A bar spotter, or “nightclub secret shopper,” is a person sent into a bar by the owner or manager to conduct a secret quality control review of bar staff.  Spotters carefully observe bartenders and other employees, watching for telltale signs of theft and misconduct.  Most spotters were once bartenders themselves, …

Everybody in the food service industry is talking about locally sourced food these days.  The National Restaurant Association has called local,organic and sustainable ingredients one of the biggest trends of 2010, and consumers have defied logic by proving they are willing to pay more for better quality. The Mexican-themed chain …

So, have you jumped on the Twitter bandwagon yet?  Or are you sick and tired of hearing about tweets, tweeting, and all other variations of bird noises?  Are you wondering what the heck I’m talking about? For those of you who answered “yes” to the last question, you’ve got some …

The days of visiting your local grocery store once a week to stock up on food supplies is starting to give way to more frequent, even daily visits, and customers are buying a lot more than a gallon of milk.  What started as a simple salad bar and deli in …

A bill was introduced to the House of Representatives recently that proposes to increase the percentage of a business related meal that can be deducted from 50% to 80%.  The bill, sponsored by Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), has twice been introduced in past sessions of Congress and has twice failed …

More and more restaurants are exploring ways to make their operations “sustainable.”  Yes, it’s a buzzword, and yes, it’s a trend most commonly associated with San Francisco restaurants and other yuppie hideouts.  That doesn’t mean most of the restaurants out there can’t utilize sustainability in their operations. Trends show that …

Think of your restaurant as a 5 gallon bucket.  Every day you fill that bucket with customers.  Sometimes there’s a steady flow, sometimes it’s just a trickle, and sometimes it seems like a flood.  No matter what kind of day it is, every customer flowing through your doors grades their …

The Stew blog, written by the Chicago Tribune’s food beat staff, posted an interesting article recently talking about the little perks that make a restaurant meal a more pleasant experience. Yet as great as these perks are, they seem pretty generic – best practices that any restaurant worth its salt …

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 …

If you have already purchased restaurant equipment in 2009, or are planning on doing so before the year is up, make sure you get your accountant to take a special 50% depreciation allowance for all equipment that is purchased, installed and used by December 31st. This tax provision was extended …