A Not-So-Rapid COVID Test Experience
Until COVID testing becomes a much more accessible, affordable, and overall easier experience, there’s unfortunately going to be a lot of undetected cases going around.
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The Holy Ghost Kitchen: Part One
Restaurant owners are doing whatever they can to increase revenue, especially going into the colder, non-patio months. Ghost Kitchens shift the focus from serving customers in a storefront or dining room (otherwise known as hospitality) to meal preparation.
read moreA Poker Lesson
I just finished reading The Biggest Bluff by Psychologist (and poker player) Maria Konnikova, which explores the relationship between skill and luck in poker; but really is about decision making and human behavior generally.
read moreUpdate #14: It May Not Be Pretty
Every call or video chat we have these days, regardless of agenda, starts with a question directed at us that is something similar to: “So, before we jump in, what are you all seeing out there?” While the conversations that follow are never identical, our response these days typically convey the following…
read moreShopping for the Suburban Migration
I think it’s safe to assume the residential real estate market will continue to build the pent-up demand of buyers looking to relocate and invest in their homes for the remainder of 2020, and into 2021. With this reshuffling, the millennial migration to the suburbs to have more space as their families expand will drive retailers to follow, especially with more and more people working from home at least a couple days during the week.
read moreTravel & Entertainment In The Age of COVID-19
The drop in T&E expenses is going to be another huge challenge for restaurants and retailers (especially located downtown) as the daytime population of our cities continue to dwindle. Businesses will have to continue being creative to cover yet another gap in normal every-day revenue to survive.
read moreTalking To Your Landlord
On June 23rd, Massachusetts Restaurants United hosted a Town Hall topic: How to Talk to your Landlord, featuring Graffito’s Jesse Baerkahn. This post includes the entire video presentation.
read moreUpdate #13: So, Now What?
I invite you to provide feedback to us on what more we can do to reinvent Graffito as a more actively anti-racist organization, where we are missing the mark, if you want to join us in any of this, how we can share best practices, and how we can hold each other accountable in our respective pursuits to make better, more inclusive, more diverse, more equitable, and more valuable urban places.
read moreUpdate #12: Another Pivot
At Graffito, we will not be bystanders anymore. We will reinvent ourselves as related to anti-racism, equity, and inclusion. And of all the “pivots” I’ve been writing about in these updates the past few months, this will be the most important one for us.
read moreTrue “Togetherness” Through More Inclusive Design
“We’re all in this together” seems to be the widely adopted tagline of this pandemic, but I personally cringe when I hear it.
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