Labor
Restaurant wages tick higher but the industry’s labor crunch remains intractable
CNBC 10/8
The restaurant industry’s unemployment rate fell to 7.5% in September but remains well above pre-pandemic levels, providing another worrying sign that the labor crunch isn’t going to disappear anytime soon.
Brace Yourself for A Mass Exodus of Employees
Restaurant Business 10/7
More than half the wage earners currently working in the hospitality business are planning to quit by Jan. 1, according to new research.
Food Industry Policy
Restaurants Spend Big for Upgraded Outdoor Dining With Quicker Service, Elaborate Decor for Winter
Wall Street Journal 10/7 Restaurant owners say they are better prepared this winter for the mass of pandemic-weary diners who still want an outdoor option.
Why restaurants and bars aren’t included in San Francisco’s Oct. 15 mask rollback
San Francisco Chronicle 10/7
On Oct. 15, assuming that hospitalizations and case rates do not rise in the next week, San Francisco plans to lift indoor mask requirements for offices, gyms, college classes and other settings where the same group of people gather regularly — provided everyone in those settings is fully vaccinated. But there’s one notable exclusion: restaurants and bars, where patrons must still mask up after Oct. 15 when not eating or drinking.
On the Side
How Restaurants Can Avoid Friendly Fraud
Modern Restaurant Management 10/8
A study commissed by Visa found consumers are spending more on restaurant delivery and online ordering for curbside pickup/delivery of groceries than any other category since the start of the pandemic. However, reports of friendly fraud – when a customer submits a dispute with their issuing bank for a legitimate purchase to obtain a refund after goods or services have been received – has been rising.
Exclusive: Two CEOs on the Kitchen United-Zuul Acquisition
FoodOnDemand 10/7
Kitchen United has acquired Zuul, the New York-based ghost kitchen and technology provider to bolster its batched-ordering support and establish a beachhead in the largest delivery market in the United States.
