Updates from Irene

Dear Mei Mei Community, 

Remember March? It seems like ages ago we were opening our books to the public, trying to start a conversation about the inner workings of our industry. Now the pandemic is here, and we’re all talking about the future of small business. In the spirit of that transparency and accountability, I’m writing to share some updates on how we’ve been faring at Mei Mei.

I laid off 60% of our team at the end of June. This included five full-time and nine part-time employees. It has taken me a month to feel ready to share this news -- I regret the delay. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine this scenario for our company, but after three months of remote work, experimentation, and pivoting to find safe revenue streams, I took a big step back. Indoor dining was resuming in Massachusetts without adequate or uniform precautions. The PPP money was gone. Still no vaccine on the horizon. I decided that we could no longer try to return to “normal,” and that meant drastically restructuring the staff.

Certain roles would no longer exist. This included front of house, middle management, and catering. With a 2020 sales forecast at less than 30% of our pre-pandemic projections, I scheduled individual conversations with every team member to let them know their positions were being eliminated. Some attended these meetings and some chose not to.

You all know better than anyone that our team is what has always made Mei Mei special. I hate that I don't have jobs for everyone who has contributed so much to our business, and that you weren't able to say goodbye. Some of our former staff have provided their information to share with you: Matt’s an attorney turned line and prep cook extraordinaire. Our former business manager Caden joined our team in 2012 and is now headed to Oakland. Kurt went from the food truck to catering to managing our accounting and finance and is looking to pursue a career in FinTech. Another former employee requested that we share this email transcript regarding the layoff. I wish our former staff the absolute best and will continue to support their next steps. This has been traumatic for all of us in different ways and I invite your feedback and questions as our guests and friends.

Our remaining team is working hard to plan our next steps. Even with drastically reduced sales and a decimated catering forecast -- catering that previously accounted for 1/3 of our annual revenue -- we are not reopening the dining room any earlier than 2021, if at all. If you’re in a position to keep supporting us, you can order takeout, join us for a virtual cooking class, and stay in touch on social media. I'm excited to show you what's next. We truly appreciate you as our guests even though we aren't welcoming you into the restaurant. Over the last months, your kind words, donations to the Unsung Restaurants campaign and Project Restore Us, and enthusiasm for all our efforts has helped us keep going. 

But the bigger picture is dire. I fear the restaurant industry will never return to normal, and furthermore, “normal” never worked all that well, especially for the most vulnerable among us. Every day I ask myself, “if we make it through this, what kind of industry do we want to be? Should we be saving this industry, or reinventing it entirely?"

We're no strangers to reinvention. We're still here, and I intend for us to stay. I’m grateful for your continued support. 

-- Irene 

(photo by Brian Samuels Photography)