Restaurant

A lot of attention has been paid to the impact of mobile wallets in the payment technology arena. However, other technologies are also emerging to make payment, among other shopping activities, easier and more efficient. For example, 1-800-Flowers.com is partnering with Amazon.com to make the digital ordering process (including processing and payment) even easier.  

The end of summer is often a sad time, but workers at U.S. Starbucks stores have more to look forward to with the coming of autumn than football and the changing of leaf colors.   Effective Oct. 3, 2016, the coffee retailer is giving all employees and managers in U.S. company-operated stores an increase in base pay of 5% or greater. The range of increase will be determined by geographic and market factors.  

Bolstered by the rapid expansion of build-your-own pizza concepts, fast-casual chains had another strong year in 2015.   That’s according to Technomic Inc.’s annual Top 250 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurant report, which reported that cumulative sales in the fast-casual dining segment rose 11.6% in 205, compared to 13.5% in 2014.  

The Wendy's Co. is offering an update on a cyberattack it first reported in February 2016, and it contains some decidedly unsurprising details.   Wendy’s believes the breach resulted from third-party service providers' remote access credentials being compromised. This allowed access, and the ability to deploy malware, to some franchisees' point-of-sale systems. To date, Wendy’s said there has been no indication that any Company-operated restaurants were impacted.  

From convenient access to reduced heating costs, automatic doors provide retailers with some key benefits.

Restaurants have long served as critical components in the experiential equation of Steiner + Associates town centers. “Eating out is in,” said Yaromir Steiner. “Whether it is a chef-driven concept or a fast-casual restaurant, dining is an inherently social activity that elevates the destination status of a community, drives traffic and captures coveted discretionary dollars.

It is a synergy evident in many of the restaurant concepts that call Steiner + Associates’ projects home, as exemplified by The Northstar Café.

How businesses should respond to the new rule

In May, the Department of Labor unveiled new overtime regulations. The biggest change — and the one that will impact retailers the most — is the nearly doubling of the salary threshold that entitles most salaried workers to overtime pay from $23,660 to $47,476, which is based upon the 40th percentile of the lowest-wage region, the South. The previous cutoff was set back in 2004.

Entertainment concepts are the future of retail fun

Retail has been the foundation of shopping centers throughout their existence, but new entertainment concepts are making inroads in traditional retail venues.

Even in mixed-use venues, it’s generally accepted that a critical mass of traditional retail is the highlight, and that other uses are complementary pieces, designed to drive traffic and support the retail component.