Restaurant critic Laura Hahnefeld has given her notice at Phoenix New Times, and the ever-shrinking alt-weekly appears to be eliminating the position of full-time dining critic.
Hahnefeld made the announcement today in a Facebook post. She was hired as dining critic in April 2011 (a scoop reported by MXSW before New Times could announce it). Her last day will be Jan. 17.
Sadly, Hahnefeld appears to be the last full-time dining critic in New Times’ four-decade history.
The paper’s Chow Bella blog has posted a job opening for a “freelance” restaurant critic, indicating it will follow in the footsteps of other Voice Media Group papers that have farmed out restaurant-review duties to part-time stringers.
To fill in some of the coverage gaps, New Times has promoted Chow Bella contributor Lauren Saria to full-time food blogging, a role recently handled by longtime Valley dining critic Nikki Buchanan.
With Hahnefeld’s departure, the Arizona Republic’s Howard Seftel becomes the Valley’s – and Arizona’s – last full-time dining critic.
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