Did you know… For the first time since 1950, citizens of Indianapolis will be able to watch the Indianapolis 500 live on TV? For the past 60+ years, the Indianapolis market has been in blackout of it’s own major racing event. But for it’s 100th race, the event is completely sold out, allowing local affiliates to show the event live.
Today's Specials
GETTING THE MAX FROM THE MINIMUM
Why it’s important you: Min wage quiz results reveal a labor cost saving hack
Let’s cut to the chase. An increase in the minimum wage could be a real pain in the behind. Our quiz revealed a hack that most of you didn’t recognize which may mitigate some of your exposure. You can get that insight on our minimum wage quiz results report.
COMING TO AMERICA [Copa America & Euro 2016 Schedules]
Why it’s important to you: Even TV in your location can improve a guest’s experience
Do you know who Messi is? Or Ronaldihno? Don’t worry, most Americans don’t either. To clarify, they are two of the best footballers (that’s soccer to you and me) in the world and they are coming to a TV near you late next week for the Copa America. If that isn’t enough soccer excitement for you, the European Championship starts the following week. While you may not be a sports bar, knowing the schedule of these games could net you a couple of guests by being prepared to show them.
3 REASONS TO BE HAPPY YOUR GUESTS ARE ON THEIR PHONES (sponsored by Upserve)
Why it’s important to you: Guests on their phones can be used for good
It’s Friday night at 7:00. You have been running around dealing with customer complaints, overcooked chicken and a new waitress who just dropped a tray of food. You finally get the chance to look up from your tornado of responsibilities when you see an army of guests all on their cell phones…read more
YOU MAKE THE ROCKIN’ WORLD GO ROUND [Song]
Why it’s important to you: CDC survey shows obesity on the rise; reports like this lead to regulation
It’s official. The US is once again the fattest nation in the world with 30.4% of adults qualifying as obese. The CDC released insights from their annual wellness survey which revealed that for the 12th year in a row, obesity rates have climbed among US adults. This survey was completed by 100,000 adults. Given that we tend to exaggerate our height and minimize our weight the news could be even worse. On a positive note, more folks than ever have real healthcare (90.9%) and fewer are still smoking (only 15.1% still do).
As purveyors of food, do we have any responsibility for this trend? In the 36 years I have been in the business, I have seen portion sizes explode. Granted, this is what the consumers clearly wanted or we wouldn’t be serving these incredibly large plates. There are alternatives you can offer to guide your guests to better choices, however. Smaller plates can be just as valuable from a gross profit level and still reduce the guest’s price and calorie intake. This is not an attempt to blame our business for this state of affairs. However, if we don’t get a handle on this as a nation, we are heading for real trouble in the future and then we will all be paying for it.
CIDER HOUSE RULES
Why it’s important to you: Sometimes you need to show a little personality on your website
Downeast Cider House, of Boston, has no interesting in serving Roger Goodell. If you go to the cider house’s website you’re currently greeted with a simple yes-or-no question: “Are you Roger Goodell?” If you answer “no” you go to Downeast’s site; if you answer “yes” you’re redirected to a Wikipedia page about the idea gas law (centerpiece of Deflategate).
Sweet, sweet burn.
The takeaway is that it’s perfectly fine to show a little personality and really entrench yourself with the local culture. This is even easier for indie restaurants to do, and your local guests will appreciate the feeling of camaraderie. So have fun once in a while when the opportunities arise.
LIVE YOUR LIFE… NO MORE
Why it’s important to you: When you invite people to gather, you are responsible for their safety
Irving Plaza has a storied history from its roots as the Polish-American Center in the ‘40s to a progressive rock venue in the ‘80s with bands like the B-52s, Talking Heads and Ramones performing there. Last night a new chapter for the venerated venue was written, when gun-fire broke out in the Green Room VIP area. Four people were shot, one fatally and another in critical condition. This all happened at concert headlined by rapper TI. It appears that two entourages of undercard acts got into a scuffle that turned to gunfire in the VIP section while their patrons were on stage. TI is no stranger to gun violence at his shows, as a concert in March of 2015 demonstrates. However, by all accounts, he was not involved in this incident in anyway.
The venue claims to have used metal detecting wands to clear entrants of any weapons. Unfortunately, it appears their efforts didn’t have the desired effect. Many of you host live music or even manage club nights at your venues. This is a cautionary story which should give you reason to review your security policies. You host a big party every weekend and even a concert now and then. If you aren’t disciplined in your approach to security, you won’t be immune to incidents like this. If you’re wondering how you can improve your own security, we wrote up a post on 7 things you can do to prevent gun violence at your establishment.
NEVER ENDING STORY
Why it’s important to you: If you are voting in November, then this matters to you
You may remember Bernie Sanders saying in a primary debate that he didn’t care about Hillary Clinton’s email controversy, but it appears the Department of State does. Yesterday they released a report that declared her use of a private email server as “unauthorized.” The report went so far as to say HRC wouldn’t have been given authorization to have a server in her home for security reasons and that staffers that questioned the choice were told to keep quiet. It even revealed several suspected hacking attempts in 2011 which were never reported to State Department security officials.
Whether you lean left or right, this is pretty damning. The organization she ran for more than four years is calling her out publicly and questioning the choices she made. She has repeatedly defended herself, claiming that Colin Powell did exactly the same things as Secretary of State.
There are clear security responsibilities that each of you manage every day. You and your team are communicating via email every day. Is your team using email to represent your interests? If they are, you may at least learn from this and set up email so that you can track what they are doing on your behalf. At a minimum, review your email policies and make sure they are aligned with your interests. Security policies protect you and give your team clear direction on the rules. In that way, everybody wins.