Labor
Restaurants see opportunity in pandemic to make pay more equitable. Will customers buy in?
San Francisco Business Times 7/14
Restaurateurs are experimenting with new compensation models to address longstanding disparities between the front and back of the house.
They Tried to Start a Union During a Pandemic, But They Were Fired. What’s Next?
Eater 7/14
Some food industry workers say companies are using the pandemic as an excuse to halt efforts to unionize.
Food Industry Policy
Foie gras is legal to serve again in California restaurants
San Francisco Chronicle 7/14
The long back-and-forth on the sale of foie gras sales in California has swung once more: A new ruling says that menus can serve the delicacy once again.
New, Stricter Mask Rules Kick in for Contra Costa County Restaurants
Eater, San Francisco 7/14
If diners in Contra Costa County aren’t actively putting food or drinks into their months, a new law says they must remain masked.
Industry groups turn to courts, customers and staff to force reopenings
Restaurant Business 7/13
As pressure builds to re-shut restaurant dining rooms, so is the industry’s pitched resistance to the rollbacks.
For Restaurants to Recover, Unions and Lawmakers Must Step Up
FSR Magazine July 2020
Changes will need to be made that address the circumstances of a new reality for the service industry. Our response will dictate our ability to recover.
On the Side
Best Practices To Consider When Reopening Restaurants
Forbes 7/14
As reopening differs largely from state to state, with some areas continuing or returning to shelter-in-place orders and others in the beginning stages of reopening, it seems like questions facing restaurateurs outnumber the answers.
Food halls used to play second-best to real restaurants. Now they offer an unlikely refuge to a battered restaurant industry.
The Counter 7/14
A stall costs less to open than a restaurant, and hungry landlords offer a menu of services that reduce the risk even further. Still, some restaurateurs caution the drawbacks are equally clear.
Recent COVID Setbacks Have Closed 100,000 Restaurants
QSR Magazine July 2020
In just the past two weeks, state and local government mandates have shut down nearly 100,000 restaurants as COVID-19 cases surge, the National Restaurant Association said Wednesday.
The Independent Restaurant Industry Will Never Look the Same
FSR Magazine July 2020
If variety is the spice of life, then the restaurant industry packs an especially wide assortment, from full to limited service, from American staples to global cuisine, from large chains to small independent establishments.
