Jacob Tyler Dunn One of the dishes offered by La Locanda. New Plates on the BY TIRION MORRIS Chris Malloy welcome customers to sample multicourse menus and celebrate the metro Phoenix food scene. The festivities run from May 20 to 29 with orga- A nizers hoping to include more than 130 restaurants for customers to visit. Each spot will offer a prix-fixe three- or four-course meal for individuals or couples. Prices range from $33, $44, or $55 per person, or $55 for a meal for two. While many restaurants take part in the event year after year, some new names are in the mix. Some are brand new restaurants. Others are seasoned pros joining the event for the first time. Here are six new spots to look out for this year. LA LOCANDA ITALIAN BISTRO 3915 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-393-3606 lalocandabistroaz.com Scottsdale Road spot La Locanda joins the Restaurant Week list this year, bringing a taste of Italy with its classic pizza and pasta menu. Grab a high-top table or slide into a booth to enjoy this meal. For $44 per person, customers can expect a three-course meal. Start with a choice between Caesar salad, wedge salad, or mushroom soup before diving into five different options for the main course. Pick seafood with the scallop and shrimp risotto or the tuna puttanesca or stay on land with a filet mignon with peppercorn sauce. Dessert options are panna cotta, chocolate mousse cake, or carrot cake. NEIGHBORLY PUBLIC HOUSE 5538 North Seventh Street 602-675-1852 neighborlypublichouse.com Neighborly Public House is the latest spot from local restaurant group Common Ground Culinary and its chef and owner Christopher Collins. The new pub joined the neighborhood in uptown Phoenix late last year, taking over the Stock and Stable space 18 rizona Restaurant Week is back with its spring event for 2022. Over the course of 10 days, more than 100 restaurants will Course from p 17 Prices range from $33, $44, or $55 per person, with some restaurants offering deals for couples. Last year, 120 restaurants participated. This year, the Arizona Restaurant Association is hoping for over 130. Lack of Staff Continues to Hurt Restaurants Restaurant Week previously inspired fans with questions of when, where, which restaurants, how much, and what types of food? Then the pandemic hit and what was left of Restaurant Week was relegated to takeout. As Phoenix gears up for this year’s event, organizers hope Restaurant Week will return to its full former glory. On the surface, customers can visit their favorite restau- rant and gobble up the food. However, behind the scenes, it’s a completely different story. The restaurant landscape has changed significantly and restaurateurs are facing major challenges. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), the largest trade organization in food service, restaurant and bar staffing is 6.6 percent lower, or 820,000 jobs less than the pre-pandemic numbers. The Association reports that 70 percent of operators don’t have enough staff for their current demands. Arizona is no exception. Steve Chucri is the president and CEO of the Arizona Restaurant Association. “It’s about the environment,” he said. “I will tell you in my 20 years in the industry, I’ve never seen our labor market this bad.” This has led some restaurants, such as The Mission in Scottsdale, to pull out of Restaurant Week altogether. When it comes to the reasons behind the staffing shortage, some have blasted restaurants for not paying enough, but many in the industry say that’s not the case. “The restaurants are paying the highest ever,” Chucri said. “I think COVID has changed the workforce for the near future if not indefinitely. We are competitors with the gig economy, which brings flexibility in schedule and attire and still pays tips.” >> p 20 Staff Has Changed Throughout the Pandemic Aside from labor shortages, the workforce is not the same, restaurant owners say. “Our industry lost millions of seasoned professionals, and what got replaced by it was individuals who lack skills the larder + the delta’s Stephen Jones: “Our industry lost millions of seasoned professionals, and what got replaced by it was individuals who lack skills in the field.” in the field,” said Stephen Jones, chef and owner of the larder + the delta, a contemporary Southern food restau- rant in downtown Phoenix. “Restaurants lost a lot of internal culture. Now you have people who haven’t worked together, or done it before, trying to work together. That’s why you see irregularities in service,” Jones said. In addition to COVID-19, international events such as the war in Ukraine continue to disrupt the supply chain and impact food prices. Corn and soybean prices doubled in 2022. Chicken and egg prices are up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that food prices rose 8.8 percent in the past year, marking the largest annual increase since 1981. The year 2021 brought some help from state legisla- tion. Representative Jeff Weninger, who co-owns Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta in Chandler and East Valley chain Dilly’s Delli, fought to make to-go cocktails legal and restaurants gained protections from civil liability. Yet while these policies were helpful, the economic stress of the pandemic lingers, restaurateurs say. “The to-go cocktail was 100 percent helpful. It helped us and a lot of my friends who own restaurants,” Jones said. “Still, that was a drop in the bucket. I know restaurants that are still not open. Even though the restaurants received PPP (Paycheck Protection Program loans), they are taxed on those. People have to make sacrifices to pay them.” How Are Restaurants Coping? To meet the challenges, many restaurants have embraced technology since the pandemic. Having a QR code to direct customers to a digital menu allows restaurants to change menus based on supply prices in real time. Other digital tools include contactless bill pay and mobile ordering apps. Some restaurants now have ordering kiosks to reduce the need for staff, while others use ghost kitchens to decrease their space requirements. Yet others have added packaged foods, DIY, and meal subscriptions. To mitigate rising costs restaurants have employed strategies such as doing away with free bread baskets, using only fruits and vegetables that are in season and readily available, and closing for more days per week. >> p 20 Block Arizona Restaurant Week welcomes six new restaurants for this spring’s event. MAY 12TH– MAY 18TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
