FAO Opens Café
FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue is opening the FAO Café located just steps inside the store’s 58th Street entrance. The café showcases the company’s new branding, including FAO’s newest mascot, Wit, who makes a special appearance on the department’s light fixtures.
The FAO Café opens its doors daily at 8am (the entire store opens at 10am). Breakfast items available on the menu include: pastries from Crumbs Bake Shop; bagels in a variety of styles from Midtown Manhattan’s Jumbo Bagels; cake, glazed and jam-filled doughnuts, made with all natural ingredients, from Manhattan-based Doughnut Plant; and fresh-baked granola from Brooklyn’s Early Bird Foods. There will also be cold cereal, hot oatmeal, fresh whole fruit, fruit cups, yogurt parfaits, and more.
The menu switches to lunch and dinner items including: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the Village’s Peanut Butter and Co.; two soups, daily, from Kettle Cuisine, with varieties to match the season; and numerous choices of wraps. Additionally there will be a variety of snacks and drinks to choose from.
Sesame Expands Healthy Habits Mission with Grant
Sesame Workshop, along with its co-productions around the world, and MetLife Foundation will be expanding their nutrition and healthy habits educational outreach program targeted to children, parents, and educators. Through a $500,000 grant from MetLife Foundation to Sesame Workshop based in New York, Sesame Workshop will be able to create and deliver additional Sesame Street content promoting healthy habits in India and Mexico. Some of the topics that are expected to be covered include personal routines such as hand washing with soap, healthy foods, balanced diet, physical activity, the importance of sleep, and immunization.
New Samurai Power Rangers Make Debut
The Samurai Power Rangers will be part of the 84th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25. The Power Rangers will embark on their first journey together as they escort the Planet Earth balloon through the streets of Manhattan.
Recently acquired by Saban Brands, the Parade marks the first-ever U.S. appearance of the five Samurai Power Rangers as they gear-up for the premiere of their new television show. Forty episodes of Power Rangers Samurai are currently in production and will air on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons in North America, premiering in early 2011. After the Parade, fans can tune in to Nickelodeon for a special first look at the new series.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place on November 25 and is broadcast nationally on NBC, from 9am–12pm in all time zones.
Happy Meal Toys to Be Banned?
It has been widely reported over the past two days that San Francisco has become the first major U.S. city to pass a law that cracks down on the practice of giving away free toys with meals for children.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed the law on Tuesday on a veto-proof 8-to-3 vote, according to Reuters. It is expected to take effect on December 1, 2011.
The law is expected to require that restaurant kids’ meals meet certain nutritional standards before they could be sold with toys. Those standards are expected to require that kids’ meals have less than 600 calories, contain fruits and vegetables, and include beverages without excessive fat or sugar.
Opponents of the law include, obviously, the National Restaurant Association and McDonald’s Corp. We can also assume that toy companies as well as movie studios are not happy with this situation either given that so many items are marketed to kids via QSRs.
However, backers of the ordinance say it aims to promote healthy eating habits while combating childhood obesity. This fight is certainly not over for either side.