The Dallas Morning News: Mexico City has issued a decree that restaurants offer takeout only in an attempt to contain the swine flu outbreak in the country.
Popular restaurant areas like the Zona Rosa — home to U.S. quick-service franchises, sit-down restaurants and cheap taco joints — saw sales plummet. The normally packed streets had little foot traffic. Most eateries respected the mayor's takeout-only decree, but several, including a Burger King and McDonald's, did not.
The Orange County Register Fast Food Maven blog reports that during Burger King's conference call with investors, the company said the swine flu scare in Mexico is impacting stores with many forced to shut down in the first few days of the scare.
Currently, restaurants in Mexico are open, but are only allowed to offer drive-through service. "We are down double digits in Mexico," one Burger King executive said.
