Latest news with #All-StarSpecial
Miami Herald
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Iconic restaurant chain launches late-night delivery
Very few restaurant chains are both famous and infamous. Most restaurants simply serve food. They may have a gimmick like Cracker Barrel's stores or McDonald's offering toys in its Happy Meals, but they're just restaurant chains, not cultural touchpoints. Related: Trader Joe's makes key customer-friendly decision Applebee's briefly approached being both famous and infamous with Walkaer Hayes' 2022 song "Fancy Like," which contained the following lyrics: That's a bit tongue in cheek as few people really consider Applebee's fancy, other than country singers looking to show how down-to-earth they are Another restaurant chain, however, has achieved immortality in multiple Saturday Night Live sketches and a vote of approval from a top historian (and my freshman year college advisor). Don't miss the move: SIGN UP for TheStreet's FREE Daily newsletter "Without a doubt Waffle House is the best franchise in America," wrote historian Douglas Brinkley in his book "The Magic Bus." Waffle House is famous for being 24/7 and drawing an interesting clientele because of its late-night hours. The wild antics that can happen there were what Saturday Night Live parodied on multiple occasions. But if you want to skip the drama, Waffle House now offers late-night delivery in partnership with Dispatch from OLO OLO. This makes "it easier than ever to enjoy customer favorites like the Classic Waffle, scattered, smothered & covered hashbrowns, and the All-Star Special from the comfort of home. Waffle House launched online ordering and payment for pick-up with Olo in late 2023." More Food News: McDonald's, Starbucks targeted by rival fast-food chain's takeoverPopular retailer unveils affordable line with unexpected brandOreo celebrates 113th birthday bringing back fan favorite The late-night hours are an expansion of that relationship. "Ordering delivery is simple: guests can visit the Waffle House website or mobile app, enter their location, and place their order from a participating nearby store. Olo Dispatch then finds the best available delivery provider, ensuring hot and fresh meals arrive quickly through a seamless and reliable experience," the chain shared in a press release. Waffle House delivery through Olo's Dispatch is now available at more than 500 of the 2,000 locations across 25 states and will continue to roll out to more locations throughout the year. Olo is a relative upstart in the delivery world where it competes with established leaders Uber Eats and DoorDash. In fact, the company does not even specificaly mention delivery, which it offers under its Dispatch platform, it its bio on its website. "Olo is a leading restaurant technology provider with ordering, payment, and guest engagement solutions. Over 700 restaurant brands trust Olo and its network of more than 300 integration partners to innovate on behalf of the restaurant community, accelerating technology's positive impact and creating a world where every restaurant guest feels like a regular," it shared. The company reported some strong numbers in its fourth-quarter earnings report. Total revenue increased 21% year-over-year to $76.1 platform revenue increased 21% year-over-year to $75.2 profit increased 11% year-over-year to $40.3 million, and was 53% of total revenue. "Team Olo put together a fantastic 2024 that included strong financial performance, new and expansion deployments with marquee restaurant brands, and platform reliability and innovation that powered $29 billion in gross merchandise volume and $2.8 billion in gross payment volume for the year," said Olo CEO Noah Glass. "We are confident in executing further in 2025, including helping more brands drive profitable traffic through the Olo Guest Data Flywheel, and beginning to penetrate the more than $100 billion in card-present gross payment volume within our existing base through our new Olo Pay partnership with FreedomPay." Related: Iconic beer brand closes another beloved craft brewery The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Breakfast Chain That Will Now Charge You An Extra 50 Cents Per Egg
Bird flu is back and the failure to limit its spread has led to concerning outbreaks among dairy cows and forced farmers to slaughter hundreds of millions of chickens — and egg prices are surging again because of it. In some parts of the country, customers are paying double the average price, with organic and free-range varieties becoming even more expensive. Others are walking into grocers to find the egg fridges barren, with some stores going as far as to place limits on how many customers can buy at once. To make matters worse, an end to the shortage is not in sight. The Agriculture Department expects prices to surge another 20% this year, and restaurants are responding — including Anthony Bourdain's favorite 24-hour dining spot, Waffle House. Customers of the popular, southern breakfast chain were met with signs posted on the doors announcing a temporary, $.50 surcharge per egg due to the nation-wide rise in cost. "The continuing egg shortage caused by HPAI (bird flu) has caused a dramatic increase in egg prices," Waffle House said in a statement to CNN. "Customers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions." According to its website, eggs are Waffle House's most ordered item — surpassing hash browns and waffles to serve its customers a total of 272 million per year. Waffle House added that it'd continue to monitor egg prices and "adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow." Read more: 9 Tricks To Prevent Fried Eggs From Spreading Waffle House's signature breakfast special, popularly known as the All-Star Special, includes an order of grits, toast, bacon, and, of course, a must order restaurant waffle, with eggs served your way. It has built an established reputation as a favorite among customers for its balance in taste and value — but, at $11.30, some people already found the price difficult to justify. However, given the chain's recent egg surcharge implementation, those who frequented for a quick, cheap, or late night meal might find themselves thinking twice. Especially given the inflation they're already experiencing on the food they purchase at grocery stores. Most of the classic breakfast items at Waffle House, including the All-Star Special and the breakfast hashbrown bowls, come with a standard order of two eggs. Accounting for the temporary, $.50 surcharge per egg the breakfast chain recently implemented, that would bring your total to an entire $1 more. But, as mentioned in its statement to CNN, Waffle House claims it will continue to monitor egg prices and adjust that surcharge as the market allows. While that could mean they will eventually remove it, it also means that it could change — and given that the Agriculture Department expects the prices on eggs to increase more in 2025, that charge is most likely going to get more expensive before that happens. Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Waffle House Is Now Charging Extra For Eggs. Here's How Much It'll Cost
The avian flu continues to cause us pain when it comes to egg prices at grocery stores, but restaurants are feeling it too. The popular diner chain, Waffle House, is dealing with the egg shortage by adding a surcharge to each egg served. This comes out to the tune of an additional $0.50 per egg. The surcharge isn't meant to be permanent, however; should market conditions soften, the company may choose to drop the additional fee. Considering Waffle House specializes in breakfast food, it should come as no surprise to you then that eggs are its best seller. According to the company, it serves 272 million eggs per year (second runner up is hashbrowns at 153 million orders), so any increase in its bestseller's base cost could easily cause some serious financial upset for the company. Waffle House has approximately 2,100 locations, so that's a lot of eggs that are currently affected. Your All-Star Special just got at least $1 more expensive. Read more: 6 Frozen Breakfast Sandwiches You Should Buy And 6 To Avoid Unfortunately, with the egg shortage still in full swing, the cost of a dozen eggs at the store is projected to go up even further this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has predicted that prices are going to rise another 20% with no clear resolution in sight. Even if the avian flu outbreak suddenly ceased, it still takes quite a bit of time to grow hens to egg-laying size, approximately 26 weeks (or 6.5 months). And at first, the eggs from those chickens start off small until the birds fully mature to the point where they produce the larger-sized ones we typically seek out at the supermarket. But the flu is ongoing. When a flock contracts the virus, it must be culled as the influenza can spread through the flock rapidly, killing birds within mere hours. I hate to say it, but we're in it for the long haul on this one. Our breakfasts and baked goods are only going to cost more this year, especially at the diner. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Homestyle Food
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Homestyle Food Constructor: Dylan Schiff Editor: Jared Goudsmit ALLIE (15A: Activist ___ Redhorse Young) ALLIE Redhorse Young is a writer and the founder of Protect the Sacred, a grassroots organization focused on educating and empowering Navajo leaders and allies. She is a member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation in northern New Mexico. SODA (68A: Drink such as Inca Kola) Inca Kola, also known as Golden Kola, is a SODA that originates from Peru. Its main ingredient is lemon verbena, giving it a sweet, fruity flavor. Outside of Peru, the Coca-Cola company owns the Inca Kola trademark. TROOP (13A: Scouts BSA group) Scouts BSA is the division of BSA (Boy Scouts of America) that has programming for kids between the ages of 11 and 17. Scouts BSA participants are organized into TROOPs. Here's a heads up for you: On February 8, 2025, the organization's 115 anniversary, BSA will officially change its name to Scouting America. The name change reflects the organization's 2019 policy change that allows girls to join. WAFFLE HOUSE (17A: Restaurant chain that serves the All-Star Special) Founded in 1955 in Georgia, WAFFLE HOUSE now has locations in 25 U.S. States. (Those states do not include Iowa, sadly.) The WAFFLE HOUSE All-Star Special includes eggs, toast, a WAFFLE, choice of bacon, sausage, or ham, and choice of grits, hash browns, or sliced tomatoes. A TON (22A: Oodles) and A LOT (6D: Oodles) Oodles of oodles clues! Okay, two is not exactly oodles, but I couldn't resist. MISO (27A: Soup made with dashi) Homemade dashi is made by heating water containing edible kelp and other ingredients, and then straining the liquid. Dashi powder may be used instead of making homemade stock. Dashi is used as a base for MISO soup. PIZZA HUT (36A: Restaurant chain that once served the P'Zone) Founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, PIZZA HUT now has locations around the world, including in all 50 U.S. states (even Iowa!). The P'zone was a calzone-style PIZZA launched by PIZZA HUT in 2002. It is currently discontinued, although the chain briefly brought it back in 2019. EVAN (42A: "Westworld" actress ___ Rachel Wood) The TV series Westworld (2016-2022) is based on a 1973 movie of the same name. The TV show's story began in a Wild-West-themed amusement park. The hosts in the technologically advanced park are droids. The show's setting eventually expanded to the "real world," where people's lives are controlled by artificial intelligence. EVAN Rachel Wood portrays Dolores Abernathy, a host working at the amusement park. She won a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for the role. ASPENS (47A: "Quaking" trees) Quaking ASPENS are named because their leaves appear to tremble in even the slightest breeze. A fun fact about ASPENS is they propagate through their roots, so when you see a grove of ASPENS, it is often one organism sharing a common root system. UNIT (50A: Mile or mole) A mile is a UNIT of length. As you might have learned at some point, a mile is equal to 5,280 feet. A mole is a UNIT used to measure the amount of a substance, particularly the number of particles. One mole is equal to 6.02214076 x 1023 entities, whether that's atoms, molecules, ions, or other particles. That number (approximately 602 sextillion) is referred to as the Avogadro number. INDIRA (53A: Indian prime minister Gandhi) INDIRA Gandhi (1917-1984) was the prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She is the only female prime minister India has had to date. Although they share a last name (which for INDIRA Gandhi was her married name), INDIRA Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi (who led India to independence and whose likeness is featured on their currency) were not related. EAT (55A: Chow down) This is a nice bonus answer in this restaurant-theme puzzle. MAC ( 59A: ___ and cheese burger) A MAC and cheese burger is exactly what it sounds like, a hamburger with MAC and cheese as one of the toppings. SHAKE SHACK (62A: Restaurant chain that serves 'Shroom Burgers) Founded in 2004 in New York City, and starting out as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park, SHAKE SHACK now has 262 locations in the United States (but none in Iowa, sadly), as well as locations around the world. SHAKE SHACK's 'Shroom Burger is a veggie burger that consists of a fried portobello mushroom filled with melted cheddar cheese. CLUES (7D: Crossword hints) I'm a fan of self-referential CLUES. OKRA (58D: Veggie in some maque choux) Maque choux is a traditional dish of Louisiana. It consists of corn, green pepper, onion, and sometimes other vegetables, which are braised with bacon grease. OKRA is one of the vegetables that is sometimes included in the dish. A few other CLUES I especially enjoyed: PEEVES (31A: "Pet" frustrations) NPR TOTE (41D: Iconic bag from a D.C. broadcaster) HID (63D: Avoided the seeker, in a kids' game) WAFFLE HOUSE (17A: Restaurant chain that serves the All-Star Special) PIZZA HUT (36A: Restaurant chain that once served the P'Zone) SHAKE SHACK (62A: Restaurant chain that serves 'Shroom Burgers) HOMESTYLE FOOD: Each theme answer is a restaurant chain whose name is comprised of a FOOD (first word) and a STYLE of HOME (second word). This is a clever theme. It's fun that the theme uses both parts of each theme answer. I also appreciated the choice to clue each theme answer in a parallel manner, [Restaurant chain that serves (or once served) "menu item"]. The only problem I see with this theme is that it has made me hungry. Thank you, Dylan, for this delightful puzzle. One more thing: Occasionally I like to mention things that are happening in the broader crossword world, and today I have two things to share with you. The first one is the Boswords Winter Wondersolve, an online crossword tournament that will happen this coming Sunday from 1:00-4:30 pm Eastern Time. It's not too late to sign up, and I highly recommend it. Boswords holds four events a year – one each season – and they are always worthwhile and extremely enjoyable. Secondly, some folks in the crossword community put together the ORCA Awards each year, to honor great puzzles and clues from the previous year. Voting is currently open for the 13th ORCA Awards. I always enjoy looking at the ballot as a way to marvel at the many crosswords available. The ORCA awards ceremony will be online on February 24 at 9:00 pm Eastern time. USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for January 30, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
