RRF -36.4B, CDC v CK, MJ's star's asterisks, the Lummi 20, and more...
Family Meal - Friday, May 14th, 2021
Hello Friday,
First, the standard reminder that non-paying subscribers will see Tuesday’s Family Meal copy / pasted at bottom, and if you’d like to get Tuesdays’ on Tuesdays…
OK. Let’s get to it…
The Relief – “Less than 10 days after its launch, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) has less than half the money it needs to fund a flood of relief requests from one of the sectors of the economy hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Some to-be-expected numbers from Jeff Drew in The Journal of Accountancy (the number one stop for all your accountancy news needs) yesterday: “The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which administers the RRF, reported Wednesday that restaurants, bars, and other businesses providing on-site food and drink have submitted 266,000 applications seeking a total of $65 billion, far more than the $28.6 billion Congress allocated the program.”
So that’s that. The fund is already 2.3x oversubscribed. And per the official SBA press release, more than 147,000 of those applications came “from women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged business owners, requesting a total of $29 billion in relief funds,” which means anyone not in those priority groups is SOL... Unless you happen to have 2019 gross receipts under $50k, in which case there was still about $170M left for your income cohort as of yesterday. The portal is still open for that cohort, and the SBA encourages you to apply.
FYI, that 147k-strong priority applicant pool breaks down as: 76,183 women business owners; 6,093 veteran business owners; and 42,284 economically and socially disadvantaged individuals. And I hesitate to give this more air, but Fox News is highlighting an AP story that says: “A conservative legal outfit filed a lawsuit Wednesday… arguing White men are being ‘pushed to the back of the line’ for aid for their eateries.” I don’t have the legal expertise to tell you the chances of that suit winning, but I have a strong feeling most plaintiffs won’t win.
NB: If you’ve already applied and have received or will receive RRF money, the Independent Restaurant Coalition has a document management checklist to make sure you remain in compliance with your grant. If you’ve already applied and have not or probably will not receive money, IRC says: “Hang tight.” (Which is eerily close to what Stallone told that woman in Cliffhanger…?)
The Guidance – By now you’ve seen yesterday’s new CDC guidance that says fully vaccinated people basically no longer need to worry about getting or giving COVID (unless symptomatic), and “can resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.” Woohoo?! BUT re workplace guidance: José Andrés, Rick Bayless, Russell Jackson, and Corby Kummer were out with a Washington Post Op-Ed yesterday saying: “The new normal we celebrate still includes wearing masks indoors, even if you’re vaccinated.” So… we might not all be on the same page for a while yet.
The Permanence of (Pandemic) Things– If you’re not already fighting to keep the things you liked from 2020(!), now is the time? Around Eater, Erika Adams says NYC restaurateurs are working to make “propane heaters a permanent fixture for outdoor dining.” Mona Holmes reports LA’s city council has taken “a huge step in making outdoor dining program permanent.” Gabe Guarente has Seattle considering a “‘pathway to permanency’ for outdoor seating program.” Erin Russel says, “to-go alcohol is now officially legal in Texas, permanently.” And on and on. Even where Clair Lorell reports that although a permanent delivery fee cap is unlikely in CA, there’s a (possible) consolation prize: “California will require fee transparency from delivery apps” from now on.
The Source – An interesting tidbit in the NYT’s Times Insider this week: Julia Moskin told Katie Van Syckle that for Moskin’s big investigation into Blaine Wetzel and the Willows Inn: “The alumni of the Willows… found one another, and when they came to me, there were already 20 of them who wanted to talk.” The whisper network got organized...
The Roller Coaster – I have not read all the details on this amazing SF PR ride, but can take you through the headlines in chronological order so you can decide for yourself where to hop on: First, Elena Kadvany in the SF Chronicle: “House of Prime Rib admits its meat may have gotten people sick, amid deluge of complaints.” Then, Ellen Fort in Eater: “Rich Food or Food Poisoning? The House of Prime Rib Defends Its Beef.” Aaaand back to Kadvany in the Chronicle for: “House of Prime Rib fans are clamoring for canceled tables after food poisoning allegations.” And finally: “In wake of food safety concerns, House of Prime Rib to close for 24 hours.”
OK, one detail. Solid shout out to some well-built brand loyalty in the story under that penultimate headline: “‘There could be a 50% chance of me dying at hopr and I’d still go,’ one person wrote on the restaurant’s most recent Instagram post.”
The Profile Treatment – Also in the Chronicle this week… The way I read food media, one of the absolute best long term PR wins for a restaurant is when alumni names start getting tied to it. Talk about who came up through Noma or TFL or wherever is a big part of what keeps places like Noma in the news (even when it’s a Wetzel). Along those lines, on Tuesday, Soleil Ho made the case that Mister Jiu’s “just might be the best new training ground for California cuisine,” and lists out rising star alumni (and current staff) running various projects around the Bay Area. Features and cameos for William Lim Do, Armin Chan, Christina Marinucci, Danny Louie, Kelly Teramoto, Sean Walsh, Kevin Tang, and more.
P.S. – If you want to watch food media work on itself in real time (and get a master class on head chef press humility), read through to the last third or so, where Ho spends a few paragraphs working through the “distinction between acknowledging a restaurant model that works and putting a single chef on a pedestal” and getting us to: “What’s interesting about Mister Jiu’s is not necessarily [its chef/owner Brandon Jew]…” via some hedges about Jew being “not perfect.” I think that covers it! Most SF asterisks since Barry Bonds?
The Media – On Tuesday, Bloomberg’s UK-based restaurant reporter and chief food critic Richard Vines announced on Twitter: “I am retiring from Bloomberg after almost 26 great years. Thank you to all the friends inside and outside the company who have made this such a special time in my life. I'm not going anywhere but my email address will migrate to richardvines@richardvines.com on Friday [today].” Here he is as a young reporter rocking a sweater-vest and jeans at the Afghan border in 1990, and here he is doing the standard media “René Redzepi rickshaw tour of Copenhagen” a few years ago. They call that a career!
And that’s it for today! Except of course for Tuesday’s edition, which is copy / pasted below as usual.
I’ll see paying subscribers here Tuesday and everyone else Friday for next Family Meal.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or far more than the $28.6 billion Congress allocated the program to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, become a paying subscriber! If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself!
Here begins the Family Meal that went out to paying subscribers on Tuesday, May 11th. If you’d like to get Tuesday Family Meals on Tuesdays too…
RRF en route, The restaurant funding flood, White out, Ha in, Black food festival fall, and more...
Hello Tuesday,
Let’s get to it…
The Relief – It begins. Per Joanna Fantozzi in RH: “The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Monday that it has begun approving and distributing grants to the first wave of Restaurant Revitalization Fund applicants. Just one week after the program's launch, the SBA has approved approximately $2 billion worth of grants to 16,000 restaurants, and operators will begin seeing the funding in their bank accounts as early as May 11, [today!].” Obviously, the sooner they distribute the funds, the sooner the funds run out, the sooner a refill can be requested. Here’s hoping.
The Comeback – Not one of my usual reading sources, but hard not to include this headline in QSR Magazine this month: “Restaurants Brace for Flood of Investment Money.” Andrew Smith, managing director of private-equity firm Savory Fund tells reporter Kevin Hardy, “‘There’s plenty of capital out there for those that won’…. That includes drive-thru concepts, fast-casual brands, and those that mastered digital transactions. ‘You’re going to get investment not only from banks, but also venture capital.’” This could make for a hard read if you don’t immediately think of yourself as one of “those that won” — brace for (positive) forest fire metaphors and the notion that the pandemic was “the opportunity for you to galvanize as a company and prove your worth.” But more and more news says there’s an awful lot of bank, private equity, VC, and SPAC money betting heavily on Smith’s (not new) prediction: “This is going to be the Roaring ’20s for restaurants, absolutely.”
Obviously he’s still talking about “drive-thru, fast-casual brands, and those that mastered digital transactions” there (less Harlem Renaissance, more revenue stream optimization), but the fine dining coverage is picking up along similarly bullish lines. See: “Why Chef Eric Ripert Is Optimistic About the Future of Luxury Dining.” - Lane Forsheim, WSJ. “If you think fine dining is on pause, Imperfecto would beg to differ.” - Tom Sietsema, WaPo. And this pivot from photojournalist Gary He, who just a couple of months ago was working government health websites to help industry workers book scarce vaccine appointments, and now assists friends looking to make reservations for the (oversubscribed, still plant-based) EMP re-opening. (OK, he did it once, but still.)
The Departure – Headline in Grubstreet: “Michael White Is Out at the Altamarea Restaurant Group.” Details via Melissa McCart: “A spokesperson for the company confirms the split: ‘Michael is no longer involved with Altamarea Group, but we are very grateful for all his contributions to the company,’ they say. According to the rep, White left New York City ‘fully’ at the start of the pandemic, decamping to his home in the Hamptons. White… declined to comment.” Something tells me there’s something more in all that silence… but for now, McCart reports: “Lauren DeSteno has taken over as executive chef of Marea and Ai Fiori, while Bill Dorrler holds the title for Osteria Morini and Nicoletta Pizzeria.”
The Arrival – Also on the move in NYC: With Sean Gray on his way out, Momofuku announced on Instagram this weekend “that Esther Ha will take over as Executive Chef of Ko.”
Quite a time to take over any kitchen. Good luck, all!
The Festival Circuit – In North Carolina, “Restaurateurs Greg and Subrina Collier of modern juke joint Leah & Louise recently announced that they have organized a Black Food & Wine Festival for October 22 through October 24 in Charlotte.” Eater’s Erin Perkins says the festival already has 75 “chefs, farmers, makers, brewers, and other hospitality leaders” on board, including Ashleigh Shanti, Tiffany Derry, Chris Scott, Keith Rhodes, and more, but they still seem to be open to new signups and chef / sponsorship inquiries on their site, FYI.
NB: The “Black Food & Wine Festival” in Charlotte begins two months to the day after (the magazine) Food & Wine’s “Family Reunion” festival in Middleburg, VA ends, and since Family Reunion’s mission is: “Nurturing, developing and celebrating racial and ethnic diversity within the next generation of hospitality professionals is a core part of the mission of the event,” with a focus on “the Black cooking traditions that have shaped cuisine in America,” seems to me late summer / fall 2021 could mark an inflection point for the festival circuit? TBD.
The Media / PR Opportunity – Call for pitches in CA: “Eater LA seeks new freelancers for San Fernando Valley, Inland Empire, and beyond.” So… freelancers in those areas (and beyond!) should pitch directly, and restaurants in those areas should copy/paste that link into pitches to freelancers… Good luck, all!
For Design Fans – Switching it up today with… a car — a car I found via Mona Holmes and this headline in Eater LA: “You Can Rent Chris Oh’s Korean Barbecue Car and Eat Bulgogi for Days.” You may say the main design feature here is just a relatively simple cantilevered table with a charcoal bowl in the middle. You may say it’s an impractical gimmick when both folding tables and portable Korean grills are things that exist. You may even say that this looks a lot like the exact same car Oh’s Seoul Sausage Co. used for grilling sausage back in 2013, so congrats to him on another round of ScionXB-based PR. And you would be right. Cynic.
And that’s it for today!
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 approximately $2 billion worth of grants to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, become a paying subscriber! If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself!