This week, coffee giant Starbucks announced that the free rides were over. Specifically, the rides on the brand's porcelain thrones.

Starbucks plans to convert its public restrooms to employee-only in New York City. A source told the New York Post that Starbucks is tired of being"the public bathroom in the city" as its own employees wait in long lines to use the facilities. So just as they're apparently getting tired of Wi-Fi sippers camping out for hours in their stores, they're taking away the amenities that make Starbucks a home away from home for many freelancers and job-seekers?

Turns out it's not true, as Starbucks subsequently denied the Post's report. The hullaba-loo came just days before World Toilet Day, a global day of recognition of people who lack adequate sanitation — and giddy writers in desperate need to relieve themselves of scatological puns.Continue reading...

Gap promised that its new global branding campaign would bring an extra treat to U.S. fans — food trucks serving tacos in a handful of markets.

The event marketing, dubbed Pico de Gap, kicked off Monday in Los Angeles with chef Marcel Vigneron from Bravo's Top Chef (and now SyFy), with celeb guests including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nikki Reed and Sarah Silverman.

Starting Friday, three other vintage food trucks will be popping up in downtown neighborhoods, music festivals and other gatherings in San Francisco (with another Top Chef alum, Ryan Scott, on-board), New York (food writer Katie Lee, another Top Chef vet as host of the first season of Top Chef Masters) and Chicago (chef Rick Gresh).Continue reading...