Getting the police to do something

I heard the complaint again today. The local police are not responding. The crime was a theft of a deposit from the safe of a small restaurant. An officer took…

Lower Calories for Bigger Profits

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

Lower Calories for Bigger Profits: Healthy Menu Promotion Examples from 4 Industry Leaders

Menu labeling is HOT for 2011!

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

As the New Year began, California decided to stand firm and strong on a very interesting topic for anyone that is in the food service business: menu…

Procedure relevancy - the army way

In our training classes, we often discuss customer service. It is ALWAYS about listening to the customer and then delivering more than they expect. Another…

Heeeers 2011!

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

The media has been focused on recapping the previous year as they do each December. I have never been clear if this is to point out the cleverness and accuracy…

Endurance, determination & training

by Paul Mcginnis — Vice President, Marketing, Ecolab Food Safety Specialties

It was my junior year in high school. I had always wanted to play basketball but due to a variety of circumstances did not have the chance… until now. I…

Local: The ins, the outs and the details

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

We hear the term local tossed around pretty loosely nowadays. While it's popping up on just about everything with a price tag (local business, locally owned…

Where do we go in 2011?

by Don Fox — CEO, Firehouse of America

This week, all across America, there are countless restaurant executives taking stock of how they and their companies performed in 2010. Even the casual…

Foraging – Desperate Times

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

Lilly looked around from her vantage point of the red flowered pillow and wondered what there was to eat. "Hey Teddy," she said in a sleepy voice, "what do we…

Robbery turned wrestling match

The headline in the local newspaper caught my eye, “Pizza shop owner disarms robber,” accompanied by a photo of the grinning business owner with one of his…

Employee theft – A trio succumbs to the “triangle”

Losses to restaurants can occur from just about anywhere. We talk about cash stolen from registers and from customers by a multitude of internal fraud schemes.

What’s the Five Guys mystique?

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

A year ago, Market Force conducted a survey and asked consumers to tell us their favorite fast casual restaurant, and why they nominated them. And we did it…

Holiday business crime prevention tips

Typically crime increases during the holiday season, and stores and restaurants are not exempt. Unfortunately, dishonest people and criminals are attracted to…

Is your restaurant required?

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

Is your restaurant required by law to post nutritional information?

Skimming: credit cards - and profits

Credit card skimming in the restaurant industry is becoming more exposed as high-dollar theft cases are being made against restaurant workers. Recently in the…

Making the grade

by Paul Mcginnis — Vice President, Marketing, Ecolab Food Safety Specialties

I remember it like it was yesterday… Derek, my best friend in 7th grade, ducked down in the back seat of the school bus and said “Cover me!” I turned around to…

Claiming the benefits of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010

by Richard Yelton — Principal, Windham Brannon, P.C.

As many restaurant franchisees are currently contemplating the need to make capital improvements to their restaurants, the recently enacted Small Business Jobs…

Disharmonic harmony in trends

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

*Disclaimer – I know nothing about music – just embrace the metaphor.

Stay awake, stay uncomfortable, stay kind

by Joni Doolin — CEO, People Report

We are living in a time of meta-shift. Pick your favorite historian, economist, futuris, or business sage - if you listen closely they are all telling us the…

Taking control of who has what

Do you have control of your restaurant? By that I mean everyone who has keys to the building, and storage areas, codes to the POS system, and combinations to…