The Drive Thru: Major retailers require masks and Goya becomes a White House favorite

Hello, and congrats on making it through another week!

While everything in the world might feel a bit uncertain and unstable right now, here at The Drive Thru, we're happy to be at least one constant in your weekly routine, bringing you all the retail and restaurant news you need to know.

If you haven't already, subscribe here to get me, Shoshy Ciment, and my colleague, Kate Taylor in your inbox every Friday.

Alright, onto the news. Here's what you need to know:

Major retailers Like Walmart, Target and more now require masks

This week, a slew of major retailers announced policies requiring shoppers to wear masks in their stores across the country.

Starbucks started the trend with its July 9 announcement, which only applies only to company-owned stores. Now, 13 chains including Walmart, Target, and CVS have implemented similar policies so far.

Check out our running list of stores requiring masks here.

While most Americans seem to approve the new policy, anti-mask sentiment is still strong. A new Service Employees International Union survey of about 4,000 McDonald's workers found 44% said they had been verbally or physically assaulted after approaching customers who were not wearing masks. While the SEIU only surveyed a small proportion of the chain's more than 800,000 workers in the US, the 44% of respondents represent more than 1,800 employees who say they have been assaulted on the job.

Walmart implemented its own mask policy after a Tuesday evening incident in which a Louisiana customer, apparently enraged with being told to wear a mask, hit a police officer with his car.

The Goya controversy explained

If you were on social media at all this week, you might be wondering: What's going on with Goya, the Hispanic food brand known for its canned beans?

Here's a quick breakdown of what went down:

• In a meeting at the White House last Thursday, Goya CEO Robert Unanue praised President Trump.
• In response, anti-Trump consumers called for a boycott of the brand, and some even shared their own recipes to make the brand's Adobo seasoning at home.
• Ivanka Trump shared a photo posing with Goya beans, a move that may have violated ethics laws and certainly received backlash.
• President Trump posted a similar photo on Wednesday.
• Trump supporters launched a "buy-cott" in response, a move endorsed by Fox News host Mark Levin, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Sen. Marco Rubio.

Despite all the hoopla and what appeared to be a sign pointing to a shortage of Goya products in one store, the brand is not in short supply of products. There's just currently a shortage of beans in general, which has little to do with any "buy-cott."

Innovation Station: What's new in restaurants and retail?

Even a pandemic can't stop chains from rolling out innovative new items, products, and machines. Here are the ones that made headlines this week:

• Coca-Cola is debuting a touch-free soda machine.
• White Castle has a new robot chef that fries and flips. His name is Flippy.
• Burger King announced it will make a new Whopper from cows that burp and fart 33% less (and Ted Cruz is not a fan).
• Amazon will debut a smart shopping cart in its grocery stores that will let customers skip the line to check out.
• KFC is expanding Beyond Fried Chicken at more than 50 California restaurants.

Everything else you need to know:

• Country Time is bailing out kids who have had to shutter their lemonade stands amid the pandemic.
• With less time for "intimate occasions," condom sales are down.
• Nike denied involvement with the sudden deletion of 'Black at Nike,' an Instagram page alleging racism at the company.
• Here are the 25 fastest-growing DTC brands for Q2, according to growth in digital traffic.