5 must-know restaurant news stories: April 4, 2014

McDonald’s closes 3 restaurants in Crimea region (The Guardian)
In one of the first consequences for Western brands in the disputed Crimea region seen since Russia’s annexation of the territory from Ukraine last month, McDonald’s says it will close its restaurants in the region’s cities of Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta. McDonald’s Ukraine said in a statement that the restaurants were closing due to a “manufacturing problem,” while a separate statement from McDonald’s Europe cited “operational reasons beyond our control.” Employees in the three affected restaurants will be given the opportunity to transfer to other McDonald’s restaurants in Ukraine and will be given financial assistance to move.

—Mark Brandau

What if Millennials are like everyone else? (Adweek)
Marketers have been scrutinizing Gen Y for years, and businesses including restaurants have made much of tailoring their offerings and experiences to these consumers, roughly born between the late 1970s and early 2000s. However, recent research suggests that there may be not much difference between the buying behaviors of Millennials and consumers who belong to other generations.

—Marcella Veneziale

(Bloomberg Businessweek)
Midnight talk show host Charlie Rose interviewed Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive Howard Schultz on a number of topics. Schultz said he’s in favor of raising the minimum wage, but $15 per hour is “not the right number,” and he said total pay counts, including equity, stock options and other benefits. Schultz has also personally donated $30 million to help returning veterans with job training, as well as supporting the families of wounded soldiers and research into brain trauma.

—Lisa Jennings

Jobs market bounces back as weather effects wane (CNBC)
The U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in March, according to Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 30,000 of those were in restaurants and bars, which was the No. 2 category of job gains, behind 57,000 new positions in “professional and business services,” and ahead of 19,000 in health care. The nation’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 percent.

—Ron Ruggless

GrubHub goes public (GrubHub.com)
Shares of GrubHub Inc. started trading Friday morning on the New York Stock Exchange. The online- and mobile-ordering platform was founded 10 years ago as a way to connect restaurants with customers for convenient delivery orders, and the company has acquired several complementary businesses including Seamless, MenuPages and Allmenus. GrubHub joins another industry marketing partner, Groupon Inc., in the ranks of public companies. Groupon executed its initial public offering in November 2011.

—Mark Brandau