Good News! - March 2020

SPECIAL NOTE: In August 2009, deep in the trough of the Great Recession and weary of the barrage of "Everything's going wrong! The world is about to end!!" daily news, we started this monthly roundup of what was still going right.

We called it The Winner's Column. Today, COVID-19 has created a similar panic born of uncertainty - but with a critical difference: Everyone is susceptible this time around. No "best practices" or management jiujitsu will stop the virus, only slow its spread (or so we hope).

So, in addition to our regular roundup of business growth and change, we've added a special section on how businesses are coping with the spread of the new coronavirus across the U.S. Here's your chance to follow the leaders, every third Tuesday of the month!

And if you're not doing it already, send us your good news here! Coping With COVID Ad Age's Regularly Updated List of How Marketers Are Responding to Coronavirus How Your QSR Brand Should Prepare for COVID-19 Major Publishers Temporarily Remove Paywalls for Coronavirus Coverage Survey: 1,000 Restaurant Customers Tell What They Think About Coronavirus NY State Requires Restaurants To Reduce Their Seating Capacity Starting March 13 Seattle: Small-Business Owners Sound Off on How COVID-19 Is Hurting Them Starbucks CEO's Open Letter Details Effects of COVID-19 and Contingency Plans Starbucks U.S.

President Expands Catastrophe Pay for COVID-19 Care Noodles & Company Announces Emergency Paid Sick Leave Policy at Company Stores Dickey's Barbecue Pit Rolls Out Contactless Doorstep Drop-Off Delivery KFC Offers Free Delivery March 14 through April 26 Blaze Pizza Cancels In-Store Pi Day Event; Swaps in $3.14 Reward for App Users Grubhub Waives Fees for Independent Restaurants; Pledges Fund for Drivers New Units/Growth/Expansion/New & Emerging Brands Moe's Transfers 67 Franchised Locations to Quality Fresca Scooter's Coffee Inks 3-Unit Deal in Kansas City, Missouri 7-Eleven Debuts Its Raise the Roost Chicken & Biscuits QSR in NYC Evolution Store I Heart Mac & Cheese Inks 4-Store Deal in California Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh Looks To Open 10+ Units, Ink 20 New Deals in 2020 Florida-Based Jeremiah's Italian Ice (23 Units) Aims for 15 Units in Phoenix Area New Orleans' Dat Dog (4 Units) Targets West Florida for Expansion 3-Year-Old Motto Mortgage Closed More than $1.1 Billion in Loan Volume in 2019 The Human Bean Breaks Ground on Several New U.

S. Locations Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade To Open 18+ Units in Arizona Under New Leadership 2019 Results & 2020 Plans Del Taco Details Plans To Recapture Value Positioning in 2020 Chicken Salad Chick Targets 400 Stores by 2025 Mountain Mike's Pizza Looks To Exceed 350 Units in Next 3–4 Years MOD Pizza's 2019 Systemwide Sales Grow to $493 Million, Up 24% Planet Fitness SSS Increased 8.8% in 2019 as Brand Opened 261 New Stores Texas Roadhouse Reports Positive 2019 Results Famous Dave's CEO Plans Smaller Stores, More Brands Odds, Ends & Trends Pizza Inn Launches $1 Million Franchisee Incentive Program San Francisco Passes Prop.