As a kid growing up in rural Maryland (Ijamsville to be exact), our Fourth of July celebrations meant packing up our green 1972 Ford LTD wagon with blankets, coolers, and “legal” fireworks while enduring protests from mom about the hassle of it all. We’d always leave a little too late to find a parking space […]
An Inspired Fried Chicken Recipe to Add to Your Menu this Independence Day Read More »
Next to Christmas, the annual 4th of July celebration in my family is one of the happiest memories from my childhood. Every year we packed up the family and spent the entire day in Rockvale, Tennessee for a tournament of local baseball teams, music, grilled burgers, homemade peach ice cream, candy, bingo, and firecrackers. My mom
2 Seasonal Cocktail Recipes to Celebrate Independence Day in Your Restaurant Read More »
We’ve all heard the term “tourist trap.” When applied to restaurants, it’s generally a negative term that refers to places with high prices serving low quality versions of foods that made the area famous. Often these restaurants thrive because their customers are lured in by flashy signage, proximity to the main attraction or campy foods
4 Quick Ways Restaurant Owners in Beach Towns Can Capitalize on Summer Vacationers Read More »
Restaurants are saving retail developments. We hear this all the time, but what does it really mean? Let’s look at it like this. Consider some common retail tenants – maybe a mattress store, or a clothing store. People buy a new mattress every 10 years or so and they buy new clothes with the change
The term “consultant” – restaurant or otherwise – conjures images of slickster snake oil salesman preying on businesses in distress, bent on draining precious cash reserves before an inevitable failure. Indeed, there are some out there that make a living by cooking up problems that don’t exist, scaring their targets to death while holding up
20 Myths About Restaurant Consultants Debunked Read More »
While the US food hall trend may have started in New York, it’s now sweeping across America. With major food-focused real estate developments such as Eataly and chef Todd English’s Plaza Food Hall opening in New York in 2010, food halls area launching in other US cities from Atlanta to Seattle. This gourmet, casual dining
75 Food Halls in America: The Growing Mixed-Use Real Estate Development Trend Read More »
For restaurant owners and general managers, the process of creating a restaurant employee developmental plan is very similar to writing quarterly goals – only there are no predetermined categories. The action steps should have many of the same characteristics as the steps in achieving goals. They should be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound.
A pop-up is simply a temporary bar or restaurant, usually focused on a particular chef or style of cuisine. Sometimes pop-ups will share space or even take over an existing restaurant for a time, with some places hosting a regular schedule of pop-ups throughout the year. They are fun, flexible, easy to promote, and popular
Why You Should Create a Pop-Up Restaurant or Bar Concept Read More »
We are in and out of restaurants all of the time, talking with our clients about what works and what doesn’t, what their guests are asking for, and which new concepts they are dreaming up. Through this process, we begin to see some patterns emerge. It’s amazing the way that all of a sudden everyone
10 Exciting Food Trend Predictions for 2018 Read More »
The holidays are coming… and holidays generally spur people to spend money in ways that they wouldn’t do otherwise. Folks are urged to buy, book, treat, reward, and otherwise gift themselves, their loved ones, and even total strangers. So what are you doing to capture dollars spent during those programmed (and predictable) buying frenzies? If
5 Brilliant Best Practices to Maximize Your Restaurant’s Sales During the Holidays Read More »
