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How to Support Restaurants as Temperatures Begin to Dip

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Grab a Blanket and Show Restaurants Our Love!

I am frightened for the future of our restaurants and the impact that losing them will have on the vibrancy of our communities.

Just over a week ago, some friends and I were having dinner in our home city of Boston, MA at Orfano, which is owned by our friend Tiffani Faison. Two of us had walked about a mile to get there, walking through the neighborhoods of Back Bay, Kenmore and Fenway. Several restaurants were permanently closed, some already closed for the night at 5:45 p.m., and those that were open were not overly crowded.

We started talking about the need to support our local restaurants. They give us a place to celebrate, to feel supported in harHow to Support Restaurants as Temperatures Begin to Dipd times, to meet up with loved ones, to unwind after a tough day, and to be nourished, physically and sometimes even psychologically.

Restaurants are a pivotal part of our communities and have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Add the arrival of fall and the impending winter (which in Boston can be brutal) and restaurants are in dire need of patrons who can embrace a creative approach.

In Norwegian culture, they embrace winter in a big way, and have a saying that “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. They suggest enjoying outdoor life in the “vinter” months with layers, a focus on woolen materials, and topping it off with a wind-resistant layer. Essentially, pretend you’re heading off to your favorite ski slope. Then pretend it’s apres ski time outdoors and enjoy a meal.

My friends and I decided that evening to establish the Boston Blanket Brigade to mobilize fellow Bostonians to help save our restaurants. Our mission is to blanket restaurants in love and support with flash mob dining. Each week, we will announce a restaurant that we are visiting, sitting outside with our friends, with our blankets to stay warm while helping to fill tables. Join us, or create your own brigade elsewhere, any day of the week in any city or town, at the restaurant of your choice.

We had our kickoff event this past Sunday, returning to Orfano since it was where this idea was generated, and I am thrilled to say that was a terrific success.

Not in Boston? There are several different ways to get involved:

  • Follow Boston Blanket Brigade on Instagram at @bostonblanketbrigade
  • Host a DIY Blanket Brigade at your own favorite restaurant, at a time or day of the week of your choice, no matter what city or town you are in. Be sure to take a photo and tag us. It will be fun to see how far the brigade reaches!
  • Make a donation to support the effort to save independent restaurants. The Independent Restaurant Coalition is working tirelessly to save them.
  • Make a donation to support restaurant industry workers. The Emeril Lagasse Foundation Hospitality Industry Relief Fund was created to support industry workers who are experiencing hardship from the COVID-19 crisis and will provide emergency relief grants based on need to workers who have lost employment due to the shutdown for the pandemic.

Think of it this way: when a vaccine comes out and we are able to congregate again, where will you want to meet up with your friends and family? Chance are, many of you said a restaurant. Let us blanket them in our support now to ensure that they are there when we return en masse.

This article was originally published on Thrive Global. 

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Turn Down the Volume on Negative Self Talk During Challenging Times Appears on Thrive Global!

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Almost two years ago, inspired by a comment that Thrive Global’s Arianna Huffington made about the “obnoxious roommate” we have in our heads, I wrote an article that was posted here on Thrive Global, Turn Down the Volume on Negative Self Talk: Tips (and a Playlist!)

With the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been so many ups and downs. Some days, it feels more down than up. I am finding that some of my clients, executive search candidates, and students are engaging in negative self-talk now more than ever.

I will be honest: yesterday was particularly challenging for me. After a good cry and screaming into a pillow (yep, it was that bad), I found it helpful to revisit the article and remind myself that I can lower the volume of my critical inner voice and return to a more positive outlook through songs that make me feel good. While this pandemic has created so many hurts, we need to look at what we still have. Love. Family. Friendship. Laughter. Hope. And, yes, music.

Here is the article. My sincere wish is that it inspires you to find the music that will lift your spirits!

arianna huffington thrive global, career advice, cindy joyce, company culture, hr advice, hr boston, hr consultant boston, human resources boston, human resources consultant boston, human resources consulting boston, human resources nonprofit boston, leadership advice, pillar search, pillar search boston, pillar search cindy joyce, work advice

The Dreaded Office Move: 6 Tips for Navigating the Change

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I am excited to have another article on Thrive Global!  Read more about how to handle the dreaded office move on my Thrive page!

career advice, human resources consulting boston, thrive global, work advice

Pillar’s Article, 10 Things Nobody Ever Tells You about Working from Home, Appears on Thrive Global!

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This article was posted on Thrive Global on April 30, 2018.  To read the article on Thrive Global, click here!

When I started Pillar Search & HR Consulting, I went from working in the office 5 days a week to working from home 3-4 days a week. I have loved every minute of working from home. It has been a total game changer. There have been some surprises, though. If you are considering a role that allows you to work from home almost exclusively, here were a few of my “aha” moments:

  • I miss coworkers. Sometimes. Granted, I no longer have to listen to Ned from Accounting complain about the quality of coffee or Mabel from Client Services go on and on about her cats, but I miss the comradery and the ability to bounce ideas off of people. I try to do client or candidate lunches once or twice a week. Some days I will sneak out to the gym just to see another person during the day, because once in a while it feels isolating.
  • Be prepared to redecorate. Believe me, this was on of my biggest surprises. Spending hours on end in your abode will make you realize that cannot stand the paint color in your immediate work area. It started to feel too dark, so I painted it. And then the bedroom looked too dark. And then the guestroom. If the dog stands still long enough, he may get a coat of paint.
  • My dry cleaner misses me. We used to be on a first-name basis. Now I am just some person who brings in her “fancy” clothes every few weeks since the days of suits and dresses are few and far between. Now I work in yoga pants. You know it’s bad when I justify that they are my “dressy” ones, though on the plus side I am saving a considerable amount of money.
  • I now regret the money spent on shoes (okay, not really…) It’s just a wee bit challenging to justify what I spent on my shoe obsession when I now spend most days in gym socks. Same for the suits and dresses that now collect dust. If you believe that working from home will be your reality for the foreseeable future, consider paying it forward by donating some of your former work wardrobe to an organization like Dress For Success.
  • Maintain a Network: If you work remotely, you can still have a relationship with colleagues, albeit virtually. However, having people you see live and in person can be crucial to your sanity. Join a networking or professional group to ensure that you maintain much-needed, real, live contact with others in your profession or industry.
  • Those appointments that I used to schedule way in advance are a breeze. Those annoying four hour windows from the cable company? No problem! I’ll be here! Doctor has nothing in the evenings or Saturday for months? I’ll take that random Tuesday afternoon time slot!
  • Toilet paper. Not to be indelicate, but you never think about that when in an office. Ditto for water, pens, post-its, and coffee/tea. In an office, those things somehow magically appear. You will be amazed at how quickly you run through them. Be sure to stock up.
  • Time Management. Without the normal office cues to indicate time, it is so easy to get sucked down the rabbit hole of a project, look up, and realize the day is gone. You do not see people coming and going, or have the same number of meetings to break up the day – it is great because it keeps me focused, but sometimes I need to set a timer so that I remind myself to take a breather.
  • Family and friends think I am free to play. Set boundaries if you start to work from home. People assume that it means that you can chat on the phone at any time or meet them for downtime when they have a day off. That is not the case. I am working from home, with a big emphasis on the w-o-r-k.
  • MOVE! Living in the city, I often walked a mile to and from the office, and clocked thousands of steps while there going to meetings or to grab lunch. Now I need to remind myself to move. One thing that helped my waistline is the lack of the office candy bowl and endless birthday cake and leftovers from catered lunches, and if I ended a conference call in the office and started doing pushups, I would have been looked at funny. At home, it is a judgment-free zone.

There are a million perks to working from home, and if you can work around the very few challenges, you may just find your professional utopia. Good luck with it!

Hire the best! With personalized service and proven results, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides retained executive search services and human resources consulting for exceptional non-profits and socially responsible for-profit firms. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on the national level. To learn more about how Pillar can assist with your hiring and human resources needs, please contact Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.