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You're receiving this email because you subscribed to our biweekly guide to what's happening in the Peninsula's dining scene, written by food reporter Elena Kadvany. To ensure you receive this email in your inbox, make sure this email is marked "Not Spam" and add our email address to your contacts now. If you're using Gmail, make sure to move us to your "Primary" folder by dragging and dropping this email into the "Primary" tab on your desktop or by hitting the 3 dots at the top right corner of your app on mobile, click "Move to" then "Primary."

Six years ago, Elena pitched a blog that would focus on restaurant news on the Peninsula to the editors at the Palo Alto Weekly. At the time the local food scene was rarely, if ever, written about in a unique way, save the occasional opening of a trendy restaurant that would attract the attention of larger media outlets.

Today that scene is rich with noodle shops, parking lot food stands, Michelin-starred chefs, impeccable baked goods, wine bars and some of the Bay's best farmers markets.

In the Peninsula Foodist newsletter, she'll share the latest openings and closings, what she's eating that she's excited about, interviews with chefs and her observations about the issues affecting local restaurants. She'll be covering more cities than ever before, from Santa Clara to Daly City and out to the coast.

We hope the newsletter provides something that you can't get anywhere else and that it does justice to a restaurant world that deserves a bit more respect and attention. The Peninsula's food scene is dynamic, diverse and so much damn fun to explore.

We'd love to hear your feedback and ideas (ekadvany@paweekly.com). Know someone who'd enjoy reading Peninsula Foodist? Have them sign up here.

Stay hungry.

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Thank you for signing up for Palo Alto Online's Express daily news digest. Monday through Friday, you’ll receive the day’s top stories, upcoming events and highlights from our top blogs to help keep you informed and active in our community.

Have a story pitch, picture, or comment to share? You can always reach our team by replying directly to this email address or emailing email@paloaltoonline.com.

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See you next Thursday!

Why support local journalism?

What will the next decade of journalism look like?

Like news organizations all over the country, we are working hard to reinvent a business model that will ensure the survival of quality local journalism through another decade and beyond. 

The traditional business model of funding local news reporting through advertising is irreparably broken. As consumers turn to online shopping and local retailers close their doors, news organizations will only survive with direct support from readers who value their important role in a democratic society.

It may surprise you that we are not immune to these forces in Silicon Valley, given the highly educated and affluent residents of our communities. But consider that 30 years ago almost every community in the region had a local newspaper, and today most of those newsrooms are gone.

As we look to the new decade and beyond, we are excited to continue creating new ways to keep you informed and help you stay connected to the larger community. But we need your help. If you value quality local journalism, we ask you to join the thousands of others who have initiated membership subscriptions for as little as $5 a month. In exchange, you’ll have unlimited access to our websites, guaranteed mail delivery of the printed newspaper and invitations to special member events. 

Can we count on you to get the decade off to a great start?

Membership is
more than a donation.

Whether you call it a “membership” or a “subscription,” you get more than good will when you become a member of Palo Alto Weekly/Online. We see it as your modest investment in the future of local journalism and professional fact-based news coverage of the community. But that’s not all it is. Becoming a member means you’re in a special group of locals who receives:

Youth Rising Up:
Can Gen Z Lead on Social Change?

7:00 - 8:35 p.m.
Thursday, August 6
Presented to you virtually on Zoom

Panelists

Moderator

Race, Policing and the Color of Justice

7:00 - 8:15 p.m.
Thursday, June 25
Presented to you virtually on Zoom

Panelists

Black Food Matters: Race and Local Food Entrepreneurs

Panelists

Moderator

We Want Your Feedback on
Town Square Commenting

Survival Stories: How three Peninsula eateries are adapting during the pandemic

6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 27
Presented to you virtually on Zoom

Panelists

Moderator

We all feel tremendous empathy for those Palo Altans whose loved ones have been victims of COVID-19, as well as the large number of people who have lost their jobs or been furloughed. As we enter the eighth week of sheltering in place it seemed like a good time to give you a brief update on how we're doing.

As our reporters work long hours to keep you informed on the crisis and the heroic work of health care professionals, nurses and first responders, I feel immense gratitude and pride for how the community has responded. With so much uncertainty about the future, every one of us is trying to thoughtfully sort out our plans for when and how we safely return to a new "normal."

Our team at the Palo Alto Weekly is remaining in full operation (albeit mostly from home) as an essential business. Our employees are therefore struggling with the dual stresses of covering an emotional and continuing breaking news story and coping with social isolation and the needs of their extended families.

At the same time, the loss of all but a small fraction of our advertising revenue due to the current business closures has created an unprecedented business crisis for us. Thankfully, we have been able to carry on with the support of thousands of Palo Altans who have become subscribing members in the last seven weeks. And last week we were also relieved to receive an SBA PPP loan that will offset some of our losses.

But you may not realize that the plight of local news organizations was already dire, and the future of local journalism in doubt, because of a steady decade-long decline in local advertising brought on by the disruption of independent local retail by online shopping. Newspapers all across the country are facing this challenge.

To secure the future of our company, we had already begun to shift our business model over the last two years to one built on reader support rather than on advertising. We can only succeed in this transition, however, if current readers like you -- those who read our daily Express news digest, visit our website for the latest local news or read the print edition of the Weekly -- do your part by becoming a subscribing member.

I frequently hear from readers and friends who believe they are subscribers because the Palo Alto Weekly is delivered to their home or because they receive Express every morning by email. Unfortunately, that's not the case. 

If you are reading this email, it means that you are NOT a subscriber to either Palo Alto Online or the Palo Alto Weekly under the email address I am using to reach you today. (If you think you may have used a different email address to subscribe, you will know if you are receiving "Local Scoop," the newsletter we email exclusively to active subscribers on the second week of each month. Scoop provides a glimpse inside our journalism, invitations to subscriber-only events and occasional free tickets to local entertainment events.)

Your support is more important to our future now than ever before. It will allow us to retain an outstanding team of journalists who are vital to our community staying well-informed. There has never been a time when the importance of a trusted local news source was more obvious than today.

If you value local journalism, please do your part to keep it thriving. Help us reach our goal of 2,000 new subscribers by the end of June and become a member today.
 

Thank you,

Bill Johnson

Founder and President
Embarcadero Media

We need your support.

Dear Reader, 

During these uncertain and scary times, trusted sources of local news are more important than ever. 

But like so many other local businesses, we are all struggling to cope with the current health and economic crisis.

Our staff is working around the clock to keep you informed in this rapidly changing environment. Our office is nearly empty, but our 50 employees are hard at work at their homes and, when necessary, in the community bringing critical news stories to you.

And you are following our reporting in record numbers. Our web traffic has soared in the last three weeks. We've dropped our pay meter so that everyone can access the latest news whether they are subscribing members or not. In the last 30 days more than 711,000 unique visitors were following the news coverage on Palo Alto Online. 

But we need your help. 

The businesses that we rely on for advertising are shuttered. Ad cancellations are widespread. 

For those of you who have always been meaning to subscribe, now is your moment. For those who never gave it a thought, consider what it would be like without Palo Alto Weekly/Online.

For as little as $5 a month, you can join thousands of others in showing your support of local journalism and the role it plays in our community.

Please join today to become a subscribing member.

Thank you, and best wishes to all of you doing your best to get through this difficult time.

Bill Johnson
Publisher

Our subscribing members say it best...

Will you join the thousands of others supporting local journalism?

Dear Palo Alto Weekly/Online Reader, 

As 2020 draws to a close and we reflect on the last year, we thought you would enjoy this short video showing the creation of an illustration by one of our talented graphic designers, Douglas Young. Douglas occasionally records a time-lapse video as he is digitally creating an illustration for a story, and it''s both interesting and inspiring to see how it''s done. This one was for a May 8 story on the lack of available COVID tests.

We often write to you about the work of our reporters, but we are also fortunate to have a staff of designers who work alongside our editors to create original pieces of art for our papers and websites. We''re proud of their talents too!

As we look forward to a better 2021, we want to thank you for your continued readership and support. Democracy is strengthened by strong local journalism and residents who are inspired by it to get involved in community issues. 

May the New Year bring happiness and good health to your family.

Sincerely,

Bill Johnson
President & Founder
Embarcadero Media