Why Fine Dining Is Shedding Formal Dress Codes

Fine dining restaurants have been the hardest hit segment of the foodservice industry since the country slid into recession two years ago.  Many establishments have closed and other have turned to deep discounting to stay alive during a time when consumers just aren’t willing to spend a lot of money to go out to eat. As if all that weren’t enough, many fine dining restaurants are having trouble attracting younger patrons because...

Tonight’s Special: Pork a la Petri

Late last month it was announced that scientists in Holland have successfully grown pork meat in a petri dish.  The meat was developed from special cells called myoblasts that are specifically programmed to repair muscles in a live animal.  If they are left in a super rich broth of nutrients, as the experiment in Holland shows, they will grow indefinitely, creating a possibly endless supply of synthetically grown, but otherwise...

The Public Smoking Ban Counterculture

There has been much ongoing debate over the effect of public smoking bans on restaurant business.  As more and more states move to ban smoking in almost all public buildings, a counterculture has been pushing back by openly flouting the bans in their communities. This counterculture is especially strong along the Illinois-Indiana border since Illinois passed a statewide public smoking ban earlier this year.  Indiana has no such...

Chefs Say Cut Portion Sizes, Not Ingredients

One of the biggest trends in food service these days is nutrition labeling for entrees and the development of “healthy” menu items that appeal to growing consumer concerns over what they eat. A recent survey of 433 chefs conducted by Penn State and Clemson universities has shed some light on what chefs are thinking about...

These Guys Boosted Sales 400% With Creative Marketing

Photo by Dean Rutz, Seattle Times Ivar’s Seafood Restaurant in Seattle, Washington pulled off a brilliant piece of restaurant marketing recently, resulting in a 400% increase in clam chowder sales.  The story was originally reported in the ...

Is There Money To Be Made After Hours?

The 24/7 lifestyle has been creeping further and further into American cities over the course of this decade.  People are out later more frequently, and many restaurants, especially in urban centers, are responding by catering to late night diners.  If done right, the late night scene can energize your restaurant and your bottom line. To be sure, late night dining isn’t right for every restaurant.  Several factors must converge...

Is This A Drill? How A Missouri Sonic Manager Trains For Robberies

We’ve all had one of those managers who’s just a little bit more hardcore than everybody else.  Usually they’re pretty harmless, if not a little annoying.  You just have to roll your eyes and get through the extra training seminar they scheduled. A St. Joseph, Missouri Sonic manager probably takes the cake when it comes to overzealous middle management taking things a little too far, however.  This guy decided to test...

11 Hot Restaurant Trends

Keeping up with the latest and hottest trends in food service could be a full time job in itself.  Luckily for you, The Back Burner is here to keep track and distill things down into manageable chunks.  This is a quick rundown of the trends we’ve been tracking over the past couple months, covering everything from weird new menu offerings to radical new approaches to management: 1.  ...