Server Not Servant

Rules of Engagement

Maguire Promotions-PR, Marketing, Social Media & Hospitality Consulting Monthly Subscription

Book Chapter: Rules of Engagement

Posted: 07/4/2022

I’m proud to announce the launch of Maguire Promotions Monthly Subscription Service available to restaurants and small businesses. This ‘pivot’ is the culmination of more than 8 years of operating an independent business providing PR, marketing, promotions, social media, and hospitality consulting. It is the continuation of my strategic initiative to leverage, monetize, and collaborate with the valuable network that I have cultivated and partnered with over the last 40+ years.

My current network consists of 2,800 (IG), 4,690 (Twitter), 10,400 combined Facebook platforms, 3,500 email, and 2,693 (LinkedIn) contacts, totaling more than 24,000 people. Every day of the week I review my social media feeds, multiple media platforms, email, and targeted Google alerts, constantly seeking ideas and tools to benefit my clients. I get it that business owners are looking for someone to sort through all of that for them because most are consumed with the day-to-day operations of their restaurant or business. I also know that independent, Mom & Pop, neighborhood businesses have been ravaged by the plague (myself included) and don’t have budgets for PR and many of the services that I provide. I’m offering a fair and reasonable way to supplement what you are currently doing to keep your brand current and relevant, broaden your customer base, increase your media coverage, and make more money.

I have immediate openings for new subscribers beginning August 1. The first businesses to commit via email, text, or DM by the end of business on Friday, 7/29 will begin the first 3 months of service upon receipt of payment. First come, first served. Beyond 7/29, pricing and availability will be TBD, based on availability of my time and ‘supply and demand.’

Email: patrick@servernotservant.com. Cell: 617-510-5682.

Services Included with 3-Month Subscription

1. Copies of Maguire Promotions Social Media Strategy, Social Media Daily Checklist, Event Promotions, Instagram Strategy, Successful Strategies at jm Curley, and Complimentary Content (media, reviews, etc.) Response.
2. Previous 3-month audit/review of all of your social media posts/content. Report findings and make recommendations to your designated team via group email. Phone consult after review of findings, if necessary.
3. Review of website, all social media profiles, branding, Google search, newsletters, and media coverage.
4. Read past 3 months of all online reviews and make recommendations. Discuss and understand business strategy with respect to ‘amateur’ reviews.
5. Daily review of all of your social media posts and threads. Provide feedback and recommend edits and responses in comment threads when necessary.
6. Amplify your social media posts by liking, commenting, defending, and sharing when appropriate, especially events you are hosting and participating in, and food & drink specials. This includes retweets with personal comments and #hashtags. (Yes, you should have a twitter account. I can help you establish one if you don’t.)
7. I will notify your staff of any opportunities I see to invite potential customers to your business. I often see threads online where people describe a scenario seeking a restaurant that is a great fit.
8. As I mentioned above, I will constantly be seeking ways to promote your restaurant/business and improve your operation. I read and review everything I can locally, nationally and internationally about restaurants and business, and will forward anything that I feel is relevant and can help you.
9. Access to my network for vendors, contractors, legal, licensing, and potential staff/recruiting referrals. I am often contacted by people seeking employment. For management positions, please see #12 in ‘additional services’ below.
10. Referral and introduction to Boston’s most professional and well-respected hospitality publicist.
11. Confidential vetting of prospective new hires.
12. Subscription includes at least one visit to eat and drink at your restaurant and promotion on my social media platforms. [$100 gift certificate included in pricing below.]  This includes encouraging my ‘followers’ to follow all of your social media platforms.  Just don’t call me a ‘foodie’ or an ‘influencer…’  (For additional visits and promotions, please see #5 below.)
13. Live phone conversations/consults following up on all of the above.

It’s very important to note that my services outlined above do not include taking over the management of your social media and creating content for you. My collaborations with monthly subscribers will work best with restaurants and businesses that have dedicated, internal, social media managers on your staff, or an external vendor. My complementary consulting role is best described as a ‘watchdog’ or advocate looking out for you, your business, and your team.

Pricing: Minimum 3-month commitment is $750, paid upfront, plus $100 gift certificate. The cost breaks down to $250/month. After 3 months, the cost to continue the subscription is $275 per month, payable 30 days in advance. After 3 months, the subscription will continue month-to-month until cancelled by either party with one month lead time. Payment can be made via Venmo @Patrick-Maguire-32, PayPal, or check.

FYI, I personally will be servicing all accounts and communicating directly with your team, no interns or anyone else.

Additional à la carte Services

Please Note: Services listed below are available to all, but discounted for subscribers.

1. Press release and distribution to media for special events, anniversaries, etc. (Pricing depends on whether or not I’ll be creating the content or just editing.)
2. In-person brainstorming/consult/strategy sessions.
3. Crisis Management.
4. Dedicated Blog Post featuring your restaurant/business, similar to this feature of Formaggio Kitchen, or this one on Vee Vee in Jamaica Plain. (Those offerings are no longer complimentary.)
5. As I indicated in #11 above, the initial, 3-month commitment includes eating and drinking at your restaurant or patronizing your business at least once. Promotion on my social media platforms accompany the visit. Additional visits and promotions can be negotiated with additional gift certificates beyond the initial $100. We can also work something out if I attend and promote events you are hosting.
6. Evaluate current training manuals and recommend edits, editions, improvements.
7. Attendance and/or participate in special events, ‘guest’ bartending, etc.
8. Staff Training-Hospitality Workshop.
9. Editing content of newsletters, emails, negotiations, strategic communications, etc. I also refer 2 retired English teachers to clients seeking technical, grammatical scrutiny.
10. Attend and evaluate staff training sessions.
11. Company email database management and newsletter services.
12. Management level staff recruitment. (Fee-for-service, 2-tiered. #1-Posting job. #2-Refering hired candidate = % of salary.)

If you’re looking for the most affordable way to boost for your business, I look forward to working with you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you-Patrick

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‘Rules’ of Engagement in Civilized Society Include Restaurants by Dee Wolf-The Lobster Shanty Salem, MA

Book Chapter: Rules of Engagement

Posted: 01/19/2022

Today’s guest post by my friend, Dee Wolf, Chef/owner of The Lobster Shanty and Wolf Next Door Coffee in Salem, MA first appeared in my Server Not Servant Facebook Group where it garnered more attention than any other post in the history of the group. As of today, Dee’s post has been shared 350 times, 700 people reacted to it, and 136 humans commented on it. [The FB post cannot be shared any longer because it has been slightly edited.]

Diane is a savvy, seasoned, salty restaurant industry veteran, and clearly her poignant message has resonated with many. I’m reposting here to encourage more people to read and share her message with your networks, including media contacts for publication. The link to this blog post will make her message easier to share.

The more restaurant customers and humans who read Dee’s work, the better…

From Diane ‘Dee’ Wolf:

You don’t need to go out to eat.

You don’t need to sit at a bar and have drinks with friends.

If you want to, then there are some rules that our society needs you to follow. If you want to drink, you must be 21 years old, and we can only serve you during the hours that our liquor license allows. We require guests to be fully dressed, including shoes and a shirt. You can’t misbehave or disrupt other guests. You cannot smoke or vape inside the restaurant or on our patio. When you drive here you can’t just leave your car anywhere, you need to park it in a legal spot, or you’ll get towed or get a ticket. Don’t drive if you’re drinking alcohol. If you bring a dog, she can’t sit inside, and we need proof that she has had a rabies shot.

What I’m saying is, having rules of engagement in any society is nothing new.

We have the legal right to refuse service to anyone, at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all. But we are not unreasonable, and we welcome you to join us and stay. We want you to stay, we are in the hospitality business – but it is a business and there are laws, rules and societal norms that we all must follow to be part of this community. We take community building seriously.

I didn’t need to buy a restaurant.
I didn’t need to get a liquor license.

But I wanted to – so I had to do a few things; I got TiPS certified, ServSafe Certified, went to culinary school (which required me to be vaccinated for MMR, Hepatitis B, Chicken Pox, & Meningitis). I also trained with NEHA (the National Environmental Health Association) and created a HACCP (Hazzard Analysis Critical Control Point) plan to make sure my team handles food safely. I wrote a business plan, took out loans, and sold some personal items for seed money. I applied for a food permit & a liquor license. We had to have a health inspection, plumbing inspection, fire inspection, and building inspection just for our occupancy permit. Can’t just hang a sign, need to go before the Design Review Board for approval first. Want an A-frame sign? Need a special permit for that too. We must file and pay meals tax to the city and to the commonwealth, monthly. I need three or four different kinds of insurance, a payroll service, a trustworthy accountant, pest control, quality food & liquor vendors, trash, recycling, & compost removal. I must arrange for cooking oil recycling and knife sharpening. Clean that grease trap and snake the drains every quarter. Clean the exhaust hood and have the fire suppression system tested regularly. Train my crew, write a menu, buy plates & glassware, decorate the place, maybe get a couple of TVs, pay for cable or a satellite, maybe a jukebox service and an ATM. (Don’t forget to pay the four different musicians unions if you play a radio or have live music) Buy a Point of Sale system, arrange for credit card processing. Maybe secure a line of credit (or bootstrap it like we did). All of this needs to be done before we serve a single burger or pour one beer. The goal is to create a culture and an atmosphere that folks want to go to.

Yeah, you could eat at home – my job is to entice you to come join us and be part of our special community. Do you have to? No. Do I want you to? Yes.

We have done SO MUCH to get this restaurant ready for you, to make it fun, to make it safe – so you can let loose and relax for a while. The least you could do is not give my host pushback for asking you to follow the rules. Rulemaking is well above our pay grade here at our little Mom & Pop restaurant. Anyone who wants to ‘punish’ a local business for following new mandates from the city or commonwealth is shooting themselves in the foot – because all that will be left are big chains of boring food dished out by large, soulless corporations. If you want to live in a thriving, unique community; a community with heart and soul, do your fucking part. We’re tired of arguing with you, we’d just like to get back to hospitality if you don’t mind…

In the comments, Dee added, A handful of folks in cities with new vaccine mandates want to punish restaurants by boycotting them, I find this infuriating and heartless. If you want small, independent restaurants in your community, you need to support them.

Amen, Dee Wolf. Amen ♥

Dee can be reached via email at lobstershanty@gmail.com.

Subscription to these blog posts is currently free by entering your email in the blue box on the upper-left side of this post. To support the mission of the Server Not Servant blog and expedite publishing of the forthcoming book, please click on ‘Support Server Not Servant’ in the blue box on the upper-right side of this post. Venmo: @Patrick-Maguire-32. Please email me about personal or corporate book sponsorship opportunities at patrick@servernotservant.com.

And please consider sharing this post if inspired to do so.

Cheers-Patrick Maguire

#ServerNotServant

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Fuck You, #BoycottBoston Boors. #FuckYou

Book Chapter: Rules of Engagement

Posted: 01/17/2022

I’ve spent the most of my life living and working in and around Boston. Right now, I’m embarrassed for Boston and the America many of us grew up to (mostly) love and respect. The recent degradation and desecration of Democracy, ‘patriotism,’ and ‘American’ ideals that we have witnessed, and are in the midst of, are absolutely disgraceful.

A friend posted the following on social media on Sunday morning, 1/16/22:

I never turn off comments for Facebook and Twitter posts, but I did today for the posts about the [Boston] vaccine card mandate once I started getting Nazi stuff and other nastiness. I’d like to think we’re better than this as a country but apparently, we’re not.

Oh, and to those saying they’ll try to push their way into restaurants without vaccine proof because “a mandate doesn’t have the same power as a law”? Guess what–they both have the exact same power of enforcement. And again, don’t take it out on restaurants who are already struggling enough as it is.

Seriously, don’t be a dick.

My response on that thread:

100%. ‘We’ are not ‘better than this’ right now in Boston and America. There is a pervasive entitlement under the auspices of ‘freedom,’ and in rejection of ‘tyranny’ that is rampant in our culture. Many of the #FreedomFighters, including the #BoycottBoston tribe, are opportunists seeking any chance they can to desecrate the very democracy that supports their right to do so. It’s like a sport for them. Vaccine mandates, designed to protect workers and customers, are not easy decisions made haphazardly to ‘oppress’ anyone. And they wouldn’t be necessary if the majority of our populous were intelligent and open enough to research, learn, and trust science on their own without incentives or mandates for the greater good. Self-preservation is a strong motivator, and critical thinking is nearly extinct. And anyone or anything who threatens cultist’s long-ago, established ‘worldview’ will be subject to hateful, vitriolic, and sometimes violent attacks. ‘Different’ will always be a hated enemy to them because it makes them uncomfortable. And thoughtful, 2-way conversation (and potentially changing one’s mind) using meaningful words is too hard and risky for them. Being wrong and vulnerable is a sign of weakness and not an option. Extremists on all ‘sides’ will always be one of our worst enemies in America.

On Saturday, 1/15/22, proof of Covid vaccination, or tiered vaccine mandates went into effect in Boston, Brookline, and Salem, MA with several other cities/towns considering following suit.

From the City of Boston: 

Starting on January 15, 2022, to address rising COVID-19 cases and encourage vaccination, individuals will be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to enter certain indoor spaces in Boston. People working in those locations will also be required to have received their vaccines.

The best way for Boston to stay healthy and support our communities, our businesses, and cultural institutions is for more people to get vaccinated.

Covered businesses are responsible for checking proof of vaccination and posting a notice about the COVID-19 vaccine requirement…

On the days leading up to Saturday, 1/15, several restaurants posted reminders to prospective guests about what would be required for entry.

In response, as predicted, along comes a handful of self-serving, often anonymous, cowardly pack of ‘patriotic,’ assholes attacking restaurants and calling for boycotts of the restaurants communicating what they are required to enforce to operate.

Here’s a sampling:

 

 

The profile from the last tweet states, “…help fight for liberty and religious freedom against totalitarianism and tyranny.” Yup, tyranny… As expected, the engagement on social media became vitriolic and vile. After I supported one restaurant under attack after their facebook post about the mandate, I received this pathetic missive in response:

 

Fuck off, ‘Robyn RM.’

Late last week, on the days leading up to implementation of the vaccine mandate, hateful protesters gathered early in the morning at the private home of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. Boston Globe columnist, Yvonne Abraham was spot on in her assessment on why we even bother with idiots…

At the Mayor’s house, a measure of how low people can go

Excerpts from Yvonne’s piece:

It’s often best to avoid giving odious people air time.

There’s little to gain from engaging with the ugliness that passes for political protest these days.

But the ugly protests outside the Roslindale home of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu are impossible to ignore. The folks protesting the city’s vaccine mandates have been particularly nasty, and personal. They have crossed all kinds of lines.

Critics of Wu’s policies requiring all city employees to be vaccinated, and proof of a jab to enter certain businesses in Boston, have laced their arguments with racism and misogyny: One protester’s sign at a recent public event in Mattapan called Wu, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, a “communist [expletive],” and read, “Welcome to the Peoples Republic of Boston.” {Admin edit, where Yvonne used ‘expletive,’ the protestor’s sign said ‘cunt.’}

In Roslindale, the rabid vaccine resisters have shown up early in the morning, making as much noise as they can in an effort to wake not just Wu’s family, it seems, but the entire neighborhood, joking that they’re the mayor’s “alarm clock.” Their presence is all the more jarring in a progressive city like Boston, where Wu was elected in a landslide just a few months ago.

The protesters’ rhetoric mirrors the poisonous, pandemic-prolonging talking points that have infected millions across the country, a rejection of science becoming a kind of perverted patriotism that is integral to conservatism these days. They parade their ignorance even as hospitals are at their breaking point and public health professionals beg for mercy.

The protesters in Roslindale rail against “forced medicine.” The most vocal of them work in public safety, a field in which their refusal to take the most basic precautions should be utterly disqualifying. They proudly post videos of their disruptions. In one clip posted to Twitter on Friday, Wu’s birthday, somebody in the crowd converging on her car kept yelling “Happy birthday, Hitler!”

Earlier last week, my colleague Stephanie Ebbert heard one protestor say something menacing to Wu, a mother devoted to her two young boys.

“You’re not going to be around for your children cause you are going to be held accountable,” the person said.

Even by the standards we’ve come to expect from these protests, which is to say none, that is despicable. There are human beings in that house, including little kids, and Wu’s mother, who has struggled with mental illness. Imagine how terrifying it must be for a kid to have people show up at your home and say such awful things. It wouldn’t be the first time enraged adults have behaved despicably around children in the city, but one would hope we’d grown as Boston grew more welcoming to people of color.

Instead, we seem to have regressed. Threats, veiled and otherwise, are the currency of public discourse these days, from school board meetings in Derry, N.H., to the office of the nation’s top COVID expert, Anthony Fauci.

The targets of anti-vaccine mobs face an impossible choice: Call out the threats, thereby giving them a bigger platform; or ignore them and risk normalizing the behavior, knowing that one in the mob may actually do them harm. Increasingly, those railing about tyranny are doing more than just posturing, a fact last year’s insurrection made plain.

Wu has gone back and forth, struggling with how best to respond to her increasingly hostile critics. In tweets on Saturday, she called out some of the slurs and said: “To have a chance at healing & building community, we can’t keep normalizing hate.”

Every elected official expects to be the target of protests, particularly in this fractious era. And Wu’s critics have the right to express themselves, no matter how wrongheaded their point of view.

But do they have to be this appalling, this cruel? Can we at least agree that the protests should be confined to public settings, and not the homes of elected officials — of either party — who deserve to feel safe where they live?

Or have we lost the capacity for even that basic decency, too?

[If you want to adhere to the notion that there are still intelligent humans reading, digesting, and responding to articles like that, do NOT read the comments. Your ‘faith in humanity’ will not be restored…]

So many of these comments and actions are disgraceful for Boston and America, but this is who ‘we’ really are. The ignorance under the guise of ‘patriotism,’ the ‘victims’ being ‘oppressed’ by ‘tyranny,’ and the #FreedomFighters fighting for their narrow, incendiary, self-serving version of ‘freedom,’ clearly demonstrates how pervasive hate, divisiveness, and extremism is in our culture, and that SO many people would rather ‘die on the hill’ of their long-ago, established ‘worldviews’ than research, study science and facts, learn, admit they were wrong and change their minds. Civilized society has laws, rules, and social contracts, and consequences when they’re not adhered to. Unfortunately, MANY humans, when left to their own discretion, ‘freedom’ of choice to ‘do the right thing,’ for the greater good, never will.  So embarrassed for Boston and America right now. And no, I’m not leaving, but I will keep speaking up.

On twitter, I responded to tweets like those above with the following:

Researching and supporting the efforts of the Independent Restaurant Coalition is the very best course of action that we can take right now to ensure that our favorite, neighborhood restaurants survive. I can’t emphasize enough how critical this is. This absolutely IS life or death for SO many Mom & Pop shops. For many restaurants, business is absolutely awful right now in the dead of the winter in Boston. The very last vestige of hope for many restaurants to survive is replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

There is a Day of Action tomorrow, Tuesday, 1/18/22 at noon that I encourage everyone to participate in and spread the word about.

 

Last night, I experienced the vaccine mandate requirement first-hand at one of my favorite spots, Trina’s Starlight Lounge in Somerville, MA. It’s the first time I’ve been inside anywhere knowing that everyone else in the room was vaccinated to some degree. And it felt very good knowing that…

After getting home last night, I saw this post on my Server Not Servant Facebook Group from my friend, Diane Wolf, chef and owner of The Lobster Shanty and Wolf Next Door Coffee in Salem, MA. The timing of this ‘boots on the ground’ insight couldn’t have been better on the heels of an often contentious, extremely difficult weekend for restaurants in Boston and beyond…

Diane is a savvy, seasoned, salty restaurant industry veteran and ‘good people’ who I have a lot of respect for. This poignant post cuts to the core:

You don’t need to go out to eat.

You don’t need to sit at a bar and have drinks with friends.

If you want to, then there are some rules that our society needs you to follow. If you want to drink, you must be 21 years old, and we can only serve you during the hours that our liquor license allows. We require guests to be fully dressed, including shoes and a shirt. You can’t misbehave, or disrupt other guests. You can’t bring a firearm with you if you’re drinking alcohol. You cannot smoke or vape inside the restaurant or on our patio. When you drive here, you can’t just leave your car anywhere, you need to park it in a legal spot or you’ll get towed. Didn’t feed the meter? You’ll get a ticket. Don’t drive if you’re drinking alcohol. If you bring a dog, she can’t sit inside and we need proof that she has had a rabies shot and she’ll need to remain on a leash. What I’m saying is, having rules of engagement in any society is nothing new.

We have the legal right to refuse service to anyone, at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all. But we are not unreasonable, and we would like you to stay. We want you to stay, we are in the hospitality business – but it is a business and there are laws, rules and societal norms that we all must follow to be part of this community. We take community building seriously.

I didn’t need to buy a restaurant.
I didn’t need to get a liquor license.

But I wanted to – so I had to do a few things; I got TiPS certified, ServSafe Certified, went to culinary school (which required me to be vaccinated for MMR, Hepatitis B, Chicken Pox, & Meningitis). I also trained with NEHA (the National Environmental Health Association) and created a HACCP (Hazzard Analysis Critical Control Point) plan to make sure my team handles food safely. I wrote a business plan, took out loans, and sold some personal items for seed money. I applied for a food permit & a liquor license. We had to have health inspection, a plumbing inspection, a fire inspection, and a building inspection just for our occupancy permit. Can’t just hang a sign, need to go before the Design Review Board for approval first. Want an A-frame sign? Need a special permit for that. We must file and pay meals tax to the city and to the commonwealth, monthly. I need three or four different kinds of insurance, a payroll service, a trustworthy accountant, pest control, quality food & liquor vendors, trash, recycling, & compost removal. I must arrange for cooking oil recycling and knife sharpening. Clean that grease trap and snake the drains every quarter. Clean the exhaust hood and have the fire suppression system tested regularly. Train my crew, write a menu, buy plates & glassware, decorate the place, maybe get a couple of TVs, pay for cable or a satellite, maybe a jukebox service and an ATM. (Don’t forget to pay the four different musicians unions if you play a radio or have live music) Buy a Point of Sale system, arrange for credit card processing. Maybe secure a line of credit (or bootstrap it like we did). All this needs to be done before we serve a single burger or pour one beer. The goal is to create a culture and an atmosphere that folks want to go to.

Yeah, you could eat at home – my job is to make you want to come join us and be part of our special community. Do you have to? No. Do I want you to? Yes.

We have done SO MUCH to get this restaurant ready for you, to make it fun, to make it safe – so you can let loose and relax for a while. The least you could do is not give my host pushback for asking you to follow the rules. Rulemaking is well above our pay grade here at our little mom & pop restaurant. Anyone who wants to ‘punish’ a local business for following new mandates from the city or commonwealth is shooting themselves in the foot – because all that will be left are big chains of boring food dished out by large, soulless corporations. If you want to live in a thriving, unique community; a community with heart and soul, do your fucking part. We’re tired of arguing with you, we’d just like to get back to hospitality if you don’t mind.

Don’t like the rules? Stay home. You don’t need to go out to eat.

In the comments, Diane added, A handful of folks in cities with new vaccine mandates want to punish restaurants by boycotting them, I find this infuriating and heartless. If you want small, independent restaurants in your community, you need to support them.

Amen, Diane Wolf. Amen ♥

Subscription to these blog posts is currently free by entering your email in the blue box on the upper-left side of this post. To support the Server Not Servant blog and expedite publishing of the forthcoming book, please click on ‘Support Server Not Servant’ in the blue box on the upper-right side of this post. Venmo: @Patrick-Maguire-32. Please email me about personal or corporate book sponsorship opportunities at patrick@servernotservant.com.

And please consider sharing this post if inspired to do so.

Thank you-Patrick

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Anniversary of January 6, 2021-Donald Trump & #Cult45’s Attack on America and Democracy

Book Chapter: Rules of Engagement

Posted: 01/6/2022

Never Forget. I posted the following on Facebook on the night of January 6, 2021:

Reflections after being riveted to the TV today during the ‘Raid on Democracy’ by Trump’s willfully-ignorant, sycophantic, naïve, manipulated, pathetic thugs/mob who stormed the Capitol and violated American ideals to support their psychotic, narcissistic, criminal demagogue:

-Self-preservation (justifying one’s existence/beliefs) is a strong motivator. Even neanderthal, Soprano wannabes, willing to put themselves at risk, do so for selfish reasons. They formed their insulated, bigoted, hateful ‘worldviews’ long ago. They’re done reading, studying, brainstorming, learning, and evolving. Critical thinking isn’t even in their lexicon, never mind on their radar. Trump has enabled and empowered their latent, suppressed voices of hate, and the Trump cult has given them a forum and a platform to be ‘loud and proud,’ finally. So they heed the clarion call of their demented demigod. That was clearly on display today. Never forget, more than 74 million Americans voted for Trump in 2020. Widespread ignorance will always be pervasive in America, and combating it with education to make progress, will always be a huge challenge.

-In our present condition (especially after today), America IS (not looks like) a ‘Third World Country.’ I’ve always abhorred the notion of being, “The greatest country in the world.” In many respects we are, but in many respects we’re not, and never will be. And that’s ok, we don’t need to be. We just need to strive to be a great, global neighbor. “American Exceptionalism’ is bullshit. Today we were no better than the unstable nations around the world that we’ve always been horrified by.

A few of my ‘live’ tweets from today:

– “Seriously, it’s ridiculous that the National Guard and/or the military and Homeland Security have not secured the buildings by now. There is no excuse for this. The US was totally unprepared, and the delayed response is disgraceful.”

– “Never forget that Donald Trump, Thug-In-Chief, called the mob/scum that stormed the proceedings in Washington to sanction our elections, “special people,” and said, “We love you.” Trump is an absolutely horrible ‘human’ who has desecrated America, again.”

– “It’s disgraceful enough that security was breached, but how is it possible that these thugs have been allowed to occupy these buildings all afternoon?!? Where is the cavalry?”

– “If today’s mob/terrorists were members of Black Lives Matter, marine helicopters would have landed on the lawn and we would have seen a violent, overwhelming show of force in no time. On a day that started out w/so much hope coming from Georgia, I am so fucking angry + sickened.”

– “The rage is slowly giving way to sadness for America because of the sycophantic, ignorant, hateful mob manipulated and inspired by one of the worst demagogues on the planet, Donald Trump. He’s reached another disgraceful low, and America has suffered greatly, again.”

The inauguration can’t come soon enough. Trump has presided over one of the darkest chapters in American history. His inept, incompetent, selfish behavior is beyond immoral and unconscionable, it’s criminal. Justice must be served, sending him to prison for the remainder of his life in order to preserve the integrity of democracy.

Good Night-PM

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President Biden & Congress: URGENT Request to Replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund-Support ALL Eligible Independent Restaurants & Bars NOW!!! #ReplenishRRF

Book Chapter: Human-to-Human Service

Posted: 07/12/2021

What would you do if you owned a business and were notified that after barely surviving the horrific hardship of the pandemic, a significant cash windfall/grant (not loan) was imminent? Spend/invest in personal and professional necessities/improvements you were holding off on? Take care of your employees, family, colleagues, employees, vendors, and landlord? Splurge/celebrate a little, believing substantial help was on the verge of finally becoming reality?

That scenario is exactly what played out to hundreds of thousands of hopeful independent restaurant and bar owners across America recently. The promise of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund was palpable. And on Wednesday, 6/30, the proverbial rug was pulled out from under most of the grant-eligible restaurants in an email from the US Small Business Administration. This is absolute bullshit, and President Biden, his administration, and Congress need to urgently replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund until EVERY eligible, Independent Restaurant and Bar in America is funded according to what they qualified for.

Tragically, many restaurants and bars will not have time to wait for a replenishment of the fund. And ironically, many folks that received huge grants may decide to ‘take the money and run’, after contemplating, “Why reopen and go back to the rat race if I don’t need to prove how I spend the money?” In an industry with 5(ish) percent ‘profit’ margins, you’re essentially ‘giving back’ 95% of the grant by grinding it out and staying open. This WILL happen, and should have been anticipated/prevented in the screening process. Based on the initial formula for eligibility, a lot of restaurants that received huge grants were actually rewarded for shutting down 100% rather than ‘pivoting’ the way that many of their peers did to support their staff, vendors, and community. The greater the loss, the bigger the grants. Yes, every restaurant, owner, and set of ethical standards are unique, and many ‘true colors,’ good, bad, and ugly have been revealed throughout the plague…

Even worse than learning that the RRF has been depleted, is the kick in the teeth finding out that ‘ineligible’ restaurants received huge grants by circumventing the qualification requirements or leveraging their political clout to cheat the system. Why weren’t their grants rescinded? Those funds could have been spread out to Mom and Pop neighborhood restaurants and bars that didn’t get a dime. If you’re furious, I’m with you, and it’s time to take action. And the restaurants that were fortunate enough to receive grants from the first round of funding need to continue to fight for equity for their industry brothers and sisters until every eligible restaurant in America is funded.

On Thursday, July 1, I posted the following in my Server Not Servant Facebook Group, Instagram, and Twitter:

“Awful news for many independent U S. restaurants anxiously awaiting word on the status of their Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants. From the 7/1/21 Restaurant Business article, “In a letter emailed Wednesday night to applicants, the U.S. Small Business Administration said it was able to provide grants of up to $10 million to 105,000 restaurant operators before the program’s $28.6 billion was depleted. Yet, it indicated, another 265,000 applicants were left disappointed…Legislation has been introduced in the Senate to replenish the fund with an additional $60 billion, but the bill has not progressed.”

Simple math indicated that the grant program was woefully underfunded from the outset. Precedent had been set when the U.S. Govt ‘bailed out’ big banks, Bear Stearns (“Too big to fail”), FNMA, Freddie Mac, AIG & Insurance companies, the Airline & Auto Industries during crises. Independent restaurants are major contributors to the US economy, and the pandemic is one of the worst calamities we have ever faced as a nation.

Further, “Second-order effects of restaurant closures ripple through the American economy, bringing economic pain to farmers, foragers, ranchers, manufacturers, and other producers who supply the industry. Equally hit are supply chain partners who move good across the country.” –Forbes 8/10/20

Owning and operating a restaurant and small business is a fucking grind during ‘normal’ times. After what restaurateurs have endured since the onset of the pandemic, the U S. Congress needs to act urgently to replenish the fund and equitably provide grants to every eligible independent restaurant in America. If not, with the increase in food and labor costs, and shortage of staff, the absence of the highly-anticipated grants will be the death knell for a rash of neighborhood restaurants teetering on the brink.”

In the comments on all 3 platforms I added the following:

According to the NYT, 7/1/21, “When Congress created the restaurant fund in March as part of the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, it ordered the Small Business Administration to put a priority on funding for businesses owned by women, people of color and military veterans.”

I fully support priority being ‘granted’ to oppressed or ‘underserved’ (SBA’s language) groups of American restaurant and bar owners. It’s about fucking time. However, with more forethought and creativity, lawmakers could have done a much better job executing the distribution of funds. What unfolded is a clusterfuck of lawsuits, rescinded grants, policy changes, empty promises, disappointment, high stress. and anxiety.

“For a hundred thousand restaurants, the R.R.F. has made their future clear and stable, but for the more than 200,000 operators shut out of funding, receiving this letter today only heightens their fear and anger,” said Sean Kennedy, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association. “We need Congress to act.” -NYT

Without additional funding, they will undermine the initiative by perpetuating jealousy/envy/anger between the ‘haves’ (grantees) and ‘have nots,’ again. This is exactly what many Americans have been trying to ameliorate forever…

What should have been done? 

Again, to me, the most glaring inequity here is that many restaurants and bars (groups) received $10 million grants, and MANY received ZERO. Here’s proof. (Click on the link to see what restaurants in your neighborhood/state received, and which Mom and Pop joints you love received nothing.)  It doesn’t take a Fields Medal recipient to realize that a more thoughtful, creative, equitable distribution of funds was possible.

1. Very simply, if $28.6 billion was available for 370,000 eligible applicants, $77k+ could have been distributed to everyone eligible.
2. I get that the $10 Million grant recipients have more than 1 restaurant. However, instead of disbursing $10 million to some restaurant groups, even if they got $1 million and the other $9 million was disbursed in $50k increments, 180 Mom and Pop neighborhood restaurants that didn’t receive a nickel would be absolutely thrilled right now instead of infuriated. [In an industry where 5% ‘profit’ margins are common, it would take $1 million in sales to generate $50k in profit.]

This IS LIFE or DEATH for restaurants and bars. And without our outrage and support, many more will close for good.

I’ve been an early advocate of a federal grant program and relief for independent restaurants and bars, here, here, here, here, and here.  Conceptually, philosophically, and morally, based on American precedent, it is the right thing to do. The necessity of restaurants/bars shutting down was imperative in the interest of the safety and health of the American people–workers and the public. The RRF was well-intended, but VERY poorly executed. And now it’s time to rectify the wrongs and support every eligible independent restaurant in America.

I will update/edit this post often to include specifics on how you can take action. Please email me at patrick@servernotservant.com or add your comments and links below to support the #RestaurantRevolt and save your favorite American neighborhood restaurants. Please share far and wide. Thank you.

1. Follow Independent Restaurant Coalition for specifics on how you can urge President Biden, US leaders, and Congress to do the right thing.
2. It will be very interesting to see if the large (or any) grant recipients offer to give back (similar to PPP) or attempt to locally reallocate a portion of their grants now that they’re realizing that many of their neighbors and industry community members got nothing.

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