The Hunterbrook report is sus…
$CAVA Group (CAVA.US)$ One thing that I noticed about the Hunterbrook report is that several financial news outlets mentioned it, but only provided an external link to the Twitter thread instead of doing any further reporting or analysis in reaction to the report. This probably means that the report is a rabbit hole of misleading arguments that no reporter wanted to take the time to write about, so they just provided a link and kept it moving. A few thing I noticed right at the beginning:
1) Listeria outbreaks have affected a wide range of different brand products lately, including large grocery chains like Kroger and others. Its tied to Boar’s Head products, so its not something unique to CAVA. Its affecting a wide range of supply chains throughout the food industry. Check the following link for details:
2) Saying that stores received “C” sanitation grades doesn’t reveal a lot without further context. While a “C” rating is never great, its definition varies from one municipality / county / group of counties / state to another. For example, what constitutes an “A” rating or equivalent in Palm Beach, Florida might only be a “C” rating or worse in Louisville, Kentucky. In some areas, sanitation ratings are handled by the Department of Health, while in others its handled by the Department of Licensing & Permits. So, without granular context on the scope and standards of the agencies and their rules, a “C” doesn’t tell you that much. However, in most places, a “C” usually triggers a follow-up inspection where they come back in a few weeks and reevaluate the store. As long as the district manager or store manager scrutinizes those responsible for the violations and mandates that everyone focus on immediately correcting those mistakes, its quite typical for stores to ace the follow-up inspection and have an “A” rating posted on their door or window in no time.
3) The “filth flies” (such an over-the-top loaded term) are probably just bar flies attracted to the sugar in the spilled soft drinks at the self-serve soda bar. Every restaurant gets them from time to time, especially if they have a self-serve area, as customers are much more likely to overfill a drink cup than somebody who performs that task hundreds of times each day. The problem easily goes away by increasing the frequency of mopping and wiping down the drink area, along with getting an Eco Lab UV bug zapper that attract and kills the bar flies overnight once the main lights are turned off.
This Hunterbrook report is really just a self-serving attempt to create some FUD to boost the odds on their short strategy. I wouldn’t get worked up about it…
Disclaimer: Community is offered by Moomoo Technologies Inc. and is for educational purposes only.
Read more
Comment
Sign in to post a comment