A few restaurateurs in the United States have turned to some revolutionary ideas to overcome the perennial problem of wine by the glass: oxygenation. Sticking a cork back in the half empty bottle and returning it to the undercounter fridge behind the bar is common practice, but not even close …
Read More »Yearly Archives: 2009
Digital Media For Your Restaurant In The Digital Age
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 »LEAN Act Gaining Popularity In Congress
The Labeling Education and Nutrition, or LEAN Act, is gaining sponsors and votes in the United States congress. The legislation would create a national standard for labeling menu items across the entire food service industry. Consumers overwhelmingly support menu labeling, with some polls showing a 75% majority in favor of …
Read More »Missouri Legislature Debates Wage Cuts For Servers
In 2006, voters in the state of Missouri overwhelmingly passed Proposition B, an initiative that mandated a minimum wage increase for hourly workers. Prop B passed with a 75% majority, and after some debate, Missouri decided that workers who receive an hourly wage plus tips were eligible for the pay …
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 …
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