Coronavirus: Industry Impact 2020

Supermarket, Grocery, & C-Store

• Aldi Inc. announced curbside grocery pickup will be available in nearly 600 stores across the country by the end of July.

• Amazon.com Inc. has confirmed it is opening a nearly 43,000 sq. ft. grocery store in Schaumburg, IL. The location, which will open by the end of the year, will include a restaurant with 862 square feet of seating but will not offer the Amazon Go checkout feature.

• Aramark has opened more than 100 on-site, pop-up grocery stores for front-line health care workers located at health care facilities.

• Cumberland Farms Inc. has launched curbside pickup services at its new-concept stores in Massachusetts.

• Southeastern Grocers has launched same-day grocery delivery through Instacart at its Bi-Lo supermarket locations.

• Wawa Inc. has reopened self-serve coffee bars and fountain machines at about 60 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

• Weis Markets Inc. has extended its store operating hours and availability for its Weis 2 Go online grocery service.

Retail

• 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. has reopened some locations in Texas, Florida and Hawaii, under new protocols and with limited hours and services.

• Amazon.com Inc. is partnering with family care platform Care.com to provide all 650,000 full- and time-part employees of Amazon and Whole Foods Market in the U.S. up to 10 days of subsidized emergency backup child or adult care between June 2 and Oct. 2.

• Costco Wholesale Corp. announced it will reopen its food courts by the middle of June.

• CVS Health announced Nuro will begin offering autonomous delivery of prescriptions for CVS Pharmacy customers. The pilot program will start in Houston, TX.

• Lowe’s Companies Inc. announced the launch of Lowe’s for Pros JobSight, an augmented video chat service that allows plumbers, contractors and other professionals to conduct virtual home visits with customers.

• JCPenney Company, Inc. said its stores are reopening at a faster pace now, and it has asked all of its store landlords for abatements on rent.

• Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. said it is cutting its fiscal 2020 new store openings to 30-40 stores and will undertake only about three relocation projects.

• Under Armour Inc. has reopened nearly 50% of its North America stores, and said additional locations will reopen on a case-by-case basis.

Restaurant

• Cracker Barrel has reopened over 75% of their restaurants and will be testing out a new menu and a beer & wine program at select restaurants. The company hopes that the new menu offerings will help boost the limited sales from dining in.

• Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. will continue to offer free delivery through the month of June.

• In-N-Out Burger has filed a lawsuit against its insurer, Zurich American Insurance Company, for denying business interruption loss claims resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Luby’s Inc. is looking to sell its real estate assets and operating divisions as a result of struggles from COVID-19. Some Luby’s Cafeteria and Fuddruckers locations will remain open while the company seeks the sale.

• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. has reopened 158 company-owned stores. The company is also being sued by their landlord for lack of payments and have started paying partial rent for their headquarters location.

• T.G.I. Friday’s Inc. is planning to permanently close around 20% of their restaurants. They have not specified which locations will close or when it will occur.

• The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has reopened 25% of its restaurants for dine-in services. The company hopes to have 65% of restaurants open for dine-in by mid-June.

• The Hummus & Pita Co.is planning a 3-unit franchise giveaway at the International Franchise Online Expo which was held online for the first time this year due to COVID-19. The giveaway is a chance for an experienced operator to help the struggling restaurant industry.

• US Foods Inc. is offering free reopening kits to independent restaurants who qualify across the U.S. The kits contain masks, guidance posters, and resource guides.

• Whataburger has launched their own delivery service and will continue to serve customers through curbside pick-up and drive-thru. The deliveries will be carried out by a third-party service and the food will be in sealed bags for safety.