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This week's top 10: Chicago adds a new Rick Bayless restaurant, virtual restaurants and a possible polystyrene ban plus a plant-based meat update

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

January 23, 2020

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This week on Restaurant Hospitality, Chicago took center stage. The metropolis of the Midwest had some big name additions to its dining scene starting with Rick Bayless (already a Chicago favorite) unveiling a new fast casual concept called Tortazo. This joins Frontera Grill, Xoco and others in the Bayless Chicago portfolio.

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises decided to continue its reach outside of a storefront with the debut of its third virtual kitchen in Chicago. Padma’s Curry Leaf, in partnership with Grubhub, operates out of LEYE kitchens in established restaurants and provides delivery-only services via the Grubhub app.

The city isn't only about opening new restaurants, it also considered a polystyrene ban in to-go containers city-wide. Single-use utensils would be available upon request and restaurants would be required to provide reusable dine-in bowls with reusable or compostable to-go containers. The bill is in early stages so the fate of polystyrene in Chicago is still up for debate.

Of course, there was plenty of trending news across the country including an analysis by Lisa Jennings on menu pricing and a deep dive on plant-based meat by Bret Thorn.

See what else was trending this week with our readers.

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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