Goodbye, Lord Stanley. Michelin-Starred Russian Hill Restaurant Spins Into Pop-Up Series

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

• Lord Stanley, the Michelin-starred and well-loved modern European restaurant in Russian Hill, will offer its last service on September 4, co-chefs and husband-and-wife owners Rupert and Carrie Blease announced in a press release Monday. The 40-seat restaurant on the corner of Polk and Broadway streets will become Lord Stanley’s Turntable, a sort of pop-up space where the Bleases and partner Michael Goldman, founder of TasteMakers, say they will host culinary talent from around the world for up to two months at a time. First up: Argentinian chef and author Narda Lepes, who was named Latin America’s Best Female Chef 2020 by World’s 50 Best. Other incoming chefs include Micaela Najmanovich (Anafe, Buenos Aires) and Mercedes “Mecha” Solís (Cafe San Juan, Buenos Aires). Turntable will debut on September 7 and will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. View upcoming chefs and make reservations on the Lord Stanley website.
• As the delta variant continues to spread even among vaccinated people, a number of San Francisco bars and restaurants have announced temporary closures after staff test positive for COVID-19. On Sunday, Spanish Vermouth bar El Lopo posted about its temporary closure on Instagram, writing in part, “this delta shit is no joke.” And El Lopo is far from alone. SFist reports temporary closures due to staff testing positive at restaurants and bars including Nari and Aziza in San Francisco and Oakland’s Kon-Tiki. [SFist]

• There’s still no mandate for restaurant and bar workers to get vaccinated, but business owners are getting creative about incentivizing workers to roll up their sleeves. North Bay’s Stark Reality Restaurant Group, which owns seven restaurants in Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, is spending $21,000 on cash gift cards in an effort to encourage more staff to get their shots, ABC-7 reports. Each restaurant will give away three $1,000 cash prizes in a lottery — a move the owner says was inspired by the governor’s “Vax for the Win” drawing last year. [ABC-7]
• The 2021 Farm-to-Fork Festival, the most-attended event in Sacramento save for the California State Fair, is on — but attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from within the last 72 hours, per the Sacramento Bee. The outdoor street fest will run Sept. 16 to 17; masks are recommended but not required. [Sacramento Bee]