4/13: Learn To Launch A Successful KickStarter with Brooklyn Foodworks

April 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment

food-incubator-brooklyn-foodworks-pfizer-building-1.jpgOn April 13th, you can join Brooklyn Foodworks and guest speakers Terry Romero and Rebecca Dengrove for a crash course in launching successful food kickstarter campaigns (not to mention a great networking opportunity with other foodservice professionals).

Romero is Kickstarter’s food project lead, and Dengrove has extensive experience building retail brands, including her latest project – Brewla Bars. For only $5, attendees will learn from the speakers (and each other):

– Tips and best practices for crafting a high quality crowdfunding campaign

– Opportunities for rallying your community around your project

– How to plan your campaign from start to finish: what to do before, during, and after your campaign is complete

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Filed Under: Events, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

New York Approves $15 Minimum Wage

April 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo followed closely on the heels of California yesterday, announcing an agreement with Albany lawmakers to raise the NY State minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next few years. The increase will begin with for workers in New York City employed by large businesses (those with at least 11 employees), who will have a minimum wage of $11 at the end of 2016, and an additional $2 each year after, reaching $15 on 12/31/2018.

The national labor rights movement has been fighting for $15 since 2012, and roughly half of the 50 states have increased their minimums somewhat (although the Federal minimum is still set at $7.25 due to congressional opposition). The final legislation in NY has not been approved, so it’s unclear how it will affect tipped workers. The tipped minimum in New York increased recently to $7.50, precipitating some of the gratuity-free movement. Additional increases would almost certainly prompt more NYC restaurants to raise prices and eliminate tipping altogether.

To read more, click here.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz, Heard on The Street, Operations Tagged With: , , , ,

Free Burritos Can’t Help Chipotle Recover before 2018, But Maybe Burgers Can?

April 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
burrito burger 009.JPG

Chipotle’s next move?

After their colossal – and well publicized – downfall, Chipotle has been doing everything possible to get back in customer’s good graces. That includes giving away about 9 million free burritos earlier this month, according to the chain (that’s $62 million worth, if anyone’s counting). They plan to send another 21 million free food coupons in the mail this month. But analysts from Wedbush Securities point out that, while sales may be returning slowly, the coupon strategy isn’t a sustainable one. Eventually, guests have to forget the reason they stopped coming in the first place.

The investment firm downgraded Chipotle’s shares and cut their target stock price from $450 to $400, saying that “current valuation reflects an overly optimistic outlook regarding Chipotle’s path to recovery.” They do not expect Chipotle to recover the sales lost from the salmonella, norovirus and E. Coli outbreaks until at least 2018.

One curveball to these predictions may be the news that Chipotle has applied for a trademark on the name “Better Burger,” indicating they have plans to recoup the losses in another way. It’s a strange move considering the number of existing burger chains, and there’s no word yet from Chipotle on how they plan to market themselves in this arena.

To read more, click here and here.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz Tagged With: , , ,

4/6: Taste of 5th

March 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Next Wednesday, Taste of 5th returns to Park Slope with over 30 local businesses representing the best food and drinks in the neighborhood. The event will be taking place from 6:30-9:30 pm at The Grand Prospect Hall, and tickets are available online now. Tickets are $55, with $20 from each purchase going to the charity of your choice.

Vendors this year include Artichoke Pizza, Gorilla Coffee, Oyster Bar Brooklyn, Stone Park Cafe and The Chocolate Room, among many others. There are 16 participating charities to choose from, so you can indulge in the best food in Brooklyn all for a good cause.

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

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4/2: Smorgasburg is Back

March 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment

JvP_092714_1132_print.jpgWith the return of Spring comes the return of outdoor markets, and April 2nd/3rd is the first weekend you can catch Smorgasburg and the Brooklyn Flea, now in Fort Greene, Dumbo, Williamsburg and Prospect Park. Smorgasburg, which began as a spin-off of the Brooklyn Flea and now includes 100+ local and regional food vendors, is open Saturdays in East River State Park at Kent Ave. and N. 7 St., and Sundays in Prospect Park at Breeze Hill (both days from 11 to 6). Brooklyn Flea itself has two additional locations. The markets will be open rain or shine, but fingers are crossed that April showers bring May flowers (and sunny days) soon.

Vendors can still apply to be part of both markets for the season. For more information, click here.

 

Filed Under: Local Market Buzz, Openings, Opportunities Tagged With: , ,

5/3: Queens Taste 2016

March 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Mark your calendars! Early bird tickets are on sale through March 31st only for Queens Taste 2016, taking place on May 3rd. Queens Taste is a showcase of the restaurants, food makers, drink purveyors, and other Queens-based businesses that make the borough so vibrant. This year, the cost of a ticket gets you all-you-can-eat-and-drink samples from over 60 local vendors, as well as free admission to the New York Hall of Science.

Vendors include Bareburger, The Astor Room, Bayside Brewery, Coffeed, and many more. Proceeds benefit the Queens Economic Development Corporation.

To read more or purchase tickets, click here.

 

 

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The Vanilla Shortage on the Horizon

March 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment

vanilla-shutterstock_281680811.jpgVanilla often gets a bad rap as the most boring flavor, but ice cream connoisseurs know that it’s still an irreplaceable necessity in the vast majority of varieties. This makes the news even more troubling that a vanilla shortage is driving supply down and prices up just in time for the warm weather.

The shortage has been caused by a particularly bad harvest months ago in Madagascar, the world’s largest producer of the beans. Since harvesting and curing vanilla pods is a process that takes several months, this shortage has been on the horizon for awhile, and prices have been climbing steadily. They’re now at near-record highs of $205 per kilogram, up from $85 last year and $20 in 2011. Apparently the process has become circular, with farmers picking beans earlier and lowering the overall quality of the supply.

These price fluctuations in crops are not new, and so far the 2016 crop looks to be doing better (so it’s unlikely we’ll have to hunker down for several vanilla-free years). The larger long term problems may be in coffee and cocoa, which are so far affected more negatively by climate change. The vanilla shortage of 2015 will hopefully just serve as an important reminder that ice cream’s most-maligned flavor is also one of the most important.

Filed Under: Global Market Buzz Tagged With:

4/18: Submit Your Bids for a Mobile Food Stand in the Battery

March 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment

The NYC Parks Department has put out a request for bids for the operation of six mobile food concessions in the Battery in Manhattan. Details are below!

In accordance with Section 1-12 of the Concession Rules of the City of New York, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (“NYCDPR”) is issuing, as of the date of this notice, a Request for Bids (RFB) for the operation of six (6) mobile food concessions within the Battery, Manhattan.
Hard copies of the RFB can be obtained, at no cost, commencing Monday, March 28, 2016 through Monday, April 18, 2016 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., excluding weekends and Holidays, at the Revenue Division of NYCDPR, which is located at 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 407, New York, NY 10065.   All bids submitted in response to this RFB must be submitted by no later than Monday, April 18, 2016 at 11:00 a.m.
The RFB is also available for download, commencing on Monday, March 28, 2016 through Monday, April 18, 2016 on Parks’ website.  To download the RFB, visit www.nyc.gov/parks/businessopportunities, click on the link for “Concessions Opportunities at Parks” and, after logging in, click on the “download” link that appears adjacent to the RFB’s description.
For more information, contact Glenn Kaalund at (212) 360-1397or VIA email at Glenn.Kaalund@parks.nyc.gov. Thank you.
TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR THE DEAF (TDD) 212-504-4115

Filed Under: Opportunities Tagged With: , ,

Food52’s New App Wants Us to Move Beyond The Recipe

March 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment

d515f71c-7b45-46cd-b072-faab5fbfdd36--2015-0609_enchilada_assembly_bobbi-lin_1344.jpgIn today’s interconnected world, there are more and more ways to decide what’s for dinner (or lunch, or breakfast, or brunch, or a midnight snack, or…you get the idea). There are brick-and-mortar bookstores riddled with cookbooks from seemingly every popular restaurant or bakery, not to mention every food network star and popular blogger. It’s also easier than ever to Google a dish and find countless recipes for it, each with a rating, time estimate, detailed instructions and lengthy comments section. Or you can subscribe to one of the many meal kit companies like Blue Apron, and have the ingredients delivered to your door along with the recipe.

While we love the exchange of ideas and inspiration that happens across all these channels, there are times it can be a bit overwhelming – and doesn’t necessarily reflect the way we cook on a daily basis. The app (Not)Recipes, released by Food52 last week, acknowledges this divide, and aims to bring us a new way of sharing food inspiration. (Not)Recipes is a sharing platform for images and short descriptions dishes, of the sort that you might email to a friend to let her know how to make those cookies you’ve been whipping up forever. The pictures themselves are beautiful, with filters inspired by famous chefs from different eras, and a simple hashtag system makes them all easy to search. Just don’t call it the “Instagram of” anything – users can’t follow their friends or favorite chefs, and that’s by design. Cofounder Amanda Hesser explains that they “wanted to get the message [out] that this really is about the cooking, and the social element will follow. It’s not a popularity contest.”

We still recommend hanging on to all your favorite cookbooks (we certainly will be), but consider adding (Not)Recipes to your rotation for some easy weekday inspiration. To read more, click here.

Filed Under: Heard on The Street, Local Market Buzz, Trending Now Tagged With: ,

4/6: CHiPS Spring Fundraising Gala

March 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, April 7th, CHiPS will be hosting a Gala in honor of NYC Councilmember Brad Lander, for his work in securing a generous grant for CHiPS to own and operate a soup kitchen and shelter serving Park Slope, Gowns and the surrounding neighborhoods. Attendees will enjoy live jazz, cocktails, wine, beer and delicious bites from neighborhood restaurants.

CHiPS is a wonderful organization providing as many as 250 meals daily through their soup kitchen to, as well as shelter and support to women in need through their Frances Residency Program. This Gala will be their first annual, and proceeds will go directly to helping the organization with their work.

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

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