Weekly Global News Wrap: McDonald’s, Burger King franchisee-owned restaurants remain open in Russia; Starbucks CEO to retire; Chipotle testing tortilla chip making robot
Here is a summary of the most interesting news stories of the week from around the world.
Starbucks chief executive Kevin Johnson is retiring after five years on the job, with Howard Schultz returning as interim chief executive — taking the helm of the company for a third time. The leadership shift also comes against a backdrop of growing efforts among company employees to unionize. Read more from CNBC.
Despite McDonald’s and Burger King joining a growing group of companies planning to temporarily shut down or slow operations in Russia, both chains have faced issues with “rogue” franchisees “refusing to shut down.” Read more from Nation’s Restaurant News.
Uncle Vanya, a Russian fast-food chain, filed to trademark a logo that resembles McDonald's Golden Arches. Read more from Business Insider.
Chipotle announced it teamed with Miso Robotics to create Chippy, an autonomous kitchen assistant that cooks and seasons tortilla chips. The robot is being tested at the Chipotle Cultivate Center in Irvine, California, and will be deployed at a restaurant in Southern California later this year. Read more from Forbes.
DoorDash and Grubhub launched separate initiatives offering drivers relief for gas costs. Read more from Restaurant Dive.
Wendy’s has been instructed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to include a shareholder proposal in its proxy materials that could force the company to disclose the use of gestation crates in its pork supply chain. Read more from Bloomberg.