Operations

Operating a restaurant involves a lot of moving parts – most controlled by you, but many controlled by laws, regulations, licenses and permits. Alcoholic beverages, food safety, labor practices and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (the healthcare mandate) are significant – and then there is everything else.

Get to know the regulatory agencies that govern such things as sidewalk cafes, signage, noise, fire safety and more. And, get to know about the efforts being made by RAMW on your behalf to improve the regulatory environment.

Minority Share of Population Increases by 2030

November 13, 2019

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 of minorities rising...

Good Benefits Attract and Keep Restaurant Employees

November 19, 2019

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 200...

Robots, Driverless Cars and DNA Diets Could Disrupt the Restaurant Industry by 2030

November 15, 2019

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 the...

We're Sick of the Waste, and We're Not Alone

October 30, 2019

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 households. The National...

Top 5 Foodborne Illness Causes Spotlighted at Food Safety Conference

October 24, 2019

Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association Food-safety professionals shared training and tips on how to respond to incidents in a way that protects guests, employees and the business. Food-safety professionals, gathered for the Food Safety & Quality Assurance Executive Study Group conference in Orlando, Fla., shared their best food-safety training tips, effective food safety practices in the millennial era, and how to respond to an incident in a way that protects the guests, employees and the business. At this year's conference, Hal King shared insights on how to reduce...

Restaurant Tech Evolution

October 24, 2019

Original contect c/o: National Restaurant Association The tide of new technology may seem overwhelming, but it promises to enhance the hospitality at the heart the restaurant industry. “Customers today interact with restaurants more and more often outside the four walls of the actual restaurant,” said Focus Brands’ Michael Verdesca, executive vice president and chief information officer, during a panel at FSTEC 2019 in Dallas. It’s imperative that you have a presence everywhere your customers are likely to connect with you, via your app, third-party delivery apps, your...

Learn to Recognize Unconscious Bias at Your Operation

October 16, 2019

Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association The world and workplace are increasingly multicultural. Enhance your cultural intelligence and embrace diversity to benefit your business. Do you have the knowledge and skills necessary to engage people from different cultural backgrounds effectively? Do you know what unconscious bias is, or the negative impact it can have on your restaurant’s operations and sales? Gerry Fernandez, founder and president of the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance , an affiliate of the National Restaurant Association , says...

DC Is Behind the Rest of Metropolitan Area in Business Ownership Rates for Women

October 30, 2019

Original content c/o: DC Policy Center by Kathryn Zickuhr & Yesim Sayin Taylor Only 8 percent of business establishments in the District of Columbia with five or more employees are owned by women, as we wrote in the 2019 State of Business report . DC has lower shares of businesses owned by women than almost any other jurisdiction in the metropolitan area, with rates similar to those of Arlington County and Manassas Park City. DC also has the lowest business ownership rates for women when measured by share of gross receipts (only 4 percent of sales are to businesses owned by women),...

Member in the News: TwentyTables is Expanding Its DIning Partnership with GW

October 28, 2019

Original content c/o: Technical.ly George Washington University students, staff and faculty can access TwentyTables' app to purchase meals using their GWorld Dining Cash accounts. DC-based TwentyTables , creator of an app that connects users to fixed-cost meal options from local restaurants, announced that it is expanding its partnership George Washington University . GW’s dining program will integrate with TwentyTables’ platform to expand access to affordable food for students, faculty and staff. Starting today, TwentyTables will manage a rotating variety of food trucks with...Read more

DOL Issues New Federal Overtime Rule

September 26, 2019

Original content c/o: National Restaurant Association The regulation is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2020. The US Department of Labor Sept. 24 released a new federal overtime regulation. The rule revises the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) test for determining when an employee is exempt from earning overtime pay, also known as the “white collar” overtime exemptions. The Department estimates that 1.2 million additional workers will be entitled to overtime pay as result of the increase to the standard salary level. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register Sept. 27,...