Labor
Newsom expands worker protections
CalMatters 9/18
As California enters its sixth month of the pandemic and coronavirus outbreaks rip through garment factories, meatpacking plants, fast-food chains and strawberry fields, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state agencies took action Thursday to expand worker protections.
Workers With Disabilities Can Earn Just $3.34 An Hour. Agency Says Law Needs Change
NPR 9/17
A new report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights says the exemption should be phased out, because it’s been trapping workers in “exploitative and discriminatory” job programs.
Research: More Restaurants Will Employ Robots to Offset Rising Labor Costs
Restaurant Technology News 9/16
In a new study, “How to Build a Better Robot for Quick Service Restaurants,” published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Dina Marie Zemke, an associate professor of residential property management in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University, found that the overwhelming majority of respondents to a recent survey believe that there is no stopping the robotic transformation of the food service industry, including quick service restaurants (QSRs).
Food Industry Policy
San Francisco’s Highest-Powered Restaurants Might Sue to Reopen Their Dining Rooms
Eater, San Francisco 9/17
Some of the city’s biggest food names say that SF’s lack of a reopening plan could force their hands.
Six Months In: A Timeline of San Francisco’s Bar and Restaurant Reopening Rollercoaster
Eater, San Francisco 9/17
A lot has happened since the city’s shelter-in-place order began, but one thing remains constant: bars without food and the vast majority of restaurant dining rooms remain dark.
LA’s Al Fresco Dining Program in Jeopardy After Funding Quietly Runs Dry
Eater, Los Angeles 9/17
Mayor Garcetti’s plan, meant to offer no-cost outdoor dining alternatives to restaurants, was supposed to last at least until the end of the year. Now a crucial portion of the program has been quietly shelved by the mayor’s office and LADOT.
On the Side
Razed and exposed, the restaurant industry is due for change
Los Angeles Times 9/17
Writing restaurant elegies could be full-time work these days. Six months into coronavirus-related shutdowns, every publication that covers Los Angeles dining culture maintains a running list of ongoing restaurant closures.
This Modesto-based restaurant chain keeps growing despite the pandemic; new site opens
The Modesto Bee 9/17
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has upended our expectations, both large and small. But if there’s one thing locally you can count on, it’s the continued expansion of Mango Crazy.
SF’s newest seafood delivery meals come from an ex-Lazy Bear chef
San Francisco Chronicle 9/17
Like so many other restaurant suppliers, San Francisco’s Water2Table had to figure out a new business model when shelter-in-place regulations were announced in March.
‘It’s a Total Loss’: At Least Two Oakland Chinatown Restaurants Destroyed by Fire
Eater, San Francisco 9/17
Neighborhood favorites Rang Dong and Huangcheng Noodle House will be closed for the foreseeable future — but vow to eventually reopen.
