Newsfeed: Tito’s delivers, Providence takeout and more cocktails to-go

Tito’s delivers

Culver City taco stand Tito’s Tacos will reopen on June 1 for walk-up service and delivery. Rather than partner with delivery apps such as Postmates or DoorDash, the 60-year-old taqueria has enlisted the services of local delivery company StreetSmart Messengers to deliver tacos and burritos.

Fourth of July reopening?

Los Angeles County’s latest goal for further reopening the economy — including restaurants — is July 4, officials said at a Board of Supervisors meeting last Tuesday. The hope is by that date retail businesses will be able to safely reopen their doors (many are already allowed to do curbside pickups) and restaurants can resume dine-in service. But they will have to do so with new guidelines in place, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said, adding that any decisions would be guided by “data and science.”

A taste of Providence

Michael Cimarusti announced on Instagram last week that his restaurant Providence, a fixture of the Times’ 101 Best Restaurants list that had yet to offer takeout during quarantine, is selling a limited number of three-course, family-style dinners available for pickup Thursdays through Saturdays. Reservations can be made online via Tock. Dubbed “Providence en Voyage,” each week’s menu will highlight a different regional cuisine.

Taking it to the streets

The city of Long Beach is exploring an “open streets initiative” that would repurpose some roads to accommodate outdoor dining, part of a larger effort to help businesses hurt during the coronavirus pandemic. The ordinance would potentially allow restaurants to expand into spaces such as parking lots, sidewalks and streets as they limit indoor seating to increase physical distancing. L.A. City Councilman Joe Buscaino has introduced a similar proposal for Los Angeles.

CDC federal guidelines

As dining rooms across the country continue to reopen, the Centers for Disease Control released a sweeping set of national guidelines for restaurants and bars to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Less detailed than plans released by California and other states, the guidelines call for enhanced hygiene and sanitation practices, distancing within physical spaces, the elimination of self-service stations and an increased focus on outdoor dining.

More cocktails to go

As part of a broad package of relief measures, California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control is further expanding which businesses can sell cocktails during the stay-at-home order. Permitted bars that do not serve food are now able to sell alcohol to go, provided they partner with a business such as a food pop-up or truck to do so. Some bars and restaurants will also be allowed to serve alcohol on nearby patios, sidewalks and parking lots in coming weeks.

80% of restaurant jobs gone

At a meeting of L.A. County’s newly formed Economic Resiliency Task Force on Wednesday, Supervisor Kathryn Barger shared a sobering statistic: 80% of restaurant workers in L.A. County have lost their jobs since the start of the pandemic. County officials and industry leaders on the task force are helping make decisions about reopening the economy.

L.A. approves delivery fee cap

Following a unanimous City Council vote on Wednesday, L.A. is pushing forward with plans to limit how much delivery services such as Postmates, Grubhub and Uber Eats can charge restaurants, capping delivery fees at 15% of the purchase price for orders during the COVID-19 crisis. The restrictions would end 90 days after L.A. lifts its ban on dining inside restaurants.

Du-Par’s Pasadena closes

Long-running local diner chain Du-Par’s has permanently closed its Pasadena location due to business challenges caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to owner Frances Tario. The Du-Par’s at the Original Farmers Market remains open.

Gourmet Imports founder passes

Nicole Grandjean, founder of Nicole’s Gourmet Market & Café and Gourmet Imports in South Pasadena, died on May 14. She was 71. A native of the Loire Valley, Grandjean launched her eponymous specialty food company out of her Sherman Oaks home in 1989, eventually expanding to supply many of L.A.’s best chefs and restaurants with fine French cheeses, charcuterie, oils and other imported ingredients.