Best NYC Mexican Restaurants To Celebrate Cinco de Mayo 2019

Taqueria Santa Fe

Topping the list is Taqueria Santa Fe. Located at 4708 47th Ave. in Sunnyside, it is the highest-rated Mexican restaurant in New York City, boasting 4.5 stars out of 305 reviews on Yelp.

See more restaurant here.

Request for Proposals

For the development, operation, and maintenance of food, beverage and/or merchandise concessions at three Kiosks (Kiosks 1, 2 and 3) at Fordham Plaza in the Borough of the Bronx. 

Solicitation Numbers: Kiosk 1: 84119BXAD338, Kiosk 2: 84119BXAD339, Kiosk 3: 84119BXAD340
Issue Date: May 2, 2019
Due Date: June 6, 2019 at 2PM

In a public plaza, a small building stands. The building is closed and the doors are shuttered.
REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS (KIOSK RFPS)

The Department of Transportation (“DOT”) is seeking concessionaires for the development, operation, and maintenance of a food, beverage and/or merchandise concession at three Kiosks (Kiosks 1, 2 and 3) at Fordham Plaza located at Fordham Road, Third Avenue and East 189th Street in the Borough of the Bronx (“Plaza”). DOT is releasing a Request for Proposal for each kiosk available on the City Record at the following links or enter the Solicitation number in the search field of the City Record homepage for the publication.

Kiosk 1: 84119BXAD338
https://a856-cityrecord.nyc.gov/RequestDetail/20190425025

Kiosk 2: 84119BXAD339
https://a856-cityrecord.nyc.gov/RequestDetail/20190425026

Kiosk 3: 84119BXAD340
https://a856-cityrecord.nyc.gov/RequestDetail/20190502021

DOT is also seeking proposals for food, beverage and/or merchandise concession in the Café Building at Fordham Plaza. The Request for Proposals for the Café Building is found here: https://a856-cityrecord.nyc.gov/RequestDetail/20190402014. Prospective proposers are encouraged to consider applying to as many of these RFPs as they are interested in.

TERM
In each Kiosk RFP, DOT is seeking a kiosk concessionaire for one (1) five-year term with three (3) five-year renewal options, exercisable at DOT’s sole discretion. No longer term will be considered. This concession will be operated pursuant to a license agreement issued by DOT; no leasehold or other proprietary right is offered.

SITE VISIT 
There will be a strongly recommended on-site proposer meeting and tour of Fordham Plaza. The tour will take place on May 15, 2019 and will include a tour of the Café Building starting at 10AM and a tour of the kiosks at 11AM. We will be meeting at Fordham Plaza under the canopy at the Café Building doors in the northeast corner of the plaza near the corner of Fordham Road and Third Avenue. If you are considering responding to this RFP, please make every effort to attend this meeting and site tour. DOT will view favorably proposers that attended the site visit.

PROJECT MANAGER
The Project Manager for this concession is Brandon Budelman. All RFP questions and/or inquiries should be directed to him. He may be reached at:

Phone: (212) 839-9625
Email: concessions@dot.nyc.gov

You are receiving this email because you are on the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) mailing list for Food and Beverage or Merchandise solicitations.

Hard copies of the Kiosk RFPs can be obtained, at no cost, commencing on Thursday, May 2, 2019 through Thursday, June 6, 2019 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays, at the ACCO Contract Management Unit (CMU), 55 Water, Ground Floor; New York, NY 10041. The entrance to the CMU office is located on the south side of the building facing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Proper government issued identification is required for entry to the building.

https://paigepapers.com/2019/05/02/17585/

Starbucks Launches Summer LTOs

“It’s already summer at Starbucks as the chain brought back three of its limited-time Frappuccino flavors this week and also created a few other LTOs. The Frappuccino optons include the:

  • S’mores Frappuccino, which combines marshmallow whipped cream and milk chocolate sauce along with a blend of coffee, milk and ice. It’s finished off with more whipped cream and a graham cracker crumble.
  • Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino, made with mocha sauce and Frappuccino chips blended with coffee, milk and ice layered on top of whipped cream and chocolate cookie crumble and finished off with whipped cream and chocolate cookie crumbles.
  • Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino, a dark caramel sauce blended with coffee, milk and ice on top of whipped cream and dark caramel sauce then topped with another layer of dark caramel sauce, whipped cream, caramel drizzle  and crunchy caramel sugar topping.”

Read more here.

Beyond Meat’s Pending IPO Could Be Valued at $1.2 Billion

Image result for beyond meat

“Beyond Meat Inc., the maker of vegan chicken and beef substitutes backed by some of the biggest names in food and technology, is seeking to raise as much as $184 million in its initial public offering.

The company plans to sell 8.75 million shares for $19 to $21 each, according to a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A listing at the top of that range would give the company a market value of about $1.2 billion based on the shares to be outstanding after the offer, according to its filing.

The company is one of several makers of plant-based meat substitutes or lab-grown meats that have attracted high-profile backers. Its investors include Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and actor Leonardo Dicaprio, as well as former McDonald’s Corp. chief executive officer Don Thompson. Beyond Meat’s biggest stakeholders are venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers LLC, which owns 16 percent of the company, and Twitter Inc. co-founder Ev William’s Obvious Ventures with 9 percent, according to its filings.

Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. meat producer, is accelerating development of its own alternative-protein products and is also a backer of Beyond Meat. Tyson has invested in Jerusalem-based Future Meat Technologies and, along with Gates, Richard Branson and Cargill Inc., is an investor in Memphis Meats, a cultured meat producer.”

Read more here.

Bento Boxes Are Trending In Fast Casual

pei-wei-bento-promo.gif

We’ve rounded up several examples of the emerging bento box trend in fast-casual restaurants, from a bento-only delivery concept to an already-emerging chain undergoing a major expansion.

“The bentos are appealing because you’re not eating a huge plate of pad Thai, and then falling asleep at your desk the next moment,” Kelley said. “I lived in Japan for over a year and was always taken by the bento delivery system there … they deliver bento boxes and then pick them up in the afternoon. We are doing the same thing in Colorado, and we are essentially zero-waste.”

Read more here.

 

Three Owls Market: One Part Bodega, One Part Restaurant

Three Owls Market

“Lehrer Dumaine seeks to close the gap with Three Owls Market, which is one part bodega, one part prepared-foods all-day cafe and one part bar. The Mamaroneck, N.Y., native who lives close by, (“I’ve got it down to an eight-and-a-half-minute walk,” she says) hopes to serve the neighborhood with New York City bodega staples like Domino sugar, Heinz ketchup and toilet paper — and also feed and imbibe them, with a full menu of hot sandwiches, prepared vegetable dishes and rotisserie chicken, as well as craft beers and wine for happy hour.

To staff her full kitchen, Lehrer Dumaine brought in head chef Greer Lou, who previously worked as a private chef for Jessica Seinfeld at her Hamptons home, and is a veteran of Alice Waters’ Rome Sustainable Food Project.

Lehrer Dumaine has been working on Three Owls since 2017. The landlord for the property informed her the previous tenant — the Nonno Gourmet deli and bodega run by a man named Charlie — wanted to hang up his hat. Lehrer Dumaine said yes, and started on renovations and acquiring a liquor license; a process she says allowed her to become closer with the community.

“The liquor license process required me to meet with the neighborhood associations around here,” she explains. “That was really eye-opening to me because I’d never been involved with city politics before — just seeing how influential the people who live in a neighborhood can be, determining what goes where.”

Read more here.

China’s Fastest Growing Hotpot Chain Just Minted Two Billionaires

Image result for Haidilao International Holding Ltd

“China’s insatiable demand for spicy hotpot is placing the founders of a restaurant chain atop one of the world’s fastest-growing fortunes, allowing them to outpace many of the wealthiest families globally.

As of Monday, Zhang Yong, chairman of Haidilao International Holding Ltd., and his wife Shu Ping, had grown $6 billion richer in 2019, a 79 percent jump in just over three months.

That pace is the fastest in Asia and globally only topped by Australian mining baron Andrew Forrest, who has doubled his fortune this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.

Haidilao went public in September, and it’s been a lucrative time for China’s largest hotpot chain, popular for the spicy broths in which diners cook their meats and vegetables. The company is pushing to make its restaurants more efficient by creating automated kitchens. Perks like the free manicures it offers waiting customers have kept families coming in. And the brand is expanding overseas with new locations planned in New York and London.

Last year, revenue surged 60 percent to 17 billion yuan ($2.6 billion), and that’s helping to push the stock up more than 75 percent this year. At about $21 billion, the company’s market value is now higher than Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.”

Read more here.

Truebird Swoops Into New York with Robotic Specialty Coffee Kiosks

Truebird coffee

“(…) Could the surly and spirited humans of old New York embrace a joe by droid? A new company called Truebird has fluttered in to find out.

Like its predecessors, Truebird pitches its system squarely at the specialty coffee crowd, claiming that its automated coffee kiosks offer drinks that are “consistently as good as those made by the best baristas using the finest ingredients and equipment.”

At a Truebird coffee station, customers are able to choose a fresh and locally roasted coffee from a touchscreen menu, then designate a type of milk and an espresso beverage style for the machine to execute.

The flat ceramic “standard” burrs of one of the machine’s two integrated grinders break the beans. An extraction occurs, and milk is stretched by unseen internals as the customer waits, while a trio of cute, black magnet-driven pucks charmingly coordinate to nudge cups around on the visible surface behind glass.

“We chose our magnetic transport solution versus other options, including an articulated robotic arm, for a variety of reasons, but chief among them was the surprisingly warm, approachable, and magical experience it creates,” Truebird CEO and Co-Founder Josh Feuerstein told Daily Coffee News. “We believe a coffee break is not just about the quality of the drink, but about the feel of the experience. We’ve tried to make every element of our product warm, approachable, and beautiful, from the design of the micro-cafe itself, to the mesmerizing experience of watching your cup glide from the espresso machine towards your hand. We keep that emotional component top-of-mind in our design process. It’s a fascinating challenge, especially for an automated product.”

See more here.

Former Darden executive named president of Union Square Hospitality Group

ushg.png

“Former Darden Restaurants Inc. executive Chip Wade has been named president of Union Square Hospitality Group, the company said Thursday.

Wade, who moves into the role officially in mid-May, fills a position that has been empty since 2015, when it was held by Jeff Flug, who stepped down after the public offering by Shake Shack, which was once a part of the New York-based multiconcept group.

In his new role, Wade (left) will work directly with CEO and founder Danny Meyer, the board and the restaurant group’s leadership team to enhance and evolve the company’s culture, drive guest experience and bolster profitability, the company said.

“USHG is growing in some pretty exciting ways right now,” said Meyer, whose group operates about 18 restaurants under various brands, from the acclaimed Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern to the more casual neighborhood café Daily Provisions, the barbecue concept Blue Smoke and taco joint Tacocina.”

Read more here.

Toby’s Estate Brooklyn Changes Name to Partners Coffee

Partners coffee

Fresh off the heels of a second Brooklyn roastery opening and new cafe, Toby’s Estate New York today announced a name and brand change, becoming Partners Coffee.

Toby’s Estate in Brooklyn has been building a passionate following and impressive wholesale roster since opening with a Williamsburg roastery in 2012. Co-Owners Amber Jacobsen and Adam Boyd had licensed the name from the popular Australian roastery, founded by Toby Smith, of the same name.

While 2012 and the subsequent years turned out to be fortuitous times for Australophile specialty cafe businesses riding the Third Wave in New York, the change to Partners Coffee serves to better reflect the local ownership.

Ethan_Covey_photo

“We are only as great as the sum of our partners, and we are excited to continue evolving and growing with a new look, feel and name that fully embodies who we are and what we stand for,” Jacobsen and Boyd said in an announcement of the rebranding.

The Partners Coffee effort was assisted by the New York design firm Love & War, which sought to “develop a bold, dynamic design aesthetic that evokes heritage coffee brands and the classic energy, optimism and simplicity of old-school New York coffee counters,” according to the Partners Coffee announcement today. (…)”

Read more here.