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Happier Employees, Higher Profits: Covid's Surprising Lesson for Restaurants

Matthew Sedacca

May 19, 2022 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Alamos, California

During the COVID-19 pandemic, owners of the French bistro Bell's took a financial risk and began investing more money in their employees to incentivize working, increase employee satisfaction and retention and overall drive more profits. The decision has since paid off and is reimagining the traditional restaurant structure.

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Wight Gift Card helping local businesses emerge from the pandemic

Lori Little

July 30, 2021 |

Isle of Wight County Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Isle of Wight

For 50p a month, businesses can be part of the Wight Gift Card scheme which offers £50 gift cards to spend in participating shops. Residents purchase the gift cards to support local businesses and the data shows that for every £50 gift card, people actually spend £82.50. Similar gift card schemes have successfully helped businesses in other cities withstand COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. Initial data show that the Wight program has increased purchases at local businesses.

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Worker cooperatives prove your job doesn't have to be hell

Jaisal Noor

May 26, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

In service industries that traditionally pay and treat workers poorly, worker-owned cooperatives serve as a humane alternative. Worker-owners at eight co-ops in four states describe the difference their jobs make in their working conditions and their lives. They also tell how larger collectives and cooperatives pool resources to help smaller co-ops with the funding and expertise they need, especially when confronted by a disruptive event like the pandemic.

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This Federal Program to Aid Restaurants and Street Vendors Is Working

Oscar Perry Abello

May 25, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

In just its first few weeks of existence, the U.S. Small Business Administration's Restaurant Revitalization Fund approved more than $6 billion in aid to 38,000 restaurants and other food vendors suffering economically from pandemic shutdowns. The aid program's rollout was more effective than the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020, in that it successfully targeted businesses owned by women, veterans, and "socially or economically disadvantaged people." It was helped in outreach to businesses by organizations such as Mission Economic Development Agency and New York's Street Vendor Project.

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These co-op restaurants didn't need to open indoor dining to survive the pandemic

Jaisal Noor

May 20, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Two Baltimore restaurants, Red Emma's and Joe Squared, show how running or starting as worker-owned cooperatives gave them pandemic-survival skills in a business climate that killed many other small businesses. By tapping into larger networks providing financing on favorable terms and other expertise, these co-ops used their workers' ingenuity to offer services that didn't depend on sit-down dining. Like many co-ops, they were able to survive the pandemic and preserve jobs where so many traditionally run businesses were not.

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Taharka Bros: Ice cream with a side of worker ownership

Jaisal Noor

May 06, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore ice cream maker Taharka Brothers is six Black men, worker-owners, who lost most of their business accounts at the start of the pandemic. They saved their business, and their jobs, by starting home delivery and tapping into collectives that help worker-owned cooperatives with financing and business advice. Gratitude for a decent job, good working conditions, and pride of ownership help sustain such a business through tumultuous times.

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How Sedgwick County teamed with the Black community to fight the pandemic

Audrey Korte

May 04, 2021 |

The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Sedgwick County, Kansas

To help protect the predominantly Black community in Sedgwick County, Kansas, the county collaborated with local leaders and residents to create an information and messaging campaign that specifically addressed community concerns. Although the funding allocated to these efforts wasn't as plentiful as community leaders were asking for, the targeted outreach has helped to increase communication and trust around public health messaging.

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The Deal That's Saving San Francisco's Restaurants

Nicole Gluckstern

March 05, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

To save dozens of restaurants in San Francisco during the coronavirus lockdowns, a restaurant owner launched an organization that "provides monthly contracts to its restaurant partners to cook meals for underserved populations." The organization, which has 160 restaurant partners so far, helps fill the gaps left by the government-funded Paycheck Protection Program.

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This Program Helped Big Island Farmers And Families. Now It's Out Of Cash

Jack Truesdale

March 01, 2021 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

The Bridges program helped alleviate food insecurity in Hawaii by connecting local food producers with food banks. As a result, struggling farmers, who saw a sharp decline in sales after the pandemic, were also able to stay afloat while keeping much-needed food banks stocked.

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A 19th Century Fund Is Still Helping Philadelphia's Smallest Businesses

Kevin Riordan

February 15, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A long-running fund in Philadelphia has been able to help struggling small-business owners in the city since 1854. The Merchant Fund has been able to provide 67 businesses with $307,000 in grants since the onset of the pandemic. Additionally, it also helps entrepreneurs purchase real estate. The fund’s executive director notes, “Owning property is crucial to business longevity, and is fundamental to creating wealth that can be passed on.”

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