Latest Restaurant Headlines

All the headlines from our Restaurant Topic Page, ordered by recency.

COVID-19 Orders Not an Excuse for Business to Skip Rent, Connecticut Court Rules

May 12 2022 // Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that executive orders issued by Gov. Ned Lamont affecting restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic could not not be used by a Norwalk eatery as an excuse not to pay the...

Oklahoma Sues Operator of State Park Restaurants Over Contract Breach

May 9 2022 // The embattled director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department resigned and the state filed a lawsuit against the operator of six state park restaurants.The actions come amid investigations by state lawmakers and...

New Hampshire Restaurants Pay $890K to Settle Back Wages Claims

Apr 28 2022 // Two New Hampshire restaurants in Derry and Londonderry and their owner have agreed to pay $890,169 to 63 employees to resolve numerous violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act following a U.S. Department of Labor...

Iowa Court Finds No Coverage for COVID Income Loss in 2 Decisions

Apr 26 2022 // The Iowa Supreme Court last week ruled in two separate decisions that COVID-19 did not cause a physical loss or damage that would allow a private golf club or a restaurant and bar to recoup income lost during COVID-19...

Massachusetts: First State Top Court Gives Industry a Win in Covid-19 Claims Case

Apr 21 2022 // The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in the first state high court ruling on the question, has sided with an insurer and an insurance agency in finding that the Covid-19 losses claimed by three restaurants were not...

Virginia Woman Bitten by Snake Endures Complex Disability, Financial, Legal Effects

Apr 20 2022 // It was the snakebite story shared around the globe.At least that’s how it felt to Rachel Myrick, who was bitten by a poisonous snake more than 41/2 years ago in the foyer of a Spotsylvania County restaurant. The...

Bar Owners Get No Relief from Florida’s COVID Shut-Down Orders

Apr 12 2022 // Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeal has affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a suit brought by bar owners in Orlando who were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.Orlando Bar Group and its three...

Denial of Restaurants’ Claim Upheld in First Covid-19 Ruling by a New York Appeals Court

Apr 11 2022 // An insurer has been upheld in its denial of coverage in a first ruling on Covid-19 business interruption insurance by a New York appellate court.The appeals court upheld a New York county court—and said it agreed with...

Michigan McDonald’s Workers Reach Settlement Deal Over Harassment

Apr 6 2022 // Former McDonald’s workers who alleged rampant sexual harassment at their Michigan restaurant have reached a $1.5 million settlement agreement with the restaurant’s former owner.The American Civil Liberties...

Grubhub, Uber Eats, Postmates Must Face Diners’ Lawsuit Over U.S. Restaurant Prices

Mar 31 2022 // A U.S. judge on Wednesday said Grubhub, Uber Eats and Postmates must face an antitrust lawsuit by diners who accused them of driving up menu prices by exploiting their dominance in meal deliveries during the COVID-19...

Omicron Sidelined 7% of Restaurant Chain’s Workers in January

Mar 25 2022 // One of the largest restaurant chains in the U.S. said that more than 13,000 employees missed work in January, due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus.Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden, LongHorn...

Reimagining Restaurants and Risk

Mar 21 2022 // Supply shortages, rising inflation, higher food costs and labor shortages, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, are challenging the food services industry today. It’s likely these challenges will subside eventually...

Markets/Coverages: Take1 Features Film Producers Package; Pathpoint Now Serving Restaurants; Nexus Specialty Targets Management Liability

Mar 4 2022 // Take1 Introduces Coverage for Documentary, Industrial, Commercial, and Educational Film ProducersThanks to the growing number of broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, the market demand for recorded filmed content has...

Ohio Supreme Court Hears Lawsuit Over Company’s COVID Losses

Feb 28 2022 // An Ohio business says its insurance company must compensate it for financial losses suffered during a pandemic-related shutdown. The insurance company refused to pay, saying its policy didn’t cover such losses. The...

Popular Tulsa, Oklahoma Restaurant, Music Venue Burns

Feb 22 2022 // A popular Tulsa barbecue restaurant that also served as a music venue has burned, fire officials said.BurnCo Barbecue was reported on fire about 10:30 p.m. Feb. 16, according to the Tulsa Fire Department, and District...

Labor Department Fines Carolina Restaurant Chains for Child Labor Violations

Feb 10 2022 // An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has found that four well-known restaurant chains in South Carolina worked teenage employees more hours and later into the night than is allowed by law. The agency fined...

California Considers Giving 500K Fast Food Workers More Power

Feb 4 2022 // California’s more than half-million fast food workers would get increased power and protections under a first-in-the-nation measure approved by the state Assembly this week.Workers would be included alongside...

Owners of High-End London Restaurants Sue AXA Over Failure to Pay COVID Claims

Jan 26 2022 // The owners of high-end London restaurants The Wolseley and The Delaunay sued AXA Insurance UK Plc for as much as 4 million pounds ($5.4 million) over its failure to pay out on claims linked to the coronavirus...

Tennessee Jury Awards $9 Million to Man Who Sipped Cleaning Fluid at Restaurant

Jan 20 2022 // A Tennessee jury has awarded damages far above what the plaintiff asked for, after finding the Cracker Barrell restaurant company at fault for allowing a customer to accidentally drink a cleaning compound.The customer,...

Top 10 East Insurance Journal Stories of 2021

Dec 30 2021 // As 2021 comes to a close, Insurance Journal is looking back on its top stories of the year.In the East region, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remained top of mind for many readers. Beyond the pandemic, readers also took...