Weekly Report 1-11

Lucille’s is Serving Up Southern Cuisine with a Side of Hospitality

By d-mars.com News Provider

In August 2012, brothers Christopher and Ben Williams founded their modern Southern restaurant, Lucille’s, inspired by traditions passed down by their great-grandmother, Lucille B. Smith. Executive Chef and Owner Chris Williams continues to pay homage to his great-grandmother by replicating some of her most famous recipes, including the iconic chili biscuits and hot rolls, as well as serving unique takes on Southern classics.

Chef Williams has made a point for excellent food and community service to remain central to Lucille’s mission. In 2020, Lucille’s expanded their community efforts and started Lucille’s 1913. This began as a way to provide Houston healthcare workers with nourishing meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lucille’s 1913 has since served more than 4,500 Houstonians, including the elderly and those in need, with

fresh meals all while bringing over a dozen Houstonians back to work and maintaining full-time jobs for their 40+ staff.

Lucille’s 1913 has partnered with several organizations to carry out their philanthropic efforts including World Central Kitchen and Lettuce Live. They now have the opportunity to grow their own food and ensuring under-served communities have access to fresh, healthy food.

Supporting Lucille’s 1913 means directly providing nutritious meals to frontline healthcare providers, the elderly community and Houston’s youth.

5 steps companies might consider before reopening their office spaces

By d-mars.com News Provider

fter weeks of having employees work remotely whenever possible, many organizations are developing plans to reopen their physical workplaces. For many business leaders, this is a challenging time as they try to determine how to reconfigure their offices after quarantine. Putting a plan in place may be the best solution. A return-to-work plan may mitigate the closure of offices for additional and more enhanced cleanings, help prevent lost productivity and help reduce absenteeism. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that lost productivity due to absenteeism in the U.S. cost employers $225.8 billion annually - or $1,685 per employee - through a combination of direct and indirect costs.

A

ment of the site can help develop facilities plans, and programmatic cleaning strategies. It may help guide your change management strategies and your reconfiguration of the workspace with tools and equipment like physical barriers, entrance screening stations, space dividers, floor markings, and signage outlining traffic flow to facilitate social distancing.

High-touch surfaces

Assess key areas used regularly by employees, including the lobby, work areas and offices, restrooms, cafeterias, elevators, storage spaces, high-traffic hallways and stairs, auditoriums, break rooms, classrooms/training rooms, parking garages, gyms and conference rooms. These areas may require additional cleaning or separate strategies.

Social distancing

for your business, such as stronger and more durable disinfectant wipes, DIY cleaning stations, low or touchless motion-activated solutions, and consider whether antimicrobial products or furniture may benefit your workplace.

Communications

Consider how to have ongoing and transparent communication with your employees as you work through the phases of welcoming everyone back into the office. Provide employees with clear communication about safety and cleaning protocols through the use of digital and print signs, posters and literature. You may want to maintain an open-door policy for employees to voice their concerns or ideas for improving the workplace.

Learn more today

To help position your business for a successful reopening, Stephen Mohan, EVP, Business Solutions Division for Office Depot, Inc., recommends considering:

To help position your business for a successful reopening, Stephen Mohan, EVP, Business Solutions Division for Office Depot, Inc., recommends considering:

Site assessment

Partner with a business solutions provider and conduct a site assessment. Details derived from an assess-

Currently the CDC recommends a minimum of 6 feet between people for proper social distancing. This will likely mean reconfiguring many work areas, including cubicles, small-group collaboration spaces and larger meeting rooms with appropriate seating, capacity limitations and traffic pattern signs.

Touch-points and cleaning

Determine how to limit touch-points in the workplace and enhance cleaning and disinfecting practices. Identify what cleaning products are appropriate

Thoughtful planning and proactive action today will help build confidence with employees. Learn more at business.officedepot.com about how Office Depot can help organizations keep their businesses running smoothly while employees across the nation begin the process of returning to the workplace.

Source: BPT