How Massachusetts Residents Cooked During The Pandemic | Eat Mass

MASSACHUSETTS — The coronavirus pandemic changed the way we eat: it knocked some of our favorite restaurants out of business and forced many of us to cook and eat more meals at home. It's too soon to see what long-lasting changes COVID-19 will have on food news in Massachusetts, but Patch wants to document it.

Today we're launching a weekly roundup of food news in Massachusetts to help readers navigate dinner time in the post-COVID world. We'll have weekly updates on restaurant openings and closings, industry news, trends, local food events and even the occasional recipe. And we'll also try to mix in lots of food porn culled from the social media feeds of local chefs and restaurants.

Eat Mass will be published every Thursday and included in the Saturday edition of Patch's local newsletters in the Bay State.

Have a food news tip, question or suggestion? Email dave.copeland@patch.com. Want to make sure you don't miss each week's roundup? Sign up for our newsletter and get it delivered every weekend. It's free!

Scroll down for more, including:

• Recent restaurant openings and closings in Massachusetts.
• How we cooked during the pandemic
• Krispy Kreme hopes second try in Boston is a charm
• More Massachusetts food news from the past week.

Restaurant Openings

• Danvers: The Friendly Toast — which advertises "creative meals in a truly unique atmosphere" — has put up several signs indicating it is opening at the former Applebee's location at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers. The Danvers location, which is not yet listed on The Friendly Toast website, would join locations in the Back Bay of Boston, Burlington, Mass., Burlington, Vt., Bedford, N.H. and Portsmouth, N.H. An opening date has not been announced, but the restaurant has started hiring for the Danvers location.

• Malden: Tsaocaa is opening its second location in greater Boston at 423 Main Street in Malden. The China-based chain's menu features bubble and cheese tea, fried chicken and egg waffles. In addition to the new Malden location, Tsaocaa has a location in Boston's Chinatown, as well as shops in New York and New Jersey.
• New Hampshire: The Boston Business Journal has an inside look at the new, $1 billion Tuscan Village in Salem, NH, which had its grand opening over Memorial Day weekend.
• Somerville: An Italian restaurant and cocktail bar is coming to Somerville. Premiere on Broadway promises Italian fare, live music and entertainment and signature cocktails, according to its Facebook page. No address has been given, but Boston Restaurant Talk reported it will be located inside the 519 on Broadway development near the Medford line. The restaurant began hiring staff in mid-April and is expected to open soon.
• Reading: Just in time for summer, Cal's Creamery held its grand opening on Memorial Day. The combination pizzeria-ice cream shop is already serving homemade ice cream, with Cal's Brick Oven Pizza scheduled to open later this month. The businesses are located at 82 Hopkins Street and 122 Main Street in Reading.
• Woburn: Representatives with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen want to make Woburn the future home of its latest Massachusetts restaurant. They are asking city council for a special permit. If city council approves the special permit, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen officials have plans to put a restaurant at 305 Mishawum Rd.
• Worcester: What may be the first competitive video game bar along the East Coast opened May 27 in Worcester. All Systems Go MA will offer gamers a place to compete against each other in popular games like "Fortnite," "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft." Alongside the games, All Systems Go serves beer and cocktails, espresso and brick-oven pizza. The owners first announced plans for the bar in late 2019.

Restaurant Closings

• Boston: The original b.good on Dartmouth Street in Boston's South End closed. It originally opened in 2003.
• Wellesley: Not a great week for b.good, as the also closed their Wellesley location.

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How We Cooked During Each Phase Of The Pandemic

With the end of all coronavirus pandemic restrictions in Massachusetts on May 29, restaurants are back in the Bay State. The pandemic forced a lot of people to dust off idle cooking skills, and those trends will slow as restaurants reopen at full capacity. But the new cooking trend won't completely disappear, as about 70 percent of Americans will still be cooking more at home, according to a January survey by the market research firm Hunter.

AdWeek breaks down how sites like AllRecipes adapted during the pandemic in phases, with the first phase seeing articles like "How to Stock Your Pantry for an Emergency" and "Simple Swaps for When You Run Out of Common Ingredients" thrive on the cooking Website

In the second phase, the site started attracting newer cooks with articles like were drawn to articles like "Goof-Proof Recipes That Help You Learn How to Cook," and "Easy Dinners for Beginners", as well as nostalgia hunters who viewed (and likely cooked) "The Most Popular Recipes of the 1960s." The site also saw an increase in visits from people who were missing restaurant food and looking to duplicate their favorite dishes at home (i.e. "Copycat Olive Garden Recipes to Make a Home").

By the third and final phase, Adweek's Mark Stenberg reports, cooks turned to AllRecipes to stem burnout (see "12 No-Maintenance Dump Dinners" and "Easy Dinners You Only Need 3 Ingredients to Make"). They were also looking for more affordable meals, prompting the cooking site to serve up articles like " Illinois Mom Feeds Her Family of 6 On $130 a Week—Here’s How” and “14 Nights of Dinner Ideas All Under $2 Per Serving."

Krispy Kreme Will Give Boston A Second Chance

Krispy Kreme is at least considering greater Boston for expansion, according to a securities filing Tuesday ahead of the North Carolina-based company's initial public offering.

The registration statement was short on details and a spokeswoman declined further comment. But Boston was mentioned specifically in a section where the company told potential investors "there remains significant opportunity for Hub & Spoke development, including… markets where we have no presence today."

The doughnut chain's only current locations in New England are at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. Krispy Kreme tried to break into Dunkin'-dominated Boston market beginning with a Medford store 2003. Seven more Boston-area stores followed, but they came at a time when the parent company was struggling financially, and all the Boston-area stores eventually closed.

Read the full story.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

Eat With Your Eyes

More Massachusetts Food News

Westford considers drive-thru restaurants (again): The town currently does not allow drive-thru lanes in restaurants, citing concerns over litter and traffic. But the topic gets reexamined by town officials every few years, and has taken on a new sense of urgency as restaurants rethink business models in the post-pandemic era. Last year, a zoning law change that would have allowed drive-thru lanes failed to get the needed two-third majority at town meeting.

Owner will rebuild bar destroyed by fire: The owner of a Milford sports bar destroyed in a February fire is seeking permission from the town to rebuild, according to an application filed with the Planning Board. A fire broke out at the Tradesman bar, 284 West. St., on Feb. 13. The bar was reduced to a pile of rubble, but the owners pledged to return. "So the rest of the bars around here better not get too excited, 'cause I ain't going nowhere!" the owners said in a Facebook post the day of the fire.

Workers at MA coffeehouse chain trying to form union: About 80 employees at Pavement Coffeehouse signed cards supporting the formation of a union. "We’re sick of being exploited," Emma Delaney, a 24-year-old supervisor told GBH. Six of Pavement Coffeehouse's eight locations in greater Boston have reopened after closures during the pandemic, according to the company's Website.

MA woman starts craft brewing's #metoo moment: Brienna Allan, the production manager at Notch Brewing of Salem, two weeks ago posted on her Instagram account about a comment she received and invited those who have had similar experiences to share their stories. Since then, she has filled 10 Instagram stories with responses that range from customers assuming a brewer is a bartender or other staff member because she is a woman to accusations of sexual abuse within the craft beer industry.

Quick bites: The Wakefield Food Pantry received a $100,000 grant through Cummings Foundation's $25 Million Grant Program...MA lawmakers killed budget amendments that would have extended pandemic rules allowing restaurants to serve to-go cocktails and capping fees charged by third-party food delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats...Terrence Doyle has an ode to Cumberland Farms coffee on Eater Boston...Get vaccinated, get a $25 Market Basket gift card...Boston magazine has a rundown of eight places in greater Boston to get a great grilled cheese.

That's A Mouthful

"It's a human rights movement disguised as a coffee shop."

• Amy Wright, owner of Bitty & Beau's in Melrose. The coffee shop, which opens this summer, will employ people who are intellectually and developmentally delayed when it opens this summer. The cafe is holding a hiring fair on June 11.

Upcoming Food Events

Thursday, June 3:

• Free Wine Tasting (Boston)
• Farmers Markets: Brookline, Falmouth, Foxborough, Harwich, Melrose, Milton, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Yarmouth

Friday, June 4:

• Farmers Markets: Osterville

Saturday, June 5:

• 9th Annual Worcester Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival (Worcester)
• Farmers Markets: Andover, Marblehead, Newton, Orleans, Provincetown, Wakefield, Waltham

Sunday, June 6:

• Farmers Markets: Canton, Needham, North Andover, Swampscott, Weymouth, Wilmington

Monday, June 7:

• Farmers Markets: Beverly, Billerica, Truro

Tuesday, June 8:

• Farmers Markets: Chatham, Lexington, Newton, Sandwich

Wednesday, June 9:

• Farmers Markets: Arlington, Dedham, Brewster, Wellfleet

Thursday, June 10:

• Farmers Markets: Falmouth, Foxborough, Harwich, Melrose, Milton, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Yarmouth

Friday, June 11:

• Greek Food Festival (Arlington)
• Bitty & Beau's hiring fair (Melrose)
• Farmers Markets: Osterville

Saturday, June 12:

• Greek Food Festival (Arlington)
• Urban Foraging for Wild Edibles (Boston)
• Farmers Markets: Andover, Marblehead, Newton, Orleans, Provincetown, Wakefield, Waltham

Sunday, June 13:

• Greek Food Festival (Arlington)
• Farmers Markets: Canton, Needham, North Andover, Swampscott, Weymouth, Wilmington

Monday, June 14:

• Free Oyster Shucking Class (Cambridge)
• Farmers Markets: Beverly, Billerica, Truro

Dave Copeland is Patch's regional editor for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).