Tom Colicchio Opens His First New Restaurant in 2 Years on Long Island

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio is set to open his first new restaurant in more than two years, this time on Long Island. Small Batch, opening tomorrow, will serve American fare made from locally sourced ingredients in a rustic, 180-seat space at Roosevelt Field in Garden City.

The space, modeled after a farmhouse, will feature an open kitchen and wood-fire grill churning out an American menu with an emphasis on Long Island regional products. Starters include honeycrisp apple and delicata squash with honey, smoked chile, and country ham. There will be a raw bar and seafood mains, like grilled swordfish, roasted cod, and braised tuna.

The Top Chef judge also has four kinds of pasta on the menu, along with meaty mains like braised pork belly, Long Island duck, smoked short rib, and grilled lamb sausage. A portion of the menu is dedicated to the wood-fire grill, with offerings like a half chicken, bone-in lamb loin, and a dry-aged New York strip.

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84 Million U.S. Wine Drinkers Fit Into Six Wine-Buying Segments

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“Representing 10% of wine consumers, Engaged Explorers are identified as the younger population of wine buyers. These are the most frequent buyers and they spend the most on high-priced wines than any in the list of six. They are called explorers because they drink many wine styles, from many countries and regions.

At 19% of wine consumers, Premium Brand Suburbans are middle to older age. They spend much less on a bottle of wine than most wine consumers and they are hard wired into staying with wines and brands they know, and members in this group happen to know more about wine than any in the five other segments.

Contented Treaters make up 17% of wine buyers. Like the “Suburbans” this segment comprises middle to older aged, but this group is affluent; they spend up, but they also don’t consume nearly as much wine as their counterparts. They go for a broad range of wines and are interested in a wine’s origin.”

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How CPG companies should adapt to “the new consumer experience”

"The traditional five Ps of marketing are obsolete in the era of the new consumer experience"

“It’s a brave new world for CPG brands – and the critical organising principle for food companies should be what I call the new consumer experience, which involves how we shop, what we consume and how we form personal relationships with brands.

And central to the new consumer experience is the millennial-minded consumer.

In this age of the new consumer experience and millennial-minded consumer, the traditional five Ps of brand marketing no longer apply as conventionally interpreted and understood. The emergence and centrality of the new consumer experience is changing everything we were taught in business school or on the job.

Why? Because consumers today want brands that create experiences that resonate with them personally and with those in their tribe or community who share the same values and lifestyles.

For example, telling stories and creating experiences around a CPG brand using social media and other creative online and offline platforms matters as much or more today than the free-standing coupon insert and 60-second television spot has over the last 50 years.”

Read more here.

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https://paigepapers.com/2018/12/05/17317/

NYC Issues Guidance to Employers

Earlier this year, the New York City Council enacted the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act, as we previously reported in our April 2018 alert and August 2018 alert.

The Act mandates sexual harassment prevention programs for all New York City employers and includes both notice and training requirements. Recently, the New York City Commission on Human Rights released responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs), which provide helpful guidance to employers in complying with their obligations under the Act.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

Employers with 15 or more employees and independent contractors at any point within the prior calendar year are required to begin training their employees and independent contractors annually (i.e., every calendar year) as of April 1, 2019. Employers only need to train employees and independent contractors who work more than 80 hours in a calendar year and work for at least 90 days. However, employers are not required to re-train their independent contractors if the independent contractors already received the annual training elsewhere.

The Commission is in the process of developing a free online training program that will satisfy the Act’s training requirements and also comply with New York State’s mandatory anti-sexual harassment training requirements. The Commission intends to make the training available to the public on its website on or before April 1, 2019. Alternatively, employers may create and provide their own annual training (or hire an outside party like employment counsel to do so) as long as the training includes the required elements detailed in the Act, such as:

• An explanation of sexual harassment as a form of unlawful discrimination under local, state, and federal law;

• A description of sexual harassment and examples;

• Any internal employer complaint process available to employees for addressing sexual harassment claims;

• The complaint process available through the Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and contact information for these agencies;

• The prohibition of retaliation against employees and examples;

• Information concerning bystander intervention; and

• The specific responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees in the prevention of sexual harassment and retaliation and the measures they may take to address complaints.

Employers are required to keep a record of all trainings documents, including signed employee acknowledgements that they participated in the required training, for a minimum of three years. Such records must be made available to the Commission for inspection upon request.

Notice Posting

The Act requires employers to post a notice of employees’ rights under the law. The required notice must be posted in English andSpanish in conspicuous locations accessible to all employees (e.g., breakrooms and other common areas). However, if a convenient physical location is not available or electronic posting is the most effective method of reaching employees, the notice may be posted virtually on an electronic bulletin board easily accessible to all employees. If employers have multiple worksites within New York City, they must post the notice at all such sites. If employers have remote workers, they can provide the notice by email.

The notice does not need to be printed in color; a black and white copy satisfies the requirements. The Commission intends to make the notice available in nine additional languages for employers’ use.

Fact Sheet Distribution

In addition to the posting requirements, employers must provide a fact sheet to all new employees at the time of hire and by no later than the end of each employee’s first workweek. The fact sheet can be included in an employee handbook or with other onboarding materials for new employees. It may be distributed by any print or electronic means that employers ordinarily use to communicate with their employees. The fact sheet currently is available in both English and Spanish.

Legal Standard

Finally, the Commission has clarified that the Act does not change the legal standard for gender-based harassment under the New York City Human Rights Law; the existing legal standard remains the same.

For more information about this alert, please contact Carolyn D. Richmond at 212.878.7983 or crichmond@foxrothschild.com, Glenn S. Grindlinger at 212.905.2305 or ggrindlinger@foxrothschild.com, or any member of the firm’s Hospitality Practice Group.

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Hass Avocado Board reports strong US sales growth

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“The Hass Avocado Board reported that retail avocado sales for the month ending Sept. 9 grew 8.6% compared with year-ago levels. That was more than double the gain of total produce sales, which were up 3.7% for the period compared with year-ago levels, according to a news release.

The board said the Northeast topped the regional rankings in dollar growth rate at 16.2% higher than the same period a year ago. The Northeast was boosted by the three fastest growing markets: Pittsburgh (+42.6%), Albany (+36.2%), and Northern New England (+26.6%). The board said Northeast dollar growth was driven by a significant gain in volume (+42.7%), despite a decline in average selling prices(-18.6%).”

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Ford teaming up with Walmart and Postmates on robot deliveries

“Ford is joining forces with Walmart and Postmates to create a grocery delivery service using self-driving vehicles in Miami, the companies announced Wednesday.

Ford has been using Miami as a test bed for its self-driving vehicles since earlier this year. And more recently, the auto giant joined with Postmates to see how people ordering takeout food would interact with an autonomous delivery van.

Now Ford is moving to the next stage: grocery delivery. The company says it will experiment with different vehicle types, as well as modifications to those vehicles needed to keep perishable food items fresh. It will also experiment with a variety of scenarios, such as multiple deliveries on one trip and the user experience of retrieving delivery items from a fully driverless vehicle.”

See more here.

NYC Food Trucks To Soon Get Letter Grades Like Restaurants

Food Carts, Trucks to Get Letter Grades Just Like NYC Restaurants

“Every cart or truck will be getting (a) newly designed decal, and when the inspector finishes the inspection, an ‘A’ looks just like the restaurant A,” says Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Health Corrine Schiff.

Beginning in December, all of the city’s 5,500 mobile food vendors will be graded on their food safety and will receive a corresponding alphabet score. A tracking device will also be attached to every unit so inspectors can keep track of each business.”

Read more here.

Walmart surpasses Amazon as online shoppers’ most popular grocer

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“The world’s largest retailer has surpassed the e-commerce giant in a survey of online food shoppers, more of whom said they most recently visited Walmart’s site for groceries. Local supermarkets were in third place, fueled in part by logistics provider Instacart, which handles orders for grocers like Kroger Co. and many others.

Walmart has moved ahead thanks to the rapid deployment of its curbside grocery pickup service, which is now in about 2,000 stores. An additional 1,000 will come on board by the end of 2019, the company said at a recent investor conference.

Walmart also works with delivery services like DoorDash and Deliv to bring groceries to customers’ homes for a fee. Amazon, meanwhile, offers grocery delivery from Whole Foods Market stores for its Prime customers in 60 cities, with in-store pickup now available in 10.”

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What Is Team Building, and Ways to Achieve It

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“Team building is important because it helps the people on a team learn more about one another, appreciate similarities and differences, understand each other’s roles better and develop skills to work together more effectively,” added Cox. “It makes working in a team more human, and less machine-like.”

Just like on a sports team, you want each member to get along well and acknowledge each other’s strengths and weakness, so they can work together accordingly. Collaboration will be more seamless if everyone is comfortable with each other.

Additionally, the company culture will feel more welcoming and supportive. Imagine walking into a room filled with silent colleagues who keep to themselves and don’t give you the time of day; now, imagine working with colleagues you also consider friends or acquaintances, who you can enjoy grabbing lunch or having a casual conversation with. it makes a major difference.”

View full article here.