Food trucks in the U.S. have taken many forms, but have long been a popular option for dining. Now as the coronavirus pandemic alters the way we interact and engage with others, these kitchens on wheels may have a new function, especially on college campuses.
Rod Keller, CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer AYRO is jumping at the opportunity to capitalize on the niche industry in a partnership with Gallery Carts. The new collaboration will combine AYRO's expertise in developing electric vehicles with Gallery's expertise in creating food delivery vehicles.
"Colleges are faced with, 'Well how do we provide food and beverage while at the same time, avoiding the mass crowds that you would typically see inside of a cafeteria?'" Keller told Cheddar.
So far, more than $500,000 has been poured into the collaboration as orders for the vehicles continue to amass. Keller said he's confident that as universities and other large campuses seek safer ways to feed their communities amid the pandemic, the need for their services will grow.
AYRO is also banking on buyers in higher education considering the long-term savings electric vehicles can provide. Keller said its electric vehicles save fleet operators at least 50 percent on fuel and energy costs.
"When people are moving cargo from one side of a university to another, or business campus, or hotel and resort, you don't need a full-sized truck with 400 miles of range running on gasoline to do that," Keller said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent the stock markets into a frenzy for the end of the week. Managing Director of Equity Research at Wedbush Securities, Dan Ives joined Cheddar News to discuss the shifts he expects for the stock market going forward. "It's going to be volatile. Put on the seat belts. I think we'll look back six, nine months. This was an opportunity, not the time to sell, especially some of the high quality names within tech — Microsoft, Apple leading the charge," he said.
Even amid the Great Resignation, the cannabis industry saw major job growth. As of January 2022, the legal industry supported more than 428,000 jobs — a 33 percent increase year-over-year, according to the sixth annual jobs report from Leafly, a website focused on cannabis use and education. Yoko Miyashita, CEO of Leafly, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. “You know we've got big moments coming ahead in New Jersey and New York with adult-use sales starting in New Jersey, hopefully by this fall, with New York quickly to follow," she said. "So we're hugely optimistic about the kind of job growth that those markets can drive with the right type of market setup.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Theaters needed new releases to fill seats, and unfortunately for them, the supply of movies is entirely out of their control. Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo takes a deeper look.
Nick Bailey, president, and CEO at Re/Max, LLC joined Cheddar News to talk about the company's strong Q4 earnings results and the tight real estate market overall. "Real estate has continued to be a very strong sector, and coming into '22, we're already seeing the spring selling season be accelerated because of such high buyer demand," he said. "Buyers thinking that interest rates could fluctuate and go up even more are wanting to be in the market sooner than later."
A still-unidentified attacker was able to steal 254 tokens from 17 traders who held their NFTs on the OpenSea marketplace. Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo takes a close look at how the crypto community is responding.
