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January 13, 2014
One hour. Sixty minutes. 3,600 seconds.
Lunch break. Pilate’s class. An episode of The Bachelor (don’t pretend you don’t watch).
In one hour you can get a haircut or pedicure, take a nap, or ride the metro from Franconia-Springfield to Silver Spring. In sixty minutes you can bake a cake, write a letter, or (start to) work on your taxes.
Or, in one hour you can save up to three lives.
That’s right. For a simple one-hour investment you can make a life-giving difference to those in need.
January is National Volunteer Blood...
January 8, 2014
By Julian Hattem, The Hill
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is backing down from a fight over a contentious regulation that would have required most businesses to display posters about union rights.
Two federal appeals courts struck down the rules in separate cases last year, ruling that they amounted to an overreach from the labor rights agency.
The NLRB’s last recourse to save the rules was to appeal to the Supreme Court. On Monday, it declined to take that step, effectively killing the regulations for good.
Read More.
December 27, 2013
The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) will host a wholesale local food trade show on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. The purpose of this Expo is to provide an opportunity for Maryland growers, producers, and processors to connect with buyers from grocery retailers, restaurants, schools, institutions, and other venues. The Registration deadline to be included in the 2014 Directory is January 7, 2014
In 2013, there were more than 300 registrants, including produce farmers, artisan cheese and ice cream producers, beef and bison farmers, grocery store representatives, chefs, school nutrition...
December 26, 2013
The season of giving is quickly winding down. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Festivus – it’s likely you made your lists, checked them twice, and set out to secure gizmos, gadgets, thing-a-ma-jigs and whatcha-ma-call-its for those you know and love.
Gifts are tokens of appreciation designed to convey value and worth, but sometimes they fall a little short of that goal. No doubt you have opened an ugly sweater, tacky tie, box of fruitcake, or other gift that has forced you to smile politely and remind yourself that it’s the thought...
December 18, 2013
Are your GAS and ELECTRICITY costs hurting your bottom line? Let's see if we can help you reduce your costs, increase profits and potentially earn FREE ENERGY.
As Independent Consultants with Ambit Energy, we offer you the opportunity to reduce your cost with competitive rates and potentially FREE ENERGY. There is NO COST to taking advantage of the savings we offer. Our goal is to help you save money and earn FREE ENERGY!
For a free evaluation of how much you can save, e-mail Clayton or Alva Bourges at usave12@gmail.com. You may also call us at 703-863-4086 or...
October 29, 2013
Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) October 29, 2013
Streetsense, a multidisciplinary firm specializing in retail, restaurant, hospitality, and real estate solutions, announced today that it has acquired two firms – Food Culture of Miami, Florida and Financial Foods of Bethesda, Maryland – to create a new line of concept development and operational consultancy services for restaurant and hospitality clients. Antoni Yelamos of Food Culture and Adam Williamowsky of Financial Foods will serve as the co-directors of Streetsense’s Eat+Drink consultancy group.
With the...
October 1, 2013
Business owners can reduce operating costs by evaluating energy expenses. A new report, Best Practices: Electricity Procurement, discusses the major impact that electricity costs have on middle-market operating budgets. View the report for information and best practices regarding how to select the right electricity supplier, what to consider before signing a contract, and which hidden items impact your final electricity bill. You can also benchmark your energy usage and costs, and become better equipped to make smart energy-related decisions. View the report.
October 1, 2013
Jason Dangle, Fishbowl SM3 Team
It happens to every restaurant at some point. A bad day has led to a displeased guest. In the old days, you might have to deal with negative word of mouth. But, with the rise of websites like Yelp, a bad review can have a boomerang effect, impacting the bottom line of a restaurant substantially over time.
Fishbowl’s SM3 team works with restaurants every day to alleviate the damage a bad review can create. Over time, they’ve developed a system of best practices to give you the confidence to deal with harsh criticism. We sat down with SM3...
September 23, 2013
Tony Ventre, Heartland Restaurant Solutions Insights
For restaurateurs, mobile payment acceptance solutions are giving new meaning to the saying “think outside the box.” By transforming smartphones and tablets into mobile point-of-sale systems and providing the freedom to accept credit/debit/gift card payments from anywhere at any time, mobile payments enable you to take your business beyond your four walls.
With the use of mobile payments, many restaurateurs are taking advantage of untapped sales opportunities. Consider utilizing mobile technology to facilitate...
September 4, 2013
Julie Jargon, Wall Street Journal
Gratuities Added for Larger Groups Will Be Taxed as Service Charges
An updated tax rule is causing restaurants to rethink the practice of adding automatic tips to the tabs of large parties.
Starting in January, the Internal Revenue Service will begin classifying those automatic gratuities as service charges—which it treats as regular wages, subject to payroll tax withholding—instead of tips, which restaurants leave up to the employees to report as income.
The change would mean more paperwork and added costs for the restaurants—...
June 30, 2013
Michelle Basch, WTOP
Nearly a year and a half after Montgomery County's 5-cent bag tax took effect, a public hearing was held Tuesday night to consider possible tweaks.
A bill being considered by the Montgomery County Council would scale back the tax so it only applies to food stores. A food store would be defined as any retail store where food makes up more than 2 percent of gross sales by dollar value.
The bill would make takeout food bags exempt from the tax.
Read more: http://www.wtop.com/41/3362788/Exemptions-proposed-to-Montgomery-Countys-bag-tax
June 3, 2013
When Is a Tip Just a Tip?
Tipping in the hospitality industry is considered the normal course of business. However, the IRS considers tipping, in certain situations, to be taxed differently through payroll. Employers in this industry now need to be diligent in their recordkeeping. ...
May 15, 2013
You ask and we answer. The following questions and answers are a result of responses we received from the earlier round of FAQs.
Health Care FAQ's For Restaurants
My restaurant has fewer than 50 employees and I offer insurance but only to my senior staff. Since we’re under 50 and exempt from the employer health care mandate, can we continue to offer to only some of our staff?
There are five restaurants trading under the same name in our group but each restaurant was set up individually with a different mix of...
April 30, 2013
Below you will find an FAQ session that will help update you on the health care mandate. We would like to continue with frequent updates based on what you need and want to know. So please, send us your questions for the next FAQ session to betsy@ramw.org:
Health Care FAQ's For Restaurants
Will all restaurants have to offer health benefits to their employees?
What are my options for offering health care to my employees?
Am I OK with the insurance I have now?
I have restaurants in DC, Virginia and Maryland...
February 28, 2013
Scott Attman, Acme Paper & Supply Co. for Franchise Times
Now that the Federal Trade Commission’s new Green Guides are in effect, restaurant industry and other franchisors can expect big changes in several elements of their business. For starters, marketers who pitch products as environmentally friendly have to back up their claims or face fines. If the FTC finds product marketing misleading, it will begin filing suits against the companies in question, just as it does for health claims made by food manufacturers. Precise verbiage in product descriptions will be important...
