September 17, 2020 Community News, Restaurant/Bar News

Reade Street between Hudson/Greenwich and Duane between Hudson/West Broadway will be closed to traffic as part of the citys Open Streets program that extends till Oct. 31 to benefit restaurants.

Restaurant Marc Forgione is listed as the partner in the Reade Street closing. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 4p to 11p. Khe-Yo is the partner in the Duane Street closing and the street there will be closed seven days a week between noon and 11p.

The departments criteria require that a neighborhood group OR a group of three restaurants apply for the program in the case of Reade Street, I would guess Forgiones application was in conjunction with Reade Street Pub and maybe Jacks? On Duane, Khe-Yo has Weatherup on one side and Sushi of Gari on the other. The partner restaurants as a group are responsible for collecting trash during those hours, notifying neighbors about the closure and setting up and removing the barriers.

Now, if Duane is closed as an east/west thoroughfare, it is a major mystery why the city would not also close Duane between Greenwich and Hudson, especially when there are five restaurants in that stretch that would benefit. The Friends of Duane Park applied for the program back in May, and the city is just taking this action now four months later. Tokyo Bay is already gone, and The Hideaway is on the edge all for what? To wait until it is almost too cool to eat outside and for when the traffic starts to pick up?

Too little, too late is the conclusion here.

See the original post here:
Parts of Reade and Duane will close to traffic - Tribeca Citizen

SALT LAKE CITY A new online tool from the Salt Lake Chamber is aiming to help business owners stay current on Utahs relative economic health as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on residents physical well-being.

The Chambers Road to Recovery dashboard collects some of the states leading economic indicators which, while among the highest-performing in the nation on many fronts, are still showing areas of commercial activity that are in extremely rough shape.

In its September debut, data on the dashboard reflects a handful of positive trends, including a near nation-leading 4.1% unemployment rate, taxable retail sales volumes that are well ahead of 2019 levels and unemployment claims that have been heading back toward pre-pandemic levels since an early May peak. Also, the Utah construction industry is booming with jobs in that sector up some 7% over 2019.

But other statistics reflect a bleaker side to the states fiscal health just over six months since the first case of COVID-19 appeared in Utah.

Jobs in the leisure/hospitality industry are down almost 17% since a year ago. Unemployment claims, while significantly reduced since this spring, are still north of 35,000 and about four times the pre-COVID-19 rates. The states powerful travel and tourism industry, one that accounts for 1 in every 11 Utah jobs, has been decimated and isnt expected to recover for years. And local retail and service industry businesses without their own fiscal resources could be facing the hardest chapter yet as federal help has run dry and Congress has stalled on efforts to re-up emergency funding options.

At a Monday virtual press event for the new online tool Natalie Gochnour, chief economist for the Salt Lake Chamber and director of the University of Utahs Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, called the recessionary impacts of COVID-19 a standout in the nations history of economic downturns.

I have had eight recessions during my lifetime, Gochnour said. The COVID-19 recession is the most severe ... in terms of the biggest and fastest drop.

Salt Lake Chamber President/CEO Derek Miller said the dashboard data, which will be updated regularly, is provided to help business owners make informed decisions on strategies to navigate ongoing fallout from COVID-19.

Salt Lake Chambers primary objective with the new Roadmap to Recovery is to empower the private sector to create jobs and opportunity for individuals and families throughout Utah, Miller said in a statement. In that effort, we are just beginning. We need to see beyond the horizon to view opportunities as they are manifest, so our businesses can make decisions accordingly.

While the effects of COVID-19 will be felt for years to come, and we are concerned by the current increases in the number of Utahns testing positive with the virus, from an economic perspective we know that in Utah we have a solid foundation upon which to rebuild.

Downtown Alliance Executive Director Dee Brewer said Salt Lake Citys downtown has been hit with a trifecta of losses thanks to restrictions brought on by the novel coronavirus. Brewer noted the citys commercial core, and state economic epicenter, is driven by three major groups of customers: those who commute to work downtown; those who travel to Salt Lake City to attend conventions and meetings; and those who visit the city for sports and cultural events.

The tens of thousands of daily downtown commuters? Brewer said that volume, as of last week, was around 23% of its usual. The 700,000 who annually attend conventions and gatherings in Salt Lake City? Essentially evaporated amid the pandemic with occupancy rates in the convention core just 30% of last years. Jazz games, ballet, opera, theater and cinema engagements? Once at a standstill and now, most venues, if open at all, offering very limited programming.

Still, even though downtown businesses may be well short of thriving, Brewer noted the many ways in which the capital citys commercial sector is finding ways to survive.

Downtown Alliance data shows 135 downtown restaurants and bars are back to offering take-out and/or dine-in service, an increase of 69% since May 12 when just 75 restaurants were open for limited service. And 90% of downtown retail stores are open with operators reporting that traffic continues to grow each week. While customer numbers are down over last year, the alliance reports some stores are seeing sales closer to last years performance.

There are fewer shoppers but a high percentage of those shoppers are purchasing products, one downtown merchant said.

Brewer said the Downtown Farmers Market, while operating on an abbreviated basis, has proven a boon for local farmers and specialty item merchants.

We made the market a little bit smaller and re-organized it, Brewer said. But the farmers who are participating are doing better than ever.

Brewers group also launched a downtown Open Streets event last weekend that will be running through Oct. 10. Open Streets closes down a section of Main Street to automobiles from 6-10 p.m. each Thursday-Saturday, turning part of the street into an open market for merchants, restaurants and entertainment.

Brewer said the events debut weekend featured different musical acts every half-block and restaurants and retailers expanding their venues to the outdoors. He said they were still gathering information but reports from downtown businesses suggest the effort was a hit.

It appears to have been a huge success, Brewer said. The Salt Lake Arts Council brought in some of their Living Traditions performers to Exchange Place, we had buskers performing up and down Main Street.

One restaurant reported their sales were up 30% ... and were hoping to build momentum over the next three weekends.

See the article here:
Utah on Road to Recovery, but plenty of pain remains, economist says - Deseret News

In oversized brewery news, New Belgium is taking over the massive new space from Little Creatures in Mission Bay. The Australian brewery, named after the mini organisms in their floral brews, was able to sell a few crowlers in the spring, but went dark over the summer. A tipster spotted a sign indicating a change of ownership in the Little Creatures window, which a representative for New Belgium the company has confirmed. The cherubic beer brand is officially taking wing and departing San Francisco.

Little Creatures was the first U.S. outpost for the Australian brewery, opening only last summer at an ambitious 6,300 square feet. New Belgium, of course, is the Colorado-based brewery known best for its bicycle theme. But this is not a sad tale of small breweries struggling during the pandemic; its actually a brand merger, which was already in the works. New Belgium insists this takeover is, in effect, keeping it all in the family, as both breweries are now owned by the same parent company.

Both Little Creatures and New Belgium are owned by Lion in Sydney, which is a subsidiary of Kirin in Japan. (As an aside, Anchor Brewing, our 100-year-old historic brewery, is owned by Sapporo, another Japanese giant.) New Belgium was acquired at the end of 2019, after several decades as an employee-owned operation. Lion is now rolling it up into a group called Little World Beverages, which includes New Belgium, Magnolia, and Little Creatures. And while local beer fans were excited to try Little Creatures, far more are familiar with New Belgium, making it the stronger fit for San Francisco, the company says.

Still, it may be a sad closing for some. Little Creatures was a serene industrial space, washed in blues and drenched in sunlight. It received solid reviews in the short half-year that it was able to have doors open, under the unfair circumstances. And there are surely fans who will miss the arugula-peppered steak sandwiches, beer-steamed mussels, and sticky toffee pudding, as well as the several dozen beers on tap, a few specifically crafted on site by brewmaster Dennis Stewart.

This is New Belgiums first full-service restaurant, aside from its taprooms in Fort Collins and Asheville, which feature a few food trucks. The brewery isnt just slapping on a fresh coat of paint: it is under construction for a full renovation and will be debuting a totally fresh menu and space. They are currently narrowing down a shortlist of chefs and brewmasters, and plan to feature existing beers, as well as introduce a few specifically brewed on site. True to the brand, expect its usual bicycle decor. The pandemic keeps pushing back the timeline, but New Belgium is hoping to open by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021.

By coincidence, that might be when the Warriors are finally back in action at the new Chase Center. What might be most remarkable now is how time seems to have skidded to a stop in the neighborhood. A year ago, when the new Chase Center burst wide open, Mission Bay saw a rush of new restaurants, inside the stadium, outside the stadium, and in the surrounding neighborhood, from outrageous underground wine vaults to a deluge of soup dumplings. Little Creatures was one of two massive new breweries to land in the area, with Seven Stills opening its huge new flagship location only a few months later.

A representative for Chase Center confirmed that of the dozens of food and drink vendors previously opened and announced, only one is in action right now Dumpling Time. Thrive City has still been hosting its farmers market, attracting regulars from the neighborhood, as well as a few healthcare workers from neighboring Kaiser. The Warriors have been coming in for individual workouts and just started mini camp group practices last week, in the hopes that the next NBA season will tip off in December as promised.

But in the meantime, the $1.4-billion-dollar Chase Center stands mostly empty, waiting for thousands of sports fans and concert goers to return for craft beer and fried chicken sandwiches.

One Mission Bay 1000A 3rd Street, SF, CA

Originally posted here:
New Belgium Takes Over Little Creatures Brewery in Mission Bay - Eater SF

Reid R. Frazier is an energy reporter for The Allegheny Front, a Pittsburgh-based public media outlet covering the environment in Pennsylvania. His work has aired on NPR and Marketplace.

Updated: September 21, 2020 | 9:26 am

Reid R. Frazier / StateImpact Pennsylvania

The site of a proposed ethane cracker in Belmont County, Ohio.

At a marina in Moundsville, West Virginia, Dan Williamson looked out across the Ohio River at a quiet stretch of land on the other side.

Theres a little activity going on, said Williamson, a spokesman for PTT an oil and gas company based in Thailand that wants to build an ethane cracker on the far side of the river, in Dilles Bottom, Ohio. But really were kind of in between phases right now.

The plant would turn the regions plentiful natural gas into plastics. Its taken years to develop, and a final decision on whether the company would build the plant was due this summer. But then came the pandemic.

It just kind of changed the game for all industries, including this one. And so they have had to put off their announcement of a decision, Williamson said.

For years, industry boosters in Appalachia have promoted the idea of a building boom for petrochemical plants like the PTT ethane cracker.

Oil and gas backers have said theres enough gas in the region for four or five chemical plants like this. But so far, only one of those plants is a go Shell, with the help of $1.65 billion in state tax breaks, is building a giant plastics plant in western Pennsylvania.

But other projects have either been dropped or put on hold, and now the pandemic has left some some communities in the Ohio River Valley wondering if those plants will ever get built.

A project in West Virginia was canceled last summer when its Brazilian owners backed out. A planned $84 billion Chinese investment in West Virginias gas and chemical industry has yet to materialize. And PTT has watched as potential partners backed away from the project. Matsubeni, a Japaneese company, initially signed on as a partner but was out of the picture by 2016.

In July, Daelim, a Korean chemical company that had agreed to invest in the PTT plant, cited the pandemic when it backed out of the project, which could be the largest of its kind ever built in the U.S. according to PTT.

Williamson says PTT is still looking for investors, but he says the real barrier for the plant is simple: COVID-19.

I believe and the project leaders believe that if not for the pandemic, it would be under construction right now, Williamson said.

Some arent so sure.

Dont believe company announcements believe the ribbon cutting, said Kathy Hipple, an analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a left-leaning think tank that works toward sustainable energy.

She says Daelims decision to pull out of the PTT project is a red flag.

We view this as a market signal that the project has possibly become far too risky for them to continue, Hipple said. The other possibility is that the economics of building a petrochemical complex have changed tremendously.

Hipple said the price of plastic has fallen by around 40 percent since PTT first announced its interest in the site five years ago, pushed down by new supply from new plants built on the Gulf Coast. She thinks a wave of environmental policies around the globe like bans on single-use plastics could threaten the industrys bottom line.

Steve Lewandowski, an analyst at the research firm IHS Markit, thinks there will still be demand for plastic in the next few decades.

But he also wonders if delays in the Ohio project might be a sign that the $10 billion plant is looking too expensive for investors.

If it was such a compelling case to build there, that cracker would have been approved under construction and then it probably would be another one on top of that and its not, Lewandowski said. So theres something going on that is causing companies to say, Thats probably not the right place to be.

Lewandowski said Northern Appalachia has advantages Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania sit atop the Marcellus Shale, the biggest natural gas formation in the country. And its close to East Coast and Midwest manufacturers that would use the plastic. But he thinks companies might want to keep their production centered on the Gulf Coast, where dozens of similar plants have been running for decades.

Were assessing that the cost to build (in Ohio) is higher than on the Gulf Coast. And we would we would argue its probably going to be a bit more expensive to operate only because theyre not really in a cluster of industry.

If a part breaks down at a plant in Louisiana, theres a better chance that a supplier nearby will be able to replace or repair it than there would be in Ohio, he said.

But closer to the proposed Ohio plant site, there are fewer doubts. In August a senior Trump administration official visited the site and said it would boost the Ohio River valleys economy.

Reid R. Frazier / StateImpact Pennsylvania

Shadyside, Ohio, a few miles from where PTT has proposed building an ethane cracker in Belmont County, Ohio.

That has people like Matt Coffland confident.

Im 100 percent positive that this will be a go, Coffland said. No doubt about it.

Coffland is a big proponent of the PTT project and its easy to see why. He owns Matts Tiger Pub a tavern in the town of Shadyside, Ohio, a few miles from where thousands of hungry construction workers could one day build the project.

I mean, its three miles away from my doorstep. And youre talking an influx of close to ten thousand people at one point, Coffland said.

Coffland sees the plant as a good thing not just for his restaurant but for his part of southeastern Ohio which he says has been neglected by the state in favor of the three Cs Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus.

I think we deserve it by now, he said. Finally, something is going to land right here in our lap. You know, its about time.

Someone else whos hoping the project moves ahead works in a school building a few blocks away.

John Haswell is superintendent of the Shadyside Local School District.

On the wall of his office hangs a set of drawings showing what a K-12 school complex would look like.

If PTT builds its chemical plant, the company agreed to pay for the new building.

Any time that I can build something or we can build something for $30 million and it does not cost our taxpayers a cent thats a pretty good deal, Haswell said.

The districts 700 students are in a school built 1932, and Haswell says a new building is badly needed. Uncertainty over whether the PTT project will go forward or whether hell have to ask taxpayers for more money to build a new school has made him anxious.

I would really love to get really busy on a building project, but until we have that final investment decision, I cant do anything but sit. Sit and wait and wait and wait, Haswell said.

Reid R. Frazier / StateImpact Pennsylvania

The proposed Shadyside, Ohio school complex would be paid for by PTT, the Thai company which has proposed building an ethane cracker in Belmont County, Ohio.

If the delay has made Haswell antsy, its been a reprieve for Amanda Petrucci. She and her husband live with their four children and seven goats on a hillside across the Ohio river in Moundsville, West Virginia.

On a recent afternoon, she pointed out a few landmarks a hilltop across the river where a well owned by an ExxonMobil subsidiary blew out in 2018, releasing 60,000 tons of the potent greenhouse gas methane, a natural gas processing plant a half-mile from her front door, which flares gas at all hours, and a Superfund site just down the hill.

The site used to house a chemical plant. In the 1990s, the U.S. EPA declared it a superfund site, and began a cleanup. Around that time, her family endured a spate of health problems her son developed a rare blood disorder, her husband was diagnosed with asthma, and she developed Tourettes syndrome and migraines.

Petrucci blamed dust from the Superfund site for their health problems. (The EPA says dust levels at the site never endangered human health.) She worries about the oil and gas infrastructure that ring her property, and isnt happy about PTTs proposed ethane cracker a mile from her house.

I think were going to get hit with more toxic air. How many more layers can we throw on everybody in the community? Petrucci said.

She says shes been thinking about moving somewhere where the air and water are clean, and theres no oil and gas. But she hasnt found anywhere that fits that bill just yet.

So it was welcome news for her when she heard PTT was delaying a final decision on its ethane cracker.

I (felt) like I could kind of just hang out here for a little bit longer and enjoy life here, she said. I feel relieved and feel like I can enjoy my property a little more.

See the original post here:
In the Ohio River Valley, with the pandemic's help, the petrochemical boom is on hold - StateImpact Pennsylvania

In April of 2019, we told you about the upcoming new Flying Pie Pizzaria location on Overland Rd. in West Boise. The new restaurant the local chains sixth would bring habanero pies, beers and more to the area.

Earlier this spring, most of the construction work wrapped up on the new restaurant in the Elms Park Shopping Center at Overland and Five Mile. Hiring started. Now, with summer days away, the restaurant sits empty.

While our attempts to contact Flying Pies ownership went unanswered, they recently started the hiring process again in the wake of COVID-19. Scores of social media comments from customers asking when the new restaurant also went unanswered.

The $1,000,000 buildout converted two spaces in the shopping center next to Hooligans Pub. The location will use the bistro format first launched at Flying Pies Broadway location, adding items like pastas, chicken wings and more to the traditional pizza menu.

The chain launched its first restaurant in 1978 and grew slowly over its first few decades. It built up to three locations, then back to just two after closing a spot near Boise State.

In 2011, original owner Howard Oliver (the guy behind theexclamation point on the Boise Library!)sold the businessto Florian Penalva. Under Penalvas ownership, Flying Pie started to expand again, nearing six locations.

More here:
Construction on the new Flying Pie is done. When will it open? - boisedev.com

I'm hearing a great deal of frustration from folks who are upset that today'sstory didn't name the five local restaurants experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19.

Last week, it was churchgoers wondering if an outbreak at a place of worship was at their own. All along I've been hearing from families with loved ones in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and group homes calling for more specifics.

Unless a business, church, restaurant, construction site, etc., tells people it is having an outbreak, there is no way to know and to verify.

The Virginia Department of Health claims state code bars it from identifying any restaurant, church, nursing home or any other place of business where an outbreak of the virus has closed. The business can choose to do so itself, but state government bars itself from such disclosures.

The Northam administration interprets state code this way:

The State Health Commissioner is required by Va. Code 32.1-41 to preserve the anonymity of each patient and practitioner whose medical records are examined as part of a disease investigation. Disease reports submitted to VDH are confidential per 32.1-36, and that section provides that the patients identity and disease state shall be confidential. VDH is not able to release disease information at the facility level to the media, because that would compromise the anonymity of the patient.

In addition, per 32.1-38, neither the name of any person reported to VDH nor the name of any person making a report shall be disclosed to the public. According to Va. Code 32.1-3, person means an individual, corporation, partnership or other legal entity. Thus, VDH cannot release the name of a facility that made a disease report.

The administration has chosen not to disclose the county or city in which the business is located, providing information only at a "health district" level, which mostly includes multiple counties.

If you think this hampers your ability to understand risks from a public health perspective, to decide where you would like to eat, whether you are comfortable sitting in a church pew or if the people caring for your mom have been exposed to the virus, tell the governor, your delegate or your state senator.

While I don't mind answering your calls or replying to your emails, I have no power beyond asking the same questions and getting the same answers.

If you want change, go here to find your delegate and senator, and here to contact the governor.

And here's the other thing. It really doesn't matter if the outbreak is at the ABC or the XYZ restaurant. What you need to know is that COVID-19 is still widespread and as people move about, so does the disease.

Act accordingly. Myself, I leave home only when necessary. I wear a face covering, wash my hands, wipe down my car and other surfaces, and visit with family and friends only outside and at a distance. We get takeout, but I'm not ready for outdoor dining. And last I saw my youngest daughter was in March Pre-pandemic, she came home for 24 hours every other week just for a hug and for us to take her to dinner.

Our social calendars used to be as packed as our work ones. I miss much and would like to reclaim some of the old normal. But for my age and my health, this is my level of risk.

Perhaps, your risk tolerance is greater. Just be aware that anyone, including you, could be carrying the virus and spreading it. So wear a face covering and patronize only places that require them. Thank you.

Here is the original post:
Med Beat: Here's why we don't tell you every restaurant and place there is an outbreak of COVID-19 - Roanoke Times

Claus Bienek was the chef-owner of Claus on Juneau, an influential high-end restaurant at 134 E. Juneau Ave. from 1985 to 1989. Bienek died June 7 in Norway.(Photo: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel files)

Not all customers knew what to make of the fine-dining restaurant Claus on Juneau, which operated in downtown Milwaukee from 1985 to 1989with crystal, Villeroy & Boch china and Italian silver settings on the tables.

The food wasn't heaped on the plates, it wasbeautifully arranged so much so that itwas the subject of a cover story in the Milwaukee Sentinel's Food section in April 1986.

"The dishes are sheer art," wrote the Food editor, Lee Aschoff.

The chef-owner, Claus Bienek, told Aschoff, "the most important thing is the color. For example, we might have a plain white fish. So what you try to do is build it up, using the red tomato-butter sauce underneath, black mushrooms, some fresh dill and a red crayfish.

Then you have a little picture there, he said. It looks nice and, if they taste it, its even better.

Claus on Juneau, which was at 134 E. Juneau Ave.,was awarded four stars by The Milwaukee Journal's dining critic, Dennis Getto, who later called it "one of Milwaukee's star restaurants in the 1980s." As such, Bienek was at the vanguard of chefs modernizing dining in Milwaukee.

The funeral was this week for Bienek, who died June 7, the day before his 74th birthday. The German-born chef died in Norway, where he had lived and worked before moving to Milwaukee with his young family, and where he returned after his time in Wisconsin.

Before coming to Milwaukee, he led Blom in Oslo, a restaurant frequented by artists and authors since the 19th century; was afood and wine critic for Norway's national newspaper, Aftenposten; and openeda restaurant called den Glade Laks (the Happy Salmon) on a fishing trawlerthat took daily trips around Oslo's fjords.

"His guests were so lucky to see him dive into the ocean from the boat and pop out with a salmon in his hands," Bienek's daughter Charlotterecalled via email from Norway.

Christopher Kuranz, now a partner in Public Table restaurant in West Allis, supplied Bienek with hard-to-find produce, game and fish through Kuranz's company at the time, The Fresh Connection.

That meant items like radicchio, baby zucchini with the flowers still attached (so the chef could stuff the flowers), and Belgian endive, which he'd halve, roast,braise with white wine and aromaticsand serve with a warm blue cheese sauce.

"I havent made that in a long time. I should make that," said Kuranz, who also helped in the kitchen at Claus on Juneau on occasion and kept in touch with him over the years.

Evenfresh herbs were exoticathatcouldn't be found in grocery stores then, Kuranz said. In summer, the chef kept a garden behind the restaurant where he'd grow herbs and vegetables, Charlotte Bienek recalled, and visited farmers markets for local ingredients.

The menu was brief usually four appetizers, four entres and a few desserts that changed fairly frequently, Kuranz recalled.The dining room likewise was small for the era, about 50 seats.

Bienek conceded he initially lost customers who expected a strip steak and onion rings, but the restaurant soon thrived.

His plating was considered unusual for the time but elements becamestandard in fine dining, such as placing the sauce under the fish instead of over.

Who in the hell can see the monkfish (on the plate) whenthey come in? The construction of the fish is so nice and it looks so nice, so let the fish be a fish and look like a fish, Bienek said at the time.

"He would just constantly push the envelope," Kuranz said of Bienek.

Bienek would acquire live turtles and butcher them at the restaurant for turtle soup and other dishes, Kuranz recalled.

Who knows how to butcher a turtle? Whos buying turtles? I didnt know anybody who was doing that but him, Kuranz said.

Bienek sold his restaurant after having heart surgery in early 1989. His first turn back in the kitchen was a private dinner that June for 125 people where former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter were the guests of honor.

Tom Sietsema, then the Food editor of The Milwaukee Journal and now food critic for the Washington Post, referred to Bienek's restaurant as"the late, great Claus on Juneau" in writing about the Carter dinner.

The chef was in chargeof appetizers, sides and dessert, preparing dishes like jumbo white shrimp marinated with gingerroot and cilantro, andimported prosciutto with asparagus and lemon mayonnaise.

After selling Claus on Juneau, Bienek became chef at what was then Strong Corneliuson Capital Management in Menomonee Falls from 1990 to 2004, according to Charlotte Bienek.

Besides overseeing the company cafeteria, he prepared VIP dinners for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, publisherSteveForbes, singer Jimmy Buffett and others.

Bienek is survived by his wife, Anne Brita, whom he met after winning a culinary competition in Germany that led to a job atthe hotel in Norway where she also worked; their children Charlotte, Henriette, Kai Boris and Therese Maria; and six grandchildren.

Contact dining critic Carol Deptolla atcarol.deptolla@jrn.com or (414) 224-2841, or through the Journal Sentinel Food & Home page on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter at @mkediner or Instagram at @mke_diner.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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Bienek was one of Milwaukee's top chefs in the 1980s, helping usher in a modern era - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This week, we caught up with Michael Babcock and Wayne Coats, best known for their past work at Welcome Diner and now partners at Instrumental Hospitality. With two other partners, Paul Waxman and Robert Cissell, they had planned to open a two-story southeast Asian eatery in spring 2020. But Belly has been delayed. And the restaurant scene has capsized.

We linked up by phone to chat about projects, curveballs, strange days, long trips, and good food. Coats was sitting outside within sight of the sand of Venice Beach, California, cloudy but refreshing in a picture he texted. He was sipping nitro cold brew a block outside his Airbnb, watching everyone strolling around in masks as California takes the pandemic, compared to Arizona, much more seriously.

Babcock was in Phoenix, laying low after a busy Hood Burger popup the day before. This charitable project he is co-heading has been fundraising for various causes, including some connected with domestic violence and Black Lives Matter. Hes about to go camping on the Mogollon Rim with his dog, seeking escape and a little isolation time.

Left to right: Michael Babcock, Wayne Coats, Paul Waxman, and Robert Cissell, together the Instrumental Hospitality Group.

Matt Martian

Phoenix New Times: How has your 2020 been so far?

Michael Babcock: A living, breathing nightmare.

Wayne Coats: Definitely a sense of a dreamlike world so far in 2020. Constantly shot. Constantly wondering what the hell could even happen next.

New Times: How has your charitable Hood Burger project been?

WC: It has been inspiring to do the Hood Burger project, led by Michael and [chef-bartender] Tyka Cheng. Doug [Robson] at Gallo [Blanco] was really helpful in providing the parking lot in Garfield. That turned into other homies being really generous. Genuine Concepts loaning us a food truck. Going to Thunderbird [Lounge].

As the Hood Burger project evolved, it was really inspired by that generosity. It was kind of a reminder of what it was like to be around people, to run a service, figure things out, work as a team. It has been the opposite of Michaels nightmare.

MB: The menu has changed a couple of times as the partnerships have changed. Yesterday, we did a classic Royale burger with cheese and chips. It was cool to go to Gracies [Tax Bar, where that popup was] and not be squished.

New Times: Last year, you guys traveled to research for Belly, your forthcoming southeast Asian restaurant in Melrose. How was that?

MB: That trip deserves its own documentary. It was just so epic and absurd. We were only supposed to be gone for nine days in one country. We ended up going for 20-something days and going to three countries. We stayed for three days in Tijuana, seven or nine days in Japan, and seven or nine days in Vietnam. We just went on a global bender around the world.

The point of the trip was to gain inspiration through southeast Asia. We want to be able to offer something more unique than pho and banh mi. I love those things. I eat that shit daily. Theres just a whole palate to explore within southeast Asia that we wanted to throw some shine on. We were really inspired by the street food vendors in particular.

New Times: Belly will have strong southeast Asian roots. How do you approach cooking foods outside your cultures?

MB: The thing about being a professional chef, our whole job, if done right, is to absorb the culture around us, honor it, interpret it, and share it with others. Im opening up a Vietnamese restaurant with a lot of reverence. The research trip was just a drop in the bucket in my relationship with Vietnamese food.

WC: Yeah, he was cooking Vietnamese for dinner parties at 22 years old.

MB: I was raised in part by my Japanese grandmother. My palate for Asian cooking is geared to that. Its how I eat at home.

Chefs have a responsibility to honor the culture theyre representing. If you do things right with the right intentions, all youre doing as a chef is celebrating the cultures youre inspired by. Making fried chicken and biscuits [at Welcome Diner, where he was head chef until last year], this is something Ive thought about a lot.

Belly is set to open in spring 2020.

AWE Collective

New Times: How is Belly coming along?

WC: Construction delayed our opening, which was first looking like the middle of March. I cant imagine what our industry brothers and sisters went through in March and what theyre still dealing with.

Through all this, the construction has been going. We put the countertops in. The walls are painted all the tiles laid and set. Were getting really close to the construction guys handing over the keys to our team.

MB: We have no trajectory on when our opening date is. Were very elastic on that.

New Times: Will we see any more of Belly, maybe through popups, before opening?

MB: I think with the climate were in, we want to focus on the causes that matter now. Bellys going to be an awesome project, but its not really time for us to be focused on that. Were focused on our charity efforts.

New Times: How are you feeling about the future of Phoenix dining?

MB: I dont know, man. I dont think its going to be good, though. I dont mean to be super negative, but the reality is the restaurant industry was unsustainable to begin with. The way our labor networks work. The way food costs work. Price points. If theres any positive from this, maybe it accelerates what that transformation needs to be.

WC: Im really proud of our homies fighting hard to hit those numbers to stay open. There are people out there really pushing and trying to adapt to how things are changing. Its inspiring and motivating to see that.

Note: This conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for speed and clarity.

Chris Malloy, former food editor and current food critic at Phoenix New Times, has written for various local and national outlets. He has scrubbed pots in a restaurant kitchen, earned graduate credit for a class about cheese, harvested garlic in Le Marche, and rolled pastas like cappellacci stuffed with chicken liver. He writes reviews but also narrative stories on the food world's margins.

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Q&A: Michael Babcock and Wayne Coats on Belly, Hood Burger, and the Future of Phoenix Dining - Phoenix New Times

When schools shut down in March, we lost the usual traffic that we get, he said. Most undergraduate students went back home if they werent from Massachusetts.

College-dependent businesses always anticipate the exodus of students in May and June, but they typically are replaced by tourists and a crop of summer interns. This year, however, those numbers will be greatly reduced. And because of the pandemic, college students left the city two months earlier than they usually do, so school-year revenue for many shops and restaurants fell far short of expectations.

Shiranian said he is excited that schools such as Northeastern have announced that they will be holding some in-person classes this fall, and hopes other schools follow suit. Boston University, for example, has said that it would give undergraduate students the choice of in-person and online classes, and Boston College announced similar plans.

We feel like we are a part of the campuses, he said. That means business will get back to normal.

With or without bustling campuses, Shiranian said Amelias will try to increase delivery sales by revamping its presence on online delivery platforms.

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, a new restaurant in an Emerson College building on Boylston Street, had hoped to open in April, but the coronavirus sent students and staff home early and pushed back the construction timeline. Like Amelias, Garbanzo will focus on delivery and takeout when it opens in mid-July.

We are going to change with the times, said Derek St. George, the director of operations. We redesigned the inside of the restaurant while we were shut down to add more area to the kitchen and give ourselves a second service line just for to-go orders and catering.

Garbanzos location across from the Boston Common is usually crowded with college, theater, and Financial District pedestrian traffic so much so that Emerson is in the process of widening the sidewalk. But St. George said he expects the sidewalk will be less busy in the fall if office workers continue to work from home, so a return of Emersons 4,500 students is even more important.

If the rest of the business world was still active, I wouldnt be as concerned, because there is so much happening around that area anyway, he said. Now it is a ghost town around here.

Last week, Emerson announced that most classes for the fall semester will incorporate in-person and online components, but students will not return to Boston after Thanksgiving break. College President Lee Pelton said he anticipates the spring term will be more traditional.

Harvard University is still considering its options for the fall, but one scenario would result in the majority of students not returning to campus, according to The Harvard Crimson. That would not bode well for nearby businesses.

For Harvard Squares Caf Pamplona, its too late. The restaurant recently closed after 62 years because the European-style caf said it cant survive without the students who make up nearly 90 percent of its customer base.

John Schall, owner of El Jefes Taqueria in Harvard Square, also is hurting, but he hopes to see students including the regulars from the schools sports teams in September.

We have an incredible relationship with students at Harvard, it is an important part of who we are and what we do, Schall said. It was a huge blow to have Harvard leave early.

He said students make up about half of sales at the taqueria, which stays open until 4 a.m.

And Schall isnt just betting on students returning to Cambridge in August, El Jefes will open its second Massachusetts location on the ground level of an Emerson College dormitory, about a block away from Suffolk University. Schall said he is counting on the effectiveness of safety protocols at all colleges. An outbreak that sends students home again, is not going to be good for anybody, he said.

Business owners also said some students may return to Boston with less spending money because of cancelled jobs or internships. Shiranian said Amelias would not raise its prices even though produce and meat has become more expensive and St. George said Garbanzo will offer a student discount.

I would imagine that a lot of students who normally would be working summer jobs have not been able to do so, St. George said. We want to cut them a deal because we know they are affected by this.

Other businesses popular with students include Dig Inn in Copley Place, Dumpling Cafe in Chinatown, Trident Booksellers and Cafe on Newbury Street, and the Thinking Cup coffee shop.

On any given day during the school year, the cafe counter at Trident is packed with students working on their laptops, said general manager Michael Lemanski. The absence of students in the fall is a scary thought, so hes glad to hear that some colleges are planning to hold in-person classes.

Right now, the more customers we could have the better, Lemanski said, noting the lack of tourists. For our business to survive, we are going to need to do indoor dining outside is fine, but it wont be enough. The state could allow limited indoor dining as soon as next week, under Governor Charlie Bakers phased-in reopening plan.

One staple of the college scene for students 21 and older, however, likely will be missing or severely restricted come September: bars. They are slated for the states final phase of reopening, which according to the states plan depends on the availability of a COVID-19 treatment or vaccine.

For some bar owners, holding out is not an option. On June 9, Conor Larkins Grill & Tap a popular Huntington Avenue spot for Northeastern students said it would close after 18 years.

Max Wildstein, a 2019 graduate of Emerson, said he believed students will rely on liquor stores if bars dont reopen, bringing social gatherings to their residences instead. And he hopes that social distancing is observed if students go in large groups.

A staple of my college experience was going to South Street Diner near the train station late at night, he said. I hope its safe enough for them to be able to keep providing services to those in the city this fall.

Anissa Gardizy can be reached at anissa.gardizy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @anissagardizy8.

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For restaurants that cater to students, worries about the fall - BetaBoston

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the Bay Areas economy, shuttering beloved bars and music venues,pushing formerly high-flying tech companies to lay off hundreds of workersand leading one economist to dub it the Great Recession 2.0.

But the current crisis has differed from the 2008-2009 financial crash in some key aspects, including who is bearing the brunt of the job losses.

A recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California found that industries such as finance and insurance, which took some of the biggest hits during the Great Recession, have been barely touched by the coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, restaurant cooks, hotel concierges, barbers, custodians and other service industry workers have had the biggest job losses during the current crisis though they were less affected in the last recession.

Those are all jobs you cant really do from home, it requires people to be in person, to be out and about, said Julien Lafortune, a research fellow at PPIC that worked on the report.

Arts, entertainment and recreation, as well asaccommodations and food services, had a 47 percent decline in jobs statewide between February and April. During the Great Recession, between December 2007 and February 2010, those sectorswere far more resilient, loosing between 6-7 percent of jobs.

Jobs in health care and social assistance declined by 11 percent earlier this year. During the Great Recession, those jobsgrew 6 percent during the Great Recession. And jobs in education services are down 10 percent this time around, but declined just 0.04 percent after the financial crash.

The Bay Areas highly paid residents those in technology or other industries more suited for working from home cant protect the region from economic pain because they cant go out to restaurants or concerts or retail stores as easily as they normally could.

Even if they didnt lose the jobs, its been shown at least nationally that theyve been cutting their spending, Lafortune said. Its a trickle-down, in a sense of the crisis, in that it just compounds it.

Some of those jobs could be gone for the foreseeable future, making a quick bounce back from the crisis less likely. For example, each basketball game at the Warriors gleaming new Chase Center arena means work for more than 1,000 custodians, security guards, vendors and more.Its unclear when that kind of activity will be allowed to resume, and when people will feel comfortable in such large groups, Lafortune said.

At the same time, some industries that were battered by the Great Recession have so far avoided a repeat this time.Manufacturing, wholesale trade, and mining and logging all saw larger job declines between 2007 and 2010 than they have so far this year. Finance and insurance jobs, which dropped by 13 percent during the great recession, are down less than 1 percent in 2020.

Construction jobs are down 17 percent this year a significant loss but nothing like the Great Recession. Back then, when the housing market collapsed nationally, the industry suffered a 34 percent decline.Lafortune said work seems to be picking back up after restrictions on construction were lifted in the Bay Area, but the industry as a whole could still be in for more job losses down the line if worried developers start to cancel or postpone future housing or commercial construction projects.

You kind of have to anticipate the demand for those and if you dont know what thatll look like in the future, you might hold off, he said. I wouldnt be surprised to see that tick down some of those new starts.

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How Bay Area job losses during the coronavirus crisis and the Great Recession compare - Vallejo Times-Herald