Labor
Self-Driving Cars to Start Delivering Domino’s Pizza in Houston
QSR Magazine 4/12
Beginning this week, select customers who place a prepaid order on dominos.com on certain days and times from Domino’s in Woodland Heights, located at 3209 Houston Ave., can choose to have their pizza delivered by Nuro’s R2 robot. Nuro’s R2 is the first completely autonomous, occupantless on-road delivery vehicle with a regulatory approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
AFTER A LONG SLUMBER, MANY RESTAURANTS ARE EMERGING FROM HIBERNATION
Restaurant Business Online 4/9
Across the country, restaurant operations are realizing that coming out of mothball mode is more complicated than merely flipping on the lights.
Food Industry Policy
Restaurateurs sue California and counties to recover permit fees
Monterey Herald 4/12
Restaurants in Monterey County and a handful of Bay Area counties have filed class-action lawsuits seeking refunds for liquor licenses and health permit fees they say they were still assessed by the state and counties in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic despite being forced to shutter completely or operate at significantly lower capacity under public health orders.
Council to Deliberate on Possible Food Service Ware On-Request Ordinance
Pasadena Now 4/12
The City Council is expected to have the City Attorney prepare an ordinance that would give customers the chance to opt out of receiving paper napkins, plastic knives, spoons, and forks when they order take-out or delivery food from at local restaurants.
On the Side
Editorial: After the pandemic, outdoor dining and ‘slow streets’ should live on
Los Angeles Times 4/12
Here’s one pandemic change that should become a permanent fixture in the urban landscape: Let’s keep the “slow streets,” parklets, temporary bike lanes and outdoor dining areas that have sprung up in cities across the country, rather than return every inch of asphalt to motor vehicles.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund: A Primer
QSR Magazine 4/9
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund continues to stir up questions, even as it nears its much-anticipated rollout. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law on March 11, and included the $28.6 billion grant program designed to aid restaurants struggling with the year-plus fallout of COVID-19.
