Latest news with #FancyLike
New York Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Country singer Walker Hayes was ready to ‘self-destruct' after daughter's funeral service
Advertisement Country singer, Walker Hayes, is opening up about a painful period in his life that almost led him to lose his sobriety. During a recent appearance on the 'K-Love Morning Show,' the 45-year-old singer discussed the loss of his seventh child, his daughter Oakleigh, who was born and died on the same day in June 2018. He was two-and-a-half years sober at the time, but recalled coming home from the cemetery after her funeral, feeling ready 'to just … self-destruct.' 'I drove to a bar called 55 South, and I looked through the window and there were three guys at the bar,' he continued, 'And I was like, 'I'm gonna get a little buzz and I'm going to just mess with those guys. I'm just gonna get in a fight with those guys.'' Advertisement Looking back, Hayes can admit 'it makes zero sense.' He recalled that before getting out of the car, he realized he didn't have his wallet with him and ended up driving back home. Upon arriving home, Hayes had a change of heart, when he looked through a window and saw his wife, Laney, sitting in their house alone. 5 Walker Hayes and his wife, Laney Beville Hayes, at a fair in August 2024. Walker Hayes/Instagram Advertisement 5 Hayes and his family at the grave of his daughter, Oakleigh Klover, on her anniversary on June 6, 2024. Walker Hayes/Instagram 'My wife, sadly, was just sitting by herself, on the day she's buried her daughter. My kids are I don't know where, and she's just in the dark,' Hayes says. 'I could literally see what I was about to do.' 'She's gonna have to pick me up from jail the next day. We were gonna have to start the rehab process all over, you know, and go back to square one,' he continued. 'That was some sin in me that I just saw clearly, and thought, 'I need a savior.' I need redemption from myself.' His daughter Oakleigh died during childbirth on June 6, 2018, after his wife suffered a uterine rupture. Advertisement In addition to Oakleigh, the couple has six other children: sons Beckett, Baylor and Chapel, and daughters Everly, Loxley and Lela, all of whom are often featured on the singer's Instagram. 5 Walker Hayes performs on Day 3 of the Country Summer Music Festival in Santa Rosa, Calif., on June 16, 2024. Getty Images 5 Walker Hayes performs on stage at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona on June 5, 2025. Getty Images 5 Walker Hayes at the CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence Awards in Nashville, Tenn. on Sept. 17, 2024. Getty Images The 'Fancy Like' singer has been vocal about his struggles with alcoholism in the past, often writing about his experiences in his songs. In 2024, Hayes released an album entitled 'Sober Thoughts,' which included songs discussing his experience abusing alcohol. While promoting the album, he appeared on 'Today with Hoda and Jenna' and spoke with the hosts about the moment he decided to get sober after struggling with alcohol abuse for 20 years. Advertisement 'I just woke up on a Saturday, and I just knew if I did this one more day, my body would be affected, some organ,' he explained. 'I'm not a scientist, I'm not a doctor. I just woke up, and it felt like if I do it one more day, I might die.' He explained that while 'everybody loves a drinking song,' he loves singing about his sobriety journey, writing one song a week about his 'freedom from addiction,' because of how grateful he is. 'Sobriety, when you've been drunk that long, you get addicted to it — the clarity, the pep in your step,' he said on the show. 'You go to the gym and you're like, 'I feel like I'm 17.''
Miami Herald
27-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Struggling burger chain closing restaurants, won't raise prices
The line between success and failure in fast-casual sit-down restaurants seems unbelievably narrow. Chili's, for example, has been flying high based on offering low prices and delivering good value. Applebee's has struggled overall, but had success when country singer Walker Hayes name checked the brand in his song "Fancy Like." Related: Starbucks menu leak reveals an exciting new drink Many other chains in this space have struggled. Hooters remains under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while TGI Fridays and Red Lobster went through that process and came out the other side. In some cases, like Hooters and TGI Fridays, you can blame the product. Hooters offers a dated business model that's more than a little sexist. Fridays let its menu get stale and lost its feeling of being a step ahead of other players in the same space. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Consumers have also gotten a little more careful with their cash. They might trade down from sit-down to fast casual or even opt for a fast-food meal deal. It's a tough market and surviving requires an aggressive plan of action. While no business wants to get smaller, it's important to be decisive in cutting locations that don't contribute to the bottom line. It's more a situation of cutting out the cancer so the rest of the body can be healthy. Along those lines. Red Robin will close up to 15 underperforming restaurants in 2025. The chain could close up to 70 locations over the next several years. Red Robin has been closing stores on an efficient basis, largely waiting until their leases expire. That minimizes the financial hit the company takes when it shuts down a restaurant. Closing unprofitable locations is only part of the chain's turnaround plan. It's also doing two big things improve its relationship with its customers. More Retail News: McDonald's brings back unexpected breakfast item after 6 yearsIconic fast-food burger chain announces late-night hours expansionMcDonalds' menu brings back breakfast items Chick-fil-A fans love First, it's making a key pricing promise. "We've also included a cost headwind based on current tariff policies. I would note, we are not planning any menu price increases in the remainder of 2025. We anticipate absorbing the current expected impact of tariffs as we prioritize maintaining value for our guests. The great work of our operators to capture cost savings greater than we initially planned supports this approach," CFO Todd Wilson said during Red Robin's first-quarter earnings call. Holding prices level, after they increased by about 6% in the previous year, should help Red Robin's relationship with its customers. The chain has also made meaningful improvements to its loyalty program. That has already produced some meaningful results. "I would tell you that we are seeing the same kind of increase that we talked about last quarter. And I'll also tell you that some of these numbers, like 22% of our visits are from lapsed users, that's a really good number in terms of our visits overall. And we're holding fairly close to new guests being 20% of our visits. So this program is really working," Wilson said. He also expects the momentum to continue. "And I think as we dial this thing up further, there's further opportunity here," he added. Related: Largest fast-food chain's franchisee files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy CEO David Pace agrees with his CFO. "I think there's still significant opportunity in the program, the strength of it to grow it and also to how we use it. I think there's an opportunity for us to be smarter about how we implement and use pieces of the program. Not that we've been bad at it, I think we're just learning and we're getting better as we go. So I think there's still significant upside there," he shared. The revamped loyalty program allows members to earn rewards faster in order to encourage more frequent visits. Membership crossed 15.3 million people at the end of the first quarter. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
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
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Iconic Restaurant Chain Is Making Some Big Changes To Revamp Its Image
2024 was a difficult year for the restaurant industry, but Applebee's has been suffering poor business for years. With the brand in dire need of a refresh, some locations are taking big steps toward a new and (hopefully) more profitable Applebee's experience to bring customers back. Major restaurant franchisor Dine Brands recently announced its "Lookin' Good" program to radically redesign 47 Applebee's locations. Among these, 30 remodels will be completed in 2025. However, Applebee's is not facing this rebrand entirely alone. Dine Brands will be combining five Applebee's locations with another one of its iconic chain restaurants, IHOP, to expand on a successful dual restaurant concept. Applebee's reimagining is meant to improve customer satisfaction with an updated menu focusing on value. These Applebee's locations will feature modern designs and kitchens streamlined for offsite business like take-out and delivery, which Dine Brands says now accounts for a significant percentage of its business. Read more: 13 Fast Food Onion Rings, Ranked Worst To First Plagued by a legacy of scathing Applebee's reviews online, the chain has already made several bold steps toward a rebrand. In 2021, Applebee's launched a branding campaign around country music after the song "Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes, which prominently features the restaurant in its lyrics, went viral. The song temporarily boosted Applebee's sales, but the benefits did not last forever. It's been a long slide down for a chain restaurant that was once at the forefront of industry technology. Applebee's was an early adopter of ziosks, the table-mounted tablets that let customers easily place and edit orders. These were available at some Applebee's as early as 2014. Another revolutionary concept that has performed well for Applebee's is its combination restaurants with IHOP. Applebee's/IHOP locations proved popular enough internationally that they were introduced to the U.S. last year, where, according to CEO John Payton, they generated as much as twice the revenue as standalone locations for either brand. Expanding this dual restaurant concept should help continue to grow Applebee's financial prospects. Hungry for more? Sign up for the free Daily Meal newsletter for delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks, and more, delivered straight to your inbox. Read the original article on The Daily Meal. Sign in to access your portfolio
