Marco Shalma

Editor-in-Chief, We Eat Here. Food culture from the operator's view. 20-year NYC hospitality veteran.

State Of The Street

ASS-COVERING IS KILLING NEW YORK. CHOOSE RISK, CHARACTER, OR ACCEPT MEDIOCRITY.

Mar 18, 2026

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8 min read

ASS-COVERING IS KILLING NEW YORK. CHOOSE RISK, CHARACTER, OR ACCEPT MEDIOCRITY.

New York did not become New York by following a rulebook.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

PBMS ARE CONSOLIDATING HEALTHCARE WHILE NEIGHBORHOOD PHARMACIES BLEED OUT

Mar 17, 2026

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8 min read

PBMS ARE CONSOLIDATING HEALTHCARE WHILE NEIGHBORHOOD PHARMACIES BLEED OUT

Reimbursement math, spread pricing, and vertical integration are pushing independent drugstores toward extinction in plain sight

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN OPERATOR CITY IS GOVERNED BY POLICY PROFESSIONALS

Mar 16, 2026

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7 min read

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN OPERATOR CITY IS GOVERNED BY POLICY PROFESSIONALS

New York’s economy runs on immigrants, small businesses, and operators managing daily execution risk. City Hall leadership increasingly comes from institutional policy pipelines.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THIS IS HOW INFLUENCERS SCAMMED SMALL BUSINESSES AND TRAINED US TO ACCEPT IT

Mar 15, 2026

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5 min read

THIS IS HOW INFLUENCERS SCAMMED SMALL BUSINESSES AND TRAINED US TO ACCEPT IT

For a decade, small businesses were told exposure was oxygen. If the right account posted you, lines would form, rent would get paid, and momentum would follow. The pitch was simple. Give a free meal. Pay a fee. Trust the reach.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WALK-INS DISAPPEARED AND WITH THEM WENT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF NEW YORK

Mar 11, 2026

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7 min read

WALK-INS DISAPPEARED AND WITH THEM WENT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF NEW YORK

For most of the city’s history, restaurants operated on a simple system that matched the pace of the streets.

Marco Shalma

Off The Menu

Mar 11, 2026

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7 min read

A NEW YORKER, 72 HOURS, MADRID, SPAIN

What happens when New York habits collide with a city that refuses to rush, perform, or accommodate your urgency.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

EMPOWER EXPOSED THE RIDESHARE FEE MODEL. FOOD DELIVERY IS NEXT IN LINE.

Mar 11, 2026

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5 min read

EMPOWER EXPOSED THE RIDESHARE FEE MODEL. FOOD DELIVERY IS NEXT IN LINE.

Rideshare disruption works because the product is a driver and a rider. Two parties. Food delivery is a four-sided market. Restaurant. Courier. Customer. Platform. Each has different incentives.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WHY IT IS SUDDENLY SO HARD TO GET A TABLE IN NEW YORK

Mar 10, 2026

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7 min read

WHY IT IS SUDDENLY SO HARD TO GET A TABLE IN NEW YORK

Reservation systems were built to optimize restaurants. They accidentally changed who gets to eat.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

NEW YORK REGULATES A SIX-PERSON BODEGA LIKE A 400-EMPLOYEE COMPANY

Mar 9, 2026

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7 min read

NEW YORK REGULATES A SIX-PERSON BODEGA LIKE A 400-EMPLOYEE COMPANY

Federal and city law collapse micro-businesses into “small business,” then govern Main Street with rules built for scale, staff, and legal teams most operators will never have.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WHAT ALL RESTAURANTS CLOSING IN NEW YORK HAVE IN COMMON

Mar 1, 2026

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7 min read

WHAT ALL RESTAURANTS CLOSING IN NEW YORK HAVE IN COMMON

For more than twenty years, I’ve watched restaurants open and close in New York City from the inside. Not as a diner chasing openings, and not as someone reading about the scene after the fact. I’ve worked alongside operators, hired vendors, produced food markets, and sat with owners as they tried to understand why a place that looked “successful” on paper suddenly stopped working.

Marco Shalma

New York Series

STATE OF THE STREET: MANHATTAN, THE BOROUGH THAT RUNS THE CITY AND SHAPES THE RULES FOR EVERYONE ELSE.

Feb 28, 2026

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7 min read

STATE OF THE STREET: MANHATTAN, THE BOROUGH THAT RUNS THE CITY AND SHAPES THE RULES FOR EVERYONE ELSE.

Manhattan is New York’s financial, political, and symbolic center, governed to optimize capital and visibility, while its priorities quietly shape outcomes across all other boroughs.

Marco Shalma

New York Series

STATE OF THE STREET: QUEENS THE BOROUGH THAT CONNECTS THE WORLD AND IS GOVERNED LIKE A PERIPHERY.

Feb 28, 2026

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8 min read

STATE OF THE STREET: QUEENS THE BOROUGH THAT CONNECTS THE WORLD AND IS GOVERNED LIKE A PERIPHERY.

Queens functions as New York City’s global gateway, logistics hub, and immigrant backbone, yet remains governed by centralized systems that undervalue complexity and constrain local economic potential.

Marco Shalma

New York Series

STATEN ISLAND THE BOROUGH THAT WAS NEVER GOVERNED ON ITS OWN TERMS

Feb 25, 2026

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8 min read

STATEN ISLAND THE BOROUGH THAT WAS NEVER GOVERNED ON ITS OWN TERMS

Staten Island operates with suburban infrastructure, car dependency, and distinct civic needs, yet is governed by centralized systems built for dense urban cores, producing predictable and persistent dysfunction.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE REAL YANKEES VS METS RIVALRY IS FOUGHT IN THE FOOD COURT

Feb 25, 2026

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7 min read

THE REAL YANKEES VS METS RIVALRY IS FOUGHT IN THE FOOD COURT

There are two baseball teams in New York. And then there are two food cultures pretending they are just about baseball.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY COULD BE A WEBSITE AND THAT QUESTION MATTERS MORE THAN PEOPLE WANT TO ADMIT

Feb 23, 2026

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6 min read

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY COULD BE A WEBSITE AND THAT QUESTION MATTERS MORE THAN PEOPLE WANT TO ADMIT

This is not an argument against science, education, or culture. It’s an argument about space, relevance, and opportunity cost in a city that claims it has none of those to spare. The discomfort around this question comes less from its logic than from how untouchable the institution has become.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

YOUR FAVORITE NYC PLACES ARE JUST CHAINS FOR PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY’RE TOO SMART FOR CHAINS

Feb 21, 2026

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7 min read

YOUR FAVORITE NYC PLACES ARE JUST CHAINS FOR PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY’RE TOO SMART FOR CHAINS

New York did not lose its culture. We replaced unpredictability with scalable comfort and convinced ourselves it was taste.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

BIDS WERE CREATED TO REDUCE FRICTION ON THE STREET. NEW YORK SHOULD LET THEM DO THEIR JOB.

Feb 20, 2026

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7 min read

BIDS WERE CREATED TO REDUCE FRICTION ON THE STREET. NEW YORK SHOULD LET THEM DO THEIR JOB.

BIDs emerged in New York in the late 1980s and early 1990s during a period of fiscal strain, rising vacancies, and declining foot traffic across many commercial corridors. The city needed a localized mechanism that could act faster than centralized agencies. Property owners agreed to self-assess within defined boundaries, and that money stayed inside the district to fund services the city could not reliably deliver on its own.

Marco Shalma

New York Series

STATE OF THE STREET: THE BRONX THE BOROUGH THAT FEEDS THE CITY AND PAYS THE HIGHEST PRICE FOR IT

Feb 18, 2026

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8 min read

STATE OF THE STREET: THE BRONX THE BOROUGH THAT FEEDS THE CITY AND PAYS THE HIGHEST PRICE FOR IT

The Bronx powers New York’s labor, food, and culture while absorbing the city’s heaviest burdens, governed by systems that extract value without granting local authority or accountability.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WHY VEGANISM FEELS AGGRESSIVE IN NEW YORK EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS YELLING

Feb 18, 2026

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5 min read

WHY VEGANISM FEELS AGGRESSIVE IN NEW YORK EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS YELLING

This isn’t about tofu. It’s about what happens when food stops being food and turns into a moral position in a city built on shared tables.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

HOW FOOD MEDIA TURNED NEW YORK INTO A CITY OF OPENINGS, NOT INSTITUTIONS

Feb 18, 2026

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8 min read

HOW FOOD MEDIA TURNED NEW YORK INTO A CITY OF OPENINGS, NOT INSTITUTIONS

After 25 years in New York hospitality, I’ve watched food media reward hype over durability, tourists over locals, and openings over the institutions that actually hold this city together.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

NYC’S OUTDOOR DINING REVIVAL EXPOSES HOW THE CITY REALLY REGULATES SMALL BUSINESS

Feb 17, 2026

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6 min read

NYC’S OUTDOOR DINING REVIVAL EXPOSES HOW THE CITY REALLY REGULATES SMALL BUSINESS

After chaos, delays, and rising fees, City Hall wants year-round dining back. The real test is whether regulation protects neighborhoods without squeezing independent operators dry.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

Feb 16, 2026

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6 min read

YOUR FAVORITE NYC “INDEPENDENT” BRAND WAS BUILT TO BE SOLD, NOT TO STAY

New York loves the mythology of the independent brand. The founder who knows your name. The staff that’s been there since day one. The sense that something real carved out space in a city that eats most things alive.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

NEW YORK OPERATES LIKE A NO-RISK CORPORATION AND COMMUNITIES PAY THE PRICE

Feb 15, 2026

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7 min read

NEW YORK OPERATES LIKE A NO-RISK CORPORATION AND COMMUNITIES PAY THE PRICE

New York loves to call itself a city. In practice, it behaves more like a corporation. A very large one. A no-risk one. One that never has to compete, never has to innovate to survive, and never has to downsize when performance slips. When pressure hits, it does what bad corporations do best. It protects itself first and pushes the cost outward.

Marco Shalma

New York Series

STATE OF THE STREET: BROOKLYN, THE BOROUGH THAT BUILT THE CULTURE AND LOST CONTROL OF THE SYSTEMS THAT SHAPED IT

Feb 12, 2026

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7 min read

STATE OF THE STREET: BROOKLYN, THE BOROUGH THAT BUILT THE CULTURE AND LOST CONTROL OF THE SYSTEMS THAT SHAPED IT

Brooklyn became New York’s cultural and economic engine while being governed by centralized systems that slowed growth, filtered out small operators, and replaced local control with uniform regulation.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WE ARE ALL OK PRETENDING WE CARE ABOUT FOOD WASTE AS LONG AS WE DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT

Feb 11, 2026

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6 min read

WE ARE ALL OK PRETENDING WE CARE ABOUT FOOD WASTE AS LONG AS WE DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT

New York loves the idea of caring. We love the language of responsibility. We love signaling awareness. Climate-aware. Systems-aware. Morally alert. What we do not love is inconvenience. Or restraint. Or changing habits that feel good, indulgent, or socially accepted.

Marco Shalma

Marco Shalma

ASS-COVERING IS KILLING NEW YORK. CHOOSE RISK, CHARACTER, OR ACCEPT MEDIOCRITY.

PBMS ARE CONSOLIDATING HEALTHCARE WHILE NEIGHBORHOOD PHARMACIES BLEED OUT

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN OPERATOR CITY IS GOVERNED BY POLICY PROFESSIONALS

THIS IS HOW INFLUENCERS SCAMMED SMALL BUSINESSES AND TRAINED US TO ACCEPT IT

WALK-INS DISAPPEARED AND WITH THEM WENT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF NEW YORK

A NEW YORKER, 72 HOURS, MADRID, SPAIN

EMPOWER EXPOSED THE RIDESHARE FEE MODEL. FOOD DELIVERY IS NEXT IN LINE.

WHY IT IS SUDDENLY SO HARD TO GET A TABLE IN NEW YORK

NEW YORK REGULATES A SIX-PERSON BODEGA LIKE A 400-EMPLOYEE COMPANY

WHAT ALL RESTAURANTS CLOSING IN NEW YORK HAVE IN COMMON

STATE OF THE STREET: MANHATTAN, THE BOROUGH THAT RUNS THE CITY AND SHAPES THE RULES FOR EVERYONE ELSE.

STATE OF THE STREET: QUEENS THE BOROUGH THAT CONNECTS THE WORLD AND IS GOVERNED LIKE A PERIPHERY.

STATEN ISLAND THE BOROUGH THAT WAS NEVER GOVERNED ON ITS OWN TERMS

THE REAL YANKEES VS METS RIVALRY IS FOUGHT IN THE FOOD COURT

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY COULD BE A WEBSITE AND THAT QUESTION MATTERS MORE THAN PEOPLE WANT TO ADMIT

YOUR FAVORITE NYC PLACES ARE JUST CHAINS FOR PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY’RE TOO SMART FOR CHAINS

BIDS WERE CREATED TO REDUCE FRICTION ON THE STREET. NEW YORK SHOULD LET THEM DO THEIR JOB.

STATE OF THE STREET: THE BRONX THE BOROUGH THAT FEEDS THE CITY AND PAYS THE HIGHEST PRICE FOR IT

WHY VEGANISM FEELS AGGRESSIVE IN NEW YORK EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS YELLING

HOW FOOD MEDIA TURNED NEW YORK INTO A CITY OF OPENINGS, NOT INSTITUTIONS

NYC’S OUTDOOR DINING REVIVAL EXPOSES HOW THE CITY REALLY REGULATES SMALL BUSINESS

YOUR FAVORITE NYC “INDEPENDENT” BRAND WAS BUILT TO BE SOLD, NOT TO STAY

NEW YORK OPERATES LIKE A NO-RISK CORPORATION AND COMMUNITIES PAY THE PRICE

STATE OF THE STREET: BROOKLYN, THE BOROUGH THAT BUILT THE CULTURE AND LOST CONTROL OF THE SYSTEMS THAT SHAPED IT

WE ARE ALL OK PRETENDING WE CARE ABOUT FOOD WASTE AS LONG AS WE DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT

Born Hungry™