I think you're overlooking one major element, which is that more people will start to take the power of cooking back into their own kitchens. Cooking at home, where you are in control and can trust the food you are eating is something that use to be commonplace in most cultures/societies but has recently been outsourced to larger companies and restaurants in the last century. Yes, more people will certainly be ordering "government approved" meals like you mention, but there will be a massive shift back to home cooking again, which you can start to already see trending in the last month. The food companies who can provided and deliver ingredients to people at home will also thrive moving forward. Great piece Vice, it's nice to get proper information from someone directly on the inside of this world.
Fastfood business will still be up and running. We saw something in this and I agree with you. Fastfood businesses in our country sold uncooked products like burger patties, marinates chickens, uncooked pies, etc. It is for the customers to cook because it is safer and customers tend to buy them rather than buying the cooked ones which are risky. Food safety just isn't good at this point in time that is why cooking your own is the best way and safest way.
I'm saddened to be the contrarian here-I'm a chef and registered dietitian and of course cooking from scratch at home with fresh ingredients is great, and your TH-cam channel is a great resource there but I have to go back where Dave Chang pointed out the whole big lesson in this situation is that the crisis in the restaurant business only exposes the structural problems in American society, namely income inequality, gender roles and inequality there, and huge privilege it is to be able to have the free time and money to afford to buy and cook fresh nutritious groceries. I've tried to wrestle with these issues my whole adult life, and I've learned simply saying "go meal prep in your kitchen, it's easy" is not enough. Cooking at home has been commonplace because either wages were high enough in the 50s and 60s for the wife to not work and cook at home (similar gender roles in traditional cultures around the world, for better or worse), you had domestic help to actually cook those meals, and now in the present day you have to hustle with multiple jobs to make low pay and high rent work with no remaining time to cook, or an always-on demanding job that truly doesn't leave time to shop, cook and clean. Please read these resources for more thoughts on this. I encourage a more nuanced, intelligent discussion, but again this is TH-cam we're talking about sadly: www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/03/pressure-cooker-home-cooked-meal/583876/ journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1536504214545755 www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/10/work-its-whats-for-dinner/599770/
I don't know how these industries can be rescued. They completely rely on people like me, a middle-middle-middle-class person who historically spent a lot of money on things I didn't need, and couldn't really afford. I used to go to restaurants multiple times a week. Always going to happy hour and tipping everybody generously, going to upscale places for dinner, and heading to outdoor, waterfront places for Sunday brunch. It was fun, but it was a waste of my limited resources. How are we going to maintain this culture of excess, that the restaurant industry relies on, with unemployment sky-rocketing? Eventually, middle-income employers will start dumping workers too, and everybody is going to tighten up their belt. Now that I'm eating and drinking exclusively at home, I'm finding I have no need for bars and restaurants. I expect my personal expenditure on drinking and dining out to go down by 75% or more.
yep you understand. the unconscious culture of greed and extravagance, which is perpetuated by our media, had served to prop up so many of these industries which did not otherwise have any sound foundations supporting them.
Good luck on a post pandemic world with 80% of your favourite restaurants closed. Also whatsoever business you are in, you might need people with disposable income to spend.
It’s funny how most people don’t have a basic understanding of economics. When business close and people lose their jobs, there will be a chain of reaction that will come back to everyone of us.
Please do a piece on the beauty industry, hairdressers, nail techs. Most are self employed or 1099 without access to traditional unemployment and while the federal government says it’s extending unemployment to encompass these people some states like California have yet to even begin accepting these applications. With the risks associated with the nature of contact in the industry many business closed early March. That means these people and business will go with no support for two months or more.
Instagram. Detroit. We have a pretty extensive record of what happens when local, state, and federal governments fail this industry. Look to the Rust Belt for answers. No one knows how things will ultimately shake out, but there are clues. The beauty industry will likely become more social-media driven. It will require upfront screening of clients (possibly equipment/testing), sound respiratory hygiene (N95 mask), and plenty of soap (the virus lives in a fatty, lipid membrane that can be destroyed by soap). These up front costs will likely split beauticians into four groups: those with multi-faceted expertise so that upfront costs can be spread across multiple procedures (hair, nails, makeup, etc); those with niche expertise (complex and labor intensive beauty procedures); those who can incorporate the sale of retail beauty items (direct sales); and those who cut corners on health and safety and drive down prices (the dark market). Bottom line: costs are going to have to increase because of the risks involved, and an unregulated dark market is likely to develop. To reduce costs, I see the industry moving almost exclusively to door-to-door appointments. That's just my two cents. Some good, some bad. More money. More hassle.
Agree. Beauty employs many and has a lot of small businesses. They also have small margins like restaurants. I’ve heard industry leaders say 1 in 3 salon/spas could end up having to close because they can’t stay closed this long or they can’t handle the extra cost of PPE plus reduced cash flow.
its not just restaurants or bars. im a dentist and about 80-90% of my colleagues are going underwater or at risk of losing their clinics / practices. any profession that can't be made remote has become obliterated.
But won't dentistry pick back up once the government "lockdown" is over? I can't see people not going to the dentist. Most people want to keep and take care of their teeth. Or is the issue, people won't have the $ to go if they lost their jobs and insurance?
I'm betting my tooth fixed as soon as they open up my dentist's or ANY dentist office. Snaggle tooth just ain't cute. Restaurant is much more impacted. As he said...any one that has the most CASH to lay them over will survive this so if you SAVED during good times...you can last a bit during lean (er) times. People that were just making payroll and enough to pay rent for the next month...won't last. Dentist's must be open in order to keep earning monies. But as soon as you reopen...people like me will come flying in. Hopefully this time you'll be nicer. Dentist can be some attitudish folk...not all....ijs. Btw, Ive saved CASH to get 2 teeth fixed because my insurance wont cover the full cost . When restaurants reopen, I will not be running to them because I wasnt a big outside eater BEFORE this Covid-19 so I'm gonna eat out even less now. I cook...but I cant fix my own tooth. Good luck.
Fancy Chef: "Without expensive eclectic restaurants, people will have less choices about what they can eat!" Poor people who have always relied on delicious authentic ethnic home cooking: "This fuckin guy."
As someone that is a server that is unemployed, all claimed tips are counted as income. It has been my policy to claim all my tips, as you should, for credit purposes, and honestly, I want to pay my taxes because this is why we need to have liquidity in treasury. Claim your tips, people!
Not a fan of the audio editing on recent videos. Doesn’t have to be like the movie inception on every post! It adds unnerving tension that’s not needed
Check if your local farms have a stand/place for pickup. No farmers market so if you got a car and cash/money support your local farms/businesses. Stay healthy, stay sane, and stay safe.
A lot of low-income people view eating at a mom-and-pop diner as a luxury, and here we have these people who run fancy, high-priced restaurants in NYC saying they should be treated like a necessity instead of a luxury. Ugh. Of course I feel awful for underpaid restaurant workers who are suffering more than normal right now, and I'm angry that our grocery story supply chain was totally unprepared for an event like this -- but insisting that luxury restaurants deserve a bailout is ridiculous, entitled, and tone-deaf.
I get where your coming from, because these are the people who are serving a very privileged customer base, but I do think they should get some type of support because of all the industries theu touch. I think that out of all the ways to spend ridiculous amounts of money, going to a restraunt like momofuku's noodle bar and spending that 200+ per head will have the greatest impact in that the money you spend will be pretty well and immediately distributed back into the economy. I think david mentioned how the noodle bar has 300 something purveyors which is wild because lots of them only sell to restraunts. But anyway, an industry like the fashion industry I would be with you 100, they shouldnt get much if any help because they are not really having the same type of impact on their local communities as the restaurant industry is. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk :)
Low income households should not be eating at any restaurant. Not even Mcdonalds. My family was eating ramen cube steak when appropriate. I know the struggle. Eat within your pay...
@@francisd7081 Yeah, and about a third of Americans would struggle to pay $195 even for a crucial replacement of a flat tire or a shattered windshield. The idea of the government bailing out restaurants that charge that much per meal (and serve such a 1%er clientele) would probably enrage most of the people who are being hit the hardest by this crisis. I get that Vice's CEO dude likes eating there, and he admitted off the bat that this episode was basically a selfish way for him to convince other people to care, but wow.
Quick Telling 16 restaurants each one probably generating $1 mil or more. Tbh I still feel bad for them. Perhaps the govt should still provide them aid. The problem is our govt and congress gave the masses of people peanuts will bailing out corporations with massive money in reserve. A one time payment is NOTHING where I live, so something like a monthly relief is more adequate
It's such a scary/frustrating time for anybody involved in restaurants. I co-own 2 small restaurants here in southern CA and my partners and I are pulling our hair out trying to come up with a way where we can still be in business in the foreseeable future while keeping our staff paid. TBH, it's not looking well and we're probably going to have to fully restructure to even be open when we can. It's heartbreaking since our staff are all close and the last thing we want to do is let any of them go since they really are like family. I can only hope and pray that this will end soon and we can begin rebuilding.
Never realized the was such liquidity issues in the restaurant business cause all the top chefs like Dave chang always seems to be like rock stars with bottomless deep pockets-eye opening
At the highest level, yes, there's money in being a professional chef but the vast majority of food service isn't a celebrity chef. Shit, remember even Tony Bourdain was self conscious about spending on his duck press and his Kramer knife, and he was a successful chef, author, AND TV star at that point. But back to regular restaurants, you heard him point out even Chipotle will be running into their financial bumper and they're HUGE. Mom and Pop restaurants are often times one or two decisions away from closed. 59% of restaurants don't make it past the first 3 years. Only lucky, hard working people make the living one might expect to fund a household, so times like these, they're almost assuredly screwed. I truly wish everyone at one point or another worked in a restaurant, because I think we'd respect and value the work that industry does for us all much more than we currently do. For every rock star celebrity chef, there are a thousand line cooks who make sure you're fries are right, your burger is right, and they work cheap enough that you can afford it. Restaurants demand long hours of hard labor, for barely passable wages, across a vast spectrum of culinary traditions and price ranges, and we love them because they're convenient and they allow us a brief transport into someone else's world, a world where we don't have to prepare our own food. ;)
I am ordering a lot of food from local small restaurants that have pivoted to to-go orders. Eventually, they will open back up for traffic at their locations. Those that do nothing will fail. I don't think tho that its the end of good small restaurants. I think diversifying, having a lot in savings and having a plan is the only way forward though. I miss my fav restaurants and my movie theaters.
@@candaceshedd3414 huh? You misunderstood. They should raise the prices 10% after all of this is over to save up money for the next catastrophe. I would not mind paying 5-10 bucks more for the experience if I know I m helping him to survive in the tough times as well.
Thank you for having this honest conversation...our little coffee shop/ cafe is hanging on by a thread and I'm 56 years old working with my 75 year mom and my oldest daughter...we are very scared for the future of the food industry and all the chain reactions for the periphery businesses.
Feel badly for David Chang. He looked so depressed. The American food industry will need to be reimagined. I think it'll turn into something like "Spyce" in Boston with robot-prepared food. It'll be easier to ensure cleanliness standards while providing some variety of menu items. This is not the end of the food industry. The innovators will survive.
I would love for someone to address the fact that restaurant owners put the employees in this position by paying them a little as possible. Maybe we can have some sort of plan to take care of our own when we reopen. Or, we can rush back to taking advantage of and churning and burning our employees?
@@nazgul7914 #1 100%. Its disgusting how we treat the food service industry as an afterthought. #2 I did exactly what I am advocating for while maintaining the cheapest beer and food prices in our categories in Chicago. We did it for 10 years. Paid people a lot of money. And then sold last year after a decade. It can be done but it just isn't. Chefs and owners would rather pay the min and churn and burn rather than invest in someone for the long haul. I had cooks, dish and FOH for 10 years. They made a lot of money. They had 401k and profit sharing. Cooks made over 20 an hour. I invested in them and they helped make my restaurant a success.
Craig Fass majority complain if food prices go up. I respect what you did. I was also working in the industry and then helped my family with food business and realized why salary is low. I can think of ways to pay good money while also making a profit but I can also think of many reasons why the pay is so shit. Why would you sell it tho? You finally can’t handle it anymore? Coz tell you the truth I’m about to give up with this industry. And I’m talking as an employer.
@@nazgul7914 Yeah it was a tough run. I worked the line for 30 years until my last day. 10 years owning this place and then the previous 6 years owneing another location and it really breaks one down. We hit a 10 year mark and decided we wanted something different for ourselves. It made it hard b/c we had so many loyal employees and customers who built the place with us but we set up the retirement funds b/c this was our plan. We had another 10 years on the lease so it was now or never. It wasnt getting easier and we had a great brand to sell. We were keen that there was some sort of catastrophic event coming down the pike (war, crop shortage, market crash, mass migration, climate change effecting stability), as one seems to happen every 10 years, and we didnt have the energy to fight through it. All I could control was our place. I try to convince others of the benefits of that program and how it adds incalculable value to your place. Guests love coming in for years and seeing the same server. And their food is cooked by the same cooks who are paid well and are not over worked and want to be there to make the place better. We were a team, my wife and business partner outworked everyone. So, you couldnt really complain to us about much as we did everything with everyone. It was a real special place and Im grateful the experiences and will value the memories and familes Ive gained. But im so lucky to be on this end right now. I put in 30 years and it just dawns on you one day that no one really gives a shit about you as an employee. So, if we could invest in them and they invested in us, and we did it together. It cost us a lot of money in the long run but it was worth it. Some people had over 40k in savings from what we did. Thats helping them get through this. I dont want to rush back to a failing system in which we love each other so much but the bosses fail to take the steps to set us up for the future. I don't know how we, as an industry, come out the other end here.
The White Belt Sous Chef respect man. You had exactly the kind of restaurant I dreamed of. Making good food while having happy employees who want to stay for the long run. I tried to convince my family to give our staff better pay or profit sharing but I understand now why it’s hard to implement with regulations in our country and the fact that the business sometimes don’t even make money. It’s tough times man but I do understand your point. I do wonder why the big businesses won’t pay their staff better. They would benefit in the long term. Recruiting staff and training is much harder than simply retaining them. One big business I would like to emulate is chick fil a. They seem to have a thriving business with loyal employees
Do you even know who this guy is?! He owns a bunch of overpriced restaurants (not one having a Michellan Star) and provides a service that nobody wanted during COVID?! Don't bundle the food industry into one. Nobody wants or needs overpriced extravagant restaurants during bad times. And we especially don't want them to be subsidized with public money?!
@@blinksstayfresh2524 Current system is bound to fail on some way of another. The sooner it collapses the sooner we can start building a new one. I say this not out of misanthropy but because nothing lasts forever. And the current model how value of currency is generated is fucked up.
Just because I’ve seen a lot of comments about it...much of the margins for restaurants are not in the food. They are in the drinks or desserts or extras you may buy. That is why so many restaurants, even if they have delicious food, close their doors if their rent goes up or other costs increase. David Chang aside, many restaurants face this dilemma. Even if they didn’t close down, they have severely reduced their staff while trying to make as much revenue as possible.
Dear Mr.Chan. i, from my part will continue to not set foot in fast food restaurants, will continue to strive for quality. I rather eat less (in terms of frequency and portion) than eat crap. I will gladly at this point donate my "eat out monthly budget" to a fund that would help the unemplyed workers and small business
Even McDonald’s when I go in the morning before work sometimes sense this there almost none in the drive through when normally there’s at least 10cars now maybe 3 at the most
I used to enjoy dining at these “Gourmet” food places. I realised they’ve been overpricing and overcharging people. Ghost Kitchens and Home Cooking should be encouraged whether there is a Pandemic or none.
Fast-food chains that offer the most practical choices given the circumstance will survive this ordeal. I don't see how people are gonna look to spend hundreds of dollars on fine dining experiences and more specialized food options. That's the sad reality of the food business. What people don't realize is that the culinary scene for most of these chefs does not rake in a ton of cash. It's more of a day in day out survival set up that is dependent on cash flow and once you cut that off, it is unlikely you'll survive. This industry is fueled by passion mostly, not money, and its sad that some of them might have to look elsewhere or put their dreams on hold for now.
I like how no one mentioned the cut delivery systems like GrubHub take from restaurants. Sometimes it is 30%. How about people just do "drive thrus" and leave delivery to those who truly need it. Get some tape, tape your contactless tap credit card to your window, the person will scan it & leave your food. Then restaurants will get a better profit margin and those who truly need access to delivery will have it.
A Y well, there’s not much gained from just selling food. Many of these sit down restaurants depends on alcohol sales and getting you to buy a dessert when you didn’t plan on it. The food gets people in the restaurant but the margins are in the extras.
It’s even worse than explained because this virus isn’t going away anytime soon and because of that people are going to choose not to dine out even when the restaurants reopen. The tax payers cannot float the entire industry while that happens. Quantitative easing will kill everyone’s savings trying to do so.
Dude I worked in retaurants, sometimes only the waiters have papers, most of the people working in the kitchen don't have papers, all those undocumented workers aint getting no unemployment they don't qualify for it. Its a messed up situation
@@forbin1185 so you have no problem using them dirt cheap until they get screwed over, then say fuck em. Nice that's definitely more moral than crossing an arbitrary border on a planet to try to better your life.
completely agree with Pro Home Cooks! i have been an advocate for home cooking among my veteran friends for years...you have the ultimate control over what goes in your body...i dont think the restaurant industry will fall completely flat, sure it will take a big hit, but wont fail completely...and i am referring to the mom and pop shops and the Momofuku's of the world...they wont disappear if they adapt to current and upcoming changes...how did the industry do over the years with the changes to sanitary and cleanliness standards? they did just fine... back to the home cooking thing though...i think home cooking NEEDS to make a comeback...restaurants will still be there, they will just become less of a normal daily thing and more of a luxury like they used to be...fast food will always be there...but if we teach our children and ourselves to cook, when we do go out to the Momofuku's we will have the pallet necessary to truly enjoy the food placed in front of us... food service employees should be treated like essential workers and should be treated as such with the correct training and safety standards so not only they dont get sick, but so we as consumers dont either...i have never been a fan of the lower wage of the servers vs the rest of the staff...i prefer the European model, where the tips are included in the total cost of your meal...if the food service industry, like i said before, adapts to changes and implements new safety standards they will do just fine...to which i agree with Chef David Chang should be well thought out and should include leaders of the industry to set the standards for the entire breadth of the companies and restaurants around the country and the world...this can be done, and it doesnt have to kill what we all love and enjoy about food, being an experience... one of the best videos on this subject i have seen so far...thank you for producing it!
A good case study of this issue would be NOLA after Katrina. And I contend that was worse can actual facilities had to be rebuilt, mostly from scratch. How did that recovery work? NOLA is a heavy restraunt/hospitality city, so was there loan forgiveness?
Well it also opens up the chance to get cooks to come to your house and cook a whole meal for whomever lives there, Been a cook for over 20 years and this situation hurts everyone in the restaurant industry,but there's always light at the end of the tunnel,im the type of guy that enjoys people's faces when they try what i cook so i do care very much about this topic and what the owner of the restaurant said Finally everyone is going to appreciate "the kitchen staff "once and for all..
Great and insightful video! Big fan of David Chang. People like him got me into making free promo materials for restaurants in my community. I feel this illustrates why America needs to step away from a ‘tipping’ model. In Australia we pay way more for food but our minimal wages are much higher than $5. Don’t get me wrong the crisis has affected us too but the safety net is a bit stronger. Thoughts?
Kid 10 years from now: sounds weird why would people do that when u can invite people over have them get trashed and mess up our furniture and us get stuck with washing dishes and cleaning up and having bought all this food and not made a dime off it 😂
The last thing I want during a pandemic is to consume food prepared by someone I don't know. I don't even eat drive through. For me it isn't about finances or convenience. It's that I'm going to be actually consuming what is prepared. During this time, I'M making what i eat and I'M cleaning everything during the process..
@@adimulyono8741 Don't be silly. There isn't a "pandemic" of any of those issues. One can generally assume one isn't exposed to those in normal society. The risk is very low, hence the term "pandemic". In THIS environment, you'd be thoughtless to let random people prepare food you are putting in your body. There are way more long lasting issues with COVId-19. This thing is leaving damage to many organs. It isn't the cook giving you the flu.
@@timinfinite No because allegedly it originated in Wuhan in the wet seafood markets. It seems it was someone eating a bat that started it all. But if you read a lot like I do, they are going back before even that to a mistake at a lab. I'm no tin hat kind of person but the MOST close someone can get to infecting me with something is if I eat it. I'm not talking about intent. They obviously don't want me to get sick but if they can't keep the virus out of the food, why would i risk it?
This is simple. A lot of restaurants chains and restauranteurs have stretched their finances too thin by using debt facilities to expand their brands taking advantage of the ARTIFICIAL low interest rates. The right way to expand is to do it organically. It is a common mistake and many will not survive. They are in part responsible for their own demise. Back to basics, reduce the number of locations, make a profit, save it and expand slowly as demands grows.
I agree, restaurants workers have been deemed essential workers, so they need to be treated like essential workers. At the very least they need additional protection against contracting the virus and a certain level of financial protection during this time. The restaurant supply chain has been able to continue to feed the public when the grocery store supply chain has had a harder time keeping up. But, the restaurant industry, along with all other industries, need to look at this as an opportunity to better protect themselves and their employees for times like these. Something like this, in some shape or fashion, will happen again. This is just my opinion.
Its ridiculous when the airline industry is begging to get help financially from the government for billions of dollars. They make so much money already, with expensive food items at airports and such. When this disease ends, people will still have to fly, regardless of lifestyle and cultural changes. Meanwhile, the restaurant industrtay never recover again. Definitely underappreciated and underrecognized
SgtMorninWood couldn’t agree anymore. Sadly their is no representation for small restaurants. It’s pretty much gona be like fast food/fast causal or fine dining. The whole I studied and staged for 10 years and now I wana open my own small resturant with a tasting menu spot is gona disappear. But hey you still got that resturant recovery plan loan comin in klutch right? Nope big chains like Taco Bell and McDonalds have drained the funds already. And you a independent restaurant gets sweeped under the rug. But hey you should hAvE sAveD aNd pRePaReD yOuR fInanCeS.
I appreciate the problems that this pandemic is putting forth and the safety net is more about taking care of the health of the American people and not the business of the American people. In a regular time frame restaurants especially in New York and larger cities constantly close and new ones open on a regular basis. There are statistics about this and there is no safety net for this because this seems to be the cutthroat nature of restaurants -- not all restaurants will succeed. If there was a recession this would still be a thing where restaurants would close and new ones would open but no one cares about that during a recession and even without a recession this still takes place. Why is that? It sucks but that is the reality over the long term so why are people avoiding talking about that outside the context of COVID-19?
I feel like Bob Iger from Disney must have had a talk with Shane and Suroosh about the sale of Vice. Seeing Shane and Suroosh come back after finessing $600 million out of Disney... somethings wrong.
Let's be real here, there are lots of industries hurting now and yes the food/restaurant industry can be deemed essential but these "fine dining" establishments for the most part are not even affordable to the "average" person....this piece is so 1 sided. Thanks Vice!
Let's be real - most people in urban areas were eating out 3+ times a week. Not fine dining, the corner thai or mexican joint. They will also absolutely be affected. Would love to see why you think this report doesn't cover that angle.
Jason Bennett Most people, including myself were eating out way more than that. My average monthly restaurant credit card bills are around $2500. It’s what I love to do. I also love to cook and that’s what I will be doing mostly for a while to come. Every form of eating out is a luxury for anyone who has a kitchen, access to a grocery store, and any basic skills with cooking so basically everyone.
@@JohannGambolputty22 some people eat out because they don't have the energy to cook at the end of a long workday. some eat out because they don't have access to the range of nutritious foods. regardless of why, if you're arguing for a structural shift to where we're spending our money, we should not do this on the backs of workers who are *not* living lives of luxury, without providing a safety net and an economic vision.
The gov needs to expedite the process for unemployment. The additional $600 a week on top of the normal allowance is what these workers need. What’s the point of passing a bill if you can’t execute it?
badhabit . Do not get too excited. Look at articles where the full fresh new vegetable crops are being burnt trashed thrown to garbage tractored over in fields all over the world.
The Munchies has featured a lot of Momofuku restaurants and other thriving, old and new, great restaurants. And watching this video I just realized that most of these people, Momofuku's chefs, waitress, managers, janitors, etc have mostly been laid off.
When you start business. You are trying to build yourself up to have a good financial future. How can you run such a large business and not have 3-6 months of emergency fund.
tracy winans I understand low profit margins. He doesn’t have to open so many restaurants and hiring so many people if he doesn’t have to funds to do so. It’s all about understanding how much you have and how much you spend.
Feel free to show your work Tan, a restaurant business you are running with 3-6 months of cash for labor and rent. I've never seen any restaurant business that has what you're talking about, unless we're talking about a franchise.
Dale Doback are you kidding me? You’re the type of dude people can pay to shut you up. $1200 ain’t shit. Go into a hospital and ask me if that $1200 is helping those healthcare workers. We been in lockdown for almost two months. Tell me how many families can afford everything they need with $1200 right now.
I volunteered at the local senior center, in the kitchen. They are doing take out lunches. No more volunteers. Except a couple But They have the county nacking them and paying them. But they heavily depended on volunteers to run the place. Now its only the paidcounty workers But they have that job security So i understand what Dave Chang means about having some government backing But they put those funds in their own pockets. So they have no security funds for any foid industries It’s definitely going to change the way Americans fo things It already has Im VERY disappointed in ppl rite now The hoarding is uncalled for-and thats what is wiping out the supply of the stores
Fascinating piece, but it doesn't even cover commercial real estate. How much commercial real estate do restaurants, bars, and hotels currently consume? The collapse of commercial real estate is what will drive the coming depression. Both David and Marguerite nail the future of restaurants: drive-in and cloud kitchens is where profit will be easiest to realize in the coming years. But they never focus on what that will do to commercial real estate. We were already teetering towards Great Recession numbers in March. By the end of May we could be looking at 25% of all hotels 40% of restaurants shuttered. Now toss in the retailers. Who is going to pay all that coin for no foot traffic, when all they need is a warehouse with a pickup window? Malls, done. Department stores, done. Stadiums, done. The Fed is about to own trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars of the best real estate in America.
Erin James if you know his food, and the standards he holds himself to I don’t think it’d be worth it. Freezing it would destroy the flavor and truly take away from what he aims to give his customers. Sadly It is just not the same.
We get carry out 1-2 times a week at our favorite local restaurant and we still tip 20% just trying to help out. P.S Anything happens to the wine industry i will loose my shit
David Chang it is quite simple. Two main segments to address: Staff sanitation: 1. Testing testing testing. Safe and near immediate reopening is possible and predicated upon this for this reason. Which seems to be impossible for this government. Some companies will invest in the testing of their employees to reopen in this way- ie antibody testing if appropriate, quarantine/isolate if RNA testing is positive. If negative on Ab testing, then a negative RNA test follows and has to be sufficient. There is no additional sanitation required - above and beyond theoretically intense restaurant sanitation measures -once the employees are evaluated in this way. Then it just comes down to 2) guests/customers - and vendors bringing in items - but food choices will need to potentially be reconsidered so that there are only heated or otherwise sanitized cooking methods used- eliminating salads or microgreens will have to be considered. So mainly it is guests- and for that it is dependent upon the government/locality's willingness to reimagine a truly safe and innovative new normal such as the dining on the streets closed off to cars as has been demonstrated in Europe. So the social animal maintains our need for social "gathering" in small groups while distanced and uses outdoor space in an innovative way while weather still permits. There si so much that we could do, it is a matter of the will
Nobody could foresee Corvid-19 (how exactly it happened) and what kind of impact it had. But for the food service business it hasn't been even the worst case scenario! This is due to the fact, that food intake isn't even a high-risk infection rate (other food-borne contaminants would be a far worse issue). The problem here is combination of the lack of government support for their citizens (medical pay, unemployment pay etc), the consistent development of the financial system to a more and more unsustainable model, but also overall the lack of quality-growth in restaurant and bars. Government should take care of their citizens. This idiotic narrative of conservatives, which warn before big government lead to a total illusion - ghost threats were fought (war against terror etc) - just to divert the eye from the most important point: government is paid and elected by the people and should serve & protect the entirety of the people. The financial system on the other hand didn't only stopped by multinational corporations and banks but also went into the restaurant business: It is not a criticism - but instead of growing very slow and fill up the safety-cushions, Momofuku (like most successful groups) opened more and more restaurants. And no - they also didn't reasonably ensured that their workers receive top salaries and top coverage (to build their own cushions) But there is one more thing: The competition of restaurants and bars (one against the other, one category against the other category etc.) kept the prices quite low. While cars with every new generation (5 to 10 years) become substantial more expensive (within the last decade cars became almost 30% more expensive - in average!), dishes and drinks are not! That keeps restaurants, restaurant workers, restaurant owners (bars etc) most vulnerable, because rents, prices of produce, cost of living increases massively. Unfortunately I also have to say, that the USA doesn't only start trends which are good, but especially also what is bad. Unification of restaurant workers is a mess, margins are low, monetary sustainability is decreasing etc. Yes - Leadership is needed - but maybe it is most important that people taking the initiative *in the industry*!
I have a lot of friends in the service industry so I sort of knew a lot of this in an abstract way, but this was very enlightening, thank you for the information. I'm not sure how all of this gets put right, but I think it's going to be a long, painful road.
Once this goes down and we have some sort of “ normal lives “ back start thanking the workers y’all called “un essential” and be grateful for everything that still have going on as a normal routine because a lot of my fav food spots are closing for good and that sadden me 😴
It was a house of cards. I admit, I never thought anything like this was "going" to happen. But I made sure if it did, I would be ready. And I feel bad for all those who didn't.
will covid 19 extinguish bad restaurant food? what are you guys thinking? due to covid 19 most restaurants had to shut down. there are restaurants that attract attention with their atmosphere and concept. like cheap, bad food and cocktails. I for myself prefer those which stick out through their cuisine and quality. I would love the idea that without the chance of having the surroundings people will notice which food is more likeable and whats trash. when delivering or picking up.
Hmmm... Now...you know how very poor people experience... owners were on a high on experience that they were in denial of preparedness. It’s bound to happen bc nothing is perfect so why be shocked. It’s a bubble that’s popped on people who have been on denial who have mocked themselves in to closure.
Fine dining has more in common with expensive drug use than practical living. People in good financial situations might want to do some coke at a party, or some designer drugs at a festival. Eating a 195 dollar Momofuku menu and wine pairing falls much closer to the coke and strippers side of decadence and excess than making a casserole at home. I feel for small mom and pop restaurants with servers, waiters, and other staff living paycheck to paycheck than I have for someone like David Chang.
I think you're overlooking one major element, which is that more people will start to take the power of cooking back into their own kitchens. Cooking at home, where you are in control and can trust the food you are eating is something that use to be commonplace in most cultures/societies but has recently been outsourced to larger companies and restaurants in the last century. Yes, more people will certainly be ordering "government approved" meals like you mention, but there will be a massive shift back to home cooking again, which you can start to already see trending in the last month. The food companies who can provided and deliver ingredients to people at home will also thrive moving forward. Great piece Vice, it's nice to get proper information from someone directly on the inside of this world.
Yep! There’s pros and cons to everything.
Fastfood business will still be up and running. We saw something in this and I agree with you. Fastfood businesses in our country sold uncooked products like burger patties, marinates chickens, uncooked pies, etc. It is for the customers to cook because it is safer and customers tend to buy them rather than buying the cooked ones which are risky. Food safety just isn't good at this point in time that is why cooking your own is the best way and safest way.
Great point , really makes you think
I'm saddened to be the contrarian here-I'm a chef and registered dietitian and of course cooking from scratch at home with fresh ingredients is great, and your TH-cam channel is a great resource there but I have to go back where Dave Chang pointed out the whole big lesson in this situation is that the crisis in the restaurant business only exposes the structural problems in American society, namely income inequality, gender roles and inequality there, and huge privilege it is to be able to have the free time and money to afford to buy and cook fresh nutritious groceries. I've tried to wrestle with these issues my whole adult life, and I've learned simply saying "go meal prep in your kitchen, it's easy" is not enough. Cooking at home has been commonplace because either wages were high enough in the 50s and 60s for the wife to not work and cook at home (similar gender roles in traditional cultures around the world, for better or worse), you had domestic help to actually cook those meals, and now in the present day you have to hustle with multiple jobs to make low pay and high rent work with no remaining time to cook, or an always-on demanding job that truly doesn't leave time to shop, cook and clean. Please read these resources for more thoughts on this. I encourage a more nuanced, intelligent discussion, but again this is TH-cam we're talking about sadly:
www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/03/pressure-cooker-home-cooked-meal/583876/
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1536504214545755
www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/10/work-its-whats-for-dinner/599770/
@@allenjtran Well Said and I like a home cooked meal, but I also love eating out!
I don't know how these industries can be rescued. They completely rely on people like me, a middle-middle-middle-class person who historically spent a lot of money on things I didn't need, and couldn't really afford. I used to go to restaurants multiple times a week. Always going to happy hour and tipping everybody generously, going to upscale places for dinner, and heading to outdoor, waterfront places for Sunday brunch. It was fun, but it was a waste of my limited resources. How are we going to maintain this culture of excess, that the restaurant industry relies on, with unemployment sky-rocketing? Eventually, middle-income employers will start dumping workers too, and everybody is going to tighten up their belt. Now that I'm eating and drinking exclusively at home, I'm finding I have no need for bars and restaurants. I expect my personal expenditure on drinking and dining out to go down by 75% or more.
yep you understand. the unconscious culture of greed and extravagance, which is perpetuated by our media, had served to prop up so many of these industries which did not otherwise have any sound foundations supporting them.
Good luck on a post pandemic world with 80% of your favourite restaurants closed. Also whatsoever business you are in, you might need people with disposable income to spend.
You want a Great Depression like life?
It’s funny how most people don’t have a basic understanding of economics. When business close and people lose their jobs, there will be a chain of reaction that will come back to everyone of us.
It’s not just restaurants, but all small businesses. Don’t you know people who pay off their college debts by waitressing?
Taco bell was the only restaurant to survive the franchise war, now all restaurants are taco bell"- demolition man
👑
🐯👌💨💨
Ok demolition man
Mike Solar 👑
There's no San Angeles yet. Or Arnie as president. 😋
well put lol
Please do a piece on the beauty industry, hairdressers, nail techs. Most are self employed or 1099 without access to traditional unemployment and while the federal government says it’s extending unemployment to encompass these people some states like California have yet to even begin accepting these applications. With the risks associated with the nature of contact in the industry many business closed early March. That means these people and business will go with no support for two months or more.
Instagram. Detroit. We have a pretty extensive record of what happens when local, state, and federal governments fail this industry. Look to the Rust Belt for answers. No one knows how things will ultimately shake out, but there are clues. The beauty industry will likely become more social-media driven. It will require upfront screening of clients (possibly equipment/testing), sound respiratory hygiene (N95 mask), and plenty of soap (the virus lives in a fatty, lipid membrane that can be destroyed by soap). These up front costs will likely split beauticians into four groups: those with multi-faceted expertise so that upfront costs can be spread across multiple procedures (hair, nails, makeup, etc); those with niche expertise (complex and labor intensive beauty procedures); those who can incorporate the sale of retail beauty items (direct sales); and those who cut corners on health and safety and drive down prices (the dark market). Bottom line: costs are going to have to increase because of the risks involved, and an unregulated dark market is likely to develop. To reduce costs, I see the industry moving almost exclusively to door-to-door appointments. That's just my two cents. Some good, some bad. More money. More hassle.
probably should direct this comment to Vice broadly rather than Munchies since they focus on food! I think it's a good idea
Agree. Beauty employs many and has a lot of small businesses. They also have small margins like restaurants. I’ve heard industry leaders say 1 in 3 salon/spas could end up having to close because they can’t stay closed this long or they can’t handle the extra cost of PPE plus reduced cash flow.
this is munchies
its not just restaurants or bars. im a dentist and about 80-90% of my colleagues are going underwater or at risk of losing their clinics / practices. any profession that can't be made remote has become obliterated.
But won't dentistry pick back up once the government "lockdown" is over? I can't see people not going to the dentist. Most people want to keep and take care of their teeth. Or is the issue, people won't have the $ to go if they lost their jobs and insurance?
Agree. Restaurants pay rent by sq ft. They can’t survive with 50-70% occupancy.
Dentists have zero long term impact.
I'm betting my tooth fixed as soon as they open up my dentist's or ANY dentist office. Snaggle tooth just ain't cute. Restaurant is much more impacted. As he said...any one that has the most CASH to lay them over will survive this so if you SAVED during good times...you can last a bit during lean (er) times. People that were just making payroll and enough to pay rent for the next month...won't last. Dentist's must be open in order to keep earning monies. But as soon as you reopen...people like me will come flying in. Hopefully this time you'll be nicer. Dentist can be some attitudish folk...not all....ijs. Btw, Ive saved CASH to get 2 teeth fixed because my insurance wont cover the full cost . When restaurants reopen, I will not be running to them because I wasnt a big outside eater BEFORE this Covid-19 so I'm gonna eat out even less now. I cook...but I cant fix my own tooth. Good luck.
I love Shane's fireplace. Makes him seem like a Bond villain
You can see he's really hurt
Theo Riginal that’s all chef. You think your top shit as a chef.
@Ryan Morris technically you saying that sets you for bad karma. You or someone you care about is probably gonna fuck over too lol
@Ryan Morris dave chang?
The ability to adapt and change in the face of upheaval is an evolutionary act. We will evolve.
maestasify you the real MVP
Darwinism is the name of the game right now.
Unless you die. Then you're just dead.
This is beautiful to finally have some respect forced to be shown how important the food industry is in the lower level wow..
Shayne Johnston56 . Well...we do not need many many many restaurants...
Pride is the only teacher.
This is one way to reset a society.
Fancy Chef: "Without expensive eclectic restaurants, people will have less choices about what they can eat!"
Poor people who have always relied on delicious authentic ethnic home cooking: "This fuckin guy."
As someone that is a server that is unemployed, all claimed tips are counted as income. It has been my policy to claim all my tips, as you should, for credit purposes, and honestly, I want to pay my taxes because this is why we need to have liquidity in treasury. Claim your tips, people!
Not a fan of the audio editing on recent videos. Doesn’t have to be like the movie inception on every post! It adds unnerving tension that’s not needed
shane looks like he is isolating in the playboy mansion
Thank you David!!
I'm so sorry this is affecting the food industry so badly!
Retired Chef in VT 💕
What an amazing interview. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Check if your local farms have a stand/place for pickup. No farmers market so if you got a car and cash/money support your local farms/businesses. Stay healthy, stay sane, and stay safe.
That’s a great idea. I wouldn’t have thought to do this.
A lot of low-income people view eating at a mom-and-pop diner as a luxury, and here we have these people who run fancy, high-priced restaurants in NYC saying they should be treated like a necessity instead of a luxury. Ugh. Of course I feel awful for underpaid restaurant workers who are suffering more than normal right now, and I'm angry that our grocery story supply chain was totally unprepared for an event like this -- but insisting that luxury restaurants deserve a bailout is ridiculous, entitled, and tone-deaf.
Their Momofuku Ko restaurant is $195 per head. I’m with you on this.
I get where your coming from, because these are the people who are serving a very privileged customer base, but I do think they should get some type of support because of all the industries theu touch. I think that out of all the ways to spend ridiculous amounts of money, going to a restraunt like momofuku's noodle bar and spending that 200+ per head will have the greatest impact in that the money you spend will be pretty well and immediately distributed back into the economy. I think david mentioned how the noodle bar has 300 something purveyors which is wild because lots of them only sell to restraunts. But anyway, an industry like the fashion industry I would be with you 100, they shouldnt get much if any help because they are not really having the same type of impact on their local communities as the restaurant industry is. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk :)
Low income households should not be eating at any restaurant. Not even Mcdonalds. My family was eating ramen cube steak when appropriate. I know the struggle. Eat within your pay...
@@francisd7081 Yeah, and about a third of Americans would struggle to pay $195 even for a crucial replacement of a flat tire or a shattered windshield. The idea of the government bailing out restaurants that charge that much per meal (and serve such a 1%er clientele) would probably enrage most of the people who are being hit the hardest by this crisis. I get that Vice's CEO dude likes eating there, and he admitted off the bat that this episode was basically a selfish way for him to convince other people to care, but wow.
Quick Telling 16 restaurants each one probably generating $1 mil or more. Tbh I still feel bad for them. Perhaps the govt should still provide them aid. The problem is our govt and congress gave the masses of people peanuts will bailing out corporations with massive money in reserve. A one time payment is NOTHING where I live, so something like a monthly relief is more adequate
It's such a scary/frustrating time for anybody involved in restaurants. I co-own 2 small restaurants here in southern CA and my partners and I are pulling our hair out trying to come up with a way where we can still be in business in the foreseeable future while keeping our staff paid. TBH, it's not looking well and we're probably going to have to fully restructure to even be open when we can. It's heartbreaking since our staff are all close and the last thing we want to do is let any of them go since they really are like family. I can only hope and pray that this will end soon and we can begin rebuilding.
Never realized the was such liquidity issues in the restaurant business cause all the top chefs like Dave chang always seems to be like rock stars with bottomless deep pockets-eye opening
He expanded his restaurant chains too much.
At the highest level, yes, there's money in being a professional chef but the vast majority of food service isn't a celebrity chef. Shit, remember even Tony Bourdain was self conscious about spending on his duck press and his Kramer knife, and he was a successful chef, author, AND TV star at that point.
But back to regular restaurants, you heard him point out even Chipotle will be running into their financial bumper and they're HUGE. Mom and Pop restaurants are often times one or two decisions away from closed. 59% of restaurants don't make it past the first 3 years. Only lucky, hard working people make the living one might expect to fund a household, so times like these, they're almost assuredly screwed.
I truly wish everyone at one point or another worked in a restaurant, because I think we'd respect and value the work that industry does for us all much more than we currently do. For every rock star celebrity chef, there are a thousand line cooks who make sure you're fries are right, your burger is right, and they work cheap enough that you can afford it. Restaurants demand long hours of hard labor, for barely passable wages, across a vast spectrum of culinary traditions and price ranges, and we love them because they're convenient and they allow us a brief transport into someone else's world, a world where we don't have to prepare our own food. ;)
Imperfect people should humbly know to prepare for imperfect times.
Pride is the great teacher.
I am ordering a lot of food from local small restaurants that have pivoted to to-go orders. Eventually, they will open back up for traffic at their locations. Those that do nothing will fail. I don't think tho that its the end of good small restaurants. I think diversifying, having a lot in savings and having a plan is the only way forward though. I miss my fav restaurants and my movie theaters.
They should raise the prices 10% ans put that money into an emergency fund. Like we all should on a personal Level as well
Same here. I order take out from my favorite mom and pop shops when I can but cook at home mostly.
@@Matzes that 10% wont even cover their bills
@@poyu2998 I m not. You sound ugly and dumb
@@candaceshedd3414 huh? You misunderstood. They should raise the prices 10% after all of this is over to save up money for the next catastrophe. I would not mind paying 5-10 bucks more for the experience if I know I m helping him to survive in the tough times as well.
we're going deep!
Great piece. Really made me think about the lockdown in a different way. This is like a breakdown-re awakening.
the veselka shot hit different
:(
Fine dining food is mostly pointless right now. Now you know
Thank you for having this honest conversation...our little coffee shop/ cafe is hanging on by a thread and I'm 56 years old working with my 75 year mom and my oldest daughter...we are very scared for the future of the food industry and all the chain reactions for the periphery businesses.
Food handlers guidelines are gonna change big time now all staff have to be re training again
Heartbreaking.
It's the D - (Blue State Govs) that are dragging their feet on re-opening, they keep
moving the Goal-Posts.
Feel badly for David Chang. He looked so depressed. The American food industry will need to be reimagined. I think it'll turn into something like "Spyce" in Boston with robot-prepared food. It'll be easier to ensure cleanliness standards while providing some variety of menu items. This is not the end of the food industry. The innovators will survive.
Big Ding I think going the robot way sounds dangerous on many levels. I wouldn’t support a restaurant ran by robots.
I would love for someone to address the fact that restaurant owners put the employees in this position by paying them a little as possible. Maybe we can have some sort of plan to take care of our own when we reopen. Or, we can rush back to taking advantage of and churning and burning our employees?
Craig Fass are you prepared to pay more for your food?
@@nazgul7914 #1 100%. Its disgusting how we treat the food service industry as an afterthought. #2 I did exactly what I am advocating for while maintaining the cheapest beer and food prices in our categories in Chicago. We did it for 10 years. Paid people a lot of money. And then sold last year after a decade. It can be done but it just isn't. Chefs and owners would rather pay the min and churn and burn rather than invest in someone for the long haul. I had cooks, dish and FOH for 10 years. They made a lot of money. They had 401k and profit sharing. Cooks made over 20 an hour. I invested in them and they helped make my restaurant a success.
Craig Fass majority complain if food prices go up. I respect what you did. I was also working in the industry and then helped my family with food business and realized why salary is low. I can think of ways to pay good money while also making a profit but I can also think of many reasons why the pay is so shit.
Why would you sell it tho? You finally can’t handle it anymore? Coz tell you the truth I’m about to give up with this industry. And I’m talking as an employer.
@@nazgul7914 Yeah it was a tough run. I worked the line for 30 years until my last day. 10 years owning this place and then the previous 6 years owneing another location and it really breaks one down. We hit a 10 year mark and decided we wanted something different for ourselves. It made it hard b/c we had so many loyal employees and customers who built the place with us but we set up the retirement funds b/c this was our plan. We had another 10 years on the lease so it was now or never. It wasnt getting easier and we had a great brand to sell. We were keen that there was some sort of catastrophic event coming down the pike (war, crop shortage, market crash, mass migration, climate change effecting stability), as one seems to happen every 10 years, and we didnt have the energy to fight through it. All I could control was our place. I try to convince others of the benefits of that program and how it adds incalculable value to your place. Guests love coming in for years and seeing the same server. And their food is cooked by the same cooks who are paid well and are not over worked and want to be there to make the place better. We were a team, my wife and business partner outworked everyone. So, you couldnt really complain to us about much as we did everything with everyone. It was a real special place and Im grateful the experiences and will value the memories and familes Ive gained. But im so lucky to be on this end right now. I put in 30 years and it just dawns on you one day that no one really gives a shit about you as an employee. So, if we could invest in them and they invested in us, and we did it together. It cost us a lot of money in the long run but it was worth it. Some people had over 40k in savings from what we did. Thats helping them get through this. I dont want to rush back to a failing system in which we love each other so much but the bosses fail to take the steps to set us up for the future. I don't know how we, as an industry, come out the other end here.
The White Belt Sous Chef respect man. You had exactly the kind of restaurant I dreamed of. Making good food while having happy employees who want to stay for the long run. I tried to convince my family to give our staff better pay or profit sharing but I understand now why it’s hard to implement with regulations in our country and the fact that the business sometimes don’t even make money. It’s tough times man but I do understand your point. I do wonder why the big businesses won’t pay their staff better. They would benefit in the long term. Recruiting staff and training is much harder than simply retaining them.
One big business I would like to emulate is chick fil a. They seem to have a thriving business with loyal employees
I am so scared and after watching this I’m more scared!
dont be scared u can only contract carona if ur chakras r fukt up i go to buymycrystal.com to get mine but u can get urs at the local
sometimes I really do appreciate living in the UK
Why would people dislike this video? It talks about the impact its having on such a huge industry, filled with all sorts of problems.
Do you even know who this guy is?! He owns a bunch of overpriced restaurants (not one having a Michellan Star) and provides a service that nobody wanted during COVID?!
Don't bundle the food industry into one.
Nobody wants or needs overpriced extravagant restaurants during bad times. And we especially don't want them to be subsidized with public money?!
This is sad to watch....total economic meltdown
I hope that economy just burns and crashes down.
@@riissanen93 why?
@@riissanen93
Why you fuck?
@@blinksstayfresh2524 Current system is bound to fail on some way of another. The sooner it collapses the sooner we can start building a new one. I say this not out of misanthropy but because nothing lasts forever. And the current model how value of currency is generated is fucked up.
Riisseli You wrote a big paragraph of bullshit. You’re clueless
Suicide is how this shit finna end, the idea of getting through this year is grim
Just because I’ve seen a lot of comments about it...much of the margins for restaurants are not in the food. They are in the drinks or desserts or extras you may buy. That is why so many restaurants, even if they have delicious food, close their doors if their rent goes up or other costs increase. David Chang aside, many restaurants face this dilemma. Even if they didn’t close down, they have severely reduced their staff while trying to make as much revenue as possible.
Share the full recipes.
Dear Mr.Chan. i, from my part will continue to not set foot in fast food restaurants, will continue to strive for quality. I rather eat less (in terms of frequency and portion) than eat crap. I will gladly at this point donate my "eat out monthly budget" to a fund that would help the unemplyed workers and small business
Really sad time!! within couple of weeks everything seems to be topple down.
Even McDonald’s when I go in the morning before work sometimes sense this there almost none in the drive through when normally there’s at least 10cars now maybe 3 at the most
Harry Sachs last time I checked I was just describing the McDonald’s by my work in my city I’m sure it’s not for all locations lol
Cameron Empey hey your experience is different than his, therefore the only explanation is that you are LYING! Lmao
Second round of PPP ran out again. Stop giving all of the money to the big corps!!
I used to enjoy dining at these “Gourmet” food places. I realised they’ve been overpricing and overcharging people. Ghost Kitchens and Home Cooking should be encouraged whether there is a Pandemic or none.
Fast-food chains that offer the most practical choices given the circumstance will survive this ordeal. I don't see how people are gonna look to spend hundreds of dollars on fine dining experiences and more specialized food options. That's the sad reality of the food business.
What people don't realize is that the culinary scene for most of these chefs does not rake in a ton of cash. It's more of a day in day out survival set up that is dependent on cash flow and once you cut that off, it is unlikely you'll survive. This industry is fueled by passion mostly, not money, and its sad that some of them might have to look elsewhere or put their dreams on hold for now.
I like how no one mentioned the cut delivery systems like GrubHub take from restaurants. Sometimes it is 30%. How about people just do "drive thrus" and leave delivery to those who truly need it. Get some tape, tape your contactless tap credit card to your window, the person will scan it & leave your food. Then restaurants will get a better profit margin and those who truly need access to delivery will have it.
A Y well, there’s not much gained from just selling food. Many of these sit down restaurants depends on alcohol sales and getting you to buy a dessert when you didn’t plan on it. The food gets people in the restaurant but the margins are in the extras.
@@edgardolopez500 All my local restaurants are selling booze via "the drive thru's".
The quarantine brought me here.🧻
Some food establishments
Shouldn't survive
It’s even worse than explained because this virus isn’t going away anytime soon and because of that people are going to choose not to dine out even when the restaurants reopen. The tax payers cannot float the entire industry while that happens. Quantitative easing will kill everyone’s savings trying to do so.
Dude I worked in retaurants, sometimes only the waiters have papers, most of the people working in the kitchen don't have papers, all those undocumented workers aint getting no unemployment they don't qualify for it. Its a messed up situation
Mark Prius down side of entering a country illegally. Fuck em
@@forbin1185 so you have no problem using them dirt cheap until they get screwed over, then say fuck em. Nice that's definitely more moral than crossing an arbitrary border on a planet to try to better your life.
Irie Butler I don’t employ anyone. And the US has some of the most liberal border enforcement in the world. Contrary to popular belief.
I've been thinking about them and it must be rough if they can't apply for unemployment. Sad Sad Sad...
Good to see Shane smith again
completely agree with Pro Home Cooks! i have been an advocate for home cooking among my veteran friends for years...you have the ultimate control over what goes in your body...i dont think the restaurant industry will fall completely flat, sure it will take a big hit, but wont fail completely...and i am referring to the mom and pop shops and the Momofuku's of the world...they wont disappear if they adapt to current and upcoming changes...how did the industry do over the years with the changes to sanitary and cleanliness standards? they did just fine...
back to the home cooking thing though...i think home cooking NEEDS to make a comeback...restaurants will still be there, they will just become less of a normal daily thing and more of a luxury like they used to be...fast food will always be there...but if we teach our children and ourselves to cook, when we do go out to the Momofuku's we will have the pallet necessary to truly enjoy the food placed in front of us...
food service employees should be treated like essential workers and should be treated as such with the correct training and safety standards so not only they dont get sick, but so we as consumers dont either...i have never been a fan of the lower wage of the servers vs the rest of the staff...i prefer the European model, where the tips are included in the total cost of your meal...if the food service industry, like i said before, adapts to changes and implements new safety standards they will do just fine...to which i agree with Chef David Chang should be well thought out and should include leaders of the industry to set the standards for the entire breadth of the companies and restaurants around the country and the world...this can be done, and it doesnt have to kill what we all love and enjoy about food, being an experience...
one of the best videos on this subject i have seen so far...thank you for producing it!
A good case study of this issue would be NOLA after Katrina. And I contend that was worse can actual facilities had to be rebuilt, mostly from scratch. How did that recovery work? NOLA is a heavy restraunt/hospitality city, so was there loan forgiveness?
here in AU... we still support our local restaurants like sushi, ramen by ordering takeaways as if we're eating there every week.....
Well it also opens up the chance to get cooks to come to your house and cook a whole meal for whomever lives there,
Been a cook for over 20 years and this situation hurts everyone in the restaurant industry,but there's always light at the end of the tunnel,im the type of guy that enjoys people's faces when they try what i cook so i do care very much about this topic and what the owner of the restaurant said
Finally everyone is going to appreciate "the kitchen staff "once and for all..
Great and insightful video! Big fan of David Chang. People like him got me into making free promo materials for restaurants in my community.
I feel this illustrates why America needs to step away from a ‘tipping’ model. In Australia we pay way more for food but our minimal wages are much higher than $5.
Don’t get me wrong the crisis has affected us too but the safety net is a bit stronger.
Thoughts?
'...but our minimal wages are much higher than $5...'? Whose minimum wage is $5?
kamma44 only quoting what I heard Chang say... Australian min wage is like $17 per hour
The founder doesn’t even know what his payroll is?
K. McDonnell . Lol. I thought that too. At the same time. Do away w tipping.
To my kids 10 years from now: "Back in my day, we used to go to these places where many people ate together in one building called restaurants."
The Tiny Trex . It’s only been a few weeks.
Drama queen
Kid 10 years from now: sounds weird why would people do that when u can invite people over have them get trashed and mess up our furniture and us get stuck with washing dishes and cleaning up and having bought all this food and not made a dime off it 😂
@@TheCooksTV Then you're inviting the wrong type of people!
kamma44 true, but u never who’s wrong until they’ve already come over lol
The last thing I want during a pandemic is to consume food prepared by someone I don't know. I don't even eat drive through. For me it isn't about finances or convenience. It's that I'm going to be actually consuming what is prepared. During this time, I'M making what i eat and I'M cleaning everything during the process..
Pizza from a reputable place is alright, oven to box
Joe Blow wouldn't the acid in your stomach kill germs that could be present in your food? Is it even proven that covid19 can be spread through food?
Well before covid u dont know too if the cook has typhoid, hepatitis, or influenza even worst tuberculosis
@@adimulyono8741 Don't be silly. There isn't a "pandemic" of any of those issues. One can generally assume one isn't exposed to those in normal society. The risk is very low, hence the term "pandemic". In THIS environment, you'd be thoughtless to let random people prepare food you are putting in your body. There are way more long lasting issues with COVId-19. This thing is leaving damage to many organs. It isn't the cook giving you the flu.
@@timinfinite No because allegedly it originated in Wuhan in the wet seafood markets. It seems it was someone eating a bat that started it all. But if you read a lot like I do, they are going back before even that to a mistake at a lab. I'm no tin hat kind of person but the MOST close someone can get to infecting me with something is if I eat it. I'm not talking about intent. They obviously don't want me to get sick but if they can't keep the virus out of the food, why would i risk it?
This is simple. A lot of restaurants chains and restauranteurs have stretched their finances too thin by using debt facilities to expand their brands taking advantage of the ARTIFICIAL low interest rates. The right way to expand is to do it organically. It is a common mistake and many will not survive. They are in part responsible for their own demise. Back to basics, reduce the number of locations, make a profit, save it and expand slowly as demands grows.
Very true
Feel free to share examples that prove your idea.
@@JasonBennett1 Jamie Oliver's
@@Tito_Happy guess I was looking for an example of what *to do*. Oliver's a perfect example of "don't over-leverage."
@@JasonBennett1 Organic growth. It is there in my original message. Thanks
I agree, restaurants workers have been deemed essential workers, so they need to be treated like essential workers. At the very least they need additional protection against contracting the virus and a certain level of financial protection during this time. The restaurant supply chain has been able to continue to feed the public when the grocery store supply chain has had a harder time keeping up. But, the restaurant industry, along with all other industries, need to look at this as an opportunity to better protect themselves and their employees for times like these. Something like this, in some shape or fashion, will happen again. This is just my opinion.
Its ridiculous when the airline industry is begging to get help financially from the government for billions of dollars. They make so much money already, with expensive food items at airports and such. When this disease ends, people will still have to fly, regardless of lifestyle and cultural changes. Meanwhile, the restaurant industrtay never recover again. Definitely underappreciated and underrecognized
I'm dissagree, and I'm a restaurante worker
SgtMorninWood couldn’t agree anymore. Sadly their is no representation for small restaurants. It’s pretty much gona be like fast food/fast causal or fine dining. The whole I studied and staged for 10 years and now I wana open my own small resturant with a tasting menu spot is gona disappear. But hey you still got that resturant recovery plan loan comin in klutch right? Nope big chains like Taco Bell and McDonalds have drained the funds already. And you a independent restaurant gets sweeped under the rug. But hey you should hAvE sAveD aNd pRePaReD yOuR fInanCeS.
I appreciate the problems that this pandemic is putting forth and the safety net is more about taking care of the health of the American people and not the business of the American people. In a regular time frame restaurants especially in New York and larger cities constantly close and new ones open on a regular basis. There are statistics about this and there is no safety net for this because this seems to be the cutthroat nature of restaurants -- not all restaurants will succeed. If there was a recession this would still be a thing where restaurants would close and new ones would open but no one cares about that during a recession and even without a recession this still takes place. Why is that? It sucks but that is the reality over the long term so why are people avoiding talking about that outside the context of COVID-19?
I feel like Bob Iger from Disney must have had a talk with Shane and Suroosh about the sale of Vice. Seeing Shane and Suroosh come back after finessing $600 million out of Disney... somethings wrong.
i know whole foods is concidered kind of boushy but how the hell does a grocery store close?
Bougie*
@@simplelife6318 oh gee thanx for answering my question. PS that's a surgical instrument not a place for snobby people to spend their money lol.
Kewl Beans yeah but whole foods thats by my house is still open
@@simplelife6318 good for you. did you know tommy pickles was voiced by a girl?
Entire country of Canada is the same population as California.
Thanks for having our guy on!
So Shane lives in Wayne manor?
Let's be real here, there are lots of industries hurting now and yes the food/restaurant industry can be deemed essential but these "fine dining" establishments for the most part are not even affordable to the "average" person....this piece is so 1 sided. Thanks Vice!
C C, so so true. Still sad but sorry, dining out is a luxury. In a time of economic downturn this is what happens.
Let's be real - most people in urban areas were eating out 3+ times a week. Not fine dining, the corner thai or mexican joint. They will also absolutely be affected. Would love to see why you think this report doesn't cover that angle.
Jason Bennett Most people, including myself were eating out way more than that. My average monthly restaurant credit card bills are around $2500. It’s what I love to do. I also love to cook and that’s what I will be doing mostly for a while to come. Every form of eating out is a luxury for anyone who has a kitchen, access to a grocery store, and any basic skills with cooking so basically everyone.
@@JohannGambolputty22 some people eat out because they don't have the energy to cook at the end of a long workday. some eat out because they don't have access to the range of nutritious foods. regardless of why, if you're arguing for a structural shift to where we're spending our money, we should not do this on the backs of workers who are *not* living lives of luxury, without providing a safety net and an economic vision.
Jason Bennett Sounds like Communist propaganda, but ok
The gov needs to expedite the process for unemployment. The additional $600 a week on top of the normal allowance is what these workers need. What’s the point of passing a bill if you can’t execute it?
W L we have already gotten ut
W L in california
Many of us are receiving the $600 already.
Seriously, we need a secretary of Food and Services.
its big government, we need secretary of air, food, dust everything...
Yes, another govt salary that does not need to be.
That already exists - The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture collectively cover those areas.
10:37 Yeesh That meat delivery.. Vegan sounds good right now.
badhabit . Do not get too excited. Look at articles where the full fresh new vegetable crops are being burnt trashed thrown to garbage tractored over in fields all over the world.
Momofuku was partly acquired by a private equity firm last year. They should have the cash to survive this.
The Munchies has featured a lot of Momofuku restaurants and other thriving, old and new, great restaurants. And watching this video I just realized that most of these people, Momofuku's chefs, waitress, managers, janitors, etc have mostly been laid off.
Dale Doback . You’re right if they claim correctly +600/weekly
$2.63 is the minimum hourly wage in my state....stimulus check has not hit yet...(May 24)
When you start business. You are trying to build yourself up to have a good financial future. How can you run such a large business and not have 3-6 months of emergency fund.
Low profit margins? High rent? And let's not forget the cost of Labor, especially if you are paying your workers a livable wage?
I think not a single emergency fund is adequate enough for this kind of drop in revenue. It's just too much to juggle with.
Mark de Waard yes there is. 3-6 months of expenses. It’s simple. It’s only been 1 month, and they are going crazy.
tracy winans I understand low profit margins. He doesn’t have to open so many restaurants and hiring so many people if he doesn’t have to funds to do so. It’s all about understanding how much you have and how much you spend.
Feel free to show your work Tan, a restaurant business you are running with 3-6 months of cash for labor and rent. I've never seen any restaurant business that has what you're talking about, unless we're talking about a franchise.
Y'all almost killed each other over a shitty chicken sandwich😂😂remember that
These folks don't understand what unprecedented means... Thank God for good Food Trucks...
We got to stick together. This is just showing how much we can’t depend on the government.
Dale Doback are you kidding me? You’re the type of dude people can pay to shut you up. $1200 ain’t shit. Go into a hospital and ask me if that $1200 is helping those healthcare workers. We been in lockdown for almost two months. Tell me how many families can afford everything they need with $1200 right now.
Dale Doback . Lol. That’s what I’m saying too
Isn’t this the dystopian future portrayed in Demolition Man??
Me, a non-American, watching USA falling apart :/
I’ve always found David Chang amusing, or possibly interesting . This video has given me a much deeper respect
Definitely not Impacted than businesses that aren't essentials.
I volunteered at the local senior center, in the kitchen. They are doing take out lunches. No more volunteers. Except a couple
But
They have the county nacking them and paying them.
But they heavily depended on volunteers to run the place.
Now its only the paidcounty workers
But they have that job security
So i understand what Dave Chang means about having some government backing
But they put those funds in their own pockets. So they have no security funds for any foid industries
It’s definitely going to change the way Americans fo things
It already has
Im VERY disappointed in ppl rite now
The hoarding is uncalled for-and thats what is wiping out the supply of the stores
We need to pay more for food and the chain that produces it
We might only be left with fast food chains..
Dale Doback . Lol. That’s what they’re implying in this clip, though.
Fascinating piece, but it doesn't even cover commercial real estate. How much commercial real estate do restaurants, bars, and hotels currently consume? The collapse of commercial real estate is what will drive the coming depression. Both David and Marguerite nail the future of restaurants: drive-in and cloud kitchens is where profit will be easiest to realize in the coming years. But they never focus on what that will do to commercial real estate. We were already teetering towards Great Recession numbers in March. By the end of May we could be looking at 25% of all hotels 40% of restaurants shuttered. Now toss in the retailers. Who is going to pay all that coin for no foot traffic, when all they need is a warehouse with a pickup window? Malls, done. Department stores, done. Stadiums, done. The Fed is about to own trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars of the best real estate in America.
David can you mass produce your cuisine freeze it and ship it?
Erin James if you know his food, and the standards he holds himself to I don’t think it’d be worth it. Freezing it would destroy the flavor and truly take away from what he aims to give his customers. Sadly It is just not the same.
chang on that sympathy tour my god
Passed by momofuku a hundred times. Looked at the menu prices once. Stepped inside never.
eklipsta we on the same boat!
Hasnt showered in 2 weeks
We get carry out 1-2 times a week at our favorite local restaurant and we still tip 20% just trying to help out.
P.S Anything happens to the wine industry i will loose my shit
Harry Sachs Harry way to funny! I will hold u personally responsible if there is a wine shortage lol
David Chang it is quite simple. Two main segments to address: Staff sanitation: 1. Testing testing testing. Safe and near immediate reopening is possible and predicated upon this for this reason. Which seems to be impossible for this government. Some companies will invest in the testing of their employees to reopen in this way- ie antibody testing if appropriate, quarantine/isolate if RNA testing is positive. If negative on Ab testing, then a negative RNA test follows and has to be sufficient. There is no additional sanitation required - above and beyond theoretically intense restaurant sanitation measures -once the employees are evaluated in this way. Then it just comes down to 2) guests/customers - and vendors bringing in items - but food choices will need to potentially be reconsidered so that there are only heated or otherwise sanitized cooking methods used- eliminating salads or microgreens will have to be considered. So mainly it is guests- and for that it is dependent upon the government/locality's willingness to reimagine a truly safe and innovative new normal such as the dining on the streets closed off to cars as has been demonstrated in Europe. So the social animal maintains our need for social "gathering" in small groups while distanced and uses outdoor space in an innovative way while weather still permits. There si so much that we could do, it is a matter of the will
Nobody could foresee Corvid-19 (how exactly it happened) and what kind of impact it had. But for the food service business it hasn't been even the worst case scenario! This is due to the fact, that food intake isn't even a high-risk infection rate (other food-borne contaminants would be a far worse issue). The problem here is combination of the lack of government support for their citizens (medical pay, unemployment pay etc), the consistent development of the financial system to a more and more unsustainable model, but also overall the lack of quality-growth in restaurant and bars.
Government should take care of their citizens. This idiotic narrative of conservatives, which warn before big government lead to a total illusion - ghost threats were fought (war against terror etc) - just to divert the eye from the most important point: government is paid and elected by the people and should serve & protect the entirety of the people.
The financial system on the other hand didn't only stopped by multinational corporations and banks but also went into the restaurant business: It is not a criticism - but instead of growing very slow and fill up the safety-cushions, Momofuku (like most successful groups) opened more and more restaurants. And no - they also didn't reasonably ensured that their workers receive top salaries and top coverage (to build their own cushions)
But there is one more thing: The competition of restaurants and bars (one against the other, one category against the other category etc.) kept the prices quite low. While cars with every new generation (5 to 10 years) become substantial more expensive (within the last decade cars became almost 30% more expensive - in average!), dishes and drinks are not! That keeps restaurants, restaurant workers, restaurant owners (bars etc) most vulnerable, because rents, prices of produce, cost of living increases massively.
Unfortunately I also have to say, that the USA doesn't only start trends which are good, but especially also what is bad. Unification of restaurant workers is a mess, margins are low, monetary sustainability is decreasing etc. Yes - Leadership is needed - but maybe it is most important that people taking the initiative *in the industry*!
Dominik MJ . Business is business. Must prepare for anything and everything.
Pride is the great teacher.
P.S. if an owner truly loves the restaurant business
They will make the right decision in a humble manner not a whiny manner.
I have a lot of friends in the service industry so I sort of knew a lot of this in an abstract way, but this was very enlightening, thank you for the information. I'm not sure how all of this gets put right, but I think it's going to be a long, painful road.
Once this goes down and we have some sort of “ normal lives “ back start thanking the workers y’all called “un essential” and be grateful for everything that still have going on as a normal routine because a lot of my fav food spots are closing for good and that sadden me 😴
It was a house of cards. I admit, I never thought anything like this was "going" to happen. But I made sure if it did, I would be ready. And I feel bad for all those who didn't.
will covid 19 extinguish bad restaurant food?
what are you guys thinking?
due to covid 19 most restaurants had to shut down. there are restaurants that attract attention with their atmosphere and concept. like cheap, bad food and cocktails.
I for myself prefer those which stick out through their cuisine and quality.
I would love the idea that without the chance of having the surroundings people will notice which food is more likeable and whats trash. when delivering or picking up.
I MISS THE KITCHEN MORE TODAY :/
Hmmm...
Now...you know how very poor people experience...
owners were on a high on experience that they were in denial of preparedness.
It’s bound to happen bc nothing is perfect so why be shocked.
It’s a bubble that’s popped on people who have been on denial who have mocked themselves in to closure.
How the fuck is the food industry ''essential'' ? Only in america lmao
Perhaps fine dining was a waste of money all along and people are now starting to realize it.
PBBoogie99 I have to agree with that. 👌🏾
Fine dining has more in common with expensive drug use than practical living. People in good financial situations might want to do some coke at a party, or some designer drugs at a festival. Eating a 195 dollar Momofuku menu and wine pairing falls much closer to the coke and strippers side of decadence and excess than making a casserole at home. I feel for small mom and pop restaurants with servers, waiters, and other staff living paycheck to paycheck than I have for someone like David Chang.
Equalizing.