DOWNLOAD: Building the Perfect Gameday Menu [Presented by RO*TEL]
Picture your restaurant on a busy sports nights. You probably have throngs of hungry and thirsty guests packing your building. You need quick food, but not “fast food.” The difference always boils down to quality. You never want to sacrifice the quality just to move plates out of your kitchen a little faster, but a little bit of cherry picking, and focused marketing efforts can give you a leg up. This is why you need a gameday menu. Download Building the Perfect Gameday Menu for free, sponsored by our friends at RO*TEL.
DID YOU KNOWS…
American’s Best Places to Work
Grocery chain Trader Joe's came top of the ranking in 2019 with a score of 9.59 out of 10. The company is known for its somewhat unusual and innovative nautical theme where its workers have job titles ranging from crew member to merchant, mate and captain. Generally, working a grocery store isn't known to pay well but salaries at Trader Joe's are regarded to be high with captains (store managers) taking home more than $100,000 a year. On top of a decent salary, staff members also receive health insurance and a retirement plan, along with store discounts. Also be sure to check out America’s best midsize employers of 2019, too.
Consumer Confidence Remains High
According to preliminary figures published by the University of Michigan on Friday, consumer confidence in the United States cooled down slightly in April as the positive impact of recent tax cuts faded away. Despite the small setback, confidence remains high overall, as the following chart, dating back to January 2000, shows.
Game of Thrones vs. Sports
The final season premiere of Game of Thrones opened to a ratings record of 17.4 million viewers. How does this compare to the biggest sporting events? Well, the World Series, Game 5 had 17.9 million; the World Cup Final had 17.8 million; the NBA Finals, Game 1 was at 17.7 million, and Winter Olympics, Night 13 was at 17.6 million. So GoT is up there with some heavy hitters. If you’re looking for some non-sporting events to try to market and get people into your bar, GoT might be the ticket.
EVERYBODY MUST GET (NOT) STONED [Song]
Why it matters to you: CBD is being explored as a healthy menu marketing ingredient.
While April 20th (4/20) is not a national holiday, those of us that have discovered the myriad benefits that cannabis-based products deliver sure do celebrate it. In fact, the idea of weed-related foods has exploded so wide that a national chain has decided to celebrate, too. Carl’s Jr is offering a burger with a CBD infused version of their ever-popular Santa Fe sauce. The burger is available at one Denver location exclusively on the Saturday, April 20. They are testing to gauge reaction and determine if there is more they can do with CBD.
If you don’t know CBD is, you can read from this link more about it. The short story is that CBD doesn’t has no psychoactive ingredients (you don’t get stoned!), but it has wonderful benefit when used as an anti-inflammatory or to treat anxiety. You will see more of it over the coming year; it’s legal as long as it comes from Hemp (a member of the cannabis family) and not marijuana. But Carl’s Jr isn’t alone in the testing the waters for CBD interest.
In fact, there are three other restaurant operators that are also doing promotions for the “holiday.” This slide show gives you a good run down on their approaches. In any event, legal weed is here, so it makes perfect sense that legal CBD benefit from the growing acceptance that cannabis has been enjoying these last couple of years.
[Sources: The Hill & Restaurant Business Online]
TAXMAN [Song]
Why it matters to you: Tax administration is compliance job you simply cannot ignore.
If you are an operator, then the administration of your business falls squarely on your shoulders. One of the most important admin tasks you face it paying your payroll taxes on time. Tardiness on your regular tax filings can cost you as much as 5% of your overall tax liability and that escalates significantly as you become later in your compliance. A key reason to be mindful of these payroll tax filing requirements is that they NEVER go away if you fail to pay. That’s why this post on some key mistakes to avoid with regard to payroll tax filing is particularly relevant to our independent restaurant owners. The easiest way to avoid any headaches is to engage a payroll company. They do all the filings on your behalf and take the full amount, including tax liability.
However, if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, then you need to avoid these common errors. To start, if you are using a third-party processer, you better take the time to review their reporting. While they do it on your behalf, YOU are still liable for their mistakes. If you’re on your own for the filing, don’t be late. Sure, that sounds good, but sometimes life and your business intervene. Unfortunately, we would suggest, you have no greater financial responsibility than your staff by transmitting the taxes they are paying to the government without issue. Additionally, keep good records, so if you are ever audited you stand a chance of emerging unscathed. There is just so much for you to do on daily basis, which is why not getting this right is a priority you simply cannot avoid without consequences.
[Source: Modern Restaurant Management]
