July 1, 2016
Today's Specials
How Hollywood Sees Us: Being happy in the restaurant industry
Life in the restaurant industry can be tough. For some, it's just a job. For others, it's a passion. Figuring out what works best for you isn't always easy, as shown in the movie Chef.
Did You Know…
KABLOOM!
The Fourth of July is right around the corner, meaning cookouts and fireworks. Here’s a cool photo-gallery of the best fireworks in the USA. Any of them in your area?
TASTY, TASTY BREXIT
Boston Beer Company, aka Samuel Adams and Angry Orchard, wants to trademark Brexit Cider. According to a report, Boston Beer filed an “intent-to-use” on the name a day after Great Britain voted to leave the European Union.
BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP [Song]
Why it’s important to you: Because, butter…yum!
As far as shortenings go, butter has been much maligned as not appropriate for a healthy diet. Well, researchers and Tufts University (Go Jumbos!) have found the criticisms of butter to much ado about nothing. In a massive study including over 600k people, their results point out not only is butter an ok part of a healthy diet, it may even contribute to a reduction in the risk of diabetes. We have been told for years that saturated fats will contribute to heart disease and other health ills, but recently scientists are learning that saturated fats aren’t as bad as previous reported. So, don’t hesitate, finish that sauce with a dab of butter; it won’t hurt anyone and it might even make them smile.
CIVIL WAR
Why it’s important to you: Tip sharing is a policy that creates basic fairness in our restaurants.
In a cautionary tale, an operator in Minnesota lost an appeal yesterday of whether they could terminate an employee for not tipping out the bussers, food runners and bartenders that support them while they earn their tips. The Minnesota court of appeals found that Todd Burt, a former server at Bunny’s Bar and Grill (a proud subscriber to our daily newsletter) could not be fired for refusing to participate in tip out. At the heart of this ruling is a Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act rule that specifically precludes employers from forcing tip sharing, but employees can engage in it voluntarily.
Here’s where we pontificate for just a moment: This is both chilling and infuriating. To start, so many of us have these tip share policies in place and would have taken the same action as Bunny’s if an employee refused to reward all those folks that facilitated their earnings. Second, this is a pretty compelling reason to be move to a no-tipping establishment. Are all servers such divas that their sense of entitlement would preclude them from compensating the people that make their earnings possible? What makes our industry great is that we are all in it together…unless we’re not and that won’t be good for anyone.
deadmau5 ON!
Why it’s important to you: This sure sounds like a great promotion for you to leverage.
Have you ever wanted to spend an evening with deadmau5? Turns out Absolut wants to help you realize that desire with their newest promotion in their Absolut Nights campaign. The vodka giant has released an app (Absolut deadmau5) available on Android and iOS, and are making cardboard VR headsets available that interface with the game. If you aren’t familiar with the phenomenon of deadmau5 then you probably aren’t young enough to enjoy the promotion, but to be sure your guests are!
How about you turn this Absolut campaign into a money making promotion for your business. Reach out to your wholesaler and ask them for support. Have them provide the POP necessary to promote a giveaway of a headset based on frequency. Example: Each time a guest visits you restaurant they are entered to win the deadmau5 VR headset. The wholesaler may give you the headsets or you may need to buy them, but either way you can promote the headsets and app experience on you social media and email marketing to drive traffic. It’s a perfect call to action for younger guests and a way prove your meeting them where they stand…dance…play…well you get the picture.