The Reckoning
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🗞 THE NEWSSTAND
(Hint: go Incognito to fight dem paywalls).
Last night millions of Americans dialed into the Democratic National Convention held primarily from virtual calls and the parking lot Wilmington, Delaware at the Chase Center. Former Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden delivered one of the most historic presidential campaign speeches in history. He spoke of restoring the soul and dignity of the office and of our country. He spoke of fighting for all Americans, not just Democrats but people of all backgrounds, ages, color, wealth, and politics. The former Vice President promised to bring this country light from the darkness. To unite the country. To build back the country, better.
During this promise of light and hope, ally and donor of 45, Postmaster General Louis is testifying before the Senate on suspicious disruptions of mail from the post office. This as 45 vows to block any funds to the United States Postal Service to prevent mail-in voting during the pandemic which he claims (without any evidence) will lead to fraudulent ballots. Meanwhile, the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R. KY) said that the Post Office is currently equipped to handle mail-in ballots.
The USPS found its way in the news on the other side of enforcement as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, its law enforcement arm, played a key role in investigating and arresting Steve Bannon, 45’s former top advisor, and campaign boss.
On the West Coast wildfires blaze across California with at least two dead as the effects of climate change further make its presence known. This as 45 tweeted threatening the state in a to defund its efforts in suppressing wildfires.
🌍Around the Globe
It is being called the Telegram Revolution as citizens in Belarus gear up every day to protest their authoritarian leader using the social messaging app to organize. The opposition leader fled the country four days following the August 9 sketchy election that gave President Lushenko its sixth consecutive term.
The increasing number of coronavirus cases in Europe gave way to reinstated travel restrictions and lockdowns leading to yet another economic slowdown after a brief reprieve this summer.
You heard it one way now have it the other way. Sign up for The Flipside for a bipartisan view of daily events as they unfold.
🎧 WEEKLY MIXTAPE
Portland rapper Aminé dropped his newest album Limboincluding single “Compensating” featuring Young Thug. The album spans issues like poverty, racism, and gentrification all with smooth delivery.
Award-winning saxophonist and DJ from London, Nubya Garcia released her latest eclectic sounding jazz album Source.
Burna Boy finally dropped his album Twice As Tall with what I am calling the song of the summer “Wonderful.”
Pharrell released his newest track “Entrepreneur” featuring best rapper alive Jay Z.
Another of rap’s greatest from New York, Nas, releases his new album King’s Disease.
Jamaican dancehall singer Popcaan brings us some perfect summer heat featuring Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR on their “TWIST & TURN.”
Justin Vernon known better by his studio name Bon Iver returns with a new iconic synthesized and soulful sound on “AUATC.”
🍽 THE KITCHEN
Hungarian Wax Peppers
This delicious take on stuffed peppers can be served as an appetizer to share or a main. Chef-owner Jon Green who hails from French Laundry and Gramercy Tavern serves it up with chive oil and toasted ciabatta at his new Wooden City in Spokane, Washington
Ingredients
Hungarian wax peppers
1 lb sweet sauce sausage
1⁄2 lb aged cheddar cheese
1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 minced garlic cloves
1⁄8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1⁄2 - 1 cup olive oil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking pan with foil and lightly coat with oil
Cut off the tops of peppers and remove seeds. Set peppers aside.
In a food processor, blend the cheese until smooth. Add sausage, Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic. Mix until well combined.
Divide sausage and cheese mixture evenly between peppers, pushing it in to fill the entire pepper.
Replace the tops and place peppers in a single layer on the greased pan.
Sprinkle with oil and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Enjoy hot!
🥃 THE CABINET
The Last Word
This chartreuse based cocktail was one of the first to be served up after the prohibition era that led to the cocktail revival, an equal-parts classic—gin, maraschino liqueur, Chartreuse and lime juice. It can also be found at Wooden City.
Ingredients
3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz green Chartreuse
3/4 oz maraschino liqueur
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
🎙FIRESIDE CHAT
Editor’s note: This piece was originally written back in May in collaboration to examine the impact of the Coronavirus on the restaurant industry. That week the George Floyd murder took place and it became apparent there were more pertinent issues to focus on at that time. But the content holds true now more than ever. This piece will be broken down into three parts over the next few weeks—The Reckoning, The Plague, and The Reopening.
There’s much to say on the restaurant industry’s challenges and future in a post-COVID world. Though this article will focus on a few pre-COVID trends causing strain on the industry and its workforce—market oversaturation, rising rents and wages, and back-of-house labor shortages. All of this leading to slim margins and the industry’s demise.
If you do a Google search for “Fall of the restaurant industry” between the years 2017-19 (pre-COVID) your search results will show something of the following:
“Why slow restaurant sales are here to stay”
“Why is restaurant traffic falling? Blame Millennials”
“Are restaurants headed for a course correction?”
“Americans still love eating out. So why are restaurants struggling?”
“5 reasons fast-casual sales are falling”
It becomes quite apparent that even before the world was stricken with this deadly pandemic there was something happening in this industry, and it was not looking optimistic.
So, let’s unpack what is really going on here.
First, and probably most important: costs and competition for labor has skyrocketed in the past decade and a half. With calls for minimum wage hikes across the country, restaurant owners are challenged with the ability to hire and maintain quality, reliable staff. Some states like Washington and California, are heading towards a $15/hour minimum wage, including tipped employees.
Sidebar: Legislation hasn’t enabled restaurants to share tips however they want. And in a lot of states, it’s hard to share tips freely with kitchen staff. This is bad because if tipped employee minimum wage is $15/hour and they are making $20/hour in tips, there’s no way to fix the front-of-house/back-of-house wage discrepancy without paying cooks $35/hour which is impossible given the already slim margins.
While in some ways this may be a positive trend, in others it’s leading to the closure of these employees’ workplaces. As it is, labor expenses for most restaurants (including payroll tax) are around 40-45% of total net revenue. If you added health insurance or any other benefits that share could increase to 50%. Then you have your Cost of Goods Sold, which includes raw ingredients of the products, coming in at around 30%.
So, as an owner employing a staff and purchasing ingredients for them to prepare, you’ve already eaten up 70-80% of your revenue. This, all before ever paying for rent, utilities, taxes, linens, dishwasher rentals, phone, internet, POS & reservation software, general maintenance, printed menus, or replacing broken dinnerware glassware. Rent plus utilities alone for a decent location in a primary market like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Seattle could easily be 10% of your revenue.
If you’re located in any of these cities you then must distinguish yourself from the crowded marketplace. This means reinventing classic dishes and creating an Instagram-worthy ambiance every night. Restaurant food has become a race to be the most innovative, local, sustainable, or inspiring menu in the area. Like any great artistic expression, this requires a ton of labor and hours to pull it off.
Ironically, this exhausting endeavor often leads to diminishing returns, both in the bottom line and occasionally in the finished masterpiece. Let’s refer to this as the “paradox of creativity”.
When folks talk about the reckoning of the industry they're truly referring to the struggle for restaurateurs to figure out a way to continue serving up delicious food in a more economical way, while offering a unique dining experience in an increasingly competitive industry.
This is the ultimate creative endeavor for the chef that is too often overlooked. A dining experience is a theatrical performance and the chef is the writer, director, and producer, all-in-one.
Too often chefs focus on how many different ways to manipulate an ingredient or combine new flavors, whereas they would be better suited to answering the question of ‘how can a kitchen create a quality menu that appeals to a wide audience while dramatically reducing labor costs?’
A less obvious reason why increased competition is threatening the industry: it diminishes the qualified labor pool. With the growing number of fast-casual restaurants, there is increased competition for good employees, which artificially drives up the price for skilled cooks, bartenders, baristas, chefs, and servers.
The past two decades have been considered The Golden Age of Restaurants, as business owners opened their doors in huge swaths and people flocked to breakfast, lunch, and dinner like never before.
US Food Spending at Home vs. Restaurants
Why has competition increased so dramatically? It’s hard to think back to a time when Starbucks was a novelty coffee shop and before apps like Yelp transformed unrefined pallets into “foodies” Instagramming their way across town from brunch to brunch posting perfectly food porn.
The 2010s saw the reinvention of the cocktail and the rise of the mixologist. The Food Network gave birth to celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsey. While the quest for accolades led to the branded award trends from James Beard and San Pellegrino top 50.
Once uninhabited metro like Portland known for its disproportionate number of gentlemen’s clubs transformed into “foodie” meccas. We saw a resurgence of organic farming and the phrase ‘farm-to-table’.
This of course began to attract Millennials facing a recessed economy to a market that seemed, at least on the surface, a great entrepreneurial venture—opening coffee shops, juice bars, and brunch spots serving up bottomless mimosas. Anyone could open a restaurant it seemed. Yet this highly complex industry with extremely slim margins proved to be not so delicious.
If anything is good for pounding humility into you permanently, it's the restaurant business.
—Anthony Bourdain
We're in this together
#StayAtHome #HabituateInSpace