Senate proposes legislation for shutdowns, and an underrated wine country outsells French wine in the U.S.
Senate Proposed Legislation for Restaurants to Warn Employees 60 Days Prior to Shutdown
Source: Restaurant Business
Seems like everywhere we turn another restaurant is shutting down, but have you ever wondered about the staff that worked there and what happens to them? Probably not. Well thanks to two Senate members that is about to change, with a proposed legislation that would require more restaurants to give their staff a 60-day warning before shutting down.
The bill by Sen. Schumer and Brown lowers the threshold set by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (applied to businesses with more than 100 employees in total) and if passed would mandate a 60-day advance warning from businesses employing 50 or more. The purpose of the mandate is to prevent abrupt mass layoffs in the future and violators would be required to provide back pay and benefits.
Is Washington the New Wine Country?
Source: Star Tribune
When we think of wine country, we immediately think of California. But what if we look a little more north? Washington is home to the nations second-highest number of wineries, with more than 1,000 in the state. It might not be surprising that California wine is a top seller, but it is surprising that Washington wine is ranked fourth, outselling French wine in the U.S.
Washington is home to more than 70 grape varieties with popular reds producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and whites producing Chardonnay and White Riesling. Little rainfall and cooler ripening weather is perfect for these grapes giving Washington a higher percentage of 90-rated wines than other top wine-producing regions in the world, including regions that have been producing wine longer than America has been a country.
Business Shifting for Third-Party Delivery Providers
Source: Restaurant Business
Even though it might seem like everyone gets their food delivered and these platforms should be raking in the dough, they actually lose money in the first years of operations and make money in the later years. The problem though, there are too many of them saturating the market and there is no customer loyalty. Postmates closed an office in Mexico City earlier in the week, laying off employees and Waitr is working to consolidate operations down in Houston, pulling out of smaller markets in the meantime.
Consumers will only pay so much for a meal including the price to have it delivered, and if these delivery companies can't make money to be profitable, then the business structure will need to change. This means fewer players in the game or consolidating to find ways to be profitable, similar to what we see from Postmates and Waitr.
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