Bringing a restaurant concept from dream to reality is one of the most stressful, mind-boggling projects any restaurateur will attempt in their career.  There are literally thousands of things, dozens of people, and weeks of work that must fall into place to make a restaurant opening successful – and that’s …

Maintaining and replacing the hood filter in your commercial ventilation system is more important than you might think.  The hood filter is a metal square or rectangle that fits into the opening on your hood ventilation system.  Its purpose is to filter out grease from the smoke rising off your …

Ever seen staff help themselves to food, drink or cash, and they seem to think it’s OK? You call it shrinkage, waste, ‘unders’, discrepancies or theft. What do they call it? It’s the grey areas that cause problems: drinks or food for friends and family, sloppy work that results in …

When purchasing flatware for your restaurant or commercial kitchen, the two most important factors to consider are the type of stainless steel the flatware is made from and the weight of the flatware you want to buy. 18/10 vs. 18/0 Stainless Steel All flatware is made of stainless steel, but not …

For those of you who do not know me personally, I have a confession to make.  I am a huge history nerd.  This means that The History Channel’s “America: The Story of Us” is taking up a large portion on my DVR. I was watching the episode on World War …

Fresh seafood will always sell well in your restaurant, and for many businesses it’s a staple item on the menu.  Making sure the seafood you serve is safe requires some careful maintenance and preparation, and it’s good to develop some strategies for ensuring the seafood you serve is safe.  More …

When your fryer needs to be repaired you probably want to get it up and running again fast.  Fortunately, commercial fryers are generally easy to repair, and parts are also pretty easy to come by.  There are 4 fryer parts that most commonly cause a fryer to fail: 1. Hi-Limit …

Converting any piece of gas equipment from natural gas to propane or from propane to natural gas is fairly simple and can be accomplished in 5 easy steps. Parts needed to convert the equipment: Burner Orifices Pilot Orifice Regulator Combination Safety Valve conversion kit Nomenclature (tag on unit that has …

In a restaurant, it takes the concerted efforts of an entire team to create a great dining experience. Everyone has a part to play. If your team breaks down, or isn’t working together effectively, it will impact your customers. But it’s also likely to impact individual employees, resulting in dissatisfaction, …

Anyone with a Hobart mixer in their restaurant or commercial kitchen will tell you what a great machine it is.  These mixers last a long time despite constant, heavy use, and for many kitchens they are essential to the success of daily operations.  Often the attachments that make your Hobart …

Going back to 2008 there has been a growing trend among suppliers of charging a flat delivery surcharge on all orders to help defray the cost of fuel. There was some relief in the past few years from this tactic but with the dramatic rise in gas prices over the …

As a restaurateur, you probably struggle with inventory on a regular basis.  Balancing walk-in space, fast-selling menu items, and slow moving items can create a constant headache.  Some of your product moves quickly, some does not, and inevitably some ends up sitting in the walk-in for far too long. That …

There’s always a significant amount of cost involved whenever you buy a new piece of restaurant equipment.  Those costs only continue as that equipment ages in your restaurant – from energy use to repairs, the consequences of new equipment will be around for a long time after you’ve written the …

What has my marriage got to do with your bar or restaurant? Lots. Some businesses have a marriage like connection with their customers, yet others don’t even get a second date with their patrons. Is your business a one night stand? Check out my video to find out! Barry Chandler …

In yesterday’s post I talked about the new reality facing restaurants, namely, the consumer expectation of great value.  This doesn’t appear to be changing despite an uptick in consumer spending.  A number of voices in the food service industry have been advising restaurants to provide value to their customers in …