restaurants

Restaurantsā€™ focus: Protecting experience, brand as costs rise

Peter OsborneBusiness, Headlines

Lee Mikles has a dizzying list of what he thinks about every day. The co-founder of OMG Hospitality restaurant group is focusing on the April launch of a new Grain menu that leans into comfort food that reminds guests of their childhood memories. Heā€™s also trying to pay more attention to the costs of food and labor while preserving the …

Foam container Styrofoam container polystyrene container Delaware Restaurant Association

Will foam cups, containers be banned like plastic bags?

Staff WriterCulture, Headlines

A bill that would ban restaurant use of foam takeout containers, plastic straws and beverage stirrers, is being shopped around for co-sponsors in Dover. Itā€™s the second time that Sen. Trey Paradee, D-Dover, has moved to ban the containers and straws. A similar bill introduced in 2021 passed the Senate but didnā€™t make it to the House floor. The bill …

Syrofoam

Senate votes to ban styrofoam to-go boxes, cups

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

The Delaware Senate on Thursday passed a bill to effectively ban restaurants from offering single-use plastic straws and styrofoam food and beverage containers.Ā  Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 134, sponsored by Sen. Trey Paradee, D-Dover, also prohibits food establishments from providing customers with plastic coffee stirrers, cocktail picks and sandwich picks. Under the bill, food establishments would only be …

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Darby ordinance would make Wilm employers pay for shift changes

Charlie MegginsonBusiness, Headlines

Photo/Getty Images Business leaders are lining up in opposition to a proposed ordinance in Wilmington that would require service industry employers to provide two-weeks notice of work schedules and compensate employees when changes occur.Ā  The measure, sponsored by Council Member ShanĆ© Darby, D-District 2, aims to provide more schedule stability for hourly workers at retail, hospitality and foodservice establishments with …

Restaurants wrestle with pricing to cover industry cost hikes

Pam GeorgeCulture, Headlines

Bardea Food + Drink is one of the restaurants trying a temporary surchange to help them beat inflation. Photo by Valeria Boltneva/Pexels Since Valentineā€™s Day was on a Monday, many restaurants had four nights of solid reservations. The business was welcome, considering that most experienced a disastrous January due to mask mandates, bitterly cold weather and ailing staff. But a …

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Delaware Restaurant Association issues dire plea for help

Charlie MegginsonBusiness, Headlines

The organization that represents restaurants in Delaware said the industry is far from being out of the woods after two years of the COVID pandemic. The Delaware Restaurant Associationā€™s 2022 ā€˜State of the Restaurant Industryā€™ report found that restaurants continue to struggle to keep their doors open amid a surge in coronavirus cases, inflation, a labor shortage, and supply chain …

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To-go alcohol, outdoor dining bill sails through House committee

Charlie MegginsonBusiness, Government, Headlines

At least 20 other states will allow the continued sale of to-go alcoholic beverages. A bill to permanently allow restaurants to sell to-go alcoholic beverages was unanimously voted out of the House Administration Committee Tuesday.Ā  House Bill 290, sponsored by Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth, would allow any restaurant, brewpub, tavern or taproom with a valid on-premise liquor license to sell …

Restaurants hardest hit by supply chain issues, Delaware experts say

Charlie MegginsonBusiness, Headlines

While supply chain issues are affecting a lot of buisnesses, including delaying auto and furniture deliveries, restaurants are suffering the most, many say, Photo by Tom Fisk/Pexels   As supply chain woes spread through the business world, Delaware restaurateurs who faced massive COVID-19 issues are now facing a whole new set of challenges. They include rapid inflation and difficulty sourcing …