3 ms·

The most intriguing part is that you not only have to bake your own bread, you also have to sell it standalone (not just part of a burger/sub). Seems like it wo

The most intriguing part is that you not only have to bake your own bread, you also have to sell it standalone (not just part of a burger/sub). Seems like it would be very easy for Subway to start selling their store-baked bread standalone — have they done this already, or are they paying the new wage?

sroussey 3y ago
I think it was done for donuts shops.
akira2501 3y ago
You have to have been selling bread this way when the law took effect, is my understanding.. so, you can't just start handing out loaves of bread tomorrow and then claim the exemption. It's not that just one provision of the law appears corrupt, it's that so many other peculiar provisions point to corruption as well, as if being someone who retailed bread in 2023 makes you different from someone who does so in 2024.
- gnicholas 3y ago
  Interesting, it does look like you have to have been baking bread as of 2022, but the part about selling it separately is phrased in the present tense. This has two effects: • Subway-type restaurants could be exempt if they start selling bread standalone, so long as they were baking bread in 2022 • any restaurant/donut shop/etc. would not qualify for the exemption if they were not operating in 2022. I have not read the whole law, just this part: > (i) An establishment that on September 1, 2022, operates a bakery that produces for sale on the establishment’s premises bread as defined under Part 136 of Subchapter B of Chapter I of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations shall not be considered a fast food restaurant, so long as it continues to operate such a bakery. This exemption applies only where the establishment produces for sale bread as a stand-alone menu item, and does not apply if the bread is available for sale solely as part of another menu item. [1] 1: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB257 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtm...
  - akira2501 3y ago
    Okay, so if you go to Part 136 of that CFR reference you arrive here: The word bread when used in the name of the food means the unit weighs one-half pound or more after cooling. So, how much does a subway loaf weigh? [0]: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-136/subpart-A/section-136.3 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B...
    - gnicholas 3y ago
      Good question, but how would donut shops fare under this rule? Another commenter below suggested this was the reason for the carveout. I can’t imagine a donut that weighs that much! Maybe a bear claw filled with nuts?
harrisi 3y ago
I'm not sure what the exact timeline was, but they are selling pretzels and churros now. Part of me would be surprised if this was due to a single state's laws, but it also wouldn't be too surprising if it was for a legal foothold. Seems like an easy gamble. They are provided by other companies (Auntie Anne's for the pretzels, Cinnabon for the churros), which seems like both a reason they wouldn't be exempt (they don't "produce" it), and a reason for doing it (it's easier and quicker to have an established company/companies provide it to get it done before having to train people and update POS's). Confusingly, I could have always bought a loaf of sandwich bread from Subway - I can just ask for a sandwich with nothing on it, and the employees don't care. I don't believe they actually mix ingredients to make a dough that they then bake, though.

sroussey 3y ago

I think it was done for donuts shops.

akira2501 3y ago

You have to have been selling bread this way when the law took effect, is my understanding.. so, you can't just start handing out loaves of bread tomorrow and then claim the exemption. It's not that just one provision of the law appears corrupt, it's that so many other peculiar provisions point to corruption as well, as if being someone who retailed bread in 2023 makes you different from someone who does so in 2024.

gnicholas 3y ago
Interesting, it does look like you have to have been baking bread as of 2022, but the part about selling it separately is phrased in the present tense. This has two effects: • Subway-type restaurants could be exempt if they start selling bread standalone, so long as they were baking bread in 2022 • any restaurant/donut shop/etc. would not qualify for the exemption if they were not operating in 2022. I have not read the whole law, just this part: > (i) An establishment that on September 1, 2022, operates a bakery that produces for sale on the establishment’s premises bread as defined under Part 136 of Subchapter B of Chapter I of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations shall not be considered a fast food restaurant, so long as it continues to operate such a bakery. This exemption applies only where the establishment produces for sale bread as a stand-alone menu item, and does not apply if the bread is available for sale solely as part of another menu item. [1] 1: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB257 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtm...
- akira2501 3y ago
  Okay, so if you go to Part 136 of that CFR reference you arrive here: The word bread when used in the name of the food means the unit weighs one-half pound or more after cooling. So, how much does a subway loaf weigh? [0]: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-136/subpart-A/section-136.3 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B...
  - gnicholas 3y ago
    Good question, but how would donut shops fare under this rule? Another commenter below suggested this was the reason for the carveout. I can’t imagine a donut that weighs that much! Maybe a bear claw filled with nuts?

harrisi 3y ago

I'm not sure what the exact timeline was, but they are selling pretzels and churros now. Part of me would be surprised if this was due to a single state's laws, but it also wouldn't be too surprising if it was for a legal foothold. Seems like an easy gamble. They are provided by other companies (Auntie Anne's for the pretzels, Cinnabon for the churros), which seems like both a reason they wouldn't be exempt (they don't "produce" it), and a reason for doing it (it's easier and quicker to have an established company/companies provide it to get it done before having to train people and update POS's). Confusingly, I could have always bought a loaf of sandwich bread from Subway - I can just ask for a sandwich with nothing on it, and the employees don't care. I don't believe they actually mix ingredients to make a dough that they then bake, though.