Grumpy Editor

ROBOT SERVERS APPEAR IN U.S. RESTAURANTS

 

Robot servers loom as restaurant fixtures in the future, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Some envision waist-high machines greeting guests, leading them to tables, delivering food and drinks, and taking dirty dishes to kitchens.

 

Many think robot waiters are the solution to the industry’s labor shortages.  Sales of robots for restaurants have been growing rapidly in recent years, with tens of thousands now gliding through dining rooms worldwide.

 

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this is where the world is going,” says Dennis Reynolds, dean of the Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston. 

 

The school’s restaurant began using a robot in December, and Reynolds says it has eased the workload for human staff and made service more efficient.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MESSED THESE...

 

MEN WRITE MOST BIUSINESS STORIES.  Men write slightly more than half (53 percent) of all economics and business news stories, according to a Pew Research Center survey. 

 

ACTIVE IMPOSTERS.   IRS imposters are busy.  Since 2018, more than 75,000 victims have lost $28 million to IRS imposters via phone calls, email and texts. 

 

DAWN KOPECKI JOINS NEW NEWS OUTLET.  Dawn Kopecki joins soon-to-launch news outlet The Messenger as deputy business editor. Recently, she was a senior editor for politics, health and science, and investigations at CNBC. 

 

HIRING SLOWS LAST MONTH.  U.S. hiring slowed in March as the labor market began to soften in the face of high interest rates and stubborn inflation.  Employers added 236,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department monthly payroll report.

 

NEW TULIP NAMED AFTER FIRST LADY.  Netherlands names a new tulip variety after First Lady Jill Biden.  The event came during a special ceremony on Wednesday.

 

NORTH KOREA CLAIMS TEST OF NEW DRONE.  North Korea claims it has tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone designed to generate a gigantic “radioactive tsunami” that would destroy ports.

VIRUS TRIGGERS CLOSINGS OF THOUSANDS OF RESTAURANTS

Uncertainty on indoor dining is a key factor in the continued shuttering of restaurants around the country, notes Grumpy Editor.

Already, stemming from the coronavirus sweeping the nation, indoor dining stops at nearly 90,000 restaurants in the U.S., according to the National Restaurant Association.  An additional 10 percent of independent operators could close doors by year end.

Hardest hit are restaurants in downtown commercial districts that usually attract office workers --- who are now working from home or elsewhere.

In California alone, according to Yelp, more than 2,200 restaurants (out of a federally-tallied 81,500) have closed this year stemming from the pandemic.

Yelp notes a 23-percent increase in permanent restaurant closures from a month ago. Bars and clubs are also closing forever at high rates: 44 percent (as of July) of 5,454 temporarily shuttered bars and other nightlife establishments.

Cities experiencing the most temporary and permanent closures include San Francisco, Las Vegas and Honolulu, says Yelp.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

BASEBALL OPENER SETS VIEWER RECORD.  Baseball's opener, in the shortened season, between the Yankees and Nationals on ESPN draws 4 million viewers, the most watched regular season Major League Baseball game on any network since 2011.

SIBERIA WARMS UP.  The United Nations weather agency reports the average June temperatures in Siberia were 18 degrees Fahrenheit above average. 

KOREAN WAR VET FINALLY GETS MEDAL.  Korean War veteran Donald L. Roy, after 67 years, finally receives the Bronze Star medal awarded decades ago for service as an Army medic. The 90-year-old Roy, who was supposed to receive the Bronze Star in 1953, is presented the medal at his home in Standish, Maine.

MARINES SHELVE TANKS.  Deactivation of Marine Corps tank battalions begins following a directive to divest material which could not survive modern warfare.  Companies within the Marines' 1st Tank Battalion in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and the 4th Tank Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif., held deactivation ceremonies last week. 

CHICAGO KIDS GRAB CARS.  Chicago police say a group of children, ages 10 to 17, carjack at least 16 vehicles since late June in the generally peaceful South Side neighborhood.

ARCTIC SEA ICE AFFECTS POLAR BEARS.  Polar bears will be wiped out by the end of the century unless more is done to tackle climate change, a study predicts. Scientists say some populations have already reached their survival limits as the Arctic sea ice shrinks.

N.Y. TIMES SHIFTS HONG KONG STAFF.  The New York Times, in response to a darkening environment for media, relocates one third of its Hong Kong staff to South Korea. 

BAYER LOSES ROUNDUP APPEAL.  In a California court, Bayer lost an appeal in the initial case going to trial linking its Roundup weedkiller to cancer. Bayer maintains Roundup and glyphosate, the active ingredient, is safe.

MAYFLOWER REPLICA READY TO SAIL.  Replica of the Mayflower, which brought pilgrims to Plymouth, Mass. in 1620, is ready to embark next month from Mystic, Conn. to New London, Conn., after three years and $11.2 million in renovations.

HANG IN THERE.  It's just 99 days to Election Day.

National Coffee Day 2012 serves abundance of free cups

With all the fast-moving worldwide events and pressures going on these days, how about a soothing break in routine with a FREE cup of coffee --- favorite beverage (at least during work hours) of editors --- today, tomorrow or Saturday at a number of locations around the nation, poses Grumpy Editor. 

It’s all part of Saturday’s National Coffee Day 2012. 

Take your choice of with or without caffeine. 

Getting a jump on the official day are participating McDonald’s Restaurants that will be passing out free small cups of coffee today and the rest of this week. 

Joining in one day ahead of the official National Coffee Day are participating 7-Elevens tomorrow.  The outlets will serve free 20-ounce cups of coffee from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. 

Then on Saturday, others join in marking National Coffee Day, including: 

Participating Krispy Kreme outlets with free 12-ounce cups of the classic American beverage.  Of course, the 75-year-old retailer will try to lure visitors to munch on one of its sweet treats.

Don’t drink coffee and still want to celebrate? 

Well, Saturday also is Confucius Day, observing the philosopher born in China in 551 B.C. 

So drop by a Chinese restaurant and pick up a fortune cookie.

See what your future holds.

Maybe with a little tea.

Burger King revs up to go public, adds bacon sundae

Will New York media ask mayor Michael Bloomberg --- who frowns on sugary sodas larger than 16 ounces served in restaurants, theaters, delis and vending carts --- what he thinks of today’s Burger King unveiling of a 510-calorie bacon sundae, wonders Grumpy Editor. 

The dessert is composed of vanilla soft serve with a mix of fudge, caramel, bacon crumbles, topped with a vertical slice of bacon. 

Along with its high calorie count, the dessert also contains 18 grams of fat and 61 grams of (attention: Mayor Bloomberg) sugar. 

Burger King today also is debuting several pork, beef and chicken sandwiches. 

Meanwhile, investors who remember Burger King on the New York Stock Exchange until it was taken private in October, 2010 by global investment firm 3G Capital, with offices in New York City and Rio de Janeiro, will have an opportunity again to buy into the world’s second largest hamburger chain later this month. 

That’s when 3G Capital expects to take Burger King public on the NYSE --- where traders, in celebrating the event, might be downing bacon sundaes against the mayor’s wishes.

 

Cartoonists, talk shows rake Bloomberg’s anti-soda plan

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on large-size sodas gave newspaper editorial cartoonists and talk show hosts a field day on Friday and over the weekend, observes Grumpy Editor.

Bloomberg’s idea ran into a hornets nest. 

Look for it to get another round of heavy print/broadcast coverage when his proposal is introduced at a June 12 New York City Board of Health meeting. 

Apparently the mayor --- an independent for five years, after switching from Republican for six years after being a Democrat --- feels Gotham has no problems with crime, potholes, traffic, Wall Street or New Yorkers departing the tax-heavy area.

So citing the measure as a health issue, Bloomberg is turning his focus to curbing large containers of bubbly beverages like Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Canada Dry and Mountain  Dew.  

His “Big Gulp” proposal bans sugary sodas larger than 16 ounces in most restaurants, theaters, delis and vending carts.  It could take effect as early as March.

But milk shakes are okay with Bloomberg. 

Editorial cartoonists, seeing it as something fresh to tackle, immediately jumped on the mayor. 

Among the first editorial cartoonists to spotlight the Big Gulp situation:  Jimmy Margulies who draws for the Record in Hackensack, N.J. 

His syndicated cartoon shows a King Kong-like character atop a skyscraper much like the Empire State building. 

The giant ape is holding a super-size beverage container with a long straw as a fleet of aircraft approach.  From one plane is the message, “You can stay.  It’s the soda we’re after…” 

With broadcast media, Sean Hannity, for example, on his Friday night program on Fox News channel sipped from and waved his large beverage container at TV cameras while discussing events of the day. 

Chatter on Bloomberg’s soda ban spilled over to Sunday talk shows. 

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola smacked the mayor’s proposal in a statement, “New Yorkers  expect and deserve better than this.”

 

Veterans Day 2011 deals abound for past, current military

Veterans Day today finds many operations --- from restaurants to parks --- honoring those in uniform, past or present, with special deals and offers; yet the fine gestures often do not make it into newspapers, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Deals and offers range from free lunch or dinner at many restaurants to a free donut at Krispy Kreme outlets. 

Home improvement chains such as Home Depot and Lowe’s dangle 10 percent discounts.  And a number of parks, commercial and federal, offer free admissions. 

Applebee’s, in efforts to get the word out, for example, paid for half-page ads in some newspapers around the country to announce its free meals today to military veterans and active duty personnel.  With almost 2,000 locations, the neighborhood restaurant chain, an operation of New York Stock Exchange-listed DineEquity Inc., last year served more than one million meals to current or former military. 

In enjoying the attractions and to weed out those not qualified, past and present military are required to show proof of military identification. 

Compiling the many Veterans Day offers is a giant task.  Few newspaper editors assign the time-consuming chore. 

But Ryan Guina, an Air Force veteran who writes about military money topics at themilitarywallet.com goes into detail with a long list of operations that offer Veterans Day deals.  He also writes at cashmoneylife.com. 

On The Military Wallet, he explains, “the military will always be near and dear to my heart, and I want to share as much information with our nation’s veterans and family members as I can.” 

The Web site, he points out, is designed to help military members, veterans, retirees and dependents find information about military money matters including pay, benefits, legislation and more.

 

Eighth-grade lunch patrons at Hooters stir editors

A number of broadcast outlets and newspapers --- stretching to London’s Daily Mail --- went all out on an Associated Press story yesterday about some eighth-grade students on a Baltimore field trip eating lunch at a restaurant that includes a children’s menu, notes Grumpy Editor.

So why the excitement?

The restaurant is Hooters, known for its busty servers.

After 100 Berwick (Pa.) Middle School students visit the National Aquarium in Baltimore, chaperones split them up for different restaurants because the group was too large for one eatery.

So 15 to 20 end up at a Hooters, one of the restaurant chain’s 455 locations in 44 states and a number of overseas nations from Argentina to Taiwan.

The menu at the casual beach-theme restaurants --- where servers wear orange shorts --- includes seafood, sandwiches, salads and spicy chicken wings.

Some editors running the story probably feel the restaurant selection was “shocking.”

But there are no complaints from parents, says Wayne Brookhart, school superintendent.

The Hooters Web site notes 68 percent of customers are male (probably including some of the “shocked” editors), most between 25 and 54 years old.

However, "10 percent of the parties we serve have children in them,” it adds, boosted by a children’s menu.