Restaurant­s can open at full capacity, but staffing is a challenge

In theory, Gov. Roy Cooper’s May 14 announcement lifting mandatory capacity and gathering limits and allowing fully vaccinated diners to leave their masks at home should allow North Carolina restaurants to get back to a pre-pandemic normal. But in practice, Cooper’s announcement doesn’t change much for many local restaurateurs. “What is driving restaurants’ decisions right now […]

Behind the Apron: Asheville Independen­t Restaurant­s launches a new online industry resource

In Asheville, many restaurateurs realize that cooperation trumps competition. The local culinary scene is well-known for its collaborative spirit, and behindtheapron.com, a new business-to-business website recently unveiled by Asheville Independent Restaurants, aims to enhance and expand that synergy. Unlike AIR’s current website, which is mostly consumer-based, Behind the Apron was created to be a resource for the organization’s 120-plus member restaurants. […]