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Bar & Grill restaurants currently sit atop of the expansion and sales goals of today's existing and growing chains. This is mirrored in relation to independent operators who are opening new stores and performing well in today's environment. Not all concepts, but many family/casual and upscale restaurant operators (chains and multi-units) have either closed or continue to struggle.

As far as industry growth or contraction, we see no discernable difference in 2010 as end consumers con… Continue

Recently I had the pleasure of going out to eat where the FOH staff meets and mostly exceeds expectations. It's called Aureole. Yes it's famous, but for the right reasons. Is the food so scrumpcious that you can't believe the tasty morsels? In some ways yes, but the real attraction is how the staff works with their customers.

Some examples,

After reviewing the menu and wanting the tasting menu, the captain (I suppose that was his title, he went un-introduced) inf

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Chain Restaurant Same Store Sales “Pops”: What’s Happened Recently?

Same store sales is an important retail and restaurant metric. It is because of

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Is an expense ever good for a restaurant? Depreciation expense can be, if you are growing and getting a return on investment.

On May 29th, in his well written Financial Analysis and Commentary

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Has anyone here gone to the NRA in Chicago this year? I couldn't make it this year. Any stats on visitation to the show, new discoveries, excitement, etc? Please let us know what you have seen and heard. Thank you!

Chain Restaurant Disclosure and Analysis Practices Can be Improved

In April, we had sever

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The webinar is scheduled for May 4 at 2 PM Eastern Time Zone.

Published along with Forbes magazine on 2/17/10

Read the article here...

I'm not exactly sure when this recession will hit bottom. Most likely, the bottom will not be remarkably different (economically speaking) than today. The rate of job losses has dropped dramatically from the peak but we are still shedding jobs. Many employers have frozen wages and some have asked employees to take more days off without pay.

All of this belt tightening has made the American consumer afraid to spend money. This is not a completely negative fact of life. When Americans do not spen… Continue

We attended the 12th Annual ICR Xchange Investment Conference on January 13 and 14 2010, in Dana Point. Several snack, fast casual and casual dining operators presented, including Denny’s, Chipotle, Kona Grill, McCormick and Schmicks, Jamba Juice, BJ’s, Einstein Noah, Texas Roadhouse and California Pizza Kitchen.

Several restaurant common denominators were present and notable in the discussion:

· Restaurants are working very hard to lower their average checks via menu reengineering. This is no… Continue

Many people are pleased to see 2009 come to an end. Wall Street posted a solid 20% gain and oil prices were well below $100 per barrel. The bad news involved jobs. Month after month, companies shed employees in droves. We can expect the Federal Reserve to leave rates low until the job market turns the corner.

Increases in government spending at the federal level will be partially offset by cuts in local and state government budgets. Somewhere in the later half of 2010, I expect the job market t… Continue

Technology has certainly changed the way we do business and how we connect with each other. It has also changed how we make decisions about spending our money, even to the point of how we choose where we eat. There are questions to be answered when you are hungry. Questions range from “what am I in the mood for?” to “where should we go to eat?” The first question is difficult for third parties to have influence over. The answer to the second question is being heavily influenced by technology.

L… Continue

Bentonville, Arkansas – December 2009 – Two pair and you might leave work with an extra $100 today, according to Bennie Ray, creator of the new Texas Hold’em Motivational Game. Bray Productions, distributor of www.TheMotivationalGame.com , has seen sales of their new Texas Hold’em Game soar as retailers look for creative ways to motivate employees. “Timing is everything”, proclaims Rhonda Yi, a Game Designer with Bray. “The game could not have com… Continue

As the snow flies we are ramping up for holiday parties and winter getaways. The economy the economy. I'm literally sick and tired of people talking about how bad it is. I contest that most people don't even know the definition of recession? It's the reallocation of funds. Did you know that in the great depression, more millionaires were created during that time than any other point in history. You see the gaps are getting wider. McDonald's, Burger King's and fast food restaruants are pulling ou… Continue

Many restaurants have scrambled to increase their catering business. For many of these companies, a party simply requires an estimated guest count and a reserved table or room. The guests order off the menu and drinks are all charged by the drink. Rarely, the host may restrict their guests to specific entree choices. Usually, a printed menu is prepared with the limited choices specified with prices.

Some restaurants charge a set price per person for food but let the orders go through to the kit… Continue

Did you ever think why the company media representatives and the brand equity managers keep staking and lay emphasis about the essentiality of owning a professional logo design to march on? Is the build up of hype about having custom design logo warranted?

It sounds pretty much explainable, doesn’t it? A logo of a company is the character of the organization which marks its unique identity. There are many competitors of your business around you very near but what really signifies you is… Continue

Our industry is experiencing a shift in the demand curve. Restaurant goers are downsizing from upscale to casual, casual to fast casual and fast casual to QSR and take-out. The regular patrons at many family owned restaurants are watching their checks and eliminating an appetizer or dessert course. If you have a lower priced entree on your menu, you may find the popularity on the increase.

Most of the menu analysis and menu engineering models were built during a time of solid annual growth for… Continue

See who made the top 10 fastest growing restaurant chains with less than 50 units. You may be asked to register though.

Restaurantchains.net

I got this one from a friend last night and read it cover to cover. This should help us all get to the next level in regards to marketing on social networks and social media.



You can download it here:
http://tinyurl.com/ybbbdo9