BUSINESS: How to Reinvent Your Restaurant’s Brunch Menu
Brunch. We love to eat it but hate to work it. Sure, there are some oddball servers and cooks who actually enjoy coming in on a Sunday morning, but they’re about as rare as a double yolk egg. Mostly, staffing brunch can feel like pulling teeth, but it has become an important service in this era. And with so many younger consumers working non-traditional hours, brunch can sometimes be their only dining-out experience. You have to give these guests the same knockout service your dinner patrons get to earn repeat business.
DID YOU KNOWS…
What is Even Retirement?
Even though the level of preparation increases as people get older, concern about inadequate savings is still readily apparent across all age groups, even older people in their 60s. The data shows that 42% of younger people aged 18 to 29 have no retirement savings along with 26% of people aged between 30 and 44.
Mexico Tariff Bad for US Car Makers
The reason that U.S. car industry shares dropped after the announcement is clear: not only do American carmakers manufacture a significant portion of the cars they sell in the U.S. south of the border, but Mexico is also the most important source of automotive parts. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the United States imported 2.66 million light vehicles worth a total of $52.6 billion from Mexico, plus another $59.4 billion worth of parts.
Conspiracy Theories
According to the survey, one of the most commonly believed conspiracy theories among U.S. adults is that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in the assassination of JFK – 47% believe either strongly or somewhat that there was in fact another shooter behind the grassy knoll.
NOT VERY DISCRIMINATING
Why it matters to you: Learn from this apparent gaff by Thomas Keller.
At The Daily Rail, we try to keep it real and even when an internationally renowned chef does something dumb we discuss it. Such is the case with Thomas Keller, owner of famed restaurants like the French Laundry and Per Se. His group is in the midst of the trial stemming from a discrimination suit because they terminated a pregnant woman. One would think that, in 2019, operators would have enough sense not to make this level of mistake alleged by the server who was denied a transfer to the French Laundry from Per Se because she revealed her pregnancy. Beyond that fact, it appears Keller’s management tricked the woman into resigning her Head Server Position at Per Se before informing her there was no place for her at the French Laundry.
In depositions, the manager acknowledges as much, along with documented interactions with human resources that supports the pregnant server’s account. Now we don’t know enough about the story to conclude more than Keller’s outfit botched their handling of the woman’s situation. However, the lessons are very simple here. When you have a pregnant staff member you must tread lightly with any issues associated to her employment. This isn’t to say that you can’t manage them -- only that it’s particularly important to respect the circumstances and not do something that would be construed as discrimination. In regards to the server that is suing them, Keller’s group turned on her after she revealed her pregnancy and that was just plain dumb.
[Source: Grub Street]
LICENSE TO POT
Why it matters to you: What do “pot cafés” mean to the restaurant industry.
In December of 2016 recreational marijuana became legal in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It then took more than two years for there to be a recreational market available to consumers. This was after years of efforts on the part of pro-pot lobbyists and a state-wide referendum. So, when it was announced that the Massachusetts is determining whether to license weed cafes, it appeared a lightning fact effort. Sure, they won’t likely license in the short term, but a working group of communities will embark on testing in the not too distant future. Other states have considered it, but there has been little appetite for allowing them. For example, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper vetoed a bill that would have allowed “pot cafes” in Colorado, and Nevada is considering allowing license consumption operators, but NOT in the casinos.
Unraveling what that will mean to our industry will take time to accomplish. To start, most license requests have been to allow consumption at the same location that currently serve as dispensaries, but it’s not hard to project where it could lead. With vaping and edibles eliminating the issues of lit smoke, you can envision a blended restaurant concept where you can purchase food infused with cannabis alongside a craft cocktail. In truth, we are already seeing that will legal CBD, but adding THC-based items might complicate things a bit. If you don’t know this, mixing weed and alcohol can dramatically amplify the effects of both. It will certainly reinforce the need to responsibly serve both responsibly. Otherwise, it will also likely be no big deal for a restaurant to have a dual license that allows them to deliver what their guests want, where they want to consume it, and that should be just fine with all of us.
[Source: Boston.com]
