Latest Hospitality and leisure industry News
Wendy's closing 140 more restaurants as part of push to update its locations
Wendy’s plans to close 140 U.S. restaurants before the end of this year on top of the 100 it said it would close in May. But in a conference call with investors Thursday, the company said those closures will be offset by new restaurant openings. Wendy’s said it plans to open...
Tourists toss coins over a makeshift pool as Rome’s Trevi Fountain undergoes maintenance
ROME (AP) — Tourists eager to return to the Eternal City are being forced to toss coins over a plastic barrier and into a small makeshift pool in front of Rome’s Trevi Fountain while the attraction is being drained for maintenance. The rectangular box, unadorned and showing its...
At 50, Hello Kitty is as 'kawaii' and lucrative as ever
TOKYO (AP) — Hello Kitty turns 50 on Friday. Befitting a pop icon at midlife, the bubble-headed, bow-wearing character's fictional birthday has brought museum exhibits, a theme park spectacle and a national tour. And that's just in Japan, her literal birthplace but not the one listed in her...
Then & Now: How immigration reshaped the look of a Minnesota farm town
WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Immigration from around the world has transformed Worthington, bringing new businesses to emptying downtown storefronts as well as new worship and recreational spaces to this town of 14,000 residents in the southwestern Minnesota farmland. On the same...
Missouri sports betting ballot measure highlights national debate about tax rates
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The ads promoting a November ballot measur e to legalize sports betting in Missouri tout the potential for millions of new tax dollars devoted to schools. If voters approve the measure, it's a good bet they will see even more ads offering special promotions for bettors....
McDonald's says onions from California-based produce company linked to deadly E. coli outbreak
A California-based produce company was the source of fresh onions linked to a deadly E. coli food poisoning outbreak at McDonald’s, officials with the restaurant chain said Thursday. Meanwhile, other fast-food restaurants — including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King — pulled onions...
Massive displacement from Israel-Hezbollah war transforms Beirut’s famed commercial street
BEIRUT (AP) — Inside what was once one of Beirut’s oldest and best-known cinemas, dozens of Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war spend their time following the news on their phones, cooking, chatting and walking around to pass the time. Outside...
New Jersey loves the money from online sports betting, but fears addictive consequences
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Online sports betting is reaping new revenue for New Jersey but also raising concerns about gambling addiction and potential harm to the finances of Atlantic City's casinos that depend on in-person gamblers, sports books and problem gambling treatment workers testified...
Quarter Pounders are off the menu at 20% of McDonald's in US as E. coli cases are investigated
McDonald’s worked Wednesday to reassure customers that its U.S. restaurants are safe as federal investigators tried to pinpoint the cause of a deadly E. coli outbreak linked to the fast-food giant's Quarter Pounder hamburgers. McDonald's pulled Quarter Pounders from one-fifth of...
New York City doesn't require hotels to be licensed. That's likely changing soon
NEW YORK (AP) — In New York City, you need a license to cut hair, work as a tour guide or operate a doggy day care. But you do not need one to run a hotel. That's likely going to change after city lawmakers passed legislation Wednesday that would require hotels to get a license and...
