Labor
Bay Area restaurant hiring crisis: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this’
The Mercury News 5/4
The Bay Area restaurant industry is facing a staffing shortage during the pandemic that its leaders say is unprecedented. Dishwashers are being asked to cook. Bartenders are busing tables. And on busy nights, left with no other choice, owners are eliminating tables in already reduced-capacity dining rooms because they do not have enough wait staff.
Opinion: A recipe for building restaurants back stronger and better
The Hill 5/3
These are precarious times. The restaurant industry may be emerging from intensive care but there is a long recovery ahead. We are, therefore, urging elected officials to heed an oath usually taken by doctors, to “first do no harm.”
Food Industry Policy
San Diego County considers waiving restaurant fees to offset pandemic losses
The San Diego Union-Tribune 5/3
The county Board of Supervisors will consider waiving restaurant permit fees Wednesday in an effort to help struggling eateries recover from pandemic closures and restrictions. Business at San Diego restaurants dropped by 60 to 77 percent during the pandemic closures in April 2020 and remained below pre-pandemic levels as of January, according to a board of supervisors letter, citing figures from the San Diego Association of Governments.
East Bay Community Rallies To Legalize The Sale Of Home Cooked Food
PR Newswire 5/3
On Tuesday, May 4th, at 10:00am, home cooks, food justice advocates, and community members will gather outside of the Alameda County Administration Building on 1221 Oak Street in Oakland, CA, to urge Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors to opt in to California AB 626, permitting the sale of home cooked food through Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs).
On the Side
Takeout here to stay for North Bay restaurants, even as pandemic indoor restrictions ease
The North Bay Business Journal 5/4
North Bay restaurants grabbed a lifeline during the pandemic called takeout. The question is now whether they will continue, although a national survey showed that 53% of adults say buying takeout or having food delivered is “essential” to how they live.
Burger Patch to open its largest plant-based fast-food restaurant across from Land Park
The Sacramento Bee 5/3
The new plant-based fast food restaurant will open at 4400 Freeport Blvd., Suite 160, later this year, Horn said. It’ll include a 1,500-square-foot storefront with the same items as existing Burger Patches in Davis and midtown Sacramento, plus a central kitchen visible from the dining room and corporate office space.
