Dot Collecting, Dot Connecting 5
Pecorino Ranch Trap Tracks, Scientific Management, and The Simpsons
Feeling a little feisty and snarky. Must be eclipse hangover.
Thinking A Lot About Value Creation and Value Capture for Restaurants: Hint, there’s a big imbalance.
A Trap Track About SB Dunks Chicken Bites and Pecorino Ranch: A new AI toy, Suno, generates pretty generic songs based on prompts but man, it’s still wildly impressive and, yes, scary.
Rich People Apparently Don't Eat Anymore: “It’s a way for the moneyed classes to signal their wealth and status and posture as above us mere mortals who debase ourselves by eating.”
But They Still Really Want to be at Carbone Beach for F1: A $6,500 deuce is also a way for the moneyed classes to signal their wealth and status and posture as above us mere mortals.
And Some of Them Really Like Owning Fast Food Chains: Nearly 36% of Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holdings are in Chipotle & Restaurant Brands International (Burger King, Tim Horton’s, etc.) It’s a $10B portfolio.
Restaurant Wages Up 46% Since 2017: Nuff said…but no wonder we’re seeking efficiencies anywhere we can, so…
Frederick Winslow Taylor Would be So Proud: Going from 18,000 steps per shift to 9,000. Less Steps = Less People = Less Labor Cost.
No, Like Seriously Proud: Making Starbucks quieter so baristas can hear orders better. Also wonder if it’s play to making it more work friendly in Zoom times.
While We Await the Robot Army: Curious why my hometown of Boston isn’t winning in hospitality robotics….Toast, MIT, BU Hospitality, and Boston Dynamics? Maybe the $300B restaurant labor market wasn’t big enough?
I Still Really, Really Want to Talk About Restaurants and Roblox: If you want to reach young people, seems like gaming, Youtube, and TikTok are table stakes, for now.
Or Maybe We Could Do a Mario Kart & Chick Fil-a Drive Through Collab: When did drive thru’s get more lanes than San Ysidro Border Crossing?
Ghost Kitchen Exploitative Labor Practices Get Their Simpsons Moment: A true milestone for the Gig Economy.
While Wonder Makes Things More Interesting: Marc Lore is channeling Ted Sarandos of Netflix strategy -“We have to become HBO before they become us”. The Lore & Wonder version—We have to become Doordash before they become us.
I am SO Envious of Fast Food Marketing: A billboard that says nothing, is McDonald’s unmistakeable yellow, and SMELLS LIKE FRENCH FRIES.
There's a Natural Selection Metaphor and/or Joke Here But I Can't Find It: Movie theaters survive because no one can think of anything else to do with the weird spaces.
Bye for now…Eli