California Groundbreakers

Few business sectors in California were more battered by the pandemic than the dining industry -- nearly a third of the state’s restaurants permanently closed in the past year, and two-thirds of workers temporarily lost their jobs. Now as California opens back up, how many restaurants will reopen, and will they bounce back? We talk with two people who write about California’s dining scene about how restaurants are adapting post-pandemic, and what we should expect now when we go out to eat. GUESTS * Janelle Bitker, food enterprise reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle (https://www.sfchronicle.com/author/janelle-bitker) * Javier Cabral, editor of LA Taco (https://www.lataco.com/author/javiercabral) PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY * 0 to min - Intro to California Groundbreakers, and this episode * 4:20 min - Janelle and Javier share their "This Changes Everything" moment covering the food scene in the past 15 months * 10:25 min - Do people still want to pay $300 for a fine-dining meal? * 13:30 min - How "ghost ki