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Eater
3 days ago
- Eater
A Former Google Exec Takes Over Two Sonoma County Wineries
is the associate editor for the Northern California and Pacific Northwest region writing about restaurant and bar trends, coffee and cafes, and pop-ups. Remy Saves the World, a label under the Reeves Wine brand, now belongs to a former Google executive. Remy Saves the World A former Google executive has added two popular Sonoma County wine companies to his growing roster of businesses. Overshine Collective has purchased Healdsburg's Reeve Wines and Sebastopol's Martha Stoumen Wines. The Press Democrat reports that Collective is a holding company for David Drummond, former senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer for Google parent company, Alphabet Inc. The Reeve Wines acquisition includes the subsidiary wine labels BloodRoot and Remy Saves the Sea plus music festival benefiting gun safety reform, the Ramble. That said, joining the Overshine Collective — while a literal acquisition — includes equity options for the founders. Idlewild Wines founder Sam Bilbro, who also sold to the Overshine Collective, described it to the San Francisco Chronicle like tech companies buying each other and remaining independent brands. Drummond at the helm has also acquired Armida Winery, a 550-acre vineyard in the Russian River Valley, and debuted two wine brands, Overshine and Comunità. Wine bar pro and coffee ace team up One of the talents behind Nob Hill's Habibi bar, Bahman Safari, has moved the operation into its own location in the same neighborhood. Bar Bibi is set to open in the former Ristorante Milano space in August, per Tablehopper. A wine and dinner service will be dropping any day now. Bay Area barista and founder of pop-up Better Half Coffee Joshua Kaplowitz will run his operation inside the space, too. Treats for that daytime operation will come from Luis Villavelazquez's Bellaria. Dubai chocolate gets a local vegan candy twist Somewhat inevitable in the Bay Area, a vegan and gluten free riff on one of the internet's trendiest desserts has emerged. Richmond's Coracao chocolate — a longtime player in the region's plant-based chocolate game — just launched a Dubai chocolate bar. The pack of three arrives crowned in Santa Barbara pistachios and, rather than Kaitafe, crisped quinoa and toasted coconut to recreate that feature. Two major wine country players link The longtime favorite winery Ashes & Diamonds will host cuisine from the Sea Ranch Lodge in August. From Monday, August 18, through Sunday, August 31, the menu at the winery will come from produce grown at the lodge's coastal farm. Furthering the partnership, Ashes & Diamonds members will receive discounted rates on stays and farm tours. Eater SF All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Vox
6 days ago
- Vox
The Trump administration attack dog you should pay attention to
is a senior politics correspondent at Vox, covering the White House, elections, and political scandals and investigations. He's worked at Vox since the site's launch in 2014, and before that, he worked as a research assistant at the New Yorker's Washington, DC, bureau. Bill Pulte is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, tasked with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty The Trump administration's loudest attack dog of late holds an unlikely position: director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHFA's 37-year old director, Bill Pulte, has been pounding the drums to get Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell fired. He's publicly pressured Powell on social media, he gave Trump a draft letter that would have ordered Powell's firing, and he's tried to establish a pretext Trump could use to fire Powell. But Pulte has also played a broader role in Trump's retribution campaign. He's used his position to try and get two of Trump's Democratic enemies — Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James — prosecuted for mortgage fraud. Some of his allies hope this is just the start, and that even bigger things lie in Pulte's future. 'Bill Pulte would be an exceptional pick to run the Federal Reserve,' venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya posted on X last week. 'Attack dog' is an unusual role for the director of the FHFA, who is charged with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the government-backed companies crucial to the functioning of US mortgage markets. (Vox requested comment from Pulte through the FHFA for this story, but received no response.) The Logoff The email you need to stay informed about Trump — without letting the news take over your life. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. But it's a good fit for Pulte. The grandson of the founder of a major home-building company, Pulte has demonstrated a remarkable knack for getting attention and building his public profile. He has 3 million followers on X, and his posts there have started to move markets, according to Bloomberg. Pulte has his enemies in the administration; the Wall Street Journal recently reported his anti-Powell campaign has 'irritated' some senior officials. One person is quite happy with him, though. After that Journal story was published, Trump posted that Pulte was doing an 'outstanding job,' and added: 'KEEP MOVING FORWARD, WILLIAM, DON'T LET THE RADICAL LEFT WEAKLINGS STOP YOU!' Who is Bill Pulte, and how did he get millions of social media followers? Housing is the Pulte family business. Pulte's grandfather, also named Bill, founded what eventually became one of the largest home-building companies in the US, PulteGroup. The younger Bill was barely done with college when, in 2011, he founded a Michigan-based private equity fund focused on the housing industry. The board included such local luminaries such as Rick DeVos (son of future Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos) and Scott Romney (brother of Mitt Romney). Grandpa Pulte died in 2018. The following year, then-31-year-old Bill got his first taste of national fame by going viral for giving people money. Pulte gave or offered to give sometimes hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands or even tens of thousands, and he posted on Twitter about it. He called this 'Twitter Philanthropy.' (He insisted he was not giving away his inheritance money, but rather money he'd independently made.) Some of the giveaways were for people posting stories about why they needed help, others were purely random — but the common thread was that, if you wanted a shot at the cash, you needed to follow or retweet him on Twitter. (Following him was necessary so he could send you a direct message if you won, he explained.) In July 2019, Pulte said he'd give $30,000 to 'a veteran on Twitter' if President Trump retweeted him, and the president did so. All this proved highly successful at increasing Pulte's Twitter following, which rose from the low tens of thousands to 2 million in early 2020. But his relationship with the company his grandfather founded deteriorated. He lost his seat on PulteGroup's board of directors, after the board unanimously voted not to renominate him. The meme stock saga and online feuding With the novelty of Twitter Philanthropy worn off, Pulte found a new focus for his self-promotion: the meme stock craze. Pulte particularly cultivated the beleaguered Bed Bath & Beyond investors, many of whom hoped this wealthy and successful philanthropist would somehow find a way to get them back the money they'd lost. In January 2024, Pulte released a statement saying the 'Pulte family' would purchase Bed Bath & Beyond bonds so they could 'demand answers' for wiped-out retail shareholders. The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, which he is not involved with, wanted to be excluded from this narrative, and released a statement distancing themselves from him. Pulte fired back with an X post calling his aunt, Nancy Pulte Rickard, who heads the foundation, 'a fake representative of the Pulte Family.' He added that his aunt 'is angry she wasn't in my grandpa's will when I, the namesake, was in the will.' As it became clear that there would be no miraculous recovery for $BBBY shareholders, Pulte amassed his share of dedicated online haters, who mocked him as 'Ploot' and chronicled what they saw as his strange behavior on subreddits like /r/GME_meltdown. These haters would soon watch agog as Pulte, who they viewed as a 'fraud and weirdo,' suddenly scored a powerful position in the federal government. This, one Redditor wrote, was 'an absolutely wild plot twist.' Pulte and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Through all this time, Pulte's public persona hadn't been particularly political. But he figured out a good way to gain entry into Trumpworld — by, again, giving people money. He gave $500,000 to a pro-Trump Super PAC in 2022. He'd also donated to Turning Point USA, the young conservatives' group co-founded by Charlie Kirk. (Kirk is a close ally of Donald Trump Jr.) After Trump won in November 2024, the New York Post floated Pulte as a potential Housing and Urban Development secretary, quoting a 'source' calling him 'probably overqualified' and stressing those past donations to vouch for his loyalty to Trumpworld. Trump nominated him for FHFA director instead, and before his confirmation hearings, he deleted tens of thousands of his old tweets, to Senate Democrats' annoyance. Shortly after he was confirmed in March, Pulte posted on X: 'You didn't really think I'd stop tweeting did you'. The FHFA job is a consequential one. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed under government conservatorship during the 2008 financial crisis, but the Trump team is now planning to reprivatize them. It is unclear how involved Pulte is in these discussions (one report claimed he'd been 'largely cut out'). Pulte has, however, been quite quick to use his position to go after Trump's enemies — specifically, James, the New York attorney general, and Sen. Schiff, who have for years been leading figures in Democrat-led investigations of Trump. Pulte took public credit for the Schiff investigation, posting on X: 'Fannie Mae's Financial Crimes Division concluded that Mr. Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud.' A confidential Fannie Mae memo alleging misconduct by Schiff — a memo addressed to Pulte — was provided to the Washington Post earlier this month. Both Schiff and James have denied any wrongdoing and said they are being targeted politically, and it remains to be seen whether DOJ will charge them. Federal prosecutors pursuing complex corruption cases against public officials have long found the mortgage fraud statute to be a useful tool — it's relatively easy to prove, and it carries a steep, 30-year maximum sentence. (According to David Simon, federal prosecutors in Baltimore called it the 'Head Shot.') But it's not yet clear whether they have enough to make and sustain either case. With Powell having earned Trump's ire for his reluctance to lower interest rates, Pulte started going after him, too. For the past two months, he's been publicly criticizing the Fed chair and urging him to resign. Since the law only permits Trump to fire Powell 'for cause' — meaning 'inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office' — Pulte has been laying the groundwork for that. He's been arguing that the expensive renovation of the Fed's headquarters is a 'scandal' that merits Powell's firing for misconduct. 'I remain optimistic Jerome Powell will do the right thing, and as early as next week,' Pulte posted Friday on X. Could Trump be considering replacing Powell with Pulte himself? So far, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett is said to be the frontrunner. And a Pulte nomination may not be received kindly by the Senate or the markets. But maybe Pulte can post his way into the job. After all, social media has gotten him this far.
Eater
28-07-2025
- Eater
After 60 Years, an Iconic Pork Bun Institution Has Reopened in a New Location
is the lead editor of the Northeast region with more than 20 years of experience as a reporter, critic, editor, and cookbook author. After 60 years in its Bayard Street location, Chinatown pork bun institution Mei Lai Wah has reopened at its new home at 41 Mott Street, at Bayard Street, the business announced today on Instagram. 'We are EXPANDING!! FINALLY!!,' the Chens announced last November. 'No more lining up outside on the smallest street in Chinatown!' Though they had hoped to continue service in tandem at the original location they told Eater when the news was first reported in 2024, the original headquarters has closed. A new Japanese spot is slated for former Minca space The former Minca space in the East Village — the ramen spot that recently closed after over 20 years — is going to be a new restaurant from the team behind Odo, the kaiseki restaurant from chef Hiroki Odo in Flatiron. The new spot is on track to debut this fall, according to a spokesperson, at 536 East Fifth Street between Avenues A and B. It will be mostly a counter with three indoor tables and open for lunch and dinner, according to community board filings. The menu lists sashimi, as well as grilled and fried items like yakitori, grilled mackerel, beef cutlet, and fried oyster. Mains include udon in curry soup, rice in cold broth, and beef and vegetable sushi. Chopped cheese is about to get more expensive With the price of beef skyrocketing, the cost of the city's iconic chopped cheese will rise. The average per pound ground beef prices across the United States rose to $6.12 in June, and steaks now cost $11.49 a pound, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; it's a buck more a pound than last year, Gothamist reports. A chopped cheese at Blue Sky Deli — also known as Hajji's in East Harlem, where the sandwich was allegedly invented — currently costs $8.50 before tax. As beef prices remain high, expect an uptick in the price of the sandwich. It's especially notable as the city continues to see new wave chopped cheese variants emerge: The latest is a Pakistani take at Nishaan, coming later this year to the East Village. Eater NY All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
