Sound Bites

Grisanti talks with Jennifer Biggs about how the business took its toll on him, his recovery, and what he has planned for the new restaurant.

Cocozza and Erling’s are closed after asymptomatic employees at both restaurants tested positive for COVID-19. At Cocozza, the staff is tested every two weeks and the positive test came from that. At Erling’s , the employee took a test on his own and it took 10 days for the results to arrive. They say they need testing for front line workers with a same-day turnaround. The restaurants are not required to close, but Deni Reilly and Erling Jensen say they feel they have no choice, that they are responsible for keeping their employees and guests safe and with quick results, they could reopen faster.

Kelly English and Jennifer talk a bit about what it’s like to be a restaurateur and a diner during COVID.

Charlie Vergos (not that one—his grandson) is a standup comedian who has just released his first album, recorded in November at the Hi-Tone. He was living in New York and moved back to his hometown when COVID started getting bad in March. We talk about what he’s done, what’s coming up for him, and a little bit about his legendary grandfather.

Jennifer Biggs and Chris Herrington catch up after Chris’s family vacation, talking about patios and porches for outdoor dining around town, how the paella turned out for Chris (and how his brother is the current king of cuisine in the family), and talk about a new trend—can it be called that yet?—of feeding a crowd a table full of nachos.

Jennifer Biggs, Ben Smith and Jason Severs talk about what customers can do to help restaurants.

Jennifer Biggs is joined by Chris Herrington to talk about new and old restaurants opening, the all-important ampersand, what bbq they like and where they like it, at-home paella and more.

Jennifer Biggs talks to Kelly English and Ryan Trimm about how they survived the COVID shutdown, what they're doing to keep their take-out, curbside and delivery business going and what's going to happen when they reopen.

Jennifer Biggs and restaurateur Ben Brock stand on the hill called Mask-Up.

Jennifer Biggs, Chris Herrington and Natalie Van Gundy talk takeout and cooking in quarantine.