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Plus, bleak restaurant statistics from Yelp, and more news to start your day
TGI Fridays joins other struggling restaurants in selling ingredients to cook at home
Look, restaurants are struggling. You can’t fault them for selling whatever they can to make a few bucks, especially now that federal emergency aid is trickling to a close while coronavirus cases keep rising. And yet the question must be raised: Who told TGI Fridays to sell meal kits of raw meat and seafood, and who is buying these “surf & turf” bundles?
The meal kits are part of the restaurant’s new Butcher Shop concept, consisting of uncooked, pre-cut, pre-seasoned meats paired with various sides and toppings (the surf & turf kit, for example, boasts two steaks, four chicken breasts, two salmon filets, 18 garlic-marinated shrimp, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and salad, for $65). TGI Fridays, which has had to close dozens of locations during the pandemic, is marketing the meal kits as a way to bring the restaurant’s “signature flavors home.” The actual TGI Fridays dining experience — dark, crowded, noisy, the air thick with the smell of Jack Daniels sauce — may be a little harder to recreate in your own kitchen..
And in other news…
- According to a new Yelp report, there have been more than 26,000 restaurant closures as of July 10, with 60 percent of those closures being permanent. [The Spoon]
- Like Starbucks, Panera Bread and Noodles & Company are now requiring everyone to wear masks inside their restaurants. [NRN]
- In Moscow this fall, KFC is going to test nuggets of the future: 3D-printed biomeat versions made with a combination of plant material and chicken cells. [The Takeout]
- King Arthur Flour has officially changed its name to King Arthur Baking Co., with an emphasis on the baking. [Baking Business]
- All the incredible $1 food items that New York bars are serving as a way to stay open thanks to an executive order that customers have to buy food if they want alcohol. Care for “a piece of meat” or some “Cuomo chips” with your bourbon? [Vice]
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