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August 1, 2014
Restaurant professionals agree: Hard work and a smile can carry a restaurateur from hand towels and busing to handshakes and board rooms. Find out how eight industry leaders from Washington, D.C., turned their first jobs into their life’s work.
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July 14, 2014
Washington, DC—Events DC and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) along with its members are thrilled to officially welcome the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2014 to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and to the region overall July 13-17, 2014. As a partner of Events DC, RAMW’s restaurant members are extending their hospitality and services to Microsoft World- wide Partner Conference attendees and are available to assist with dining needs, reservations, large party requests, and last-minute private dining needs.
All RAMW member restaurants (...
June 26, 2014
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – In a ceremony tonight at the residence of H.E. Peter Taksoe-Jensen, the Danish Ambassador to the United States, Mayor Vincent C. Gray honored 10 individuals, businesses, civic organizations, and embassies for demonstrating outstanding achievements and leadership in sustainable practices. Two of these prestigious awards honored RAMW members ProFish, Ltd. and Farmers Restaurant Group.
Mayor Gray – who was joined by Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy, Ambassador Taksoe-Jensen, representatives...
June 11, 2014
By Betsy Craig, CEO and co-founder of MenuTrinfo®
We've all read the headlines about restaurant patrons having an allergic reaction after being served food items contaminated with the cause of the reaction. While in a majority of cases these reactions have not been fatal they can be life threatening. According to a 2007 study by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), there were 63 food allergy–related fatalities between 1996 and 2006, with half involving restaurants.
While it's true that much has been done to educate kitchen and wait staff on safe food-...
June 4, 2014
Soccer fans take note, this June and July Richard Sandoval’s popular Washington restaurants Masa 14, El Centro D.F. on 14th Street and in Georgetown, Ambar and Zengo will celebrate the 2014 FIFA World Cup with festive food and drink specials. Each of the participating restaurants will offer Caipirinha Tradicional, Caipiroska Tradicional, Corona and Corona Light, house red and white wine and margaritas for $5 each. Additionally, Masa 14 and Ambar will offer food specials in addition to their regular a la carte lunch, dinner and happy hour menus for...
May 28, 2014
By Claire Willis, Director of Culinary Nutritionists at MenuTrinfo®
Recently, the RAND Corporation (“a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis,” according to their website) has proposed implementing healthy dining standards for restaurants. This would require foodservice establishments to have a percentage of their menu items (on both adult and kids menus) meet certain nutritional criteria. Their reasoning behind this would be to help curb the obesity epidemic in the US by having healthy options at each and every...
May 12, 2014
Washington, DC (May 12, 2014)—On May 8, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) brought together over 80 leaders from the region’s foodservice and business communities for a conversation about the state of the industry in the nation’s capital. The discussion, moderated by Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, offered insights into operator success in an ever more competitive market.
Panelists included 2014 RAMMY Awards nominees for Service Program of the Year including Adam Sanders (General Manager, BLT Steak), Joseph Cerione...
May 12, 2014
Do You Have All The Coverage You Need?
Your restaurant insurance policy includes hundreds of pages of coverages, exclusions and endorsements. Unless you’re an insurance expert, it can be tough to know which ones are most important for your business. With the Restaurant Insurance Package, everyone is aware of their required property, general liability, crime and spoilage coverage. Here are some additional coverages that restaurateurs often overlook:
What Other Types of Insurance Do I Need?
General Liability and Property Insurance typically only cover the basics, but most restaurants...
April 30, 2014
Baltimore, MD - April 30, 2014 - Foodem, an innovative B2B online food procurement marketplace and business intelligence solution for the $650 billion U.S. wholesale food distribution industry, and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), are pleased to announce the establishment of their new strategic partnership. Launched in late 2013, Foodem facilitates relationships, automates foodservice procurement processes and connects wholesale food buyers with small to mid-sized food distributors, local farms and specialty food manufacturers.
The new partnership with RAMW...
April 9, 2014
United Way of the National Capital Area is gearing up for Do More 24 – a one day online fundraiser that will be held on June 19th to support area nonprofits.
Give back to your community and participate as a Do More 24 restaurant sponsor. Team up with local nonprofits and donate a portion of your sale proceeds to Do More 24. Participating restaurants will be recognized on the Do More 24 website.
Be a part of something bigger and let’s show how generous the restaurant community can be! For questions or to learn more, contact restaurants@domore24.org.
March 28, 2014
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Four ABC licenses will be available for application in Georgetown next month, including one for a tavern and three for restaurants. The Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) will begin accepting applications for the licenses at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 10.
The tavern license is only available to an existing restaurant located in the Georgetown Historic District. An applicant would be eligible to apply for the license as either a tavern or nightclub. The availability of the tavern license also allows taverns located in the area to...
March 14, 2014
ABRA will be performing unannounced visits to ABC licensee holders, starting with establishments that have received complaints in the past. We highly encourage our members to make sure they are in compliance with District ABC noise laws. We also encourage our members to sign up for the ABRA listserv to stay informed on upcoming policy changes and campaigns that will affect your business. For more information on the Compliance Campaign on Noise Laws see below for the ABRA press release.
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 13, 2014
CONTACT: Jessie Cornelius (ABRA) 202.442....
March 3, 2014
Updates on the Green Dot Money Pack/Pepco Scam
RAMW has been in touch with Pepco and they are aware of the Green Dot Scam. If you receive a call from a person claiming to be from Pepco or any other service provider it is important that you:
take precautions to verify the person is affiliated with the company, especially if that person is requesting an immediate credit card or cash payment. Pepco will never ask a customer to provide a specific form of payment and always offers customers multiple payment options.
ask for official photo identification from any person who shows...
February 26, 2014
In the restaurant industry, success depends on a strong brand concept that is successfully executed, tightly managed for profitability, and delivers a consistent customer experience. The challenge facing the leaders of food and beverage operations is how to successfully align leadership, management, and staff in accomplishing these objectives. In our experience, the most successful organizations have maintained competitive advantage and realized profitable revenue growth by establishing core values that help everyone make decisions that best support the brand.
Core values are the...
February 26, 2014
Restaurants consume five to seven times more energy than other businesses. From long operating hours to energy-intensive food preparation, it’s easy to see why restaurants use such a high amount of energy. Unfortunately, this means that restaurants also waste more energy than a typical business. In fact, according to Pacific Gas and Electric, the food service industry wastes around $8 billion in energy every year. In the District, the DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) offers rebates on everything from energy-efficient stoves and fryers to refrigeration and HVAC upgrades that can...
February 18, 2014
Although in FY 2014 Small businesses with 50 or fewer employees that are offering health coverage for the first time must purchase insurance through DC Health Link, all other small businesses have the option of purchasing health insurance coverage through DC Health Link, or direct from the insurance carriers. The plan designs and price of plans are the same. Purchasing through DC Health Link, however, provides a number of significant benefits, including:
Access to the Small Business tax credit to help pay for employer coverage (up to 50% is available)
Access to 267 different qualified...
February 11, 2014
Are you signing your business up for health care in DC? February 12 is the last day to pay for plans for March 1 plan effective date. February 24 is the last day to complete the employer application for the April 1 plan effective date. Moving forward to March, March 27 will be the last day to start employee open enrollment for April 1 plan effective date. March 12 will be the last day to pay for plans for April 1 plan effective date.
Looking for expert help? Visit DC Health Link online and download DC Health Link's Small Business Guide to learn more about how you can provide quality,...
January 30, 2014
Washington, DC (January 30, 2014) – Miriam’s Kitchen today announced that it has formed an alliance with a team of the foremost experts in Washington’s culinary & hospitality sectors. Together, the members of the Strategic Effort to Allocate Resources (S.E.A.R.) initiative will collaborate on how to leverage industry leadership and a shared sense of hospitality to assist Miriam’s Kitchen in their meals program and overall mission to end chronic homelessness in DC by 2017. “The bedrock of all hospitality is the ability to serve a community’s needs,...
January 29, 2014
By Mike Conneen, WJLA7
The DC government is partnering with the local hospitality and restaurant industries to help unemployed Washingtonians get specialized job training and find work.
At DC Central Kitchen, the new grant money will help expand a culinary arts program.
Read More.
January 24, 2014
This is a guest post for MenuTrinfo® by Alison Baumgartner, a former waitress.
For a long time, I was a career waitress who worked pretty much everywhere in the United States. I worked for high-end, local, and chain restaurants, and while they were all very different, I found that they had one similarity: inefficiency when it came to knowing exactly what was in the food.
And by that, I mean there was too little nutritional labeling, no awareness of potentially allergenic ingredients and no information on what foods that contain gluten for all levels of the staff.
In the end, it was...
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 10, 2014
(Washington, DC) —The DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority today released new data showing strong enrollment activity through DCHealthLink.com, the District of Columbia’s new on-line health insurance marketplace for individuals, families and small businesses. Since the exchange opened for business on October 1, DC Health Link has enrolled 20,290 people. This includes District residents who enrolled in private health plans and in Medicaid, as well as people with coverage through their employers.
“We are pleased to be providing quality, affordable health coverage options to...
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 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 20, 2013
To accommodate the new street cars, DDOT has created new loading zones in the H Street NE Corridor, effective on December 16th. The new loading zones are located on side streets along the corridor between 4th and 14th Streets NE. Commercial loading and unloading will be allowed between 7:00 am and 6:30 pm Monday through Saturday. New signage has been posted to identify the new loading zone locations and all carriers are encouraged to begin using the new loading spaces immediately. DDOT along with DPW will be monitoring these spaces daily to ensure the loading zones are as open as...
