Labor
A Tip Pooling Dispute at Venice Steakhouse Has Led Six Servers to Protest
Eater LA 3/25
Servers at American Beauty say newly modified tip pool percentages are designed to make up for management not raising wages for back-of-house employees.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PROCEEDS WITH TIP-POOLING EXPANSION
Restaurant Business Online 3/24
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is proceeding with the Trump administration’s proposal to allow back-of-house workers to share in tip pools if their employers don’t use a tip credit, starting May 1. The department also re-affirmed its decision under Trump to prohibit any employer from sharing in employees’ tips.
Food Industry Policy
Restaurants Expand Indoor Service in SF, Marin and Santa Clara Counties
NBC Bay Area 3/24
There’s a new special on the menu for a lot of Bay Area restaurants: More dining indoors. It’s the first day of orange tier restrictions for San Francisco, Marin and Santa Clara counties, and that means fewer limits on capacities inside gyms, museums and restaurants.
L.A. could roll back move to ticket sidewalk vendors who lack permits
Los Angeles Times 3/24
Los Angeles is weighing whether to formally reinstate a moratorium on ticketing unpermitted vendors who sell hot dogs, elote and other street foods on its sidewalks, reversing a decision made in the early days of the pandemic. Under the proposal, the city would not issue citations to food vendors who lack permits, focusing instead on education and outreach to vendors.
On the Side
Fire destroys southeast Fresno restaurant’s storage building
ABC Fresno 3/24
Investigators are working to determine what caused a restaurant’s storage building to catch fire in southeast Fresno on Tuesday night. The fire happened behind Al’s Ricos Tacos on Ventura Avenue and Hazelwood Boulevard just after 11:00 pm.
Mission’s Popular Pica Pica Arepa Kitchen Makes a Surprise Comeback
Eater SF 3/24
Fans of Venezuelan food were gutted when longstanding Pica Pica Arepa Kitchen had to close its doors last August, but now the restaurant has — surprise — reopened at its 401 Valencia Street location. Owner Adriana López Vermut found a new operating partner and was able to rehire eight of the previous 14 employees and unlock the doors once more.
