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Former restauranteur manages challenges with sauce business venture

Dec 24, 2021
Kiki Aranita turned to focus efforts on growing the Poi Dog Sauces brand after she decided to close her Philadelphia restaurant during the pandemic.
After closing her Philadelphia restaurant, Kiki Aranita launched a sauce company called Poi Dog Sauces.
Poi Dog

How does Honey Baked Ham stay open year round?

Dec 23, 2021
While the restaurant chain is known for its holiday meals, some of its customers treat it as a casual lunch spot.
A view of one of Honey Baked Ham's signature spiral-cut hams and its turkey breast.
The HoneyBaked Ham Co.

The restaurant industry preps for a winter with omicron

Dec 6, 2021
Spending is still down, prices are up and owners are worried about how the variant will affect business.
Amid the continued spread of the coronavirus, spending at restaurants is still below pre-pandemic levels.
Scott Olson via Getty Images

Food tour company struggles to regain ground as restaurants recover

Nov 19, 2021
Megan Bucholz, founder of Local Table Tours, watched her business grow for a decade. Then the pandemic closed everything down.
Megan Bucholz is the founder of Local Table Tours, which offers guided walking tours exploring the food scenes in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins, Colorado.
Courtesy Megan Bucholz

Minnesota restaurants prepare for winter as the pandemic drags on

Oct 22, 2021
This summer's patio season gave a boost to many restaurants. Colder weather means new arrangements for outdoor diners.
Christina Nguyen, chef and owner of the Minneapolis restaurants Hai Hai and Hola Arepa, stands in an expansion of Hai Hai’s patio space, constructed to accommodate more outdoor diners during the warmer months.
Britta Greene

Unions are gaining momentum at restaurants. They've been here before.

Sep 28, 2021
Unions for food and drink workers go back to 1891. But they lost their seat at the table with the growth of restaurant chains and fast food.
Restaurant unions have a long history, and the stresses the pandemic has imposed on food workers could stir a resurgence in membership, some experts say.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

NYC is set to begin enforcement of its vaccine mandate. How will it work?

Sep 8, 2021
New York will start enforcing its mandate Sep. 13. It requires visitors to theaters, museums and other establishments to show proof of at least partial vaccination — same for people want to eat and drink inside a restaurant or bar.
A vaccine requirement sign is shown in a restaurant window in August 2021 in New York City.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Why are some restaurants shutting the door on food delivery giants?

Aug 18, 2021
Steep third-party food delivery fees are driving some restaurant owners to seek alternatives.
An Uber Eats delivery person hauls food on a bicycle. Jon Sewell says his delivery co-op, which is owned by restaurants, cut delivery costs and improved service.
Sean Gallup via Getty Images

COVID closed Philadelphia's Poi Dog, but the sauces and recipes remain

Aug 12, 2021
Kiki Aranita closed her restaurant after the city shut down. A year later, she's still making Hawaiian food and building the brand.
Poi Dog, Kiki Aranita's former Hawaiian restaurant. She continues her career in food and  her efforts to build the Poi Dog brand.
Photo courtesy Kiki Aranita

How the pandemic altered the art and science of “menu engineering”

Jul 26, 2021
From QR codes to delivery apps, a menu specialist weighs in on the rise of digital menus.
A QR code menu for a Mexico City restaurant. “Here in 2021 … we can start to build our digital menus a little bit better with what we learned from the pandemic,” says menu engineer Sean Willard.
Photo by Claudio Cruz/AFP via Getty Images