Earlier today President Trump held a conference call with a who’s-who of executives in the restaurant industry. One of the key aspects to the call was President Trump asking the CEO’s to continue food service operations despite the dine-in closures. The reason is simple: the alternative, the retail supermarket industry nationwide, cannot compensate for the closure of restaurants in the total food production supply chain. [Ground Reports]
(WHITE HOUSE) – Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke by telephone with restaurant executives representing hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans about the response to COVID-19. The executives thanked President Trump and his Administration for the whole-of-government response and for his efforts to ensure the public has the most accurate and up-to-date information.
The President reminded the restaurants that they can help flatten the curve and slow the spread of this virus in communities across the country by encouraging their customers to use drive-thru, pickup, or delivery options.
All of the executives committed their restaurants to this critical guideline and assured the President they fully intend to continue feeding their communities through these other innovative avenues. President Trump thanked the participants for moving quickly to implement this change and agreed to stay in close communication on this public-private partnership to protect our businesses and the public.
Executive Participants:
- Richard Allison, CEO, Domino’s Pizza
- Dan Cathy, CEO, Chick-fil-A
- John Chidsey, CEO, Subway
- Jose Cil, CEO, Restaurant Brands International
- Robert Cresanti, President and CEO¸ International Franchise Association
- David Deno, CEO, Bloomin’ Brands
- Joe Erlinger, President, McDonald’s USA
- David Gibbs, CEO, YUM! Brands
- AJ Kumaran, Co-CEO and COO, Raising Cane’s
- Gene Lee, President and CEO, Darden Restaurants
- Rob Lynch, CEO, Papa Johns
- Todd Penegor, CEO, Wendy’s
- Matt Shay, National Retail Federation