Restaurant Roundup: Hey Bear! Cafe will close May 14

Cooks of Crocus Hill and Gavin Kaysen 's bakery Bellecour are ending their five-year partnership, per a release.
The Edina location of Cooks | Bellecour will close entirely on June 1, while the Bellecour within Cooks in North Loop will also exit the same day.
But, Kaysen plans to open two stand-alone Bellecour outposts this fall — one in the shuttered Edina location, and one near his North Loop restaurant Spoon and Stable.
Hey Bear! Cafe, the bargain breakfast joint off of University Avenue in St. Paul, is shutting down Wednesday after less than a year in operation.
Staff member Oskar Johnson cited disputes with the building's landlord on the Instagram post announcing the closure.
The chef behind Guacaya Bistreaux, the North Loop Latin-Carribean restaurant that abruptly closed late last month, plans to open North Star Deli in Kingfield, Southwest Voices reports. No word yet on an opening date.
Lake Harriet's park restaurant Bread and Pickle reopened for the season on Monday, according to its social media.

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Miami Herald

6 hours ago

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McDonald's to suffer massive boycott from customers

Over the past year, McDonald's (MCD) has struggled to resonate with consumers after facing backlash for dramatically hiking its menu prices during inflation. To add fuel to the fire, it also suffered a temporary E. coli outbreak in a few of its restaurant locations in October, further scaring away customers. Amid these challenges, McDonald's sales have declined over the past few financial quarters, despite its efforts to win back customers with menu changes and deals, and the trend continued during the first few months of this year. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter McDonald's first-quarter earnings report for 2025 revealed that its U.S. comparable sales decreased by 3.6% year-over-year. This contributed to the company facing a 3% year-over-year decline in its operating income, which is its profit after paying operating expenses. Related: McDonald's CEO sounds alarm on major customer problem Also, according to recent data from the number of customers that visited McDonald's stores during the quarter fell by 2.6%. During an earnings call on May 1, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said that the "impact of inflation and heightened anxiety about the economic outlook" impacted sales during the quarter. "We entered 2025 knowing that it would be a challenging time for the QSR industry due to macroeconomic uncertainty and pressures weighing on the consumer," said Kempczinski. "During the first quarter, geopolitical tensions added to the economic uncertainty and dampened consumer sentiment more than we expected." As McDonald's struggles to attract customers to its restaurants, it has another major problem on its hands that threatens to impact sales. Between June 24 and June 30, the fast-food chain will face a major boycott from customers, which The People's Union USA is organizing. The group previously organized boycotts of Amazon, Walmart, and Target earlier this year. In a recent Instagram post, The People's Union USA founder John Schwarz said that the group is calling for a boycott of McDonald's for five reasons. First, he alleges the fast-food chain pays "less in taxes than the people serving their food." "McDonald's benefits from loopholes and offshore tax havens, allowing them to pay a fraction of what they should," he wrote in the post. "Meanwhile, their minimum wage employees pay more in effective taxes than the billion-dollar corporation they work for." Related: McDonald's announces major store change to win back customers Second, he claims McDonald's is "one of the worst offenders of price gouging" as it has "dramatically raised prices in the last few years," despite raking in record profits. Third, Schwarz claims McDonald's "has a long history of anti-union tactics, silencing employees, and avoiding accountability." "They use franchise loopholes to dodge direct responsibility while lobbying against higher wages and benefits," wrote Schwarz. Fourth, he alleges that McDonald's exploits "global supply chains and environmental loopholes" as its supply chain is connected to "deforestation, poor labor conditions, and unsustainable agricultural practices." Fifth, he said McDonald's likes to "perform DEI for the cameras but fund the opposite." "While McDonald's runs DEI-focused ads, their political donations and lobbying often support candidates and legislation that undermine equity, labor rights, and marginalized communities," he wrote. The People's Union USA has been organizing "economic blackouts" of large corporations since February. So far, it has organized specific weeklong boycotts aimed at Amazon, Walmart, General Mills, and Target. Starbucks, Home Depot, and Lowe's are next on its list. According to the group's website, it aims to "expose corruption and exploitation" and "hold corporations accountable" through these boycotts. More Food + Dining: Domino's Pizza unveils generous deal amid alarming consumer trendSteak 'n Shake's beef tallow fries aren't as healthy as they appearThe Cheesecake Factory makes bittersweet changes to its menu "We're building a people-powered force that's not just pushing back, but preparing to take power back from the corporations, the billionaire class, and the political parasites that have been feeding off our work, our wages, and our rights for far too long," said The People's Union USA on its website. Amid heightened political tensions, more consumers nationwide are opting to protest with their wallets. According to a recent survey from CLYDE/Ipsos, 53% of Americans said that if a company takes a stand on an issue they disagree with, they are less likely to buy their products or use their services. Related: Dollar General suffers major boycott from customers The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.

Business Insider

9 hours ago

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From Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg, these are the high-profile billionaires who have founded schools

Several billionaires have started schools, to varying degrees of success. The ventures stretch from preschools to high schools, and many are founded by tech billionaires. Some are scheduled to close, and some have yet to open. Billionaires can seem everywhere these days, and the school system is no different. In recent years, a number of the country's wealthiest have founded schools, to varying degrees of success. As the education system is undergoing potentially profound changes under President Donald Trump 's second administration and some schools face privatization, billionaires have thrown their hats — and dollars — into the educational ring. From Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg, here are some of the billionaires who have founded schools in recent years. Elon Musk The Tesla CEO and the world's richest man has founded multiple schools. His latest, a private preschool called Ad Astra, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025, according to its website. Ad Astra is in Bastrop, Texas, close to Starbase, the city Musk founded near his SpaceX complex. The school is accepting applications for kids between the ages of three and nine. It's not a Montessori school but draws on similar principles, focusing on child-centered learning, according to the website. The curriculum focuses on STEM subjects — fitting since Ad Astra is Latin for "to the stars." According to the school's site, Ad Astra will subsidize tuition in the opening year and will later cost around as much as local private schools. A permit from the Texas Health and Human Services Department allowing Ad Astra to open in 2025 specified that it can enroll 21 students in its first year. The application materials, first reported by Bloomberg, said the school aims to expand into a STEM-focused university. None of the application materials to the state include Musk's name, but his foundation donated $100 million to the preschool, according to tax filings, as BI previously reported. In 2014, Musk opened a different school in California named Ad Astra for his children and the kids of SpaceX employees. That venture evolved into a largely online school called Astra Nova. According to its website, Astra Nova serves around 300 students between the ages of 10 and 14. Class offerings on the site range from special relativity to songwriting to ethical hacking. Mark Zuckerberg Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan created The Primary School in 2016 through their philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The tuition-free private school said in April 2025 that it would close by the end of the 2026 academic year. The Primary School is a tuition-free private school with locations in East Palo Alto and East Bay, California. According to its website, it serves hundreds of students and works to more closely connect parents, teachers, and medical and mental health professionals. The school's website highlights diversity, equity, and inclusion, and its closure was announced at the same time some of Zuckerberg's other ventures rolled back DEI efforts. Meta dropped many of its DEI initiatives in January 2025, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ended its own DEI efforts one month later. A message announcing the closure on the school website says that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will invest $50 million in surrounding communities in the coming years, including savings plans for soon-to-be former students and "transition specialists" for families. Zuckerberg was worth $235.6 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes. Jeff Bezos Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos founded a whole network of preschools called Bezos Academy. He started the schools through the Bezos Day One Fund, and the first location opened in 2020. Bezos Academy runs "Montessori-inspired preschools in under-resourced communities," according to its website. Bezos attended a Montessori school himself. The schools are tuition-free and serve children between the ages of three and five. The website lists schools in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Texas, and Washington. Bezos was worth $226.8 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes. Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, a boarding school in South Africa, in 2007. More than 525 girls have graduated, according to the Oprah Foundation website. The school serves students from 8th to 12th grade and has a 1% acceptance rate, per the Oprah Foundation. Oprah posted on Instagram about attending graduation at the school in 2024, saying in the caption that she had been to 22 of the ceremonies. Oprah was worth $3.1 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes. LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers star Lebron James founded a school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, in 2018, in partnership with the local public school system. The LeBron James Family Foundation backed the I Promise School, which is "dedicated to those students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks," according to its website. As a public school, I Promise is funded by the Akron Public Schools district, but receives addition funds from James' foundation, according to Case Western University. It serves students between first and eighth grade and provides wraparound services, including a longer school day. James was worth $1.2 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes. Laurene Powell Jobs Unlike the other billionaires on this list, investor Laurene Powell Jobs hasn't started one individual school but an independent nonprofit that distributes money to high schools across the country. According to its website, XQ Institute is "rethinking high school " and is based on the idea that the rapidly changing workplace and technological world demand a new educational approach. Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, co-founded XQ Institute in 2015. Powell Jobs' organization, the Emerson Collective, has invested $300 million in XQ Institute, which has also granted grants to schools across the country. However, as BI previously reported, XQ Institute has encountered some controversies over its data and efficacy in recent years. Powell Jobs was worth $13.9 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes.

Chicago Tribune

9 hours ago

• Chicago Tribune

Today in Chicago History: First Dairy Queen opens in Joliet

Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 22, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) Vintage Chicago Tribune: How Chicago became the go-to city for political conventions1912: President William H. Taft's renomination as Republican candidate at the party's convention in Chicago was met with stormy opposition from former President Theodore Roosevelt, who then broke away to form the Progressive, or Bull Moose Party, which also had its convention in Chicago. Both candidates lost to Democrat Woodrow Wilson. 1937: Joe Louis became heavyweight boxing champion of the world by dethroning James Braddock in front of 41,675 paying customers in Comiskey Park. It was the first heavyweight title fight in Chicago in 10 years. 1940: The original Dairy Queen opened at 501 N. Chicago St. in Joliet. Sherwood Noble (known as Sherb) started selling soft-serve ice cream — which had been created by his friend J.F. McCullough — at his Kankakee ice cream store in 1938. He chose the name of the new shop to reflect his belief, 'the cow was the queen on the dairy industry.' Noble died in 1991, and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired Dairy Queen in 1997. O'Hare International Airport: From farm to global terminal1949: The Douglas airport became O'Hare Field and Northerly Island airport became Merrill C. Meigs Field with approval by the Chicago City Council. 1987: The Chicago Bulls acquired Central Arkansas forward and first-round pick Scottie Pippen in a trade with Seattle for Olden Polynice and added Clemson forward Horace Grant in the first round. 2016: The Bulls traded Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.