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Bell Peppers set to bring low-carb comfort food to Hueytown - AL.com

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Bell Peppers set to bring low-carb comfort food to Hueytown - AL.com

Bell Peppers set to bring low-carb comfort food to Hueytown - AL.com

Posted: 05 Jul 2020 06:41 AM PDT

Anthony Clemons has spent the past few weeks putting the finishing touches on Bell Peppers, his forthcoming concept dedicated to low-carb comfort food.

Opening a restaurant-- his first restaurant-- was already arduous. But the additional challenges of navigating operations in the midst of COVID-19 made the project especially taxing.

"In these last couple of months, I've been pretty much scrambling trying to get everything finished because I've had a problem with workers and things of that nature due to the pandemic," said Clemons. "Things just have been that much more difficult."

But challenges aside, the public is eager to welcome the new eatery with open arms. In fact, when AL.com caught up with Clemons late last week, he was headed to put one of his dishes --a turkey polish sausage topped with Italian-style ground turkey, a mix of sauteéd peppers and onions, and low carb secret sauces-- to the test with his local gym members.

Bell Peppers Turkey Sausage

The turkey sausage from Bell Peppers (Credit: Bell Peppers)

"Part of you wants to say, 'now is not the time.' But then, when you get out in public, you get (asked) 'When is it opening?' So, it's kind of a back and forth thing. But the people really, really pushed me to keep going," said Clemons. "I just kept thinking, if I don't do this, I'm going to let a lot of people down. And it's bigger than me. So, I kept pushing."

That anticipation from soon-to-be patrons is one reason Clemons chose to open his restaurant in Hueytown. He lives in nearby Concord and once threw a tailgate party at his gym in the city. The event, he remembers fondly, had a big turn out.

"The people were welcoming. It was just a great experience. I felt like Hueytown was the spot."

Now, Clemons is in the final sprint of his opening. Bell Peppers, his low-carb and keto take on burgers, pizza, and breakfast food will host its grand opening on July 11.

He's taken recommended safety protocols for his 1,400 square-foot restaurant. Patrons, he says, must wear masks upon entering and keep them on while ordering. There will be six-foot social distancing markers for customers standing in line. Tables will also be placed six feet apart.

"We're supposed to have eight tables, but I'll have six," said Clemons. "Because I wanted to have them spaced out. So, each individual family will have at least a space in between."

"I did grow up cooking, but not like I'm cooking right now."

The first-time restaurateur grew up cooking, but back then, he says, his style was different. "I grew up cooking things that were, of course, very, very bad for you. The typical things you may cook in the kitchen like...I mean... typical American food," said Clemons. "Nothing on this level right here that you may see with Bell Peppers. I did grow up cooking, but not like I'm cooking right now."

Bell Peppers is the culmination of a lifestyle change, including a time when Clemons experimented with making versions of his favorite foods that had less sugar but were still packed with flavor.

That change started in June 2019 when Clemons was on a cruise and over-indulged in the ship's high-carb dining options.

"There were a lot of buffet items like pancakes, waffles, burgers and pizza and stuff like that."

Clemons, who was diagnosed with type-two diabetes in 2014, says consuming that daily diet caused his blood sugar to rise, making him constantly ill.

"I ate myself into the ground," he said laughing. "I really did."

But when Clemons returned to Alabama, he immediately started trying to create healthier versions of all the foods that he enjoyed eating on the trip. His first attempts were his favorite foods-- biscuits and waffles.

Naturally, Clemons isn't giving out all of his secrets, but he says the process involved heavy research and a lot of tweaking.

"Of course, we're not born knowing everything," he joked. "First you have to see what everybody else is doing."

He covered a lot of ground, looking up recipes for low-carb waffles online. But he disliked most of the recipes, including one where the amount of eggs was "just overpowering."

"It really didn't taste good at all. It tasted like an egg waffle. Like, they just took a whole bunch of eggs and put them in a waffle maker," said Clemons. " At that moment, I knew I had to do something on my own."

So, he put the online recipes to the side and started experimenting with other ways to get tastes that he loved, incorporating variations of almond and oat flours. Eventually, he made a breakthrough.

"And once I made that waffle and it had a great taste to it, I knew right then that I wanted to turn that into something. Because I felt like the world needed this," he said. "I felt like there were a lot of people like myself who wanted to eat healthier, but still eat fun food. I mean, boiled chicken and asparagus, we all know that's healthy, but no one wants that."

Bell Peppers Pancakes

Low-card pancakes from Bell Peppers (Credit: Bell Peppers)

After his breakfast food success, Clemons expanded his methods to work on pizza.

He counted carbohydrates in the dough and measured ingredients, analyzing toppings to determine the number of carbs and calories per slice.

When he started to share his recipes online, an encounter on Facebook would catapult his brand to the next level. It was an experience all too familiar to those who frequent the social network--- a run-in with the restrictive, yet vague, rules of Facebook groups.

Clemons had posted a photo of one of his pizzas in a group devoted to food, but he didn't know the admin's regulations.

"At the time, it said 'no advertisements.' But I really wasn't advertising, because I didn't have a business," Clemons explained. "So, I put it in that group and it had like 400 likes in 10 minutes. It was blowing up, because it was a very, very good looking pizza. And they deleted my post and they blocked me from the group."

Clemons took note of the reactions and decided to post the photo of the pizza to his personal profile to get feedback from people he knew.

"They were going crazy," he said. "People were asking like "Hey, you made that? How can I get one? How much is it?"

At the time, Clemons didn't have either a price or distribution plan for his pizzas. But he took a chance and sold one to a former classmate. When she posted it to her profile, the questions started raining in.

"People started asking her 'Where did you get that?' And she was going on about how it only had four or five carbs per slice and it started to blow up from there."

From that point on, Clemons started selling pizzas. Preparation time took a while in the early stages and he was initially only able to fill about seven to 10 orders per day. But as he nailed down his process, the orders continued to skyrocket.

"That same pizza is still on my Facebook page right now," said Clemons, proudly. "And I look back on that every now and then to just remind me of how far I came."

Clemons would name his popular recipe the Red Thunder. The pizza-- a pie with traditional red sauce, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, red onions, and red bell peppers-- would go on to be his signature dish and lay the foundation for his restaurant and its moniker.

The Red Thunder pizza from Bell Peppers

The signature Red Thunder pizza from Bell Peppers (Courtesy, Bell Peppers)

"I use bell peppers in a lot of my food. They have a very high nutritional value. Vitamins, minerals. I use bell peppers in a lot of different items. I also have bell pepper colors scattered throughout my restaurant. The red, the greens, stuff like that," said Clemons. "Bell peppers are nutritious and I decided to go with the name. It's a great name."

The menu

Clemons created the Bell Peppers menu of pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and breakfast dishes and he'll run the restaurant's kitchen full-time.

Patrons can expect pizzas topped with vegetables and lean meats: the White Thunder is an Alfredo-based pie topped with cheddar cheese, white onion, turkey, and peppers; the A.M. is Clemons' take on a breakfast pizza with scrambled eggs, smoked sausage, and a signature steak sauce as the base.

For those looking to test the bounds of his breakfast dishes, Clemons recommends the biscuits and gravy.

"It's not the runny gravy you see anywhere else. You know, the little runny, white gravy. It's completely different."

"I have a doughnut waffle. It's an almond flour waffle with a glaze that I created. And It's tremendous. It tastes just like a doughnut."

Since breakfast is on the menu all day at Bell Peppers, diners, he says, shouldn't be limited by the time.

"I don't really look at my waffles as breakfast. Because you would want to eat them any time."

And while his entry points to the low-carb world were pizza and breakfast dishes, Clemons is also a self professed "burger guy."

"When I used to go out to restaurants, back in the day, it didn't really matter where I went. If I went to a steakhouse, I was going to get a burger."

Clemons' top picks from the grill are the smoked Gouda burger and the steak burger. But for those who prefer to forego red meat, there's the gobbler-- a turkey sandwich with smoked turkey breast, blacked and cooked to a crisp.

"I've made everything. I've tasted everything. And I like everything," said Clemons. "The dishes that I called out are the ones that I would throw at somebody like, hey, try this."

DETAILS:

The grand opening of Bell Peppers is on July 11, 2020.

Opening hours| Monday: closed| Tuesday to Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. |Friday to Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.| Sunday- 1:00 to 7:00 p.m.

144 River Square Shopping Center, Bessemer, AL 35023

(located in the Piggly Wiggly shopping center)

Weld County retail food inspections for June 29 – July 4, 2020 - Greeley Tribune

Posted: 04 Jul 2020 05:15 PM PDT

Weld County evaluates restaurants, schools, grocery stores and other facilities that handle food on a scale of three categories — pass, re-inspection required, and closed. As part of the county's scoring index, officials evaluate facilities on factors such as cooling, reheating, cooking refrigeration and hot-holding equipment, cross-contamination between raw foods and ready-to-eat foods and employee hygiene, according to the county.

"Pass" — the establishment meets fundamental food safety standards. The establishment could have some priority, priority foundation or core violations. Some or all violations were corrected during inspection.

"Re-inspection required" — food safety violations were found and corrections may have been made, but the rating requires a re-inspection to ensure basic food standards are met.

"Closed" — significant unsanitary conditions or other imminent health hazards were found. The establishment has multiple priority, priority foundation or core violations representing high risk. Facility must cease operations until conditions and violations are corrected.

The following restaurants and facilities were evaluated from June 29-July 4, 2020.

GREELEY

7-Eleven #34924A, 2803 10th St. — Pass

Carniceria la Tuxpena, 2716 23rd Ave. — Re-inspection required

Country Inn and Suites, 2501 29th St. — Pass

Epic Egg Restaurant, 3830 10th St. — Re-inspection required

First Hand Management #111, 2304 Reservoir Road — Pass

Greeley Hotel Banquet, 919 7th St. — Pass

Hampton Inn and Suites, 2350 29th ST. — Pass

Kenny's Steakhouse, 3502 10th St. — Pass

Kum and Go #942, 6503 29th St. — Pass

Meekers, A Colorado Kitchen, 919 7th St. — Pass

Paragon Restaurant, 2725 10th St. — Pass

Ranch Restaurant, 714 6th St. — Pass

The Dugout Barbecue LLC, 2509 11th Ave. — Pass

The Fort 21, 985 18th St. — Pass

VVS Inc. Swift and Company, 800 8th Ave. — Re-inspection required

Westside Convenience Store, 4545 29th St. — Pass

Wyler's Pub and Grill LLC, 2385 27th St. — Pass

EVANS

7-Eleven Store #19088A, 1011 37th St. — Pass

Carniceria las IV Americas, 3505 11th Ave. — Pass

Loaf n Jug #852, 3200 23rd Ave. — Pass

South Philly Cheese Steaks, 2903 37th St. — Pass

Tacos y Salsas 2, 3230 23rd Ave. — Pass

WINDSOR

Quiznos Sub #5437, 1550 Main St. — Pass

Toast LLC, 205 4th St. — Pass

Vestas Windsor, 11140 Eastman Park Drive — Pass

Establishments marked with an * next to the score "closed" met requirements and were allowed to reopen the same day or the following day. 

Op-Ed: Will COVID-19 Boost the Local Food Movement? - Westword

Posted: 05 Jul 2020 07:11 AM PDT

Imagine a customer sitting at their favorite restaurant, perusing the menu and then asking the server: "Excuse me, where do your carrots come from? Are they locally grown?"

As states reopen after strict COVID-19 shutdowns, restaurants are getting back to business. But clearly, it won't be the same for diners or restaurants anytime soon, with social distancing and mask-wearing still the norm in many states. Another thing may be different as well: diners' preferences. 

During the pandemic lockdowns, many consumers had their first experience buying local, healthful food, from carrots to poultry to grass-fed beef, as the pandemic disrupted traditional supply chains and caused shortages and empty shelves at the supermarket.  

Many people, particularly in states that instituted strict lockdowns and social distancing to slow the pandemic's spread, opted to avoid supermarkets altogether. They helped boost the businesses of meal-kit companies and home-delivery services — at least for the duration of the lockdowns.

Local farmers also stepped up to provide direct-to-consumer sales through Community Supported Agriculture boxes and other means. And many small, local restaurants and wholesalers suddenly found themselves in the grocery business. In New York, a company called Walden Local Meat delivered chicken, eggs and fish from local and regional producers direct to consumers, PBS NewsHour reported.

Here in Denver, FoodMaven, my company that constantly seeks to transform and improve the food system, pivoted from just supplying restaurants and institutions with imperfect and surplus food, often from local sources, to selling food in bulk to consumers for curbside pick-up and home delivery. Meanwhile, Rockey Farms in the San Luis Valley sent its potatoes to food banks and the Navajo Nation, and repackaged crops for retail stores. Reported the Colorado Sun, "They joined an army of farmers and ranchers across the country who are reshaping their industry after a historic collapse of supply chains and processing in the pandemic." 

Direct-to-consumer food sales have clearly boomed during the pandemic, but it remains to be seen what changes in consumer behavior will stay. Once people start frequenting restaurants again, establishments will weigh whether to go back to the old way of doing business or introduce new practices and menus that meet new consumer preference. Will they return to using their old supply chains, or will they incorporate more local foods and ingredients on their menus that came to market during the shutdowns?

Putting more emphasis on local supply chains makes sense from many perspectives. The World Economic Forum noted the need in a post-COVID world for "supporting local food systems with shorter, fairer and cleaner supply chains that address local priorities." 

The local movement clearly is growing, along with consumer demand. Groups like the Good Meat Project, which has helped start meat collectives around the country, are making it easier to buy local, ethically raised meat. "We are committed to building pathways for consumers, farmers, chefs, butchers and other food professionals to bring good, clean, fair meat to the table in their own communities," the organization states on its website.  

Why emphasize local? Here are just a few of the advantages to improving local supply chains.

More resilience. The shutdown of meat processing plants due to high rates of COVID-19 exposed the drawbacks of relying on just a few national producers for the nation's meat supply. Author Michael Pollan told PBS that having more small and mid-sized regional and local producers in the supply chain would result in some redundancy, but that would also ensure more resiliency, in case a plant had to be shut down.

Consumer loyalty. Consumers like knowing they are supporting the businesses in their community, whether it is the small local bakery that makes amazing sourdough bread or the local farmer who makes goat cheese from his own flock.

Taste and quality. Locally produced foods that don't have to travel hundreds of miles often taste fresher. And small producers often favor unique niche and specialty items that offer local chefs more variety and flexibility —the heirloom tomato for the simply perfect salad or a tender cut of local grass-fed beef for the daily special.

Smaller carbon footprint. Food that doesn't have to travel cross-country results in fewer carbon emissions. It's a win-win for the environment and for local businesses, whose customers perceive their commitment to environmental concerns. When consumers are closer to production, there's also less concern about interstate travel restrictions that may vary from state to state. That means food will get from farm to fork with fewer delays.

Less waste. By capturing food coming from local sources, chefs and consumers can ensure more local product gets to market and doesn't end up wasted. It's not possible to source everything locally in Colorado, but we have a great variety of produce and proteins that often get shipped out of state rather than being sold nearby.  

There's no doubt that restaurants have struggled to stay afloat through this pandemic. Offering takeout and home delivery alone was not profitable for many, and we suspect many restaurants won't be able to afford a complete shift to local sourcing. The infrastructure just isn't there yet to make it truly easy for farmers to connect with their local markets, but we may see an increase of local products on menus as local food systems got a growth spurt during the shutdowns.

Sourcing ingredients locally can certainly yield culinary surprises and win diners' hearts, but it can also be more expensive. If the local food movement is going to continue to grow and influence our food system, policy makers, restaurants and food retailers will have to take a hard look at how they can create viable markets and distribution of local food.  

Ben Deda is the CEO of FoodMaven and oversees the operations of the socially conscious, for-profit company founded in 2015. He has held senior and executive leadership roles at Vertafore, Galvanize, FullContact and TruStile in operations, sales, marketing and support. Deda is also a co-founder and board member of Denver Startup Week, the largest free entrepreneurial event in North America. Ben has an MBA from the University of Denver and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Westword occasionally publishes op-eds and essays on matters of interest to the Denver community. Have one you'd like to submit? Send it to editorial@westword.com, where you can also comment on this piece.

New Jersey caps third-party food delivery fees, Uber removes Jersey City surcharge - nj.com

Posted: 05 Jul 2020 12:12 PM PDT

One restaurant owner spent three months in the middle of a pandemic developing her own online ordering platform. Another worked exclusively with the delivery app companies that charge the lowest commissions.

They were working to avoid the service fees apps like Uber Eats charge restaurants, which often reach up to 30%, while transitioning for the first time to exclusively take-out and delivery operations.

Now, nearly four months into the pandemic, no restaurant in New Jersey will have to provide more than 20% of its sale value to the company facilitating the delivery. That maximum is 10% when the order is delivered by someone the restaurant hired itself.

The legislation signed by Gov. Phil Murphy comes on the heels of local efforts to do the same, and both local officials and restaurant owners said they applaud the move.

"I'm proud of the effort that we put forth in Hoboken and that our statewide leaders listened to our local dialogue and carried it to a statewide law," said Hoboken Councilman Mike DeFusco, who introduced a 10% service fee cap in the city that was never brought to a final vote.

In Jersey City, a 10% cap had been in place since early March, when Mayor Steven Fulop signed an executive order.

"I'm happy that the state has followed suit and we think that ultimately this will be a benefit to businesses and hopefully keep some of the businesses open long term," he said.

Uber Eats instituted a $3 customer surcharge in light of the city's legislation, which it has since lifted due to the state legislation being less restrictive than Jersey City's.

Lizeth Morales, who owns El Gordo Peruvian Eatery in the Jersey City Heights and Passaic, said she was happy when the city passed the order and similarly supports the statewide move.

Though she saw an enormous spike in delivery orders in March, her monthly bills with Grubhub, Uber Eats and Seamless were maddening, she said.

"Here I am I'm exposing not just myself, my team every day because we want to work and I want to make sure that they still have a salary," Morales said. "To just see them take a large chunk it was just very frustrating and not only that it was more frustrating because their logistics weren't 100% effective. Drivers not showing up wearing masks, not showing up wearing gloves, not showing up on time."

She spent three months working with a marketer to create a food ordering portal on her restaurant's website, which wouldn't cost her a commission for every order. It debuted in June.

A few weeks earlier, Jersey City's legislation passed and Uber Eats' began charging customers there a $3 surcharge. She saw about a 20% decline in orders, Morales said.

Still, she appreciates the service fee cap and wants the statewide cap to continue beyond the pandemic.

"(The apps are) easy to use," Morales said. "Consumers love it. I tend to use it too sometimes ...but especially given everything they're just not really helping out small businesses like mine."

Even before Max's Restaurant in Journal Square transitioned fully to delivery, owner Celeste Ferrer avoided partnering with the delivery companies that charged the highest fees. She couldn't justify the profit margin, she said.

"If they really want our restaurant, they're going to look for it wherever they find it," she said of her customers.

The state's 20% cap means that Jersey City's original 10% cap has now doubled. Fulop said he's fine with that.

"I think that the proof that it was the right decision is when you are copied," the mayor said. "We'll follow the structure of the state."

Regina’s Food Pantry continues to provide food for families in need with curbside drop-off - WWLP.com

Posted: 05 Jul 2020 01:41 PM PDT

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – The First Congregational Church of Chicopee held a food drive Sunday for those in need.

The church welcomed curbside drop-off of needed supplies like bottled water and non-perishable food items.

Donations will benefit Regina's Food Pantry and Loaves and Fishes Street Ministry, which provides nutritional aid to those living without homes.

Last week, the church collected food donations from more than 20 people. 22News spoke with Pastor Grimes who said, "It's coming from the community, not just our church but people who aren't even in our church."

He noted, "The one thing of online worship is we've reached a lot of people and they're now bringing back donations."

Pastor Grimes told 22News that the ministry is growing and so is the need. If you have food items you'd like to drop off, the church is open every day.

If you would like to make a donation appointment you can contact the food pantry at (413)-592-0396.

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