Seven silver linings from Victoria s lockdowns: How chefs and restaurateurs made the pandemic work for them
Dani Valent
Photo: Eddie Jim
It was the year that pushed the state s restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs to the brink. But bright spots have emerged that may change dining forever.
A year ago, a few weeks into our national COVID-19 lockdown, Victorian hospitality operators were already hoping to use pandemic-enforced disruption as an opportunity to create permanent, positive adjustments to an industry that has been notoriously tough on bodies, minds and balance sheets. A year and a couple more lockdowns later, the state is open, eating and – in some pockets at least – thriving.
Lori Piestewa
2003: First American Indian woman to die in combat on foreign soil From Army.Mil, American Indians in the Army
One Sunday morning, Percy Piestewa received a call from her daughter Lori, a Soldier with the 507th Maintenance Company stationed on Fort Bliss. “Mom, we’re deploying tomorrow,” Lori said.
It was the day after the Hopi Powamu, or Bean Dance Ceremony, in which the Hopi people pray for an abundance of water, food, good weather and peace in the coming year. Percy’s husband Terry had been preparing for weeks. He’d run himself ragged with last-minute details in the four days preceding the event and had been up all night participating in the traditional dances. “I’m not sure I can go,” he told his wife. “I’m too tired to drive.” It’s several hours by car from Tuba City, Ariz., to El Paso, Texas, and one of them would have to return with Lori’s car while the other returned in the Family car.