If we’ve learned anything during the pandemic, it’s that anything goes in 2020. Anything. I mean, Cracker Barrel is starting to sell beer and wine, those roadside hotels we all used to drive right past are now popular destinations for travelers, and people are putting fake freckles on their face. And we still have three months left in the year. So hang on tight.
Restaurants
- &pizza is adding in-person and virtual voter registration portals to its restaurants and website. ???????????????????????? (Restaurant Business)
- Cracker Barrel is going to start selling beer and wine — and now I’m very, very curious what grape pairs best with country fried steak. (Business Insider)
- Dine-in traffic is up, but takeout and delivery are still Americans’ preferred ways of eating nowadays. (Restaurant Dive)
Travel & Hospitality
- Roadside hotels are living their best lives right now as many Americans opt for vacations to National Parks, the beach, small towns, and the countryside. (The Wall Street Journal)
- Hotels and convention centers are hurting during COVID-19 — and the president of one convention center in New Orleans says it’s going to take more than a vaccine to save them. (CBS 4 New Orleans)
- The hospitality industry still has a long way to go to return to the golden pre-pandemic days, with one analyst saying recovery won’t begin until 2021. (Bloomberg Surveillance)
Fitness, Health, & Wellness
- A Planet Fitness franchisee in Kern County, California, is reopening gyms after being deemed an essential healthcare and public health business, while other gyms in the area remain limited to outdoor activity only. (Club Solutions)
- An AI-powered fitness app — which has over 600,000 subscribers in Europe — received $25 million in Series B funding. (TechCrunch)
- It feels like I’m constantly asking myself, “Do I have a cold, allergies, or COVID-19?” Here’s how to tell the difference. (com)
Home Services
- A female plumber created a program called “Tools & Tiaras” to introduce girls to construction trades like plumbing, carpentry, and electrical. ???????????? (CNN)
Retail
- More retailers are now paying rent, but the battle with landlords continues. (CNBC)
- Experts believe curbside pickup is here to stay, calling it “exceptionally sticky.” (Yahoo! Finance)
- Retailers expect the holiday gift-buying season to start in — wait for it — October, mainly because people are concerned about on-time delivery as more shopping moves online. (CBS News)
Beauty
- Here’s how the pandemic is changing the future of fashion and shopping. (Los Angeles Times)
- There’s a makeup primer with THC in it, so, naturally, a BuzzFeed reporter tried it. (BuzzFeed)
- I’ve never once had anyone say they were jealous of my freckles growing up, but apparently in 2020 when anything is possible, faux freckles are officially a trend. (The Zoe Report)
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