BUSINESS: A Look Inside the US’s First Cannabis Restaurant
Two-thirds of Americans think that marijuana should be legal for adults, and with more cities and states legalizing cannabis, we can expect to see a boom in cannabis cafes and restaurants in the future. However, running one isn’t as straight forward as the average independent restaurant, and there are plenty of cannabis-related issues to settle. Here’s a look inside Lowell Café, America’s first cannabis café.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Kentucky Has More Bourbon Than People
According to the Kentucky Distiller’s Association (KDA), Kentucky now has two barrels of bourbon and aging spirits for every person on the state. Last year, Kentucky filled more than 2.1 million barrels of bourbon and aged 9.1 million in total, making it the highest inventory since KDA started record keeping more than 50 years ago.
Wild Fires
2019 is proving to be another bad year for wildfires, especially in California, where firefighters are currently battling against the flames on multiple fronts. Taking a long term look at the destruction caused by wildfires in the U.S., the acreage that was burned increased dramatically in the last 20 years. Almost 70 million acres were burned in the U.S. between 1999-2008 and between 2009-2018.
Undertaker by Day, Pub Owner by Night
Ireland’s pub owners have (apparently) a long tradition of moonlighting as undertakers for their communities. Such is the case of Jasper McCarthy, a fifth generation owner of the McCarth’s Pub, Restaurant and Undertakers that was originally founded in 1840. A hearse is even parked out front. Of course, this tradition has dwindled over the centuries, and just 100 or so publicans that still moonlight as undertakers. Here’s more about the interesting tradition.
WHEN BAD IS PRETTY GOOD
Why it matters to you: Looking at least year’s numbers might reveal next year’s strategy
Dine in Brands reported their quarterly results and their analysis will confound you at first glance. Their flagship brand, IHOP, reported a 0.3% growth while their more recent acquisition, Applebee’s, reported a 1.3% decline. The guidance they offered is that the IHOP growth number is a bit of a bummer and the drop at Applebee’s is actually a good thing. Huh? Yup, and their analysis is bang on! For IHOP, the slim growth was a disappointment based on other expectations for the brand, but Applebee’s growth was against same store sales from the previous year that were up over 7%. This was the case due to some serious marketing moves in the previous year and clearly mitigate the small sales decline. There is a lesson in here for operators about their own sales history and how it informs your perception of your brand’s health.
Just recently we reported on the value of sales projections in managing your business, but clearly that activity also has an impact on your own feelings. If you look at a sales drop and can see the sliver-lining, then you can retain confidence in your prospects, which can frankly create a positive self-fulfilling prophecy. Feeling positive about your restaurants success is a legitimate tactic for keeping your direction aspirational and your team feeling up beat. Consequently, as the year closes and you have results from 2017, 2018 and now 2019, do some comparisons. Use that data to see where you have fallen, where you have grown and leverage that to plan 2020’s success. You might just find a pleasant surprise in those numbers.
[Source: Restaurant Business Online]
MORE TO THIS
Why it matters to you: We shouldn’t oversimplify problems with diversity in our industry.
Warning: we are about to roundly criticize an industry person’s take on diversity in our restaurants. The object of our disdain is Erik Castro of @HungryBartender on Instagram and his recent post published by Nightclub & Bar regarding hiring biases in the restaurant business. In it Castro directs blame for a lack of diversity in hiring on the domination of our industry leadership with white men. Now, I have to say, strictly speaking Castro is 100% right that white men comprise more of management than any other demographic. However, our diversity issues are far deeper than that analysis affords. The first knock on Castro’s commentary is that the misogyny of our industry is a FAR worse problem than his perception that there is a color gap. Women make up over 60% of staffing, but are under 50% of management and owners.
That being said, one of Castro’s most strident claims is that white folks only hire white folks. While there are clearly disparities, we are happy to assert that with 3.6% unemployment and restaurants struggling like hell to staff, few folks are turning away applicants or even able to fill positions with something as simple as “hiring a friend of a friend.” Modern restaurant recruiting is a nightmare and no sane manager is turning away anyone that is qualified, irrespective of their skin color. Also, markets vary differently. Maybe in New York you can make a wider case for this, but in New Hampshire the population is almost exclusively white and that’s why they are hiring white folks. No matter how you look at it, restaurant operators must be practical to survive and the labor market is the best force for diversity we have ever known.
[Source: Nightclub & Bar]
