Today's Special

This Week’s Hack: Coke: more than just the great national temperance beverage

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET

What it means to you: Rising rents are shutting restaurants down

Despite a growing industry, more independently-owned restaurants are closing their doors. One big reason is skyrocketing rents. In NYC, a lease for a Midtown restaurant goes up to $70K/month; in Williamsburg, Nita Nita, closed down after rent tripled to $24K/month. Unreal, right? Well, restaurants are taking desperate measures to serve as many guests as they can as fast as they can. Some restaurants are even nixing dessert from their menus to get guests in and out of seats faster. Despite the hardships of rising rents and minimum wage laws, owners are still reluctant to raise menu prices.

SALT OF THE EARTH

As a basic ingredient in… well, everything, how much do you actually think about salt? Well, Maldon deserves a moment of your time. It’s the preferred salt of chefs, queens and anyone that wants add something special to their food. Maldon is harvested by hand from the eastern shore of England. It is said that the beginnings of salt harvest from the region began when a Roman commander had his salt bath overheated and left a thick coating of salt. He tasted it, and it convinced him right there to go into the salt business instead of his pursuit as an officer in the Roman legion.

MAKE AMERICA EMI-GRATE AGAIN

Why it’s important to you: This one is just too funny to miss

No matter what your politics, you may have heard someone claim, “If Donald Trump wins, I’m moving to Canada.” It was only a matter of time before an entrepreneur found a way to cash in on the threats. Enter Joe Goldman, a 25-year-old Austin native, who launched the dating website MapleMatch.com. This service matches Americans seeking asylum with Canadians who are willing to give them shelter.

Here’s the really funny part… he already had 5000 signups in just the first few days. Maybe it will simply cause some cross-border exchanges, but either way, it’s dripping with irony and totally brilliant.

I have to acknowledge the folks from the Young Turks for the awesome headline. When I saw it on their show, it literally elicited a guffaw. So, I had to share this one with you all.

BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM

Why it’s important to you: ManUtd FC are the Dallas Cowboys of English football

If recent weeks the English Home Office has raised their threat level to ‘substantial.’ As it turns out, they were prophetic. On Sunday 75,000+ fans were ushered out of Old Trafford (think of Yankee Stadium meets Lambeau field in soccer significance) before a match between Manchester United and Bournemouth. This was after a package was discovered during a routine search of the stands in the northwest quadrant of the stadium.

Authorities quickly acted to evacuate the north end of the stadium with no one being injured. The remainder of the stadium was emptied about 45 minutes later. This was the first time a European stadium has been the subject of attack since Paris in November of 2015. It’s a reminder that while rare, these things do happen and it will be a topic of conversation this week how to avoid them here, you can be sure.

BEND IT LIKE BERNIE

Why it’s important to you: Do you have an idea? Then you can fund it!

On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed into law new guidelines for investing that opened a major block for fundraising. Today, after four years of wrangling, the SEC will open the door to these new funding rules. The new program allows unaccredited investors to invest like the big guys. Gone are the $200,000 annual income or the $1MM net worth requirements. With the new law, the investing landscape has gotten a whole lot bigger.

Restaurants are among the most difficult businesses to raise money. Our industry is risky and traditional investors tend to keep their distance when we are small or independent. But maybe you’ve got the next great idea or maybe you want to start franchising and need capital to get those things rolling. These new rules will allow you to offer crowdfunding where you give over shares for the investment. Currently, crowdfunding requires a product exchange, but this legislation means more investors can consider your company for a stock purchase. That’s good news for our industry. So, be like Bernie, and give yourself a future to believe in by raising money to grow $27 at a time.

BEND IT LIKE CONGRESS

Why it’s important to you: These guys make policy; you should know what motivates them

At 17%, Congress is enjoying its worst approval ratings in decades. The American public simply doesn’t trust them and one insider was determined to reinforce why. The insider is an anonymous member of Congress who has released a 65 page manifesto excoriating the system of government that influences us all. No, he isn’t critical of democracy, but just the way we are currently administering it.

It’s a pandemic that aims at Harry Reid, campaign fundraising and the real motivations of Congressional members. Likely, it’s nothing that will surprise you, but you should feel relief that at least one Congressional delegate has opted for some truth telling, albeit behind the journalistic veil.

Will it change how our government is run? That’s anyone’s guess, but at least there is a point of reference for citizens to consider their own positions on the way the business of government is run. Remember, these folks work for us and it’s up to us to demand how they do their jobs.