Raphael Stevens

Cracker Barrel is suspending its restaurant remodeling plan.
The chain had only remodeled four stores with a more modern design.
The reversal follows Cracker Barrel unveiling a new logo, which received social media backlash, and subsequently returning to its old branding.

The Cracker Barrel logo is seen on a billboard outside of one of its restaurants.
Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty Images

The Old Country Store look is back.
Cracker Barrel announced Tuesday that it was suspending all restaurant remodels, the latest chapter in the controversy over its rebranding that reached as far as the Oval Office.

The restaurant chain first ignited a firestorm when it announced its new logo in late August, which disposed of its “Uncle Herschel” character and got rid of the words “Old Country Store” for a sleeker look. That change faced widespread backlash on social media, including from President Donald Trump, who posted on Truth Social that it was “a mistake.”
Along with the logo rebrand, the company had also been planning to update the look of its restaurants. The chain said it had tested its more modern layout in only four out of 660 locations, but that customer feedback has prompted it to halt the process completely.
“We heard clearly that the modern remodel design does not reflect what you love about Cracker Barrel,” the company said in a statement. “The vintage Americana you love will always be here — the rocking chairs on the porch, our fireplaces and peg games, unique treasures in our gift shop and antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
Cracker Barrel is among several companies that have recently faced pushback from customers for reforms ranging from name changes to logo redesigns.
A week after it unveiled its new logo, Cracker Barrel announced it was returning to the old version, sending its shares up more than 8% in one day.

The restaurant chain’s rebranding effort traces back to its “strategic transformation plan” unveiled in 2024, which included “evolving the store and guest experience.” At the time, Cracker Barrel said it would remodel 25 to 30 stores in fiscal 2025.
“Of course, we will continue to invest in our restaurants to make sure that they are in good shape and meet your expectations,” Cracker Barrel said in its Tuesday statement.

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Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the plane manufacturer is on track to deliver 820 aircraft in 2025.
In an interview with CNBC’s Phil LeBeau, Faury said the company has been waiting on delayed engine deliveries from CFM International and Pratt & Whitney.
Airbus delivered 61 planes in August and has delivered 434 planes so far this year, continuing to outpace American rival Boeing.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told CNBC on Tuesday that the plane maker remains on pace to deliver about 820 commercial aircraft in 2025, even as engine production delays continue to limit its capabilities.
In an interview with CNBC’s Phil LeBeau, Faury said the European company is “on track” with aircraft production and has been making “gliders,” or finished planes without engines, as it awaits engine deliveries from manufacturers CFM International and Pratt & Whitney.

“All our attention will be on engine deliveries from both CFM and Pratt & Whitney, but they’re telling us that they will be able to deliver what we need. So we remain positive for the back end of the year,” Faury said.
Airbus delivered 61 planes in August, bringing its total for the year to 434. U.S. rival Boeing announced Tuesday it delivered 57 planes in August and 385 so far in 2025, continuing to trail Airbus in that metric. Boeing hasn’t issued delivery guidance for the year.
Aircraft manufacturers have faced engine production delays for years. RTX, which owns Pratt & Whitney, in 2023 said engine manufacturing defects would affect hundreds of engines through 2027.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury speaks during the Airbus summit 2025 at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, southern France, on March 24, 2025.
Ed Jones | Afp | Getty Images

Faury attributed the engine delivery delays to quality issues and worker strikes.
“But I think basically they have the capabilities to produce the volumes that are expected, so I hope they will be back on track and then delivering on their commitments,” he said.

Airbus has maintained its deliveries target throughout the year, even as tariffs have threatened to roil its business. The current U.S. trade agreement with the European Union, however, spares the aircraft industry from President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs.”
Faury on Tuesday said he believes the tariff relief is “the right thing to do.” But what continues to worry him most about the global economy is uncertainty, he said.
“We are long-term industries. We need visibility. We need predictability. And all this change is not predictable, and having to adapt all the time is slowing us down,” Faury said.

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Chinese companies are facing widespread deflation, which has left consumers uncertain about the future and hunting for value.
The ongoing situation is described in China as “involution” or a race-to-the-bottom competition.
The country is set to post consumer price index and producer price index data for August on Wednesday, and Goldman Sachs predicts wholesale price inflation will stay “deeply negative.”

A woman rides an electric scooter by the Beiyuan Grand Hotel in Beijing, China August 11, 2025.
Maxim Shemetov | Reuters

While U.S. companies battle inflation, those in China are up against something very different: deflation.
The high-end Beijing hotel Beiyuan Grand has been setting up stalls in the evenings to serve dishes to passers-by — as Chinese consumers and companies cut back on travel, banquets, and events. Chef Wang cooks up his specialty fried pigeon there, not in the hotel’s restaurant but out on the sidewalk.

“When we sold fried pigeons inside the hotel restaurant, we used to sell only 60 to 70 a day,” Wang said. “Now we sell around 200.”
But those sales come at cut prices.
Before, each fried pigeon cost $8. Today, they go for $5.30.
Falling prices are a problem across China’s economy. That comes as consumers, uncertain about the future, have been hunting for value. 
On his way home from work, Wan Qiang picked up a gourmet dinner of duck necks, duck wings, and steamed buns from Beiyuan for just over $4.

“The economy isn’t doing so well,” he said. “The food is very clean and the quality is good.”
Another factor pressuring Chinese prices is excess capacity in everything from electric vehicles and solar panels to food delivery services, leading to what is described in China as “involution” or a race-to-the-bottom competition.
Food delivery is one of the most fiercely competitive battlefields. Market leader Meituan is facing cutthroat competition from Alibaba and JD.com. They’ve all been offering coupon discounts to fight for business bringing prices down.
The Chinese government, worried about deflation becoming entrenched, has stepped in with warnings and revised regulations to control pricing.
The country is set to post consumer price index and producer price index data for August on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs predicts wholesale price inflation will stay “deeply negative,” with the producer price index dropping 2.9% year on year. The bank sees the consumer price index as “moderately negative,” falling 0.2% from a year ago.
In the deflationary environment, consumer patterns are changing.
Second-hand luxury goods are in such high demand that online vintage products seller Zhuanzhuan opened a physical superstore this summer in downtown Beijing.
For well-off Chinese consumers like Hao Wenli, it was once socially unacceptable not to buy new.
That no longer carries a stigma.
“We hardly go to the luxury stores anymore,” she said. “It’s a hard time now to make money, so why not shop at places like this and save?” More

In an environment of value wars across fast food, Shake Shack is trying to draw diners with premium offerings at a discount.
Building off of its recent success with the $10 Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake, Shake Shack is set to launch its latest menu innovation Tuesday, its French Onion Soup Burger.
Like the Dubai shake, it’s priced at a premium at $10.99.
Shake Shack CEO Rob Lynch told CNBC it’s the “democratization of fine dining.”

Shake Shack will introduce a new French Onion Soup menu in its app.
Courtesy: Shake Shack

As value wars take hold across fast food, Shake Shack aims to offer premium items at a discount.
Building off its recent success with the $10 Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake, Shake Shack will launch its latest menu innovation Tuesday, this time featuring French onion flavors. The burger chain will introduce its French Onion Menu, featuring its new French Onion Soup Burger, first on its app on Sept. 9 and then across all channels on Sept.12. 

The burger is a made-to-order quarter-pound beef patty topped with Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, crispy sweet onions and roasted garlic Parmesan aioli on a toasted potato bun. It will also include the chain’s first-ever beer-battered onion rings and Parmesan garlic fries.
Like the Dubai shake, it’s priced at a premium compared with the chain’s other items at $10.99. The Dubai shake was the highest-priced shake in the company’s history, and it sold out nearly everywhere, CEO Rob Lynch told CNBC.
Lynch called the chain’s premium item rollouts the “democratization of fine dining.”
“We are really bringing great value to the marketplace by delivering burgers that you’re going to have to pay $25 for in a local burger shop, and we’re selling them for $10 or $11,” Lynch said in an interview. “Our model is all about continuing to bring food and culinary experiences that you just can’t get anywhere else. … We feel we’re an incredible value for the money.”
The company is now mapping out 18 months of ideas for its menu, he said. Lynch added the premium limited-time offerings will allow diners to “self-select” higher-priced food, rather than Shake Shack hiking prices on its core menu.

In the fiscal second quarter, Shake Shack beat Wall Street expectations on the top and bottom lines, with revenue increasing 12.6% to $356.5 million. However, same-store sales were up 1.8% from the prior year, weaker than expected.
Lynch said despite some pockets of softness in major metros like New York City, the business on the whole is strong, as growth in markets including Texas and Florida help to offset the weakness.
Some fast-casual restaurants are facing slowing sales after initially bucking the broader industry trend.
“Shake Shack is positioned very different in the marketplace. That doesn’t mean that we can take our eyes off of the macroeconomic situation and the consumer situation,” he said.
While beef prices continue to climb, Lynch said the company has made productivity improvements that have allowed it to offset some of those higher costs.
“We feel like we’ve done really hard work to be able to manage through this inflationary period, and when the cycle eases, we’re going to be even better off with some of the highest operating margins we’ve ever seen at the company,” he said.

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Private markets firm Carlyle is teaming up with Formula 1’s Red Bull Racing as it tries to get in front of a bigger audience.
Carlyle’s branding will appear on Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 challenger, drivers’ team kits, the pit wall and the garage.
The private markets industry trying to build brand awareness as it evolves toward funding from individual retail investors.

Carlyle is set to announce a new partnership with Formula 1 team Oracle Red Bull Racing as private markets firms aim to ramp up their exposure to the high-net worth and retail investor cohorts, CNBC has learned.
The agreement will plaster Carlyle’s branding on Red Bull’s RB21 challenger, drivers’ team kits, the pit wall and the garage, the two companies said Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Our industry is undergoing an extraordinary transformation, fueled by greater access to private markets and growing interest from a new generation of investors,” Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz said in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with one of the most illustrious brands in global sport to engage new audiences and create long-term value together.”
F1 teams have been raking in sponsorship dollars as the league soars in popularity. Last year, the teams generated a combined $2 billion in sponsorship revenue, according to a recent report by SponsorUnited. That surpassed every league except for the NFL, according to the report. And F1 generated the highest average sponsorship deal size at $6 million last year, which was about eight times the average for the NFL.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing competes during the British Grand Prix, the 12th round of the Formula 1 World Championship, at Silverstone Circuit in Northampton, United Kingdom, on July 06, 2025.
Rasid Necati Aslim | Anadolu | Getty Images

The private markets industry has been inking partnerships — particularly with certain sport franchises — in order to bring more brand awareness to firms as the industry evolves toward funding from individual retail investors. Other firms, such as Apollo and Blue Owl, have pursued sponsorship deals within professional golf and tennis.
Wealth has been one of the fastest-growing areas within Carlyle, raising more than $60 billion since inception and nearly doubling the segment assets under management in two years. In the release, Carlyle said that it’s Red Bull’s exclusive partner in the investment management industry and that their alliance is the first between an F1 team and a “major global private markets firm.”
“As an iconic firm in global finance, Carlyle brings a long-term perspective with an expansive network, and we look forward to building a powerful partnership on and off the track,” Laurent Mekies, Oracle Red Bull racing CEO and team principal, said in the release
The SponsorUnited report said the technology sector drove the most F1 team sponsorship revenue, contributing $543 million. Financial services came in second, with $379 million, the report showed. AIX Investment Group recently sponsored driver Pierre Gasly for the 2025 season, featuring its logo on the side panel of his helmet. More

Across the U.S. and Canada, the pool of tech workers with AI skills grew by more than 50% from mid-2024 to mid-2025 to 517,000 workers, according to a CBRE analysis of LinkedIn data.
That talent is concentrated most in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, D.C.
The in-migration of talent to these tech markets has a sizable impact on residential real estate, according to the CBRE report, which shows that apartment rents have increased in all of the top AI tech markets. 

Pete Lomchid | Moment | Getty Images

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
AI is impacting everything, so it should come as no surprise that demand for AI-specific tech talent in certain cities is fueling real estate demand in office, residential and even retail. 

Across the U.S. and Canada, the pool of tech workers with AI skills grew by more than 50% from mid-2024 to mid-2025 to 517,000 workers, according to a CBRE analysis of LinkedIn data. That talent is concentrated most in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, D.C. The top three account for 35% of the national total. 
Looking just at growth, the New York metropolitan area added the most AI tech talent over the past year by absolute numbers (with 20,000 new AI-skilled workers). Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Toronto and Washington, D.C., each saw 75% year-over-year gains in these workers — or more. 
Not all of this growth is new jobs but some is new skills, as tech workers upskilled their capabilities to perform AI-related tasks and systems development. Some, though, entered the workforce with those skills. 

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“With this AI revolution, it’s been a fundamental game changer for the city of San Francisco, because that’s really ground zero for the AI revolution and where most of these major high-profile firms like OpenAI are located,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center.
Silicon Valley was, of course, the initial heart of the tech sector, but AI appears to have longer limbs, reaching into cities and sectors where basic tech is now retreating. Part of that is because AI tech talent is now in high demand by the so-called FIRE group – financial services, insurance and real estate. That’s why Manhattan is seeing so much more office and apartment rental demand.

Financial services companies are having to up their game because fintech companies are becoming far more competitive in the market, thanks to AI. While the overall tech industry has cut back, financial services have been some of the top hirers of AI talent. 
Unlike some other types of tech, which has gone more remote, AI is still in its early innovation stages. That has a direct impact on how tech talent operates. In the first half of 2025, tech companies accounted for 17% of total U.S. office leasing activity, up from 10% in late 2022. 
Just in the city of San Francisco alone, over the last 2½ years, 1 out of every 4 square feet of office space was leased by an AI company, according to CBRE.
“AI is predominantly in-office work, and they’re sort of back to the earlier days of tech innovation, where they’re in the office five, six days a week and for long hours,” said Yasukochi. “That’s certainly boosted office space demand.”
The in-migration of talent to these tech markets also has a sizable impact on residential real estate, according to the CBRE report, which shows that apartment rents have increased in all of the top AI tech markets. 
The apartment rent growth from 2021 to 2024 in Manhattan was more than14%, in D.C. more than12%, in Seattle above 7% and in San Francisco nearly 6%.
Part of that is because tech salaries in AI can cover the cost of rents in most of the highest cost markets, which CBRE bases on the affordability standard of 30% of income to housing.
In Manhattan, where apartment rents are highest, tech worker salaries are such that workers are paying just 29% of their wages on rent. In the San Francisco Bay Area and in D.C. it’s as low as 19%.
“This idea that AI is obviously the future of technology, that it’s just kind of getting started, it’s still relatively early days – it’s another potential tech boom, and that’s driving people to come to cities where this is happening, and that’s affecting the real estate markets,” said Yasukochi.  More