Month: June 2025

After more than a decade in business, Hob Nob Kitchen & Bar in Naples, Florida shut its doors this weekend.

On Friday morning, the restaurant revealed in a Facebook post that the following day would be its final day of operation after 12 years. 

“This decision was not made lightly,” the post reads. “Over the years, HobNob has become more than just a place to eat — it has been a gathering space filled with laughter, celebrations, hard work, and unforgettable memories. We’ve had the honor of watching families grow, friendships form, and traditions take shape around our tables.”

To mark the sad occasion and also treat longtime customers, Hob Nob offered all food 50% off over its final 24-plus hours, along with select drink specials.

The establishment also issued a lengthy tribute to its staff in its goodbye post.

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A post shared by Hob Nob Kitchen & Bar (@hobnob_naples)

“For our staff, there are no words strong enough to fully express our gratitude for each and every one of you,” the post said. “From the early mornings to the late nights, the holidays, the rushes, the quiet moments, and everything in between — you’ve poured your hearts, your energy, and your passion into making this place more than just a restaurant. You’ve made it a home. Some of you have been with us for years — weathering every challenge, celebrating every win, and always showing up with resilience, warmth, and integrity.

“We are forever thankful for your loyalty, your hard work, and your heart.”

While in business, Hob Nob offered a variety of farm, or meat, dishes, as well as fish entrees and several different kinds of pastas and small plates. For drinks, the restaurant had a cocktail list that included its take on a number of classic libations.

“As we close this chapter, we do so with immense pride and gratitude. Though the doors of HobNob may be closing, the spirit and community we built together will always remain,” the restaurant said.

A beloved “red-sauce” Italian restaurant frequented by the likes of Frank Sinatra and other major celebrities has closed after 46 years.

Guido’s Italian Restaurant earned the label “iconic” due to its neon light fixture, red booths, traditional interior, and the celebrities who visited over the years for an authentic Italian experience in Los Angeles.

In addition to Sinatra, the restaurant was a hangout for everyone from Alan Alda to Tom Selleck, according to photos the Santa Monica Boulevard restaurant posted to its Facebook page over the years.

But now it’s the “end of an era,” as FOX LA put it. The restaurant closed last month, on May 11, 2025, that station reported. However, LA Taco reported that the restaurant’s final closing date was May 31. Either way, it closed for good in May, which has saddened a lot of people who enjoyed the old world atmosphere.

According to LA Eater, Guido’s closing “is the latest in a series of old-school restaurant closures that have shaken Los Angeles.”

Fidencio Gonzalez, the manager, confirmed the restaurant’s closing to the television station, which noted that the lease was “not renewed” and the owners “plan to build apartments in its place.”

It’s not just older celebrities who visited Guido’s over the years. The restaurant has also posted photos with actors like Charlie Sheen.

The restaurant frequently posted photos showing its traditional Italian dishes on its Facebook page.

Fans mourned the restaurant’s loss.

“So sad that GUIDO’S is closing. Been around since 1979. They just don’t make cozy restaurants like this anymore and I doubt they ever will again,” wrote one woman on Facebook.

According to LA Eater, the restaurant was “well known for its old-school charm, tuxedoed servers, and red leather booths.”

Related: Largest Fast Food Restaurant Chain Closed Over 600 Stores, New Data Reveals

Before you throw some tomatoes on your sandwich this week, think again. On June 1, The New York Times announced that the FDA escalated a tomato recall to a high warning due to a threat of severe illness and even death. 

The outlet added that the hazardous bacteria found on select tomatoes in three southern states “can survive for weeks in dry environments and months in wet ones.”  The infected tomatoes were distributed between April 23 and 28 in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina by the H&C Farms Label.

At this time, the source of contamination is unknown. The NYT writes, “Exposure to salmonella, a bacteria, can be deadly, especially in adults over 65, children under 5 and people with compromised immune systems, who have the highest risk of severe illness.”

Salmonella contamination causes symptoms that range from diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 8 to 72 hours after exposure, per Mayo Clinic. 

This update comes amid a wave of other product recalls. On May 29, Newsweek reported that a food company in Georgia has issued a voluntary recall on “hundreds of thousands of pounds of canned beef stew products due to potential foreign material contamination.” 

In total, 256,185 pounds of Dinty Moore Beef Stew were recalled. Per the outlet, the recall included 20-oz cans of the product marked with a “best by” date of February 2028. 

“The problem was identified after Hormel Foods Corporation notified the FSIS of three consumer complaints reporting pieces of wood in the beef stew.” 

In a statement, Hormel Foods Corporation told Newsweek that “no other Dinty Moore products are affected, and no illnesses or injuries have been reported in association with this recall.”

Related: ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Actor Cause of Death Revealed

Southwest Airlines’ CEO isn’t shrinking away from the major changes the airline has made in recent months.

He appears to be doubling down.

That’s true when it comes to one of the most controversial changes: The airline’s move to assigned seating.

For years, Southwest Airlines stood apart from other airlines by not assigning seating. The open seating arrangement has now been scrapped and, starting in early 2026, customers will be assigned seats. This has provoked debate.

However, the CEO, Bob Jordan, says it’s not a “crazy” thing to do because other airlines do the same thing. He defended the move.

Jordan’s comments came at the Bernstein 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference on May 29, 2025, according to a transcript posted by Seeking Alpha.

After bringing up assigned seating, he said, “It isn’t a set of initiatives that are sort of crazy things that Southwest is doing that are unique to the industry. These are really things that the industry is doing. So I look at that and I see number one: low risk of implementation.”

“Again, these are all things that are — what the industry is doing, cabin segmentation. They’re just things that Southwest has not done, were not part of that model until now,” Jordan added of all the changes, including the move to assigned seating but also the eliminate of free checked bags, which has also generated controversy.

Jordan was asked, “So Southwest historically, just as we’ve kind of looked at bag fees, assigned seating, those have not been things that you wanted to do. And you guys made a pretty good case a couple of years ago to not do those things, and then now we’ve changed. Can you help us understand the — what shifted in terms of your thinking?”

He responded that the company studied consumer data. He said the data showed that Southwest was giving customers a lot more for its basic economy fare, whereas other airlines were not, meaning they were better able to “‘upsell” customers to higher fare levels.

“What I’m proud of is we pivoted and we worked the technology and the operational changes and as of yesterday, it’s in place, and it went in flawless, not one single problem,” Jordan said, according to the transcript.

“We’ve had one — we’ve been extremely successful for decades, but we’ve had one product, one model, very galatarian, open seating for all,” he added. “And that was terrific when that was primarily what customers wanted. But today, when customers want everything from bare bones to super premium, the only way to answer that is segmentation in the tube itself.”

Concluded Jordan: “So I think consumer expectations and desire for what they want, the rise in cost, and therefore, the rise in having to really push revenue production and then segmentation of the cabin. I think those are the three biggest changes that have really changed the industry.”

Related: Southwest Airlines Replaces Some Skycaps With Kiosks After Free Bags Flap

Fans who have waited decades for the Adam Sandler sequel Happy Gilmore 2 won’t have to wait much longer.

Netflix Tudum 2025 was a major live event watched with anticipation by critics and fans on May 31 because the streaming giant often delivers big news about popular series and movies.

This year’s live event didn’t disappoint, and one of the big reveals dealt with Happy Gilmore 2. It’s been almost 30 years, believe it or not, since Sandler played the comedic accidental golfer.

The first Happy Gilmore movie, which was released in 1996, featured Sandler as a former hockey player who decides to become a golfer to help his grandmother save her home, with hilarious and successful results.

The Happy Gilmore 2 movie, which is being released by Netflix, now has an official release date and trailer. Fans expressed excitement on social media. “Okay, that looks funny,” wrote one. “Dude is 15+ years late with that sequel,” wrote another man.

“Summer just got happy-er. Adam Sandler stars in Happy Gilmore 2 arriving July 25 #TUDUM,” Netflix announced.

Netflix also released a lengthy official trailer via its X page.

“My name is Happy Gilmore. Thirty years ago, I decided to give golf a try,” Sandler says at the beginning of the trailer.

Summer just got happy-er. Adam Sandler stars in Happy Gilmore 2 arriving July 25 #TUDUM pic.twitter.com/lEHgAN5J3H

— Netflix Tudum (@NetflixTudum) June 1, 2025

The trailer reveals that Happy Gilmore gets back into the game of golf because he needs $300,000 to put his daughter through ballet school. He drives off in a broken-down car.

“Happy Gilmore is breaking in yet another caddie he just met,” the trailer reveals.

It shows him golfing. “Everyone is talking about the comeback kid, Happy Gilmore,” a television announcer says in the trailer.

“Remember the happy place I went to. You go to yours,” Sandler says in it.

“It’s been almost 30 years since we last saw Happy Gilmore, the long-driving hero who won the Tour Championship in 1996. Now we finally get to catch up with him in a new sequel that comes to Netflix July 25,” Netflix wrote.

Netflix also gave details on the Happy Gilmore 2 cast, writing, “Joining the film alongside Sandler are original Happy Gilmore stars Julie Bowen, Ben Stiller, and Christopher McDonald and brand-new co-star Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny), daughters Sadie and Sunny Sandler, and Blake Clark.”

Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Cast, Teaser Trailer Announced by Netflix

Cooper Flagg may not have won a championship in his only season at Duke, but the experience was definitely worth this time–and seemingly a lot of money.

In the NIL era, high-profile college athletes are now able to secure significant compensation for their skills. For Flagg, the big bucks came through a pair of endorsement deals, according to longtime sports writer Howard Bryant.

The topic of NIL came up during a recent conversation between Bryant and Bob Costas as the 92nd Street Y in New York City. That’s when Bryant, a columnist for ESPN, dropped the apparent bombshell that Flagg made over $20 million with the Blue Devils this past season.

“How much money do you think Cooper Flagg made this year for one year at Duke?” Bryant asked. 

“I don’t know, but it was a lot,” Costas replied.

“I know,” Bryant said, before Costas asked him for the number.

“Twenty-eight million,” Bryant responded. “He had a $13 million deal with New Balance and then $15 million with Fanatics.”

It’s unlikely that any party involved–Flagg, New Balance or Fanatics–is going to confirm the terms of their agreements. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski did report last August when Flagg’s New Balance deal was announced that the contract was “significant.”

Flagg wore Nike throughout his one year at Duke, as the Blue Devils are sponsored by the Swoosh, but he’s been wearing New Balance throughout the NBA Draft process and will continue doing so once his pro career officially begins.

Flagg signed his deal with Fanatics, another multiyear partnership, back in January. Terms were not disclosed.

The consensus top-rated recruit in the 2024 class, Flagg was named national player of the year as he led Duke to the ACC regular season and tournament titles and a trip to the Final Four. 

He is expected to the No. 1 overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks at the NBA Draft later this month.

Last week, Southwest Airlines officially began charging passengers for checked bags, ending its longstanding “bags fly free” policy. While the change has led to warnings from multiple experts and Southwest’s own data suggests it will not be profitable, CEO Bob Jordan recently used two words to defend the move: “low risk.”

The Southwest Airlines CEO recently spoke at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, where he broke his silence, issuing his first public comments since the airline began charging fees for its checked baggage.

Despite concerns that ending free bags could erode consumer trust and damage the Southwest brand after the airline literally trademarked “bags fly free,” Jordan seems to think the move is “low risk,” simply because every other airline is already charging for checked bags.

“This stuff is coming online right now,” Jordan said of the changes during his public appearance. “And I think that’s the biggest thing that is underappreciated by our plan as it is happening right now, that. And number two, there is low risk because we’re putting in things that the industry has done forever. So there’s low risk implementation, there’s low risk in the financial benefit paying-off.”

It’s worth noting that this line of thinking is completely antithetical to consumer psychology, which suggests there is a significant risk of Southwest alienating its customer base.

Regardless, it doesn’t sound like Southwest is done changing its brand, either, as Jordan claimed ,”we aren’t stopping here.”

“So putting in the things that I’ve described isn’t the end of the journey for Southwest. We will continue to pursue the consumer. And if the consumer wants other types of premium, they want us to fly other long-haul destinations, which could lead to aircraft questions. I’m totally making all this up. This is not a plan. But the consumer demand in certain cities for us for a lounge is super high. My point is rather than say, no Southwest Airlines does not do that. You must follow the consumer or if you are forever vulnerable to others that can offer that to the consumer,” 

Even in cities that we are very strong, and we are the largest in roughly half of the 50 largest cities in the United States, even there in Nashville and in Austin as an example, people love us, but we also can’t — for many of our folks that love Southwest, we can’t do things that — we can’t provide products that you want like a first class, we can’t get you to long-haul international destinations. If a lounge is important to you, we don’t have a lounge. I’m not predicting any of those things. What I’m telling you is rather than be forever vulnerable, we’re going to follow the consumer and what the consumer needs.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this all works out for the airline.