Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store

• 7-Eleven Inc. has partnered with Instacart to offer grocery delivery in more than 750 7-Eleven stores in Dallas, Miami, Washington, DC, and Baltimore, with plans to expand to more than 7,000 stores.

• Casey’s General Stores Inc. now offers curbside pickup via the Casey’s mobile app.

• Metro Inc. recently opened its ninth e-commerce hub store in Sherbrooke, QC. In addition, the company aims to expand its hub store model to offer online grocery pickup service in about 30 stores in Quebec and Ontario next year.

• SpartanNash Company has deployed contact-free payment options at checkout in all of its supermarkets.

• Tops Markets LLC is piloting the Tops Shop + Scan app at an Amherst, NY location that allows customers to use their phone to scan their groceries as they shop.

Retail

• Amazon.com Inc. has received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to operate a drone package delivery service.

• Gap Inc. said it expects to close over 225 Gap and Banana Republic stores globally in 2020, with additional closures expected in 2021.

• Macy’s Inc. announced plans to test several smaller Macy’s stores outside of malls. It also plans to test a smaller-format, non-mall Bloomingdale’s location that will open next year.

Restaurant

• Burger King will be launching their new “Restaurant of Tomorrow” design in 2021, but the company is retrofitting some existing restaurants as well. The new design is a clear response to COVID-19 and will feature three drive-thru lanes, covered drive-in areas, and lockers for mobile orders. Additionally, there will be a walkup counter service and outdoor dining areas. Some select locations will also feature a second floor that houses an entirely separate kitchen, presumably designed for ghost kitchens.

• FreshBytes has partnered with DoorDash to expand their digital ordering platform and provide a nationwide flat-rate delivery cost. This partnership will prevent the high costs of delivery that plagued companies at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Outback Steakhouse is adding many items from its pre-COVID-19 menu to their new limited menu.

• Shake Shack has reversed course on their limited menu and added three new limited time items in order to drive traffic that has been slow since the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Taco Bell Corp. will be finalizing its new streamlined menu in November by removing three classic items and adding four new creations.

• Taco John’s is launching two new family bundles. The new breakfast and lunch bundles are designed to give families struggling with COVID-19 more options.

• Toojays Original Gourmet Deli is partnering with DoorDash to offer free delivery to guests on their first order.

• White Castle is testing a new drive-thru system that will utilize an Artificial Intelligence voice platform and license plate recognition to improve ordering times.

• Zaxby’s is offering families more options by providing recipes that combine household foods with Zaxby’s signature items to create new dishes for those wishing to cook from home.