5 things: University of Wisconsin-Madison to resume in-person classes

Each Friday Food Management compiles a list that highlights five things you probably missed in the onsite foodservice news that week and why you should care about them.

Here’s your list for the week of September 21:

University of Wisconsin-Madison will resume some in-person instruction starting this weekend. UW-Madison announced on Wednesday morning that courses that require special equipment or facilities will return to in-person or hybrid instruction on September 26. Instructors will contact those students on Friday.

UW-Madison has also lifted the quarantine on two of its residence halls. Students at Witte and Sellery Halls had been asked to remain in their dorm rooms except for meals at campus dining halls.

Read more: UW-Madison to resume in-person classes

Ohio loosened several coronavirus restrictions on bars, restaurants and catering facilities on Wednesday, with the state health department allowing self-service food stations, entertainment and other amenities. Regulations call for continued social-distancing guidelines and required space between patrons in lines. But the ease of restrictions clearly has come about because of improved conditions, according to the state’s order, signed by interim Director of Health Lance D. Himes. They include:

Related:5 coronavirus things: Study finds reopened colleges led to COVID surge

• self-service food stations - salad bars and buffets - will be permitted.

• All banquet and catering facilities with on-site food and drink consumption can reopen with maximum of 300 people per venue.

Read more: Self-serve, other restrictions loosened for restaurants, venues in Ohio

Emerson College in Boston won’t open its dining center for breakfast on Wednesday after learning three members of its vendor staff tested positive for COVID-19, according to an e-mail sent to students. On Tuesday, Emerson learned two individuals tested positive for COVID-19 the day prior, according to an e-mail sent to students. The school said contact tracing in underway and the individuals who tested positive are isolating in their homes.

The two new cases came in addition to another positive case from an individual who worked in a campus dining space last Friday, the school said. The space has remained closed since the weekend “out of an abundance of caution," although no additional cases were found during the school’s contact tracing efforts.

Read more: After three positive COVID-19 cases, Emerson College temporarily closes dining center

Related:5 coronavirus things: Study estimates 1.15 billion school meals missed last spring

Across the United States, city-to-city migration patterns have been redefined in recent months. Fresh data from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph team shows that smaller metro areas are gaining, some famous big cities are slipping, and hints of de-urbanization can be found across the country. Affluent New Yorkers have forsaken city life in favor of second homes in rural areas, CNBC reports. Many of those moves may turn out to be temporary, but some may be permanent. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports a surge of home-buying in New York’s suburbs.

It’s a similar story in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many tech companies have switched to an extended work-from-home routine—and employees are becoming increasingly bold in deciding where that “home” should be. Schools near Lake Tahoe, nearly 200 miles northeast of San Francisco, are awash with applications from families that have relocated from the Bay Area, The Financial Times recently reported.

Read more: So long big city! Handling a pandemic often means calling the movers

Beginning in January, food and beverage operations at all NASCAR-owned motorsports tracks, including Daytona International Speedway, will be run by Levy. All Americrown workers will become employees of Levy. The company operates restaurants and food service venues and has provided food and beverage service for a number of major sports and entertainment industry events including the Super Bowl, Grammy Awards, PGA Championships, US Open Tennis Tournament and the Kentucky Derby.

Read more: NASCAR to merge Americrown food service business with Chicago-based Levy Restaurants

Bonus: Take-home meals boost revenue for in-house dining at Penn State Health

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]