Lake Tahoe Reopens Outdoor Dining

Welcome to p.m. Intel, your bite-sized roundup of Bay Area food and restaurant news. Tips are always welcome, drop them here.

• Coronavirus case rates in California’s “greater Sacramento region” have improved enough that their state-mandated home order has lifted. In what ABC 7 characterizes as a “surprise announcement,” Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the region’s exit, even though the 13-county area appears to only have 9.4 percent of its intensive care unit beds available. One of the counties in the region is El Dorado County, where Lake Tahoe is located, which means that just days before the long MLK Day weekend, the tourist-heavy area can reopen hotels to recreational travelers and services like outdoor dining can resume. “This is a huge relief, predominantly for our restaurant industry,” Truckee town council member Dave Polivy told the SF Chronicle. “This will give people an opportunity to, at the very least, get back to outdoor dining and get some respite from what has been a really overwhelming past six weeks.”
• A San Francisco communal living situation worked together — and, eventually, fell apart — as they plotted the coronavirus risks of activities like trips for takeout. [Wired]
• SF pastry shop B. Patisserie will pop up in San Mateo next week. [Palo Alto Online]
• A tariff that kicked in on Tuesday could up the cost of wines from France and Germany by 25 percent. [SF Chronicle]
• Mayor London Breed has announced a new grant and loan program for small businesses in San Francisco, with a focus on supporting restaurants, nightlife, and retail. [SF Examiner]