This week on NRN.com, the most-read story was our weekly Menu Tracker column, featuring new items at McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, Pizza Hut, Dunkin’ and 13 other restaurant chains.
Also topping the charts were interviews with restaurant operators. We spoke with Anand Gala, who together with Chris Dharod is hoping to revitalize struggling pizza-buffet chain Cicis. And on our Extra Serving podcast, Just Salad’s chief sustainability officer Sandra Noonan and chief marketing officer Andy Rooks explained how the chain continues to be a leader in sustainability innovation.
It’s earnings season, and Chili’s parent Brinker is preparing for a post-COVID-vaccine world. On the company’s quarterly call, CEO Wyman Roberts said he expects consumers to be “fundamentally changed” after the pandemic with no return to the “old normal.”
Yum Brands shook up its C-suite this week, promoting Tracy Skeans to chief operating officer. Skeans retains her role as chief people officer for the company. We also rounded up January’s restaurant executive changes.
In politics, President Joe Biden took executive action on immigration reform, largely undoing Trump administration policies with a Task Force on New Americans. And Democrats introduced a restaurant bailout in their 2021 budget resolution.
Read all these stories and more in this week’s roundup of trending stories.