Supermarket, Grocery & C-Store

• 7-Eleven Inc. recently opened its first pop-up store at a hospital in Dallas, TX.

• Cub Foods is adding 24-hour service at more of its stores.

 • The Kroger Co. has begun accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for its online grocery pickup service. Walmart Stores Inc. has as well.

• Kwik Chek Convenience Stores Inc. is now offering family meal deals for customers to take home, heat and eat, that all cost less than $20 and serve four.

• RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. recently launched an online ordering platform.

• Safeway Inc. started using the Heroes Jobs video app at its Vons stores to increase recruiting efficiency. The app eliminates the need for hiring managers to screen resumes or conduct phone interviews to assess candidates.

• Sprouts Farmers Markets is now offering the Instacart grocery pickup service to customers at all its store locations.

• Sysco Canada has launched an online grocery service called Sysco@Home that lets customers order food, household and cleaning products in bulk and then retrieve them at a nearby Sysco location where their orders will be brought out and loaded into their vehicles.

Retail

• ABC Supply Co. Inc. announced that customers can now place orders day or night through its myABCsupply app.

• Amazon.com Inc. has opened a dedicated e-commerce store for COVID-19-related supplies, limiting sales to hospitals and government organizations only.

• Batteries Plus Bulbs is keeping its stores open by switching to curbside pickup.

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is postponing its store remodeling plans to 2021. The retailer is planning to invest in omnichannel operations including curbside pickup, as well as digital marketing and personalization. Bed Bath & Beyond has converted 25% of its closed stores into regional fulfillment centers.

• Costco Wholesale Corp. has partnered with Instacart to launch prescription delivery at almost 200 club locations.

• CVS Health announced the launch of a new rapid COVID-19 drive-through testing site in Dearborn, MI.

• Gold’s Gym International Inc. has permanently closed 30 company-owned clubs, mostly in Alabama, Colorado and Missouri.

• Levi Strauss & Co., Tommy Hilfiger, and Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. are some of the top retailers that have recently created their own new virtual reality retail experiences to help boost online sales.

• Michaels Stores Inc. is rolling out contactless, same-day delivery at select U.S. stores.

• Rite Aid Corporation launched its new website and mobile app, and has also added self-checkouts to some of its stores. Rite Aid is opening 11 new COVID-19 testing sites this week.

• Stein Mart Inc. and Kingswood Capital Management have mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement, meaning Stein Mart will not be taken private.

• True Value Company has retooled two paint-filling lines at its factory in Cary, IL, to produce jugs of hand sanitizer. Starting this week they are being shipped free to stores for their own use. The product will go on sale to the public eventually.

• Walmart Stores Inc. said that it plans to hire an additional 50,000 workers. Approximately 85% of the new hires are for temporary or part-time roles. Walmart is opening its first coronavirus testing site in Texas.

Restaurant

• Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. will be providing free washable masks to all of their employees.

• Dog Haus International LLC has launched three virtual brands or ghost kitchen concepts. The ghost kitchens will be delivery only and the new brands are Bad Mutha Clucka, Plant B, and Bad-Ass Breakfast Burritos.

• Nathan’s Famous Inc. will be partnering with a delivery only kitchen called Franklin Junction to help expand their delivery platform.

• Raising Cane’s LLC still has most of their restaurants open for drive thru, but they are using their closed dining rooms to sew masks for local hospitals.

• Red Lobster Seafood Co. is debuting new date night meals and they have also partnered with Zoom to create customized meetings for virtual date nights.

• Taco Bell Corp. will be temporarily converting its headquarters into a drive-thru for eseential workers and first responders who drive large service vehicles.

• The following restaurants are now donating or offering free meals to local first responders and health care workers: Buffalo’s Café, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Church’s Chicken, Cowboy Chicken Inc., McDonald’s Corporation, RAVE Restaurant Group Inc, Smoothie King, Subway, Tijuana Flats, and The Wendy’s Company.