A Woman Won $2.8 Million After a Restaurant's Barbecue Sauce Caused Severe Burns.
Getting burned by coffee is bad enough. This would be more like napalm . . . delicious, delicious napalm.
A restaurant chain in Texas got sued after their barbecue sauce caused serious burns to a woman's leg. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q has around 80 locations in San Antonio, Austin, and Corpus Christi.
She ordered four of their breakfast tacos and a side of barbecue sauce, and they handed it to her in a paper bag. Then she pulled over in their parking lot to eat.
The container was so hot, she dropped it and spilled sauce all over her right thigh, causing second-degree burns. Her lawyer said the safety guideline is 135 degrees, and they served it at 189. For reference, water boils at 212.
The lawsuit claimed she suffered physical and mental pain, impairment, disfigurement, medical expenses, and lost wages. It happened in 2023, but a jury just weighed in, calling the restaurant "100% negligent" . . . and awarding her $2.8 MILLION in damages.
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Peeps will have a new cookies-and-cream flavor this Easter.
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5 Major Changes You’ll See This Year At Starbucks
Starbucks had a difficult year in 2024 with fourth quarter U.S. sales down 10% from the previous year and the replacement of CEO Laxman Narasimhan with former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol in September. Nicco has announced a four-part turnaround plan called “Back to Starbucks” and here are 5 major changes that you can expect to see in 2025.
- Menu simplification – when hired in September, Niccol said that the menu at Starbucks “can feel overwhelming” and products were “inconsistent.” The company discontinued their olive oil infused Oleato drinks in November and iced energy drinks that launched in June 2024 were also dropped. Niccol said “We shouldn’t be cracking cans behind the counter” so you can expect more menu simplification this year.
- Return to coffeehouse roots – the new CEO said in October that condiment bars and ceramic mugs were coming back to stores after being eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers and baristas have been asking for this for a while and these self-serve stations will be returning in early 2025 along with more in-store seating and the signature handwritten names on cups with Sharpies. These should provide a more “welcoming” classic vibe that the company was once known for with an added “human touch.”
- Changes to pricing strategy – CEO Nicco said in December that Starbucks will not be raising prices in 2025 along with the elimination of upcharges on non-dairy milks. This is all part of the plan to fix “very disappointing” revenue drops and sales results. They will also be moving away from discounting and promotions on the app to bring back Starbucks as a premium brand.
- Redesigned drink-building – Starbucks will be adding new Clover Vertica brewers to all stores by the end of this year. These machines grind and brew single-cup coffees in under a minute, and cashiers will be giving brewed coffees directly to customers to reduce wait times. The Siren Craft System was launched in 2024 offering new routines for baristas to become more efficient.
- Faster service times – the new mantra from CEO Niccol is “four minutes or less” to boost customer satisfaction and reduce wait times. There is also a new system coming that will make mobile order wait times more accurate, as 30% of total transactions at U.S. locations are mobile orders. This is just the beginning, as Niccol said on Good Morning America last month that in five years’ time the hope is to serve a brewed cup of coffee in less than 30 seconds at stores.
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