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coronavirus_independents

Financing

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

 By Heather Lalley on Feb. 02, 2021

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

Marketing

New York City extends its restaurant week for the whole month

 By Heather Lalley on Feb. 01, 2021

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

Operations

Urban independent restaurants turn to suburban deliveries to weather the pandemic

By Heather Lalley on Jan. 29, 2021

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

Operations

One independent operator merged his two distinct restaurants under one roof

By Patricia Cobe on Jan. 28, 2021

A pandemic necessity is turning into a robust business model for NYC restaurateur Marco Moreira.

Operations

5 things to know about: Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises

By Heather Lalley on Jan. 26, 2021

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.

Operations

Lettuce Entertain You revives long-shuttered concepts as virtual brands

By Heather Lalley on Jan. 25, 2021

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.

Operations

One small operator’s pandemic opening-closing-opening saga

By Heather Lalley on Jan. 22, 2021

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.

Marketing

Pandemic forces Restaurant Week changes this year

By Heather Lalley and Patricia Cobe on Jan. 15, 2021

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

Operations

How one tavern owner is trying to encourage his customers to get vaccinated

By Heather Lalley on Jan. 15, 2021

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

Financing

Black and Indigenous restaurant operators can apply for $15K James Beard grants

By Heather Lalley on Jan. 14, 2021

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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