Good Food
Restaurant fragility, frontline employees, worker resources
Restaurants have been a key “third space.” Not home and not work, they’re a gathering place where people can recharge, relax, enjoy some food and drinks between the pressures of work or home.
By Evan Kleiman • • 56m ListenRestaurants have been a key “third space.” Not home and not work, they’re a gathering place where people can recharge, relax, enjoy some food and drinks between the pressures of work or home. Given socializing constraints, economic pressure, and many adults having to simultaneously work and care for children at home, it’s extraordinary that the industry is still delivering hospitality at all.
Today, Good Food focuses on the restaurants — the food, the people, and the pleasure and pain of an industry in the throes of change.
In this episode
6 storiesHoney’s Kettle: 60% sales drop to lines supporting Black-owned businesses
Vincent Williams is the owner of Honey’s Kettle . Known for its golden fried chicken and honey-coated biscuits, Williams opened 20 years ago in Compton. Five years later, he launched a second location in Culver City.
Read the story8 minRestaurant critic on the risks and rewards of dining out during pandemic
As Chief Critic for Eater New York, Ryan Sutton earns his living by roving and eating, much like a shark. However, he contracted coronavirus, and after recovering, he’s reconsidering his return to restaurants.
Read the story7 minDeciding when to keep the doors open during the pandemic
Caroline Styne is half of the powerhouse duo behind The Lucques Group of restaurants with her business partner, Suzanne Goin. Since the 1990s, they’ve navigated the ups and downs of the economy and restaurant trends.
Read the story13 minWhen face shields and masks become the new restaurant uniform
Hospitality professionals weigh the pros and cons of returning to the job, whether in the dining room, behind the bar, or on the line. Industry workers share their experience of closing, then returning to work.
Read the story10 minLow wages, high turnover, and burnout are hazards of the restaurant industry
The pandemic has revealed to the outside world what restaurant workers have known for years. It is a system built on low wages, poor job mobility, high turnover, and burnout.
Read the story8 minA trip to the Costa Chica region of Guerrero — via Watts
The offerings of regional Mexican food in the greater LA area is staggering even during this pandemic, and yet Afro-Mexican food hasn’t been represented until now. Food journalist Bill Esparza shares the story behind Tamales Elenas.
Read the story9 min
