Industry Insights

Already suffering from Covid fatigue, with some experts projecting 500,000 or more new positive Covid cases per day post-holidays, one might logically argue we are all living Graham Greene’s “a story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back...

Owners and the few workers remaining are being stretched thin at work. As the country began to reopen over the summer, it was expected that the foodservice industry would bounce back and hire even more employees to rebuild their restaurant staff. However, it seems the opposite is true...

In food service establishments, cross contamination of food items from contaminated equipment or surfaces is one of the most common sources of food-borne illnesses and outbreaks. To protect food safety and prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses, food safety regulations require all...

Slightly more than a month ago, November 24 2021 to be exact, the Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa;  not even 4 weeks later the entire world was in an Omicron vice grip with US hospitals describing conditions even worse than coronavirus’s first terrifying wave...

Just like you do with your employees, it’s time to do an end of year performance review for your restaurant. It’s a great way to know the amount of growth you’ve had or what’s caused you to remain stagnant. Make sure you are honest so you can put together a great plan for next year.

Decluttering has become a hot topic, although its greatest emphasis seems to be limited to our personal lives and habits. A superb NY Times article How The Supply Chain Crisis Unfolded is both must reading and inspiration for foodservice’s adopting declutter philosophies for business...

If I had a dollar for every restaurant owner who’s asked me, “What should I have my restaurant managers do,” I would be a multi multimillionaire. If you’re wondering the same thing, I’m going to answer this question for you. I can’t wait to shine a spotlight on what you should be...

It’s 2021 and omicron has reentered my daily lexicon and brings with it a whole new sense of meaning. I feel like much the same can be said for a whole lot of the spirit offerings I’ve recently discovered are out there these days. Just as the holidays feel fresh and new this year...

The restaurant and food service sector has been thoroughly tested in its ability to navigate through the COVID pandemic. The issues it caused will continue to impact the industry in 2022, as it struggles to close the gap between merely surviving and thriving. It won’t be easy.

The United States Department of Labor (U.S. D.O.L.) has issued new regulations regarding what was previously known as the “80/20 Rule” and is now known as the “80/20/30 Rule.”  As explained below, NY employers can largely ignore the rule with regard to pay for straight time hours but must follow it with regard to overtime pay.

If you run a restaurant or commercial kitchen, the good news is your dining patrons are coming back — and, many times, in record numbers. The bad news is, every call you make looking for food, equipment, or supplies is a disappointment; distributors seem to be sold out of many items...

Of late I’ve had numerous flashbacks to reciting the Greek alphabet ten times holding a lit match between my fingers, one of my college fraternity’s more absurd pledging rituals. With omicron rapidly spreading throughout the country and the Delta variant causing a surge in hospitalizations and deaths...

A TikTok user calling himself The Ice Man has gone viral for uncovering and sharing alarming video footage of filthy commercial ice machines in businesses including restaurants and hotels. The Ice Man is an HVAC technician who uses TikTok videos to educate the public and business owners about...

Thousands of Los Angeles businesses are required to ask patrons to show proof of vaccination before entering various types of venues. In response, Canoga Park Grandi Italiani owner Aron Celnik said he was not making even half of what he used to earn before the start of the pandemic and...

One of the best lessons learned from the pandemic was to appreciate our own backyards. From camping to foraging to snowshoeing, I learned to deeply appreciate my local parks and recreation. Thankfully, two legendary tableware destinations are also local, and...

While expert opinions range from Dr Leong Hoe Nam’s “Omicron will dominate and overwhelm the whole world in three to six months” to NIH Director Dr Francis Collins more optimistic “No data to suggest the Omicron variant causes more severe symptoms”, what we do know is...

While the recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow Scotland didn’t produce everything many had hoped for— COP26 President Alok Sharma called it “a fragile win”— an agreement was signed by 197 countries establishing meaningful foundations...

MGH, a full-service marketing and communications agency for franchise restaurants, sought to determine the level of influence the increasingly popular platform, TikTok, has on users within the restaurant industry. Their findings indicate that TikTok can be an incredibly useful... if used properly.

Drunk driving is responsible for nearly one-third of all traffic fatalities worldwide. In the vast majority of drunk driving accidents, the driver is found intoxicated with a blood alcohol content (BAC) above the legal limit. To protect the general public, many countries have enacted...

The major transformation restaurant owners have in working with me is the shift in their company culture. Have you heard people talk about company culture and how important it is? As a systems guy who helps restaurant owners have a life and make money, I can tell you the systems are the easy part...

You’re in the final stretch for a successful year and there is still some time to put points on the board. December is a time for celebration, for dining out, for dining in and for convenience. It's a great time of year to drive home some much needed additional revenue and...

This has been a particularly hard week for all Day & Nite/All Service/Popular Plumbing/Performance Air Mechanical stakeholders. I really don't know if anyone can ever truly get over the loss of such a magnetic and caring person, exceptional and sincere professional...

Although many people are getting back to their normal routines, some pandemic measures will remain in effect as safety precautions. Restaurant owners and managers don’t have to wait for dine-in customers to fill their tables again to recover from COVID-19-related financial losses...

Restaurant operators are, by nature, among the most innovative entrepreneurs on the planet. While navigating an ever-changing, near-daily cycle of guidance (or, at times, lack thereof) over the last 18 months, restaurateurs have been in overdrive, optimizing their take-out and delivery strategies...

The restaurant industry has hit many road blocks lately. The latest bump in the road is staffing. Many restaurants are struggling to find staff, much less keep them. Adding to that, the people who are willing to work in our industry don’t have the experience we’d like for them to have...

This coming holiday season, many people are excited to once again gather together and celebrate Thanksgiving with their friends and family, especially after missing out on a “normal” celebration last year. However, hosting a holiday dinner can be quite overwhelming for many...

As if labor shortages and supply chain issues weren’t enough to cause headaches and hiccups in the hospitality industry as it comes back to life, Mother Nature is piling on too. Access to a dwindling supply of raw materials is a reality that, though they may not yet realize it, many bars...

Given the unrelenting volatile conditions with a decided emphasis on successfully managing against Covid-19, crisis management currents to the more recent era of supply chain bottlenecks and unprecedented rates of inflation. Although many companies and senior managers...

L Sashin and Associates and Total Food Service (TFS) are set to host a series of virtual breakfast sessions on the web. “Our goal is to help the restaurant and foodservice industry take advantage of the perspective that we have been able to gain in working with clients in a wide...

With football season in full effect, home is where the tailgate is for many sports fans ordering up food, drinks and spirits on-demand for game day spreads. The “homegating” trend of 2020 where consumers opted to tailgate from home during football season during the pandemic has continued...

I recently came back from Dallas, TX where I was attending FSTEC, the premier restaurant technology conference. If I heard correctly, it’s been around for 20 years. This was my first. FSTEC was held in the Gaylord Texan this year, and I ate some awesome meals, but we have more important matters to discuss...

Employee retention is a serious issue that employers in the Hospitality and Food Services industry are facing today and as businesses continue on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a labor shortage threatens the progress...

Even if you’re not acquainted with Black Box Workforce Intelligence’s restaurant industry research statistics, you’re certainly familiar with the operating reality: Slightly more than 6 fewer back of the house employees vs 2019; Not quite 3 fewer front-end employees vs 2019...

With the pandemic impacting small businesses, especially those in the food industry who have seen supply lines disrupted and have faced difficulty in retaining staff.  Many of these businesses have yet to recover from the economic shutdowns from the pandemic. While many businesses have...

No caterer, event hall, or venue could have foreseen the duration of the pandemic and the extent it would interrupt its operations. Luckily, some of those hospitality businesses required their clients to enter into contracts that forecasted, to a degree, both their own and their client’s...

Although the restaurant industry has finally regained its footing, it is still haunted by several issues brought about by the pandemic, namely a significant labor shortage. Between intense inter-restaurant competition, nation-wide minimum wage increases, and residual fear of the virus, finding labor...