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.

New Law Center Fights for Industry

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 said. “...Read more

5 Tips On Hiring and Retaining the Best Emploiyees

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 fine-dining...Read more

New DCRA Online Services Now Available

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, request city services, research property regulatory...Read more

New Guides to Help Restaurants Reduce Food Waste

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 expert contributors, including onsite...

Three Reasons to Consider SaaS

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 down the road as solutions need...

Heartland Out-of-Scope EMV Solutions Reduce Risk, 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-scope EMV solutions to protect merchants...

MasterCard to Require Acceptance of 2-Series Credit Cards

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 potentially lose...

4 Mistakes Killing Your Food Cost Margins

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...

Heartland Lending: Secure more dough to get back to your bread and butter

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 wiping out your operating...

A mid-term report card on EMV

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 debit...