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To Tip or Not to Tip?
To tip or not to tip? That is the question for many restaurateurs as some of their colleagues, like Joe's Crab Shack and Shake Shack, have made moves to ban tipping in their establishments. Instead of paying servers and bartenders the minimum serving wage of $2.13, with the expectation that most of their money earned would come from tips, these owners have boosted the pay rate to $15 an hour. To make up for the new cost of their front-of-house employees, some restaurants have implemented a slight price increase on their menus, or clever "administrative fee" to guests' bills. While this new business model may work well for some restaurants, it may not be ideal for others. So the big question remains, should your restaurant get rid of tipping?
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Offer Healthier Options Year-Round
Losing weight, maintaining a healthier lifestyle, and spending less money are some of the top New Year's resolutions. Although this isn't always the best thing for professionals in an industry that revolves around food, it is possible to make your menu more appealing to these individuals and keep them coming to your restaurant. So, for your restaurant's New Year's resolution, try slimming down your menu, so you can offer healthier options year-round.
Use Symbols
Many restaurants, like Outback Steakhouse, offer healthier alternatives all the time, without making their menu any longer than it already is. To do this, simply add a legend to your menu, and make sure it's visible to your customers. Then, place symbols from the legend next to appetizer, salad, entree, and side options that can be prepared differently, if requested by the customer. This eliminates having to add a new section to your menu or having to tack on different entree options. If you're thinking about adding a legend to your menu, then check out some of our symbols ideas below:
- Grill images show that chicken sandwiches, patties, and nuggets can be grilled rather than sautéed or deep fried.
- Leaf symbols show that a pasta dish, sandwich, wrap, or salad can be made vegetarian.
- A "V" shows that certain vegetarian dishes can be made vegan.
- Grain images show that sandwiches and subs can be made with whole grain bread.
- Zig-zag symbols show that crab cakes, seafood, meats, and poultry can be broiled.
- Vegetable symbols show that certain meals can be made with organic ingredients.
- An image that says "Sugar Free" can be used to show that drinks and desserts can be made without sugar.
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Ways to Make Your Restaurant 
Go Green
The New Year is the perfect time to lay out new goals for improving your restaurant. As 2016 gets underway, why not make one of those goals to be more environmentally friendly? This may seem like a lofty goal, but we're here to help with these 7 practical steps that you can take to get started.
Use Less Electricity
Running a restaurant isn't exactly easy on the electric bill. Powering large appliances, lights, heating, and air conditioning can use a serious amount of energy. Despite this, there are ways to reduce your electricity usage. Investing in Energy Star Rated appliances and using up-to-date energy efficient lighting are both ways that you can save energy. For a more in-depth look at how to save electricity in your restaurant, check out this article.
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Winter is progressing at full blast, and much of the country is experiencing blizzard conditions or bracing for a major snow storm.
During extreme weather events, make sure you're prepared for an emergency that could alter business practices. Here, Chef Thomas Schultz, Executive Chef for our ServSafe Food Safety program, offers five tips to keep your food safe:
- Don't open for business if you don't have access to electricity or running water.
- If you are open, check with suppliers or distributors about how and where they'll make deliveries. If you normally have key supply drop-offs, set aside a location for them - preferably indoors. Produce and other items could suffer if left in the cold. Bring food inside so it won't get wet or ruined.
- Make sure you contain water or debris on snow-removal equipment after clearing your walkways. They are good sources for contamination, especially if you're shoveling on or near a path to the dumpster.
- Make certain you can access and open the dumpsters. Remove trash and waste as you normally would. Don't let it build up because it's cold outside.
- Be aware of where employees store their street clothing. If you don't have lockers or a break room, make sure they place clothes away from food-contact surfaces. One good location could be the manager's office. Remember that clothes, especially boots that track in water and dirt, can be a source of cross-contamination.
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Strategies to Integrate Locally Sourced Food
According to the 2015 Restaurant Industry Forecast, 54 percent of adults say they look for limited-service restaurants that serve locally sourced food, while 46 percent say an important factor is the availability of organic or environmentally friendly food. Start small when incorporating local or seasonal ingredients on menus. Here are some tips to help:
- Go to farmers markets, recommends Chef Thomas Schultz, Executive Chef at Superior Culinary Center, in St Francis WI. If the vendors don't have the ingredients you want, they will tell you who does, he says. The top trend in the restaurant industry today is the use of locally sourced ingredients. You need to know the ins and outs of this production process and its effect on business and menus if you want to enter a culinary or restaurant career.
- Food that is locally sourced integrates production, processing, distribution and consumption on a small scale. These sourcing factors are divided by short location distance and ecology.
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Gives you a reason to put off work or housework and take a few deep breath of refreshing outside air!
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Makes your body strong! I get to use muscles I don't ordinarily use. When weeding, I'm squatting; when digging or carrying soil, I'm using ALL my muscle groups.
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Enables you to spend time alone or with your partner, friend or children. Even when my family is not in the mood to garden, they'll come out and chat over some cold ice tea. Or sometimes after gardening we all relax outside over lunch, tired and admiring the beauty of our hard work!
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Provides a great opportunity for you to spend time with kids who love to dig in the dirt and get dirty! Not only is it great fun, it is also good for their immune systems. Plus, kids love to watch the fruits of their labor grow.
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It's rewarding to grow it, pick it and eat it! Fresh produce right out of the garden tastes amazingly good, really reinforcing the old adage that "fresh is best!" Plus it's organic and perfectly safe. I know exactly what went on the plants, who picked it and what was involved in the growing process.
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Its a way for you and your family to try new foods, like purple kale or Swiss chard.
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FREE
Mardi Gras Party
Jan. 1
Feb 6, 2016
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
FREE
Romantic Valentine's
Day Demo
Feb. 13, 2016
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
FREE
Neapolitan Pizzeria Demo
Feb. 20, 2016
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Pasta Workshop Demo
Feb. 27, 2016
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
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