Labor
Tipping Goes Digital; Why Restaurants And Their Staffs Want It
PYMNTS 10/26
At a time when no one wants to say that COVID-19 has been good for business, more and more executives in the digital arena are willing to at least say that the pandemic has been a major catalyst for reform.
Food Industry Policy
California food pop-ups are caught in a legal limbo
San Francisco Chronicle 10/26
While AB-626 legalized the permitted sale of home-cooked food throughout the state, most California counties have not developed a permitting process for these businesses, creating a legal gray area.
Chipotle Launches First-of-its-Kind Sustainability Impact Tracker
QSR Magazine 10/26
Chipotle on Monday announced the debut of Real Foodprint, a sustainability impact tracker that compares average values for each of Chipotle’s 53 real ingredients to their conventional counterparts against five key metrics.
The Restaurant of the Future 4.0: Hybrid Concepts Emerge from COVID Solutions
QSR Magazine 10/26
What restaurants have learned, and how it will help them be successful in the “new normal.”
Food service groups offer local alternatives to major delivery apps
The Hill 10/25
While the dominant food delivery apps have positioned themselves as allies of local restaurants – urging eaters to support independent businesses and touting efforts to keep them afloat amid the pandemic – many restaurant owners have complained about the services and what they view as excessively high commission fees on orders that leave little margin for restaurants to profit.
On the Side
Fed-Up California Restaurant Owners Seek $100M In Refunds For Booze, Health Fees
CBS Bay Area 10/26
California’s financially battered restaurants filed government claims Monday to recover more than $100 million in fees for liquor and health permits and tourism charges that they say were assessed even though their businesses were shuttered or only partially operating under long-running coronavirus orders.
Beloved Bay Area Vegan Filipino Mini-Chain Permanently Closes
Eater SF 10/26
The chef-owner of Nick’s on Mission is doubling down on vegan Filipino with a new online business called Chef Reina.
Rubio’s Coastal Grill Files for Bankruptcy
QSR Magazine 10/26
Rubio’s Coastal Grill, a 167-unit Mexican fast casual based in San Diego, filed for bankruptcy Monday to move forward with a “comprehensive financial restructuring” to recapitalize the brand.