Double Shot
Did you know… It was discovered that King Tut’s iron dagger came from a meteorite. The researchers that have discovered the dagger’s elements believe it explains the appearance of new hieroglyph in the 13th century BCE (around Tut’s rule) that translates into “iron of the sky.” The implications is that not only did they use the metal to make the dagger, but they knew its origins.
We’re not saying it’s aliens, but aliens.
Did You Know… Teams that go up 2-0 in the NHL Stanley Cup Final have a 44-5 record? That’s good news for the Pittsburgh Penguins who defeated the San Jose Sharks in OT on Wednesday to go up 2-0 in the series. Game 3 is Saturday night.
Today's Specials
HOW HOLLYWOOD SEES US: GORDON RAMSAY APPROVES OF ‘BURNT’
If polled, most of us would describe ourselves as a professional. However, when listening to Gordon Ramsay describe the kitchen depictions in the film Burnt, you might think, really? Is this capturing the behavior of professionals? If the average kitchen manager exploded the way the spoiled brats that achieve three Michelin stars do, we would have to move to automated kitchens.
BE A WINNER (Sponsored .Bar & .Rest)
Why it’s important to you: There’s an iPad Mini up for grabs for telling us what you think!
Your success as a restaurateur is dependent on so many factors. Your location, staff, food, menu, and culture are just a few of things you need to manage on a daily basis. Don’t let your digital location, which grows more important each year, negatively impact other parts of your restaurant’s operations.
Our partners at .bar & .rest registry understand how important your online name is for your bar or restaurant business. Keeping that in mind they have created a domain name specifically for our industry. Now tell us what you think about it!
BOOZE IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Why it’s important to you: This startup will change how you buy alcohol for your locations
Startup SevenFifty looks to revolutionize and modernize the alcohol distribution industry
Startup company SevenFifty just raised $8.5M to modernize how bars, restaurants and liquor stores purchase alcohol. They want to replace the thick catalogs and sales rep calls with an online searchable database that includes inventory listings and prices across distributors. Nice to see vital components of our industry catch up with the times, eh?
SevenFifty is already working with 700 distributors across 30 states and have more than 30,000 retailers doing their sourcing on the platform.
HEY, WAIT A MINUTE MISTER POSTMAN
Why it’s important to you: Many of your staff use payday loan services
There are very few institutions that can make banks look sympathetic, but the payday loan industry pulls it off quick nicely. Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a proposal for federal level regulation of the payday loan industry. The agency claims this new regulation will limit the harm done to consumers by what they call the “debt traps.”
The rules would require that the lenders determine if the borrower can pay back their loans based on means and credit history. This is important because with interest rates approaching 300% (that’s not a typo), these loans can be impossible to satisfy by people of limited means. The CFPB did a study which found four out of five consumers with a payday loan had to re-borrow to cover that original loan because of the incredible cost of financing and their own limited resources.
The real frustration here is that the states regulate the range of interest rates, and therefore the CFPB has limited ability to regulate these loans. A major limitation for poor Americans is access to banking. There have been proposals to utilize the postal service infrastructure to provide banking services to folks that have none. Either way, loans that make it impossible to recover aren’t good for anyone except the entity making them.
THE HARDER THEY COME [Song]
Why it’s important to you: Big beer means smaller local support
We told you a few weeks ago about European Union approval of a major merger between InBev-AB and SABMiller and now it’s coming across the pond. The Justice Department seems ready to approve the $107 billion merger, making the largest merger in brewing history. To gain US, regulators expressed similar divestiture requirements, including selling their interest in MillerCoors. That would essentially leave their competitive circumstances unchanged in the US.
One objection comes from the craft brewing industry. They have expressed concerns about how wholesalers are compensated/reimbursed for local marketing expenses. They claim that these payments cause local wholesalers to spend less time and energy selling their products. This is particularly important to those of you that rely on your local wholesalers support to market your business and by extension their beer.
FITBIT FOR BOOZERS WINS BIG
Why it’s important to you: You heard it here first
Earlier this week we brought you news of BACtrack’s Skyn, a wearable FitBit-like device that monitors the wearer’s blood alcohol level. Well, they just won a nice little prize for their ingenuity.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) named BACtrack this year’s first place winner in the Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge. BACtrack was awarded a cool $200,000 for their device.
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW
Why it’s important to you: Will you be sponsoring an eSports team instead of a softball teams soon?
Is it news that a new retail store opened in San Francisco? It is when it simultaneously attracts enormous crowds, outshines the neighboring new Apple Store with long lines and stimulates way better buzz. This week gaming equipment company Razer opened its first retail store at the Westfield Mall in Downtown SF. If you don’t know who Razer is, then you are either over 30 or living on Mars. Being of the former, I had to ask our staff to explain the phenomenon.
What I learned was, Razer delivers the highest quality controllers, headphones, keyboards, laptops and computers, optimized for use in all manner of gaming activities. The company is valued at $1.5 billion and is experiencing explosive growth. You can’t help but appreciate the irony as, earlier this month, traditional sports retailer Sports Authority announced it was closing all 463 of their outlets.
Can you see it? Gamers wearing t-shirts with your logo on them as they compete virtually and then arrive to drink soda and talk smack at your bar.
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
Why it’s important to you: The Presidential race is heating up and Paul Ryan’s endorsement matters
As Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan wields enormous power. He is third in line for the presidency, oversees the purse strings of American government and is a central leader in the Republican Party. His waiting to announce his support for Donald Trump was a bit of a sting, but that wait is over. He officially, albeit modestly, acknowledged that he will vote for Donald Trump in November. He claims he needed to be more familiar with Trump’s approach through conversation before he offered his endorsement. His ultimate motivation was unifying the party to defeat Hillary Clinton and specifically support the goal of retaining the Republican majority in Congress.