Weekly Global News Wrap: McDonald's fires global CEO; Burger King's Impossible Whopper drives sales; Starbucks to accept bitcoin

Here is a summary of the most interesting QSR news stories of the week from around the world.

McDonald’s Corporation has fired CEO Steve Easterbook for violating company policy. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the fast food giant’s board voted to terminate Easterbrook due to a consensual relationship with the employee. Read more here.

Pizza Hut in the US has warned against “uncertainty” for some franchisees with traditional dine-in locations amid its shift toward more takeout and delivery units. As reported by Restaurant Business, the chain’s domestic same-store sales declined 3% in the quarter, with Yum executives warning that such results could be common in the near-term. Read more here.

Popeyes’ chicken sandwich and Burger King’s Impossible Whopper contributed solid earnings to its parent company Restaurant Brands International. As reported by CNN, the company reported more than 10% increase in sales at Burger King and nearly 15% surge at Popeyes. Read more here.

Starbucks is on track to accept payment in Bitcoin. As reported by FXStreet, the chain will be integrating Bakkt’s cryptocurrency payment application, slated to launch in July 2020. Read more here.

Starbucks also opened its first-ever Pickup store in New York City’s Penn Plaza, designed for customers on-the-go. The unique location uses their app's Mobile Order & Pay feature as the primary ordering and payment method for customers. Read more here.

A recent study revealed that labelling fast food menu items with calorie counts only leads to a slight, short-term decrease in average calories purchased in the US. As reported by Agence France-Presse, the average calories per transaction had reduced to only 23 calories less than before labelling. Read more here.