Labor
Tip your robot: South Florida restaurant hires robo-servers to deal with staff shortages
South Florida Sun Sentinel 4/17
Servers say they’re worth the big expense because, unlike humans, robots don’t carry the coronavirus. They can’t get fevers. They don’t cough on your food or, for that matter, ask for minimum wage or take work breaks – unless they’re recharging. They are, instead, relentlessly cheerful bots, never pushy, always keen to mindlessly shuttle dishes to and from the kitchen.
Restaurants desperate for workers offer $400 signing bonuses
San Francisco Chronicle 4/17
Want to work at a restaurant during a pandemic? If the answer’s “no,” would $400 cash change your mind? South Florida restaurants are so desperate to fill critical jobs they are taking a page from the playbook of Silicon Valley headhunters: signing bonuses.
Food Industry Policy
S.F. ghost kitchens are reinventing with millions of dollars. Will diners buy it this time?
San Francisco Chronicle 4/18
Even after the pandemic ends, restaurant analysts predict that demand for food delivery will only grow.’
Price Caps On Food Delivery Apps Only Exacerbate Restaurant Revenue Problems In The Pandemic
Forbes 4/16
First, the intent of such overarching regulations are usually defeated by the response of the market players, and that has occurred in the app delivery market: for instance, in my city of Washington D.C. delivery companies responded to the charge cap by adding a flat fee of between $1 and $3 to the delivery.
On the Side
Michelin restaurant guide returning to Sacramento. Will any locals earn stars?
The Sacramento Bee 4/16
One Sacramento restaurant earned a Michelin star the first time around. How many upped their game amid the pandemic? The 2021 California Michelin guide will be published sometime in the year’s second half, said Nora Vass, director of food and travel experiences for Michelin North America. It’ll again include reviews of Sacramento restaurants as well as eateries in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
Food is Gen Z’s top spending priority, survey finds
Food Dive 4/16
Food is Gen Z’s top spending priority, taking 23% share of their wallet this spring, according to a semiannual report from Piper Sandler assessing teen spending and brand preferences. This figure is up from 21% in the fall of 2020 but down from 25% a year ago.
