Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store

• Food Lion LLC has doubled its partnership with Instacart adding the service to nearly 150 additional stores in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

• The Kroger Co. is requiring shoppers to wear a face mask at all stores.

• The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC has introduced a free online dietitian program called Nutrition Partners. The new service enables shoppers to connect with licensed registered dietitians in a virtual nutrition consultation and receive guidance on making healthier food choices.

• Kroger, Walmart, and Wawa are among several larger retailers responding to the coin shortage by asking for exact change, electronic payment, or by stopping the return of change altogether.

 

Retail

• Best Buy Co. Inc. is making it mandatory for customers in all of its stores to wear face coverings.

• Costco Wholesale Corp. announced it will continue to offer special operating hours for members 60 and older and vulnerable shoppers every weekday morning.

• JCPenney Company, Inc. announced that it has identified 152 store closures. The company will reduce its workforce by approximately 1,000 positions.

• The Paper Store Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection blaming the COVID-19 pandemic.

• PVH Corp. plans to close 162 Van Heusen, Izod, Arrow, Warner’s, Olga and Geoffrey Beene outlet stores. The stores are expected to stay open through mid-2021. The retailer also announced it will reduce its North American office workforce by approximately 450 positions or 12%.

• Rite Aid Corporation opened 161 drive-thru COVID-19 testing locations on July 16 in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, more than doubling its testing capabilities.

• Sur La Table has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it has decided to close over 50 of its stores.

• Walmart Stores Inc. announced that they will make the wearing of face coverings mandatory for customers in all of its Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, beginning next week.

 

Restaurant

• Burger King announced that its sales have rebounded to an almost pre-COVID-19 level.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill has opened a new location in Sunbury, OH. The new location features the 100th Chipotlane, the company’s new drive-thru concept. The new store will also feature digital pick-up shelves and is part of the brands focus on off-premise sales following COVID-19.

• Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. has launched First Responder Tribute Cups that will be available through September 30th. A portion of every sale will be donated to The Dickey Foundation which provides safety equipment to first responders.

• Dog Haus International LLC is opening up a new virtual kitchen location in Los Angeles, CA. It will be their third virtual kitchen in Los Angeles and the first in Koreatown.

• Five Guys and Wendy’s have installed new contactless Coca-Cola machines in their restaurants. The machines use QR codes that interact with mobile devices to select flavors and pour the beverages.

• Logan’s Roadhouse Inc. is now offering new to-go options including family meal bundles and meal kits that guests can grill at home.

• The National Restaurant Association has drafted a legislative plan it is calling the “Blueprint for Restaurant Revival” and it has sent the document to congress. The plan hopes to establish a Restaurant Recovery Fund and prioritize testing for supply chain employees among other goals.