This week on Nation's Restaurant News, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, leaders from Taco Bell, Starbucks, Wingstop and more reached out to employees as restaurants posted on social media in response to protests.
“What we are seeing played out across the country is tragic and difficult, and I know we all long for change,” said Mark King, CEO of Taco Bell, in a letter to employees. “As an iconic brand that lives and operates in communities around the world, we can facilitate some of that change, together.”
The House passed a bill to extend Paycheck Protection Program and make it more flexible. The bill would allow borrowers 24 weeks, rather than the current eight weeks, to spend the funds, giving restaurants more time to get past the transition period of limited-capacity reopenings.
“Our focus will now shift toward achieving similar bipartisan results in the Senate because enacting these PPP changes will help restaurants get the relief they need to get employees back to work and the industry on the path to recovery,” said Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association, in a statement. The bill passed the Senate late Wednesday.
New menu items were also released last week from brands such as KFC, Taco Bell and Krystal. KFC introduced their new chicken sandwich which includes an extra crispy, double-breaded fried chicken breast that's 20% larger then the current breast on the chicken sandwich. The sandwich is currently in test at 15 locations in and around Orlando, Fla., through June 21 for $3.99.
Click through our gallery to check out what else was trending on NRN.com this week.