Restaurant executives say California's $20 wage for fast-food workers has brought them at least one clear advantage.
More people are applying for jobs and they can get better-quality candidates.
The fast-food industry had fiercely fought the legislation.
Restaurant executives told Business Insider that California's new $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers has at least one clear silver lining for their businesses: Better-quality candidates are applying for jobs.
California raised its minimum wage for workers at limited-service chains with at least 60 locations nationwide by 25% to $20 an hour on April 1. Restaurants have raised menu prices, turned to technology, and looked for other operational efficiencies to offset the impact of higher wages.
"If there's a silver lining in all that, it's it's greatly improved the availability of labor for QSR [quick-service restaurants] at least temporarily in California," Jim Holthouser, CEO of GoTo Foods, which owns brands including Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's, Jamba, and Moe's Southwest Grill, told Business Insider.
"You can go to a QSR restaurant and you're now paid $20 an hour," he said.
Betsy Schmandt, COO and president of A&W Restaurants, echoed Holthouser's views.
"We're seeing actually a big influx of labor coming to our restaurants," she said. "People are moving from other industries into restaurants because of this. So we're actually seeing an increase in quality of labor."
But the effects of this could be short-lived, as restaurants that are exempt from the legislation and businesses in other industries are expected to boost the wages of low-paying roles to compete with QSR chains for workers.
The minimum wage was introduced to help fast-food workers cope with California's astronomical living costs. Some workers in the industry work multiple jobs to make ends meet. But the legislation faced fierce opposition from the industry, including trade associations and leading chains, who argued that it would cost jobs and make fast food unaffordable.
Holthouser said that the new wage had "forced" GoTo Foods' restaurants in California to raise prices, but added that it had also pushed the company to innovate and think about ways to cut costs, including through technology.
Schmandt said that A&W's restaurants had raised prices in California to cover the new wage, but that a lot of their staff had been making "pretty close to the $20 already, so it wasn't a huge leap." Digital kiosks could help take some of the labor pressure off, she said.
Are you a fast-food worker, franchisee, or restaurant manager in California? Email this reporter at gdean@insider.com.
From a young age, I learned it was socially unacceptable not to want to rub their bellies and tell them they're "good boys." Unfortunately, I wasn't talented at feigning interest in humans — nonetheless, four-legged animals.
But I didn't expect my ambivalence toward dogs to be a dealbreaker in my adult dating life.
I once dated a guy who treated his dog like his child
I remember dating a guy, who I had noticed on Grindr for a while and manifested into messaging me. I used to suck at hitting on people first. Long story short, we had a couple of great nights out until he finally invited me over.
"There's someone I want you to meet," he said.
"Oh," I replied, deciphering if the vibes indicated a roommate or partner.
Instead, a large furry creature from hell came slobbering all over me.
"Nice," I said, easing my way to the couch.
My date tried to put the moves on me with the dog going apeshit around us. This was not a threesome I could get on board with, so I asked him if he could put it in the other room.
"It?" he asked, taking his hand off my crotch.
I quickly corrected myself, "He!"
"She," he said, but more lightheartedly, resuming position.
It was a familiar situation. By this point, I knew people didn't like me to refer to their dogs as objects. But I thought it was creepy that they wanted me to treat animals like children unless we were hooking up. I reminded David about putting the dog away, and he obliged.
The next day, he wanted me to accompany him and the dog to the park. I confessed I wasn't the biggest dog person, and he ghosted me.
I can't escape people's obsession with dogs
I felt like being part of the LGBTQ+ community freed me from having kids, but as I entered my late 20s, I noticed many gay men seemingly waking up with the sudden maternal instinct to adopt a pet. The pandemic exacerbated the dog problem in America. Well, I suppose it's only a problem for me and folks who don't watch where they step.
Don't get me wrong: I don't hate dogs.
I think it's a fine decision to take ownership of an animal — feeding them and cleaning up after their excretions daily for the rest of their life. But, as glamorous as it sounds, I don't share the innate obsession with dogs many people seem to have.
I always considered my way of being preferable to the people who stop every dog owner on the street and speak to their creature in baby language, with no regard for the stranger in front of them.
I'd like to blame my disinterest on my childhood Rottweiler, who pounced on my back when I was about 5 years old and smashed my head into the concrete. But truthfully, I just don't care for pets beyond acknowledging they are adorable.
Just as I'd prefer someone to compliment me without tousling my hair, I give animals the same respect. That's frustratingly not good enough for some of my partners.
I know this trait is a turn-off for most
Recently, I went on a first date with a 23-year-old who brought his Golden Retriever with him. It was my first time going out with a younger guy — and sober — so the animal humping my leg was about to send me into relapse.
The Meat Loaf song lyrics "I will do anything for love" played in my head, "but I won't do that."
The 23-year-old chatted away. Hearing all the nonsense that came out of his mouth, oblivious to the literal horndog below us, assured me it wouldn't have worked anyway.
I've learned that you can't force relationships the hard way, so I accept when my indifference toward pets might turn their parents off, even after sparks are in the air.
In affairs of the heart, it always saves time to be politely direct. Ironically, some say it's why animals, especially cats, like me.
My friend once had me babysit Queen Suzy, an 18-year-old Chihuahua, for a month while she visited her mom in Europe. This included providing the rebellious four-legged royal medicine with a syringe twice daily and constantly changing her diaper.
This is my biggest secret: If I love you, I will begrudgingly love your dog, too.
A Boeing 737 Max has been out of service since May 25.
The Southwest Airlines jet encountered a rare stability problem called a Dutch roll.
A post-flight inspection found damage to the power control unit, which controls the rudder.
A Boeing 737 Max has been out of service for 20 days as officials investigate an in-flight incident.
The Southwest Airlines jet was flying from Phoenix to Oakland on May 25 when it ran into a rare but potentially serious problem.
An incident report filed Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration says the "aircraft experienced a Dutch roll."
A Dutch roll describes a plane rocking from side to side and changing in yaw — the direction the nose is facing — simultaneously resembling a horizontal figure-eight pattern.
It can be particularly nauseating for passengers, and Dutch roll has been cited in accidents after pilots were unable to regain control of the aircraft. Pilots are trained in how to counter it, and modern airliners are built with a system called a yaw damper to try to prevent it.
The video below shows an aircraft (not the Southwest 737 Max) experiencing a Dutch roll:
Luckily, in the Southwest incident, pilots regained control of the 737 Max. The FAA's report added that the post-flight inspection revealed damage to the standby PCU (power control unit), which controls the rudder. No injuries were reported.
Data from FlightAware shows the jet, which is less than two years old, remained in Oakland for 12 days following the incident. It was then flown to Everett, Washington, where Southwest has a maintenance facility.
The FAA is investigating the cause of the incident.
It's a less-than-ideal situation for Boeing, with the planemaker experiencing a crisis following January's Alaska Airlines blowout involving a 737 Max. The Max has faced increased scrutiny ever since it was involved in two crashes in 2018 and 2019, when a combined 346 people died.
Boeing and Southwest Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider outside US working hours.
Virginia Hambrick, 66, (not pictured) and her husband live on her $1,615 monthly Social Security income. They struggle to afford basic necessities like rent, groceries, and healthcare.
blackCAT / Getty Images
Virginia Hambrick is retired and lives on her $1,625 monthly Social Security income with her husband.
Millions of older adults are facing financial challenges as many have limited retirement assets.
As Hambrick struggles to afford rent and food, she worries she will have to return to work.
Virgina Hambrick used her last $40 to visit urgent care. She hoped to avoid spending the money, but her bronchitis symptoms were getting worse and she needed to see a doctor.
Shefelt healthier a week later, but limited health insurance means the urgent care co-pay took all the cash she had left. Hambrick's spending money is gone, her bank account is overdrawn, and she's "sitting around wishing it was two weeks from now" when she can cash her next Social Security check.
"I don't even have $1 in my wallet," she told Business Insider.
The 66-year-old lives in a rural area about 50 miles outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband. They both live off her $1,625 monthly Social Security income, according to documents reviewed by BI. Hambrick retired several years ago, and her husband hasn't had an income recently because he was caring for sick relatives. He's also 57 and not old enough to receive Social Security, which typically kicks in at 62.
The couple's home is miles from the nearest grocery store, and it's difficult to go places because Hambrick can't afford a car. As bills keep piling up, Hambrick is worried she will have to go back to work — something that seems impossible without transportation.
Millions of Americans are in a similar position. Like ALICEs — people who are asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed — Hambrick doesn't qualify for most forms of government assistance, despite struggling to afford basic necessities.
As the country faces a retirement crisis, older adults like Hambrick are especially vulnerable to financial challenges. Fifty-two percent of boomers have $250,000 or less in retirementassets, per an April report from the Retirement Income Institute, the retirement-focused research arm of the Alliance for Lifetime Income. The Census Bureau's Current Population Survey found that more than half of Americans over 65 have an annual income of $30,000 or less.
Hambrick's family was "extremely comfortable" with money throughout her childhood, but her daily expenses as an adult are a constant struggle. She's losing hope her financial situation will ever change.
"I just keep putting one foot in front of the other," she said. "I don't want to be living under a bridge."
Hambrick "never imagined" she would be struggling financially
For Hambrick, hundreds of dollars a month in rent, utility, internet, and cellphone bills are difficult to afford on her Social Security income. She and her husband live in a house that has "16 different health code violations — and those are just the ones I've seen," she said, adding that they will likely have to move soon.
She had a retirement account from her former manufacturing job at Boeing. But, as money began to grow tight, she decided to withdraw her Boeing retirement funds to pay bills and unexpected expenses. She has worked in various jobs throughout her career, and left her most recent role in the hotel industry a couple of years ago.
The couple now receives about $100 a month in SNAP food benefits. It helps them afford groceries, but they have to spend another $100 every month on things SNAP doesn't cover, like toilet paper, dish soap, and laundry detergent.
Hambrick's refrigerator died in early June, causing nearly $300 worth of food to spoil. She doesn't have the money to replace it, so she and her husband "eat a lot of ramen noodles."
Although she qualifies for some Medicare benefits, Hambrick said her income is considered too high for Medicaid, meaning she doesn't have health insurance for emergency or long-term care. She avoids going to the doctor,but medicine still costs about $150 a month out-of-pocket. There's also a lot of confusing paperwork, she said.
Hambrick thinks she will have to return to work soon. She said she has multiple graduate degrees, is a former community college professor, and has decades of experience in the manufacturing and customer service industries. Hambrick "doesn't care" what she does next because it's difficult to get hired as an older adult.
However, she can't afford the car payment or gas to drive anywhere for an interview or regular shift. And, even if she could get hired, Hambrick said she can't have a role that requires her to stand all day or lift heavy items because of her health.
"If somebody wants to work around my limitations, then they would have a totally dedicated employee," Hambrick said.
At this point in her life, she feels like she should be traveling to new places and having fun with her husband in retirement. She "never imagined" she would get to this point, she said.
"I spend my money on the same thing that everybody else spends their money on," Hambrick said. "The only problem is my money is probably half of what everybody else has."
Are you an older adult living paycheck to paycheck or on Social Security? Are you open to sharing how you spend your money? If so, reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.
Sweden has promised Ukraine its first-ever airborne control and surveillance aircraft.
Experts told BI the planes will boost the effectiveness of Ukraine's promised F-16s.
The control aircraft can scan widely to locate targets and threats.
The arrival of a new type of aircraft for Ukraine will give it an advantage it's not had before, and will help boost the effectiveness of its promised F-16s, experts told Business Insider.
Sweden announced late last month that it is giving Ukraine two ASC 890 airborne control and surveillance aircraft, which act as command centers in the air.
They detect enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones from afar and coordinate responses to attacks.
The Swedish aircraft will be the first with this function Ukraine has had, giving it an ability that until now only Russia, with its much larger and more modern air force, has enjoyed.
A boost for Ukraine
Tim Robinson, a military aviation specialist at the UK's Royal Aeronautical Society, told BI the Swedish aircraft, linked in with the F-16s, "will be a game changer in terms of the situational awareness, the live radar picture."
He said the planes would "give the Ukrainians earlier warning of where drone and missile strikes are coming in from. That will be a huge advantage."
Sweden's defense minister, Pal Jonson, said the aircraft will "complement and reinforce the F-16 systems."
An F-16 taking off.
US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jose Miguel T. Tamondong
Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and defense strategy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told BI the aircraft can be very valuable because they "can see much further and then help direct aircraft towards the greatest threats."
Meanwhile, Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and a former Royal Australian Air Force officer, said they will be able to direct Ukraine's fighter jets, so "coordination and command and control will be dramatically improved."
They remain highly vulnerable
During the war, Russia has been using its own A-50 Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft to monitor Ukraine's air space and coordinate attacks.
These losses show how vulnerable — and how much of a prize — aircraft like these are.
A Russian Beriev A-50.
AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File
Aircraft like this "are very vulnerable to fighter aircraft and to missile attack," Layton said, adding that in war "everybody wants to kill the early warning aircraft."
Cancian said Russia would be "very interested" in destroying them.
He also warned that the planes are "extraordinarily complex," beyond anything Ukraine is used to.
Ukraine will likely keep the aircraft together
Layton said he expects the command planes to hang back so their radars can detect incoming drones and cruise missiles, giving F-16s "very accurate targeting."
The experts said hanging back is also likely the best approach for Ukraine's first F-16s, so the jets can protect cities and infrastructure while staying away from most of Russia's weaponry.
Ukraine won't have enough, at least initially, to justify a very forward use for them, they said.
Ukraine has been promised about 85 jets by Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium. However, it's not clear how many will arrive in the first wave.
Experts said the F-16s will be useful for Ukraine, but are unlikely to majorly change the war by themselves, particularly with only a small number so far committed.
But they will replenish aircraft losses, take down Russian drones and missiles, and perhaps launch some attacks into Russia-held territory, the experts said.
"Whenever they arrive, that's a good time for Ukraine," Cancian said.
The Light Phone 3 will begin shipping in January 2025.
Light
Light released a new "dumb" phone on Tuesday.
The new Light Phone 3 is designed for those who want a less a distracting device.
This version comes with a camera and video call capabilities — and for the price of an iPhone.
The phone designed to help you ditch your smartphone is getting more like a smartphone.
Light, a company that makes pared-down devices sometimes called "dumb" phones, launched the Light Phone 3 on Tuesday.
The Light Phone 2, which came out in 2018, could call and text. It also had navigation, music, podcasts, and a calendar, but no web browser. The newer model of the dumb phone comes with smarter features like fingerprint ID, rear- and front-facing cameras, and the potential to support a digital wallet, according to the company.
"Ultimately, we wanted to make going light even easier," the release read.
Those new perks will cost you, though, as the Light Phone 3 is $500 more expensive than the previous version. It has a retail price tag of $799 — the same price as a new iPhone 14 Plus.
Now that it has a camera, the Light Phone 3 has a shutter button on the side.
Light
Light said it added a rear camera in its "own way" by designing it after a classic point-and-shoot camera complete with a real shutter button to make it "genuinely fun."
With the front-facing camera, Light Phone 3 owners will be able to make video calls.
Quitting smartphones can be jarring, as previous reviews of the Light Phone 2 from Business Insider found, so a slightly smarter dumb phone could make the transition smoother.
There's still a demand, too. Over the past four years, some groups of Gen Zers have been trying to cut down on their screen time by using dumb phones without distracting apps. Meanwhile, parents have said that ditching their smartphones has made them more present with their children.
For some, that means buying a $40 flip phone, but Light phones are designed to have the capabilities of a smartphone — like the navigation, music, and podcasts — without the parts that might lead users to spend hours staring at a screen.
For a limited time, the Light Phone 3 is available for preorder at a reduced price of $399 until July 16. It will begin shipping in January 2025.
The company said it will continue to support and sell older devices, but "whether you daydream about a digital detox, want to pay more attention to your toddler, or are buying your very first phone, the Light Phone III is a tool for a better life," Light said.
Warren Buffett's piece of Apple is worth $169 billion or more than 450 of the S&P 500 companies.
Berkshire Hathaway pared its stake by 13% last quarter, or it would have been worth $194 billion.
Apple stock has surged by 25% in under three months to a record high, helped by AI buzz.
Warren Buffett's stake in Apple is worth more than 450 of the S&P 500 companies following a surge in the iPhone maker's stock over the past six weeks.
Buffett's conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, owned about 790 million Apple shares worth $135 billion at the end of March, company filings show.
Apple stock has soared by 25% since then to a record $214 at Thursday's close, valuing it at $3.29 trillion and just ahead of Microsoft. That means Berkshire's 5.1% stake is now worth $169 billion, assuming it's still intact.
The result is that Buffett's slice of Apple is worth more than all but the top 45 companies in the S&P 500, per MarketBeat data. In other words, if Berkshire's slice of the iPhone maker were a public company, it would be more valuable than Verizon ($167 billion), American Express ($160 billion), IBM ($155 billion), Uber ($148 billion), Nike ($142 billion), and many other blue-chip businesses.
Berkshire's position has jumped in value by about $34 billion this quarter. That reflects broader investor optimism about the stock market and economy, and fresh buzz around the tech titan following its embrace of AI tools like ChatGPT this week.
Yet it's worth noting that Buffett and his team pared their Apple wager last quarter by 13%. Their previous 905 million shares would have been worth $194 billion at Thursday's close — a figure larger than the market capitalizations of Accenture ($189 billion), Cisco ($184 billion), and both Disney and McDonald's ($183 billion each).
Buffett explained why he cut back on Apple during Berkshire's annual meeting in May. He wanted to realize some of his profits in anticipation of the US government raising taxes to tackle its ballooning debt. He added that holding cash wasn't the worst idea at a challenging time for the global economy.
The investor may also have been wary of relying too much on Apple. That single holding accounted for more than 40% of Berkshire's $336 billion stock portfolio at the end of March, and makes up nearly a fifth of Berkshire's $876 billion market cap.
Buffett likely left billions of dollars on the table by cashing out some Apple shares last quarter, but he won't mind too much. Berkshire's cost base for the holding was $31 billion at the end of 2021, its annual report for that year shows, suggesting the company's made more than five times its money on paper.
In a complaint filed earlier this month, the FAA asked the court to enforce payment of $81,950 in civil penalties as a result of the July 2021 incident.
The suit said Heather Wells was flying first class from Dallas/Fort Worth to Charlotte, North Carolina.
"After ordering a Jack Daniels (neat) during the beverage service, Defendant became increasingly agitated and 'wanted out' of the plane," it added.
The suit then claimed that she moved toward the back of the plane, kneeled in the aisle, and crawled around — before telling a flight attendant she would "hurt him" if he didn't get out of her way.
Wells then reached the front of the plane where she tried to open the cabin door in midair, the suit said. It added that she hit a flight attendant in the head as they tried to restrain her.
The suit said two flight attendants and a passenger used flex cuffs and duct tape to restrain Wells. But as she kept spitting and attempting to bite or headbutt people, they also duct taped her mouth, it added.
The FAA is asking for financial penalties consisting of up to $45,000 for aggressive behaviors toward the flight attendants, $27,950 for attempting to open the cabin door in-flight, and $9,000 for interfering with a crew member's duties.
Notably, 2021 was by far the worst year for unruly passenger incidents, with almost 6,000 cases per FAA data. Such incidents rose nearly five-fold immediately after the pandemic.
While the figures have since decreased, they remain roughly double pre-pandemic levels, prompting the government to remind fliers about potential fines.
Meanwhile, a handful of cities and towns around the country want people to move there — so much so that they're doling out cold, hard cash to some newcomers.
Ryann Cooke took Tulsa, Oklahoma, up on its $10,000 offer to movers.
Cooke, who is in her late 20s and works in social media, moved from Washington, DC, to Tulsa in June 2022. She told Business Insider the money is nice, but Oklahoma is also cheaper overall.
"I have a great apartment and I've never been able to afford living on my own before, but the cost of living is so much lower in Tulsa than in DC," Cooke said.
The programs, most popular in places in the Midwest and South, have similar goals: attract residents to boost their populations and inject their economies with talent and spending.
Read on to learn more about seven towns and cities that pay people cash to move there, presented in alphabetical order.
Columbus, a city of just over 200,000 people on the border between Georgia and Alabama, pays someremote workers $5,000 to move there.
To run the program, the city's chamber of commerce partners with Make My Move, a recruiting platform that helps communities promote themselves.
The $5,000 is earmarked for remote workers who move to Columbus from at least 75 miles outside city limits.
Candidates must be employed full-time remotely, make at least $75,000 a year, and make Muscogee County — where Columbus is located — their primary residence.
Once those requirements are fulfilled, new residents will receive $5,000 toward relocation costs, six months of membership to a coworking space, and an annual "community connection outing," like ziplining or rafting, among other perks.
Applicants are selected by a committee of local residents.
That bundle of goods must've been enough to get people excited as applications are closed for 2024 — but will reopen in January 2025, according to the program's website.
Lincoln County, Kansas
Lincoln County, Kansas.
Bob Weston/Getty Images
Lincoln County, Kansas — a rural area home to less than 3,000 people about 130 miles north of Wichita — is offering new residents $4,500 cash.
It's throwing in a $500 credit toward high-speed internet, a gym membership, and a monthly basket of farm-fresh eggs to sweeten the deal.
Participants must be remote workers making at least $50,000 annually who agree to live in Lincoln County for at least a year. They can also qualify for other perks, like a free plot of land to build a home and an additional $5,000 cash if their spouse or partner is hired for a job in the county.
Make My Move and Innovation Center, a Kansas-based economic assistance organization, administer the incentive program, which a Make My Move press release said has already been so successful that 23 other counties are interested in participating.
"The money is just the hook," Kelly Gourley, executive director of the Lincoln County Economic Development Foundation, said in a statement. "It won't make someone like where they live; it's what comes after that makes someone feel good about the move."
Mississippi County, Arkansas
A street in Blytheville, Arkansas.
Larry Braun Photography/Getty Images
A two-and-a-half hour drive from Little Rock, Mississippi County is offering new and existing residents up to $50,000 toward building or renovating their dream home.
Participants must be employees of participating companies — which include US Steel, Big River Steel, and more — and agree to live in Mississippi County for at least four years.
Since the program launched in fall 2022, the Arkansas county — an area near the Tennessee border that's home to cities including Blytheville and Osceola — has gained 80 new buyers, many of whom are first-generation homeowners.
Called Work Here, Live Here, the initiative is a collaboration between local industries, community groups, and financial institutions like Farmers Bank and Trust.
"Once we start having a population increase — and there's no reason we shouldn't with all the jobs we have created — then the quality of life will follow," Randy Scott, president of Farmers Bank and Trust, told Business Insider. "You'll get the restaurants, you'll get the retail shops, you'll get the amenities."
Newton, Iowa
Newton, Iowa.
Eddie Brady/Getty Images
Newton, Iowa, a city of just under 16,000 people about 30 minutes outside Des Moines, has a program that gives people $10,000 if they buy a home.
You can't buy just any home, though — it must be worth at least $240,000. Movers won't receive the funds until a certificate of occupancy is issued by building inspectors from the City of Newton.
After that, the funds can be used for anything, and people don't have to live in the house for a set amount of time.
"There are no 'term of residency' requirements; i.e., while you must take title to the home, you are not required to remain in the home for any specified length of time," Craig Armstrong, a development specialist for the city, told BI in an email.
Recipients also receive a "Get to Know Newton" welcome package, which includes gifts from local businesses and organizations and is valued at $2,500, according to the city's economic development arm.
The Shoals, Alabama
Florence, Alabama.
marekuliasz/Getty Images
A group of municipalities in northern Alabama is seeking remote workers to move there.
The Shoals area is near Alabama's border with Tennessee and Mississippi. Its four cities — Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia — are all under three-hour drives from big cities including Memphis, Nashville, and Birmingham.
The program, called Remote Shoals, will give remote workers $10,000 to move to the area. The first $2,500 is meant to help with moving costs. Another $2,500 is doled out after six months, and the last $5,000 is given after a full year.
Eligible applicants must be over 18 and able to move to the region within six months. They must also be employed outside the area and have a minimum annual income of $52,000.
The program gives eligible movers $10,000 that can be used toward purchasing or renting a home in Tulsa and $500 toward travel reimbursement. On top of that cash, it also will give potential movers a $150 Airbnb credit to familiarize themselves with the city before moving.
As of 2022, Tulsa Remote had moved more than 1,400 people to Oklahoma. Some participants chose Oklahoma over Texas or Georgia.
To qualify for the program, applicants must be over 18, live outside Oklahoma, have a consistent stream of income, be able to work remotely, and promise to commit to moving to and living in Tulsa for at least one year.
As of June 2024, the program said it has lured 295 residents to the state — called "ascenders" — plus 272 of their family members.
The program initially launched in Morgantown — a college town home to West Virginia University — and has since expanded to five total communities in West Virginia: New River Gorge, Greenbrier Valley, Eastern Panhandle, and Greater Elkins.
Participants receive $10,000 paid in monthly installments throughout the first year of moving, and the final $2,000 after the second year of living in West Virginia.
The package comes with other incentives like free access to coworking space, two years of free outdoor gear rental, and a year of free outdoor recreation — which is valued at over $2,500, according to Ascend WV.
Potential residents must be 18 years or older, able to verify their remote employment, and willing to move to West Virginia for two years to be eligible.
Gen Zers love customized meals, spicy food, and viral trends like menu hacks and mashups.
They're changing restaurant menus with their desire for bold flavors, international ingredients, and personalization options.
Trending dishes include Hawaiian musubi, birria ramen, and boba, as well as ingredients like yuzu, harissa, and za'atar.
Gen Zers have dining habits that set them apart from other generations.
They love to customize their food, they're suckers for a menu hack, and they crave spicy dishes, restaurant executives and experts say.
Gen Z, defined as the cohort of people born between 1997 and 2012, grew up with social media, ride-hailing apps, and Taylor Swift. They're changing fashion, celebrity culture, and the world of work. Here's how they're changing restaurant menus across the US.
They're adventurous eaters
Gen Zers generally crave big and bold flavors, executives told Business Insider.
They're accustomed to ingredients and flavor profiles "that generations in the past did not grow up with," Joe Labombardo, vice president of culinary at Chartwells Higher Education, which provides food services at around 320 colleges and universities, told Business Insider. "Profiles, ingredients, and recipes from all over the world are now part of their diets."
"They definitely have a bold palette," he said. "It's definitely not the blander palettes of yesteryear."
Gen Zers have much broader palettes than previous generations in the US.
Alessandro Biascioli/Getty Images
Younger diners want to try new things and are more likely to be attracted to limited-time offers at restaurants, Lizzy Freier, director of menu research and insights at restaurant analytics company Technomic, said during a panel at the National Restaurant Show in May.
Menu hacks fly on social media
Gen Zers are more inclined to try out menu hacks, creating new dishes using items already available on the menu. These can sometimes go viral on social media, where people share new combinations they've discovered.
Some chains are using these menu hacks to their advantage. Tom Boland, CMO of Bojangles, said during a panel at the National Restaurant Show that he'd noticed a spike in people ordering iced blueberry biscuits with a side of sausage on the weekends, particularly in areas with a high student population. It turned out that college kids were visiting after nights out and putting the sausage inside the biscuit for a sweet-savory snack.
Bojangles has now added the hack to its menu, served with the icing on top of the sausage rather than the biscuit to make it easier to eat. "This thing is flying off the shelves," Boland said.
They love to customize
Gen Zers want to feel like they're getting something exclusive. This includes ordering customized dishes. Younger customers, for example, have been known to embrace Starbucks' modifications to craft personalized drinks, while Chipotle, where diners can create their own burritos and bowls, was ranked as teens' third-favorite restaurant chain in a Piper Sandler survey.
Burritos and bowls at Chipotle are made to order.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
"Made-to-order, built-to-your-liking foods are almost the staple now," Labombardo said. "That is here to stay and Gen Z and the generation after that both grew up with it."
At Caribou Coffee, younger customers — Gen Alpha, Gen Zers, and younger millennials — are most likely to modify their drinks, CMO Erin Newkirk told BI. "It's like what makes you famous on TikTok, if you can unlock the TikTok customization."
Snacks don't have to be unhealthy
Gen Zers are less likely to stick to the typical breakfast-lunch-dinner meal pattern.
"Gen Z is more apt to have more, smaller meals throughout the day versus the standard three square meals," Labombardo said.
"With Gen Z we don't really see a pattern per se" in dining times, El Pollo Loco CMO Andy Rebhun previously told BI. "It's usually: 'When it's most convenient for me.' They will eat whenever they can fit it into their schedule."
But when they do choose to snack, it's not necessarily on unhealthy food.
Hummus is a popular choice of snack.
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While they may opt for cronuts or boba, Gen Zs also graze on a lot of cottage cheese, hummus, or vegetables with spicy ranch, Labombardo said.
Labombardo said that dishes with the North African paste harissa and the Thai jam nam prik pao were becoming increasingly popular.
"There's a lot more excitement around spicy flavors, but it's not just spice and pure heat," Labombardo said. "It's also recipes that compliment the heat." He said that they were also looking for ways to add a "spicy twist" to classic recipes, like spicy ranch, which he said is "extremely popular."
What they're ordering now: Chicken, mashups, and pickled food
Popular dishes among college students at the moment include Hawaiian musubi, a sushi-like dish made with spam and rice; shawarma; pickled foods; desserts with sweetened condensed milk, including in boba; and mochi doughnuts, Labombardo said. Flavors like za'atar and yuzu are also trending, he said.
Meanwhile, bacon pancakes, pickles wrapped in crispy fried cheese, Korean dishes including hot dogs, fried chicken, and chewy rice cakes with spicy sauce, known as tteokbokki, and Chinese tanghulu, a crunchy candied fruit, are flooding people's social-media feeds, Labombardo said.
Tanghulu is trending on US social media.
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Chicken also appears to be Gen Z's protein of choice. In a 2022 poll by Morning Consult, US Gen Z respondents listed chicken as their second-favorite food overall, behind only pizza. Chicken-sandwich brand Chick-fil-A keeps topping Piper Sandler's survey of teens' restaurants, while chicken-finger chain Raising Cane's has shot to number four in the ranking.
Mashups like Nashville hot chicken bao buns and birria ramen are also popular and can perform well on social media, Labombardo said.
They have high expectations
Gen Zers grew up seeing food content on social media.
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"This generation knows more about food than any generation in the past because of how they grew up," which includes shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and seeing food content on social media, Labombardo told BI.
"Gen Z is demanding and they're not going to compromise their values for taste or for convenience or anything else," Caribou's Newkirk said.