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Shake Shack Wants to Entice Workers With Four-Day Workweeks

Butterball recalls 39 tons of raw turkey, and more news to start the day

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A burger, fries, and drink at shake shack Scott Olson/Getty Images
Brenna Houck is a Cities Manager for the Eater network. She previously edited Eater Detroit and reported for Eater. You can follow her on the internet at @brennahouck.

Shake Shack tests four-day workweeks at Vegas restaurants

Fast-growing burger chain Shake Shack is exploring the idea of offering its employees a four-day workweek, Bloomberg reports. The company’s CEO Randy Garutti told investors on Thursday that several Las Vegas-area Shake Shack locations have been testing the schedule as an option to attract and retain workers in a tight labor market. “If we can figure that out on scale, it could be a big opportunity,” Garutti says. “We’re not promising it yet, but it’s something we’re having fun trying, and seeing how our leaders like it on a recruiting basis and ongoing retention basis.”

Although Garutti suggests that “nobody’s really been able to figure [four-day weeks] out in the restaurant business,” the shortened week is already being done in some parts of the industry as a way to combat fatigue from long workdays. Michelin-starred restaurants including Maaemo in Norway and 21212 in Edinburgh offer three- and four-day work weeks. Aloha Hospitality in Alabama also recently announced a four-day week at its Alabama restaurants.

And in other news...

  • Butterball issued a nationwide recall for more than 78,000 pounds of ground turkey over concerns it may be contaminated with salmonella. The turkey was produced nine months ago on July 7, 2018, meaning it’s more likely to be in a freezer than a refrigerator. [USA Today]
  • Do pies foreshadow the coming of death in Game of Thrones? This seems like it might just be a coincidence. [The Ringer]
  • Burger King is now offering app users a coffee subscription and it’s kind of a screaming deal: $5 per month gets subscribers one free coffee per day. The downside is that subscribers would have to drink Burger King coffee every day. [The Takeout]
  • A fresh chicken shortage may be on the way to UK locations of KFC as the company switches to a new delivery company. [Daily Mail]
  • Channel 4 renewed the world’s most polite televised food competition The Great British Baking Off for two more seasons, airing through 2021. The station also plans to revive the adorable Junior Bake Off. [Deadline]
  • Here’s a look around the new Queer Eye loft in Kansas City, designed by star Bobby Berk for season 3 on Netflix. [People]
  • The organic food industry may be booming, but massive organic farms tend to look a lot like other industrial agricultural operations. That’s not exactly the idyllic vision of small farmers and bucolic, pesticide-free veggie plots consumers typically imagine when they see the “organic” label. [WaPo]
  • Restaurant delivery is growing in popularity despite its expense, because people don’t have enough time or energy to cook anymore. [WSJ]
  • When Big Tobacco faced a crackdown on cigarettes, it turned to pushing sugary beverages like Kool-Aid Bursts, Hawaiian Punch, and Capri Suns on kids. [NYT]
  • A new list from Food & Wine recognizes 19 restaurants that provide quality work environments. [Food & Wine]

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