Paying it forward: Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market raised its starting minimum wage to $10.10 on Friday, vowing not to increase prices for customers. In a statement, owner Rick Hood said, “Ellwood’s employees are the heart and soul of this small, local business, and we want to offer them a higher quality of life.”
St. Gertrude Gators: Restaurants including Mellow Mushroom, Pomegranate and Mosaic are among more than 20 restaurants and caterers coming together for St. Gertrude’s fifth annual Gator Gourmet in support of the school on Wednesday, April 29, from 5:30-8 p.m. Taste a little wine or craft beer, too, and vote for the best booth, dish and dessert. Tickets are $25 and available at saintgertrude.org/gatorgourmet.
Simplified aisles: The German-based supermarket chain Aldi introduced its stripped-down approach to groceries when it opened the first of five stores planned for the Richmond area at 1776 N. Parham Road on Thursday. A second store also opened in Colonial Heights and another is scheduled for Hanover County. Although Aldi keeps prices low by focusing only on core grocery items, Richmonders who’ve barely figured out how to load groceries into their cars without Ukrop’s bag boys doing it for them might have a tough time figuring out the 25-cent deposit required for grocery carts, the grocery bags available only for purchase and the lack of credit-card processing. Aldi accepts only cash, debit or EBT cards. aldi.us.
Rebirth: Corey Friedman was forced to close his popular barbecue restaurant in the West End, Grandpa Eddie’s Alabama Ribs & Barbecue, four years ago. (The spot now houses Tarrants West.) But Friedman hasn’t given up on the concept. He started an online fundraising campaign using Go Fund Me to relaunch Grandpa Eddie’s as a food truck. To learn more about Friedman’s plans, visit gofundme.com/qgveqs.