This week on Nation's Restaurant News the top story was Taco Bell is testing gelato for the first time. Taco Bell is testing gelato for the first time ever. The company today announced the Mtn Dew Baja Blast Gelato will be available starting Aug. 31 at a single restaurant in Irvine, Calif., for two weeks or while supplies last. The offering features the two brands’ Baja Blast Tropical Blast Tropical Lime flavor and will be sold in a 3.6-ounce container for $2.99 plus tax. The company said once the test run ends, another Mtn Dew Baja Blast innovation will be on deck this fall.
In other news, Panera Bread is testing out a streamlined menu with fewer menu items in a “small amount of Panera bakeries” in order to improve convenience for customers and simplify operations for employees, a representative for Panera confirmed to Nation’s Restaurant News via email. Although the company would not go much further into detail, news of the streamlined menu first reached the public ear via a viral TikTok which has since been made private — allegedly from a Panera employee who claimed approximately 30 menu items were getting the axe from Panera cafes.
Also, Chef John Tesar and the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa have agreed to end their relationship immediately in the wake of elected officials sending a letter to the owner of the hotel that registered their concern over an ongoing labor dispute.
Dallas-based Tesar had opened a Knife Modern Steak restaurant at the property in June, but he become a target of a recent letter by elected leaders and the United Here Local 11 union to the owner of the property after he was videotaped in an incident with picketers.
See what else was trending on NRN.com this week.
