Plan For Grocery Worker Hazard Pay Moves Forward in Berkeley

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

• An emergency ordinance would ensure that Berkeley grocery store workers will make $5 more per hour during the pandemic. The Bay Area News Group reports that newly-elected Berkeley City Council member Terry Taplin proposed the order, which upon approval would remain in place for three months, or until the city returns to the yellow tier of the state’s color-coded reopening plan. It would apply only to larger grocery stores — 25,000 square feet or more, and with over 300 employees — and might even be expanded to “other publicly traded companies, such as retail drugstores.” The ordinance was sent to Berkeley’s city manager and city attorney, who will evaluate the plan and return it to the council for a final vote.
• SF’s Board of Supervisors has approved a $1.9 million relief fund for Chinatown restaurants. [SF Business Times]
• Restaurant workers rallied in Oakland Tuesday, calling for a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour. [Bay City News]
• Smitten had launched an ice cream in honor of Vice President Kamala Harris, and will donate a portion of its sales to a non-profit that supports survivors of domestic abuse. [ABC 7]
• The founders of San Leandro’s Koolfi Creamery were inspired to start their business after they were struck by the driver of a bus while walking in San Francisco. [KQED]
• Over 50 Napa-area restaurants, wineries, and other businesses have filed a lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom, arguing that the maskless practice of sit-down dining is no different, coronavirus-wise, than the masked movement of people inside retail stores. [SF Business Times]
• 44-year-old West Berkeley bakery Vital Vittles is struggling to raise funds. [Berkeleyside]
• How Richmond’s Urban Tilth has stepped up efforts to fight food insecurity. [East Bay Express]
• New pop-up Yilan Foods specializes in Taiwanese beef noodle soup and a pork belly dish called lou ru fan. [SF Chronicle]
• Vegan pop-up Sammy’s Pupusas is cooking up free food for seniors who are sheltering in an Oakland trailer park. [Oaklandside]