The End of the Golden Age of Silicon Valley Cafeterias
The pandemic is threatening to permanently upend a unique attribute of the Bay Area’s food service industry.
Chef April Word lost her job at Thumbtack in October.
Photographer: Cayce Clifford for Bloomberg Businessweek
Mohammed Badri became a cook at the Tuck Shop, Dropbox Inc.’s corporate cafeteria, early in 2019. By most measures, the gig in what was then known as one of Silicon Valley’s best cafeterias was a dream job. He made such dishes as marinated ahi tuna with spiced watermelon water and pickled vegetables, and kofta flatbread with arugula salad—and never had to make the same thing twice.
Badri wasn’t a Dropbox employee, having been hired instead through a third-party contracting firm. Still, working in a tech company’s kitchen paid competitively and offered more stability than his previous restaurant jobs. He also didn’t have to do the brutal 12- to 15-hour shifts he’d endured in the conventional food industry.