the only company to bid on the 44-unit chain.
• C-stores are finding it tough to compete on price with quick-service restaurants, reports Restaurant Business. One main reason is QSRs continue to add value meals to increase foot traffic. Among c-store operators who consider their foodservice programs to be in direct competition with QSRs, three-quarters said they are specifically concerned about McDonald’s value meal offerings on their own traffic and sales for foodservice.
• For the first time in nine years, Walk-On’s Sports will open multiple corporate restaurants in 2025, per Restaurant Dive. The units will feature a new, smaller prototype that includes a refreshed exterior and interior design, in addition to technological upgrades to its kitchen equipment.
• Consolidation is now hitting the robotics arena. Serve Robotics inked a deal to acquire Vebu, a restaurant automation and robotics company best known for its avocado processing unit known as Autocado. This product is in a test at Chipotle restaurant in California. Vebu's founder and CEO Buck Jordan will join Serve Robotics as senior vice president of kitchen automation when the deal closes. Jordan previously founded Miso Robotics
• Bloomin’ Brands is “refranchising” its Brazilian operations. In a deal valued at approximately $243 million, Vinici Partners will acquire 67% of Bloomin’ Brands' Brazil business. The deal includes an ongoing royalty system and Bloomin’ Brands has the option of selling its remaining interests in the operation in 2028, per a company release.
• A key pillar of Krispy Kreme’s growth plan continues to be increasing access to its products through other partners. The chain plans to have its doughnuts available in nearly 2,000 McDonald’s restaurants by the end of 2024, the company said during an earnings call. The company plans to grow a “bigger Krispy Kreme” by focusing on making its doughnuts available through “retail shops, online and delivered daily to grocers, convenience stores and quick services restaurants.” The company reports having 16,000 points of access spread across 40 countries and expects that to grow to 35,000 points of access across 50 countries.
• Kudos to Jeanine Cosgrove-Albert, vice president for At Your Service Staffing. Cosgrove-Albert is the 2024 recipient of the Dick Cattani Stewardship Award presented by the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management Foundation. She received the award during the SHFM’ Foundation’s Annual Gala, which took place earlier this week in New York City.

Economic News

• Consumers’ thoughts about the future appear to be improving. The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment came in at 73.0 for November, which is 2.5 points greater than October and 11.7 points greater than November of 2023. Driving the increase was the Index of Consumer Expectations, which grew to 78.5 in November. This was 4.4 points greater than October and 21.7 points more than November of 2023.
• Consumer credit increased 3.2% during the third quarter, the U.S. Federal Reserve reported. Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 2.8%, while nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 3.4%. In September, consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 1.4%.
• The outlook among small business owners brightened a little in October. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index crept up 2.2 points for a reading of 93.7. Unfortunately, that is still less than its 50-year average of 98. A net negative 20% of small business operators reported higher sales in the past three months, the lowest reading since July 2020.
• Initial jobless claims increased by 3,000 for a total of 221,000 for the week ending November 2, 2024, per the U.S. Department of Labor. The 4-week moving average was 227,250, a decrease of 9,750 from the previous week.
• Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.2% in the third quarter of 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Output increased 3.5% and hours worked increased 1.2%. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.0% in the third quarter of 2024.