ICE intentionally focused on Latino and Black neighborhoods like South Shore, Little Village, and Belmont Cragin, moves that have significantly affected local eateries and shops. Businesses owned by Latinos, including restaurants, bakeries, and markets, are facing diminished foot traffic and decreased sales amid this new normal, as regular customers and staff voice their apprehensions of being approached or apprehended by masked officials.
Yet, diners and community members are not remaining passive; Roti’s report underscores the robust community-led reaction to the ICE operations, ranging from hosting whistle-kit-packing gatherings to actively eject ICE agents in order to safeguard their community. Others have set up fundraisers and ongoing initiatives, such as a restaurant crawl in the targeted Belmont Cragin area, to assist businesses in response. —A.S.
7-Eleven Introduces Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich to the U.S.
The much-discussed 7-Eleven Japanese egg salad sandwich, sold in convenience stores, or konbini, is finally available in the U.S. According to 7-Eleven, this sandwich features “soft and airy milk bread paired with decadent egg salad made using Kewpie, Japan’s unique egg-yolk-only mayonnaise,” and can now be found at participating 7-Eleven, Speedway, and Stripes shops.
While it offers a largely successful imitation, the tamago sando, as it is referred to, has already raised concerns: the American variant features a crust on its shokupan, or milk bread, which is not present in the version from Japan. “The major difference is our choice to retain the crust for consistency, freshness, and quality,” stated a spokesperson from 7-Eleven to Today’s senior food editor Emi Boscamp. “Preserving the crust aids in maintaining the bread’s texture and taste for its shelf life.” Another notable distinction is its price: it retails for $5.49 in the U.S. as opposed to $2 or less in Japan. —A.S.
Instacart Experiments with Dynamic Pricing for Customers
A recent investigation by Consumer Reports revealed that popular grocery delivery service Instacart imposes varying charges on different customers for identical items—such as a dozen eggs from the same brand priced at $3.99 for one customer and $4.79 for another. “Considering how much Instacart claims the average household of four spends on groceries,” the Consumer Reports study and evaluation indicated, “the average observed price differences could result in an extra cost of approximately $1,200 each year.” A brand representative, addressing The New York Times, attributed the variation to “short term” and “random” pricing trials intended to assist retailers in “understanding consumer behavior and identifying areas to lower prices.” Dynamic pricing is not an entirely new strategy for consumer brands (Wendy’s, for instance, announced in 2024 their plans to implement a variant of surge pricing), but as the cost of food and groceries continues to escalate, it appears especially nefarious to subject unsuspecting customers to chance-based, AI-driven pricing experiments they are unaware of. —Li Goldstein, associate newsletter editor
