 |
|
|
|||||
Another day, another announcement of restaurant closures in the casual-dining space. Earlier this week, FAT Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of that process, the restaurant company is seeking to reject leases for a number of shuttered company-owned restaurants, including locations for Johnny Rockets, Smokey Bones, and Yalla Mediterranean, court filings show. FAT Brands owns 18 restaurant chains in total, including Fatburger, Round Table Pizza, Great American Cookies, and more. Most of its more than 2,200 locations worldwide are franchised. FAT Brands said in its bankruptcy filing that it owns roughly 150 locations directly. “Our dynamic portfolio of brands has demonstrated tremendous resilience in a challenging restaurant operating environment over the last few years,” Andy Wiederhorn, CEO of FAT Brands, said in a statement when announcing the bankruptcy. “We are well positioned for long-term profitability and growth. The chapter 11 process will provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our capital structure to support our concepts and ensure they remain at the forefront of their sectors.” Which FAT brands locations have shuttered? In its bankruptcy announcement, FAT Brands said it expects restaurants to continue operating normally throughout the process. However, the company disclosed in a bankruptcy filing on Monday that it has shuttered a number of company-owned restaurants: 14 Smokey Bones locations nationwide, along with two Johnny Rockets and five Yalla Mediterranean locations. The latter twos impacted stores are only in California. Fast Company has reached out to FAT Brands to ask if other stores will be impacted. We will update this post if we hear back. Johnny Rockets closures California Orange: 20 City Blvd E Santa Monica: 1322 Third Street Smokey Bones closures Florida Casselberry: 1430 State Road 436 Fort Lauderdale: 6500 N Federal Hwy Plantation: 809 South University Drive Georgia Buford: 3333 Buford Drive, Site 1000 Illinois Rockford: 6690 E State Street Massachusetts Stoughton: 301 Technology Center Drive Michigan Grand Rapids: 4875 28th Street SE Utica: 45001 Schoenherr Road Ohio Columbus: 3939 Mose Crossing Maumee: 512 West Dussel Drive Pennsylvania North Wales: 252 Montgomery Mall Wilkes-Barre: 265 Mundy Street Virginia Newport News: 12541 Jefferson Avenue Woodbridge: 2601 Prince William County Parkway Yalla Mediterranean closures California Dublin: 5246 Dublin Blvd Dublin: 1781 N. Victory Place Seal Beach: 12420-A Seal Beach Blvd Fremont: 3141 Mowry Avenue Walnut Creek: 1813-A Ygnacio Valley Road Some casual-dining restaurants are struggling Life is continually getting more expensive and fewer people are spending their money at casual-dining restaurants. FAT Brands joins the ranks of Noodles & Company, Outback Steakhouse, and Cracker Barrel‘s Maple Street Biscuit Companyall of which have recently closed locations. Some fellow casual-dining restaurants, such as Red Lobster and TGI Fridays, have not only closed stores in recent years but, like FAT Brands, have filed for bankruptcy. However, both of those brands have since plotted out a comeback, and FAT Brands has hinted at one as well. “We plan to use this process to connect with key stakeholders around a value-maximizing plan and will act prudently to remain steadfast in upholding and protecting stakeholder interests,” Wiederhorn said in his statement. Shares of FAT Brands Inc (Nasdaq: FAT) fell 33% on Tuesday following the announcement. The stock was trading at under 25 cents a share in premarket on Wednesday.
Category:
E-Commerce
Two federal officers fired shots during the encounter that killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti over the weekend in Minneapolis, a Customs and Border Protection official told Congress in a notice sent Tuesday, while Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs filed an objection saying immigration agents tried to enter the country’s consulate in the city without permission.Officers tried to take Pretti into custody and he resisted, leading to a struggle, according to a notification to Congress obtained by The Associated Press. During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent yelled, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times, the official said.A Border Patrol officer and a CBP officer each fired Glock pistols, the notice said.Investigators from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said. The law requires the agency to inform relevant congressional committees about deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours.Separately, a man was arrested after he sprayed an unknown liquid at U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar while she was speaking at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis. The Democrat had just called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign when she was sprayed. Trump says ‘we’re going to de-escalate a little bit’ The developments came a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota in the wake of Pretti’s death, which was the second fatal shooting this month of a person at the hands of immigration law enforcement.By sending Homan to Minnesota, “we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ “Will Cain Show.” That’s significant since White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned repeatedly Monday about Homan’s being dispatched to Minnesota, refused to say that doing so was an effort to calm the situation.The president added of Homan, “Tom, as tough as he is, gets along” with governors and mayors, even in Democratic areas.As he left the White House on Tuesday, the president was asked whether Pretti’s killing was justified. He responded by saying that a “big investigation” was underway. In the hours after Pretti’s death, some administration officials sought to blame the shooting on the 37-year-old intensive care nurse.Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff who had initially called Pretti “an assassin,” issued a statement suggesting CBP officers in Minneapolis “may not have been following” protocol. He said the Homeland Security Department’s initial statements about what transpired on Saturday was “based on reports from CBP on the ground.” Ecuador files a protest with the US Embassy A video of the Ecuadorian consulate entry attempt posted on social media shows a staffer running to the door to turn the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents away, telling them, “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You’re not allowed to enter.” One ICE officer can be heard responding by threatening to “grab” the staffer if he touched the agent before agreeing to leave.International law generally prohibits law enforcement authorities from entering foreign consulates or embassies without permission, though sometimes permission may be assumed granted for life-threatening emergencies, like fires.“Consulate officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular building, thus ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorians who were present at the time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,” the ministry wrote on X.A “note of protest” was filed with the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador so that similar attempts aren’t made at other consulates, the ministry said. The State Department, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump says of sending Bovino to Minneapolis: ‘Maybe it wasn’t good here’ Immigration enforcement activity witnessed by journalists in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs on Tuesday appeared comparable with recent weeks. As before, most didn’t result in major confrontations with agents. Activists say they continue to monitor enforcement operations through social media and chats on messaging apps.The White House had tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests of immigration raids. But after Pretti’s killing and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration tapped Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation from Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.Trump said Bovino, the go-to architect for the president’s large-scale city-by-city immigration crackdowns, was “very good” but added “he’s a pretty out-there kind of a guy” and “maybe it wasn’t good here.”Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, along with the city’s police chief, met with Homan on Tuesday and agreed to keep talking. Homan posted on social media that the discussions “were a productive starting point.” Courts weigh in on detained immigrants In Texas, a federal judge issued a temporary order prohibiting the removal of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father who were detained last week in Minnesota in an incident that further inflamed divisions on immigration. U.S. Judge Fred Biery ruled Monday that any removal or transfer of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is on hold while a court case proceeds.Also in Texas, federal immigration authorities released an Ecuadorian man whose detention led the chief federal judge in Minnesota to order the head of ICE to appear in his courtroom, the man’s attorney said.Attorney Graham Ojala-Barbour said the man was released in Texas. The lawyer said in an email to The Associated Press that he was notified in an email from the U.S. attorneys office in Minneapolis that his client had been freed.In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s handling of immigration cases. He took the extraordinary step of ordering Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, to personally appear in his courtroom Friday.Schiltz had said in his order that he would cancel Lyons’ appearance if the man was released from custody.“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” he wrote.Schiltz’s order followed a federal court hearing Monday on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to halt the immigration enforcement surge. The judge in that case said she would prioritize the ruling but did not give a timeline for a decision.Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he said.The Associated Press left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking a response. Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey and Karnowski from Minneapolis. Associated Press writers Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Michelle Price in Washington contributed to this report. Seung Min Kim, Mike Catalini and Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Its been a brutal week when it comes to layoffs. On Monday, shoe giant Nike announced it would lay off 775 employees, and on Tuesday, Pinterest announced it would lay off around 15% of its workforce. The same day, UPS announced 30,000 job cuts. Now Amazon is also joining their ranks with the announcement today of mass layoffs. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? On Wednesday, Amazon announced that it was eliminating 16,000 positions across its workforce. The company has around 1.5 million workers worldwide. In an unfortunate event, on Tuesday, Amazon accidentally sent an email to employees referencing the layoffs before they had been communicated to staff. But now the company has made the layoff announcement official. In a blog post on its website, Amazons senior vice president of people experience and technology, Beth Galetti, reposted the message sent to Amazon employees earlier in the day. In that message, Galetti said the layoffs will impact approximately 16,000 roles at the company. Galetti did not state which divisions would be most impacted by the layoffs. However, the senior VP did note that Amazon will be offering most U.S.-based employees who are affected by the layoffs a chance to look for a new position within the company for the next 90 days. Galetti also stated that Amazon will continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future. Why is Amazon laying off so many workers? Galetti didnt go into detail as to the exact reasons why Amazon is laying off so many workers, other than stating that the company is looking to strengthen itself by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy. However, she did reference the companys earlier mass layoffs. In October 2025, Amazon announced an earlier round of job cuts, eliminating 14,000 corporate roles at the company. At the time, Galetti said those cuts were the result of CEO Andy Jassys September 2024 directive to strengthen Amazons culture and teams. The reductions were sharing today, Galetti wrote when announcing the 2025 layoffs, are a continuation of this work to get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure were investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers current and future needs. At the time, Galetti also stated that Amazon needed to become a leaner company with fewer layersan outlook apparently reached in part due to the rise of artificial intelligence. The world is changing quickly, Galetti wrote in October. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology weve seen since the Internet, and its enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones). Galetti again echoed the theme of a rapidly changing world in her memo today. Just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate, she stated. Thats never been more important than it is today in a world thats changing faster than ever. Amazon also closing stores But Amazon isnt stopping with just layoffs this week. Yesterday, the company announced it was shutting down two of its physical retail store chains. On Tuesday, the company said it would close all of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go grocery stores. After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, weve made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores, the company said. As with the layoffs, the closure of its Go and Fresh stores signifies Amazon is being relentless in its pursuit of cost-cutting and reallocating portions of its business in order to cut operational costs and boost its bottom line. How has Amazons stock reacted? After announcing the closure of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores yesterday, Amazon.com, Inc. stock price (Nasdaq: AMZN) closed up about 2.6% for the day, with AMZN shares finishing at $244.68. As of this writing, AMZN shares seem relatively unaffected by the layoff announcement. Currently, Amazons stock is up about three-tenths of a percent in premarket trading. The companys stock price has already had a small but healthy return in 2026 so far. As of yesterdays close, AMZN shares were up 6% for the year. But over the past 12 months, Amazons stock has underperformed the broader Nasdaq Composite, which is up over 23% since this time last year, according to Yahoo Finance. By contrast, Amazon shares are up less than 4% over the same period. Investors will be eagerly awaiting the results of Amazons all-important holiday quarter when it reports its Q4 2025 earnings on February 5.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||