Several states have eased lockdown restrictions, including Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma. Now, businesses are deciding whether to reopen, and, if so, reorganize in order to keep staff and customers safe.
Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of family-owned Dickey's Barbecue Pit, told Cheddar on Monday that the chain's restaurants are slowly reopening their dining rooms to customers and have taken steps to implement social distancing rules in seating arrangements.
"Our dining rooms, we are reconfiguring them. The tables are set, but we're pulling away those excess chairs, making sure seating is six feet apart. When you come into a restaurant you'll see hand sanitizer by the door, you'll see the pit crew in face masks and gloves, and then you'll see everything set up to just help that social distancing," Dickey said.
While customers who arrive together will be able to sit together, there will not be large communal tables like they had before.
During the first few days of the lockdown, the barbecue chain saw dining room traffic drop to less than 9 percent according to the CEO. But, because of their digital services, it was able to recover some of the lost revenue.
"Our sales, thankfully, because we had a very strong online ordering, very strong delivery, very strong curbside, and we've always been caterers -- barbecue lends itself to that -- that we were set up," she said. "It certainly took us six weeks to replace dining room traffic to digital traffic, one to one, but we hit that on Thursday."
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
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A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
