Bits & Pieces
Bite-sized morsels from the business beat.
Casey’s Makes Move in Michigan
Casey’s General Stores of Ankeny bought all eight Maverik-owned convenience stores in Michigan, the website C-Store Dive reported.
All the stores are in the Grand Rapids area. Seven of them are former Kum & Go stores that Maverik had acquired, and the eighth is a former baked goods shop that Maverik converted into a convenience store.
Casey’s plans to rebrand the stores as their own, C-Store Dive wrote.
It was also reported that Casey’s is teaming with digital network service GSTV. The partnership means GSTV will provide Casey’s with branded video content to play on fuel dispensers at Casey’s stores.
Dubuque Bank Lays Off 38
Dubuque Bank and Trust is shedding 38 jobs, according to Iowa Worker Adjustment and Notification Act notices.
Early this year UMB Financial Corp. of Kansas City, Mo., acquired HTLF, parent company of Dubuque Bank and Trust.
Shutdown Halts SBA Lending
U.S. Small Business Administration lending is essentially frozen as a result of the federal government’s shutdown Oct. 1, Forbes reports.
The agency furloughed about a quarter of its staff, Forbes wrote. “Approvals for new 7(a) and 504 loans — its bread-and-butter programs — are suspended. That means small businesses can’t get government-backed financing to buy property, purchase equipment, or expand operations.
“If the freeze extends much beyond 30 days, the damage compounds,” Forbes noted. “Deadlines slip. Real estate closings stall. Lenders stuck with loans they can’t sell could run into liquidity issues.”
Report: Bots Helped Torpedo Cracker Barrel
Just when you think you have this story figured out, another new angle surfaces.
Biz Whispers has chronicled the marketing furor that erupted when the chain altered its brand logo and began a redesign of its restaurants.
An outpouring of complaints from customers and even President Donald Trump urged the company to reconsider. And the company did just that, announcing it was restoring its old logo and shelving plans for the remodeling projects.
Now comes word that a heavy dose of those gripes were created by bots, not humans.
The Wall Street Journal reported that research company PeakMetrics found a “disproportionate share of the social-media chatter that fed the news cycle about Cracker Barrel’s logo was driven by bots on X,” formerly known as Twitter.
The Journal said Peak Metrics research found that “bots or likely bots authored 44.5 percent of X posts mentioning Cracker Barrel in the 24 hours after the new logo gained attention on Aug. 20.”
Cheers! ULTRA Ramps Up Beer Production
Anheuser-Busch said it is investing $7.4 million in its Los Angeles Brewery to Upgrade Brewing of Michelob ULTRA.
ULTRA is America’s top-selling beer, Anheuser Busch noted.
Anheuser-Busch opened its Los Angeles Brewery in 1954. The company said it has invested $180 million in the brewery over the past five years.
Burger Chain Exiles “Creepy King”
Burger King is remodeling some of its locations to make them more family friendly. The makeovers feature modular play systems for kids that include a maze of tunnels and towers.
For years the company’s image was seen as anything but family friendly. In those days, ads featured the “creepy king” mascot. The king first appeared in 2004 but was retired in 2011, but still made occasional appearances for special events.
“At our heart and soul, we were always a family brand,” Joel Yashinsky, chief marketing officer for Burger King in the U.S. and Canada, said in an interview with Restaurant Business. “You will see that in the work we do, from advertising to social media, a brand that’s welcoming and fun, but not at anyone’s expense.”
Still, “There were a number of learnings we had from creepy king,” Yashinsky said. “And we’ve moved away from creepy king because he had limited appeal.”
Itty-Bitty Bits
Three Iowa Starbucks coffee shops are among hundreds the company is closing, USA Today says. The stores are at 1917 Lincoln Way in Clinton, 1281 Eagle Ridge Road in LeClaire, and 5560 Merle Hay Road in Johnston.
Dinos For Sale. Always wanted your own backyard Jurassic Park? A dinosaur theme park in New Jersey is shuttering next month, and the business is clearing out its inventory of 31 animatronic dinosaurs. For example, a stegosaurus more than 29 feet long can be yours for $1,260, The New York Times said.
Walmart to Remove Synthetic Dyes From Food. Walmart said Wednesday that it plans to remove synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, from its store brands sold in the United States by January 2027.
This column is part of a fast-growing collection of reporting and writing from Iowa writers. Check out their work at the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative.
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