The pandemic, however, gave Chef Jossel a chance to completely re-evaluate the business and make some necessary changes. To him, the past year has given him a chance to be brave. Instead of perfecting a particular recipe, he was able to look at his life and determine what he wanted to do. He was able to decide what makes him happy and use that as a catalyst for change. As a result of the soul-searching, he formed a partnership with a charity called Food Runners, which picks up excess food. That, along with other initiatives like World Central Kitchen and SF New Deal, allowed Nopa to stay open by packing $10 boxes for various shelters. Seeing as many previous front of house staff returned to their homes outside of California or decided to leave the restaurant business, Chef Jossel was able to hire a completely new crew. He promoted people within the business and awarded those who stayed with better titles and salaries. He also earned and re-earned the support of the
neighborhood since Nopa never left but continued to serve the community with their to-go boxes and to-go bags. From a macro perspective, Chef Jossel thinks that San Francisco was a great food city before, but it is now facing some headwinds. The cost of living is so high that a lot of talented people have moved out. Other American cities now have deeper talent pools because industry workers can afford to live in those places. For him, the key to getting San Francisco restaurants back to where they were lies in creativity and industriousness. Restaurants need to figure out how to do more with less labor and provide more inspiration for newcomers who are working their way up. In his mind, however, there are still advantages that made San Francisco an important place to cook. The first is the presence of a knowledgeable clientele. The people coming into restaurants really know the difference between good and bad products. For example, they understand what organics mean and they know they want healthy food.
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