Fast food restaurant operators
FILE - This April 30, 2019, file photo, shows a McDonald's restaurant on the Northside of Pittsburgh. U.S. restaurants and stores are rapidly raising pay in an urgent effort to attract more applicants and keep up with a flood of customers as the pandemic eases. McDonald's, Sheetz and Chipotle are just some of the latest companies to follow Amazon, Walmart and Costco in boosting wages, in some cases to $15 an hour or higher. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Desperate for workers, US restaurants and stores raise pay

By Christopher Rugaber May. 13, 2021 03:55 PM EDT

A sign looking for employees to work at Burger King restaurants is posted, Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Miami. Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King, saw its sales climb in the first quarter to top Wall Street’s view as Americans made purchases at the burger chain amid easing coronavirus pandemic restrictions. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Americans hungry for Burger King, sales improve in Q1

By Michelle Chapman Apr. 30, 2021 01:09 PM EDT

A sign is displayed over a McDonald's restaurant, Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa. The burger giant said Thursday, April 29 its first quarter sales surpassed even those in 2019, led by a big jump in U.S. demand. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
McDonald's comes roaring back as restrictions ease

By Dee-Ann Durbin Apr. 29, 2021 07:06 AM EDT

A KFC restaurant is open, Wednesday, April 21, 2021, in New York. Yum Brands’ first-quarter profit more than tripled from a year ago, while sales were bolstered by strong performances from its Pizza Hut and KFC brands in the U.S. The parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut earned $326 million, or $1.07 per share, for the period ended March 31. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell sales bounce as restrictions ease

Apr. 28, 2021 08:32 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2021 file photo a woman arrives at a Kohl's store in West Des Moines, Iowa. Kohl’s Corp. says it’s adding two independent directors to its board as part of an agreement it struck with a key activist investor group that has been fighting to exert more control. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
Kohl's names 3 new directors in deal with activist investors

By Anne D'innocenzio Apr. 14, 2021 10:37 AM EDT

FILE - In this Thursday, March 25, 2021 file photo, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, appears before Boulder District Court Judge Thomas Mulvahill at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colo. On Friday, March 26, 2021, The Associated Press reported on a manipulated image circulating online incorrectly asserting that CNN displayed a banner during coverage of the mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado, stating the gunman was “factually Arab, but morally white.” The manipulated screenshot of a CNN broadcast was shared thousands of times on Facebook this week, fooling social media users who did not realize it was initially shared as satire. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP, Pool)
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

By The Associated Press Mar. 26, 2021 02:46 PM EDT

FILE - This April 9, 2020 file photo shows a McDonald's sign in Wheeling, Ill. McDonald’s ended 2020 on a strong note, recovering nearly all of the global sales lost in the pandemic despite a resurgent virus. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
McDonald's US sales strong in Q4, but COVID drags elsewhere

By Dee-Ann Durbin Jan. 28, 2021 07:32 AM EST

Teo Perez, from left, works in the kitchen with Jorge Morales and Jaime Hernandez at Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. In pre-pandemic days, Brenda's French Soul Food was always hopping, but everything came to a screeching halt on March 16, when San Francisco halted indoor dining to stop the spread of the coronavirus. It reopened for takeout and delivery, and Chef Proprieter Brenda Buenviaje is now shipping meals nationwide through a service called Goldbelly. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
From restaurants to retailers, virus transformed economies

By Paul Wiseman And Alexandra Olson Dec. 16, 2020 11:02 AM EST

FILE - In this June 27, 2019, file photo a meatless burger patty called Beyond Burger made by Beyond Meat is displayed at a grocery store in Richmond, Va. Beyond Meat said Monday, Nov. 9, 2020 that it felt the full force of the coronavirus pandemic in the third quarter, leading to worse-than-expected financial results. Consumer stockpiling in the second quarter, coupled with continuing struggles at restaurants and other food service customers, made demand unpredictable, the company said. AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
Beyond Meat shares plummet on weak 3Q, McDonald's questions

By Dee-Ann Durbin Nov. 09, 2020 05:14 PM EST

FILE - This Oct. 17, 2019 file photo shows a McDonald's sign along Interstate 40/85 in Burlington, N.C. McDonald’s sales improved throughout the second quarter, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, as markets reopened globally, but the fast food giant still faces a bumpy recovery. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
Updated menu, celeb collaborations, pump McDonald's sales

By Dee-Ann Durbin Nov. 09, 2020 07:02 AM EST

FILE - This June 25, 2019, photo shows the sign outside a McDonald's restaurant in Pittsburgh. The McRib, the fast food sandwich that went viral before viral was a thing, is back. For the first time in eight years, McDonald's announced Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, that it was bringing its barbeque slathered sandwich with the cult following back nationwide starting Dec. 2, and of course, for a limited time. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
McDonald's cult classic, the McRib, is coming back

Oct. 30, 2020 01:55 PM EDT

Paul Cadden, owner of the Saba restaurant group poses for a photograph in his restaurant in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. Paul Cadden will have to lay off 20 people, but will do whatever is necessary to get through lockdown. With COVID-19 cases on the rise, the government has imposed a tough new lockdown, shutting down non-essential shops, limiting restaurants to takeout service and ordering people to stay within five kilometers (three miles) of their homes for the next six weeks. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Ireland focuses on Christmas as it enters new lockdown

By Peter Morrison And Danica Kirka Oct. 21, 2020 04:08 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 15, 2019 file photo shows a Domino's location in Norwood, Mass. Domino’s Pizza saw stronger U.S. same-store sales in the July-September period, indicating customers’ preference for drive-thru and delivery remained strong even as lockdown restrictions eased. Domino’s said its U.S. same-store sales jumped 17.5% in the July-September period, better than the 16% growth it saw in the second quarter. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Drive-thru dominates even as dine-in restrictions ease

By Dee-Ann Durbin Oct. 08, 2020 01:17 PM EDT

In this Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, photo, a customer picks up a takeaway bag with food from a robot at No Brand Burger in Seoul, South Korea. These robotic services, with not a single face-to-face interaction, have been seen as a selling point amid the coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
AI Robots serve restaurant customers in South Korea

Jung Yoon Kim Sep. 15, 2020 06:57 AM EDT

Strike for justice protesters rally outside a McDonald's Monday, July 20, 2020, in Milwaukee. Thousands across the country walked off the job to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
McDonald's facing uneven recovery, 2Q sales down 30%

By Dee-Ann Durbin Jul. 28, 2020 07:15 AM EDT

Protesters gather for a rally outside the Federal Reserve in the Financial District, Monday, July 20, 2020, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Thousands across the country planned to walked off the job to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Workers protest racial inequality on day of national strike

By Aaron Morrison Jul. 20, 2020 12:05 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 19, 2020, file photo, people demonstrate in Chicago, to mark Juneteenth. A national coalition of labor unions, along with racial and social justice organizations, will stage a mass walkout from work July 20, as part of an ongoing reckoning on systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
AP Exclusive: 'Strike for Black Lives' to highlight racism

By Aaron Morrison Jul. 08, 2020 01:41 PM EDT

A delivery driver pushes a cart past an Untuckit men's clothes store in Dallas, Tuesday, July 7, 2020. Some big corporate names are on the government's list of 650,000 recipients of coronavirus relief loans despite the controversy that prompted other high-profile businesses to return billions of dollars in loan. Untuckit, which has 85 shirt stores, received a loan between $5 million and $10 million; the company said it used the money to keep paying its workers. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Small business program scrutinized for loans to big firms

By Joyce M. Rosenberg Jul. 07, 2020 04:12 PM EDT

An employee of Centogene looks out of a laboratory container at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, June 29, 2020. In the future, people will be able to be tested for the corona virus within a few hours at Germany's first "Airport Corona Test" centre. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Domino's expands delivery options, home buying moves online

Jun. 29, 2020 10:20 AM EDT

Customers sit at a terrace bar in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, May 31, 2020. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he will ask Spain's Parliament for a final two-week extension of the nation's state of emergency that has allowed the government to take lockdown measures to control its coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Businesses ramp up operations as nations prep for tourists

Jun. 01, 2020 12:22 PM EDT