It was just a day like any other day. It was filled with lots of action, excitement and pressure. The restaurant business is tough, but you love it. Your head hits the pillow and soon you plunge into …

Groupon continues to be front and center in the foodservice industry. A day doesn't go by where I don't hear the name Groupon from an operator, see an RSS feed with some B-School analyst speculating …

Yasin Sara was robbed at his Y & S Supermarket this past week in Tampa, FLa. Sadly the robbery turned tragic when Sara confronted the gunman and was shot in the chest. Luckily he is expected to …

In my last blog I commented on how our poor economy was slowing down implementation of new technologies such as digital menu boards. I received a lot of comments about that from friends in my …

The growth in our industry is just mind-boggling when you think about it. According to the NRF, you and I now spend 49 cents of every food dollar on dining out. And that has translated into huge …

A Wall Street Journal article, Hackers Shift Attacks to Small Firms, has many more people paying attention to security issues, and for those of us in the security industry, we welcome the shift in …

Restaurant owners face many assaults on their businesses. The perpetual rise of commodity prices, unexplained inventory shortages, labor issues, and the constant threat of robbery and internal thefts …

At least once a week I get asked "How long do you think this Gluten-Free fad will be around?" It is an interesting question in that many wish it would just go away and be done while others believe …

The use of too much paper cuts hiring efficiencies and weighs down your business. In fact, when reviewing the hiring practices of a publically traded restaurant chain, we found it spends $76,000 a …

I recently taught a course called Advanced Batter and Breading Technology at JBT Food Tech's technology training center in Sandusky, Ohio. Twenty years ago two Stein executives wrote two chapters on …

In its first fry redesign in 41 years, Wendy's recently unveiled Natural-Cut Sea Salt Fries — revamped 100 percent russet potatoes, cut with the skin on and seasoned with sea salt. Back in 2008 …

Higher sales, fewer servers, faster table turns, and happier, more loyal customers – Tableside Point-of-Sale offers all this and more. I foresee that it is going to profoundly change the …

Many of us have been working hard on the development of digital menu boards (and digital signage) and investing capital for several years because we believe they are valuable marketing/merchandising …

A good friend of mine is a police officer and good naturedly shared this story with me on a customer service experience. He was on duty one day in his marked patrol car and at lunch time decided he …

A lot has been written about authencity over the past several years – in personal relationships, business endeavors and brand management. As restaurant operators know, authenticity is playing …

'Groundhog Day' isn't reality Isn't it frustrating not knowing what is going to happen next -- mot knowing what is lurking around the next corner? If we could only know, then maybe we could plan …

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) recently rolled out their Kids LiveWell program. The program is designed to be mutually beneficial to kids' health and restaurants' bottom lines by …

When the PCI standard talks about remote access, it is referring to connecting to a computer when you are on another network. A typical example would be if you were at home, and you connected to your …

As every operator knows, the restaurant business is a penny business. We work on relatively thin margins and don't have the luxury of harboring a casual attitude when it comes to controlling costs …

Consumers often say they wish they had healthier options for breakfast, yet better-for-you, not to mention better-tasting, has been hard to come by when it comes to breakfast on the run. We're seeing …