Labor
How much do America’s minimum-wage workers actually earn?
Quartz 12/10
The US federal minimum wage is becoming increasingly obsolete. In 2020, 29 states and the District of Columbia, which account for half of the US population, have minimum wages above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. In 2000, just 11 states were above the federal threshold.
Food Industry Policy
Lake Tahoe shutting down to tourists Friday
San Francisco Chronicle 12/10
Vacation travel to Lake Tahoe will be banned for at least three weeks starting Friday because of a regional rise in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Prominent Burbank Restaurant Reopens Today in Protest of ‘Tyrannical Mandates’
Eater, Los Angeles 12/10
Burbank restaurant Tinhorn Flats is reopening today at noon, calling its return of outdoor on-site dining a “peaceful protest” on social media. Fans have been pledging to show up to support them for days, calling for an end to “tyrannical mandates and closures” as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A letter to Speaker Pelosi from San Francisco restaurant owners
San Francisco Chronicle 12/9
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
We represent San Francisco’s most beloved restaurants who are on the verge of closing our doors permanently as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. When we asked you to act this summer you delivered, ensuring the House of Representatives passed the RESTAURANTS Act that could provide critical grants for struggling independent restaurants and bars in San Francisco and across the country.
On the Side
Historic Tribune Tower will get a casual new French restaurant from seasoned Oakland chefs
San Francisco Chronicle 12/10
A group of East Bay chefs is planning to breathe new life into downtown Oakland’s historic Tribune Tower with a casual French-influenced restaurant and bar called Tribune.
Here’s which major Bay Area restaurants are closing temporarily due to the stay-at-home order
San Francisco Chronicle 12/10
Even before the majority of Bay Area counties stopped allowing outdoor dining earlier this week, many prominent restaurants had already decided to close temporarily — waiting things out until certain benchmarks were reached, such as a return to indoor dining.
San Francisco’s Biggest Restaurants Are Eerily Empty
Eater, San Francisco 12/9
When China Live opened in 2017, it was a big deal in San Francisco. Totaling 30,000 square feet and four stories, it was a $20 million investment three years in the making.
McDonald’s Happy Meals could get more expensive next year
ABC 57 12/9
McDonald’s is eliminating a four-decade-old deal with its franchisees that subsidized the price of Happy Meal toys for customers. That could mean pricier Happy Meals next year.
L.A.’s pop-up restaurants demonstrate the urgency and creativity of our times
Los Angeles Times 12/8
In mid-May, Nguyen Bui, a former sous chef at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, posted an announcement on his Instagram account: He was starting a takeout project called Ăn Cơm. The name translates literally as “eat rice,” though its informal meaning stems from a Vietnamese greeting: Ăn cơm chưa? Have you eaten yet?
Starbucks Says it Will Have 55,000 Locations by 2030
QSR Magazine Dec. 2020
In October, Starbucks framed its decision to close 800 locations as a repositioning more than a retraction. But to what aim exactly wasn’t clear. Would the result be a healthier, trimmer, and more future-ready base? Or a springboard to something larger?
