January 2009 Blog Posts (117)

Favorite FohBoh Moments!

I remember getting a shared email from a fellow member of AHRE (Association of Hospitality Recruiting Executives), prompting me to check out the site FOHBOH.COM, a new social networking for the restaurant industry.

Being the social media junkie I am, I signed up immediately, becoming the #836 member.

FOHBOH was one of my first experiences with a Niche Social Network. I loved the difference it made and the value that it brought, so I started to… Continue

Added by Amanda Hite on January 27, 2009 at 6:34am — 12 Comments

Non-Operator SEO? ROI? - It's All "ETHER-REAL" To Me

I have a proposal to make, but, first a little background.

For most of my life a telephone was tethered to a wall with a cord, and if you wanted telephone messages you subscribed to an answering service.

I'm pretty sure that 100 years from now as people look back beyond 1980 the era will be known as the Dark Age of communication.

Technological savvy is imperative in conducting business today and examples of that need are posted on websites and blogs galore, but… Continue

Added by Paul Green on January 26, 2009 at 4:04pm — 9 Comments

Great quotes on Social Media.

I've been doing a lot of research lately and have come across some really incredible stuff about this phenomenon we call social media. I wanted to share my top ten favorite quotes with the FohBoh community.

10. “If content is king, then conversion is queen.” - John Munsell, CEO of Bizzuka

9. “By creating compelling content, you can become a celebrity.” - Paul Gillin

8. “Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology- it requires… Continue

Added by Sarah on January 26, 2009 at 1:06pm — 10 Comments

Non-Operator Creating value

Several months ago, before the good times ended, many restaurant managers and owners were espousing the belief that discounting and/or couponing of any sort was a bad thing, yet it’s now virtually impossible to turn on the TV, radio, or any other media, including email, without being inundated with discount offerings of one sort or another. Most people agreed months ago more damage than benefit results from couponing/discounting, yet now it’s so commonplace that if you’re paying retail you’re… Continue

Added by Mark Frank on January 26, 2009 at 10:00am — 3 Comments

Inspiration-What gets you Going?

What gets you going everyday? Is it that cup of coffee? Is it just the sunlight peaking through the window telling you to get up? What ever it is you do to get that jumpstart in the morning, you should also get inspired.

I will be honest with you, and tell you that my family inspires me every day; my 3 yr old inspires me to get going every morning (as he grabs my eyelids and says “Daddy you up?”. A lot of people don’t wake up in the morning and say “I am thankful for this new day, let’s… Continue

Added by Mark Hagan on January 26, 2009 at 8:46am — 1 Comment

Non-Operator Customer Service Training: the "Diet and Exercise" of profitable restaurants

Funny the way different people approach similar challenges. Think about weight loss, something all too many of us are challenged by these days. The solution is relatively simple, very powerful, and straight forward, BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT. Want to lose pounds, the answer is diet and exercise. You can talk about it, read about it, even pay to join a gym. At the end of the day, all your body knows is calories consumed vs. calories burned. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated. Now, some folks have no… Continue

Added by James Kohn on January 25, 2009 at 5:11pm — No Comments

Ground Beef and Beef Trimming Markets

The chart of the week is 90% beef trimming prices and the US dollar index. As the chart depicts, 90% beef trimming prices have a tendency to trend inversely with the US dollar index meaning when one market is tracking higher, the other usually moves lower. Why does this occur? Because most of the cattle in the US are grain fed, they have a tendency to be fattier and produce mostly 50% trimmings. Thus the US has to import 90% beef trimmings from countries producing leaner grass fed cows. The… Continue

Added by David Maloni on January 23, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

Top 5 things restaurants should be doing online

These days there are several vendors offering web-based solutions for restaurants. The more units a restaurant has, the more benefit to using an online solution. In my next post, I will dive into the details regarding all the benefits to using software as a service (SaaS), but first let's take a look at what is out there.

1. Labor Scheduling - this is the first place for any restaurant to start. Let's face it, you're online and your employees are online. With online… Continue

Added by Jeff Schacher on January 23, 2009 at 8:03am — 9 Comments

Non-Operator W is for Words & Music

Nothing prepares one for a life in the financial markets like a degree in English Literature, followed by more than a decade as a musician for hire.

Seriously … many of the things I learned during that period of my life have continued relevance now. Take songwriting, for instance. No matter which comes first – melody or lyrics – the trick is to combine the right set of word with the right music which not only matches or complements the phrasing but also helps to establish the tone of… Continue

Added by Rod Guinn on January 23, 2009 at 6:00am — 3 Comments

2008 Sexiest Golfer Survey

The question of who is the "Sexiest Female Golfer" for 2008 was decided by American Beer Drinking Club members. Members and visitors to our website voted all year.

2008's Sexiest Female Golfer is ...........

Added by David Hottle, CPC on January 22, 2009 at 7:32am — No Comments

New ads tell lawyers to pound salt

In the beginning, there was product advertising. Commercials focused on chains’ menu items, often with help from clowns, kings and other mascots. And it was good.

Then the industry begot competition. The message, “This is good,” changed to “Ours is better.” The heavens parted, and marketers were directed from on high to tout their products in comparative commercials based on taste tests. Burger King asked virgins whose sandwich they… Continue

Added by Peter Romeo on January 22, 2009 at 7:18am — 5 Comments

Funny thing happened on my way to work

So I am headed to one of my restaurants and I am reflecting on why I can’t seem to make the headway fast enough to make this the best operation in the industry. I think to myself, “Self, you have been doing the same thing you always do in these situations and it works, what is happening here?”

Being the introspective fellow I am I mull it over and over and over. Can’t find it in that big ole noggin of mine. Then the revelation comes,… Continue

Added by Andy Swingley on January 21, 2009 at 7:35pm — 18 Comments

Diversification through food manufacturing

We’ve been in San Francisco this week, visiting the Fancy Food Show. Fancy food manufacturing is a potentially lucrative activity for restaurant brand extension. We’ve seen this at the enterprise level. For instance, Wolfgang Puck, The Cheesecake Factory and the California Pizza Kitchen all make products for resale in supermarkets.

Now we're seeing the same phenomenon among mid level and small businesses.

Last post, I began to talk about catering as a potential new sales… Continue

Added by Erle Dardick on January 21, 2009 at 8:54am — 2 Comments

Organic wine match of the day: Maysara Jamsheed Pinot Noir & Szechuan baby back ribs

For a free subscription to Randy Caparoso's Organic Wine Match of the Day, visit the Denver Wine Examiner:

When Oregon’s “Papa Pinot,” the recently departed David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards, planted his first vineyard… Continue

Added by Randy Caparoso on January 20, 2009 at 10:08pm — No Comments

Our Future has roots in our past

I write with a very full heart after a long, long day, filled with joy and inspiration and tears as I watched the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th president.

The tears flowed because of many memories - memories of Chicago and Dr. Martin Luther King's march there - a march I participated in while a graduate student at the University of Chicago. At that time, there was so much to be gained for racial equality in our country. We had to go through demonstrations in the… Continue

Added by susan holaday on January 20, 2009 at 6:41pm — 5 Comments

Upside Down Snow Shovels

While shopping on a recent snowy day, I noticed employees in each shopping center which I visited clearing the walkways with cheap snow shovels. Pushing the snow to the curb, they worked quickly so as to not to linger in the cold. And, in every instance, they were using the shovels upside down! Oddly enough, it was an efficient, expedient use of the inferior tools at hand.

In 2009, we've been equipped with weakened tools. Our expectations should not be equally diminished. We need to… Continue

Added by Joe Ferri on January 20, 2009 at 5:14pm — No Comments

Non-Operator Restaurant Inefficiencies

Yesterday I went with my wife to meet some friends in the bar of a restaurant. It was Friday night and, although the crisis, the bar was packed. Perhaps because it was 5:15 p.m.: Happy Hour time.

The bar was just next to (and open to) the, restaurant, which was almost empty, just two tables were busy. So we went around trying to find our friends but they weren't there yet. One restaurant manager came to us and told us that if wanted to enjoy the Happy Hour, we needed to wait in line.… Continue

Added by Jose L Riesco on January 20, 2009 at 12:30pm — 6 Comments

Inaugural Luncheon Menu and Recipes from the 2009 Inaugural Luncheon

Click on this link for the full menu and recipes.Inaugural Luncheon menu.pdf

Added by Michael L. Atkinson on January 20, 2009 at 11:15am — 3 Comments

Reinventing Marketing and using Web 2.0 tools

Marketing and communication has seen enormous change in the past several years, as we continue to embrace and utilize Web 2.0 technologies. With blogs, review sites, forums, social networks and Twitter, we now have an unique opportunity to better engage interactively with customers and employees. This is a powerful force of change. I know, we all are a bit overwhelmed at times with messaging, particularly the unsolicited ones from, say, Nigeria. Or, those pesky lottery emails here to save the… Continue

Added by Michael L. Atkinson on January 20, 2009 at 10:20am — 11 Comments

Operator [ Draft ]

on grilling

grilling|definition

- applying a dry-heat cooking method where the heat is radiated from below and transferred, in part, to a metal grid/grate

grilling|benefits

- grilling, cooking on high heat, is quick and enables us to cook food to order

- grilling/charring food gives a distinctive appearance and flavor

- because the food is visible during the cooking process, it is… Continue

Added by Ron Duprat on January 20, 2009 at 10:04am — No Comments