Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Today's Specials:
READER RESPONSE: Restaurant Tipping Isn't a Broken System
A Citizen of the Rail and restaurant operator shows the other side of the tipping debate. Is the restaurant tipping tradition really broken?
WATCH: Sanctuary Restaurants Explained [Under 60 Seconds]
Immigration has become a hot topic recently thanks to new president Trump's change to immigration policy and beefing up of border control. But what exactly is a sanctuary restaurant and what do they do? All this explained in under sixty seconds.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Say Hello to Your Robo Overlords
There’s always constant debate on whether or not robots will take over the restaurant industry (and the world). Well a Hong Kong-based company, Café X, just opened shop in the US and includes it’s coffee brewing barista-bot. Guests select what they want on a computer, and the six-arm robot goes to work creating an order in under a minute. Question is, will guests like this human-less service or will the novelty wear off?
Ranking Every Half Time Show…Ever
The Super Bowl is this Sunday, meaning people are stoked for three things – the game, the commercials, and the half-time show. Here’s how MSN ranked every Super Bowl half-time show. Which is your fav? We’re leaning toward Prince.
Disney’s $15,000 Dinner
Disney World is jumping into the gourmet food game, by offering a $15,000 dinner. For the modest price tag, guests get a butler, sommelier, servers (they double as tour guides, of course), and a seven-course dinner. And, of course, the meal surrounds different themes.
MAKING MEXICO PAY FOR THE WALL
Why it matters to you: Tariffs mean higher prices for imported products
Throughout his campaign, President Trump pervasively made a claim that he would build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. Now he is showing how he will accomplish this feat. His first foray includes adding a proposed 20% tariff on goods imported from our neighbors to the south. Like many, you may be thinking, good we should protect our markets and our borders. That is a perfectly reasonable opinion. However, if you operate a restaurant and you serve fresh produce you may not have calculated what that means to your own bottom line. As this infographic illustrates, Mexico is the largest exporter of fresh produce to the US at 10.41 billion annually and represents over 46% of all produce imported every year.
This is the reality that gets lost in heated debates; things are never as simply as we want them to be. Sure, a tariff may cover the cost of a border wall, but it will by you paying some portion of that cost and not just Mexico. While we won’t project a dollar for dollar increase in your produce cost, it will be some number close to it, and that means another factor pressuring your costs. There is nothing wrong with having the courage of your convictions, just be prepared to pay a real price when they are realized.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A VODKA TONIC?
Why it matters to you: do you know the signs of an amateur bartender?
We’ve all experienced that bartender that was too cool for school, and that happened to be much better at hiding their lack of skills than at making drinks. According to Thrillist, there are 15 red flags that your bartender is a total amateur. Some of the signs to expose a rookie involve when they need to Google every drink recipe, they touch the rim of the glass, and if they talk down to servers.
All of these problems can be prevented during shift training. As long as we take the adequate time in teaching our employees the basics of the job, we can easily avoid encouraging the worst bartender habits. Not only do you and your staff notice an amateur bartender, but the guests will especially be turned off.
COFFEE SHOP CONFRONTATION
Why it matters to you: As an operator, you have a responsibility to ensuring your establishment is a safe place for all.
Joe’s East Atlanta Coffee Shop was the locale for an uncomfortable confrontation that took place recently. A Muslim woman seated at the café confronted a man who was taking photographs of her. The video she took of the encounter has since gone viral. During the confrontation, the man both called the woman a b**** and questioned her immigration status.
Regardless of politics, Joe’s management did the right thing by ushering the man out and releasing a statement on Facebook against the behavior of the man involved. We say it a lot, but a restaurant or café creates a community for guests and staff, and for the community to survive it should be both a safe and inclusive place.
