The Final Letter from the Publisher
To say that we have all had our challenges these last few months is an understatement. Lives have been lost in so many ways. During my culinary school days, I externed under chef Floyd Cardoz. He commanded his kitchen with unsappy sweetness and strict aplomb. He terrified me, and I wanted nothing more than to impress him with my skills. His loss made COVID-19 profoundly real to me.
Our lives have been unapologetically altered by this disease. Beloved servers whose kind smiles and the occasional “topping up” provided solace on lonely evenings—their restaurants are now shuttered. Writers, illustrators, designers, photographers, the backbone of Edible Queens magazine—they now struggle to find their next assignment. Shops where readers excitedly picked up their next issue—while some may remain open, they are filled with leery customers, understandably afraid of collecting non-essential products.
These are troubling times for small businesses and Edible Queens, while belonging to a network of over 80 magazines across the United States and Canada, is a small business owned by me. I have decided to close Edible Queens.
I want to use this newsletter to thank all of our contributors. You are the finest out there and it has been a privilege editing your stories and perusing your images. Our editor, Abby Carney, and photo editor, Ed Lefkowiscz, with whom I started this journey filled with optimism and promise, thank you for your contributions and support. I want to acknowledge the thoughtful work in various capacities of Donna, Colleen, Chloe, Laura, Nichole, Malia, Olivia, Fran and Carolina, who have worked with EQ at different points throughout its long three years. Lastly, I want to say a special thank you to our social media editor, Tess Falotico, who has engaged our readers with thoughtful and clever posts, whose unflagging support and talent have motivated me during these challenging weeks.
While we will go silent on May 29, I wanted to share what would have been our third annual Women’s issue. Beginning on Monday, May 11th, will post a new story each day on social media with a link to our website. Additionally, we will continue to update our COVID resources listings until then.
Finally, a plug for two unemployed writers and content creators. If you are interested in creating interesting content, have trouble setting up your newsletter, are interested in writing a cookbook or whatever other idea you can think of, please reach out to Tess at TessFalotico@gmail.com or me at EdibleQueens@gmail.com. Follow us on social media @TessFalotico and @ClaudiaSanchezMahedy
It has been a pleasure to provide you with high-quality, local food stories. I look forward to seeing you on the other side of this.
Claudia
