The Best One Yet - 🍽️ “The Napkin Costume” — Chipotle’s Halloween collab. Surge in reservations for 1. US Steel’s epic history.

Episode Date: September 6, 2024

Reservations for 1 have jumped 29% in 2 years... because restaurants are microcosms of the economy.US Steel built the Empire State Building & Willis Tower… but its epic $14B deal got stock-blockedSpirit Halloween just collab’d with Chipotle on Halloween… because products are now protagonists.Plus, there’s a political divide between brands… Frosted Flakes are Democrats, but Frosted Mini-Wheats are Republicans.Seattle tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-best-one-yet-hotline-live-presented-by-audible-tickets-1002624325347WSJ Brand preference by politics: https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/republican-democrat-brands-quiz-election-2024-fe9d1673YouGov brand preference by politics: https://sherwood.news/business/brands-liberal-conservative-divide-yougov-survey/ $X $CMG $BKNG—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday. September 6th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yet is our live hotline show on personal finance in Seattle. Jack, how are the tickets looking?

They already sold out. So we found 50 more tickets. And we dropped the link in the episode description. Thank you to all the yeties joining us in the Pacific Northwest and selling out the show. in like literally minutes. But again, there's a few more tickets available. We found some seats for you. Your move, Macalmore.

Your move. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we get on the pod, man? For our first story, we're covering a new trend, solo dining. Solo dining. The number of restaurant reservations for one person are up 29%.

Because restaurants are really the microcosms of our economy. For our second story, there's one company behind the Empire State Building, Willis Tower, and the New Orleans Superdome. U.S. Steel. U.S. Steel's $15 billion deal just fell apart. And we'll tell you the wild history.

And our third and final story is the spiciest Halloween costume of this season, the Chipotle Burrito. Spirit Halloween just collabed with Chipotle. And that tells us something about society. But yet is, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. Love the mix before the weekend, Jack. You know, Nick, our political divide, it's even dominating the ads. we see on YouTube right now. I mean, Jack, every time you watch a video, you got to watch five seconds of some presidential candidate

asking for $1, just $1. Not tomorrow, not next week, now. Well, Jack and I just got new data on how politics divides our spending. Politics divides our spending by brands. By brands, Jack. Can you sprinkle on some more context?

The Wall Street Journal and UGov both just did surveys on which products each political party prefers. And honestly, the results are hilarious. For example, liberals prefer Ben and Jerry's. Conservatives prefer Pillsbury.

Liberals drive Subaru's, conservatives drive forts. Liberals lace up their Air Jordans. Conservatives put on underarmor. Democrats wear DKNY, while Republicans wear Ralph Lauren. But the funniest brand divide among politics of all has got to be in the cereal bowl jack. Get this. Democrats like frosted flakes? Which makes sense.

But Republicans like Frosted flakes. Masted Mini-weets, which now that I think of it kind of also makes sense. Nick, those are the same exact cereal? Like, there's no difference between the two. So, Jack, what are the moderates supposed to be spending on in these circumstances? Oh, that's easy. Moderates eat Ben and Jerry's in a Ford pickup truck wearing Ralph Lauren on the way to the Chick-fil-A while listening to Rachel Maddow.

While you did Frosted Mini-Weat Frosted Flakes. That is, we're not really blue states and red states. Yeah, we're actually Frosted Flake States and Frosted Miniwerex states and Frosted Miniwold. Weets, Flake States. That political division in our cereal bowls is so hilarious. That it actually unites us. We drop links to these surveys, by the way, in the episode description. If you want to check out some other hilarious brands.

And we know you do. Jack, let's in our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50% that's a fat tip.

Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. Our first story. There's a big new trend hitting the food industry.

Restaurants are seating a record number of diners eating alone. Solo dining. It's not about the way we eat. It's about the way we live. Now, Yaddy is six months ago. I covered this big new restaurant trend, literally. No big parties, please. That's what restaurants were saying. Because parties of more than six people are actually bad for the business of restaurants. It's not good economics for restaurants, right, Jack? For various reasons, mostly because they take like three hours to finally leave,

and the restaurant could have turned a bunch of tables over in the meantime. So restaurants wouldn't take people with parties of six or more. That was a big new move. But now we've got a new restaurant trend on the opposite side of the people spectrum. Get this. Solo diners are surging in America. According to data from OpenTable, in the U.S., solo dining reservations are up 29% in the last two years. Table for one, please. Yeah, I'm splitting the chicken parm with myself. It's just me. No one's going to be joining. Now, Jack, full disclosure, I actually do this every now and then. You know, I go to Nopa. I get the burger. You sit at the bar. I sit at the bar and I get a glass of Cabernet, and I just kind of enjoy it, man. You talk to the bartender, right?

See, that's the pro tip. You don't want to bring a book. You can bring a book. You can bring a book. But then, you know, stuff gets on the book. It gets a little messy. It's better to kind of like, I feel like learn something

from the bartender on those solo dinners. Does the bartender agree with you on those? Sometimes I notice they're avoiding me, but Jack, that's a story for another pod. You know they're paid to talk to you now. I tip well. But yet, some restaurants are actually resisting this solo diner trend.

They don't want one person taking up a table that has space for two people. But interestingly, Most restaurants are embracing this trend and they're adjusting their unit economics to handle it. Restaurants are adding more counter seats for solitary diners. It's like the singles line at the ski resort. You don't want to feel like you're on stage with everyone looking at you when you're dining solo trying to eat a burger and you're, you know, in my case, tripping on myself. So they got a whole place where it makes perfect sense to dine solo. Also, restaurants are actually adjusting the menus to handle these new solo diners. Some restaurants are offering tiny dishes so that a solo diner can.

get a taste of everything, kind of like a family-style meal, like three entrees served on just one plate. Can I get the chicken, a little dumplings, a little lo-main, no leftovers all on one platter. Yes, you may, sir. But yet as Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to this 29% jump in solo dining, we notice something even bigger. It's our takeaway. One takeaway, please. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone else dining alone? Restaurants are a microcosm of our economy.

Yeti's one Columbia Business School professor put it this way. Dining swings actually reflect the larger changes around us. In other words, restaurants is where we see society's economic changes. And you know what? There are actually a lot of economic changes you can see in this solo dining trend. For example, work from home has people craving an escape from their whole life situation. So you're getting off Zoom and you're taking a break at the bistro all by yourself. And more people are entering relationships later. They're having kids later, so there is more time for them as a party of one. Plus, people are taking me time. Yeah, they are. People are doing self-care. Since the pandemic, there's more of a focus on individual health and mental wellness. Dining solo can be a major treat yourself. It is. What you want, where you want, when you want, with no pressure to talk to anybody. Even the bartender. You're not arguing over. You're going to have tie tonight or Indian tonight. Also, Jack, getting the Papper Deli at Don Angie solo, it's like a

spa experience. All those big economic trends are converging in this one piece of data, the surge in solo dining, because restaurants are really a microcosm of our economy. For our second story, it's a stock block. The biggest deal in the history of steel is getting stock blocked by the U.S. government. So we have to tell you the wild history of U.S. Steel. Yes, we do. Because you're probably standing on it right now. Yes, you are. Love this story. Ladies, you may notice that U.S. Steel is all over the headlines right now. We're not talking about steel made in the United States. Right.

We're talking about U.S. Steel Inc. Yeah, U.S. Steel, the company. It's America's biggest publicly traded steel brand. Their ticket symbol? It's just X. Just kind of cool. Elon probably hates it. But there's a lot of drama going down with U.S. Steel right now, isn't there, Jack? Japan's Nupon Steel company is trying to acquire U.S. Steel for $14 billion.

$14 billion. That would be the biggest deal on the periodic table of elements since aluminum merged with magnesium, Jack. Wait, I don't think steel is an element. It's a noble gas, Jack. We'll talk about this later. In the meantime, yet is a big foreign company acquiring an important U.S. company that actually requires a government sign-off. So for a year now, this deal has been scrutinized by the U.S. Treasury Department. So by extension, the White House. And here's the news. President Biden, now. is about to use his power to block this deal. According to a bunch of reports, U.S. Steel is going to remain U.S. Steel. Shareholders hate the news and stock in U.S. deal melted down 20%. But we wanted to jump in T-Boy stuff. Because U.S. Steel, we used to read about in our history books. It's one of the most iconic companies on Wall Street. In fact, Yettys, U.S. Steel was actually America's first

ever unicorn. It's true. It's a fun trivia question. In 1902, U.S. Steel became the first company in the world worth $1 billion. And U.S. Steel happens to have an origin story that involves some of the most amazing people in the history of business. We took the sentence right off U.S. Steel's history page on their website. Oh, this is a great quote, Jack. J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab financed the merger of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel Company with two other steel giants. That's how you U.S. Steel came to be. J.P. Morgan, Charles Schwab, Andrew Carnegie, those weren't just companies at the time. Those were the people involved in the founding of this company.

Those are the titans of American history. It's like Mount Rushmore. And it's not just that. The most recognizable buildings and infrastructure in America, they were literally built by U.S. Steel. The San Francisco and Oakland Bay Bridge, the New Orleans Superdome, both built on U.S. Steel. The flat iron building, the U.N. building, the Willis Tower, the Hancock Tower, All built on U.S. Steel.

At one point, this company's headquarters was in the Empire State Building. Interesting. Because the Empire State Building was made of U.S. Steel. So why is this fascinating company's big acquisition deal getting blocked? Because of our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at U.S. Steel? Right now, Pennsylvania is more important than Japan. Now, yetis, let's talk numbers here.

Japan's Nupan offered an insane price to buy U.S. deal. $14 billion is actually double the valuation of U.S. deal. Japan is a close ally, and yet the White House is blocking the deal on national security concerns? So, Bessie's added all up. Why is the U.S. president insulting a close ally and blocking an absurdly lucrative deal? Because of voters in Pennsylvania. That's why. Pennsylvania, the most swing state of swing states.

The reality is that domestic politics have been. priority over international relations and the economy right now. Think about it. The NFL team in Pittsburgh is called the Steelers, because Pennsylvania does steal. And public opinion in Pennsylvania happens to be very opposed to Japan buying their beloved hometown industry. Public opinion in Pennsylvania is why President Biden, former President Trump, and Vice President Harris all vehemently opposed this deal. That's right. All three of them don't want this deal to happen. Never thought we'd see that. Because right now, Pennsylvania is more important than Japan. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

For our third and final story, Chipotle just launched a costume collab with Spirit Halloween. Chipotle thinks their burritos are in the same category as superheroes. Yes, they do. And they're right. Yiddies, we know what you're feeling right now. You can talk to us. You're feeling a costume conundrum. And if you're not, you should be. because Halloween's only eight weeks away. Which means three of your best friends have already chosen their outfits, and yes, we're all feeling behind right now. Full disclosure, I haven't chosen my outfit. Although Alex probably chose one for me.

Well, full disclosure, I already chose one for you, Jack. I know what we're going as. Yeties get this. A quarter of all Halloween costumes in America actually come from Spirit Halloween. Spirit Halloween. Wild business model. They're a pop-up chain that takes over that abandoned department store that used to be on Route 7. They're only open two months of the year, and yet they do.

$1 billion a year in revenue. Spirit has some major licensing deals with big media properties, like Disney for Star Wars costumes. And they do deals with the biggest toy companies in the world. Like Mattel for Barbie costumes. You and I went as Ken and Barbie last year. And I'd be willing to do it again for a second year. I didn't throw mine away. I'd dry clean mine.

But yet, he's the most viral collaboration of Spirit Halloween yet just launched yesterday. Chipotle, yeah. This Halloween, you can be a full body suit aluminum unitard because you're, you're a Chipotle burrito. It's a Chipotle burrito spirit Halloween costume. And yes, Jack, aluminum is also on the periodic table. That actually is on the table. You were right about that. Yeah, now, Yetis, this is actually a collection of Chipotle Halloween costumes, isn't it, Jack? It can be a group costume because there's a burrito. There's a Chipotle napkin. There's a Chipotle water cup. And there's a costume as a Chipotle to go bag too. Again, these are all full-body Unitards.

And it's all part of Chipotle's burrito. Promotion. Burrito. Yes. Burrito. If you show up in a costume on Halloween at Chipotle, you can buy a burrito for just six bucks. But yet, here's the fascinating thing about Chipotle. While most businesses suffer during Halloween because you're out trick or treating, Chipotle's the rare one with a sales boost. Thanks to their burrito promotion, they get more traffic on Halloween night than a typical night. Chipotle actually gets 30% more foot traffic on Halloween than their average typical night. So how did Chipotle have Halloween be a sales boomer instead of a sales buster? Well, it all started with a fake idea because fake ideas are actually great ideas. Yeah, it is, Chipotle has actually run that burrito promotion where you can show up in a costume and get good deals.

They've been doing that for 24 years. But two years ago, Chipotle celebrated Halloween by posting a picture of a fake fork costume. You know how Spirit Halloween has a meme where you can, you know, pretend to be. being out of work, Lehman Brothers, banker. That's what Chipotle did in this case. They put one of their forks as a costume. It was funny. It was a fake photo posted by Chipotle two years ago. So the costume wasn't real, but the response was very real. Because Chipotle got 700,000 engagements on that single social media post. The Instagram post was a proof of concept. Yeah. It was an accidental product test, and the audience reacted very well to it. Yeah,

they posted this fork costume as a fake joke, and it got a real idea that came out of it. So two years later, they're like, we should do this. And now they have. And they partnered with the biggest Halloween retailer to do it. So Jack, before you slip into that unitart, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Chipotle? Products have become the protagonists of American culture. Now, Yeties, this is a concept Jack and I've been talking about a lot, and we've been wanting to do a podcast takeaway on this. Have you noticed we're giving branded products superhero treatment right now? Like it's products that are getting the attention, the virality, the cult followings that we once bestowed on our greatest of heroes. Nick and how we're thinking

about it. And with the decline of religion in America and the decline of institutions in America, there's a vacuum of who we're supposed to worship. So who do we put on the pedestal today? What fills that void? It's not humans, it's business products. Starbucks Rappuccino, Nike sneakers, Stanley Tumblr's and Chipotle burritos. Jack and I remember a time back when corporate was considered uncool. If you were wearing a corporate branded costume, why did you even show up at the party, Jack? Now people are dressing up as their favorite corporate meal, and it is cool.

So Yetis, Chipotle's viral Halloween costume, it's actually a sign. Products aren't props. They're protagonists. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us before the weekend? The number of restaurant reservations for just one person are up 29% in two years for a bunch of reasons. It's a solo dine and surge because restaurants

are a microcosm of our economy. For our second story, the iconic U.S. Steel Company is not getting acquired as President Biden is reportedly stock blocking the deal. Because right now, Pennsylvania is more important than Japan. And our third and final

story, Chipotle burritos are now a Halloween costume that are sold at Spirit Halloween. Because products have become our protagonist. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Jack, graph the periodic table again because oil just hit its lowest price in a year. 68 bucks a barrel, that's down 27% from its peak last year. There's a few reasons for that. First, the summer driving season is ending. Second, China's economy is slowing down. And third,

Libya is upping their oil production. So, besties, as you can see, whether oil prices go up or down, it isn't presidents who influence the price, it's markets. But presidents do influence tax rates, and both candidates made tax policy proposals this week. Which leads to our second, what else you need to know? Kamala Harris said that she would raise capital gains taxes on people making $1 million or more up to 28 percent, which is actually less than what President Biden has proposed. Meanwhile, President Trump had a tax announcement too. He would cut corporate taxes again if he became president, down to 15%. And finally, Top Golf is splitting from Callaway Golf.

Less than four years after the two golf and buddy brands merged. Top Golf is the boozy driving range you might have gone to on a Friday night recently. And Calloway is the classic golf club company. Calloway was hoping that young Top Golf customers would eventually become Callaway Golf Club buyers. But in reality, Top Golf's growth has run out post-pandemic, so they're getting kicked out of Calaway's Country Club. And our buddy Timmy ain't happy about it. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by legendary Yetty, Dan Hauer, a cheesehead in Grafton, Wisconsin. Dan Hauer is watching the Packers tonight, and he's hoping they beat the Eagles.

And that game is down in Brazil, but also interestingly, that game is on a Friday, the real Friday. Well, here's Dan's fact. The NFL has played games on Friday only 12 times before. In 2005, there was an exception to the schedule when Hurricane Wilma caused the Dolphins to reschedule a game for a Friday. Last year was the first ever game played on Black Friday. But before that, the only time games fell on Fridays was if it was a special holiday game like Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or New Year's Eve. Tonight's week one Friday night game is the first time in 54 years. The NFL has just randomly played on a Friday. The NFL, they're making a hostile takeover of the entire calendar.

Watch out Tuesday. you're next. Yeties, you look fantastic, heading into the weekend. And if you still want to join our live hotline show in Seattle, we just unlocked a few more tickets. There's a link in the episode description for your snag a seat. Oh, and also, if you want to get the best newsletter yet, you got to subscribe to our Saturday newsletter, do it today.

You can sign up in the link. It's a great freaking newsletter. Coming out tomorrow morning. And finally, if you're dying in solo, more power to you. Jack, I'm going to go to Spruce. I'm going to get the burger and I'm going to be alone. I haven't spoken to Molly about it, so we may have to have a discussion first. Are you going to lay it into the tramp pasta by yourself?

Actually, I really think I should clear this with Molly first. I think we have a date night on Saturday. Don't stand up Molly, Nick. No, no, no, no, I definitely can't do that. Yeah, we're going to go before Nick gets in any more trouble. What in the cheesecake with myself? We'll see you Monday. I'll take two.

And before we go, a big congratulations to Diana Angelini and Jack Flanagan. in Chicago, Illinois doing some wedding logistics. These hardcore Yetis are getting married, and they've been listening since the first episode of our show. They are the best couple yet. Happy birthday to Leo Alarcon, who's turning six in Whittier, California. And Daniel Bagelay in Mill Creek, Utah,

is celebrating a fantastic birthday. Happy birthday to High Sean Jew, of Bellevue, Washington, who is soon to be a dad of two. And Brian Wisniewski is turning 35 in Gross Pointe, Michigan with a happy fall birthday. Happy birthday to Alexandra Lester of Mesa, Arizona, who is the best daughter ever. And George Weaver is turning 29, Opelika, Alabama, his first 29. Yeah, that's what they say, but it is his first.

And happy birthday to Jerson Angel in San Diego, California. Former Army man, future CFO, longtime Yeti, who's got a new job. And Ricky Schultz is turning the big 4-0 in Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, Virginia. the best son yet. And a huge shout out to Cass and Courtney Scroonover for their first wedding anniversary. Congratulations, guys. And Tim Oberd and Amy Considine in Wellington, Florida have got a seven-year anniversary, and they're celebrating it with the whole crew at Disney World.

That is magic. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock in Ford and Disney, and Nick and I both own stock of Tripoli. By the way, I looked it up. Steel's not on the periodic table. It's a combination of iron and carbon.

Yet.