How to Pitch Stories to Eater SF

If there’s anything the last few years have taught us, it’s that nearly every story can be a food industry story, from the economic impact restaurant closures have on startups and apps, to how climate change is destroying wineries and restaurants, to how one tech company’s decision could change the face of a downtown area’s restaurants. And that’s in addition to Eater SF’s longstanding coverage areas: restaurant openings and closings, deep dives on local food culture, and insights into remarkable dishes.

We’re always looking for more stories that inform and engage our readers, like the articles you can see on our homepage any day of the week. We, of course, love tips (email us at [email protected]), but also accept pitches from writers and those who aspire to write.

All that we ask is that every aspect of your pitch conforms to Eater’s code of ethics (especially when it comes to conflicts of interest, other employment, and comps and gifts), and that it involves original insights, reporting, and analysis. We get the same press releases everyone else does, so strong preference will be given to story pitches that arise from your personal expertise, revelations, or finds over ideas proposed by media relations teams. We are especially interested in working with those whose voices are often underrepresented in media, and people who are just beginning their careers in journalism.

Here are some of the types of pitches we’d love to get:

• Scoops, or breaking news restaurants — and food in cities and neighborhoods — that haven’t gotten much coverage in the Bay Area. If you’ve come across a restaurant, pop-up, or food cart that seems truly unique in some way, and no other publication has mentioned it, then that might be a story we want to cover. For example, if someone is slinging the most amazing arepas out of their driveway in Redwood City, we would love to hear about it.
• From a geographic standpoint, we’re interested in pitches about San Francisco, but — more than ever — we’re looking to the East Bay, South Bay, Peninsula, and greater Northern California region. In particular, we are interested in the wealth of exceptional restaurants that serve the various immigrant communities in the South Bay and Peninsula: Filipino, Vietnamese, Samoan, Indian, Chinese, and so on. If you’re someone who is tapped into those food communities, we would love to hear your ideas for breaking news, feature stories, and curated maps.
• We occasionally commission a variety of long- or medium-form feature stories: chef or restaurant profiles, investigations, restaurant-centric personal essays, or deep dives into particular cuisines or food communities. If you have a great, off-the-wall idea that doesn’t fit into any of these categories, go ahead and send it. We’ll let you know if it works for us.

Send pitches to [email protected]. In your pitch, please clearly explain your angle on the topic, tell us why you’re uniquely positioned to report the story, and (if you have them — it’s fine if you don’t) include links to your prior work. If a particular chef or business has a backstory that’s interesting or timely, find that out ahead of time and include it in your pitch. Also, please always do a search n your subject! Find out what’s already been written, the background, and how your pitch is pushing a story forward. We try to answer all pitches that come in, but if you don’t hear from us within a week, feel free to send a follow-up email.

If you don’t fancy yourself a writer but have a lead on a great story, feel free to send tips to [email protected]. And for especially sensitive information, there are several ways to reach out, all detailed here.