Tag Archives: Restaurants

Current Affairs, Food & Drink, Memories & History, Politics

“Equity within the whole restaurant”: The problem with the tipped wage | Salon.com

“We’re the only industry where half of the workforce has to rely on a customer’s goodwill”

By Maggie Hennessy, Published September 18, 2022 5:30PM (EDT)

The staff at Lazy Betty at work (Andrew Thomas Lee)

Even though he came up in professional kitchens starting as a line cook, Ron Hsu didn’t internalize the implicit inequity and racism of the tipped wage system until he became a restaurant owner, in 2019. The Atlanta-based chef/owner of award-winning tasting menu restaurant Lazy Betty, along with Asian-Southern Juniper Cafe and the forthcoming chef-driven pizzeria Humble Pie decided instead to institute the federal minimum wage and a service-charge model at his restaurants. 

It’s come with pushback — not just from some customers but from waitstaff reluctant to embrace change or loath to face confrontation with skeptical consumers. But he’s determined to be part of the — oft-maddeningly slow — change in what he sees as a deeply problematic system. 

Source: https://www.salon.com/2022/09/18/equity-within-the-whole-restaurant-the-problem-with-the-tipped-wage/

Food & Drink, Las Vegas, Love & Relationships, Nevada, Web & Technology

Bring Your Dog to These 16 Vegas Bars, Restaurants, and Cafes | Eater Las Vegas

Bring your dog with you to these Las Vegas restaurants

by Krista Diamond and Janna Karel, Updated Aug 22, 2022

Big Dog’s Brewing Co.
Big Dog’s Brewing Co./Facebook

Perhaps it isn’t surprising that Las Vegas has a selection of restaurants and bars that welcome customers’ dogs. The city has one of the highest dog park rates per capita in the country.

This is good news for dog lovers who know that the happiest hour at any bar takes place when both two-legged and four-legged patrons are served. Showing up to brunch with a canine companion might be a serious faux pas in some cities, but the places featured on this map welcome the presence of puppies.

From restaurants such as Town Square and Downtown Summerlin’s Lazy Dog, which offers chef-prepared meals for dogs, to breweries like Big Dog’s Brewing Co., a haven for local beers and local pups, it’s easy to find dog-friendly dining in Las Vegas. Know of another favorite dog-friendly destination? Hit up the tipline.

Source: Bring Your Dog to These 16 Vegas Bars, Restaurants, and Cafe

Current Affairs, Food & Drink, Love & Relationships, Memories & History, Pleasures, Travel

Howard Johnson’s restaurants were once all over America. What happened? | Democrat & Chronicle

By Alan Morrell, June 13, 2022

from article, over 200 photos…

Once found all over the country, what happened to the Howard Johnson’s in Brighton?

At one time, Howard Johnson’s restaurants were as ubiquitous in the American landscape as the McDonald’s golden arches have become.

Communities throughout the country were dotted with the signature orange porcelain roofs, blue shutters and trademark weathervane atop.

Customers flocked there for frankfurters, clam strips and the 28 ice cream flavors. The chain peaked at more than 1,000 by the late 1970s, with local restaurants in Brighton, Greece, Gates and Henrietta.

One of the best loved was at Twelve Corners in Brighton, which was as much a place to meet and greet as to eat.

“Every election day, we would get there at 7 in the morning and then come back at the time the polls closed,” said Louise Novros, an emeritus member of the Brighton Chamber of Commerce. “When it closed, there was a big hullabaloo, because it was a landmark. It was the place.”

The Brighton Howard Johnson’s (or Ho Jo’s, as the chain became known) opened in 1940 and stuck around until 1985. Ray Tierney III remembered it well. His family ran Tierney Super Duper at Twelve Corners for more than 30 years, right behind the Howard Johnson’s.

Source: Howard Johnson’s restaurants were once all over America. What happened?

Food & Drink, Memories & History, Pleasures, Times They Are A-Changing, Travel

America’s last Howard Johnson’s restaurant has closed – CNN

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business, Updated 1:51 PM ET, Wed June 1, 2022

Howard Johnson’s Restaurant in Lake George, New York in a 2015 photo.

New York (CNN Business)

The last surviving Howard Johnson’s restaurant has closed.

Open for most of the past 70 years, the restaurant was located in Lake George, New York, a popular summer vacation spot near the Adirondack Mountains.

\The restaurant closed its doors in recent weeks and the property is up for lease, according to a local affiliate.”Lake George is officially dead,” a Howard Johnson’s fan wrote on Facebook, adding several pictures of the abandoned restaurant.

“Cobwebs on the door. Right before Memorial Day rush up here.”

The longtime roadside staple had about 1,000 restaurants in the 1960s and 1970s, and it was once America’s largest restaurant chain. Instantly recognizable for its orange roofs, the diners served 28 types of ice cream and became a part of American culture. “Mad Men” recreated the restaurant to film a scene.

But Howard Johnson quickly found itself in the shadow of McDonald’s(MCD) and other fast-food chains that maximized efficiency and better managed supply chains. Marriott(MAR) bought a crippled Howard Johnson in 1985, selling hundreds of the brand’s hotels and about 200 restaurants to Prime Motor Inn. That company sold the restaurants to other chains, and they lost the “HoJo” name.

By last decade just a handful of Howard Johnson restaurants were still operating: the Lake George location, along with one in Lake Placid, New York, and another in Bangor, Maine. The Lake Placid restaurant closed in 2015, and the Bangor location shut its doors in 2016.

Source: America’s last Howard Johnson’s restaurant has closed – CNN

Food & Drink, Memories & History

The Automat: A look back at the future of dining – CBS News

A look back at the future of dining sunday-morning November 21, 2021 / 9:41 AM / CBS News

The Automat:

It seemed like magic: A restaurant without waiters.

The interior of Horn & Hardart’s last remaining Automat, on 42nd Street in New York City.  R. Krubner/ClassicStock/Getty Images

Instead, walls of shiny glass and chrome doors, which opened to reveal comfort foods to match Mom’s cooking. “Pies, pies, pies. Yes, the pies were fabulous!’ said Broadway legend Chita Rivera. Correspondent Mo Rocca asked, “Had you ever seen anything like this?”

Source: The Automat: A look back at the future of dining – CBS News

Food & Drink, Memories & History, Pleasures, Travel

10 Best Rooftop Bars & Restaurants in Charleston | Condé Nast Traveler

When you want a view that’s as inspired as your drink.

By Paul Oswell, May 19, 2021

Courtesy Charleston Harbor Fish House Bridge Bar/Facebook

Charleston is mostly a town of highs, figuratively and, in the case of its rooftop bar scene, literally.

And it makes sense: where better to soak in that balmy Charleston weather and those unparalleled church spire views than atop one of the city’s many swanky hotels?

You don’t have to be downtown to catch that sweet Southern breeze, either: the watery outskirts of the city yield plenty of options. So get climbing—this is a city whose charms are best experienced from on high. These are the best rooftop bars in Charleston.

Click the link to read our complete Charleston city guide.

Source: 10 Best Rooftop Bars & Restaurants in Charleston | Condé Nast Traveler