Latest news with #Lodi
Eater
16 hours ago
- Business
- Eater
The Rockefeller Center Restaurant From Ignacio Mattos Will Close in the Fall
is the lead editor of the Northeast region with more than 20 years of experience as a reporter, critic, editor, and cookbook author. Lodi, the Italian aperitivo-style cafe by Ignacio Mattos that debuted in Rockefeller Center in the fall of 2021, is closing 'on or about October 30,' citing high operating expenses related to the increased cost of goods as the cause. Lodi was among the first restaurants to open at the Midtown Art Deco landmark address as part of an ambitious turnaround effort led by developer Tishman Speyer. Restaurants from highly regarded teams, including Le Rock from the Frenchette duo, Korean-leaning Naro from Atomix, and all-day pasta and wine spot Jupiter from King, debuted nearby. Mattos earned praise from critics as well as a spot on the New York Times list of the 100 best restaurants in New York City. 'We deeply appreciate the efforts of Lodi's staff and support from our guests and the community,' wrote Mattos in a statement to Eater. 'We are saddened that economic events drove this closing. It has been an honor to serve our wonderful guests and the community over these years.' This shutdown raises broader questions about the future of mid‑range independent cafes in high‑traffic, high-rent corridors of the city, particularly the notoriously challenging Rockefeller Center, which was hit hard during COVID and has not traditionally been considered a cool place to gather outside of the December holidays. Lodi, in particular, spotlights the perils of an all-day cafe that straddles tourist and local appeal in a more challenging economic climate. Tishman Speyer, which has owned the property since the early 2000s, set out on the 'next-level' multi-billion-dollar overhaul that stirred debate over whether the developer's efforts to draw New Yorkers to Rock Center, in part by courting big-name chefs, would work. Back when the restaurants opened just after COVID, Eater reported that Rockefeller Center was betting its future on independent restaurants, citing how projects like the Market Line food hall on the Lower East Side in 2019 also attempted to bring New Yorkers to an area with big-name chefs. But with the Market Line having closed several years later, the shutter of Lodi is the first crack in the Rockefeller Center reinvention's facade. Lodi's opening marked the debut of one of the most luxurious new bakeries in the city, offering memorable kale and egg tart, a porchetta sandwich, a maritozzo con la panna, and a flauto al cioccolato (chocolate croissant). An alum of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Louis Volle, oversaw the bakery and viennoiserie. The restaurant opened with Maxime Pradié running the kitchen — since then, he became the chef and owner of a little French spot, Zimmi's, in the West Village. Lodi debuted with breakfast in the morning, followed by items like salumi, antipasti, and pastas from the all-day menu. In the fall of 2023, the restaurant did away with its bakery anchor in order to add another 24 or so seats to the dining room. The move expanded the restaurant's capacity to nearly 130 seats, including outdoor tables. Earlier that same year, the restaurant's employees attempted to unionize with the Restaurant Workers Union Local 1. After voting down unionization, workers filed unfair labor practice charges against Mattos with the National Labor Relations Board, which triggered a prolonged legal battle. In the spring, the case was heard by an Administrative Law Judge, who dismissed nearly all of the union's claims, with the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) deeming that a rerun election was not justified, as it was 'virtually impossible to conclude that the misconduct could have affected the election results.' Just after those Lodi unionizing efforts, Mattos parted ways with his Dimes Square restaurant, the Corner Bar in the Nine Orchard Hotel. Andrew Rifkin, a managing partner at DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, opened Nine Orchard in 2022; it's in the process of being sold to a Texas hospitality group, McGuire Moorman Lambert (MML), that has recently hired chef April Bloomfield of Sailor in Fort Greene, to oversee all of the restaurants within their group. Eater has reached out to a representative at Tishman Speyer to find out if there are any future plans for the Lodi space. 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.
CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Lodi Fire Foundation turns to community to support local fire stations
The Lodi Fire Foundation has launched a new campaign, seeking community support to help fund local fire stations. "If you have a safe and healthy fire department, then you have a safe and healthy community," Lodi Fire Foundation President Chris Meehleis said. To do it, they say, every extra piece of equipment counts. The new campaign is called Sponsor Your Local Fire Station. "We have four," Meehleis explained." You can pick one, the one that you live near, or you can just do it for Lodi in general." This year's city budget provides roughly $19 million to the fire department that supports 47 total firefighters, with 15 on call every day. To keep that up, they need all the help they can get. "It's just another fundraising opportunity," Lodi Fire Foundation Treasurer Hobie Day shared. "We have two big ones that we mostly focus on, the golf tournament in May, and then the Christmas festival in December. So we're just always looking for additional sources of fundraising that we can contribute to the fire department and ultimately, the community of Lodi." Anyone can donate any amount of money to the foundation, ranging from a dollar to $10. All of it goes back into the departments right in your neighborhood. "It allows us to help raise funds to meet the unfunded needs," Lodi Fire Foundation Vice Chair Kirk Sasaki said. "We can help keep our firefighters safe or get them equipment that can help them help keep our community safe as well." The equipment the foundation has already given to the department is not only essential for the firefighters, but the community as a whole. "We're now on this campaign for the cardiac monitors," Meehleis continued. "The city bought one, then the foundation bought another one, and it attaches to the patient and tells all the vitals. It sends that information to the hospital ahead, before they get there, so the emergency rooms can know who, what and all the vitals that are coming in." Other equipment includes extractors, which help wash toxins out of fire gear, tactical vests to protect crews from bullets, and equipment for their water rescue boat. All equipment to protect them so they can protect us. "Lodi is unique. It's livable, lovable Lodi, right? So that's why everybody here supports Lodi, and it's a great community. You can't beat it. Everybody pitches in, donates, and not just to us. It's a very giving community," Meehleis said. The Lodi Fire Foundation says they typically raise $50,000 to $60,000 every year.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The 13 Good Things About ‘Destiny 2: The Edge Of Fate'
Destiny 2 I have made no secret about the fact that on the whole, I do not especially like the latest Destiny 2 expansion, The Edge of Fate, nor the general direction the game is now moving in. Me complaining about Destiny is not a new phenomenon, but as a break from that, I will list some things I do like about The Edge of Fate and these changes, as those do in fact exist. So, let's begin. The New Nine Story – I wasn't sure about this at first, but after The Edge of Fate I've come to believe that it was actually a pretty good call to focus on The Nine as the next major antagonists of the new era. They've been a fixture in the game for a decade, but always behind the scenes and after all this time, we barely know anything about them. Now we will, and what we've learned so far has been very interesting. Lodi – New character Lodi, a special agent pulled through time and thrown onto Kepler, is one of the best-written, well-voiced characters I've seen in this game in ages. Possibly ever, somehow. He's likable, funny and authentic. A great addition to the cast. Destiny 2 Target Farming – The featured gear of The Portal allows you to target farm a specific slot in a much easier way than we've seen previously, plus bonus drops are a way to get even more rolls by bouncing around between activities. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Mid-Mission Drops – Lord, I do not know how long I've been saying this, but loot that drops during a mission should not be random, crappy world loot, it should be loot you'd get from that activity as bonus drops. Finally, finally they've done it with The Portal. Thank you. Solo Ops – The content of this playlist may need work, but the existence of something that you can hop into as a solo player, scale up the difficulty as much as you want and earn guaranteed power upgrades is welcome, and we've never really had anything like this before. (Why you're getting power upgrades and how that system feels is another matter). Set Bonuses – This is a cool addition to armor that I've been hoping to see for some time. There's a lot of potential here, as these are already far more useful than origin traits on weapons. We can already see with the raid set just how build-boosting these can be, and there are only going to be more possibilities from here. Destiny 2 The Earned Bushido Set – The samurai armor is one of the coolest free armor sets you can earn in Destiny in a very long time. A must-earn just for the transmog possibilities alone. The Existence Of The Tier System – Let me be clear here, I like the concept of a Tier system for loot, 1-5 roads for weapons and armor that have meaningful upgrades in time. The execution of this right now is what needs work with getting higher Tiers being utterly exhausting and no way to upgrade between tiers. But fundamentally I do think a Tier system with some modifications is a good move. The Portal Landing Page – You know, I don't hate it. Again, the concept of The Portal taking over the game is one thing, but I do think the very clear landing page for the Ops playlists and Kepler is streamlined in a way that the old Destination map was not with its endless flashing icons and spread-out mission buttons. The Portal very much lacks personality, but it does come off as more coherent, even to a veteran player like me. Daily/Weekly Auto-Quests – These have proven to be a solid source of XP, and while confusing, the ability to grab guaranteed, decent (for now) loot from Zavala every week feels like a good addition. But they didn't need to delete Pathfinder for this. Destiny 2 New Weapons – Some of these are really good! The rocket pulse is the highlight (I still don't have one, grrr), but I've enjoyed a number of the new weapons across the different avenues to get them. The Raid – No, I haven't played the raid yet. Yes, I can probably still classify it as good given community sentiment now that we're behind all the Contest Mode drama. Supposedly it may be one of the game's best. Foundry Boost – We logged in this week for a surprise boot of SUROS weapons, giving them 25% more damage across The Portal and getting us out of the New Gear-demanded system temporarily to use some old favorites for big boosts. These boosts becoming a regular thing will be fun. I'm forgetting some, and the larger structural problems with the game are in fact awful now, but smaller things? They got a lot right. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A&W Root Beer: Which Came First The Soda Or The Restaurant?
Forget the whole debacle of whether the chicken or the egg came first; there's a real-world conundrum that fits the same bill. Nowadays, the A&W brand has spread far and wide, with approximately 460 restaurant locations in the United States alone as of 2024. But of course, it was not always this way, because A&W's humble origins date all the way back to 1919. A&W has some pretty stellar root beer, even placing high on Chowhound's ranking of popular root beer brands. And as it turns out, this soda with the misleading name has been a foundational piece of A&W's history since the very beginning. That's right, before A&W became a restaurant in any capacity, principal founder Roy W. Allen made some coin with a simple stand selling what would become his signature root beer. Fast forward over a century, and A&W has become a full-force fast food brand, but its root beer remains one of its standout products. So, whether you're enjoying a meal at A&W or simply grabbing a can of its signature soda to enjoy in a bourbon root beer float, you can thank the brand's root beer for its early success, allowing you to enjoy it today. Read more: 11 Ginger Ale Brands, Ranked From Worst To Best How A&W Grew Beyond The Root Beer Stand Roy Allen might have started this particular venture with little more than a root beer cart in Lodi, California, but it wouldn't take long before he brought his entrepreneurial know-how to this humble locale. Since Allen was originally a hotelier, it's no surprise that he brought a philosophy of expansion and growth to his fledgling root beer business too. After finding some success with his root beer operation, Allen partnered with Frank Wright, the "W" to Allen's "A" in 1922, and the two began selling root beer at stands throughout parts of California. From here, A&W continued to grow into the fast food mainstay that it is today. Even in 1925, after Allen had bought out Wright's shares of their company, A&W was selling locations to franchisees. However, in 1950, things really took off, with about 450 A&W locations serving their goods. In 1956, the first A&W outside of the United States opened, and international growth only expanded from there. Now, a little over 100 years later, A&W is so much more than its root beer, but so much of its brand is still tied to its origin — like its adorable mascot the "Rooty the Great Root Bear" and even a record for the largest root beer float back in 1999 in celebration of A&W's 80th anniversary. And considering how much success it's had thanks to its root beer, you really can't blame A&W for leaning into its most iconic product. Read the original article on Chowhound. Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Destiny 2: The Edge Of Fate' Day One Review: Kepler's Awful, Lodi's Great
Lodi Destiny 2 has taken a leap of faith into the next era of the game, overhauling its format, launching into a totally new story and attempting to retain players while attracting new ones. That first step is The Edge of Fate, the Destiny 2 expansion that launched yesterday. I just wrote a piece about how numbers are…quite poor, less than half the players of the previous least-played expansions, but I'll use this piece to talk about the expansion itself. Keep in mind, these are just day one first impressions, and this is not a full review of the entire expansion, which I'll do later on. It's not great! So far, I dislike most of what I'm playing here other than a single aspect: The narrative, and I might as well start there. This is one of the only times I can remember where Destiny has created a genuinely interesting series of mysteries where I truly have no idea what's going on and have smacked directly into plot twists I've never seen coming. The lynchpin of all this is a new character named Lodi, who first appeared in trailers and drew the reaction of 'what is this exceedingly normal-looking guy in glasses doing in Destiny?' Well, that's part of the mystery! Lodi also excels because of his excellent writing and especially his voicework, which is the best I've seen in Destiny in a long while. Again, if there is a single aspect where this expansion shines, it's this, and while I'm not done with the campaign yet, it's excellent, and has me genuinely excited for this new era. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Narratively, at least. Destiny 2 The playable expansion itself? Woof. Kepler is probably the worst zone I've ever seen in Destiny. The art direction here is just non-existent, the place a hodgepodge of rocky outcroppings, architecture stolen from Titan and endless series of pustule-filled tunnels that all blend together. The Final Shape, The Witch Queen, Beyond Light, even Lightfall all had clear, quite good aesthetics, and that's one area Bungie has always shined. It's a huge miss here. Bungie has also made this zone non-traversable by sparrow to artificially increase its size. Rather, you're meant to get around by a series of destination-only powers that involve teleporting guns, Strand matter moving and a Samus Aran ball of electricity which might be the dumbest mechanic I've seen in this series. These feel like gimmicks for their own sake, and while there are maybe one or two puzzles where these systems combine to be kind of neat, overwhelmingly I find myself groaning whenever I'm told to use any of these, especially the electric ball (which, fun fact, is also making people motion sick). I've engaged with the new loot systems on a cursory level. One thing that feels weird to me is that there's going to be such a limited pool of 'new gear' to get season bonuses and hunt through the new Tier 1-5 system. Yes, you can use your old stuff, but I can't just try to go get a Tier 5 version of my Bygones now. For the millionth time, all this old gear will have to be reissued under the new Tier system, which already feels like an exhausting concept. How many times can we do this? Destiny 2 I can't quite make heads or tails of the new armor system yet. This is the first time we've had to regrind armor since Artifice armor was introduced. Some didn't even do that. There are very awkward aspects to the new system, like how exotics don't fit in at all, but initially it's hard to get your head around which new stats to invest into and when to replace your old faithful gear. I can't say if this is all good or bad yet, albeit I will admit that we needed some significant armor changes and reason to pursue it again. I have not engaged with The Portal yet. I've been entirely on Kepler. I remain skeptical of this system, with Solo Ops being entirely relegated to Lost Sectors, and Fireteam Ops requiring a premade team to get the most out of the new modifier-picker system. Otherwise you're just doing a playlist with preset ones, which is no different than before. And somehow Pinnacle Ops doesn't have a single dungeon or raid in it. All old content outside the Portal now feels useless as you cannot get new gear from it. I'm not feeling good about this expansion. Once I get through the (very good) narrative of the campaign, I'm not sure if the rest of this is going to be engaging from here, particularly if we're done doing week-to-week beats to return for. There is promise in the new era's story. I'm not sure if there's promise in Destiny 2 overall from here. But again, it's day one, and more to come later. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy
