How The Restaurant Industry Is Handling Renewed Active Shooter Threats

How The Restaurant Industry Is Handling Renewed Active Shooter Threats

More companies are rethinking their active shooter training programs and evaluating the financial risk of shootings at their locations.

Restaurants, particularly fast food chains, have become increasingly common sites of deadly shootings, provoking fear in employees and concern from industry leaders about worker safety — and how the violence could drive people away from their businesses.

Three fatal shootings have taken place at fast food locations so far this year, including at a Whataburger in Tulsa, a Steak & Shake in Charlotte and a Wendy’s in Kansas City, Business Insider reported. This week, just days after two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, fast food executives gathered for a conference in Nashville to learn more about the security challenges facing the industry, including active shooters.

At the annual Restaurant Loss Prevention and Security Association Conference, attendees heard from Pete McCartney, the security director for Papa John’s International, about the company’s active shooter training and how to go “beyond the standard ‘Run, Hide, Fight,’ methodology,” according to the conference agenda.

Executives from Waffle House were also set to appear to talk about the company’s response to the 2018 shooting in Nashville that left four people dead, but the officials ultimately did not speak on the panel, according to BI. Other presentations included lessons on implementing cybersecurity solutions and preventing conflicts between customers and employees.

More restaurant companies are looking to create or reassess their active shooter training procedures, BI reported. McDonald’s added active shooter training to its available workplace safety programs earlier this year. But most chains leave it up to their franchisees to decide on the content and timing of worker training, making the implementation of such programs uneven.

And more employees are taking their safety into their own hands, making mental plans of how they would deal with a shooter in their restaurant. Courtney Botti, who works at a restaurant in Charleston, told The Wall Street Journal that she would go into the walk-in cooler and stand behind the stainless steel door: “It might be cold, but at least we’d be safe.” Experts believe the plans are less legitimate strategies than reflections of the anxiety Americans are feeling in the workplace, the Journal reported.

Beyond the safety concerns, companies like Del Taco Restaurants and Dave & Buster’s have added language on active shooter scenarios to their annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CNBC reported. The corporations list the potential of an active shooter under a section of possible hazards to their businesses that is meant to warn investors about potential drops in profits and stock price.

Since 2016, The Cheesecake Factory has included the threat of an active shooter under this section, which also includes the potential financial impact of natural disasters and the downsides of opening a new restaurant too close to an existing Cheesecake Factory.

“Any act of violence at or threatened against our restaurants or the centers in which they are located, including active shooter situations and terrorist activities, may result in restricted access to our restaurants and/or restaurant closures in the short-term and, in the long-term, may cause our customers and staff to avoid our restaurants,” the report states. “Any such situation could adversely impact customer traffic and make it more difficult to fully staff our restaurants, which could materially adversely affect our financial performance.”

The risk appears to be a higher priority for the restaurant and entertainment industries as opposed to other sectors.

“As [shootings] become more prevalent, the priority starts to increase,” Paul Lannon, an attorney at Holland & Knight LLP who counsels companies on workplace issues, told The Wall Street Journal.

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • 12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    Understanding crime statistics in your industry and area is crucial for making important decisions about your security budget. With so much information out there, how can you know which statistics to trust? Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • People Say the Funniest Things

    People Say the Funniest Things

    By all accounts, GSX version 2023 was completely successful. Apparently, there were plenty of mix-ups with the airlines and getting aircraft from the East Coast into Big D. I am all ears when I am in a gathering of people. You never know when a nugget of information might flip out. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction. 3

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols. 3

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles. 3