Raphael Stevens

IHOP is bringing back old favorites and unveiling new items as part of a menu overhaul.
The Dine Brands chain cut its menu by roughly a third during the pandemic and has been slowly adding more items.
The Cinn-A-Stack pancakes are returning April 3, after IHOP fielded almost a dozen requests every week for their comeback.

IHOP’s new crepe lineup features sweet and savory flavors.
Source: IHOP

IHOP on Wednesday unveiled a revamped menu that includes more than a dozen new items and the return of its popular Cinn-A-Stack pancakes.
The pancake chain, which is owned by Applebee’s parent Dine Brands, cut about a third of its menu during pandemic lockdowns. Since then, the chain has slowly brought items back or introduced new ones, like burritos and bowls. Still, its menu remains about 15% smaller than it was previously.

The new menu, which will be available nationwide on April 3, spans breakfast, lunch and dinner and revives several items that disappeared during the pandemic, like the Cinn-A-Stack pancakes and Eggs Benedict. Those classics’ homecoming could help draw back diners who’ve cut back on their restaurant spending or have been buying their breakfast elsewhere.
IHOP reported same-store sales growth of 2% in the fourth quarter as price hikes helped offset traffic declines.
“[The menu] is much more focused, based on what our guests have told us that they’re looking for,” the company’s chief marketing officer, Kieran Donahue, told CNBC.
IHOP was fielding almost a dozen requests every week from customers asking for Cinna-A-Stack pancakes back on the menu, according to Donahue. The Eggs Benedict line is made with a new hollandaise sauce and includes classic ham, veggie, spicy poblano and bourbon bacon jam versions of the classic breakfast dish.
The restaurant will also expand into savory crepes, an idea that came straight from its franchisees, who operate all of IHOP’s locations. Crepe flavors will include cinnamon bun, fresh berry and chicken pesto.

Its Steakburger line also got an update and will include a four-cheese crisp and bourbon bacon jam options. Customers looking for surf over turf can order the crispy battered fish and shrimp platters, and diners wanting a lighter option can choose the fresh berry or chopped chicken salad.
The move to broaden the menu also required more training for employees. Donahue said bringing back old favorites, like the Eggs Benedict, meant reminding workers how to poach eggs, for example.
“But the beauty of how our menu comes together is that 90% of what we do is on the griddle,” she said.
The pancake chain’s menu overhaul comes as the broader industry seeks to lure back diners. Last year’s higher prices scared away customers who tightened their budgets, and eateries are looking to boost traffic in order to drive sales growth.
IHOP rival Denny’s recently revealed its own updated menu, made possible by recent kitchen renovations. Other chains have ramped up promotions. Subway is bringing back its Footlong Pass, while Red Lobster offered all-you-can-eat lobster at its Times Square location on Tuesday. More

Sen. Bernie Sanders is expected to grill former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz during a U.S. Senate panel about the company’s compliance with federal labor law.
The coffee chain has denied allegations of union busting, but Starbucks Workers United has filed more than 500 complaints of unfair labor practices.
Despite stepping down as chief executive, Schultz remains on Starbucks’ board and is its fifth-largest shareholder.

CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz sits off stage to listen to soon to be Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan at Investor Day in Seattle, Washington Tuesday September 13, 2022.
Melina Mara | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on Wednesday is likely to face tough questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders about the coffee chain’s alleged union busting.
Schultz stepped down from his post on March 20, handing the reins over to Laxman Narasimhan, who spent the prior six months learning about the company. However, Schultz remains on Starbucks’ board and is its fifth-largest shareholder, with a 1.9% stake in the company he turned into a global juggernaut.

Sanders, a pro-union independent representing Vermont, has been putting pressure on Starbucks for more than a year to recognize the union and negotiate contracts with unionized cafes.
During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Schultz will defend Starbucks’ approach to its negotiations, maintaining that a direct relationship with workers is what is best for the company, according to a copy of his written testimony viewed by CNBC.
In early March, Schultz declined an invitation from the chamber’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which Sanders chairs, to testify about the company’s handling of the union push. After Sanders called for a vote on whether to subpoena Schultz, the former chief executive agreed to appear in front of the panel.
Starbucks confirmed with the committee that Schultz, who stepped down from the top job earlier than expected, still plans to testify at the hearing, set for 10 a.m. ET.

Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., makes an opening statement before Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, testified during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing titled Taxpayers Paid Billions For It: So Why Would Moderna Consider Quadrupling the Price of the COVID Vaccine in Hart Building on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Schultz’s third stint as CEO of Starbucks lasted just two weeks shy of a year, but in that time he moved aggressively to stem the organizing wave that began under his predecessor, Kevin Johnson. Schultz announced higher wages, better benefits and card tipping for non-union locations as well as a reinvention plan that included automating tasks that baristas found tedious.

As of Monday, 391 company-owned cafes have filed petitions to unionize, and 294 have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board. In total, the union has made more than 500 complaints of unfair labor practices related to Starbucks with the federal labor board. Judges have found that the company has illegally threatened baristas, fired workers and prohibited union literature.
Starbucks has denied allegations of union busting and filed roughly 100 of its own complaints against the union.
None of the unionized stores have agreed on a contract yet with Starbucks. An NLRB lawyer reportedly said Tuesday that the company’s refusal to bargain over Zoom was illegal.
Last week, House Republicans issued a subpoena to the NLRB seeking documents and alleging misconduct by the agency’s officials in connection with a Starbucks union election in Kansas.
Beyond lawmakers and regulators, Starbucks also has faced pressure for its handling of the union push from investors. At the company’s annual meeting on Thursday, shareholders cast their votes for a nonbinding proposal that asked for a third-party probe into whether the company broke its commitment to workers’ rights. Starbucks hasn’t shared the official vote counts yet.
— CNBC’s Kate Rogers contributed to this report. More

Lucid said in a regulatory filing that it is cutting about 18% of its workforce, or roughly 1,300 workers.
In a letter to employees, CEO Peter Rawlinson said the job cuts will hit “nearly every organization and level, including executives.”
The company expects to take charges of $24 million to $30 million related to the cuts, most of that in the first quarter.

Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson poses at the Nasdaq MarketSite as Lucid Motors (Nasdaq: LCID) begins trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange after completing its business combination with Churchill Capital Corp IV in New York City, New York, July 26, 2021.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters

Struggling EV maker Lucid said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it plans to cut about 18% of its workforce, or roughly 1,300 employees, as part of a larger restructuring to reduce costs as it works to ramp up production of its Air luxury sedan.
Lucid said it will incur one-time charges totaling between $24 million and $30 million related to the job cuts, with most of that amount being recognized in the first quarter of 2023.

News of the job cuts was first reported by Insider earlier on Tuesday. Lucid’s shares closed down over 7% on Tuesday following the Insider report.
In a letter to employees, CEO Peter Rawlinson said the job cuts will hit “nearly every organization and level, including executives,” and that affected employees will be notified over the next three days. Severance packages will include continued healthcare coverage paid by Lucid, as well as an acceleration of equity vesting, Rawlinson wrote.
Lucid ended 2022 with about $4.4 billion in cash on hand, enough to last until the first quarter of 2024, CFO Sherry House told CNBC last month ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. But there have been signs that demand for the high-priced Air has fallen short of Lucid’s internal expectations, and the company may be struggling to convert early reservations to sold orders.
Lucid said that it had more than 28,000 reservations for the Air as of Feb. 21, its most recent update. But it also said that it plans to build just 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles in 2023, far fewer than the roughly 27,000 that Wall Street analysts had expected.

Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

With Lucid’s factory currently set up to build about 34,000 vehicles per year, the company has warned of continuing losses.

“As we produce vehicles at low volumes on production lines designed for higher volumes, we have and we will continue to experience negative gross profit related to labor and overhead costs,” House said during Lucid’s earnings call on Feb. 22.
Lucid hasn’t yet announced a date for its first-quarter earnings report. More

Lululemon’s quarterly results beat Wall Street’s expectations, sending shares higher.
The athletic-wear company also beat estimates on fiscal 2023 revenue and full-year profit.
Lululemon issued upbeat guidance for the new fiscal year.

A Lululemon sign is seen at a shopping mall in San Diego, California, November, 23, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters

Lululemon on Tuesday reported strong holiday-quarter sales, suggesting wealthier shoppers are still purchasing yoga pants and tops despite rising prices for essential goods.
The company also issued upbeat guidance for its new fiscal year.

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Shares of Lululemon jumped about 11% in after-hours trading following the report. Through Tuesday’s close, the stock is about flat for the year, putting the company’s market value at $40.87 billion.
Here’s what the company reported for the three-month period ended Jan. 29, compared with Wall Street expectations based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $4.40 adjusted vs $4.26 expected
Revenue: $2.77 billion vs. $2.7 billion expected

Lululemon’s fourth-quarter net income fell to $119.8 million, or 94 cents per share, from $434.5 billion, or $3.36 per share, a year ago. Excluding impairment and other charges related to the acquisition of Mirror, as well as other items, per-share earnings were $4.40.
Revenue rose to $2.77 billion from $2.13 billion a year ago.
The company expects fiscal 2023 revenue of between $9.3 billion and $9.41 billion, topping Wall Street’s expectations of $9.14 billion, according to Refinitiv estimates. The company expects full-year profit of between $11.50 and $11.72 per share, compared with Refinitiv estimates of $11.26 per share.

“Looking ahead, we remain optimistic regarding our ability to deliver sustained growth and long-term value for all our stakeholders,” said Chief Financial Officer Meghan Frank in a statement.
The Vancouver-based athletic apparel retailer said total comparable sales for the fourth quarter increased by 27%. Also called same-store sales, the metric includes sales from stores open continuously for at least 12 months.
“We believe that it is one of the few companies in the space that has a very long pathway for growth, and it’s also a very highly visible one,” said Rick Patel, managing director at Raymond James.
Patel said his firm, which maintains a strong buy rating on the stock, sees upside in Lululemon’s international business and its men’s business, and that the worst of the company’s inventory struggles are in the past.
In December, Lululemon said inventories at the end of its third quarter were up 85% year-over-year. The company said Tuesday that as of the end of 2022, inventories were up 50%. More

Dollar General is a “severe violator” of workplace safety rules, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The two sides are in early settlement talks regarding violations, according to OSHA.
The federal agency has already fined Dollar General over $15 million.

The exterior of a Dollar General convenience store is seen on March 16, 2023 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Dollar General is in settlement talks with federal regulators after the discount retailer was labeled a “severe violator” of workplace safety rules, according to a spokesperson for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The spokesperson said the “mandatory settlement proceedings” before the agency’s review commission would occur “pursuant to Commission rules.” OSHA is part of the Department of Labor.

Dollar General did not comment directly on the settlement talks. Until recently, the discount retailer was unwilling to engage with OSHA about the violations, according to federal officials who spoke to The New York Times under the condition of anonymity. 
A Dollar General spokesperson told CNBC “we regularly review and refine our safety programs, and reinforce them through training, ongoing communication, recognition and accountability.”
“When we learn of situations where we have failed to live up to this commitment, we work to address the issue and ensure the company’s expectations regarding safety are clearly communicated, understood and implemented,” the spokesperson added. 
Dollar General has been accused of exposing workers to fire hazards and other safety concerns, such as merchandise stacked at unsafe heights, leading to “chronic failures to meet federal safety requirements,” according to OSHA.
Since 2017, OSHA inspected over 270 Dollar General stores, finding more than 100 workplace safety violations. OSHA also issued Dollar General over $15 million in fines. The company operates more locations in the U.S. than Target and Walmart.

Dollar General was the first company to be added to the “severe violators” list last fall after OSHA expanded the reach of one of its longstanding safety enforcement programs. That program, dubbed the Severe Violator Enforcement Program, was traditionally aimed at companies with notably unsafe working conditions, like manufacturers or construction firms. 
Under the program, OSHA officials can inspect a store at random, without a direct complaint about working conditions. 
The Tennessee-based company rapidly expanded throughout the pandemic, opening thousands of new locations. Amid this growth and profitability, the company also faced criticism from other workers’ rights advocates, making it a logical target for the Biden administration. 
“Dollar General’s growing record of disregard for safety measures makes it abundantly clear that the company puts profit before people,” said OSHA regional administrator Kurt Petermeyer in a January news release. “These violations are preventable, and failing to prevent them shows a blatant disregard for the workers on whom they depend to keep their stores operating.” 
Throughout the course of their inspections, OSHA officials have found everything from blocked fire exits to unstable stacked merchandise that could fall on workers.  More

Federal authorities sued Walmart Monday for firing a North Carolina employee with Crohn’s disease after allegedly refusing to grant her disability-related leave.
The EEOC alleged that Walmart fired deli worker Adrian Tucker for violating Walmart’s attendance policy after nine “unauthorized” absences in a period of six months.
This lawsuit comes months after a judge rejected Walmart’s request for a new trial after firing an employee with Down syndrome.

The Walmart logo is displayed outside their store near Bloomsburg.
Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty Images

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Walmart for firing a North Carolina employee with Crohn’s disease after the retail giant allegedly refused to grant her disability-related leave.
The EEOC’s complaint, filed in Charlotte federal court, accuses Walmart of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act in its treatment of deli worker Adrian Tucker.

The lawsuit comes months after a Wisconsin federal court judge rejected Walmart’s request for a new trial in a case where the EEOC sued the retailer for firing an employee with Down syndrome.
In that case, a jury in 2021 found that Walmart wrongfully fired Marlo Spaeth, who worked for nearly 16 years at a Walmart Supercenter, after failing to accommodate her disability when her working hours were changed.
The jury’s verdict called for Walmart to pay more than $125 million in damages for its treatment of Spaeth. That was reduced by the judge to $300,000, the maximum allowed under the law.
“We have been a top employer for those with disabilities for years and have thousands of associates who perform their jobs with reasonable accommodation, including applying for and receiving appropriate leave. We don’t tolerate discrimination of any kind and take allegations like this seriously. We are reviewing the complaint and will respond in court as appropriate once we are served,” a spokesperson for Walmart said in a statement.
In the new North Carolina case, the EEOC alleges Walmart fired Tucker for violating the company’s attendance policy after nine “unauthorized” absences in a period of six months.

Tucker worked for Walmart between February 2014 and April 2017 at its Statesville store.
While there, Tucker served customers, took orders, prepared food, washed dishes and lifted boxes of chicken weighing up to 50 pounds.
According to the complaint, Tucker suffers from Crohn’s disease, a chronic bowel condition that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, which can lead to stomach cramps, dehydration, vomiting and diarrhea.
The EEOC alleges Walmart refused to provide reasonable accommodation to her when she experienced symptoms multiple times between November 2016 and April 2017.
The complaint further says Tucker asked for intermittent leave or excused absences, as well as requesting to be moved to a position closer to the bathroom.
While Walmart excused some of her disability-related absences it did not accommodate several other absences that were due to medical appointments and a hospitalization, the suit says.
The EEOC is seeking monetary relief for Tucker, which incluides back pay, and compensatory and punitive damages. The commission also seeks injunctive relief against Walmart to end any ongoing discrimination.
Melinda Dugas, the regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District, said in a statement, “The Americans with Disabilities Act was created to protect employees like this deli associate.”
An attorney representing Tucker declined to comment beyond the complaint citing “pending litigation.” More