On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced that the deadline for restaurant owners to apply for the city’s permanent Al Fresco program has been extended to December 31, 2024. This means that any...more
On February 21, 2024, Los Angeles County filed a complaint for injunctive relief and damages against Grubhub alleging that the company engaged in false and deceptive advertising and unfair business practices that harm...more
3/1/2024
/ Advertising ,
Delivery Drivers ,
False Advertising ,
Fees ,
GrubHub ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Misrepresentation ,
Municipalities ,
New Legislation ,
Pricing ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State and Local Government ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Unfair Pricing
On October 8, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 476. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2024.
Employees of retail food facilities are already required to obtain a food handler card...more
On September 11, 2023, industry, government, and union representatives announced that they had reached a deal to remove a California referendum on the Fast Food Accountability and Standards (“FAST”) Recovery Act from the 2024...more
On June 26, 2023, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an insurance company’s win over a restaurant group seeking insurance coverage for pandemic-related claims in Team 44...more
6/28/2023
/ Appeals ,
Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Restaurant Industry
On May 1, 2023, a ban on single-use plastics went into effect for restaurants with permanent locations in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The ban was originally passed in April of 2022 by the Los Angeles County...more
On April 7, 2023, the City of Los Angeles (the “City”) released a revised “LA Al Fresco Ordinance,” to govern outdoor dining. The City had previously released a February 2023 proposed ordinance that was met with intense...more
On January 13, 2023, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang ruled that implementation of the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (“FAST Act”) should remain on hold pending the Secretary of State’s...more
On December 30, 2022, Judge Shelleyanne Chang of the Superior Court of Sacramento issued a temporary restraining order to block adoption of the FAST Act, which was due to take effect on January 1.
The Save Local...more
California‘s FAST Recovery Act will likely be placed on hold until November 2024.
The Save Local Restaurants coalition, a group composed of restaurant industry advocates, filed a voter referendum on September 7, 2022 to...more
On July 1, 2022, the Responsible Beverage Service Training Program Act (Assembly Bill 1221) will go into effect. This means that Responsible Beverage Service training for alcohol servers and their managers at California...more
On May 26, 2022, the California State Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 846 to expand the sale and delivery of to-go cocktails with a 32-0 vote. SB 846 would expand a 2021 law (SB 389), which allowed the sale of to-go...more
On March 16, 2022, the Ninth Circuit joined other appellate courts in finding that restaurants were not entitled to insurance coverage for losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. A panel of judges issued an unpublished...more
3/21/2022
/ Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Restaurant Industry
On November 15, 2021, a Los Angeles City Council ordinance aiming to drastically reduce single-serve plastic utensils within the city went into effect.
Restaurants with more than 26 employees are required to remove all...more
On October 5, 2021, Governor Newsom approved AB-286, which adds further regulations for food delivery platforms. The law will take effect on January 1, 2022. Last year, California passed the Fair Food Delivery Act of 2020...more
On October 8, 2021, Governor Newsom approved three restaurant relief measures. These measures will affect outdoor dining and the ABC license process....more
Two restaurant relief measures have cleared the California State Senate and Assembly with bi-partisan support. The bills were both enrolled on September 13, 2021, and now await Governor Newsom’s signature....more
On September 10, 2021, the City of West Hollywood issued an Emergency Executive Order (the “Order”) implementing vaccine verification requirements for some businesses throughout the City. The West Hollywood City Council first...more
On September 1, 2021, the California State Assembly joined the California State Senate in passing Assembly Bill 286, which will regulate food delivery platforms throughout the state. The bill passed with bipartisan support in...more
While Congress has expressed bipartisan support for replenishing the depleted Restaurant Revitalization Fund (“RRF”), it has not been able to take action to do so. There are currently two bills pending to replenish the funds,...more
On July 14, 2021, the Senate Health Committee approved Assembly Bill (“AB”) 61, which would provide regulatory flexibility to restaurants to expand outdoor dining. The bill now includes an urgency clause, meaning that it can...more
On July 14, 2021, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) will officially close its Restaurant Revitalization Fund (“RRF”) portal. This move raises questions about whether the RRF funds will be replenished, despite pending...more
7/12/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Grants ,
Funding Portal ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Relief Measures ,
Restaurant Industry ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Women-Owned Businesses
The much anticipated Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) was deluged with applicants. According to Restaurant Dive, more than 362,000 applications were received in the first three weeks of the program for a total of $75...more
On Tuesday, June 8, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to establish permanent guidelines for outdoor dining and move from the temporary pandemic authorizations to a long-term plan.
The...more
On June 3, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the extension of some pandemic alcohol measures designed to help restaurants and bars. The press release states: “The Administration today extended relief measures...more