Pope Francis has visited the Stateside, and generated an influx of people to the states. While the city had built up that the Pope’s visit would potentially cause an economic boon, contrary to belief, the restaurant industry saw a decrease in customers. Restaurant owners were excited about the millions of hungry pilgrims that would be drawn to the city. In Philadelphia, organizers predicted Pope Francis’s stay would generate nearly half a billion dollars for the city.

In New York City, David Chang was among the first to express his disappointment as he tweets “Love the new pope but he’s a restaurant cooler on par with the super bowl and oscar’s.” While in Philadelphia, chefs around own started complaining Saturday about the lack of customers, and faulting the city’s overeager security apparatus. Stephen Starr, owner of about 20 Philly restaurants, said that things were “worse than Hurricane Sandy, the city scared all of our customers away… What should have been a feeling of family and community was turned into a police and military operation.” Moreover, Marc Vetri’s famous Vetri was celebrating their anniversary with special half-off prix fixe, but did not acquire as many customers with loads of reservations open. Verti, also, complained about the myriad gates and road closures that “hurt small and large business alike” and eventually closed. Some restaurants didn’t even bother to open on Sunday.

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As Autumn begins, and as Winter approaches, seasonal flavored lattes are back on the menus at Starbucks. Starbucks, today, introduced their first new autumn espresso beverage in four years- Toasted Graham Latte. The new beverage can be found in all United States and Canada locations.

R&D manager Yoke Wong, creator of the new drink, remarks that her inspiration was from an unusual place. “I thought about the back-to-school season and looked at the latest food and beverage trends, What i found to be quite popular in the U.S. is the taste of cereal milk, the delicious leftovers in your breakfast bow;” With this trend, Wong soaked graham crackers in milk to replicate the taste of cereal and learn about the milk’s texture. She also took inspiration from Fior di Latte, a flavor that many Italian gelato shops offer. “It’s like a smooth vanilla crème and is very popular.”

The Toasted Graham Latte, TGL, is an espresso beverage with steamed milk, flavors of graham and sweet cream and finished with sprinkling of cinnamon graham crumbles. This fall-inspired drink will be available through the end of October or until supplies last.

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New York City has been making initiatives to ban polystyrene foam containers, also known as Styrofoam. Last April, the Restaurant Action Alliance and Dart Container Corporation filed lawsuit contesting the ban. And now, Manhattan Supreme Court justice Margaret Chan has overturned the measures to ban styrofoam. The Department of Sanitation commissioner’s move to eliminate the containers doesn’t have enough viable reasons for banning such a product. Moreover, Chan points out that there are plenty of evidence suggesting that styrofoam can be recycled. Implementing recycling methods for styrofoam can potentially save the city $400,000 annually.

A representative for City Hall, however, disagrees with Chan’s decisions with overturning measurements to ban styrofoam. “We are reviewing our options to keep the ban in effect.” The ban initially went into effect on July 1st, with penalties for noncompliance delayed until January 1st. Businesses that produce styrofoam, and those that use styrofoam will now be able to continue implementing the material until further interference from the city.

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