As we learn more about COVID-19, it’s become clear that the reality of social distancing will be with us for the foreseeable future. For many of us, it’s been disheartening as we grapple with the deep challenges of living during a pandemic. But, there have also been moments of hope and encouragement. So many of us have made the necessary adaptations to help keep one another safe while at the same time, rising together for racial justice.
A born-and-bred New Yorker who’d spent his career working in Manhattan kitchens, Nelson witnessed his destiny unfold when he baked a cake for his best friend’s birthday party. It was there that he met his future wife, May. “When she tasted that, it made her get my number,” he says with a grin. “We’ve been together ever since, which is why I’m here today—I came to California for love, of course.”
Susannah Chen
In the three months since we checked in with merchants on the state of their restaurants during the pandemic, a lot has happened. The global economy saw its worst downturn since the Great Depression. Black Lives Matter became the largest movement ever in U.S. history. Loosened social distancing restrictions at the onset of summer brought on a second spike in COVID-19 cases across the Sun Belt, prompting officials to shut down states yet again.
Susannah Chen
When Sarah and Evan Rich met in Manhattan 18 years ago, they hardly could have imagined that they would someday be running a small empire of restaurants in San Francisco. In fact, if it weren’t for the need to change clothing before and after service, the wife-and-husband chef duo might never have met at all.
Susannah Chen
Aside from a year-round temperate climate, proximity to countless Internet startups, and some of the priciest housing in the country, the Peninsula towns of Burlingame, San Mateo, Woodside, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and Mountain View share something surprising in common: They all have Michelin-starred restaurants.
Susannah Chen
