Independent Restaurants

Workforce

Restaurants embrace paid time off as the way to get employees vaccinated

The list of operators opting for that course is growing quickly.

Financing

$25B restaurant relief program is part of new budget resolution

The National Restaurant Association called the proposed aid a “game-changer for the tens of thousands of restaurants on the verge of closing.”

The to-go-focused promotion has a record number of participating restaurants, after organizers waived participation fees.

Around the country, operators are organizing large-order food drop-offs at suburban sites to reach far-flung diners in quarantine.

R.J. Melman, president of the Chicago-based multi-concept operator, talks about navigating the pandemic, creating new restaurants and the particular challenges of launching virtual brands.

The multi-concept operator has given Vong’s Thai Kitchen and several others new life, running them as delivery- and to-go restaurants out of existing kitchens.

The owner of Fannie’s Cafe in Chicago closed the doors of her bakery-cafe only to receive a business-saving grant a few weeks later, leaving her with a tough choice.

Chicago’s Village Tap is handing out $10 gift cards with proof of vaccination.

Around the country, operators and organizers are finding new ways to offer up the important annual promotion.

Applications are open for the new grant program to benefit groups that have traditionally been “exploited and racialized to the benefit of their white counterparts,” the Foundation said.

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