Are unemployment benefits keeping restaurant workers at home? Or is it low wages, lack of benefits, and subpar pandemic-era working conditions? I'm asking for industry workers' input on the labor shortage. inquirer.com/food/restauran…

Took a year and half on my beat, but I finally made it to the front page. My first cover story ever, at the erstwhile Baltimore City Paper, was about a craft brewery; funny (and sad) that another brewery story would also bring me here.

The most riveting, heartfelt read I’ve had in a long time from my stellar colleage Stephanie Farr

Looks like the cocktails to-go legislation might pass after all, if Pa.'s Senate leaves the newly revised bill alone... inquirer.com/news/pennsylva…

Glad to have a local endorsement on my latest story on Farm & Fisherman’s drinks program, but evidently it has a downside. It WAS packed on the Wednesday I went.

My bar-hopping habits have been temporarily curtailed, but I'm curious if others think bars are back to normal. Research tells me service-industry workers have mixed feelings. What say you? inquirer.com/food/philadelp…

There is a strong reluctance among City Council to recognize that adding time and uncertainty to the process does not come without costs. The hospitality industry is currently in no shape to bear these costs. Beyond lower sales, food itself is more expensive, labor hard to find.

“We have demonstrated, for example, that in Philadelphia, for every $1 invested in greening, society saves up to $333 that would have gone toward costs such as medical expenses, policing and incarceration.”

“How many restaurants would have stayed open with $70,000? Why reject over 70% of the applicants?” The RRF covered 100% recipients' loss b/w 2019 and 2020. Was that the best design for an underfunded, oversubscribed program? Me and @_Hetrick dug in: inquirer.com/business/resta…

A small-time importer is fighting back against the PLCB's ban on her product. She's got 30,000 bottles of vodka sitting in a repurposed limestone mine in Western Pa. inquirer.com/food/russian-v…

Lotta disappointed-but-not surprised restaurant owners out there today after the Senate once again declined to refill the #RRF. Read on to see how your senator voted. inquirer.com/news/restauran…

The Philly barista organizing wave continues! Welcome our newest union shop, Elixr Coffee Roasters! Workers at Elixr were voluntarily recognized by owner Evan and will be a part of PJB’s Local 80 alongside workers at Korshak Bagels and Good Karma Cafe!!

Baristas at Ultimo Coffee in Philadelphia have just gone public with their filing for a union election!! 📢📢📢

Breaking - crudités at the Fetterman party.

Surprising takeaway from a recent Q&A: "For as crazy as Pennsylvania liquor laws seem to be, for distilleries, they’re insanely liberal. ... It’s a good idea to be a distillery here." inquirer.com/food/manatawny…

Hold that gingerbread latte: Philly's Starbuck strike has expanded to five stores this weekend. Workers said the public reception has been overwhelmingly positive. inquirer.com/business/starb…

How much would you pay to take a tour of Lynnewood Hall, the 110-room Gilded Age estate in Elkins Park? (Whatever your number, it probably doesn't line up with the asking price.) inquirer.com/real-estate/ly…