Hello Friday,
Quick heads up: Both Family Meals this week (Tuesday’s paid version copy/pasted below as usual) are a little wordier and less newsy than normal. Sorry?
And before we get started, I feel the need to reveal my politics a bit and reiterate what I said on Twitter about today’s main topic: “I am glad the IRC helped get the RESTAURANTS Act passed!”
OK. Let’s get to it…
The Shy Coalition – At least two big articles have come out recently celebrating the success of the Independent Restaurant Coalition. In the Washington Post a week and a half ago, Tim Carman had, “Independent restaurants lobbied hard for targeted economic relief. Now, they’re finally getting it.” This week, the NYT’s Brett Anderson has, “How Small Restaurants Leveraged Their Pain to Win Stimulus Money.” (Subhed: “The Independent Restaurant Coalition turned tears into cheers, urging owners to share their angst and use that emotion to lobby Congress.”)
You can read about Sam Kass “sobbing” on a Zoom call, Kwame Onwuachi and Nina Compton being asked to address the group after the murder of George Floyd, and Robert St. John’s crucial relationship with Republican senator RogerWicker.
But it wasn’t all teary eyes and handshakes, folks…
When I last asked IRC’s PR team about the dollars behind their efforts, they told me, “The IRC hesitates to disclose figures solely because it's too easy for people to see a number and take it out of context.” Since then, a reader close to the organization has told me at least half of an initial $300k in seed money for the IRC came from the James Beard Foundation, with AmEx/Resy making up most of the rest.
In response, an IRC spokesperson still wouldn’t give me solid numbers, but told me the group was founded with “much less than $300k and the James Beard Foundation provided the majority of that funding, along with invaluable support and guidance.” They also gave me this statement:
“All of IRC's funds are spent on advocacy efforts, operating costs, and the vendors that support them. The majority of our donors come from our grassroots program. More than half of the funds raised by the IRC in the last year have come from nearly 3,000 individual donors who contributed an average of $98 each. We have also worked with the James Beard Foundation, restaurant suppliers, well-known food brands on fundraisers and other efforts to support the IRC's mission."
By my math that means they’ve probably raised close to $600k in cash in the last year, presumably not counting in kind donations (what’s Colicchio’s hourly rate these days?) or the money Cointreau spent on that Super Bowl ad. We know at least $40k of that was spent on Thorn Run Partners, a DC lobbying firm, and presumably Baltz & Co and Precision Strategies’ comms work doesn’t come cheap. As to who is paid internally, the spokesperson tells me, “No member of the IRC received any form of compensation from the organization,” and there are still no salaried employees. Erika Polmar, listed as Executive Director in both the WaPo and NYT pieces (and on LinkedIn), is technically a consultant to the group.
So… so what? $600k is not all that much in the corporate / lobbying scheme of things (the Beard Foundation reported over $19M in revenue in its March 2020 report, with the CEO presumably still making over $300k of that), and while AmEx donations might be controversial to some, they’ve been playing in this industry sponsorship ballpark for a long time now.
But the IRC could potentially become the lobbying voice for independent restaurants (or the separate lobbying arm of JBF?). It’s right there in their name, and their donation page says they’re applying for 501(c)(6) — trade association — nonprofit status. Why not commit to transparency from the get go? I don’t see a milkshake duck in these numbers or methods, but I do see how unnecessary secrecy could breed mistrust. Shouldn’t your constituents be allowed to know who is donating how much to the cause, who is getting paid to represent it, and where the money goes?
Idk. Maybe secrecy is a good long game. I’ll ask JBF and let you know.
The Lists – Did you miss 50 Best? Don’t answer. It’s back. Asia’s came out yesterday, and most on this year’s list (11) were here in Hong Kong, followed by Japan (9), Singapore (8), Bangkok (6), Taiwan (5), Seoul (4), India (2), and one each in Sri Lanka, Macau, Mainland China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Impressive given non-residents have been basically banned from visiting HK almost all year… Congrats, local voters!
The Media – In a note on the NYT PR page, editors Sam Sifton, Emily Weinstein, and Patrick Farrell say: “We are thrilled to announce that Priya Krishna is joining Food as a reporter, writing for the section, adapting recipes for NYT Cooking and appearing in videos on our growing YouTube channel… Her first day is April 12.” Guess I’ll just assume she wrote a better cover letter than me? Congrats.
The (Media) Opportunity – The Wix Restaurants(?) editor is looking to hire freelance writers with restaurant experience: “So, if you work in or have ever worked in restaurants, bars, cafes, etc., please let [her] know when you reach out!” emilys@wix.com.
And last and least – Truly, if you want to put your finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist of the nation, there is no better place than the comments section. And this week, there was no better commenter than my pal Jasper, who added this stern warning to Brett Anderson’s IRC piece in the NYT: “Hopefully the smaller restaurants won't double their prices like the haircut chains. I went in for a cut and the price hadn't quite doubled but with a $3 tip it did… Younger people are not having kids like the Boomer generation. In 30 years most Boomers will be gone along with their free spending lifestyles. $20 for a ten minute clean up trim? I don't think so. I'll have my house cleaner trim my hair every three months from now on and save $200 per year.”
Exactly.
And that’s it for today!
I’ll see paying subscribers here on Tuesday, and everyone else on Friday for next Family Meal. If you’re on Clubhouse, join Kristen Hawley and I Monday morning at 10:30 EST / 7:30 Pacific to talk through all these stories and whatever comes up over the weekend. IRC spokespeople welcome!
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or $20 for a ten minute clean up trim to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, please chip in here. If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself!
Hello Tuesday,
And hello to paying subscribers only! If you’re reading this for the first time on Friday and would like to get Tuesdays’ on Tuesdays…
Only a few items on today’s list, but many words. Sometimes that’s the way the newsletter crumbles.
Let’s get to it…
The Relief – Hosts Amanda Kludt and Daniel Geneen interviewed Sen. Chuck Schumer on their Eater Digest podcast this week. Highly recommend listening, especially if you’ve been following IRC and the campaign for the RESTAURANTS Act. Three key points as I heard them:
1) Schumer says that of the 8 democrats who voted against the $15 federal minimum wage this month, 6 did so because they are against ending the tip credit: “They said they’d be for 15, but they got to keep in the tip wage.” Hard to hear that as anything other than a serious blow to “OneFairWage” hopes at the federal level.
2) When Geneen asked Schumer whether a more long-term tax break for independent restaurants might be in order, the senator demurred on taxes, but said that in the future, “Maybe a certain region, a certain type of restaurant, or even an individual restaurant gets into a certain problem, and maybe there should be a way to help them to get through that problem so they don’t close.” That sounds to me like a more permanent government bailout fund, but it also sounds distinctly like what restaurateurs expected from their business interruption insurance during COVID! Maybe the best policy option is to fix that first?
3) And finally, straight from Kludt’s recap in her weekend “From the Editor” newsletter: Schumer “says he’s confident the $28.6 billion legislators put aside for restaurants in the recent $1.9 trillion stimulus package will be replenished should it run out. This is major news, if he’s right.” Right.
Transcript also available here.
P.S. – If you’re not sure where to start with the new bill, Kristen Hawley has details on “How to Apply for and Receive Restaurant Relief Funds” in F&W Pro.
The Silence – Last Monday, in her “On Canons” essay, Alicia Kennedy mentioned David Chang as an example of a famous male chef who seems to dominate food media at the expense of others, even as he faces unresolved questions about his past: “Despite the recent publication [of Hannah Selinger’s December 2020 Eater essay detailing the effects of some of Chang’s worst past behavior], last week, many in food media received a press release with the subject line, ‘Anyday: new female-founded microwave cookware w. Momofuku's David Chang.’” Kennedy says, “not even an essay as powerful as Selinger’s seems to make a difference when it comes to food media’s darlings.”
OK, but… I waited a week and food media hasn’t touched the story? It’s been in Forbes, Hypebeast, Architectural Digest(!), Gear Patrol(?), and a few others, but there’s nothing on Eater, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, or any of the major newspaper food sections as far as I can see. Given the free SEO and easy copy available in a “Celebrity Chef Launches New Product For Underrated Appliance You’ve Been Using Wrong!” press release, that’s… something! Doesn’t diminish the larger point of Kennedy’s essay (LAT Food once again focused only on the Gods of No Tipping last week), but makes me wonder if in the case of Chang, something has (temporarily) changed?
I asked Eater EIC Amanda Kludt about this on our Clubhouse chat yesterday, and she said she didn’t necessarily make the editorial call on this one, but generally doesn’t feel like Eater needs to cover Chang’s every product launch.
Fair enough. Anyway, totally unrelated, but…
For Sneakerheads – Headline in Eater SF yesterday: “‘Top Chef’ Alum Chris Cosentino Collabs With Vans for Kitchen-Ready Shoe.”
Some sad news – In Oakland, “Dorothy King, owner of local restaurant favorite [/ Democratic politics hot spot] Everett & Jones Barbeque and a fierce advocate for homeless residents, died Wednesday after a battle with breast cancer, according to her daughters. She was 69.” Full obituary from George Kelly and Annie Sciacca in the Mercury News.
And last but not least: The follow-up – On Friday, I wrote about this Eater DC exposé of the chef at El Sapo in Maryland. The piece stood out in part because it was built almost entirely around Yelp reviews, so I asked the writer, Lenore Adkins, how the reporting came together. She was kind enough to give me the whole story, which I’ve included in full at bottom. At very least, it makes a pretty strong case for following up on bad Yelp reviews (and being a good person)! And NB: While a low Yelp rating may not keep a restaurant off an Eater list, single-star comments demonstrating a pattern of bad behavior might.
And that’s it for today! But speaking of food media darlings… the official Family Meal store is going to hibernate for a bit in a few weeks, so if you want to get your hands on a Food Media Darling mug, now’s your chance!
I’ll see you here Friday for next Family Meal.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or a certain region, a certain type of restaurant, or even an individual restaurant to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, please chip in here. If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself!
OK, here is what Adkins told me about the evolution of her piece — “Multiple Women Say This Chef Treated Them Terribly. He Says Customers Aren’t Always Right.” — in Eater DC last week:
“So you know Eater is known for its heat maps. In 2019, I was working on one that highlighted places to go for Cuban cuisine.
Word on the street was that El Sapo had a lot of negative reviews on Yelp, so I look at its Yelp page and sure enough, it was true. At that time, I believe there were 70 negative ones and a large portion of them had to do with customers complaining about combative behavior from the owner, the manager and the staff.
I brought this to [Eater DC editor Gabriel Hiatt’s] attention and we decided not to include El Sapo in that heat map, which you'll find here.
We decided instead to look into this by talking to some of the customers who left negative reviews about how they said they were treated at El Sapo. We were trying to reconcile those reviews with the positive reviews and press El Sapo had been getting in The Washington Post, Washingtonian and Bethesda Magazine.
On Yelp, if you click on the reviewer's name, a page comes up where you can message the reviewer directly. And that's exactly what I did. I reached out to almost three dozen people. Ultimately, eight responded to me on Yelp platform.
One other person had written a Yelp review where she accused the owner of refusing to immediately return her purse after she refused to leave a tip, and mentioned she had called police twice. At this point, I knew there was a paper trail, so I sent a freedom of information act request to the MontgomeryCountyPoliceDepartment for all of the police reports from the time El Sapo opened in late 2018 until the end of 2019. That's how I got the police report involving her situation. Her phone number was on the report and I called her. She answered and was willing to meet in person.
The FOIA request also turned up the other police report about the police returning to the restaurant after her situation to ensure El Sapo staff were checking people's IDs before handing out alcohol.
I had never reached out to sources using Yelp and was concerned people wouldn't get back to me or that they wouldn't see the messages. I never thought to check my Yelp account for messages, I mean, who does, right? And there was no way of looking people up because the people I messaged didn't use their full names. All I could do was wait and hope for the best. I was very lucky eight people responded and wanted to talk. It took a lot of waiting and sometimes I sent follow up messages. One of those follow up messages went to the woman involved in the purse incident. She never responded to me on Yelp, but luckily I got her phone number from the police report.”
So, there you have it.”
So, there you have it!