Thursday, May 4, 2017
Today's Specials:
STAFF: 5 Tips for Choosing the Schedule Manager for Your Restaurant
Schedule management is an onerous task that requires a specific mix of effort, empathy, discipline and thick skin -- not necessarily in that order. Too often that responsibility is given lightly and without sufficient consideration.
DID YOU KNOWs…
Kids of NASCAR
NASCAR has hired a 14-year-old director for their new Ad featuring professional race car driver, Austin Dillon. The 30-second ad promotes NASCAR’s mobile app which seeks a younger audience.
Yik Yak + Vine = RIP
Yik Yak, the anonymous chat app that was once valued at $400 million will be shutting down in the next few weeks. The app became increasingly popular among high school and college students but could not keep up with the Snapchat-Instagram storm. RIP Yik Yak.
Ocean Floor Dining
A dining experience in Nova Scotia lets you eat dinner on the ocean floor. Once the tide goes all the way out, a seabed at one of the Bay of Fundy’s coves exposes an open sea floor that is apparently suitable for dining. The so-called restaurant serves… you guessed it, seafood.
CALORIE COUNT CONTROVERSY
Why it matters to you: the menu labeling law was pushed back another year to May 2018.
We’ve talked before about how new federal guidelines will force all restaurant chains to be required to display nutritional data on their menus, set to go into effect on May 5. Thankfully, due to industry backlash, the menu changes will be delayed another year until May 2018. The rules apply to all food and beverages served at fast-food chains and sit-down restaurants, as well as convenience stores. Much of the backlash behind this proposed new rule revolve around industry groups that claim the rules will place an unfair burden on businesses. Others noted that it could potentially deter customers from ordering certain options for little change.
Eater featured an article that examines why the restaurant industry is so against the menu labeling law. In the piece, they show that many establishments are concerned that labeling their menu is an expensive process and that they don’t want to scare customers off by nutritional data. Currently, many customers are in favor of menu labeling as they hope it will help them make healthier food choices and steer toward the all-natural options. However, recent studies have indicated that calorie counts on menus don’t actually change people’s ordering habits, but more so the restaurant’s regulations on incorporating healthy options.
THE FOOD MARCH
Why it matters to you: top chefs are seeking to campaign for a Food March.
After the 2016 election, thousands of activists have stormed the streets to support a variety of causes with movements like the Women’s March and The Day Without Immigrants. Now, according to The Washington Post, celebrity chefs Andrew Zimmern and Jose Andres are calling for a Food March on Washington. Various other celebrity chefs are in Washington this week lobbying for a campaign that aims to make food policy more “beholden to the American public than to corporate interests.” One issue, in particular, that has celebrity chefs protesting is ensuring that food programs like SNAP are well funded, while also pushing for “more transparency in the way food is grown, processed and labeled.”
Basically, this refers to providing more support to farmers to grow organic food and ensure that anti-food waste measures are up to the industry’s standards. In addition to food-related issues, the restaurant industry has experienced countless issues that may inspire restauranteurs to take part in the march, such as minimum wage increases, worker’s benefits, tipping, and food safety. As restaurant operators, we deal with so many challenges that many top owners are calling for more attention to topics that may drastically affect our businesses. Although the details of the Food March are yet to be determined, this most likely will be an issue to be discussed in the near future.
