Laurie Thomas: GGRA

Our second episode is with Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and a San Francisco restaurateur behind Rose’s Cafe and Terzo in Cow Hollow. We ended up recording this episode on the fly, truly, because of the big news that recently dropped from San Francisco Mayor London Breed. She has placed a temporary 15-percent cap on the often-excessive commission fees charged by third-party delivery apps to restaurants, which can reach up to 30 percent or more. We discuss the Mayor’s decision to help support San Francisco restaurants with this order (and through other ways), talk about some of the confusion surrounding the use and terms of these delivery apps, and Laurie shares additional thoughts about the massive challenges our restaurants are currently facing.

Two-Top:

1. Alamar Kitchen

Details of the Restaurant Workers Relief Program:

• Meal pickup address: alaMar Kitchen at 100 Grand Ave in Oakland.

• Meals will be distributed by contactless curbside pickup: Wed–Sun 4pm–6pm, first come, first served, as funding allows. Please pull up in your car on Valdez St. Walk-ups are also welcome.

• Everyone must show some identifying paperwork to prove recent employment at a restaurant. A paystub will suffice in most cases.

Updates: @alamaroakland

2. Fiorella and Bi-Rite Market: Pay It Forward Tuesdays

Every Tuesday at Fiorella’s Richmond (2339 Clement St.) and Russian Hill (2238 Polk St.) locations, they will hand out 100 free meals to healthcare workers, members of the restaurant industry (including the farmers, purveyors, and drivers who continue to provide food to restaurants), and grocery store workers. The meal is a choice of pizza (margherita, mushroom, or pepperoni) or pasta (cacio e pepe or pomodoro) from Fiorella, plus a fresh seasonal salad from Bi-Rite. At pick up, proof of employment is requested (current badge or paystub from March or April) for those currently employed (or recently laid off).

Orders can be placed in person or over the phone at 415-829-7097 for pickup at the restaurant’s Russian Hill location, or 415-340-3049 for the Outer Richmond, 4:30pm–9pm every Tuesday.

Updates: @fiorellaitalian and @biritesf

If you’re reading this in a podcast service, you can access the actual links in our episode notes at ontheflytablehopper.buzzsprout.com.

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