Open Book Finances: Part 2 w/ Mei Mei

05/08/20 • 30 min

On March 9th, Chef Irene Li, owner of Mei Mei Restaurant in Boston, opened their finances to the public at an event called Open Book Open House. The purpose? To get people having more open and honest conversations around restaurants and money. But just a week after the Open Book Open House, restaurant dining rooms closed due to COVID and all of a sudden restaurant finances were on everybody’s mind.

Thank you all so much for listening to our second season! We really appreciate each one of you. If you have any thoughts about season 3, send them our way.

We’re also very grateful for Pared, our season 2 sponsor. Sign up to be a member now and join the community of other foodservice workers.

Help the restaurants and organizations featured in our second season:

Kin Restaurant in Boise, Idaho - support them by ordering delivery

Otono Mercat in Highland Park, Los Angeles - support them by visiting their location they’ve converted into a Spanish market. They also have gift cards and an employee relief fund.

Otono

Homeroom in Oakland, California - They are still open for take-out and delivery and they also have an employee fund.

Opening Soon Podcast and Tilit in New York City - Opening Soon has done a great job covering talking to restaurant folks about how they’re affected by COVID. Tilit is also selling masks with a buy-one-give one policy. If you buy one through them, they’ll donate one to a food service employee volunteering or a medical professional.

Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement in Emeryville, California - Fernay and team are doing Saturday and Sunday orders right now and they also have a relief fund.

Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon - Le Pigeon is currently doing a cellar sale for bottles of wine. Plus they have other merch and gift cards for sale.

One Fair Wage - One Fair Wage has set up a relief fund for foodservice workers in need. You can donate to the fund or volunteer to help call applicants.

Giving Kitchen in Atlanta, Georgia - They are still helping foodservice workers in financial crisis so you can donate to that. They also have a COVID-19 resource page.

Mei Mei in Boston, Massachusetts - They are still doing bulk orders, virtual dumpling classes, and selling gift cards.

Thank you all so much for listening to our second season! We really appreciate each one of you. If you have any thoughts about season 3, send them our way.

We’re also very grateful for Pared, our season 2 sponsor. Sign up to be a member now and join the community of other foodservice workers.

Help the restaurants and organizations featured in our second season:

Kin Restaurant in Boise, Idaho - support them by ordering delivery

Otono Mercat in Highland Park, Los Angeles - support them by visiting their location they’ve converted into a Spanish market. They also have gift cards and an employee relief fund.

Otono

Homeroom in Oakland, California - They are still open for take-out and delivery and they also have an employee fund.

Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement in Emeryville, California - Fernay and team are doing Saturday and Sunday orders right now and they also have a relief fund.

Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon - Le Pigeon is currently doing a cellar sale for bottles of wine. Plus they have other merch and gift cards for sale.

One Fair Wage - One Fair Wage has set up a relief fund for foodservice workers in need. You can donate to the fund or volunteer to help call applicants.

Giving Kitchen in Atlanta, Georgia - They are still helping foodservice workers in financial crisis so you can donate to that. They also have a COVID-19 resource page.

Mei Mei in Boston, Massachusetts - They are still doing bulk orders, virtual dumpling classes, and selling gift cards.

Previous Episode

Open Book Finances: Part One w/ Mei Mei

Mei Mei in Boston has been an open book restaurant since 2017. They train their entire staff on the finances so that everyone can have a voice in making the restaurant run more efficiently. But on March 9th, Chef Irene Li, owner of Mei Mei decided she wanted to take the education a step further and open their books to the public. What do the finances of a small independent restaurant really look like? Turns out, it’s even rougher than everybody would like to admit.

Next Episode

Leading the Way in Labor & Wage Issues

The systems that the restaurant industry is built on don’t work - they’re built on power imbalances and devaluing the labor of hospitality workers. More folks than ever are questioning these systems and looking to make change in the industry. As we’re trying to make changes to labor and wage issues in restaurants - who are we looking to as leaders? Are we looking to the chefs that are just now getting to the conversation - or are we looking to the chefs that have been doing the work and putting their necks on the line for years?

In this episode, Katy is joined by Dahlia Snaiderman in talking with four people that have been leading the way in labor and wage issues in the restaurant industry. Katy talked to Reem Assil and Preeti Mistry, two chefs from the San Francisco Bay Area. Dahlia talked with Yamila Ruiz and Jeanie Chunn from One Fair Wage and RAISE High Road Employers.

For more information:

About Reem’s California

About Preeti’s new restaurant concept

To join RAISE High Road Employers email: [email protected]

About One Fair Wage and ROC United