Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Today's Specials:
SPORTS: Sports Bars Aren’t Dead, But They May Be On Life Support
For the past year, we have covered story after story lamenting the sales declines, the cannibalization of full-service by fast casual, and the enormous staffing challenges that face all operators in the current economy. So, what does all this mean for the future of the “sports bar” and is there anything you can do about it?
BUSINESS: How Franchising May Be the Solution for Independent Bar & Restaurant Owners [Sponsored by Buffalo Wings & Rings]
The restaurant and sports bar business can be a taxing one. The juggling act that is required of a successful restauranteur or bar owner takes a mixture of passion and stamina spread over what can turn into 60 or 70 hour weeks. Sometimes it seems like the restaurant owns them instead of vice versa. Franchising can be the answer to all that.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Tacos! Tacos! Tacos!
Today is National Taco Day, and Americans love their tacos! Last year, the US ate over 4.5 billion tacos which, if stretched out in a row, can take you to the moon and back. Here are some fun ideas to celebrate #NationalTacoDay in your restaurant.
Politics & Business Don’t Mix
An owner of a popular lakefront Wisconsin restaurant stated in a Facebook post that any NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem “should be killed.” Not surprisingly, the backlash in the comments on the restaurant’s statement led to an additional post apologizing for the statements made but still reiterating their disagreement with the protest.
Building the Brand
Danny Meyer has started a private-equity fund that targets hospitality businesses both inside and outside of the food sector. The $10-$20 million fund will invest in companies beyond the restaurant industry that share Meyer’s “employee-centric focus.” The fund will look to invest in other companies that share his forward-thinking approach.
BOOM, TAKE THAT TAXES
Why it matters to you: What does the President’s new tax plan mean for restaurants?
Nobody likes paying taxes. Since our tax code is among the most complicated in the world, any reform should be a welcome change. This is especially true for small/medium business owners and large corporations. Well, the President’s new tax plan has some relief for both SMB and chain operators in the form of lowered tax rates on S-Corp revenue and reduced overall corporate rates. This coupled with treating foreign held money more favorably, and the elimination of the estate tax will likely be like Christmas coming early.
The biggest revelation for restaurants associated with the tax plan is almost doubling of the standard deduction to $12k for individuals and $24k for families. This means that many families will have more discretionary income that they can spend at your restaurants. Oh, and the plan also allows the immediate write-off of capital investments rather than amortizing (spreading out) over the depreciated life of the equipment. That means if you’ve been eyeing a new POS or want to build a new walk-in cooler you will get an immediate tax break. It’s a long way from proposal to law, but these changes will be welcome relief for almost every segment of our industry.
LOYALTY LOYALTY LOYALTY
Why it matters to you: Are your guests more loyal to their reservation apps than to your restaurant?
Diner loyalty is becoming harder to maintain as the restaurant industry is the most competitive it has ever been. While there are countless methods for guests to come upon our restaurants, there becomes an interesting question as to whether diners feel more loyal towards their reservation app system than to our actual restaurants. Technology has become such a driving factor in the hospitality industry that brand loyalty could potentially be split between your services versus your third-party services. In an article by Skift Table, the topic of brand loyalty is discussed based on whether diners count their dedication to third-party technology as more significant than the restaurant.
Both reservation apps and restaurants have the same goal -- increase restaurant bookings in an easy to use system. But with the increase in competition, restaurants are also trying to build loyal guests. Reservation system CEOs also chime in to discuss their opinion on whether technology is stealing brand loyalty away from restaurants. Restaurants need to put forth their best effort to cater to all of their guests and offer promotions, discounts, and loyalty programs as tools to build their customer base. If potential guests are more loyal to our technology than to our brand, guest retention is sure to be impacted in the long term.
