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At this dim sum restaurant, challenges remain as customers return

Jul 2, 2021
Eateries returning to dine-in service may face staffing problems, higher costs and the need to transform their business models — again.
Golden Unicorn restaurant in New York’s Chinatown serves traditional dim sum. It's trying to adapt to changing conditions and higher costs.
Courtesy Darren Liu

A solution to the service worker shortage? Eliminate tipping, some experts say.

Jul 1, 2021
To promote equity and retain workers as the economy reopens, some restaurants are opting to forgo traditional gratuity models.
A growing number of restaurants are nixing traditional gratuity models, a choice some see as both ethical and practical.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

One New York City wine bar's reopening bet

Jun 24, 2021
Brian Keyser, owner and general manager of Casellula in NYC, is holding out hope that Congress will add money to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
Marco Bertorello/Getty Images

Restaurants crack down on no-shows

Jun 21, 2021
Forgetting to cancel your reservation could end up costing you.
At lots of restaurants, you'll need to take out your credit card long before the bill arrives to put down a deposit on your reservation.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

For restaurants, tough pandemic decisions are starting to pay off

Jun 1, 2021
Restaurants had to make hard choices over the last year to stay alive –– choices that, it turns out, made them more efficient.
Restaurant owners have had  to let go of many employees, but they've also made their production processes speedier and with less employee-customer contact. Which of these changes will stick?
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Inside a “ghost kitchen” with Kitchen United

May 27, 2021
Delivery-only restaurants are on the rise. Here's what a virtual food hall looks like.
A customer picks up a takeout order at Kitchen United’s pickup center in Pasadena, California where multiple restaurants share one storefront and fill takeout and delivery orders only.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

Hotels try to follow restaurants' lead and hook consumers on QR codes

May 6, 2021
Will the QR code stick around in the long run? Perhaps, if users find the information the codes deliver useful.
From marketing to menus, QR codes have gained traction since the beginning of the pandemic.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

More restaurants paid April rent, but minority-owned businesses still lag behind

Apr 21, 2021
More than half weren't able to pay rent this month.
The number of restaurants that didn’t pay rent in April was down to 35% from 63% the month before. But the data also shows minority business owners are still lagging behind.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Are the businesses that made it this far safe?

Apr 19, 2021
Mostly yes, an economist said. But that doesn't mean there won't be more hurdles, even as business conditions improve.
As the pandemic wanes, restaurants are seeing more customers. For some, staffing is a challenge.
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Restaurants struggle to recruit enough staff to reopen

Mar 25, 2021
Turnover is normal, but this hiring season is definitely different.
Yes, restaurants are reopening, but hiring presents a new hurdle.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images