Labor
Sacramento restaurants face a worker shortage. What that means for prices and service
The Sacramento Bee 4/22
California’s economy could be fully reopened within two months, but many restaurants are overwhelmed just trying to serve 25% of their usual indoor customers with spartan staffs. Sacramento-area restaurants and bars employee 17,000 fewer people now than they did a year ago, a drop of nearly 25%, according to Employment Development Department statistics.
10 Ways Independent Restaurants Can Offset Minimum Wage Hikes
FSR Magazine 4/21
While there are legitimate arguments to be made on either side, there is no doubt that independent restaurants will be some of the businesses hit hardest by a national minimum wage hike. If the $15 wage increase eventually comes to fruition, here are 10 ways your restaurant can help mitigate the extra operations costs to stay afloat in a low-margin industry.
Food Industry Policy
Column: Reopening California will rescue the restaurant industry
Daily Titan 4/21
My experience working in the food industry throughout the pandemic has made it evident that reopening the economy in June is absolutely necessary. With the announcement back in March 2020 that only takeout and delivery orders would be allowed, there were many days where we would have less than ten orders during our store hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. These days meant I would have the displeasure of sending staff home early to save on our labor costs.
Los Angeles County Revises Restaurant Protocols and Announces Live Event Rules
JD Supra 4/21
On April 17, 2021, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (“Department”) revised its protocol for restaurants to permit increased activities in light of the County’s Orange Tier reopening.
On the Side
‘Let’s Grab A Beer’: Anheuser-Busch and the National Restaurant Association are teaming up
The Hill 4/22
They don’t want to return to normal, they want to reopen businesses to be better.
Raising Standards for Fast-Food Workers in California
Center for American Progress 4/20
California can take action at the state level to address these problems and improve the lives of the state’s more than half a million fast-food workers by creating a sectoral council, as called for in the proposed FAST Recovery Act.
