BRUSSELS—Belgium will scrap COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants and cafes, allowing them to operate under their usual hours as part of the government’s reopening plan and as more than two-thirds of the population have been vaccinated. But the measures, which will take effect on Sept. 1, will not apply to Brussels, home to the European Commission,…
Belgium, Except for Brussels, to Scrap COVID Restrictions on Restaurants, Cafes
NYC Restaurants Taken Aback by News of Vaccine Passport Requirement
NEW YORK CITY—Just as New York City restauranteurs thought they could perhaps see their way out of crushing COVID-19 restrictions and back to “normalcy,” the city’s government dealt out another blow—restaurants will now have to check customers for proof of vaccination or themselves face fines. In response, restaurant owners seem to have flocked to one…
Greece Orders Testing of Unvaccinated Tourism Staff on Islands
ATHENS—Unvaccinated workers in restaurants and tourism companies on some of Greece’s main holiday islands will be regularly tested for COVID-19 after the Delta variant fuelled a surge in infections, a minister said on Thursday. Mykonos, Santorini, Ios, Paros, and the cities of Rethymnon and Heraklion on the island of Crete have all seen rapid increases…
Laguna Beach Plastic Ban is Set to Take Effect
A plastic ban in Laguna Beach, Calif. prohibiting single-use plastic food packaging and cutlery takes effect July 15. The ban was unanimously approved by city council in March as part of its Neighborhood and Environmental Protection Plan, intended to help mitigate visitor impacts on the city. Single-use plastic food ware items will be prohibited from all…
Greece to Require Vaccination or Negative Test at Indoor Restaurants
ATHENS—Greece will require customers at indoor restaurants, bars, and cafes to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have tested negative within the last three days, the government announced on Tuesday to combat an infection surge. Under the new regulations, which will remain in force until August, all customers at indoor bars and restaurants…
El Pollo Loco Proves Chickens Can Fly With New Delivery Service
IRVINE, Calif.—El Pollo Loco has begun piloting its “Air Loco” food transport, becoming the first national restaurant company to pilot “door-to-backyard” drone delivery. “We want to lead the way in the quick service restaurant industry in a way no other brand has previously attempted,” Andy Rebhun, El Pollo Loco’s vice president of digital, told The…
Labor Shortages and Inflation Plague California Businesses
There’s an irony to the new dining area at Chef Andrew Gruel’s Huntington Beach, Calif. restaurant. Although he’s now permitted to fill it to capacity under California’s lifted guidelines, he can’t find the staff to work it. Statewide labor shortages and inflation are among the challenges restaurateurs are now facing as they crawl back to…
Mango and Peppercorns: The Unlikely Flavors of the American Dream
Katherine Manning was a graduate student when she began taking in refugees. She had a degree in sociology, but left career social work due to dissatisfaction with what she saw as the government’s wasteful habits. An Iowa-born Miami transplant, she had hosted Vietnamese friends in her Miami home before, but in 1975, when she saw…
No Tuna DNA in Subway’s Tuna Sandwiches, Lab Analysis Finds: Report
A commercial lab test commissioned by The New York Times found no identifiable tuna DNA in a number of Subway tuna sandwiches. In a report published Sunday, the NY Times said that a reporter acquired “more than 60 inches worth of Subway tuna sandwiches” from three Subway outlets in Los Angeles, and researchers were unable…
California’s Reopening Off to a Slow Start
After more than a year of being restricted, businesses in Orange County, Calif. began resuming normal operations June 15 as the state reopened. “Having our biggest businesses closed down for a year had a devastating impact on hotels, restaurants, shops, [and] many smaller businesses,” Anaheim spokesperson Mike Lyster told The Epoch Times. “This is a very big milestone, but…
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