Labor
California restaurants expect rebound that will take years
AP News 5/19
Nearly a third of California’s restaurants permanently closed and two-thirds of workers at least temporarily lost their jobs as the pandemic set in more than a year ago and Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed the nation’s first statewide lockdown, a legislative committee reported Tuesday.
Pandemic reveals low-wage workers need better protections
Palm Springs Desert Sun 5/17
Vaccination will protect workers from the coronavirus, but a shot won’t immunize them against employer retaliation, low wages and unsafe working conditions.
Food Industry Policy
After 15 months, I’m finally eating indoors at restaurants again
San Francisco Chronicle 5/19
Though the familiar sensation of nestling into a cushioned booth seemed like the most banal thing, the act made me want to hold my breath for a beat, as one does when driving through a dark tunnel.
Opinion: Why lifting the mask mandate will make life harder for retail and restaurant workers
Los Angeles Times 5/17
Sharokina Shams, a spokesperson for the California Restaurant Assn., said that restaurants in multiple parts of California had reported confrontations with customers who insisted that they did not need to wear masks anymore. Workers had to remind guests that they still needed to cover their faces on the way in and out.
A $100 Million Bet on Cross-Country Restaurant Delivery
The New York Times 5/17
Goldbelly, an e-commerce platform for restaurant food, boomed during the pandemic. Will the trend stick?
On the Side
Cities Where Restaurants Are Recovering Fastest and Slowest
The Street 5/17
Of the businesses that suffered in the pandemic, few were hit harder than restaurants. The restaurant industry endured a whiplash of opening and closing, reduced capacity, and even outdoor-only dining in the dead of winter. In many places some of these restrictions are still in place.
How COVID uncorked a new dining scene in downtown Walnut Creek
The Mercury News 5/17
With summer fast approaching, the dining scene in downtown Walnut Creek has dramatically perked up, a far cry from the same time last year when restaurants were feeling the full sting of stay-at-home health orders.
