Necessary Change?

As widely reported, Mike Isabella is shutting down all of his DC area restaurants after Christmas.  I don't want to dance on his grave.  It's sad, nearly as sad as what caused this -- a toxic environment for his female employees.  A ton of restaurant workers now have to stress over the holidays as to how they are going to pay the rent in January.  I never made it to the well-rated Arroz but had mixed feelings about his Arlington establishments.  Kapnos was great, Pepita was lousy and Yona clocked in terrific in my first visit and terrible in my second.  I do believe things happen for a reason though.  It's not so much that Mike Isabella did bad, it's that he did the kind of bad that has been going on forever, and it's time to get woke.  TV "reality" shows be darned.  A dominant male, slightly tipsy, moody, flirty head chef and restaurateur is no longer acceptable.  For that matter, female chefs and restaurateurs still make up a teenier portion of this industry than in almost every other business.  There are fewer notable female chefs than there are new female representatives in Congress.  It's time for the food industry to get with the times and realize that women are just human beings who are capable of creating amazing meals ~and~ running complex businesses.  Let's use the Isabella downfall not simply as a single lesson learned but a chance to take a step forward.  I, for one, would be thrilled if the replacement restaurants are female-forward.