A Merrier Christmas On-the-Go
Christmastime: When restaurants usually have to pack in waitstaff to handle the onslaught of vacationing families, honeymooners, and college kids off from school, all ready to splurge during the holiday season. This year changed it all when a global pandemic rocked the restaurant industry, unlike any other. Unsafe dining out and missing their... read more »
Half of All Restaurants are Permanently Closed; How Restaurants can Survive
... read more »
Subscribe via Email
Community Highlight: My Green Lunch
When Todd Evjenth started My Green Lunch in 2012, he aimed to feed delicious, organic food to local schoolchildren in Silicon Valley. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic touched down in the area and necessitated shelter-in-place protocols, there were suddenly no schools in the area to helpbut still plenty of children in need. For that reason, the lunch catering company decided to turn its... read more »
Community Highlight: CommonSpirit Health Turns Cafes to Grocery Stores
Since CommonSpirit Health opened in February 2019. they've grown into the largest Catholic health system and second-largest nonprofit hospital chain in the United States. With more than 150K employees and 25K physicians working for them, CommonSpirit Health extends to 137 hospitals, over 1000 care sites and 21 states.... read more »
These Dallas Cafeteria Workers Made the Cover of Time
On April 9th, Time magazine released a special edition article with five different covers showcasing five incredible frontline workers going above around the world. These covers feature people putting themselves at risk of catching COVID-19 so they can go to work and keep the world running.... read more »
Restaurant Highlight: Dig Food Group
Since Adam Eskin first opened Dig (formerly known as Dig Inn) in 2011, it's grown into a multifaceted business endeavor that now spans multiple states and involves more than just restaurants. Dig began as a way to provide healthy, locally-sourced meals to guests and simultaneously support family farms in the community. Now, however, Dig has locations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Rye Brook... read more »
Community Highlight: Stony Brook University
Like most universities, Stony Brook University in NY evacuated most of its students when it shut down operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However some students have extenuating circumstances that prevent them from quarantining elsewhere; international students, for example, have no way to get home because of the travel ban. They, as well as other students who can't leave for personal... read more »
Can Gift Cards Save Your Restaurant?
With restaurants shutting down most of their operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some have found creative ways to keep business moving. Since dine-in services came to a halt, many restaurants worry about staying open through the end of this pandemic. In fact, some speculate that by the time these quarantine measures get lifted, 30% of... read more »
Georgia Reopens: What This Means for Full-Service Restaurants
This month Georgia become one of the first states in the U.S. to reopen nonessential services. Many states began the transition on May 1st but unlike them, governor Brian Kemp implemented some of the most aggressive reopening policies in the country.... read more »
Community Highlight: St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance
Nonprofit organizations that distribute food, collect money and deploy volunteers are extremely important to getting families the supplies they need. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever need assistance and support. Those nonprofit groups have had to adapt their organizational strategies and their volume of output in order to provide the relief that their communities have come... read more »
Making Off-Premise Sales A Priority
Atmosphere, menu, experience and carefully cultivated customer relationships keep loyal regulars coming back to their favorite restaurants. Recently, though, online ordering has gotten more and more popular and not just because diners have no other options due to COVID-19: In the past year alone, 51% of diners ordered via website or app (Litwin,... read more »
Community Highlight: SF New Deal
Before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the U.S., Lenore Estrada baked for Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco, CA. The business's twenty-six employees mainly catered offices, and their specialty made them understand the unpredictable nature of seasonal work. When the virus hit the city, local government instituted a shelter-in-place order aimed at... read more »
Restaurant Highlight: Veras Backyard Bar-B-Que
When the COVID-19 pandemic first led federal and local governments to shut down businesses and implement self-isolation measures, many restaurants ceased most of their operations. One such affected restaurant is Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que, a Mexican- and Texas-style barbecue restaurant based in Brownsville, TX.... read more »
5 Delivery Apps You Can Support Today
Many consumers have increased how much they spend on food delivery ever since COVID-19 led to government-issued shelter-in-place mandates worldwide. With moratoriums on eating out and households trying to grocery shop less often, more and more people have begun getting groceries and meals delivered to their door (using contact-free delivery, of... read more »
L.A. County Publicizes Outbreaks: What This Means for Your Restaurant
As more and more people test positive for COVID-19, others grow concerned about how to know if the restaurants they order dinner from are safe and healthy. L.A. County decided to assuage some of these fears by publicizing a list of restaurants in the area who have had "outbreaks," that is, anyplace with multiple people showing symptoms of COVID-19... read more »
An Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19, Now What?
Whether you're operating takeout and delivery services only or you live in one of the states reopening this month, restaurant owners all over worry what to do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19. With a dearth of official advice and more confirmed cases every day, small businesses have to rely on their own instincts along with a compilation... read more »
Community Highlight: White Pony Express
Many outreach organizations have been appropriately recognized for their contributions to people and communities in need during this COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, Time magazine created a special edition article complete with five different covers and twelve stories showcasing the incredible work people have done, appropriately titled "Heroes... read more »
Restaurant Highlight: Fat Rice
Since opening in 2012, Fat Rice has long been a favorite for Chicagoans near Logan Square. Owners Adrienne Lo and Abe Conlon operated the restaurant, bakery, bar and a food hall called Time Out Market until the COVID-19 pandemic led to statewide shutdowns in mid-March. Prohibiting public gatherings hit them hard, just like many other food service... read more »
Curfews Leave Restaurants Without a Plan
Since George Floyd died in police custody on March 25th, peaceful protests have broken out in every state across the country. As a result, at least forty cities including Washington D.C., Los Angeles and New York imposed daily curfews in an attempt to curb multiple protests in those areas. The unintended consequence is that restaurants and other... read more »