Opinion
K&W fed NC for 90 years. Its closure reveals shifting food industry.
During the pandemic, we understood the shock. We expected disruption. What’s happening now is quieter and more unsettling.
Opinion
Iconic local restaurants shuttering amid labor shortages, rising costs
The future of dining in every community is in the hands of consumers. Every time we choose where to eat, we're voting with our dollars.
News
Holiday staff shortages hit the service industry hard
The NCRLA compiled hiring data from Lightcast and Indeed and found that since the beginning of October, approximately 2,134 restaurant jobs have opened up in the Triangle area alone. This development may come as a surprise to some due to the state’s historically low unemployment rate of 3.4%.
News
NC restaurant owner taps state’s booming business climate
With North Carolina recently being ranked the top state in the nation for business by CNBC (and just about everyone else) there are lots of headlines about major corporations relocating here to get the competitive advantage. But there are also thousands of smaller companies that relocate here or open storefronts every year. Last year this...
Opinion
Are social justice surcharges creating red and blue restaurants?
How would you feel if they went out to dinner and a portion of the charge is hidden from the menu or website? That was my experience with Garland restaurant in downtown Raleigh. A 6% “living wage surcharge” was tacked on to my bill. Not only wasn’t the charge visible on the menu or website,...
News
Cooper vetoes bill that would have opened bars, expanded seating in restaurants
Gov. Roy Cooper late in the afternoon of Friday, June 5, vetoed a bill that would have reopened private bars and clubs, as well as expanded outdoor seating in restaurants and brewpubs. Cooper, a Democrat, signaled all along he would veto the measure, House Bill 536. He publicly expressed concerns about lawmakers taking away some...
News
At JLF event, restaurant association chief outlines industry’s requests for relief
Around 75% of the state’s 550,000 hotel and restaurant workers are currently out of a job. The hospitality industry — comprising 13% of the state’s total workforce, including 18,000 food service establishments and 1,800 lodging establishments — languishes on life support, said Lynn Minges, president and CEO of the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association....
Opinion
De-strawed customers are ‘distrawght’
In the “summer of plastic straw bans,” North Carolina’s restaurant industry is feeling the heat. “Drunk people, they are walking around without straws and they are confused,” Hibernian Assistant General Manager Susan Kemben said. After a video of scientists pulling a bloody straw from a sea turtle’s nose went viral, plastic straws, once a ubiquitous...
News
NCGA roundup: Property sellers would not have to disclose ‘wish list’ projects, under proposed bill
RALEIGH — Properties included in certain long-range “wish list” road projects would not have to be disclosed in real estate transactions, under a bill filed in the state House. The bill, House Bill 31, sponsored by Rep. Kelly Hastings, R-Gaston, would consider a property’s inclusion in a comprehensive transportation plan “not a material fact.” Comprehensive transportation...
Opinion
Health Before Liberty
Should smoking be banned from all restaurants in North Carolina? That's the question that HB 76 will answer with a "Yes" if it is passed by the North Carolina Legislature. Advocates of a statewide restaurant smoking ban pose the issue as a way to improve health and control health care costs.
