Labor
How restaurants have innovated to face the pandemic
PBS NewsHour 9/14
As restaurants gingerly reopen some find themselves short-staffed. Richle of the National Restaurant Association says three out of four restaurants have said recently that hiring is their top challenge, a record high for their survey.
Labor Shortage Prompts Santa Monica Restaurant To Close
Santa Monica Patch 9/14
The pandemic has brought the restaurant industry to its knees, and now a Santa Monica pizza spot plans to close due to a labor shortage — part of a mass exodus happening across the U.S. at retail and service jobs.
Food Industry Policy
Inside one of the Bay Area’s first legal home restaurants
San Francisco Chronicle 9/15
Saturday marked the grand opening of Lee Thomas’ first restaurant. He got up at 6 a.m. to bake blueberry corn muffins. He then moved on to barbecuing 46 pounds of tri-tip, pork butt and sausages. And he did it all barefoot, cooking out of his San Leandro home.
How the pandemic is reshaping restaurant real estate
SmartBrief 9/15
It’s no secret by now that the pandemic has fueled major shifts in the way restaurants are operating, affecting everything from where and how consumers dine to whether restaurants can source the ingredients they need to prepare the food and find the employees they need to serve it.
On the Side
6 Emerging Tech Companies to Watch Amid Ghost Kitchen Boom
QSR Magazine 9/14
Whether you call them “ghost kitchens,” “dark kitchens,” “cloud kitchens,” or “virtual restaurants,” it’s one of the most buzzworthy concepts over the past year.
The Future of Fast-Food Drive-Thru Arrives Early
QSR Magazine Sep. 2021
In late January, a drive-thru clinic opened in the suburban town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Local hospitals hoped to administer early shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, but soon after, the computer system malfunctioned, leaving hundreds of people idling in their cars for hours. Word got back to Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie. His response? Pick up the phone and call the manager of a local fast-food restaurant.
