Back in 2006, despite objections from industry groups like the National Restaurant Association (NRA), New York City banned the use of trans fats in all foods served in the city’s restaurants. At the time, the NRA said that municipal government had no place regulating restaurants, and the ban would put …
Read More »Monthly Archives: July 2009
Email Marketing: 7 Tips For Restaurants
In the marketing industry, email remains one of the most popular and most effective ways to reach customers. In the restaurant industry, email marketing can be a great way to build customer loyalty and brand recognition. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and it’s proven to bring customers in the door. So …
Read More »Chefs Make Their Own Honey
We’ve been hearing more and more about the local sourcing of ingredients in the food service industry. By far the most common form local sourcing takes is a small independent restaurant working out a deal for locally grown vegetables and herbs, or maybe even some locally raised meat. Of course, …
Read More »Follow The Back Burner On Twitter!
I’ve been talking about how restaurants can benefit from Twitter and not following my own advice for long enough now. The Back Burner now has a Twitter account that will update every day with Back Burner posts and other little gems of information. Yes, I’m now on the bandwagon. If …
Read More »Restaurant Energy Efficiency: 10 Tips
It’s such a buzzword these days it has almost become cliche, but nevertheless green restaurants are an important and lasting trend. Customers are the main force driving this, and consistently they say they value restaurants with green practices. Giving customers what they want while reducing your operating costs through more …
Read More »Card Check Unionization Bill Losing Steam
A bit of good news, at least from the perspective of the National Restaurant Association (NRA), was released last week: Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), has agreed to drop the card check portion of the Employee Free Choice Act. The card check provision would have allowed workers in businesses with 20 …
Read More »Healthy Menus: Are Customers Saying One Thing Then Doing Another?
Healthy this. Healthy that. We want nutrition information. We want healthy menu choices. The drumbeat coming from consumers and consumer groups over the last five years has steadily increased, demanding healthier options from restaurants in all segments of the food service industry. Heavyweights like McDonald’s have bent under the pressure, …
Read More »Italian Grandmas Run Staten Island Restaurant
The Enoteca Maria restaurant of Staten Island, NY serves truly authentic Italian style home cooking every evening. They can make such a bold claim, because anyone who ventures into the kitchen in this small 35-seat restaurant will find an actual Italian Grandma bent over the stove conjuring up classic recipes …
Read More »Dipper Wells: Why You Should Turn Yours Off TODAY
The dipper well is a small countertop sink that uses a constant flow of water to clean utensils like ice cream scoops and barista thermometers. The sink fills up to a certain level and then drains away, so a dipper well acts like a constantly filling pool. The in and …
Read More »4 Things You Can Learn From Restaurant Chains
Big operators like Chili’s, Applebees, The Cheesecake Factory, and others are always looking for ways to improve taste and customer experience while increasing efficiency. These companies spend a lot of money every year in research and development, and studying the trends that come out of the big chain restaurant’s R&D …
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