The ‘Golden Age’ of Tech Company Cafeterias Might Be Over

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

• The “over-the-top” in-house cafeterias familiar to many Silicon Valley tech workers might not ever return, Bloomberg reports, as remote work is likely to become the post-pandemic norm, not the exception. The shift means thousands of food workers employed at the companies are now out of work, prompting many to start their own businesses, leave the dining industry, or move out of the Bay Area.
• San Francisco senator Scott Wiener says that COVID-19 offers state officials the chance to fix the CalFresh food stamp system, ABC 10 reports. “California’s food insecurity crisis is worse than ever, and we have a moral responsibility to make CalFresh benefits easier to access,” Wiener says, citing the many hoops those in need must jump through for a relatively paltry — but still crucial, for recipients — monthly sum.
• E. & J. Gallo has taken ownership of 30 wine brands like Ravenswood, Manischewitz and Clos du Bois, in a deal that initially prompted Federal Trade Commission objections. [SF Chronicle]
• Iconic Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse offered its first breakfast service Wednesday, under the watchful eye of founder Alice Waters. [Berkeleyside]
• SF-based vegan meal delivery company Thistle has raised an additional $10 million, a figure it hopes will allow them to expand to the East Coast. [SF Business Times]
• As it prepares for an IPO, SF-based grocery delivery app Instacart has hired a new CFO. [CNBC]
• Food critic Soleil Ho says that Horn Barbecue has a “comforting cookout-like atmosphere,” which comes in handy when there’s an hours-long wait for a meal. [SF Chronicle]
• Chef Hubert Keller, whose vaunted Fleur de Lys closed in 2014, is leaving his Las Vegas restaurants to “move on to our next chapter.” [Eater Las Vegas]