Restaurant Trends and News

There has been much discussion about discounting in the restaurant business over the past few years.  Many in the industry worried that serial discounting would forever cheapen their brand and condition customers to be coupon hunters rather than loyal patrons. That’s why it was interesting to see the results of …

Anyone who has worked for a significant amount of time in the food service industry has seen the dark side of the restaurant business.  While food service can be incredibly rewarding, and can provide many opportunities for advancement with little or no formal education, there are also many in the …

The Back Burner is written by the employees and friends of Tundra, and while we usually try to make this blog as informative as possible without imposing our brand on the information, sometimes there’s just going to have to be an exception. Don’t worry, we’re not going to suddenly turn …

For most restaurateurs saying no to a customer is something you just don’t do.  Being accommodating is an integral part of what service businesses like restaurants do, and therefore the customer gets what the customer wants. As the New York Times reported recently, a surprising number of restaurants in New …

If you do it right, guest prefer to order themselves.  This has been proven by the advent of interactive electronic ordering kiosks, which have quickly become commonplace in European and Asian quick service restaurants. Americans are finally catching up to their European counterparts when it comes to self-service kiosks.  Early …

You’d think finding a place to eat lunch in a health nut haven like Boulder, Colorado that featured simple, all-natural ingredients made from scratch for a good price would be pretty easy.  Boulder residents Anthony Pigliacampo and Rob McColgan realized a couple years ago that unless they wanted to eat …

SURVEY IS OVER. 5 years ago Facebook was in its infancy.  Twitter was a year away from conception.  Yelp was no more than the apple in the eye of a creative Silicone Valley entrepreneur.  And Groupon was still 3 years away from development! In 5 short years the restaurant marketing …

You know the old saying: “desperate times call for desperate measures.”  The past two years have certainly been a rough time for the food service industry, and even though things are looking up now, the lean times have left an indelible stamp on which way the industry is trending. In …

As the holidays approach, giving back to the community is something that should be important to any business, and not just as a shameless marketing ploy.  Being authentic about your business’ involvement in charity is something that only time and commitment can communicate.  Having a genuine passion for charity work …

Ever since Google tried to buy Groupon for a reported $1 billion last year the buzz has been incessant around the group discount site.  Now, with rumors flying about a public offering later this year and more big tech companies trying to get into the Internet coupon game, it seems …