Monday, July 31, 2017
Today's Specials:
MARKETING: 7 Steps for Marketing Your Restaurant to Tourists
With summer underway and vacations in full-swing, it’s time to take advantage of a few key techniques to make your restaurant a top tourist destination.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Amazon Shake-Ups
Last week, Amazon put out its quarterly report card. And surprise, the company is making way more money than everyone expected. But, it’s also spending a lot to stay on top of the game so its bottom line took a hit which drove the stock down 3%, making CEO Jeff Bezos not the richest man in the world.
Dough Debacle
A truck in Tacoma, Washington experienced a doughy situation last Monday. Unusually warm temperatures caused a dump truck carrying extra dough to rise and burst out of the vehicle onto the street. Luckily, state troopers were on scene to offer assistance and a bunch of bread jokes. They may knead a bigger truck.
You Know Nothing John Dough
Game of Thrones actor Ben Hawkey who plays Hot Pie on the hit HBO show has opened his own GOT-themed bakery. “You Know Nothing John Dough” is a London based bakery selling Direwolf loaves made from whole wheat cornbread and operates via delivery service.
TREADING IN THE POOL
Why it matters to you: Tip-pooling regulations are causing lawsuits in top restaurants.
In the midst of the tip-pooling controversy within the Department of Labor, many independent restaurants are experiencing their own battles over the subject. The multi-award-winning restaurant Zahav, has settled a class-action lawsuit filed by a former employee. Professional chefs and owners Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook have agreed to pay 41 servers a total of $230,000 (plus an additional $90,000 for attorney fees) over allegedly violating gratuity laws. Multiple restaurants have experienced similar lawsuits over the tip pooling controversy and what aspects of the policy were followed. The DOL has changed the tip-sharing polices in 2011 prohibiting the practice.
In the lawsuit, the employee alleged that during her 19-month employment at Zahav, servers were required “to share tips with silverware polishers,” costing her money each shift. In Philadelphia specifically, tips and gratuities are defined as “the sole property of the employee or employees to whom it was paid, given, or left for,” therefore, prohibiting employers from deducting or collecting those tips. This is a growing problem in major restaurants affecting operators like Danny Meyer, shelling out over $2 million over a similar suite. As of now, the DOL is in the process of changing these provisions leaning toward making the tip-pooling practice legal again.
BWW DELIVERS…BEER?
Why it matters to you: Letting the big guys figure out what works (and doesn’t) is a great strategy
The team at Buffalo Wild Wings has been under fire for the better part of the last year. Between sales declines and a proxy fight with an activist shareholder, the company has put everything on the table as pertains to innovation and expansion of their sales verticals. We have already mentioned their efforts at delivery, which by the way added $4.1 million to their sales and they claim is 90% incremental. Now they are considering adding beer to their deliver and takeout offerings.
Clearly there are rules, state by state, they will have to manage, but the idea is to add higher margin items to their delivery menu. This will both enhance the guest ordering experience, but also give them a no prep/turnout item to include on their delivery, thus pumping up the profitability of a sales segment that is already fueling growth. We aren’t saying you should follow suit, but it make sense to keep your eyes on their results. It might be the next thing you do…provided it doesn’t fail for the big guys…just sayin’.