Labor
Local casino turns to technology to help with staffing shortages in restaurant
Action News Now 1/21
When dining at the Rock and Brews restaurant at the Rolling Hills Casino, you will see robots cruising around. The robots are not intended to replace staff but they are simply there to help out while the restaurant doesn’t have enough people to work.
California adds 50,000 jobs, unemployment dips to 6.5%
Courthouse News Service 1/21
Accounting for a quarter of all new hirings in the nation in December, California’s jobless rate ticked down to 6.5% as employers added over 50,000 jobs.
Food Industry Policy
Burlingame to Begin Charging Businesses That Keep Parklets
CBS SF Bay Area 1/22
The city of Burlingame is moving forward with a plan to put a fee structure in place for businesses that want to continue operating parklets. Starting April 1, businesses that choose to keep parklets will be responsible to pay the city a $1,500 annual rent fee along with a $250 monthly cleaning fee. In total, it would cost a business around $4,500 to have a parklet.
California health experts question whether state’s outdoor dining ban contributed to coronavirus surge
Fox News 1/21 Authorities say they’re trying to tamp down the spread of the Delta coronavirus before it morphs into a vaccine-resistant form.
On the Side
Is Food Inflation Real?
AG Web 6/30
Food prices for consumers are higher. Wholesale costs for restaurants are higher. Is inflation a real or transitory issue for agriculture and food?
Expanding To-Go Beverage Service Permanently: What to Know
FSR Magazine 6/29
After COVID-19 changed the world, stay at home orders and safety precautions decimated the restaurant industry. Governors across almost all 50 states, including Florida, issued emergency executive orders changing the status-quo of the treatment of “to-go beverages.”
