Labor
Chico restaurant displays dynamism during California wage increase
The Orion 2/24
Restaurant owners John Dean and Lizzy Young repeat what many business owners say: they value their employees, they care about their employees and they wouldn’t have experienced such success without their employees. Drunken Dumpling, located at 1414 Park Ave., delivers on honoring their employees with more than just the new state minimum wage.
SF Educators, Food Workers Eligible for Vaccine as City Moves to Phase 1B
NBC Bay Area 2/24
San Francisco announced Wednesday it has moved into Phase 1B of its COVID-19 vaccination rollout, which makes eligible workers in education, childcare, emergency services and food and agriculture.
Food Industry Policy
Marin restaurateurs hope indoor dining is here to stay
Marin Independent Journal 2/26
Marin County restaurant owners are hopeful that the latest revival of indoor dining this week will endure until the coronavirus pandemic is over. “It’s been rough but now hopefully we’ll go back to normal soon,” said Gabriela Vieyra, owner of the LaVier Latin Fusion restaurant in San Rafael.
Big Delivery Is Winning — Even If Everyone Hates It
Grub Street 2/24
These companies — call them Big Delivery — are now mainstream, as much a part of American culture as pick-up trucks and Tide laundry detergent. Which is curious, because an overwhelming number of local restaurant owners whom these companies claim to champion say that the exorbitant fees and parasite-like business practices make it far more difficult to stay in business.
On the Side
Malibu’s Burgers Brings Vegan Soul to Piedmont
East Bay Express 2/24
Darren Preston, a.k.a. Danny Malibu, is too smart, too sophisticated and too serially successful an entrepreneur to believe he, his partners or Malibu’s Burgers’ 100 percent plant-based menu will single-handedly lift up the entirety of Oakland’s Black-owned business community. Even so, Preston—born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens by a single mother, Lourdes Marquez—is likely to achieve many of his far-sighted goals.
Star Pastry Chef Launches a New and Unusual Pandemic Pastry Box
Eater SF 2/23
Fine dining pastry chef Nick Muncy, who used to tweezer micro mint for Michelin-starred restaurants like COI and Michael Mina, has a new project. It’s called Drool, as the SF Chronicle noted. There are oversized Nutter Butters. And slightly eccentric packaging. Online orders officially go live on Tuesday, February 23, and he’s only making 50 boxes per weekend, so get those kumquat cakes while they’re hot.
