Three popular food brands are joining forces this summer to give $10,000 to five local restaurants in celebration of National S’mores Day: Hershey’s, Jet-Puffed, and Honey Maid.
The trio is calling on small, hometown restaurants and their staff to showcase their favorite S’mores dessert on their menu (new or existing) for a chance to win one of five $10,000 prizes. Restaurants have until Monday, August 24th to enter.
“We are overwhelmed by the love people have had for S’mores this summer. During the current pandemic, many families have turned to the connectivity and comfort of making S’mores as a way to get through this challenging time,” said Bill Maclean, senior marketing director, Hershey’s brand.
Photo Credit: Hershey’s
“We wanted to say thank you and bring attention to all of those local restaurants who have been affected. We want to provide some relief while celebrating these restaurants, their recipes and their love of S’mores.”
The rules to enter for businesses are:
Post a picture or short video to Instagram or Twitter showcasing your most creative S’mores recipe. The treat MUST at least be made with Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, Jet-Puffed Marshmallows and Honey Maid Graham Crackers or Graham Cracker Crumbs – the classic S’mores ingredients!
Make sure to tag @hersheys @kraftjetpuffed @honeymaidsnacks and use the hashtag #SmoresGivesBackContest. For the caption of the posted photo or video, tell why your restaurant deserves to win a prize, and how the prize would be used to impact the restaurant and its employees.
No Purchase is Necessary to enter. For full details of eligibility and entry, including judging criteria, see the Official Rules. Contest ends 11:59:59 PM EDT on August 24, 2020. Void where prohibited. Must be age of majority or older to enter. Entries submitted on behalf of restaurants.
The pandemic has been a doozy but one constant in Florida has been the veryvocalargumentsbetweenanti-mask shoppers and regular people trying to survive in grocery stores and society in general. Ironically, most polls show that the anti-mask people make up a very small but loud minority. The issue has been widely politicized much to dismay of healthcare experts nationwide.
You would never know from the coverage of masks as a "political debate" or "controversial issue" how overwhelming the support is for wearing them in public. pic.twitter.com/R8ibBBkBST
Masks are one of the only defenses that society has against the Coronavirus.
Recent studies show that wearing a mask not only protects others from you, but also protects you from other people who are shedding the virus. It really helps explain why cases are so much lower in other countries who never shutdown but distributed masks widely, although many of them have also instituted other aggressive methods as well such as contact tracing and strict criminal penalties for violating pandemic laws.
Publix initially resisted employees who wanted to wear masks and then eventually came around to providing plexiglass and social distancing guidance as well as masks, but still refused to enforce masks in their stores for customers. There have been several cases of COVID-19 documented from employees at more than 20 Publix stores who were likely exposed to the virus by shoppers who didn’t care about the people bagging their groceries.
It’s disturbing how few @Publix customers are wearing masks today in Riverview. The pandemic is not over.
— Carlos Hernandez (Carlos Eats) (@carloseats) June 8, 2020
Once re-opening began in May, many Publix shoppers stopped wearing masks at all and it was business as usual as the virus started to spread faster and faster. On one visit on June 8th, I witnessed an entire produce aisle filled with dozens of people not social distancing or wearing masks. To be frank, I was horrified. I did not go back to Publix for weeks.
— Carlos Hernandez (Carlos Eats) (@carloseats) July 8, 2020
Once Hillsborough County and City of Tampa passed emergency mask ordinances in late June, I had to run to the store and decided to give Publix another shot nearly one month later. To my surprise, 100% of the shoppers were wearing masks and so were the employees. A huge difference. The mask orders have made a difference.
Unfortunately, these actions have come late and Florida’s COVID-19 growth is out of control. Florida added 100,000 cases in 10 days. The daily death toll and hospitalizations are climbing.
We are heading towards another shutdown that will have devastating economic impacts on the state. 6 Tampa Bay Publix locations had virus cases in July so far despite mask orders. Imagine if companies and politicians would have acted early to stop the spread instead of removing responsibility from each other.
Finally – now Publix is saying that they will mandate masks for all shoppers except children and those with medical conditions starting Tuesday, July 21st.
It’s late – but always better than nothing. They are not alone as other big names like Target, Wal-Mart, CVS, and other retail companies begin to mandate masks nationwide. America is in a crisis.
I hope these mandates will at least help the “essential” workers who have been forced into this mess without any leadership until now.
2020 is filled with twists and turns. #GoyaBoycott and Goya are trending right now after the CEO of Goya Foods praised Trump at the White House and said we’re “blessed to have a leader” like Trump.
There’s a large sense of irony to Goya Foods which primarily sells to Latinx audiences joining forces with President Trump just as the President is caught in numerous scandals including rising Coronavirus cases, preparing a new lawsuit to kill DACA, separating children from their parents at the border, allegations of supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin despite bounties on American soldiers, an investigation by SDNY for tax fraud and evasion, among other things.
Let’s not forget that time that Donald Trump threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans as thousands of them died from Hurricane Irma and Maria and then left the island in the dark.
Twitter immediately responded and began to trend nationwide.
The CEO of @GoyaFoods is at a White House event saying we're "blessed to have a leader" like Trump.
Re: Goya In 2017, they withdrew their sponsorship of the Puerto Rican Day Parade because Oscar Lopez Rivera was being honored, right after being freed from federal prison.
Though Goya was founded in PR, the Unanue's immigrated from Spain in 1936. https://t.co/k1mYplYaEo
— Frances Solá-Santiago (@frances_sola) July 9, 2020
Let’s be clear @GoyaFoods President Trump has left Latinos and many Americans hungry. Cages Latino Children. Has forgotten the Latino community through this pandemic. Has called Mexicans rapist. We are blessed? I think Latinos we are being mistreated….. https://t.co/50LtQFCR0X
— Please wear a mask! Do it for USA, please… (@chefjoseandres) July 9, 2020
I've been waiting for this moment my entire life. I make sazón and I'm not a Trump supporter. If you support Goya you support Trump. We have sazón, spicy sazón, and saffron sazón. We sell in bulk as well as these four ounce tins. 🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷 https://t.co/q355Ll21YIhttps://t.co/XNnAYAs64kpic.twitter.com/QQM3T8Isyo
I have left a message with media person at @GoyaFoods, requesting for comment about appearance and have also emailed company to see if they will address the current #BoycottGoya hashtag happening now as a result of their CEO at the WH this afternoon. We will see if Goya responds.
— Natalie Montelongo (@natimontelongo) July 9, 2020
The nice thing about never again purchasing a Goya Foods product is that it requires zero sacrifice. Nada. The effort to find a replacement involves looking, maybe, two feet away on the same grocery store shelf. Buh bye, Goya! https://t.co/yXcj0ZuodJ
No more Goya in our Miami house. You can support who you want, but understand that means you also support Russian bounties on our soldiers. That's real blood money. Your beans just aren't worth it.
I usually get my sazón from Goya so I'm delighted to buy both spicy sazón (!!!!) & sofrito from someone who isn't a Trump supporter! https://t.co/Qd4g5QQsLo
.@GoyaFoods has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations.
Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products. #Goyawayhttps://t.co/lZDQlK6TcU
There’s an exciting new concept coming Friday, June 12th, 2020 to the Hall on Franklin food hall called Chef & The Baker from Chef Rosana Rivera and Chef Ricardo Castro. I had a chance to ask them a few questions about this new initiative and how things have changed since the pandemic began.
CARLOS EATS:First off – How have you guys been getting by during the pandemic?
Chef Rosana: We pivoted early on in the pandemic through R2 Provisions, our ghost kitchen in Pinellas Park, to do delivery of products, Xilo Mexican favorite food items, bakery items like bread, and provisions like eggs, flour, sugar, yeast, and toilet paper. The response was phenomenal and we are so grateful that Tampa embraced the concept, no questions asked.
Chef Ricardo: We continue to service via delivery from R2 Provisions. Customers can order through r2xilokofe.square.site.
CARLOS EATS: Chef & The Baker is a highly anticipated project considering your past with Piquant. How will this project be different?
Chef Rosana: The recipes have been tweaked and perfected. Chef Ricardo, over the past couple of years has really honed in on his talent and craft to become an even better baker.
Chef Ricardo: We will have artisan breads, more viennoiseries (pastries), and a higher quality of patisserie items (cakes and European tortes).
CARLOS EATS: Who are some people you look up to in the baking world and is there any pastry or bakery chefs who inspire you? What are your favorite bakeries around the world?
Chef Rosana and Ricardo: Belinda from B Patisserie in San Francisco, Eric Kayser from Maison Kayser in NYC & Paris; Antonio Bachour from Bachour Miami; and the quintessential Francois Payard from around the world. However, there are a lot of up and coming pastry superstars that we are always following and trying to learn from like Johan Martin.
CARLOS EATS: When it comes to ingredients – What makes a quality baked good different? Does water make a difference?
Chef Rosana and Ricardo: Best quality of ingredients is crucial and yes – water quality makes a huge difference. There are some things we have little control of – but buying the best ingredients is something we can control, especially when it comes to baking ingredients. We buy flours that are unbromated, we use cage-free eggs for baking applications, all-natural products, European chocolates, filtered water, and butter with a higher fat content. It all makes a difference in the quality of the product you bake. We never cut corners, you can taste the quality.
CARLOS EATS:Food enthusiasts have been making their own sourdough starters at home during the pandemic as people tried to find a way to get through being home constantly and still enjoy the things they love. What trends do you see emerging in the baking world and how will it change in the future?
Chef Rosana and Ricardo: More at home baking for sure! Our plan is to launch a virtual cooking kitchen class in which we are able to share our knowledge with our audience on a digital, but interactive format. I think the love for the art of baking is going nowhere, on the contrary its getting better and better.
CARLOS EATS:Industry experts say the pandemic has changed how goods are bought and prices of food seems to be going up. How are you dealing with that?
Chef Rosana: We are sticking to our prices as much as we can, and if we can’t do that – we try to minimize the impact by increasing the price by 25 or 50 cents. Our margins are taking a hit and are reduced, but at the end of the day we want to be conscious of how people spend their money. We don’t want or need to abuse.
CARLOS EATS: Which menu item would you say is the most complex or time-consuming dish you make? Can you tell us more about it?
Chef Rosana: Anything croissant, which is easily a 72+ hour process, but we love it and our guests love anything croissant that we do. My favorite item is the Kouign Amanns.
Chef Ricardo: That is how I make the croissants, not everyone follows that. It creates better flavors as the dough ferments slowly. My favorite item is The Morning Buns (citrus crispy laminated dough) is my favorite item on our menu.
CARLOS EATS: What made you both fall in love with baking?
Chef Rosana: I fell in love for baking because of Ricardo. Every day I see him bake I am in awe of him!
Chef Ricardo: I fell in love with baking when my Mom AKA Chef Cookie, would teach me how to bake things since I was 9 years old. Later, Chef Rudy from Austria took me under his wing and taught me everything European pastries. The right way and the best way!
Don’t forget to check out Chef & the Baker when it opens on Friday, June 12th at 11AM at the Hall on Franklin at 1701 North Franklin Street Tampa, Florida, 33602.
Who is ready for a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes at IHOP? Maybe 2020 isn’t all bad after all. Celebrate National Pancake Day on Tuesday, February 25th, 2020 at IHOP locations around the United States from 7AM to 7PM (10PM in select locations).
We’re so pancakes about National Pancake Day, we pancaked a bunch of prizes that you can win! Come in tomorrow, February 25th, for a free short stack and a chance to win all those pancake prizes we were just talking about.
IHOP is adding a giveaway this year with barcodes at tables that guests can scan for a chance to win up to 250,0000 instant win prizes. Prizes include limited-edition pancake-themed merchandise such as bicycles, scooters, customizable jackets, handmade berets and more. In addition to the “Pancakes for Life” grand prize, ten lucky winners will also score $500 in IHOP gift cards.
Guests are asked to make a donation for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Other Charities on their way out of the restaurant. Since 2006, IHOP has raised more than $30 million for its charity partners.
“The communities where IHOP and our franchisees operate is at the core of everything we do, and National Pancake Day serves as a great example of our commitment to helping the kids and families who are our guests, neighbors, friends and family,” said Stephanie Peterson, Executive Director of Communications.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is launching their 6th Annual Food and Wine Festival earlier this year on Saturday, February 29th, 2020. The festival will run every weekend from February 29th to April 26th and included with park admission to the theme park.
This year will feature 25 new food items in addition to fan-favorite dishes and 80 wines, beers, and cocktails, to choose from. Some new additions include:
Chef’s Corner Cabin: Features 3 signature dishes carefully crafted by the park’s head chefs such as arroz con pollo, a pork belly taco with kimchi slaw, and pork tenderloin with champagne watercress sauce
Coaster Cocktails: Iron Gwazi Gimlet, Falcon’s Fury Lemon Drop, and Tigris Tea
Pick-A-Barrel Tastings: create your own flight of liquors and wines from around the world
Some other new food items include Kung Pao Ribs, Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls, “Boujee” Bacon, Fried Clams, Pork Tamales, Grilled Shrimp Elotes, and Strawberry Shortcake Sundaes
Guests can purchase a 5, 8, or 12-item sampler lanyard to use at each festival cabin to explore sample-sized dishes and drink offerings and they start at $32. Pass Members can purchase an exclusive 15-item sampler for the same price as a 12-item sampler and save 20% off.
Pass Members can get a sneak peak on February 28th that will include an all new menu of sips and samples and Eaglemania: The World’s Greatest Eagles Tribute Band.
Busch Gardens plans to launch Iron Gwazi this spring, North America’s tallest hybrid coaster and the fastest and steepest hybrid coaster in the world.
The 6th Annual Food and Wine Festival concert schedule:
Feb 29: Collective Soul March 1: The Commodores
March 7: Chase Bryant & Danielle Bradbery
March 8: Rachel Platten
March 14: Ezra Ray Hart March 15: THREE DOG NIGHT
March 21: LOCASH March 22: Fitz & The Tantrums
March 28: Home Free March 29: Taking Back Sunday
April 4: Third Eye Blind April 5: KC & The Sunshine Band
April 11: 38 Special April 12: Micah Tyler & Austin French
April 18: Lee Brice April 19: Clint Black
April 25: El Gran Combo April 26: Toad the Wet Sprocket & The Verve Pipe
Grubhub, a popular mobile ordering and delivery platform worth at least 5 billion dollars, is in hot water (again) after it was discovered that Grubhub is allegedly listing restaurants on the platform without their permission and offering delivery from Ghost Kitchens that don’t even represent the companies on their website.
Pim Techamuanvivit, owner of Kin Khao in San Francisco, wrote in a Twitter thread this past weekend, that her restaurant has been added to Grubhub and Seamless without her permission or any kind of agreement. She does not offer delivery or take-out, yet orders were fulfilled by another business posing as Kin Khao.
It isn’t the first time something like this happens or accusations are made. It was discovered last year that Grubhub was taking control of business listings through a partnership with platforms like Yelp and putting fake phone numbers on listings.
These numbers led to a Grubhub controlled number that then generated orders and charged restaurants for sending customers that were simply trying to order from the restaurant. Restaurants were shocked when they discovered they were paying Grubhub for a service they never agreed to.
Grubhub went as far as generating fake domains that seemed to be the official website of restaurants with menus that led to Grubhub for business orders. Over 23,000 domains were discovered by journalists at New Food Economy. In a normal world, there would be consequences for these actions.
Grubhub was basically forced by New York City to start changing the policy after threats were made and a class-action lawsuit was started against them by restaurateurs they charged for these “services” that is now asking for 5 million dollars.
Yet this continues:
It’s been 6 days since I contacted Grubhub to have our company removed from their website that they added without our permission. Today I got an email from Grubhub about putting our business on their website LOL. @Grubhub_Care@Grubhub@phillymaghttps://t.co/ZGuU2Ya1ml
Of course, this isn’t limited to just New York City or San Francisco. Once this story made its way around the internet business owners in other cities also began also crying foul. The story made it over to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and it seems this may be deeply run into the food ecosystem.
Which begs the question, is Grubhub scamming your restaurant business? Is Seamless? It’s probably best to look up your own listings to make sure.
Rumors are swirling online that Grubhub is for-sale. Whether that explains this rampant behavior against restaurants or not, one thing is clear: restaurant owners have a right to control of their businesses and this is wrong plain and simple.
Restaurants have a failure rate of 60% in their first year and 80% in their first five years. Foot traffic is falling and costs are going up. Isn’t it hard enough without someone taking control of your restaurant listings, phone number, and website presence?
Where else can you drink a craft beer at an affordable price and shop around a grocery store sometimes with live music? Lucky’s Market was an absolutely treasure that I enjoyed shopping at whenever I was in Orlando or Pinellas County.
Lucky’s Market closings will cost Florida 2,500 employees, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Planned stores in Brandon and Clearwater will now be scrapped.
Here’s how the internet reacted:
They’re closing lucky’s market. I’m not okay please no dms
I’ve gotten 10 different people message me condolences because Lucky’s Market is closing all Florida locations and I’m DEVASTATED! brb going into mourning 😥
After a long wait, Shake Shack is finally confirmed as coming to Tampa, first reported by Tampa Bay Business Journal. The location will be at Midtown Tampa, a “new kind of urban experience with 1.8 million square feet of retail, residential, 3 Class A office buildings, entertainment and hospitality”.
The long-awaited location for the gourmet burger chain still has no opening date for Tampa, but is at least confirmed to be opening by the developer. Shake Shack has long been open in Orlando and opened in Sarasota recently. Midtown Tampa is expected to open in time for the Super Bowl in February 2021.
“Shake Shack is an iconic brand with worldwide recognition, and is yet another first-to-market restaurant that we’re thrilled to bring to Tampa,” said Nicholas Haines, CEO, Bromley Companies. “We’ve followed Shake Shack from its first location next to our office in New York’s Madison Square Park, and appreciate the delight and appeal it has to its customers.”
Shake Shack has over 170 locations worldwide and has been growing around the country in recent years including locations on both the east and west coast. The franchise started as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park back in 2001. The burger concept was started in 2004 as a kiosk.
Jollibee Pinellas Park located at 4057 Park Boulevard North, Pinellas Park, FL 33781 opens Friday, January 17. (Photo credit: Jollibee)
A Filipino favorite, Jollibee, is opening its doors on Friday, January 17th at 4057 Park Boulevard, Pinellas Park, Florida. The location will be the 40th location to open for the franchise which is currently experiencing high growth and expansion across the country. The chain plans to open 150 stores in the United States by 2023. It is the first location in Tampa Bay.
The opening time for opening day is from 9AM to 10PM.
“We cannot wait to welcome Jollibee fans who have long waited for their turn to finally have Jollibee in their area, in addition to welcoming new foodies intrigued by our unique menu, which we fondly describe as a joyous mash-up of Western comfort food and Asian flavors,” said Beth Dela Cruz, President of Jollibee Foods Corporation North America, Philippine Brands Group.
Popular items at Jollibee include the Chickenjoy, Jolly Spaghetti made with signature sweet-style sauce loaded with chunky slices of savory ham and hotdog, and Peach Mango Pie, made with real Philippine mangoes enclosed in a light, crispy crust.
Tampa is home to one of the largest Filipino communities with its Bayanihan Center and annual PhilFest celebration that draws thousands for a celebration of Filipino food and culture every April.
There are some perks for those who choose to line-up early for the opening:
The first 50 customers in line to spend $25 or more will get FREE Chickenjoy for a year.*
The first 50 with the best #ItsOurTurn signs will get a Jollibee in Barong Funko Pop.
The first 300 on day 1 (plus the first 100 on days 2 and 3) will get a free drawstring bag with a minimum $25 purchase.
*One 6-piece bucket of Chickenjoy per month for a period of one year
