In this Weekly Wrap, we’re looking at a potential merger for US Foods and Performance Food Group, an uptick in restaurant visits, a new recruiting tactic for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and more.
US Foods Takeover
The Headline: “US Foods is reportedly considering a takeover of Performance Food Group”
The Source: Restaurant Business Online
What You Need to Know:
US Foods, the third-largest distributor in the U.S., is apparently considering an acquisition of the second-largest distributor, Performance Food Group (PFG), according to a report Friday in Bloomberg.
That combination would create the largest broadline distributor in the country, at least based on revenue data and information from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
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A potential deal between the two distributors would likely face regulatory questions. But it would be a massive combination that would have ripple effects throughout the restaurant industry.
Sysco remains the largest broadline distributor in the U.S., having generated $64.6 billion in total sales last year. But PFG has grown rapidly over the past five years, largely through acquisitions, to overtake US Foods as the second largest distributor.
Our Take:
While this potential merger is a rumor at this point in time, it’s not a welcome one. The thought of the number two and number three food service providers joining forces will not help the majority of operators.
If the merger happens, I’m sure the new conglomerate will celebrate and tell the restaurant world everything will only get better, that prices will go down, quality and service will go up, and the combined power of the two will only help bring more variety to the market.
The truth is somewhat more sobering. In the past few years the major food service providers have trimmed their offerings, making it more difficult to get niche products. In turn there has been a homogenization in menu offerings across the country, especially in underserved markets. Many operators are serving the same products as their competitors, not because they don’t want to offer something different, but because they have limited options.
A merger of this size will only exacerbate that problem. Fewer products, a decline in already questionable service — it will not be a boon for the operator, only a boon for the provider, especially in smaller markets.
Dining Out Data
The Headline: “New data shows restaurant visits per week have increased”
The Source: Nation’s Restaurant News
What You Need to Know:
Several recent surveys, including from KPMG and Popmenu, find that Americans are reducing their spending on dining out, citing continued economic uncertainty. However, new data from Big Chalk Analytics provides some room for some optimism. Some.
Big Chalk data from June 2025 shows participation rates — consumers who typically dine out at least once a week — have improved since the fourth quarter of 2024, 77.3% compared to 76.4%. Further, their visits per week have increased to 2.19 from 1.99 in Q4 — or what Big Chalk partner and lead analyst Rick Miller calls “statistically significant.”
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In June, 87% of trade-off consumers planned to cut restaurant spending, compared to 85.2% in November. For all U.S. households, the forecast isn’t much brighter, with 43.7% planning to cut back on restaurants, compared to 39.6% in November and 42.9% in June 2024.
“The bad news for restaurants is they compete with grocery stores,” Miller said. “We are seeing more consumers, as of this study, leaning into groceries and the desire to cut grocery budgets has gone down, while the desire to cut dining out budgets has stayed flat or ticked up. We’re more optimistic for grocery than restaurants.
“But the good news is we don’t think restaurant traffic will get worse or decline in next six months. We have cautious optimism.”
Our Take:
It’s good to see even a slight uptick in dining out, especially with all the turmoil as of late. I’m optimistic about this trend continuing on its current path.
The ‘trade-off’ consumer data is interesting, though it’s all theoretical. Five months ago many were saying that consumers would be cutting back on restaurant spending, but here we are with an uptick.
As with all things these days, don’t get too entrenched in sentiment and data as all it takes is one major policy swing to flip the script on spending.
Customs and Border Patrol Pizza Box Recruiting
The Headline: “Customs and Border Protection is looking for recruits by advertising on pizza boxes”
The Source: Restaurant Business Online
What You Need to Know:
The restaurant Mojo Pizza ‘n Pub in Decatur, Georgia, last week reportedly received 100 free pizza boxes that had a large and prominent recruitment ad for joining the U.S. Border Patrol on the front, according to a report that first appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Mojo Pizza officials said they had gotten a call offering the free boxes, not knowing what they would be promoting. It’s not unusual for advertising to be placed on pizza boxes.
But when the boxes arrived, the staff at Mojo were not happy about the prominent and in-full-color ad on the top, promising “a career that delivers,” with the chance to earn up to $30,000 in recruitment incentives for joining Customs and Border Protection.
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The ad campaign was initiated by marketing vendor MarCom Group and included ads at Atlanta’s airport.
It’s not clear why ads on pizza boxes seemed like a good idea. MarCom did not immediately respond to questions about the strategy.
Our Take:
I can’t think of a worse marketing strategy than this. I mean I can, but this is pretty bad. Seems like there is definitely a disconnect between the marketing firm and the market.
Really not much to comment on or digest here, other than this is just a bad idea. Know your market. And if you are looking for a marketing agency right now, maybe steer clear of the MarCom Group.
Garnish Disappearing Act
The Headline: “Bartenders Are Saying Goodbye to Citrus Wedges as Cocktail Garnishes Become Unsustainable”
The Source: Food & Wine
What You Need to Know:
These cocktails come in all shapes and sizes: slender highballs of flavored liqueur and club soda with a long block of clear ice, a Martini served alongside a single olive and lemon peel, or a Margarita topped with a citrus salt in lieu of a hunk of lime balanced atop the rim. Bartenders are turning away from overly ornate cocktail garnishes for their own gastronomic peace of mind, but also because these accoutrements contribute more than their fair share to food waste.
At a 2023 Tales of the Cocktail seminar, Calum Fraser, ambassador for zero-waste spirits brand Discarded Spirits Co., shared the statistic that one kilogram of waste from lemon garnishes (or approximately 64 lemon wedges, at 8 wedges per lemon) can create roughly the same amount of carbon emissions as a 20-minute journey in a car. And that estimate is entirely dependent on bar's location in the world, and how far those lemons had to travel from largely tropical growing regions to get there.
While there are those who will always argue in favor of visual appeal of a cocktail garnish, it’s worth asking: Is the resulting waste really worth it?
When it comes to rethinking cocktail garnishes, there are two camps. The first is set on abolishing them. That means no garnishes, no waste, and, more importantly, that whatever is in the glass needs to stand on its own. The second lean into a more revisionist approach by making closed loop cocktails, where waste is diverted and transformed into new ingredients. Think dehydrated lemon peels turned into salt for the rim of a glass, for example. Each effort speaks to how bartenders are looking inward at the ways in which their practices affect not only the environment through waste but also their bottom lines with regards to inventory cost.
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But Matt Seigel, executive director of beverage and sustainability at plant-based restaurant Little Saint in Healdsburg, California, sees the problem of citrus waste as an opportunity. His team buys fresh citrus in bulk and dehydrates it for edible garnishes. The kitchen uses the whole fruits once peels are taken off for the bar, and they pre-cut a small quantity of lemon wedges for each service so as not to waste any.
Our Take:
More and more operators can and should be thinking about sustainability and waste. There is the obvious concern for the environment, but there is also the idea that this can ultimately save a business money.
As an operator, waste drives me nuts, and if an operator is throwing away a ton of wedges, it’s a sign that something isn’t being paid attention to. It could be the pars for cutting fruit, it could be projections for the night, or it could just be bad weather.
There will always be the possibility of waste, but what you do with that potential waste shows what type of operator you are. If you find creative ways to utilize the fruit, you win. You’ve taken an L and turned it into a W.
The other scenario is another thing that drives me nuts: it’s when the extra fruit that was cut is neither thrown away nor repurposed, but instead kept in circulation. I’m sure anyone reading this article has encountered the browning edges of a sliced lime or the slimy exterior of a three-day old lemon. In this case the operator has taken an L and made an even bigger L out of the situation. No one wins here — not the owner, the guest, or the bartender serving the drink.
I appreciate the idea of no garnishes, though I think it is a solution that is best tailored to the higher end of the cocktail world. I don't see the middle tier restaurant giving up its lime wedges anytime soon.