TVs have slowly been creeping further and further into every restaurant’s atmosphere for years now. It started with a small black and white television in one corner of the bar so guys could watch the game. Now many bars have several HD flatscreens showing multiple games and news channels at …
Read More »Can Google Improve Food Safety?
A pilot project currently in development at Google will enable health officials to spot outbreaks of deadly food borne illnesses 7 to 10 days faster than the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) current system. Google accomplishes this by tracking queries entered into its search engine by people who are trying …
Read More »Boost Sales With A Free Meal
An increasing number of restaurateurs are looking to boost sagging sales with value-minded deals to lure customers back into their restaurants. A particularly successful strategy has been employed by the Laguna Grille in Long Island, NY: a “Bailout Program,” which randomly awards free meals to a table per shift. The …
Read More »Should You Cut Costs In Payroll?
My recent post, “Missouri Legislature Debates Wage Cuts For Servers” sparked some debate about cutting payroll expenses in your restaurant. Finding places to cut expenses as revenue falls is never an easy endeavor. And since labor is almost definitely your number one expense, it’s easy to look there first when …
Read More »The Pizza Vending Machine
Italian Claudio Torghele has developed a pizza vending machine, complete with dough, sauce, and toppings, all in less than three minutes. The machine, called “Let’s Pizza,” will knead the dough, spread the sauce, and give you a choice of toppings, including bacon, ham, cheese and tomato, and vegetable. Customers can …
Read More »Gordon Ramsay: The Restaurant Black Widow
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’sshow Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA has been a huge hit, garnering thousands of American viewers and elevating the chef’s celebrity even further. Unfortunately, the restaurants he’s supposed to be helping are dropping like flies in the wake of his black widow touch. The show’s premise is to …
Read More »Social Media Marketing’s Dark Side
Plenty of national food service companies have been eager to wade into the social media world as a way to engage and recruit customers. Dunkin’ Donuts has tens of thousands of friends on Facebook. Other restaurants, large and small, have pumped up their online presence in recent years and the …
Read More »The Golden Gate Restaurant Association Denied By Supreme Court
The Golden Gate Restaurant Association (GGRA) petitioned the Supreme Court recently to prevent the city of San Francisco from enacting legislation that would require employers to pay a fee to provide health coverage for their workers. On Monday, the Supreme Court refused a temporary stay on the San Francisco legislation. …
Read More »The Economics Of Free
Google has profoundly affected the way business is done the world over. Besides becoming a frequently used verb (meaning “to search”) in multiple languages, the internet search and advertising giant became an international success on a business model that has never been attempted before. Google offers its primary service, internet …
Read More »Menu Trends: Potatoes Make A Comeback
Everyone remembers the bad rap potatoes got when the Atkins Diet was at its peak – too many carbs meant the potato should be avoided at all costs. But times, and attitudes, have changed as more and more people realize diets are less about all protein and more about making …
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