This week, we charted the latest independent restaurant closures and there were a lot of big names dropping in July and August.

In New York City, the permanent closure list included acclaimed fine-dining spot Augustine. In Los Angeles, it included Michelin-stared Trois Mec, Patina and four other big-name restaurants that announced permanent closures within a week. 

And, the bad news continued.

Hee Sook Lee, the founder of LA-based BCD Tofu, died at age 61. Lee was often credited with popularizing Korean tofu stew in Koreatown in the 1990s and eventually grew her restaurant to a 13-unit chain.

President Trump signed an executive order and memoranda this week to extend unemployment benefits and allow businesses to defer payroll taxes, but whether or not it can be enforced without Congress' approval is unclear.

See what else was trending this week on Restaurant Hospitality, including a personal story from the chef at Whiskey Cake, the opening of a rooftop bar in NYC and two of our editors discuss the term "ethnic" when it relates to food.