Howard Schultz Is Becoming a Real Thorn in Starbucks’s Side

Investors are betting against SBUX, thanks to Schultz

As ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz continues his ill-advised quest to run for president, there’s been a surge in short selling of SBUX stock. (For non-investor types, this means people are betting the company’s stock price will go down.) An actual bid for the presidency could encourage both liberals (who are worried Schultz will hand the election to Trump by running as an independent) and conservatives (who are unlikely to be fans of many of Schultz’s more progressive views) to boycott the coffee chain. Meanwhile, baristas are annoyed that customers keep asking them about their former boss’s political aspirations.

And in other news...

• In-N-Out emerged at least partially victorious in a lawsuit against Smashburger: A California court ruled that Smashburger’s “Triple Double” burger counts as false advertising because it does not in fact contain any more beef than a regular Smashburger. [Restaurant Business]

• Milk Bar mogul and cookbook author Christina Tosi made popcorn cake with Jimmy Fallon last night:

• Who will win the burrito delivery race: Chipotle or Taco Bell? Both chains are currently clocking around 30 minutes to deliver food to customers’ doors. [Bloomberg]

• Haagen-Dazs launched six flavors of boozy ice cream pints, including Rum Tres Leches and Stout Chocolate Pretzel Crunch. Sadly(?), these desserts only contain 0.5 percent alcohol, meaning you won’t need to flash ID to buy them. [Food&Wine]

• Here come Kit Kat eyeshadow palettes, courtesy of Korean cosmetics brand Etude House. [SoraNews24]

• Extremely important Friday question: If a baguette magically had the ability to locomote, how would it move? (No. 3 is clearly the only reasonable answer here, though an insightful Eater editor observes there’s also an unrepresented fifth option: The bread could simply roll along on its side.)