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…

The value of fast casual

by Don Fox — CEO, Firehouse of America

I'm spending my Saturday sitting on a Southwest Airlines cross-country flight, headed home after a whirlwind tour of our Firehouse Subs restaurants in Denver…

There’s a new shadow in town, pardner

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

My world consists of an overlapping series of chaos, blips, shadows and trends. Not only do contenders move through each of these stages, they interact with…

More steps to gluten free

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

Last week, I started this discussion identifying items that contain gluten that might suprise you, as well as the first steps in creating gluten free dishes. 

Preparing gluten free dishes

by Betsy Craig — pres, menutrinfo.com

Catering to the needs of customers who require gluten free dishes is a necessity for any busy restaurant. While it may seem daunting at first, by being…

At the Dance

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

Food and flavor trends behave like attendees at a dance. Their behavior is dictated by the music being played. In other words, it is the circumstances…

Election Day

by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

During election season candidates jockey and vie for position - looking for the edge over the other candidates. Battle plans are drawn. Counter moves…

The young green consumer

by Kim Frankovich — VP of Sustainability, Solo Cup Company

If you want to know what’s happening, or will be happening, in the area of sustainability, look no further than America’s college and university campuses.

Setting boundaries for social networking in the workplace

by Carolyn Richmond — Partner, Fox Rothschild

With each passing day, social networking becomes further ingrained in our personal and work lives. The benefits of social networking in the workplace can be…