From ‘maddening’ to a lifeline: Local restaurants share uneven experience with federal PPP loans ‘Without help, a lot of restaurants aren’t going to make it.’ Galen Fletcher, owner of Sundance the Steakhouse, received a loan in the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which will help him pay laid-off staff while the 45-year-old Palo Alto restaurant is open only for takeout. (Photo by Magali Gauthier) Galen Fletcher counts himself among the lucky ones. The owner ...
Read MoreGhost kitchens, fast growing and controversial, offer a lifeline for some restaurants during COVID-19 “It’s been very life-saving for us to have this relationship now” Virtual Kitchen Co. opened a ghost kitchen in Palo Alto in January, allowing restaurants from San Francisco and Oakland to deliver on the Peninsula. (Photo by Magali Gauthier) Long before the coronavirus hit the Bay Area, the owners of San Francisco Indian restaurant Dosa partnered with Virtual Kitchen Co. ...
Read MorePenniless heroes, unite! Walk a dog, make masks or write letters to fight the lonelies. Dianne Jenett, 72, smiles at Sunita de Tourreil after she brought her a bag of groceries from Whole Foods Market in downtown Palo Alto on March 18, 2020. When de Tourreil drops off the groceries, the two friends chat while keep a safe amount of space between them. (Photo by Magali Gauthier) Stuck sheltering in place but ...
Read MoreVirtual pizza making? Instagram live cocktail hour? During COVID-19, local businesses turn to online classes For local bars, bakers and breweries, virtual classes provide connection — and maybe even survival. Tian Mayimin of Little Sky Bakery in Menlo Park demonstrates how to make pizza at home during a free Zoom class on Friday, April 10. I’ve never met Tian Mayimin of Little Sky Bakery, but on a recent afternoon I watched her make pizza from scratch in ...
Read MoreKilliney Kopitiam’s opening in downtown Palo Alto was stalled due to the coronavirus shutdown. (Photo by Magali Gauthier) Singapore’s oldest cafe was about to open in Palo Alto. Then, the coronavirus hit. ‘We were pretty much ready to go.’ Killiney Kopitiam falls into Covid-19 limbo on the Peninsula. When six Bay Area counties first ordered all residents to shelter at home for three weeks in mid-March, Killiney Kopitiam—a Singaporean cafe in downtown Palo ...
Read MoreWe got hungry while sheltering in place. Here’s what we’ve been eating. The crispy tonkatsu at Curry Hyuga in Burlingame, which opened as a takeout-only operation in late March — in the midst of the Bay Area’s shelter-in-place order. (Photo by Elena Kadvany) Eating during the coronavirus is like entering a parallel universe, where masked people deliver meals curbside, we pay for groceries from behind plexiglass barriers and phrases like “no-contact delivery” have become the norm. But it’s ...
Read MoreThe line of hundreds of customers starts to move as Costco opens in Mountain View on the morning of March 15, 2020. The line serpentined through much of the parking lot. (Photo by Magali Gauthier) Six Fifty/Palo Alto Weekly photographer Magali Gauthier puts on a corona-sweater to get the shot Toss that day’s used masks and gloves in the garbage. Sanitize hands. Wipe down camera, laptop and car with disinfecting wipes. Remove sweater. ...
Read MoreKaren Himmaugh, wearing a mask and gloves, rings up Barbara Bunker’s groceries from behind a plexiglass barrier at Piazza’s Fine Foods in Palo Alto on April 9, 2020. (Photo by Magali Gauthier) ‘We’re the ones everyone’s counting on.’ Here’s how local grocery stores are responding to the coronavirus Eggs are sold out. Hand sanitizer is on backorder. Strained staff are working overtime, on the front lines as grocery stores quickly adapt. Running a local ...
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