Labor
LA County Wage Enforcement Reaches Settlement with Restaurant Companies
NBC, Los Angeles 8/31
The current minimum wage for workers who perform more than two hours of work is $15 an hour for larger businesses — with 26 or more employees — and $14.25 for businesses with 25 or fewer employees.
Food Industry Policy
Indoor dining returns to El Dorado County. How new rules will change the experience
The Sacramento Bee 9/1
Looking at Old Town Grill’s back room Monday, John Sanders saw hope. Revenue at Sanders’ downtown Placerville restaurant is down 78% since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and catering has shrunk by 90%. Yet on the first day El Dorado County restaurants could partially reopen for indoor dine-in service, Old Town Grill’s 18-seat back room was full of customers chomping down on burgers and chicken sandwiches.
California’s reopening: Where each county stands in new color system
San Francisco Chronicle 8/31
California unveiled a new “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” on Friday that replaces the state’s coronavirus watch list, and the previous Stage 1-4 approach to reopening.
Here’s What California’s New Color-Coded Reopening Plan Means for Restaurants
Eater, Los Angeles 8/31
A new color-coded reopening framework for California has big implications for the state’s restaurant scene, which has been crushed by the ongoing pandemic and its related economic volatility.
California lawmakers move toward a 75% reduction in single-use plastic waste
San Gabriel Valley Tribune 8/31
A landmark bill to slash single-use plastic waste by 75% in California by 2032 was approved by the state Senate Sunday, Aug. 30 and was awaiting a final vote from the Assembly on Monday night, Aug. 31. The measure would address both packaging and disposable products like utensils and cups.
State Allows Indoor Dining in San Francisco, But City Officials Keep Mum on Reopening Timeline
Eater, San Francisco 8/31
One thing Newsom didn’t say — but probably should have — is that reopening is still up to county officials, so though the map said that as of Monday, August 31, indoor dining is “open” in San Francisco, that’s actually not the case.
On the Side
A Local Alternative to the Big Delivery Apps, in Los Angeles
The New York Times 8/31
Modeled after food delivery services in Seoul, a tiny Koreatown business keeps neighborhood restaurants running through the pandemic.
How San Francisco’s only Guamanian restaurant tackles the coronavirus pandemic
San Francisco Chronicle 8/31
On this episode of Extra Spicy, co-hosts Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips explore how the coronavirus pandemic is changing restaurants. From front-of -house safety protocols, to employees juggling roles, running a restaurant means adapting to the times.
Why Can’t Restaurants Make It on Takeout Alone?
Eater, San Francisco 8/31
Restaurants in San Francisco tend to make money in several different ways: They get diners walking in to sit down. They get small orders for takeout and delivery. And they get big orders for catering and events. Every restaurant has its own business model, and balances those options differently. But you’re asking restaurants to solely rely on one portion of their usual sales. And it tends to be the most challenging area with the lowest margins.
Food halls optimize tech and design to reopen safely
Restaurant Business 8/31
Small tweaks and larger changes are in store for customers as they visit food halls in the age of COVID.
