4 WEEKLYPRESS.COM · UCREVIEW.COM · OCTOBER 31• 2012 Fleisher Restaurant industry provides opportunity continued from page 2 continued from page 1


“The ‘Dear Fleisher’ event is all about looking,” says Rumford. “And it’s about the intersection of people who love Fleisher, artists who love making their art, and the col- lector who never has to deal with sticker shock.” Rumford also talks about the pleasure in the challenge to come up with something in the 4x6 format. Thus far, “Dear Fleisher” has raised over $150,000 for Fleisher programs which serve 15,000 members of the community, including part- nerships with 400 neighbor- hood schools which, these days, often have no art pro- gram at all without Fleisher’s visiting artists series. If any of the art remains after the event, it will be for sale at Fleisher for a little while. The names of the artists will no longer, of course, be a secret, but that’s okay. More than okay!


For tickets/information: 215 922-3456 ext.300. www. fleisher.org.


Otterson, communications coordinator for the Pennsyl- vania Restaurant and Lodg- ing Association. “Another way they do it is by taking a job at one restaurant, learn- ing how things are done, then going off and opening their own restaurant. It’s a great stepping stone for launching your own busi- ness.” The entrepreneurial nature of the restaurant business is reflected in the composi- tion of the association’s membership. “I’d say that percentage-wise, 75 percent of our members are small, independent family-owned places,” she said. “The dif- ference between working for a small, family-owned restaurant and working for a chain restaurant is like the difference between work- ing for a small business and working for a large corpora- tion. When you work for a small business, you’re part of the family.” And most restaurants are


small businesses: according to National Restaurant As- sociation (NRA) data, about two-thirds of restaurants nationwide have fewer than 20 employees, and 43 per- cent have fewer than ten. Because so many restau- rants are small independent businesses, Otterson said that the sorts of practices advocated in the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Philadelphia (ROC) report “Behind the Kitchen Door: The Hidden Reality of Philadelphia’s Thriving Res- taurant Industry” may not be appropriate for all restau- rants. “We as an association support any owner who offers voluntary paid leave policies for their employ- ees,” she said. “But there are differences between a small independent restaurant, a medium-sized independent restaurant and a large chain operation. A one-size-fits- all policy won’t work for everyone. That’s why we leave such policies up to our members.”


Otterson noted that one


common way restaurant employees handle illness or personal emergencies is to trade shifts with other employees, a practice made possible by the variable nature of restaurant work. “There’s nothing more im- portant to a restaurant own- er than the health and safety of their guests,” she said. “Sick employees should not be working. The stan- dard procedure is for sick employees to let the owner know and discuss options. “The restaurant business is unique in that instead of working a fixed, 9-to-5-type shift, you could be working until 2 a.m. on some days and not on others.” While Otterson agreed that responsible restaurant own- ers need to attend to the well-being of their employ- ees, she also questioned the representativeness of the workforce sampled in the survey, arguing that respon- dents may have self-selected for dissatisfaction. “We’re not saying that people have not had bad work experi-


ences, but [ROC] seemed to target its data collection to those who have had them and not to the industry as a whole.”


That industry is large. According to NRA data, Pennsylvania restaurants employed 538,000 people statewide in 2012, or 9 per- cent of the state’s private sector workforce. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for Philadelphia in 2010 paint a similar picture: in that year, Philadelphia’s 3,291 eating and drinking establishments made up 10 percent of all private businesses in the city and provided 41,000 jobs.


“It’s a huge economic driver for the Commonwealth, and one that’s growing in this economy,” Otterson said. “Restaurant jobs are great stepping stones to either continuing careers in the industry or other opportuni- ties in other fields.” (Like many college students, this reporter spent time behind a short-order restaurant counter to earn money for


expenses, for instance.) “The restaurant business is also a great place to get a job when jobs are hard to come by.” It’s also an increasingly di- verse industry. Citing NRA figures, she said, “Nearly 50 percent of restaurants in this country are owned by women. Hispanic restaurant ownership has risen 42 per- cent in the last five years, and the number of restau- rants owned by African- Americans nationwide has risen 77 percent.” Finally, Otterson stressed the intangible benefits of restaurant work. “It’s one of those industries where you work on the front lines. You can make someone’s day just by providing a burger and a smile. One of our members has said in the past that he loved be- ing part of this industry because people come to his establishment for all sorts of reasons – to celebrate a milestone or an achieve- ment; even after the death of a loved one, people come together at restaurants to remember. To be part of someone’s life like that is a true blessing.”


THROW YOURSELF INTO THE


BAGGED LEAF AND RECYCLING PROGRAM NOV. 5 - DEC. 14


Bag your leaves and help the City. During this six-week program, we will collect and compost them to fertilize gardens and nourish trees.


Fallen leaves shouldn’t go to waste or be left to litter our streets. Let’s work together to make this Bagged Leaf and Recycling Program another victory for recycling and our UnLitter Us campaign!


For questions visit PhiladelphiaStreets.com/leaves or call 311.


COLLECTION GUIDELINES


• Use only brown paper leaf bags, available at most hardware or home improvement stores


• Set leaf bags out next to trash and recyclables on your regular trash day


• Leaves in plastic bags will be collected as trash, not recycling


• Do not mix trash or other recyclables with leaves • Use as many bags as needed, max. 40 lbs. each • Mechanical leaf collection will NOT be available


Please frequent Philadelphia businesses.


Buying locally in a tough economy is one of the most important things we can each do to help one another.


- Bob Christian, Publisher WEEKLY PRESS


UNIVERSITY CITY www.ucreview.com www.weeklypress.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12