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Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Check out these resolutions designed to boost your restaurants’ business in 2020! What better time than the first month of the new year to refresh yourself on all the great resources, educational training, services and products the National Restaurant Association and the Educational Foundation offer. Bookmark this site; most of these "resolutions" link you directly to many of the myriad resources we offer to help your business succeed. Develop an apprentice. Help your star employees advance with professional...
- Dining out has become a staple of Americans' monthly eating habits, with 83% of consumers eating a meal outside the home at least once per month - Americans now spend an average of $281 on dining out in a typical month - Discounts and deals influence Americans' out-of-home dining choices more than expected: 77% say a deal would make them more likely to choose to dine out RetailMeNot today announced the release of the 2020 Restaurant Marketing Insights guide, providing a comprehensive look at consumer behaviors when dining out and the strategies restaurant marketers can...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association From stress-busting foods to special burger blends and rejiggered classic cocktails, this year’s list highlights a combination of comfort mixed with a little bit of edginess. Wondering what customers are craving at restaurants this year? If you guessed these edgy updates along with plant-based proteins, healthy bowl meals and delivery-friendly menu options in eco-friendly packaging, you’re on trend for 2020. “These trends reflect Americans’ desire to combine the tried-and-true with the new and different,”...
S&D Coffee & Tea® and Nation's Restaurant News Tap Restaurant Operators to Determine Top Trends Leading beverage supplier and innovator S&D Coffee & Tea® recently teamed up with Nation's Restaurant News to predict the top beverage trends most likely to appear on restaurant menus in 2020. Drawn from a comprehensive survey* commissioned among restaurant operators nationwide, along with an in-depth audit of market insights and testimonials from influential industry insiders, the report is diverse in its findings. Trends range from the nitrogenation of...
Original content: Forbes By Cathy Huyghe Contributor If you’re a wine lover, and if you’re heads-up about current events and world news, then the New Year hasn’t been very celebratory so far. The bad news seems overwhelming and far-reaching, between devastating fires in Australia to bureaucrat types in Washington and Europe debating tariffs and deciding the fate of so many wine businesses we love. It seems overwhelming, partly because it feels so out of our control. I’d argue that, despite the large-scale ramifications of current events, there are things that...
Original content: The New York Times By David Yaffe-Bellany Published Jan. 9, 2020; Updated Jan. 10, 2020, 12:58am ET Responding to criticism that it was cutting into restaurant profits, the food-delivery giant said it was making a change to stop charging fees for calls that do not end with an order. Facing mounting pressure from regulators and restaurant owners, the food-delivery giant Grubhub said on Thursday that it would revise its widely criticized phone-ordering system to avoid charging restaurants for calls that do not result in orders. In recent...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Top execs at leading fast-casual concepts say opening too many and too few new stores can jeopardize a brand’s long-term success. The restaurant industry is full of cautionary tales of buzzy new brands exploding on the scene only to become unwieldy as they grow too quickly. Opening too few new stores is no better. What’s the key to a healthy store-opening rate? In its Fast Casual Insider podcast series, the National Restaurant Association asked senior execs from successful brands to share their business strategies...
A new study from the market research team at Zion & Zion, a top-ranked, full-service, national marketing agency, examines the problems and frustrations that consumers experience with multi-restaurant delivery websites/apps like Grubhub and UberEATS. The findings of Zion & Zion's research have implications for both restaurants and delivery apps: ​Non-millennials experience significantly more frustration (61.2%) with these apps than millennials (46.9%). Consumers experience problems with multi-restaurant delivery websites/apps an average of 24.4% of the time, including...
Original content: Forbes By Jill Barth Members of the Wine Origins Alliance yesterday submitted a jointly signed letter for the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) public comment period on tariffs in response to aircraft subsidies and France’s Digital Services Tax. The United States on December 2, 2019 threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion in French goods in retaliation for a digital services tax it says is discriminatory. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images) This action was followed by a second letter sent to...
Original content c/o: Bruce Adelson, Attorney at Law Racial slurs, intolerant comments, discriminatory actions often flare up without warning. The businesses where they occur must act swiftly and without hesitation to stamp them out and end the behavior. Otherwise, news of intolerant incidents will go viral, spreading quickly through all corners of social media. Once the viral phenomenon hits, businesses risk much – in lost revenue, negative attention, damaged reputation, and possible lawsuits. To guard against such events, businesses must be proactive with zero tolerance...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association A decade from now, most Gen Zers will be in their 20s and 30s. Are you ready to serve them? Restaurant guests of the future will be interested in many things, including everything from a restaurant’s sustainability efforts to convenience and value. But it’s a sure bet that healthful menu options will be at the top of their list. Restaurant experts surveyed for the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry 2030 report identified “more healthy options on menus” as one of the Top 25...
Original content: DCist By Jacob Fenston What would it take to keep most of the waste produced in DC out of landfills and incinerators? It would require wide-ranging changes to how residents and businesses deal with what they toss out — from batteries to glass bottles — according to new legislation making its way through the DC Council. Sequoia Ireland works the compost drop off site in Columbia Heights. The city is trying to increase its rate of composting. Photo Credit: Jacob Fenston / WAMU What would it take to keep most of the waste produced in DC out of...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Get your staff up to speed on safe alcohol service. Holiday celebrations can bring in a lot of business for restaurants and bars. According to market research firm Technomic, alcohol sales during the fourth quarter of the year can account for up to 30% of alcohol sales overall (retail and restaurant). As operations get busy, staff members need to stay focused on serving alcohol responsibly, says Jay Lerdal, program manager for the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe Alcohol training program. During holiday...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Over the next decade, expect to excel at turning intel into management magic. You’ve heard it, and you’ve probably said it: “How did we ever survive without a smartphone?” A little over a decade after the iPhone’s 2007 debut, the smartphone has embedded itself into every aspect of our lives. It likely won’t take 10 years for today’s technologies to become our new normal, even those that sound “sci-fi” today. Real-time-data feedback is one technology likely to become a common part...
TheFork Acquires Bookatable and Expands to the UK, Germany, Austria, Finland and Norway Markets PARIS, Dec. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michelin Guide has joined forces with TripAdvisor and TheFork to offer diners a complementary way to find their ideal dining experience, as well as improved access to a wider choice of high-quality restaurants around the world. Michelin and TripAdvisor, with its subsidiary TheFork, have entered into a content and licensing partnership to combine the gastronomic selection expertise of the Michelin Guide with the power of TripAdvisor's...
Original content c/o: Nation's Restaurant News The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns restaurant operators not to serve lettuce from Salinas, CA The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged restaurants not to sell or serve any romaine lettuce from Salinas, Calif. following a multistate outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7. A total of 40 people have fallen ill in 16 states, and among them 28 have been hospitalized, including five that have developed kidney failure. No deaths had been reported. The CDC had not identified a specific grower, supplier or distributor...
Original content c/o: Nation's Restaurant News And why having a strong bar team is building sales at The Grape D’Vine, Hakkasan Restaurant Group, The Grey Plume The restaurant business is notorious for having a revolving door. The staff come, and they go, but sometimes, just sometimes, the good ones stay. Capturing them can be akin to netting a unicorn, for the truly good ones can be game changers for your business. Nowhere is this more important than for those who have a hand in the beverage sales of the operation. Keeping a keen eye out to identify strong talent is the first...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Full-timers especially are looking for a full plate of benefits. Tiered health-care plans, tuition reimbursement, even tattoos are in the offing. Good benefits are a badge of honor in the restaurant industry: “Get benefits worth bragging about,” touts a listing for one restaurant company’s management position. “If you aren't offering benefits to managers, you aren’t going to get them,” says restaurant consultant and accountant Rick Braa, owner of AMP Services LLP, Seattle. Braa works with nearly...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association You might see some of these changes coming … but are you ready? As part of the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry 2030 report, we partnered with the futurists at Foresight Alliance to identify 10 possible disruptors that could impact restaurants – forces outside the restaurant industry that have the potential to shake up the way restaurants do business. Of course, disruptions have a flipside for forward-looking restaurateurs: opportunity. The key is to start thinking about the future now. Among...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Inclusion will help drive profitability and relevance for restaurants committed to diversity. A demographic shift is happening in the United States. By 2030, the number of Hispanic-, Asian- and African-Americans will grow to represent a larger proportion of the US population than 2020, according to data reported in the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry 2030: Actionable Insights for the Future report. By the numbers The country’s demographics are indeed changing, reflected in the number...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Cost of food safety training is a bargain in comparison. Wonder how much a foodborne illness outbreak could cost your restaurant? The amount you spend could range from thousands to literally millions of dollars, especially when lawsuits and reputational damage are in the mix. Here’s where some of the money goes if an outbreak is traced to your operation: Business lost closing your restaurant to clean and sanitize it. Business lost waiting for the health department to approve reopening. Throwing out all potentially...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Restaurants share their best ideas for recruiting good employees and keeping them once they’re on board. Restaurants don’t just have to fill seats. They have to fill jobs, and careers. And in a tight labor market, it’s getting more difficult to find and retain employees. But new approaches, many with a personal touch and others that lean on technology or financial incentives, can help operators succeed at recruiting and retaining great employees by making...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Get a rare glimpse into the restaurant industry 10 years from now and take away insights you can begin to act on today. Whether you’re an operator or supplier, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry 2030 report is key to your strategic plan. It’s full of insights to help you prepare for and capitalize on upcoming trends, developments, demographic changes, and industry challenges. As society’s pace and technology speed up exponentially, it’s even more important for restaurants to...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Beverages present an untapped, incremental revenue opportunity for restaurants leveraging third-party delivery.  Everyone’s talking about the disruptive effect third-party delivery has on traditional restaurant operations – but not much has been written about how beverages fit into the equation. According to the marketing team at The Coca-Cola Company, 70% to 80% of on-premises restaurant transactions include a beverage in the order, compared to only a small fraction of third-party delivery orders. “When it...
Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Government and industry partner to fight food waste in the US Restaurants, grocers, and food manufacturers this week officially teamed up with the federal government to find ways to cut billions of pounds of food waste at every step of the process – from the field through processing to groceries, restaurants and home fridges. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates we waste between 30% and 40% of the food supply each year. At the same time, USDA estimates 37 million people live in food-insecure...

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