"Fast-food workers are in short supply" by Leslie Patton Bloomberg News January 12, 2017
NEW YORK — In today’s tight labor market, restaurants are embroiled in a full-on food fight over workers.
My first bite and it tastes like sh**.
The rank-and-file is winning referral bonuses, free meals, and days off, and the scarcity of candidates may be raising the minimum wage without help from lawmakers. While good news for workers, it may not be for companies and customers. Restaurants will either have to raise prices or accept falling margins. Some stores’ service is suffering.
The US unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in December, near a nine-year low. With its insatiable appetite for new workers, the fast-food business serves as a leading indicator of a labor shortage.
Andrew Puzder, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US Labor Secretary, will be acutely aware of the phenomenon. A foe of raising the minimum wage, he is chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. burger chains. Further intensifying demand for lower-skilled employees, Trump has promised to curb illegal immigration.
Hiring illegals (said he was unaware of her status) and beating his wife didn't help, so he had to withdraw. He was replaced by Alexander Acosta, who will help keep certain episodes in the hangar.
‘‘It’s a hot job market,’’ said Michael Harms, executive director of operations at Dallas-based TDn2K, People Report’s parent. ‘‘Every employee, whether they’re 17 years old or 40 years old, has options.’’
In a December conference call, Chipotle chief executive Steve Ells complained that the lack of well-trained workers has resulted in napkins left on tables, untidy drink stations, and slower meals.
‘‘We took our eye off the ball on the customer service side,’’ Ells told investors....
That wasn't the only thing they balled.
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"The Hilltop cactus sticks with new development" by Adam Vaccaro Globe Staff January 18, 2017
The Hilltop Steak House may be gone, but the giant cactus that for decades stood outside the iconic Route 1 restaurant will stay potted in place.
The developer planning to turn the former restaurant into a housing and retail outpost told Saugus officials at a public meeting Tuesday night that the colorful 68-foot cactus sign would be incorporated into the new project.
“It really is an important marker for the site. It really does represent the history of the site, and our intent is to keep it,” Michael Roberts, senior vice president of Boston development for developer AvalonBay Communities, said in an interview Wednesday.
Its survival represents another reprieve for a Route 1 landmark as the quirky commercial stretch of road undergoes a big face lift with several new planned developments. The large orange dinosaur at Route One Miniature Golf & Batting Cages, which was closed last fall, is also expected to be worked into a redevelopment of that property.
There may not be a lifeboat for every icon, however....
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Related:
"The site will finally transform the last of what has long been considered Woburn’s symbolic black eye — an ever-present reminder of a dark legacy...."
They are getting a Red Robin, a Chick-fil-A, and a Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites hotel.
