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April 24, 2018
Good, bad or a litigation nightmare waiting to happen?
Nation's Restaurant News // Jim Coleman // Apr 24, 2018
Buried deep within the 2,000-plus pages of the Consolidated Appropriations Act signed into law earlier this year are three pages of legislative language that amend the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, of 1938 to prohibit employers — including managers and supervisors — from “keeping” tips received by employees for any purpose.
What is most unusual, however, is that the new prohibition is...
April 10, 2018
Source: Sheppard Mullin Labor & Employment Law Blog
By Keith Goodwin and Greg Labate on April 10, 2018
Posted in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Tip Pooling, Wage and Hour
The recent passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (“H.R. 1625”), an 878-page omnibus spending bill, significantly changes the rules for tip pooling under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). While the conditions for taking a tip credit toward federal minimum wage obligations remain essentially unchanged, H.R. 1625 appears to permit the inclusion of a larger...
April 4, 2018
Tech tools make it easier, but employers should be aware of risks
Nation's Restaurant News | Lisa Jennings | Apr 04, 2018
With sexual harassment prevention very much on the minds of employers across the industry, some restaurant operators are turning to digital tools to make it easier for employees to speak up about potential harassment or abuse.
Some are using traditional telephone employee hotlines. But there is also a growing crop of smartphone apps and web platforms that allow employees to report harassment digitally, said...
April 3, 2018
OpenTable / Scott Jampol / April 3, 2018
Running a restaurant is, without a doubt, one of the most challenging, passion-driven things you can do—and then there’s marketing one. Keeping your business thriving, and serving up hospitality to each and every guest, night after night, is an enormous undertaking, so the unfortunate reality is that many restaurateurs don’t have the time or resources to market their restaurants effectively. Many restaurateurs also believe that diners begin their search with their restaurant in mind (having heard about it...
March 19, 2018
National Restaurant Association - March 19, 2018
Restaurateurs are always looking for ways to increase their bottom line. One way to do that is keep up with trends and deploy new technology that improves performance and sales.
With that in mind, these 14 new startups are ones to watch at the 2018National Restaurant Association Show’s Startup Alley, May 19 to 22, in Chicago.
Showgoers will see a variety of new businesses, including software developers using data science and artificial intelligence to create business solutions, an app connecting customers with food allergies to...
February 22, 2018
House Bill 518 supports the State’s breweries by lifting outdated restrictions on selling and purchasing craft beer
ROCKVILLE, Md., February 22, 2018—The Montgomery County Council sent a letter to the chair of the Economic Matters Committee, Delegate Dereck E. Davis, in unanimous support of Maryland House Bill (HB) 518, the Reform on Tap Act. HB 518 would lift restrictions on the selling and purchasing of beer at craft breweries throughout Maryland.
The House Economic Matters Committee has scheduled a hearing for HB 518 on February 23 at 1:00pm.
“...
February 19, 2018
There’s two bars, scenic views, and Asian-themed dishes
by Rebecca Gale Feb 19, 2018, 4:20pm EST | Eater DC
The new two-story Circa scheduled to debut on Wednesday, February 21 in Chinatown is the homegrown chain’s biggest location to date.
Parent company Metropolitan Hospitality Group shut down the flagship Circa in Dupont Circleat the end of last year, but continues to operate the remaining casually themed bistros in Foggy Bottom and Clarendon, Virginia. The Chinatown restaurant (781 Seventh Street NW) is one of at least two planned new additions to the Circa...
National Restaurant Association Research Showcases the Landscape for Tech in the Restaurant Industry
February 15, 2018
New Research Shows Restaurants are Hungry for Tech without the Headache
(Washington, D.C.) Today, the National Restaurant Association released new research focusing on technology in the restaurant industry. In "Mapping the Restaurant Technology Landscape," the Association set out to explore current technology adoption in restaurants, plans for future adoption, and restaurant operators' thoughts and opinions on restaurant technology overall.
"Restaurant operators and consumers generally agree on the benefits of technology use in restaurants but they're also in...
February 15, 2018
Created with you in mind for improved navigation and efficiency
As part of our branding evolution, DCRA continues to provide Safe & Simple initiatives that provide safe outcomes for our community and are simple for our customers. We’re excited to announce the launch of additional online services, aimed at improving the way we serve District residents and businesses.
The DC Property & Permit Center Portal is a one stop shop for all things permits. The portal provides a range of online tools to apply for building permits,...
February 9, 2018
National Restaurant Association
With the nation nearing full employment, some restaurateurs say they’re experiencing staffing challenges due to the evaporating talent pool.
Full employment is good for the country, but may present a challenge for our industry. In 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the turnover rate for restaurants and hospitality was 72.9 percent. In 2017, according to our research on the subject, roughly three in 10 restaurant operators said they had job openings that were difficult to fill.
Our research further found that 71 percent of...
February 6, 2018
National Restaurant Association - February 6, 2018
ReFED, a nonprofit committed to reducing food waste in the United States, and the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, of which the National Restaurant Association is a founding member, released two guides to help our industry implement strategies and best practices to cut food waste.
ReFED and the FWRA partnered to release the guides Feb. 6. The guides focus on helping companies work towards meeting the national goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030. They created the guides with input from more than 80...
January 31, 2018
The National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) is a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and the outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry. Launched in 2002, the RPI is released on the last business day of each month.
Latest RPI (released January 31, 2018)
Driven by stronger same-store sales and customer traffic levels, the Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) registered a solid gain in December. The RPI stood at 102.9 in December, up 1.8 percent from a level of 101.1 in November.
The Current Situation Index stood at 102.9 in December - up 3.4...
January 16, 2018
Following on the heels of last month’s $1.5 trillion tax reform overhaul, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Servicereleased new guidance to help employers manage and update their employee payroll systems as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act begins to take effect.
The sweeping changes to the tax code should result in more take-home pay for approximately 90 percent of employees throughout the United States.
The new guidelines adjust how much income tax must be taken out of employees’ paychecks after taking into account exemptions claimed by employees on their IRS...
January 12, 2018
In its continuing fight to advance and protect the restaurant industry, the National Restaurant Association has launched the first-ever Restaurant Law Center.
The Restaurant Law Center, headed by Angelo Amador, the NRA’s senior vice president and regulatory counsel, will provide legal advocacy and strategy to the restaurant industry on cases before state and federal courts that may threaten restaurant businesses, operators and employees.
“The restaurant industry has been participating in legal battles on behalf of restaurant owners and employees for years,” he...
August 15, 2017
Restaurants, especially smaller establishments, need to make the most of their IT budgets to remain profitable and competitive. One way to stretch an IT budget is with Software as a Service (SaaS) for your Point-of-Sale (POS) system.
Instead of buying a high-priced physical copy of a software platform, SaaS lets you keep that cash flow and instead pay a reasonable fixed monthly subscription rate.
Here are three benefits that make SaaS worth considering.
Cost. Buying and maintaining software can carry significant upfront costs and additional unexpected costs...
June 16, 2017
Even though more than 97 percent of all U.S. credit cards are now issued with chips, many restaurant owners continue to struggle to implement and maintain EMV technology due to cost and complexity. In fact, more than 60 percent of U.S. merchants still aren’t ready, even though the “liability shift” went into effect more than two years ago.
Restaurants are a leading target for point-of-sale intrusions – which can be costly – so it’s more important than ever to ensure your business is protected.
Heartland offers out-of-...
May 15, 2017
Beginning June 30, 2017, MasterCard will require all point-of-sale systems to accept credit cards with Bank Identification Numbers that begin with a 2. Currently, all MasterCard cards issued begin with 5. The new 2-series cards will effectively double the number of available MasterCard credit cards worldwide and will be processed in the same manner as current MasterCard cards.
Please note that if you are using a third-party POS system, you should contact your provider to determine if any action is required for your system to accept the new 2-series cards. Not only could you...
May 5, 2017
Veteran restaurateurs will tell you that making great food isn’t the biggest challenge of running a good restaurant. Making food profitably is the real beast.
Despite ever-rising ingredient costs compressing margins to razor-thinness, operators are reluctant to pass those increases on to price-conscious consumers. That makes monitoring every step of the food production process—from the loading dock to the very plates on which food is served—essential if an operation is going to make money.
It's always fun to hear customers’ rave reviews about your food, but...
January 17, 2017
Lending made easy: Secure more dough to get back to your bread and butter
Balancing your everyday operating costs while investing in expenses to grow your business doesn’t have to feel like juggling hot plates. While a small business loan may seem daunting, it’s often the best way to boost your bottom line. Here are a few reasons you may consider a loan:
Expansion – Is business booming out your front door? If you need a bigger space or need to hire more employees or fresh talent to keep up, a loan can help you cover the cost of expanding without...
November 7, 2016
It’s been approximately one year since the EMV liability shift took effect and it’s time for a mid-term report card on EMV’s issuance, acceptance, speed, security and overall impact.
EMV Issuance
In terms of card issuance, I have to give the issuers a “B+” for the pure volume of credit and debit cards they’ve placed in the hands of millions of cardholders, starting even before the liability shift began. As of June 2016, Visa reported that 125 million credit cards were issued, representing 44% of all credit cards. Visa also reported that 126 million...
November 2, 2016 to November 20, 2016
Liability shift lifts veil on small counterfeit charges
By: Georgia Stavrakis, CPP
It’s been a year since the U.S. migrated to EMV technology, and more than 1 million businesses now use EMV chip-embedded credit card readers. Unfortunately, criminals are taking full advantage of businesses that haven’t fully made the switch, leaving even small businesses vulnerable to costly chargebacks.
Restaurants have been plagued for years by counterfeit, stolen and cloned credit card activity, but it’s much more apparent now that liability for these fraudulent charges...
July 6, 2016
Whether you want to reduce operating costs, increase the reliability of your energy supply, upgrade inefficient systems, increase your revenue potential or improve the ambience of your restaurant —Washington Gas is here to help. Our team will help you determine what investments will save the most energy and money. We’ll survey your structure or planned project, assess your energy needs and recommend natural gas solutions that will give you optimal performance at absolutely no cost to you. Our team also has the experience and technical expertise to walk you through each...
June 23, 2016
Have you experienced an increasing number of chargebacks in the wake of last fall's liability shift? Now that the fraud liability shift has moved to merchants, many restaurant operators are seeing an increase in chargebacks in the restaurant space. Many restaurant POS companies do not have a method (EMV) to process these cards which in turn exposes the restaurant to the liability. Join the National Restaurant Assocation (NRA) and Heartland Payment Systems for a webinar on this topic on June 23, 11 a.m. ET.
During this webinar, experts from Heartland and the...
June 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016
RESTAURANTS CONSUME FIVE TO SEVEN TIMES MORE ENERGY THAN OTHER BUSINESSES OCCUPYING SIMILAR SQUARE FOOTAGE.
Restaurants waste more energy than a typical business—as much as $8 billion in energy every year. ThinkFoodGroup is taking steps to change that at Zaytinya.
In an effort to be more energy-efficient, we enlisted the help of DCSEU to upgrade our lighting. Not only has this process saved the restaurant money, it’s also better for the environment, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.
- Stew Newbold, Director of...
December 31, 2015
(WASHINGTON, DC) December 30, 2015 – Starting January 1, 2016, District businesses and organizations that serve food will no longer be able to use containers or other food service products made of expanded polystyrene, commonly known as foam or Styrofoam™.
Passed by the DC Council in June 2014, the ban will reduce trash pollution in the District’s waterways. Foam litter is consistently one of the most prevalent types of trash pollution in the Anacostia River.
“Foam is easily blown by wind or washed by rain into our storm drains and waterbodies,” said Department...
