Gluten free done right

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

Jeff Drake, President of GoRoma, a fast-casual Italian restaurant with six locations in the Chicago area, is glad he decided to feature gluten-free menu…

America's Next Great Fall Guy

by Don Fox — CEO, Firehouse of America

After just a single month of operation, "America's Next Great Restaurant" winner Jamawn Woods shuttered two of the three "Soul Daddy" locations that debuted…

Leverage social media outlets for your new hires

by Nate DaPore — President and CEO, PeopleMatter

How did most of your applicants find you? Did they use a job board or did they walk in and ask one of your team members for an application? More and more…

Don't try this at home

by Janet Eden-Harris — CMO & SVP Strategy, Market Force

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting Jerry Calabrese for a Fast Casual webinar. For those that missed it, Jerry recently retired from McDonald’s where he…

Turning the mundane into the memorable

by Don Fox — CEO, Firehouse of America

Most consumers treat themselves to dining occasions across the entire spectrum of restaurant segments. Within everyone's lives, there are occasions that are…

Kosher, Halal, Organic, and Gluten Free Stand Trial – Part I

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

"How about a Dutch baby for breakfast?" I said as I selected apples from the fruit basket. Enzo chimed in first, "No, I don't like Dutch babies". Switching…

Kosher, Halal, Organic, and Gluten Free Stand Trial – Part II

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

*If you want to know what is going on, read Part I first.

What makes you say that?

I met with a potential client this past week. It was a referral from a current client that knows I can help this business with their many in-house “issues.…

Is “Jane Q Diner” responsible or is the counter person?

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

Recently I had the pleasure and challenge of doing what I would call a “mystery dine” on a concept near the town where I live. This desire to go play Food PD…

The Power of a Last Impression

by Don Fox — CEO, Firehouse of America

Do you like to sit behind a one way mirror and listen to your customers talk passionately about the food that they eat and the brands that they favor...or…

Slippery when wet – A mop bucket mentality

I first noticed the unmistakable sound of a mop bucket being pushed across a tile floor. I glanced over at the shift manager as he rolled the bucket of hot…

Transparency is the Key to Successful Menu Labeling

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

My NRA show experience started out with a session on Menu Labeling first thing Saturday morning and was a perfect way for me to begin this amazing conference.

When Experience Really Matters

by Janet Eden-Harris — CMO & SVP Strategy, Market Force

Who has seen the latest reports on the fastest growing restaurant chains in North America? I was struck when I read the following article summarizing the…

Where have all the super fruits gone?

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

There are countless TV shows investigating what happened to former child stars and …Where Are They Now! They go something like this;

It's time to feel good!

by Don Fox — CEO, Firehouse of America

The latter part of May is always a busy time of year on my calendar. During the waning days of spring, there is a convergence of our Firehouse Subs Public…

Street food: Urban foraging

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

“Lilly, get over here – she just got that blue box from the garage, where are you?” Teddy yelled – she was always a bit bossy toward Lilly. And it wasn’t as if…

If it looks like a duck

A friend of mine is a district manager for a fast casual restaurant franchisee who was recently sharing the details of a late night robbery at one of his…

Today’s employee, tomorrow’s unemployed

by Valerie Killifer — Editor, FastCasual.com

A few weeks ago I was sitting at the bar at Harry Caray’s in Chicago’s Midway airport. I was at a stool next to the server station and happened to overhear a…

Hot gluten free mess of new products

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

WestEx was a hot gluten-free mess of new products everywhere you turned.  

Make the connection to better food cost

As an industry, we are facing the continuous rise of commodities that adversely affect our businesses. The rising price in grains and feed affect the price of…