Personally, if I never hear another story about H1N1 (swine) flu again, I’ll die a happy man. Unfortunately, the grim reality is everyone is going to have to take steps to combat the spread of flu this winter, and restaurants are no exception. Organizations like the National Restaurant Association are …
Read More »Restaurant Management: Use Creative Compensation Strategies
As if you didn’t have enough on your plate trying to keep your restaurant’s head above water this year, some in the food service industry are starting to talk more and more about changing some basic assumptions about employee compensation. The traditional model has been to pay your kitchen by …
Read More »The Struggle Between Art and Efficiency
Great Lakes pizza, on Chicago’s north side, has been getting A LOT of press lately. The tiny pizzeria has only been around for a little over a year, but in that time the reputation of owners Nick Lessins and Lydia Esparza has catapulted Great Lakes into one of the hottest …
Read More »20 Restaurant Marketing Tips
Here at The Back Burner we try to provide as many resources as possible for your success. Over the past six months we have published a treasure trove of restaurant marketing tips that can help you get more butts in seats. I don’t have to tell you that it’s been …
Read More »California & Vermont Restaurants: Are You Compliant?
If you’re in the food service industry in either California or Vermont, then this blog post is for you. New legislation in these two states changes the kind of faucets and pipe fittings that can be installed in restaurants and commercial kitchens starting early next year. California Assembly Bill 1953 …
Read More »Restaurant Management: No Training Budget? Spend Nothing But Time And Succeed
According to a new study by the Council of Hotel And Restaurant Trainers (CHART), 53% of the restaurants surveyed had cut back on their employee training budgets. Only 19% increased their budget, with the rest remaining the same. The study covered a wide variety of restaurants, from small independents to …
Read More »Why Your Restaurant Should Start Catering… And 4 Simple Steps To Start
In a recent study by Technomic, 36% of consumers said they are doing their socializing at home more often than a year ago. In addition, 40% said they’d like to entertain at home more often in the next year. For a restaurant owner, those are some sobering numbers. The corresponding …
Read More »Cash or Charge: Save Money AND Give Your Customer A Discount
Credit cards have become the currency of choice in restaurants everywhere. Many restaurateurs report 80% – 85% of their customers pull out plastic when it’s time to pay the bill. For a long time now the conventional wisdom in food service goes like this: any way the customer wants to …
Read More »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 »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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