At a McDonald’s in Medford, OR, a ginormous banner, “Now Hiring 14 and 15-year-olds,” has drawn nationwide media attention and a healthy amount of applicants amid the country’s labor crisis. Are you in favor of fast food chains or retailers hiring 14 to 15-year-olds to mitigate labor shortages?

Normalcy has become a relative term since COVID-19 hit the U.S. last year. There was certainly nothing approaching what we once considered normal following Labor Day 2020, and there is no sign of its impending return this year, according to FMI. What shopping habits do you think have been permanently changed in the U.S. as a result of COVID-19?

Restaurants are running into problems getting the ingredients they need to conduct business as semi-usual. Supply chain disruptions are forcing them to make unexpected changes. Is there a way that grocers, farmers markets and the like can step in to partner with restaurants to help address these supply chain/distributor problems?

Taco Bell last week introduced a new two-story concept, Taco Bell Defy. The design features four drive-thru lanes on the ground level and houses the kitchen on the second level where orders are prepared to send below for pickup. Is the Taco Bell Defy concept likely a winner?

Amazon and DoorDash, in two unrelated moves announced last week, plan to improve on their delivery offers, which will likely put more pressure on their respective rivals as the ongoing last mile competition continues on. Do you see demand for home deliveries picking up during the fall and winter months?

Kroger wants to be the place Americans think of when they order restaurant food for takeout or delivery. Do you think Kroger’s partnership with Kitchen United will succeed in its goal of furthering the grocer as a food destination for consumers in the markets served by its stores?

McDonald’s has named longtime company veteran Manu Steijart to the newly created position of global chief customer officer.  What do see as the opportunities and challenges for McDonald’s as it reorganizes its various departments under a single chief customer officer?

Brookfield Asset Management and Simon Property Group have both become investors in C3), a food tech platform aiming to lease 1,000 “ghost-kitchen” locations to malls and hotels across the country by year end. Can ghost kitchens recast the food court opportunity for malls?

E-grocery and restaurant delivery use experienced an unprecedented spike with the start of the pandemic. But as the economy reopens, some are asking if the investment in food delivery fulfillment is a bubble waiting to burst. Do you think the potential growth and investment opportunities for grocery and restaurant delivery companies has been over-hyped due to the pandemic?

City by city and state by state, U.S. retailers are reopening as reported COVID-19 infections continue to drop. Fast food chains, however, have been moving more slowly. Are fast food chains hurting themselves by not reopening more quickly?

People ordering restaurant meals from Uber Eats might find makeup on the menu in some markets thanks to a new deal between the rideshare delivery service and Estée Lauder. Do you see customers purchasing beauty products through Uber Eats or is the Uber Eats market too different from the Estee Lauder market?

Simon Property Group CEO David Simon offered answers to analysts yesterday that were one part optimistic and another cautious on the prospects for the company’s malls this year. Are Americans itching to get back to consumer activities such as shopping in malls, eating at restaurants, seeing movies, etc.?

Pepsi has debuted a virtual quick service restaurant concept that seeks to pair the brand’s colas with a variety of complementary foods, such as burgers, chicken sandwiches and ribs. What do you expect Pepsi will learn from its Pep’s Place campaign and concept?

DoorDash launched a new tiered commission plan for restaurants following outrage over its high fees as delivery took off during the pandemic. Do you think DoorDash’s three-tiered commission plan offers a viable solution for restaurants, its contract workforce and itself?

A study says that more than four out of five of us have changed food habits during the pandemic. Food service companies are responding to these changes with new service levels, offerings and formats. Do you think restaurants and other foodservice providers have adapted well to changes brought about as a result of the pandemic?

Instacart, the nation’s leader in grocery delivery, and DoorDash, the largest restaurant takeout delivery platform in the U.S., are both planning to launch their own credit cards. Do own brand credit cards make sense for Instacart, DoorDash and other delivery platforms?

McDonald’s plans to shrink its presence inside Walmart to about 150 U.S. locations from about 500 at the start of 2000 in moves accelerated by the pandemic. Why do you think McDonald’s is no longer a strong fit inside most Walmart locations?

e.l.f. Cosmetics and Chipotle have collaborated on a limited-edition makeup collection inspired by ingredients used by the Mexican fast-food chain. What’s driving the appeal of the limited-release collaboration between e.l.f. Cosmetics and Chipotle?

Vegetarians and vegans in the Seattle area who wanted to experience a version of Starbucks where all the food was suited to their dietary preferences had a chance to do so at some point last year, but they probably didn’t know it.  Do you see a location with all plant-based food offerings from Starbucks having wide appeal?

In time for New Year’s Eve, North Carolina and Oregon have joined at least 30 other states in allowing restaurants and bars to sell mixed drinks for offsite consumption. Do you see more pros than cons in allowing sales of to-go cocktails?

Ghost kitchens have experienced a drastic increase in interest thanks to the surge in online ordering triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Some experts in the foodservice world, however, say that the benefits of ghost kitchens might be more illusory than real for many restaurants. Is the industry overplaying the potential of ghost kitchens?

The National Restaurant Association recently said the restaurant industry has likely fallen into a double dip recession. The deteriorating business condition was blamed on the end of the outdoor dining season in many parts of the country. Do you have any creative ideas for struggling restaurants trying to survive the winter of 2020-21?

Dunkin’ recently launched a campaign in which it asked fans to come up with “menu hacks” and post them on TikTok, according to Yahoo Finance. Will Dunkin’ find success with its menu hack campaign on TikTok?

Visitors to mom-and-pop restaurant Mala HotPot won’t have to worry about their waiter having a mask or not; the Central Ohio restaurant’s new server is a robot.  Do you see using robots for table service in restaurants as a use case that will succeed?

It is not uncommon to find a table stacked with discount books for sale outside of a bookstore in Manhattan. Now, New York City hopes to motivate other retailers to take on outdoor selling as a way to keep their doors open.  Will an Open Storefront-like solution work for retailers dealing with the likely continuation of COVID-19 restrictions on shopping?

Chipotle Mexican Grill has announced plans to open its first “digital-only restaurant.” Do you think digital-only restaurants are a viable option, beyond the pandemic, for operators to expand into areas where they normally would not think to open?

Burger King in the UK is asking customers to support its fast-food rivals. What is your reaction to the campaign to encourage business for fast-food restaurants, including rival chains like McDonald’s?

Postmates, the Uber-owned on-demand delivery platform, has introduced a new service supporting the last-mile needs of local retailers.  Do you see a promising opportunity for local stores to work with Postmates’ Shop program to support delivery options?

Local restaurants have openly griped about the exorbitant fees charged by third-party delivery providers . Even a national chain like Chipotle isn’t immune to the problem of rising costs.  Does increasing menu prices for delivery seem like the best path for Chipotle and other restaurants to offset higher expenses tied to delivery?

Panera Bread has become the first national restaurant chain to label menu items as climate friendly. The chain partnered with World Resources Institute to unveil “Cool Food Meal” labels for items having a footprint of less than 5.38 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. How do you rate the value of climate-friendly labels on food packaging?

Yelp, the local search and review site, announced it will display warnings if restaurants, retailers and other businesses are accused of racist conduct. Do you expect to see other review sites offering something similar?

People are still thinking twice before interacting with public touch screens and throughout retail, some are seeing voice-driven technology as a perfect solution. Will the desire to avoid the touching surfaces drive mass use of voice-assisted kiosks, and might they replace touch screens altogether?

McDonald’s has scored a breakout hit with a limited-edition collaboration with rapper and record producer Travis Scott. The partnership aims at helping the fast-food chain better connect with Millennial and Gen-Z customers. What do you think of the opportunity for rappers and other celebrity limited-edition collaborations in the QSR space?

Some consumers don’t expect many of the new habits they’ve picked up while adjusting to COVID-19 to continue after the crisis has eased, according to new data. How should retailers parse the many predictions of post-COVID-19 behavior?

Asked about their experiences with curbside pickup since COVID-19, 55 percent of consumers chose the description “fast & easy” in a survey, 35 percent said “a little rocky” and 10 percent “poor.” What are the major shortcomings still hampering the curbside and in-store pickup experience?

The big gains the grocery sector experienced due to the novel coronavirus pandemic might be coming to an end as a next round of government stimulus checks remain in limbo.  How do you expect grocers to adjust their merchandising and marketing practices as money becomes tighter for large numbers of American households?

In the US, wearing masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus has become a politicized controversy. In Belgium, however, Burger King has decided to have some fun with it. Do you see lighthearted mask-related contests as building goodwill and being a worthwhile marketing investment?

Food trucks, the darlings of urban-dwelling foodies and office workers looking for quick lunch options, have hit the road in search of customers, and some are finding them in nearby suburbs. Do you expect food trucks to continue to expand their routes into suburban areas after the pandemic has passed?

Taco Bell has launched a new restaurant concept designed to encourage mobile orders and keep drive-thru lines short. What aspects of Taco Bell’s Go Mobile concept appear set to advance the drive-thru experience?

Bonnie Brae Tavern in Denver has joined a number of other restaurants around the U.S. adding a “COVID-19” fee to its bills. The charge is two dollars for any purchase over $10. Would you recommend restaurants charge a COVID-19 fee to offset rising sanitation, food and other costs tied to the pandemic?

Despite rumors to the contrary, America is not in the middle of national coin shortage. That’s the conclusion of the U.S. Coin Task Force established last month by the United States Mint and Federal Reserve. How would you recommend retailers and others facing a shortage of coins get consumers to spend them?

Robotics startup Chowbotics recently signed contracts with three grocery stores for its automated salad bar robot, known as Sally, according to a CNBC article. Will robot food prep achieve mainstream adoption due to COVID-19?

A few short months ago, the retail grocery industry was all about the expansion of e-commerce, growth in ethnic categories and the push for foodservice. While the coronavirus pandemic accelerated some of these trends, it has dramatically altered others. How can grocery retailers best take advantage of the sales growth and goodwill they’ve attracted during the pandemic?

As cities begin to open back up in the U.S., social distancing requirements remain in effect. One architect recently created an outdoor dining template for restaurants to use the limited street and sidewalk space in New York City. Do you see outdoor dining as a viable response to seating restrictions imposed on restaurants to maintain social distancing?

Applebee’s, Boston Market and Chuck E. Cheese are all facing a backlash for creating separate online-only restaurants and being vague about their connection. Are Chuck E. Cheese, Applebee’s and Boston Market being transparent enough about their involvement with online-only restaurants?

Uber is reportedly in talks to acquire Grubhub in what promises to reshape the restaurant meal delivery space. Would an Uber and Grubhub merger be a positive development for restaurants and consumers?

McDonald’s “The Dine-In Reopening Playbook,” published for franchisees and company-owned restaurant managers, describes in detail the process for welcoming customers back to eat at the chain’s more than 14,000 U.S. locations. Will McDonald’s approach to reopening restaurants make franchisees, workers and customers comfortable about sit-down dining?

If you order a hamburger online from a Wendy’s in the U.S., you have roughly a one-in-five chance of getting a message that your local restaurant is out-of-stock on that particular item, according to new research. Are consumers more likely now to stop patronizing a restaurant or grocery store due to out-of-stocks than they would have been before the coronavirus outbreak?

With the coronavirus pandemic leading to the temporary and possibly permanent closure of scores of local restaurants and stores, the “shop local” movement appears to be getting a huge boost. Is COVID-19 giving more license for local retailers to capitalize on their importance to communities?

Last Thursday, SpartanNash launched a “Restaurant Meals To Go” program that brings heat-and-eat meals from eight West Michigan restaurants to its store aisles. H-E-B and Rouses Markets previously introduced similar programs. How else might grocers help support local restaurants capsized by COVID-19?