Miscellaneous

🍴 Bret Thorn is the Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, with a podcast, "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn." He’s been with Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999, covering food trends. A Tufts University graduate and Le Cordon Bleu trained chef, Thorn has extensive experience, including a column for The New York Sun (2005-2008). He was inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014 and has authored entries for notable food encyclopedias.

💸 September 2025, a pivotal discussion emerges around the Agentic Commerce Protocol, introducing a transformative new buy button. This marks the “suddenly” phase of agentic commerce impacting commerce media. Key actions include: reading clear standards, elevating product/data quality, designing hybrid model experiments, unique partner tracking, and restructuring value beyond CPC/CPM. Future-proof commerce media networks are envisioned as foundational shopping infrastructure, rather than mere ad platforms.

🍴 Nobu Matsuhisa opened his first restaurant in New York's Tribeca in 1994. Over 31 years, his empire has expanded globally, including places like London, Las Vegas, and Malibu. Nobu Dallas, opened in 2005, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Matsuhisa emphasizes strategic partnerships and market choices, and embraces local cultures. Training and consistency enable his restaurants to thrive. He advises against hasty expansion, advocating step-by-step growth with a focus on efficiency and replicable processes.

📐 Duravit and sieger design have maintained a partnership since 1985, spanning over 40 years and resulting in over 25 collaborative projects. The acclaimed "Giamo" bathroom range debuted in 1987, followed by the enduring Happy D. range in 1999. Christian and Michael Sieger continued their father's legacy from 2003. In 2025, they unveiled a revamped D-Code line at ISH, emphasizing functionality and timeless design. Duravit CEO Stephan Tahy highlighted their shared values of long-lasting, accessible design.

🏠 Dezeen Awards China 2025 has shortlisted 120 projects from 30 cities for 23 categories. Notable entries include Seaside Pavilion on Chaishan Island and a cultural center in Guangzhou. Shortlisted studios include Foster + Partners and DJI. Announced on WeChat, awards will be held in October at Kimpton Qiantan Shanghai. Key judges include Ziyu Zhuang and Patrik Schumacher. Categories span architecture, interiors, and design, encompassing projects like Alibaba Shanghai Campus and Shunde Yunlu Wetland Museum.

🏨 Haunted Hotel, an animated comedy series on Netflix, climbed into the top 10 most-watched shows by the week ending September 21. Created by Rick & Morty writer Matt Roller, it features Katherine (voiced by Eliza Coupe), a single mother managing a haunted hotel with her ghost brother Nathan (Will Forte) and a demon. Rated TV-14, it's intended for older audiences compared to Gravity Falls, offering a humorous take on the supernatural with a stellar comedic voice cast.

🍽 North America's 50 Best Restaurants were revealed on September 25 at Wynn Las Vegas, with Atomix in NYC topping the list. New York City dominated, featuring 13 restaurants. The top five included Atomix, Mon Lapin (Montréal), Restaurant Pearl Morissette (Ontario), Smyth (Chicago), and Tanière3 (Québec City). Awards included the Sustainable Restaurant Award to SingleThread (California) and the Resy One to Watch Award to Ladder 4 (Detroit). Voting involved a 300-member academy of experts.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News, has been with the publication since 1999 and joined Restaurant Hospitality in 2016. A Tufts University graduate, he studied at Le Cordon Bleu and in China. Thorn's career highlights include writing for The New York Sun (2005-2008), winning the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award, and serving as IFEC president in 2005. He also contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia (2012) and Oxford Companion (2015). Thorn resides in Brooklyn.

🏨 Badlands Hotel Capital will manage assets for nine hotels and outdoor properties across six East Coast resorts for Blue Water Development. Properties include the 145-room Commander Hotel & Suites, 60-room Sealoft Oceanfront Hotel, and 120-room Aloft Ocean City in Ocean City. Other notable hotels: 67-room Bay Resort in Delaware, and 112-room Comfort Inn in Florida. With this, Badlands manages 25 properties across North America. Todd Burbage and Al Young emphasize enhanced operations and value growth.

✈️ FlyDubai, a Dubai-based carrier with a network covering over 135 destinations in 57 countries, is adopting Accelya's NDC solution to enhance its distribution and retailing capabilities. Announced at the T2RL Engage event, this partnership marks a significant milestone in FlyDubai's digital transformation. The collaboration aims to offer rich content, dynamic offers, and improved personalization across channels. Accelya leads in NDC implementation, managing over 50% of global NDC volumes with its FLX ONE platform.