“I think there is a competition over where people are getting information, and you’re seeing a focus on speed and virality” from news outlets, said Liz DiTrapano, partner with ICR, a strategic communications firm that rep - resents many large restaurant chains. “It’s just about getting it out there fast and being part of the conversation.” While this might help news sites get more clicks, it also perpetuates inaccuracies, creat- ing a snowball effect that can be difficult for brands to contain. This has kept PR profes- sionals like DiTrapano on their toes. “Now you have to fight every single neg - ative or inaccurate narrative that’s out there, because if you leave it untouched, you risk having that cascade through other outlets, having that domino across social media, and you lose complete control, and you’re running to catch up,” she said. That’s one reason why DoorDash moved quickly to stomp out any connection between itself and an accusatory Reddit post that be- gan making waves online in early January. The anonymous poster claimed to be a software developer at an unnamed third-par- ty delivery app and alleged a number of ques - tionable practices by the company. They said that the company referred to delivery drivers internally as “human assets” and assigned them “desperation scores” to calculate how little it could pay them to accept delivery trips. DoorDash, which uses a host of social-me- dia monitoring tools, noticed that the story was gaining momentum, especially on X. And though the post did not point to DoorDash di- rectly, it “impugned the values and reputation of the industry as a whole,” said Jarvis-Shean. “And as a leader in the industry, if the indus- try is having its values questioned, that funda - mentally is going to be about us.” Within about 24 hours of the post going viral, CEO and founder Tony Xu denied that it was about DoorDash in a strongly worded X post. The company also published a more in-depth rebuttal on its website as a “source of truth” that people could refer back to. It was soon revealed that the Reddit post was a hoax and likely written with the help of AI. But in the moment, whether it was real was beside the point, said Jarvis-Shean. “It’s a little bit like if your house is on fire,” she said. “Maybe it’s because of an accident. Maybe it’s because of an arsonist. But your house is on fire. So you better grab a hose and a water bucket or whatever it is, and start trying to douse the flames. You can figure out who set the fire afterwards.” Both Jarvis-Shean and Schalow of Chipot- le are proponents of using software that can monitor social media and help brands gauge what people are saying about them online. Thanks to AI, these tools have become much
“NOW YOU HAVE TO FIGHT EVERY SINGLE NEGATIVE OR INACCURATE NARRATIVE THAT’S OUT THERE, BECAUSE IF YOU LEAVE IT UNTOUCHED, YOU RISK HAVING THAT CASCADE THROUGH OTHER OUTLETS, HAVING THAT DOMINO ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA, AND YOU LOSE COMPLETE CONTROL, AND YOU’RE RUNNING TO CATCH UP.”
Liz DiTrapano, partner with ICR
more sophisticated over the past several years, said Jarvis-Shean. “It’ll give you a much better sense of con- versations … that may not name your brand directly or may not hit the keywords, but it actually is going to tell you, ‘Oh, this is some- thing you should be paying attention to,’” she said. On the PR side, DiTrapano said she has advised brands to be more proactive about engaging with the media, forging ties with reporters and getting out ahead of potentially harmful narratives. “I think that goes really far in terms of building relationships with trusted media out- lets that are going to get truthful stories out there,” she said. “They’re not always going to be positive, but they’re going to be accurate.” Ultimately, restaurant brands can’t con- trol what is said about them on social media, noted Babb, the Northwestern professor. What they can control is the experience they provide in their restaurants and how they treat customers and employees. She offered the example of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, which in 2015 learned that listeria had been detected in a sample of its ice cream. Though no illnesses were ever reported, the chain responded by closing its Columbus manufacturing plant and its 20 shops and re-
calling 265 tons of ice cream. It cost the company millions of dollars, but it built trust with customers, who returned in droves when Jeni’s eventually reopened. To- day, the chain has nearly 100 shops and saw sales growth of 16% in 2024, per Technomic data. The message for restaurants: “If people think the best of you, they’ll give you the ben- efit of the doubt,” Babb said. “But if you have a poor reputation, they won’t.” That has proven true for Texas Road- house, which has remained one of the strong- est and fastest-growing restaurant chains in the industry despite what some people may mistakenly believe about its lightbulbs. Doster said he hears from customers all the time who want to confirm something they’ve seen floating around online. They’re also looking out for the brand. One person wrote to Doster recently to tip him off about an Indiana doughnut shop selling “Texas Roadhouse doughnuts” made with the chain’s retail honey butter. “People are helping protect us,” Doster said. “I think our operators have done a great job of building goodwill within their commu- nities. And so a lot of times, even with the lightbulb story, people assume the positive about our stores.”
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS APRIL 2026
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