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This week's top 10: The Senate passes $484B stimulus bill and replenishes PPP, White House announces reopening plans

Andrew Gruel of Slapfish on the future of the seafood chain, President's 'Economic Revival Group' has two dozen food executives and more trending news for independent restaurateurs

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

April 23, 2020

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This week, politicians outlined the next phase for the economy, reopening, while business leaders shared their stories with the staff at Restaurant Hospitality.

On April 17, the White House's coronavirus task force outlined the three phases of reopening the country, called "Opening up America" where sit down dining will be the first to open while bars will follow in the next phase. President Trump announced that 29 states were currently close to meeting reopening requirements set by the task force.

This came two days after Trump named over two dozen food industry executives to the "Economic Revival Group" to address the needs of restaurants and the food industry as states begin to ease lockdown restrictions.

And on Tuesday, the Senate passed the latest coronavirus stimulus bill that included a replenishment of the Paycheck Protection Program, the program that ran out of money in two weeks and was publically shamed for providing big restaurant chains like Ruth's Chris and Shake Shack with $10 million while smaller restaurants couldn't even access the website.

Our writers have been putting in more effort to hear individual stories from around the restaurant world. This week, Bret Thorn spoke with Andrew Gruel of Slapfish about how he's been handling the coronavirus pandemic in his restaurants. The two men spoke over Zoom about where the seafood chain is heading after the crisis begins to wane and the community at large.

See what else was trending on Restaurant Hospitality this week.

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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