And the biggest county on the West Coast has some news about restaurant inspections as well. Beginning July 1, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department will go paperless and move to an all-electronic inspection reporting process. The new online process will be gradually instituted countywide throughout the summer and fall by November.Inspectors will conduct…

It took an upgrade to table service for two Florida-based quick-service chains to get the thumbs-up to open their doors in Winter Park, Fla. The city, near Orlando, agreed to zone in fast-casual concepts Firehouse Subs and BurgerFi for Park Avenue, its upscale dining and shopping district, but only if the chains would modify their…

Workers who picketed quick-service operations in hopes of earning a living wage were disappointed across the country when only one state passed a bill to increase the minimum wage. After the president’s State of the Union address called for a $1.75 increase at the federal level, wage legislation flooded state legislatures in 2013. Twenty-nine states…

McDonald’s is giving members of the British public unique access to go behind the scenes of the farms and factories in its supply chain and evaluate and report on what they find there. The “quality scouts” initiative allows volunteers, led by former rugby star and Celebrity Masterchef winner Phil Vickery, to visit different parts of…

In the 21st century, the days of wine and roses, coffee and cigarettes are long gone. As of June 1, Starbucks has made it official: The Seattle-based chain now restricts smoking—be it tobacco or electronic cigarettes—within 25 ft. of its 7,000 U.S. storefronts. Because smoking bans have swept the nation in the last decade, it’s…

Are quick-service and fast-casual restaurants becoming as frightening and onerous to vacation communities as the shark in “Jaws” was to Amityville’s image? In March, the Town of Eastchester, N.Y., amended its zoning regulations to ban restaurants with 15 or more locations, a stand-up counter or menus on the wall. City officials disparaged quick-service outlets’ cookie-cutter,…

The controversial decision by the European Union to ban restaurants from using refillable jugs and bowls of olive oil has been dropped. After a deluge of criticism from the foodservice industry and consumers, bureaucrats in Brussels have scrapped the proposed regulations, which were described as “nonsense” by Martin Couchman, the deputy CEO of the British…

The National Restaurant Association’s Health Care Knowledge Center was kept busy during the 2013 NRA Show. Owners, operators and other show attendees brought questions to the center about implementing the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Many wanted to know whether, with fluctuating numbers of employees, they were an “applicable large employer” under the law, and consultants…

In a story that has echoes of the 1994 Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants case, a Canadian woman who was scalded by a cup of tea from Tim Hortons is demanding new regulations for how hot beverages should be served at restaurants. The Winnipeg resident says she suffered second- and third-degree burns after an extra-large cup…

While the West Coast food-truck business continues to boom, other major cities continue to wrestle with the politics of curb-side foodservice. The city council in Washington, D.C., plans a yes or no vote on newly proposed regulations. Food-truck operators there oppose new regulations and complain about the lack of specifics on the number of parking…