May 2009 Blog Posts (122)

Non-Operator When Times Get Touch, the Kids Stay Home

Nation's Restaurant News is reporting that Adult Only Parties are up 2% in the year ending December 2008.

The percentage change in restaurant traffic is versus the same time period a year ago.

This trend was reversed in 2006 when Restaurant Parties with Kids peaked ahead of the prior year by plus 4% before going virtually flat in 2007 at plus 1% in 07, then falling 3% in '08.

Mom and Dad are still going out for a meal but some are definitely leaving the kids at… Continue

Added by Eric Gagnon on May 27, 2009 at 4:39am — No Comments

Online Ordering: Facts And Myths

Internet technologies are effectively used in restaurant business these days and online ordering is a hot topic for restaurant owners. So I thought it would be helpful to give some facts concerning online ordering and also destroy some myths about this technology.

First, here are some facts by National Restaurant Association (almost all of these facts were revelaed during NRA survey) :

- Nearly 70% of Americans have experience with making online retail… Continue

Added by Trevor Seemann on May 27, 2009 at 3:29am — No Comments

Anthony Bourdain, Alice Waters, Duff Goldman - need I say more?

Local Baltimore TV Food Network Star, Duff Goldman shares the stage with Anthony Bourdain and Alice Waters discussing the pros and cons of organic food. All three gathered at the Connecticut Forum for the “food for thought” panel. Check out the video at… Continue

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 26, 2009 at 4:21pm — No Comments

How do you show up in their world?

"So often, you are not the customer for your product. Yet you market it as if you were. Showing up in your world (or the board's world your staff's world) is not nearly as important as showing up in the world of the person you're actually trying to reach."

- Seth Godin

We met so many quality individuals in Chicago last week. It was really, really encouraging. Attendance seemed down at the NRA, but that simply gave us more time to spend… Continue

Added by Erle Dardick on May 26, 2009 at 9:30am — 3 Comments

Food safety, handwashing and Swine Flu - Oh My!

Seinfeld episodes were notorious for dealing with day-to-day incidents. Some themes are classics, I myself refer to someone I know as a close-talker. Probably the one that was the scariest was Seinfeld in the men’s room, the chef came out of the stall and didn’t wash his hands and proceeded back to his kitchen.

Read the complete story and watch video at… Continue

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 26, 2009 at 5:47am — No Comments

Non-Operator The Myth of Healthy Eating

Sometimes as you go through life your observations provide evidence that things that you thought were true aren’t true. For example, I once thought that government could solve all of our problems.

On the other hand, some beliefs are strengthened by evidence gathered over the years. I’ve always thought that the notion that Americans wanted healthier food when going out to eat was a media-generated myth. And the more I see, the more evidence I have that this is… Continue

Added by Rich Tandler on May 26, 2009 at 2:30am — 2 Comments

Job Seekers Use Social Media To Stand Out.

Recently the New York Times wrote the article

“Tweeting Your Way To A Job”

The article talks about Murphy-Goode Winery applicant No. 505, Amanda Casgar, chasing her dream job as MGW’s “Lifestyle Correspondent” where she would be in charge of promoting the vineyard’s malbec and chardonnay on blogs, Facebook and Twitter. The job pays $10,000 a month, plus free… Continue

Added by Amanda Hite on May 25, 2009 at 5:09pm — 9 Comments

last supper - a meal to die 4

An Arizona restaurateur's brand is to prepare unhealthy food and plays on it. Have you heard about the Heart Attack Grill?

See video and read more at Dining Examiner

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 25, 2009 at 2:01pm — No Comments

Online Ordering: ROI is Everything

Restaurant owners are always looking for more solutions to maintain their current customers and attract larger audiences. Online ordering is definitely one of these solutions, as bringing convenience to your customers will help to improve relationships with current clients as well as attract new ones! With that said, innovations in business demand wise investments and ROI is the bottom line for restaurant-owners who are looking to implement cutting-edge technologies into their… Continue

Added by Trevor Seemann on May 25, 2009 at 6:37am — No Comments

Non-Operator How much is enough?

There only are Seven Deadly Sins and Ten Commandments. A 12-step program can cure all sorts of ills.

But La Bernardin restaurant in New York City has 129 Cardinal Rules. Most of the no-no's in the restaurant—considered one of America's best for over 20 years—involve server sins. Here are a few random rules pulled off the list, posted by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on its website:

13.… Continue

Added by Rich Tandler on May 25, 2009 at 5:00am — 3 Comments

What style of restaurant marketing you should employ for your business?

Which kind of marketing (Institutional vs. direct response) is the best for a restaurant that is trying to:

1. Establish it’s image?

2. Generate customers through the doors?

No marks for deducting the accurate answer. Brand marketing will not necessarily invite inquiries from likely restaurant customers in the second case; while immediate response marketing might not work in the first. Therefore the right choice for the first is brand marketing and that… Continue

Added by Andreas Breitfuss on May 25, 2009 at 5:00am — 1 Comment

Waiter audition in American Idol fashion - funny video

I think everyone can enjoy this little farce of American Idol. View the video and story at Dining Examiner

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 24, 2009 at 2:13pm — No Comments

Boston market offers veterans discount

Sometimes we loose sight of what Memorial Day is all about. It seems appropriate with the holiday this weekend to talk about the Veterans Advantage card and an on-going promotion that Boston Markets is offering veterans.

Read more at Dining… Continue

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 24, 2009 at 6:00am — No Comments

Non-Operator Food Safety: 223-tons of CA & OH ground beef recalled this week

223-tons of California and Ohoo ground beef recalled this week...

Will at put a damper on your Memorial Day BBQ or do you just cook all ground beef well-done?

Are we getting worse at food safety or better at monitoring safety?

Paul

96,000 lbs. of Ground Beef Recalled For Possible E. Coli… Continue

Added by Paul Paz on May 23, 2009 at 11:17pm — No Comments

The batch is back

Ben and Jerry’s was one of the originals and still is a leader in social responsibility. They recently kickoff a limited partnership with Sir Elton John. It was a one week launch of a limited edition flavor honoring John’s first trip to Vermont and to raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF). Read the full story at Dining… Continue

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 23, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments

A little girl's first ice cream

I couldn't resist pulling out my FLIP video to capture the absolute relish this toddler had eating her first ice cream cone.

Check out the short video at Dining… Continue

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 22, 2009 at 5:27pm — No Comments

Non-Operator 95,000 + Pounds of Beef on RECALL !

Seven brands and 44 different product categories of ground beef have been recalled by Valley Meats in Illinois.

Read full article here.

Added by Paul Green on May 22, 2009 at 3:47pm — 1 Comment

11 burger recipes for your grill

Tired of the same old burger off the grill? Want to do something a bit different but not sure what? Before I give you the link to the 11 recipes let’s talk burger grilling tips. Read more at Dining… Continue

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 22, 2009 at 12:08pm — No Comments

Non-Operator Become a FohBohist!

FohBohist Program

Peer-to-peer Knowledge Banking

A FohBohist™ is a bi-weekly featured columnist at FohBoh.com. Your blog post will be featured prominently on the main page of FohBoh.com bi-weekly where you will be provided a powerful platform to share your expertise and/or insights with the global restaurant industry. As our readership grows, so will your reputation.

The Fohbohist program is a unique opportunity for a very select number of active FohBoh… Continue

Added by FohBoh on May 22, 2009 at 8:59am — No Comments

Historic Chicken Production Slowdown

The chart of the week is annual chicken production. As stated in the latest issue of the Weekly Commodity Report, chicken production in 2009 as an annual average is forecasted to decline for the first time in 34 years. Why? It’s well documented that chicken producer margins have suffered during the past 18 months or so which has caused them to cut production. Chicken production for the better part of 2009 has been trending 5% plus below year ago levels. 2009 will almost certainly mark only the… Continue

Added by David Maloni on May 22, 2009 at 6:46am — No Comments