SoCal Restaurants Take Insurance Company to Court Over Pandemic Losses

In early January, a group of Southern California restaurants filed a lawsuit against Farmers Insurance alleging the insurer refused to compensate the businesses for losses accumulated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Los Angeles Times reports the suit was filed on behalf of Huntington Beach restaurants Black Trumpet Bistro Tapas and Wine Bar and Capone’s Italian Cucina. Also included are Balboa Peninsula’s Fly N Fish Oyster Bar and Grill, Starrs Products in Santa Clarita, and two San Diego restaurants. The law firms representing the plaintiffs state that Farmers Insurance denied pandemic-related insurance claims which “leave plaintiffs in dire financial straits — precisely the situation they sought to avoid when they obtained coverage for loss of business income.”

Black Restaurant Week in the LBC

From Sunday until January 30, Long Beach launches its first Black Restaurant Week. It’s locally run, with participating restaurants like Georgia’s, Smokin’ Crackers, and Boujie Crab. Check here for the full list.

Spiny lobster season in SoCal

California’s spiny lobster season is still underway, where San Diego and Santa Barbara fishermen catch the slightly sweeter crustacean from October until late March. While plenty of local restaurants feature spiny lobster on the menu, the Water Grill cooks it over a charcoal grill and serves it with a side of coleslaw.

This pizza-making robot’s cheese accident

A former SpaceX engineer and co-founder of Stellar Pizza — which resides across the street from SpaceX — said his pizza-making robot had serious issues when first testing out his invention. Benson Tsai told Insider his robot “dumped melted cheese everywhere” during early testing. Eater LA’s Matthew Kang wrote a detailed story about Stellar Pizza last month.

A new Mid-City location for Joe’s Pizza

As of this week, the Mid-City’s short-lived Bootleg Pizza is now the latest location for Joe’s Pizza.

NFTs and LA restaurants

NFTs — known as non-fungible tokens — could be a new way to pay for your meal, and more. The Los Angeles Times has the full story.

A lox and bagel take-home kit

The Yeastie Boys — LA’s roving bagel truck — just dropped a new menu item. Owner Evan Fox announced a lox, schmear, and bagel chips kit called Loxables — a play on words with the kid snack kit “Lunchables.” They’re available starting yesterday through Sunday at the Melrose location, but more permanently at Alfred Coffee shops starting in February.

• Restaurants suing insurance company over COVID-19 losses [LAT]