May 11, 2022, 2:51amUpdated 4d ago

By: News 12 Staff

Food trucks that have parked near the Long Beach boardwalk for nearly a decade will not be in their normal location this year.

The Super Block construction project is preventing the trucks from setting up on Riverside Boulevard and city officials say there is no space for them anywhere else.

Long Beach Parks and Recreation Commissioner Joe Brand says the city tried to find a new place for the vendors, but couldn't.

"We've looked at every other area in the city," Brand says. "Each truck is unique in that most of them require power, most of them require a water source and that's not something, believe it or not, that we have at our disposal at each of the ends of the block."

Michael Wachs operates Amanda Bananas, a truck that sells frozen banana treats.

He says the food truck operators counted on the money and it's their livelihoods.

"It hurt to know the community we served our food to didn't really have our backs in relocating us," Wachs says.

Wachs says this summer he will park his truck at Dox, a restaurant in Island Park.

However, he says the food trucks helped Long Beach recover from Superstorm Sandy and the city should find them a new location for summer 2023.

For this summer, beachgoers like Cindy Gutierrez, of Freeport, are disappointed that the "Shoregasbord" won't be happening.

"We enjoyed the food trucks around here," Gutierrez says.

Wachs says he learned that his truck wouldn't be at Long Beach this summer through the grapevine.

City officials say they knew as early as summer 2021.

The city of Long Beach also says they pushed for construction on the project to be delayed to ensure the vendors had a full season in 2021.

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Construction forces Long Beach food trucks to find somewhere else to park - News 12 Bronx

On September 7, 2020, chef Henry Pineda and his wife Amanda were taking a much-needed beach-day break with family. The pair had been working tirelessly at their Anaheim restaurant Modern Filipino Kitchen (MFK) by Aysee, and the long holiday weekend meant waves and relaxation. At one point, between sips and sunshine, a family member told Pineda that theyd had a premonition about MFK by Aysee. In the dream, the person recalled, it was suggested that someone should smudge the space by burning some sage, allowing the smoke to cleanse the restaurant anew. Once done, the sage would keep it safe.

That night at 11 p.m., Pineda received a call from a neighboring business from the strip mall off La Palma Avenue. Through a frantic scramble of words, one phrase stood out: Your restaurant exploded.

Henry Pineda first thought about becoming a chef while visiting family back in the Philippines. Large groups would gather for evening celebrations, often taking over the top floor of a nearby three-story restaurant. Henry liked the idea of a dedicated place like that, where everyone could see each other, reconnect, and hang out for a while.

It helps that restaurants are in his blood. Henrys grandmother Pacita founded a restaurant named Aysee (pronounced I see) with his aunt back in 1986, pulling letters from the names of family members to craft a unique moniker. Its where the young Pineda cooked some of his first restaurant meals, and is still considered to have some of the best sisig on the planet. The restaurant was founded in the countryside, but earned success (and multiple locations) after relocating to the metropolitan city of Manila. The first outlet was in a then-up-and-coming neighborhood, anchored by a pro sports arena within walking distance to the shop. Athletes would stop in to fuel up while training, and word of Aysees legendary sisig got out.

When he became an adult, Pineda decided he wanted to open his own branch of Aysee. I did not want to work for somebody, he says. Besides, the family restaurant was already well-established at that point, though it lacked a foothold outside of Manila. To gain experience in some U.S. kitchens, Pineda found work at Anaheims Mama Cozzas, a trattoria owned by his high school football coach that has been featured on Food Networks Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Henrys coach cross-trained him in both the culinary and administrative sides of restaurant ownership.

From there, he spent time in a variety of kitchens including Anaheims Adya, Starfish Laguna Beach, and the Penthouse inside the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. Each place presented a new challenge and a new way of looking at the industry. He got offers to cook in New York and Hawaii, but stayed on the West Coast to be close to family and friends.

Eight months before opening his first standalone restaurant in 2016, Pineda traveled to the Philippines to convince his relatives to let him add the Aysee moniker to the sign out front, which was already going to contain the words Modern Filipino Kitchen. Pacita was against the idea initially, and it took some prodding from Henry to convince her that an outpost in California home to more than 1.5 million Filipinos could bring extra attention to the company in Manila. With her eventual blessing, Henry opened MFK by Aysee in late 2016, serving rice bowls with various proteins and dinner kamayan service, a traditional Filipino feast served on banana leaves. Diners sit close together, corralling meats, sides, and rice from the elaborate full-table display with their hands.

Pineda asked his then-girlfriend to help him open MFK by Aysee, considering the work that would be needed to build his dream project. If we could work together in a volatile restaurant, he figured, we could get married. They did just that, tying the knot on August 18, 2018.

Ultimately, it wasnt a gas leak or an electrical issue that caused MFK by Aysee to burn. After isolating various options, the Orange County fire marshal said that the likely culprit was spontaneous combustion, an ephemeral boom created by cooking oils trapped between towel fibers. A sudden burst, then flames, then smoke, and that was it. The marshal suggested maybe keeping towels in a metal bin next time.

The charred remains of Pinedas restaurant.

Except what would next time even look like? While waiting for the restaurants insurance company to work through its own investigation, the Pinedas found themselves with the kind of free time together that they hadnt had since getting married. They planned to take a year off after the incident to think through various scenarios, including but not limited to reopening MFK by Aysee somewhere else. They considered moving to the Philippines or maybe to Samoa, both places that would offer an escape from Orange County. Plus, they had family there. Henry even tugged at the idea of building a farm in Hawaii. The explosion had scarred the couple, but it hadnt made them scared. Instead, they saw possibility. Not a lot of people get the option to choose their path, says Pineda.

In early 2021, the Pinedas got a call from SteelCraft, the growing development brand known for erecting indoor-outdoor retail and restaurant spaces in smaller cities across Southern California. The group backbones its projects with actual shipping containers, configuring them to create restaurant and dining spaces with smaller, more communal footprints. SteelCraft had wanted the Pinedas to open a location of MFK by Aysee at their under-construction Bellflower location back in 2019, but with the Anaheim storefront still just a few years old, the timing didnt feel right. When the new call came in, offering a recently vacated restaurant for a fraction of the original amount, the Pinedas decided to at least go walk the space.

We pray a lot, and we felt that it was a sign in the direction we should go, says Henry Pineda. By March 2021, MFK by Aysee was reborn, at least in name and motivation. The menu was largely different, playing to the fast-casual ambiance with a more grill-focused menu that includes plated versions of mainstream dishes like barbecued pork belly, bangus milk fish, and garlicky chicken adobo alongside pancit noodles and lumpia.

Within months the family found its footing in Southeast Los Angeles, and with it a renewed energy to cook Filipino food for an audience. The couple began researching possible new restaurant locations, to see if anything felt right. One day while meditating, Amanda says that she had her own vision of standing inside the former Calivino Wine Pub in Anaheim. Henry, for his part, had been tumbling around the idea of a new restaurant that would further honor the matriarchs of his family, named for the Tagalog word for grandmother.

Following the vision, the Pinedas found a willing seller in the Calivino space and opened Lolas by MFK there in March 2022, serving comforting Filipino family breakfasts. As in the Philippines, a pro sports arena this time Angel Stadium is within walking distance. At first I wanted it to be more of a fine dining approach, says Henry, but now I just want it to feel like home. I love the life its taking. Unlike MFK by Aysee in Bellflower, the new Lolas is a full-service operation, but it isnt static or predictable.

Lolas menu features a mix of classic silog meals, variable breakfast options traditionally served with garlic fried rice and a yolky egg. There are ube-infused pancakes and French toast, omelets with chicken adobo, and purely California fare like avocado toast. To honor his fathers Guatemalan roots Henry has also added a huevos rancheros plate with charred chirmol salsa, an unexpected twist for the daytime Spam-and-beef-tapa crowd.

Theres a mural inside of Lolas, depicting a young Henry offering a blessing (a sign of respect in Filipino culture) to his grandmother Pacita. The image has been passed around by all of Pinedas family members stateside and in the Philippines, including Pacita herself. Henry has been told that she returns to it often, smiling just enough to remark: Wow. You made me so beautiful.

Dinner is coming soon, Pineda promises, though it will hew to a more traditional Filipino approach. Braised oxtail kare-kare is a must; a tomato-based lamb caldereta stew and butterflied whole bangus fish have also made the tentative menu. Evening kamayan feasts will also be offered as a way to gather friends and family. Its a lesson found in the fires of that night back in September 2020. Thank God no one was hurt, the Pinedas said in a social media post to the restaurants Facebook page a few months later. Gods plan is not always easy to see but our faith is strong, and we are viewing this as a blessing in disguise.

The fire led to Lolas, but it wasnt really the start of the restaurant. For years, Henry only dreamed of having one restaurant that he could call his own, something to make his grandmother proud. Now he has two. A lot of people sacrificed a lot of things for us to be in this country, he says. Its a big gamble. So far its paying off.

MFK by Aysee keeps daily lunch through dinner hours at 16500 Bellflower Blvd. in Bellflower. Lolas is open for breakfast and lunch at 410 E. Katella Ave. in Anaheim.

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2410 E Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92806

Continued here:
This Orange County Filipino Restaurant Fought Flames to Save the Family Empire - Eater LA

GREENWICH Like pizza and ice cream, Robyn and Michael Bordes, the owners of a new eatery in town, said they work in harmony.

Were like-minded in every aspect of what we do. Even from business to personal, we both have the same mentality, Michael Bordes said. Its almost like if she says something, I would never say no because thats exactly what I want to do.

The two set out in July 2021 to open Constantinos Pizza and Ice Cream, aiming to open in October after their wedding.

But the process hasnt been as smooth as anticipated.

Michael Bordes said he hoped to impress his new bride with a three-month renovation, but instead, Robyn Bordes said she is impressed by her husbands work in tackling every setback.

The permit process took more time and more money than anticipated, Michael Bordes said. He has worked in construction for 40 years and felt confident in his ability to renovate the old Stateline Deli to meet their needs.

But inspectors required equipment and systems upgrades, leading the Bordes to transform the commercial kitchen in the building on West Putnam Avenue.

Then the town denied plans to paint the exterior in a vibrant, pizza-inspired design, Michael Bordes said.

So when were coming off of a global pandemic, and you have entrepreneurs or small business owners that are trying to open within a community after everybodys shutting their doors, both my husband and I looked at it as this should be something that is to be celebrated, accelerated and almost fast-tracked because you want to revitalize the community, Robyn Bordes said.

So, it was a setback for us and a very expensive one at that. But were honored to be able to open in Greenwich, she said.

It seemed like opening day was coming quickly in March, so they hired staff and prepared. But it ended up that they were still eight weeks away from their opening doors.

Constantinos paid its staff during that time, despite not having customers, the pair said.

I think that that goes a long way in every business that we own is that we have incredible staff, and we trust them, Robyn Bordes said.

They hope to franchise the business and have created merchandise with their pizza and ice cream logo.

Michael Bordes said he selected the name Constantinos as the wedding day neared to honor his wifes late father since Robyn Bordes prepared to take his last name.

It meant more to me that it was my dads name, but also that it was my husbands idea to name it after my dads name, Robyn Bordes said.

She has a 15-year career in public relations and up until last year owned Villaggios in Hartsdale, N.Y. Her husband credits her with the businesss bright aesthetic.

During her time at Villaggios, she said she noticed pizzas success even through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. She describes pizza and ice cream as pandemic-proof.

You cant ever get tired of ice cream and pizza. I mean, pizza is like everyones favorite food, she said.

To make the interior as welcoming to as many customers as possible, Constantinos used ideas from KultureCity, a sensory accessibility nonprofit, to create a space suitable for those with sensory needs.

The area, which is awaiting furniture, will have comfortable chairs, sensory activities and headphones, the restaurants new owners said.

Constantinos, which opened Wednesday at 699 W. Putnam Ave. in Greenwich, will hold a grand opening celebration beginning at noon Sunday.

annelise.hanshaw@hearstmediact.com

See more here:
Couple behind Greenwich's new Constantino's Pizza and Ice Cream persevere with 'pandemic-proof' pairing - Greenwich Time

One week left! The lineup has been announced for NY Cannabis Insiders full-day conference in Albany on May 20th. The event features industry thought leaders, panel discussions, lightning-round consultations, networking opportunities, lunch, a happy hour and vendor fair. Get your tickets here.

Jeremy Rivera sat at a small table in a Chinatown restaurant, eating bao pork buns and recounting parts of a life spent hustling drugs with New Yorks Crips. He touched the three dots tattooed next to his left eye.

Its the only three places youre going to go when you live this lifestyle, Rivera told NY Cannabis Insider. You end up in prison, you end up in the hospital, or you end up dead. There are no other options.

Now 35 and a lead safety instructor for a construction consulting business in New York City, Rivera spent the majority of the past 18 years in and out of prison on drug trafficking charges, he said.

Those years spent on the street, the friends he buried, the lives he saw wasting away in prison (including his), have all coalesced into a vision for Rivera: He wants to win a first-round conditional retail license to sell marijuana, return to the same streets he knew as a gang member, and give those kids an avenue out through employment.

I would like to hire directly from probation and parole, Rivera said. Drug dealers are some of the best businessmen youve ever met.

In light of the Office of Cannabis Management reserving the first round of dispensary licenses for justice-involved applicants, what follows is a Q&A with Rivera about his plans and hopes for the NY cannabis market.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

NY Cannabis Insider: What was your life like before your first prison sentence?

Rivera: I grew up in a drug-impoverished neighborhood. My familys from Bushwick, before gentrification, and my cousins were drug dealers, my uncle and my grandfather used to house guns for the old gangsters back in the late 70s and early 80s. I come from a background of gangsters.

I joined my first gang when I was in sixth grade, and I really started getting into it around seventh and eighth grade the violence and all that other stuff. I started getting into selling coke, ecstasy, crack, and then its heroin. And then I was getting charges.

So this last one it was enough for me. I was a three-time felon, predicate persistent. My next drug charge, I was looking at life in prison. And I took the opportunities around me and I ran with them. Ive been home for four years.

Do you think your background in any way prepares you to be a dispensary owner?

This pot thing, I feel like its right up my alley. Its something the state can finally give back to us.

Im a general superintendent for a big construction company. I have managerial experience. Right now, I run over 100 men, I run six jobs and in total, were talking the equivalent of about $20 million worth of production. I think I would know what to do.

NY Cannabis Insider hosting in-person cannabis industry conference on May 20.

Now, Im not a business connoisseur. So theres always assistance to be needed. I feel that I would be successful, though. I genuinely do. My neighborhood really doesnt have much, and maybe a dispensary would help them flourish and blossom a little bit. And honestly, it could help guys who were in my position, who may not have an outlet, get one.

Are you at all concerned about your other charges, that the OCM may disqualify you for having a record that goes beyond drugs?

Oh, absolutely. My first charge is a nonviolent robbery. But why should that be a concern? I dont have a murder, I dont have extortion, I dont have any embezzling crimes. Why should my past affect me if I want to do better for myself? All my crimes are drug related.

Look, Im an authorized OSHA instructor. Im taking a test for a construction health and safety technician through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. I was denied for both of them because of my criminal background, but I appealed both of them and won. So I always get denied everything I apply for.

How did you successfully appeal those denials?

I have a lawyer. Im not going to let these people determine how successful Im going to be if I choose to be successful. I shouldnt have a ceiling set on me when nobody else has one.

I did the crime. I did the time. I finished parole. Why shouldnt I have the same rights as anybody else?

Youve been out for four years and have turned your life around. How many people are able to do that?

If people had the network, and if they had the accessibility to some of these programs, then there would be a lot more. But you cant expect a person to come home from prison and not give them anything and expect them to be successful.

Thats why Im starting the Urban Safety Institute. Because I know construction, Im good at it, I make a good living with it. But Im one of the blessed ones I was also able to come home, save the money, get the training, go do it and run with it.

But what if you cant get the training, or cant afford it? And even if they are getting into these programs, whos teaching them? A person who doesnt know who they are? A person who doesnt know the struggles theyve been through, and cant relate?

When I came home, if I would have had a good three years, and somebody would have said to me, Jeremy, put in an application, get a city job, get a government job, and have assisted me with that application Id be a shoe up.

Thats the problem. These kids are so abused. And they come from these rough families. They come from these fatherless and motherless homes, and then you expect them just to put down their armor and be vulnerable? Bro, vulnerability gets you killed in the streets.

So that would be your angle, with opening a retail store helping these kids get off the street?

I would like to hire directly from probation and parole. Theres a lot of smart kids out there who dont have a chance. You just have to pick them out.

Right, so you wouldnt be known for the strains you carry, but rather the business model behind the business?

The strains are the strains, pot is pot. What are you doing for the community? Thats what social equity is in New York, right giving an opportunity to people who may not have had one before in order to create a community in which people can create intergenerational wealth.

Look, I sit in board rooms now with billionaires, and they look at me like an equal. They dont know that Im fully tattooed, that Im a 20-year gangbanger, that I was a drug dealer my whole life. They dont know that because I got an opportunity to change. But I fought for it. Now that I opened that door, Im opening it for everybody.

But if you dont know the door is there, youll be lost. Its like Alice in Wonderland youll be lost in the maze.

How confident are you in the people who are setting up this marketplace the regulators, the politicians, etc.?

Im hoping this actually works out the way theyre saying it will, with the social equity program. But its hard to have faith its government.

And thats the problem: Theyre making decisions for people who they want to be the voice for, but never heard their own voice, right? You have to listen to the community to make the decisions.

Dont assume you know what the problem is with these kids, because you dont. Youre not living in their shoes and youre not living in the politics of their neighborhoods. You dont know. But maybe if you ask, theyll tell you. Some wont. You have the stubborn ones, and its sad to say, but some kids are lost. Ive had friends like that, that no matter what you tell them, theyre just stone-cold killers. It is what it is, you cant change them. But thats a very small minority. Very, very small.

Theres a lot of kids who are doing it because they dont have another option. They dont know anything else. So they do what theyre acclimated to do around their neighborhoods. I think this weed thing, if it gets pushed correctly, if the right people get the opportunities to open dispensaries, I think a change can be made. Youd be able to give jobs to people who need them, youll be able to teach trades.

Why not get a program installed where we can take guys on work release and send them out to trim and to prune and to learn botany? Or to go to a dispensary on an externship or internship program and rotate them in? Teach the business behind it.

Because Im telling you, whats happening now is were creating intergenerational corruption and criminality in these neighborhoods. My grandfather was a gangster, my uncles a gangster, I was a gangster. My kids arent going to be gangsters. I made that stop.

But its just going to continue until somebody says, Thats it, Im going to give you an opportunity.

And whats better than pot?

Read the original here:
This former gang member wants to get kids off the street with weed - syracuse.com

Shack in the Back BBQ is no longer located in a shack.After spending more than 15 years serving customers out of a 19th century log home, the popular Fairdale restaurant is reopening this weekend at 10706 W. Manslick Road, according to Louisville Business First. Owner Barbara Sivells said it will take some time for her and her 16 employees to get use to the new space."The old location was a mere 900 square feet," Sivells said. "This location is over 4,400 square feet. We're not gonna know how to act. We're gonna have to put some extra stuff in the kitchen to bump into each other because we really were operating out of a spot that was probably 25' by 6', and that's being generous."The new Shack in the Back BBQ location will officially open its doors on Saturday, May 14. Sivells said she can't wait to show off the new space to her longtime customers.The new location features a rustic log cabin design with exposed cedar wood beams and river rock accents. Sivells even reused some of the wood from the original location in the new dining room.The restaurant offers indoor seating for 96 people at large booths, tables and it has a beautiful new bar area that includes four large screen TVs. Outdoor seating is also available in a specially designed patio that seats 40.A separate party room offers private seating for 20 guests. A newly designed catering kitchen will allow the restaurant to offer better service for that line of business.Sivells said initially Shack in the Back will only serve beer, wine, and bourbon. The new location will also start out with the same menu as the old location, but she plans to offer other new items like salads and a hickory smoked steak in the near future.Sivells said she had to relocate the restaurant from its original spot at 406 Mount Holly Road because the property was sold to Circle K in September 2021.Sivells' daughter Arianna worked at the Forcht Bank that is the restaurant's new home. Arianna, who now works at Shack in the Back, let her mother know the bank was closing."It's just kind of weird how it worked out," Sivells said. "Within the first day or two after the word got out, a couple of the city officials had come by and told us we should buy the bank for the shack. And I was like, 'I can't buy a bank'."State and Metro government leaders worked to help her get the financing she needed to ultimately buy the former bank. While the construction was going on, Shack in the Back continued to serve customers from its food truck. Sivells said the business would never had survived the move and the Covid-19 pandemic if not for her loyal employees."My employees have been amazing," she said. "The Shack on Wheels was our plan B because we had to leave the old location sooner than we thought. Our staff has been out there in wind, rain, sleet, or snow. We haven't missed a beat."Sivells is from Niagara Falls, New York. She met her husband Mike, who is from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1989."Ever since the day I met him, he always said he was going to have a barbecue restaurant one day," she said.The couple opened Shack in the Back in 2006. Sivells said even after they found out that the restaurant had to relocate, they never considered leaving Fairdale because of the community support for their business.To read more about the new location and how Sivells got help to fund it, you can read Louisville Business First's complete article here.

Shack in the Back BBQ is no longer located in a shack.

After spending more than 15 years serving customers out of a 19th century log home, the popular Fairdale restaurant is reopening this weekend at 10706 W. Manslick Road, according to Louisville Business First.

Owner Barbara Sivells said it will take some time for her and her 16 employees to get use to the new space.

"The old location was a mere 900 square feet," Sivells said. "This location is over 4,400 square feet. We're not gonna know how to act. We're gonna have to put some extra stuff in the kitchen to bump into each other because we really were operating out of a spot that was probably 25' by 6', and that's being generous."

The new Shack in the Back BBQ location will officially open its doors on Saturday, May 14. Sivells said she can't wait to show off the new space to her longtime customers.

The new location features a rustic log cabin design with exposed cedar wood beams and river rock accents. Sivells even reused some of the wood from the original location in the new dining room.

The restaurant offers indoor seating for 96 people at large booths, tables and it has a beautiful new bar area that includes four large screen TVs. Outdoor seating is also available in a specially designed patio that seats 40.

A separate party room offers private seating for 20 guests. A newly designed catering kitchen will allow the restaurant to offer better service for that line of business.

Sivells said initially Shack in the Back will only serve beer, wine, and bourbon. The new location will also start out with the same menu as the old location, but she plans to offer other new items like salads and a hickory smoked steak in the near future.

Sivells said she had to relocate the restaurant from its original spot at 406 Mount Holly Road because the property was sold to Circle K in September 2021.

Sivells' daughter Arianna worked at the Forcht Bank that is the restaurant's new home. Arianna, who now works at Shack in the Back, let her mother know the bank was closing.

"It's just kind of weird how it worked out," Sivells said. "Within the first day or two after the word got out, a couple of the city officials had come by and told us we should buy the bank for the shack. And I was like, 'I can't buy a bank'."

State and Metro government leaders worked to help her get the financing she needed to ultimately buy the former bank.

While the construction was going on, Shack in the Back continued to serve customers from its food truck. Sivells said the business would never had survived the move and the Covid-19 pandemic if not for her loyal employees.

"My employees have been amazing," she said. "The Shack on Wheels was our plan B because we had to leave the old location sooner than we thought. Our staff has been out there in wind, rain, sleet, or snow. We haven't missed a beat."

Sivells is from Niagara Falls, New York. She met her husband Mike, who is from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1989.

"Ever since the day I met him, he always said he was going to have a barbecue restaurant one day," she said.

The couple opened Shack in the Back in 2006. Sivells said even after they found out that the restaurant had to relocate, they never considered leaving Fairdale because of the community support for their business.

To read more about the new location and how Sivells got help to fund it, you can read Louisville Business First's complete article here.

Go here to read the rest:
Shack in the Back reopens this weekend in new, larger location - WLKY Louisville

By Craig Manning | May 14, 2022

If you look at a northern Michigan events calendar for the next four months, the easy takeaway is that things are reverting to the way they were before COVID-19 put the regions tourism machine on ice. From the Traverse City Film Festival to the Interlochen Arts Festival, big summer traditions are roaring back to life throughout the region.

But while local businesses and festival organizers are ready to get back to normal, a total return to last decades way of life might not be possible. Northern Michigan still has a big problem to solve: a full-on labor shortage crisis.

A Nationwide ChallengePandemic-related economic disruptions led to the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in April 2020 was 14.7 percent. For perspective, even at the worst juncture of the Great Recession, unemployment maxed out at 10 percent.

The job market recovered during the latter half of 2020 and into 2021, but many employers still faced difficulties finding job candidates. For months, the common narrative was that heftier-than-usual government unemployment benefits were incentivizing millions of Americans to stay home and delay their return to the workforce. But those unemployment programs, most of them funded by the CARES Act, expired last September, and more than eight months later, many employers are still struggling to find help.

Nationally, unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in Marchnear the historic lows it reached in late 2019. At the same time, robust economic recovery has created millions of new jobs. Taken together, these trends mean there arent enough workers to fill the jobs that are out there. In fact, Jerome Powell, chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, recently crunched the numbers and noted that there are currently 1.7-plus job openings for every unemployed working-age American.

A Perfect StormBut while the whole U.S. labor market is out of whack, northern Michigan has its own unique challenges that are making the problem particularly dire. Just ask Matt McCauley, CEO of Networks Northwest.

Launched in 1974, Networks Northwest offers a variety of programs to the 10-county northwest Lower Michigan region, which includes Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, and Wexford. Many of the organizations programs are aimed at helping businesses start, grow, and stay in the northern Michigan area, by navigating the challenges of talent recruitment and retention. Those challenges, McCauley says, have rarely been more pronounced for local employers than they are today.

Our situation is very, very real, McCauley tells the Express. And thats for a variety of reasons, chief among them the shifting of demographics within northwest Michigan. We have a one-two punch with regards to the labor shortages that the last two years have brought to us. First, we know that a large portion of labor shortages across all industries come from people leaving the workforcemany of them Baby Boomers that are retiring. And second, because we have historically been and continue to be a retirement destination, older people are coming to the region that have an expectation for goods and services.

The result, McCauley says, is a significant labor gap. On one side, there is a demand from northern Michigans growing population for services that span a variety of industries from restaurants and hospitality to new home construction to healthcare and senior care services. On the other side, most industries are dealing with the mass exodus of Boomers from the workforce, a phenomenon referred to as the Silver Tsunami.

The cynical read is that northern Michigan was always going to face a reckoning with its aging population someday. Data from the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan (AAA)which serves the same 10-county region as Networks Northwestindicates that members of the Baby Boomer and Silent Generation cohorts account for 125,213 of the regions 315,339 residents. Those numbers mean that nearly 40 percent of northwest Michigan residents will be over the age of 60 by 2025. Comparatively, the region has just 108,657 residents who fit into the two generations (Generation X and Millennial) currently driving the American workforce.

For his part, McCauley acknowledges that this particular labor gap has been present and growing in northern Michigan for a number of years now. But by quickening Boomer retirement ratesaccording to Bloomberg, more than three million Americans have retired early because of COVIDand by driving more people out of urban epicenters and toward places like northern Michigan, the pandemic has moved up the date for when the region will need to face its unbalanced population.

[This labor gap] is likely to be especially felt this summer, McCauley says. Because, knock on wood, this will be potentially our first normal summer since 2019. And theres going to be some pent-up demand associated with that.

The ShockwavesSo, where will locals or visitors notice the impacts of the regions growing labor challenges this summer? McCauley points to hospitality and tourism businessesincluding restaurants, bars, and retailersas the first impact points.

At minimum, youre going to see limited hours of operation, he predicts. Places are going to open later and/or close earlier than what they did pre-COVID. And thats simply based on the availability of labor. On the more extreme side, its likely you are going to see some businesses closenot because the market isnt there [for what theyre providing], but because they simply arent able to find a critical mass of workers to provide the level of service that is desired or needed.

Those disruptions in business schedules are already happening. One example is Amical, a long-running restaurant in downtown Traverse City that cut lunch out of its hours during the pandemic and has yet to bring it back.

Its on the radar, Amical Owner Dave Denison says of restoring the restaurants lunch service. Actually, weve developed what a lunch menu would be, should things settle out and we can attract more staff members again. But there are a lot of things that have to be taken care of first to fix staffing, and that includes predictable childcare and predictable school schedules.

The difference between now and before the pandemic is that Denison and his staff are throwing all their energy at nights, rather than taking the risk of spreading themselves too thin by expanding beyond their current daily 4pm-9pm hours. Other downtown Traverse City restaurants are taking a similar picking their spots approach, whether that means giving staff recharge time on Sundays and Mondays (Mama Lus and The Flying Noodle) or focusing specifically on the lunch hour (The Towne Plaza).

Of course, less consistent restaurant service could be a problem if northern Michigan does end up having its busiest tourism season of the decade so far. Filmmaker Michael Moore, who is currently working to relaunch the Traverse City Film Festival for its first year since 2019, worries what understaffed hospitality businesses might mean for events like his.

At least right now, many of the downtown restaurants dont open until 5pm because they cant get the workers, Moore says. Well, how do you think the Traverse City Film Festival is going to run? We start showing movies at 9am. Theres not going to be places for breakfast? Or lunch? Clearly, theres a problem here, and its a hurdle that weve got to figure out how to get over.

Moore alludes to northern Michigans dearth of affordable housing as perhaps the biggest problem for building a young, vibrant working class in the region.

McCauley concurs and points out another half-dozen industries that, just like hospitality and tourism, are getting hit hard because workers cant live in the region affordably. Construction and other skilled trades, childcare jobs, positions in healthcare (particularly around senior care), and other roles, McCauley says, are hard to fill now and may only become more challenging as demographic shifts and population growth continue impacting the region.

No Silver BulletSo, whats the solution to northern Michigans labor crisis?

Beyond the obvious answers, like higher wages and better healthcare benefits, McCauley sees three main strategies that employers can implement right nowhousing, childcare, and job flexibilitythat might help attract candidates to hard-to-fill positions. Longer term, he predicts other fixeslike automation and international laborbecoming more prevalent in northern Michigan communities as ways to keep the economy revving.

As for an immediate, all-encompassing, foolproof fix?

There is not, in my view, a silver bullet, McCauley says. If there was, we would have already used it, because this [labor crisis] isnt new. This is a long-simmering issue that is, to a great extent, because of the aging of the largest generation that this country has ever seen. That crisis is something that we all have to pay attention to, and the solution to it is going to be multifaceted, and were not going to fix it overnight.

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Summer Employment Forecast: Will the job market warm back up? - northernexpress.com

In 2020 alone, a wave of subdivisions behind Alamo Ranch Marketplace and beyond led to population growth rates of 325% and 298%. Nowadays, we know Alamo Ranch as the place where you can find Target, Chick-fil-A, Mama Margie's, and one of Santikos' biggest movie theaters, Casa Blanca.

This is the Culebra Road as we know it today.

Head down Alamo Ranch Parkway, you can find new retail centers popping up outside growing subdivisions, including a fairly new H-E-B.

The area looked quite different 17 years ago. Save for a Jim's Restaurant on the corner of Culebra and 1604, most knew that driving past that would only lead you to Taft High School, the Cordi Marian Sisters, and miles of country leading you right to the shores of Medina Lake.

On the left, is a Google satellite image from 1989, and on the right is Alamo Ranch in 2020.

MySA dug through the archives to look at some of the key moments that brought Alamo Ranch to where it is today.

Press play below to see a time lapse of Alamo Ranch's growth.

Cordi Marian Sisters sold off about 160 acres of their land to area developers. New homes can be seen encroaching on their complex behind the statue of Jesus.

If anyone saw the boom of housing coming, it was the Cordi Marian Sisters, who sold about 160 acres for $2 million to Alamo Ranch developers Walt Busby and Brad Galo of Galo Properties around 2005.

New homes in the Alamo Ranch area were merely slabs in 2006.

Michigan-based Pulte Homes started with 1,600 acres for the Alamo Ranch subdivision near Loop 1604 and Potranco Road, not far from the Del Webb Hill Country Retreat, an upscale retirement community, according to Express-News archives.

New roadways had to be created as developers started on some of the first subdivisions being built around Hill Country Retreat.

At the time, Dale Kane of San Antonio-based First American Realty told the Express-News that builders planned 5,000 homes per year to reach 70,000 homes by 2016.

Construction crews were just getting started on Alamo Ranch Marketplace in 2006.

In 2007, developer Archon Group had just laid out plans for the Alamo Ranch Marketplace 900,000 square feet of retail development on 120 acres off Loop 1604 and Culebra Road.

In 2006, Alamo Ranch Marketplace was all dirt. Construction crews were just getting started.

Construction crews started turning dirt in September 2007 with plans to open the first phase of stores in 2008.

Alamo Ranch Marketplace was just a a few shell buildings in 2007.

Alamo Ranch Marketplace first opened in 2008.

Alamo Ranch Marketplace opened its first stores, including Ross and Target, in 2008.

A few hundred people wait in line outside the July 4th, 2013 opening of the area's first Steak 'n Shake. The first 150 people in line receive free food for a year.

Steak n' Shake opened its first location in San Antonio at Alamo Ranch. People lined up outside the building to be one of the first 150 people in the store, earning free food for a year. The burger shop hasn't been doing as well as once hoped.

This would kick off the opening of other restaurants like Dunkin' Donuts, Raising Cane's Chicken, and In n' Out.

TxDOT began construction on the Loop 1604 to State Highway 151 flyover in 2015.

More homes mean more traffic. TxDOT began construction on the Highway 151 at Loop 1604 flyover. The flyover turns into Alamo Ranch Parkway, leading people working in San Antonio back to their Alamo Ranch homes. It opened in 2017.

Santikos Casa Blanca Theater off Alamo Ranch Parkway off 1604 opened in 2016.

Santikos opened the Casa Blanca movie theater in 2016 featuring 16 all-laser projection screens and 16 bowling lanes with a full-service bar and kitchen.

H-E-B opened a new store in San Antonio at Alamo Ranch in 2017.

H-E-B already had a store at Culebra and 1604, but in 2017 it opened a store on Alamo Ranch Parkway. Now the area past this store is one of the fastest growing in Bexar County.

Cars navigate the intersection of Culebra Road and Westwood Loop in the Far West Side beyond Loop 1604, where traffic is a constant complaint. Three census tracts in the area had Bexar Countys fastest population increases from 2010 to 2020 one of them grew 468 percent.

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Booming growth: Alamo Ranch's many changes the last 17 years - mySA

Tesla has started construction on a new, much-needed giant Supercharger station in Santa Monica. The station was also supposed to include the automakers 1950s restaurant, but now its not clear if the diner is still in the plans.

In 2018,Elon Musk said that Tesla plans to openan old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in Los Angeles. It was yet another, Is he joking? kind of Elon Musk idea, but he apparently wasnt kidding.

A few months later,Tesla actually applied for building permits for a restaurant and Supercharger station at a location in Santa Monica. However, the project has since stalled, apparently due to local regulations.

Nevertheless, Tesla still moved forward with a Supercharger at the location as this part of Los Angeles really needs more Supercharger stations.

Last year, we reported on construction plans revealing that Tesla was planning a large, 62-stall Supercharger V3 station at the location. When the project was approved in April 2021, Musk again said that Tesla still was aiming to build a 1950s diner at the location.

Now almost a year later, a local Electrek reader spotted construction starting at the site:

The reader noted that construction is happening fast. The location was only a dirt lot only a few weeks ago. The company has already poured concrete and installed quite a few Supercharger stalls.

Now the question is whether or not the diner and outdoor movie screen are still in the plans, as Musk said last year.

The construction plans submitted to the city havent been updated with anything that could indicate a diner, but there are a few other constructions at the site, including solar canopies and a small building.

We will be keeping an eye on the project to see if anything more comes out of it.

But the main objective is to provide much-needed fast-charging to Santa Monica and the surrounding neighborhoods.

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Tesla starts construction on giant new Santa Monica Supercharger, but wheres the 1950s diner? - Electrek.co

ALTON - McDonalds officials made an announcement Friday via a sign in front of the old location at 717 East Broadway in Alton that many have been waiting for with some simple words: Construction Starts In Mid-March.

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Elizabeth, one of the managers at the location, is now at the McDonalds restaurant on Homer Adams Parkway and will return to Broadway when it reopens.

She said that she and the other employees who work at the Broadway restaurant couldnt be more excited and confirmed she heard the great news on Friday.

All the customers I see now from here who knows I am from there is so excited, she said. We are ready to have our store back on Broadway. It went up on the reader board yesterday (Friday)."

McDonalds on Broadway was destroyed in an early morning fire on June 18, 2021. The Bold family owns the McDonalds restaurant and have always been exceptional community citizens. The McDonalds employees from the Broadway location were moved to other McDonalds restaurants while the insurance discussions occurred and the plan to rebuild was devised. This once again shows the Bold familys commitment to their employees and their families.

Elizabeth said she and the other McDonalds cant wait to serve customers again on Broadway and said there has been a big void there without it over the past months.

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McDonald's Announces Construction To Begin On Broadway In Alton - RiverBender.com

There's roast beef, and then there's the Original Roast Beef Sandwich - and it's coming to Sarasota this summer.

Kelly's Roast Beef, theiconic Boston-area restaurantknown for itslobster rolls, clam chowder and sandwiches piled with pastrami, chicken salad and roast beef, will opena 3,500-square-foot location in the Square at University Town Center in thesummer.

The fast-casual restaurantwill take overthe former Sweet Tomatoes location at 5407 University Parkway. Construction is expected to begin soon, and the site will have a drive-thru and both indoor and outdoor seating.

Kelly's, which started as a hot dog stand onRevere Beach north of Bostonin 1951, currently has four corporate-owned locations in Massachusetts. The companystarted franchising in 2020, and a story that ran in the Sun-Sentinelfrom that summer indicated an interest in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach markets.

More in restaurants: Webber's Hot Dogs in Sarasota changing hands

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The expansion into Southwest Florida, however, is happening through a partnership with theMassachusetts-basedgroupbehind modern American restaurant concept 110 Grill. The company currently operatesfive brands - 110 Grill, Italian eatery Evviva Trattoria, amusement company Apex Entertainment, barbecue joint Willie Jewell's and now Kelly's.

Ryan Dion, 110 Grill's chief operating officer, said the company has the rights to franchise Kelly's in 22 Florida counties. His business partner spends winters in the Naples area, so they're familiar with the Florida market, and they think there's a dearth of quality sandwich and soup places in the area.

It also helps that Florida has few COVID restrictions, Dion said. That makes doing business here feel a bit more secure.

"Were excited that it'snot restricted down there, and also 1,000 new people relocate to Floridadaily which is extremely exciting," he said. "The weather also helps."

At Kelly's, customers can choose from sandwiches like the lobster roll -prepared Maine-style with diced celery and mayonnaise - the reuben, the pastrami sandwich and traditional grill dishes like hot dogs and hamburgers. The roast beef sandwich is usually served with barbecue sauce, Dion said, and it comes on a grilled sesame seed roll.

Sarasota will be the first location of Kelly's that 110 Grill brings to Florida, but it won't be its last. Already, the company has plans to bring Kelly's to Parrish, North Port and Venice, all in properties owned by University Town Center creator Benderson Development Co. of Manatee County.

Kelly's will be in the Cocoplum Village Shoppes at U.S. 41 and Sumter Boulevard in North Port, in the former Albertsons in Venice at 1590 U.S. 41 Bypass South and in Parrish's Creekside Commons.

"We believe Floridais a great state to do business in," Dion said.

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Kelly's Roast Beef is coming to Sarasota, other locations - Sarasota Herald-Tribune