“When The Raw Nerve Gets Exposed” – Chef Jason Vincent of Giant Chicago on Fighting for Survival

About This Episode

How will the restaurant industry survive the coronavirus? Chef Jason Vincent (Giant, Chef Special) joins Billy Shore from his home quarantine in Chicago to talk about the difficult decisions he’s had to make as a restaurant owner in these challenging times. Vincent believes the current crisis is putting a magnifying glass on long-standing problems like healthcare. “It's a tough lesson to have to learn in a terrible time, but lots of stuff needs to get fixed,” he says. He decided early on to keep providing health insurance to his employees during the shutdown. Vincent is concerned the pandemic may exacerbate mental health issues in the restaurant workforce. “This is when the raw nerve gets exposed… people who don't like being alone, being made to be alone. It gets touchy real fast,” explains Vincent. A father of two young girls, he also worries about what the crisis may do to the mental state of kids. “You see the crinkles on their faces when they hear the word coronavirus on the news. You see their pause after hearing about a ventilator,” he explains. Join us for this deeply personal and important conversation with an employer, activist and father fighting to help others survive this crisis.