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Weak Sauce? US relief bill may be too skimpy for restaurants
New York (AFP) - Washington's long-awaited pandemic relief package offers a lifeline to the devastated US restaurant industry, but eateries still face months of turmoil before they are clear of the coronavirus crisis. The $900 billion bill that provides more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), comes too late for the estimated 110,000 restaurants that have closed their doors permanently. Those that survived the shutdowns and restrictions on indoor dining, can borrow up to $2 million in loans that would convert to grants if at least 60 percent is spent on payroll. Despite some im...
AFP
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Regional dish: Varied rules mean uneven pain for US eateries
New York (AFP) - Houston restaurant chain Niko Niko's, like most American restaurants, took a hit from the Covid-19 shutdowns, though owner Dimitri Fetokakis believes it could have been much worse. But in New York, Vivian Forte, who owns Pisticci in Harlem with her husband, described the local city pandemic rules as "persecution." Everything's bigger in TexasMore lenient rules with higher indoor capacity limits of 75 percent cushioned the blow for Texas eateries. "We thank our lucky stars that we are in a city and state that allows us to work," Fetokakis told AFP. "I worry about these other s...
AFP
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Tokyu to open large mall with Aeon outlet near Ho Chi Minh City
HANOI, NNA - Japanese developer Tokyu Corp. will build a large-scale shopping center featuring an outlet of major Japanese retailer Aeon Co. near Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam. Tokyu announced Wednesday that the shopping mall, tentatively named SORA gardens SC and located in Bihn Duong New City in Binh Duong Province, some 30 kilometers north of Vietnam's most populous city, will initially open in the spring of 2023. It also said its Vietnamese subsidiary, Becamex Tokyu Co., will invest in the shopping center, which will be replete with restaurants and other facilities, in addition to a...
NNA Business News
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Delivery-only 'ghost' kitchens flourish during pandemic
New York (AFP) - You can't eat there or collect your meal. But so-called ghost kitchens, which only prepare food for delivery, are booming in the United States during the pandemic. Don't look for a Firebelly Wings or a Monster Mac restaurant anywhere in America because you won't find their signs on any street. Instead, their chicken wings or macaroni and cheese are found via smartphones. The new brands, like dozens of others, were invented solely for delivery. Their dishes are prepared in "ghost" kitchens, hidden commercial spaces closed to the public. The trend, sometimes called "dark" kitche...
AFP
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'Can't make a living': DoorDash couriers race to make ends meet
Marina del Rey (United States) (AFP) - Investors gorged on food delivery service DoorDash's US stock market debut Wednesday, but thousands of its couriers struggle to earn minimal wage and juggle working for multiple app services to get by, according to one Los Angeles worker. Driving in wealthy Marina del Rey, Devon Gutekunst scrolled through the DoorDash app and swiftly dismissed a notification offering a job that wouldn't begin to pay the bills. "$5.50 for 4.6 miles... which would be 30 minutes," he told AFP. "$11 an hour, that is an automatic decline. Not enough, right?" California's mini...
AFP
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Japanese food retailer Meidi-Ya to open flagship outlet in Singapore
SINGAPORE, NNA - Tokyo-based food retailer Meidi-Ya Co. will open a flagship outlet featuring premium Japanese food and beverages in Singapore on Saturday.The new store, which partially opened on Wednesday, is located in the Millenia Walk shopping mall in the heart of Singapore, according to the company.Operated by a local subsidiary, Meidi-Ya Singapore Co., the store occupying two floors also houses specialty corners, including a bakery and a beverage shop, based on a unique Japanese store design concept.The Japanese company opened its first outlet in the city-state in 2003 and another in Jun...
NNA Business News
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Kura Sushi Asia to start Taiwan OTC trading, eyeing regional expansion
TAIPEI, NNA – The Taiwan subsidiary of one of the largest Japanese conveyor-belt sushi chains is set to be traded over-the-counter (OTC) from September 17 after raising more than $17 million in a successful initial public offering last Friday.Kura Sushi Asia, which runs 29 stores in Taiwan, hopes the move will secure its position in the domestic market firmly before launching an expansion plan for China and SE Asian countries, said the company.Set up in 2014, the Taiwan subsidiary of Kura Sushi Inc. has been trading on the Taipei Stock Exchange's Emerging Stock Board since July 2019 after publ...
NNA Business News