The Sunday Special
Our first news roundup of what is all set to be an action-packed Pride month
As you luxuriate in Sunday-morning bliss, we’ve compiled a list of the hottest topics in the restaurant world for you to peruse. In the first week of what promises to be an action-packed Pride month, we focus on how the industry celebrates our LGBTQIA+ community, Tesla’s imminent foray into the restaurant business, and Nation’s Restaurant News’ detailed opinion piece on why now is the time to move away from single-use disposables.
Pride Month 2021
The National Restaurant Association:
The month of June is Pride Month, and the Association intends to recognise and celebrate the impact the LGBTQ+ community makes on the restaurant and foodservice industry every day. This will include stories, exclusive features with LGBTQ+ chefs and restaurateurs, and an effort to highlight ways to support LGBTQ-owned businesses, among other wonderful initiatives.
The restaurant industry is the nation’s second-largest employer, employing more than 12.5 million people at the end of 2020 — and many are part of the LGBTQ+ community. According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurants employ more minority managers than any other industry. The restaurant industry welcomes everyone to the table, and empowers people from all backgrounds to find success through the vast opportunities offered in the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry.
—Excerpt via nraeducationalfoundation.tumblr.com
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is at the forefront of these celebrations, and you can find a comprehensive report of their plans for Pride month, here.
One of these aforementioned activities is Episode 34 of Order Up, the podcast from the National Restaurant Association — PRIDE in the Restaurant Industry.
The incredible episode, kicked off Pride month with Transgender activist and restaurateur Michaela Mendelsohn. Michaela shared her transition experience and discussed her mission to help restaurant owners create more inclusive spaces for both employees and customers. Listen to the episode, here, to learn how you can become an ally to our friends in the trans community.
The Refinery 29 Roundup:
In an article titled These Pride Month Food & Drink Deals Are Giving Back To The LGBTQ Community by Michelle Santiago Cortés, the content platform curated a list of brands and establishments that understand the true meaning of Pride.
Highlights from their list include:
For the fourth consecutive year, Baked by Melissa will re-introduce its Pride month-exclusive rainbow mini cupcakes. Ten percent of the net proceeds will benefit the LGBT Community Center in New York City.
KIND changed its packaging for the very fist time to bring you KIND PRIDE, a dark chocolate, nut, and sea salt bar sold exclusively on its site through the end of July. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Ali Forney Center, the largest organization in America specifically dedicated to homeless LGBTQ youth.
Bouchon Bakery will be offering its signature Rainbow Cake all through June. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the largest and oldest organization dedicated to lifting up LGBTQ youths. These seven layers of rainbow almond sponge, with alternating layers of apricot and raspberry jam topped with a dark chocolate glaze are available in select New York locations.
—View the whole article, here
The New York Times:
With characteristic mastery, the Erik Piepenburg of the New York Times recently authored a piece titled Still Here and Still Queer: The Gay Restaurant Endures. This is a must-read for anyone looking for a comprehensive (and beautifully articulated) story on the New York restaurant industry’s role in the history of the Pride movement, and the current scenario as well.
Many (gay restaurants) have closed in a time of growing inclusion and more fluid sexual identities. But in several places around the country, they remain anchors of safety and community.
Read the full article, here.
TESLA Restaurants — Coming Soon?
On June 2nd, Jennifer Marston of The Spoon reported that Tesla filed a trademark under restaurant services, suggesting that the automaker ‘may be finally working to realise its dream of combining its charging stations with an old-school drive-in restaurant concept.’
While the name “Tesla” may not automatically conjure images of restaurants, the idea of combining a quick-service eating establishment with a charging station makes perfect sense. Consumers need something to do if they are away from home while having to charge their car. Eating a meal is an obvious activity, and many restaurant chains are already partnering with companies to host charging stations in parking lots.
—Excerpt via thespoon.tech/tesla-may-soon-open-its-own-restaurant
The Future of Foodservice is Reusable
Nation’s Restaurant News, in partnership with Upstream (a public-interest, non-profit organisation founded by a group of Zero Waste activists in the US and Canada) wrote a detailed opinion piece on the sizeable perils of single-use disposables.
While many are aware of the ill-effects of single-use plastic, we remain largely oblivious to the fact other single-use products like bioplastics, compostable paper products and aluminum cups are NOT better and cleaner. They claim that you basically ‘just trade one set of environmental problems for others.’
Read the full piece, which looks into the exciting new reuse economy emerging for foodservice, here.
It has the potential to completely disrupt our current disposable foodservice paradigm and replace it with something better!
Please reach out to aman@dashin.in for any feedback or clarifications regarding the content of this article.
