VC-based fashion startup The Lobby launches

The Lobby, a personalized shopping concierge service that brings the store to the customer at the office, recently launched.

Backed by top investors including SV Angel and Third Kind Venture Capital, The Lobby was inspired by Google veteran Abigail Holtz‘s own workplace experiences where coworkers regularly tried on clothing purchases at the office, using the bathroom as a makeshift dressing room. Noting how both the workplace and consumer shopping habits have changed over the past decade, Holtz and team set off to re-imagine shopping for millennial consumers, focusing on the thing’s millennials value most: hyper convenience, personal experiences, and innovative products that align with their values.

The Lobby curates emerging brands – such as Greats, Cuyana, Margaux, and Michi – and lets customers request products to try on before they buy. The Lobby’s courier team then delivers items and picks up returns directly from the workplace, allowing shoppers to discover, try and buy without the hassle of return forms, trips to the post office or waiting for refunds on their credit card.

With a focus on direct-to-consumer brands that have a limited brick-and-mortar presence, The Lobby gives members the opportunity to try out brands they’ve only seen in their Instagram feed – without any risk. And for brands, the Lobby offers a new distribution channel that gets their products in the hands of stylish early-adopters.

The Lobby currently delivers to over 50 companies, including most of the San Francisco Bay Area’s top tech startups, and plans to expand to additional cities including New York and Los Angeles

https://www.fromthelobby.com

California and Texas have the Toughest Restaurant Reviewers

If you thought the toughest peer restaurant reviews would be in New York or Chicago, you would be wrong. They are in California and Texas, specifically in Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These are results from a study commissioned by Home Run Inn Pizza and analyzed by Digital Third Coast.

The study used Eater.com’s “38 Essential” lists and analyzed 4,000 data points across Google, Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor to better understand the rankings and platforms that the average person reads reviews on before making their decision to visit a business or not.

What they found was that California and Texas have some of the toughest and most critical reviewers, although New Yorkers and Chicagoans are definitely the most opinionated.

Overall Rankings:

· Highest ratings: Facebook review
· Lowest ratings: Yelp
· Highest number of reviews: Yelp
· Lowest number of reviews: TripAdvisor

Toughest Crowd: (Average ratings across Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor. #1 being the hardest to please, #25 being the easiest to please)

1. Austin
2. Houston
3. Los Angeles
4. San Francisco
5. Washington, DC
6. New York
7. New Orleans
8. Montreal
9. London
10. Dallas
11. Chicago
12. Nashville
13. Twin Cities
14. Paris
15. Atlanta
16. Miami
17. Portland
18. Las Vegas
19. Detroit
20. Philadelphia
21. Seattle
22. San Diego
23. Boston
24. Denver
25. Charleston

Most opinionated crowd: (Average number of reviews across Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor)

1. Chicago
2. New York
3. San Francisco
4. Las Vegas
5. New Orleans
6. Washington DC
7. Los Angeles
8. San Diego
9. Nashville
10. Houston
11. Portland
12. Austin
13. Miami
14. Charleston
15. Atlanta
16. Detroit
17. Twin Cities
18. Philadelphia
19. Dallas
20. Boston
21. Montreal
22. Seattle
23. Denver
24. Paris
25. London

(#1 the highest number of reviews, #25 fewest reviews)

For more details, visit Chicago-based Digital Third Coast

San Francisco and Puerto Vallarta become Sister Cities

PUERTO VALLARTA AND SAN FRANCISCO JOINED IN ‘SISTERHOOD’

US Mexico Sister Cities Association Connects the Pacific Coast Ports in Strategic Alliance to Foster Tourism

Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco are now sister cities. The sisterhood, formalized under the auspices of the US Mexico Sister Cities Association, was recently announced by Puerto Vallarta city officials in a ceremony celebrating the strategic partnership between the two Pacific Coast ports.

Puerto Vallarta’s Interim Mayor, Rodolfo Domínguez Monroy, led the twinning ceremony, accompanied by the General Consul of Mexico in San Francisco, Gemí José González López; the President of the Tourism Commission, Martha Susana Rodríguez Mejía; and the city’s Tourism Director, Ramón González Lomelí.

The partnership is expected to promote cultural and commercial ties between the cities, which have shared a historical legacy since the 1960s. The two conurbations are also both home to large LGBT communities, a thriving demographic sector that contributes to the Puerto Vallarta’s greatness, Rodriguez Mejia noted at the twinning ceremony.

She added that San Francisco, with the highest per-capita purchasing power in the U.S., is close to Silicon Valley, home to small and large technology corporations from around the world, which could be replicated and developed as a second major industry — in addition to tourism — in Puerto Vallarta.

Oliva Izaguirre, Mexico’s National President of the US Mexico Sister Cities Association, pointed out that Puerto Vallarta serves as an important example of a city with optimistic, enthusiastic and intelligent inhabitants being united with other important cities to strengthen bonds of friendship, to share experiences and to collaborate in different areas such as culture.

In addition to celebrating the new sister city status, Mayor Dominguez Monroy also introduced a team of local business owners who will make up the local committee to oversee the work done under the alliance, which will also work to foster tourism. Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and United Airlines all offer direct flights between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco.

The sisterhood between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco is not affiliated with Sister Cities International. The US Mexico Sister Cities Association (www.usmsca.com) is based in La Jolla, California.

Madame Tussauds San Francisco Unveils Virtual Reality Adventure Experience

The Virtual Room at Madame Tussauds San Francisco

Madame Tussauds San Francisco unveils a new interactive live experience for visitors to “Be a Hero” in the city’s first team-based virtual reality (VR) adventure.

The year is 2217. A team of time-travelers have disappeared and a temporal rift has been detected in the past, risking humanity’s disappearance from the Earth – forever. The mission: save Earth from its dystopian future. Journey through history to solve puzzles and challenges. Unlock the secrets of Ancient Egypt. Repair the moon lander. Fight dinosaurs before they hunt you down. Dive to the bottom of ocean. All of this to correct the mistakes of the past before it destroys life as we know it. Each player will have his/ her own dedicated room, specifically designed and equipped with the latest virtual reality gear.

Developed in partnership with Virtual Room USA, the collaborative virtual reality experience allows groups of 2-4 people to participate in up to four 15-minute timed challenges all while communicating with their teammates.

The Virtual Room is a separately priced attraction from Madame Tussauds with tickets from just $10. The experience is designed for players ages 12 years and up and perfect for groups of friends, family, team-building, birthday parties and more.

ABOUT MADAME TUSSAUDS SAN FRANCISCO

Welcoming a fabulous 10 million guests though our world-famous doors every year, Madame Tussauds gives you the chance to experience the ULTIMATE fame experience. We have nearly 25 unique locations around the world, from New York to Shanghai, Amsterdam to Sydney – and, of course, London, where the story began. Throughout our 250+ year history, Madame Tussauds has brought to life thousands of celebs, stars and heroes – in mind-blowingly accurate detail – giving visitors the opportunity to brush shoulders with their idols and LITERALLY reach for the stars! Truly immerse yourself in our famous worlds and get a taste of life of the rich and famous, as in 2018, the opportunity to become the star continues! Through a combination of our historic artistic methods (that date back centuries, by the way!), immersive sets and pioneering modern tech – guests can experience fame and get closer to the action like never before. Madame Tussauds San Francisco opens daily at 10 a.m., 365 days a year and is located on Fisherman’s Wharf at 145 Jefferson Street. Find on Facebook: @MadameTussaudsSanFrancisco and Instagram and Twitter: @TussaudsSF.

FEED YOUR PEOPLE is the Big-Batch Cookbook You’ve been Waiting for

 

Powerhouse Books has released a lavish new cookbook, Feed Your People. The book offers “big-batch recipes from big-hearted chefs and cooks for the foods we gather around”.

Feed Your People

The book opens with an introduction to big-batch cooking, and features dishes by San Francisco culinary legends like Alice Waters, Bryant Terry, Gonzalo Guzman, Joyce Goldstein, Tanya Holland, Dennis Lee, Preeti Mistry, and other chefs and cooks who know how to feed a crowd. It includes ideas and practical information for creating dumpling dinners, vegetarian suppers, meatball fund-raisers, soup swaps, chili cook-offs, seafood boils, backyard barbecues, ice cream socials, and more.

The recipes are designed to be scale upward for larger groups, and range from simple comfort foods to show-stopping recipes such as tamales, rustic minestrone soup, Gujarati-inspired chili, big-pan paella, homemade gnocchi, Korean bo ssäm, fork-tender carnitas, seafood boils, Provençal-style grand aioli with roasted salmon, a chocolatey Texas sheet cake, slab pies, and even trifles.

More information at powerhousebooks.com
Hardcover, 8-3/4 x10 inches, 320 pages
ISBN: 978-1-57687-804-0, $39.95 US/CAN

ABOUT THE COLLABORATORS

Leslie Jonath is a book packager specializing in cookbooks. Before launching Connected Dots media, she was a creative director at Chronicle Books where she produced many successful titles leveraging partnerships with high-profile causes and foundations, including The Pleasures of Slow Food by Corby Kummer; From Our House to Yours: Comfort Food to Share with Meals on Wheels of San Francisco; and The Edible Schoolyard with renowned chef and restaurateur Alice Waters. Her most recent titles include the Miette Bakery Cookbook (over 150,000 sold to date), The Flower Workshop, Give Yourself a Gold Star, The Model Bakery Cookbook, The Amazing (mostly) Edible Science Cookbook, and The Little Pleasures of Paris. She lives in San Francisco.

Molly De Coudreaux is a San Francisco-based photographer who thrives on telling stories about food and culture. She works collaboratively to capture the essence of each moment through nuance and gesture. Her clients include Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Dandelion Chocolate, Scribe Winery, and Al’s Place, and she is currently working on a book project with Bernal Cutlery.

18 Reasons strives to “empower the community with confidence and creativity to buy, cook, and eat good food each day,” which they do through classes and community dinners. Passionate, committed teachers include farmers, winemakers, ranchers, crafters, and cooks who share their stories, skills, and knowledge on everything from knife skills to world cooking. As well, people can share a community dinner with friends, taste home­-cooked meals from around the world, and forge new friendships through food. Beyond its classroom walls, 18 Reasons offers Cooking Matters classes in low-income communities on how to make quick, healthy, affordable, and delicious meals. Professional chefs and nutritionists volunteer their time for the Cooking Matters program, which reaches over 2,000 adults and kids every year.

China Live and Cal Mare named Winners of GREAT TASTE PRIZE: Culinary Tastemakers

 

China LIVE and Cal Mare named two of the three Winners of the GREAT TASTE PRIZE: Culinary Tastemakers, in the 9th Annual TASTE AWARDS.

China Live is created by restaurant entrepreneurs George Chen and Cindy Chen, and is based in the busy cross sections of San Francisco’s Chinatown and North Beach. China Live includes multiple floors of food and entertaining, with the ground floor featuring the Oolong Café, Market Restaurant & Bar, and Retail Marketplace, and the upper floor’s 8 Tables receiving multiple award nominations for restaurant of the year.

Cal Mare is the latest concept by restaurateur and celebrity chef Michael Mina, and is based in the Beverly Center of Los Angeles. Cal Mare is an homage to the coast of Italy and Southern California from chef/partner Adam Sobel in collaboration with Michael Mina and MINA Group. Located on the ground floor of the newly designed Beverly Center in Los Angeles, the restaurant celebrates the best of coastal Italian cuisine while featuring California’s bountiful ingredients. The menu highlights seafood from both the Mediterranean and Pacific Ocean, as well as fresh handmade pastas and brick oven pizzas.

The 3rd Winner of the GREAT TASTE PRIZE: Culinary Tastemakers, in the 9th Annual TASTE AWARDS will be announced shortly, and is also the venue for the Red Carpet Awards Dinner in West Hollywood.