GRA Weekly

September 14, 2023

This week's newsletter is brought to you by GRA Corporate Partner, Moore Colson

2023 GRACE AWARDS

Nominations for 2023 GRACE Awards Are Now Open

The Georgia Restaurant Association Crystal of Excellence (GRACE) Awards return to honor the best and brightest in Georgia’s restaurant industry on November 30. Nominations are open in numerous categories honoring those who have exhibited exceptional hospitality during the year.

Peer-nominated award categories include:

Lifetime Achievement
Restaurateur of the Year
Restaurateur Rookie of the Year
Industry Partner of the Year
Hospitality Hero of the Year
Restaurant Manager of the Year
Restaurant Employee of the Year
ProStart® Student of the Year
"Georgia On My Mind" People’s Choice Awards featuring four new award categories: Favorite Neighborhood Hangout, Favorite Born and Raised Beverage, Favorite Eatertainment Experience and Uniquely Georgia. These awards are nominated and voted on by the Georgia restaurant community including guests, employees, suppliers and vendors.

Nominations can be submitted online until October 10. Winners will be announced during the GRACE Awards Gala on Tuesday, November 30 at the Georgia Aquarium. To sponsor the awards gala, please contact Sarah Thorson.

MEET THE EXPERTS

Speed Coaching + Power Networking

Register now to attend GRA's newest educational networking event - Meet The Experts, hosted in partnership with NCR, Ecolab, Moore Colson, and Sysco.

Meet the Experts will feature over a dozen industry experts for an evening of speed coaching and power networking.

On Tuesday, September 26 from 4:00PM to 7:00PM at the NCR Headquarters, this event offers restaurant and hospitality operators the opportunity to connect one-on-one with some of the biggest restaurateurs in the business, plus experts in HR, public relations, law, accounting, licensing, insurance, and more. Learn more.

Tuesday, September 26 | 4:00PM - 7:00PM

ATLANTA WORKS CONFERENCE

Atlanta Works Conference

SHRM-Atlanta is the professional home for HR practitioners, but we realize that there are people that manage employees daily who may have no HR background, education, or training, such as start-ups and entrepreneurs.

The Atlanta Works Conference will support people managers in ensuring they understand what’s needed to hire, train, pay, schedule, and generally manage their employees. The conference will take place at Georgia Tech on October 10.

GRA and SHRM-Atlanta are partnering on presenting the Atlanta Works Conference. GRA members receive a $25 discount on the hospitality/restaurant track when using promo code GRA-ATLANTAWORKS23 at checkout. To register or to find out more about the Atlanta Works Conference, click here.

Atlanta Works Conference

October 10 | Georgia Tech

HOW TO POSITION YOUR BUSINESS FOR A SUCCESSFUL SALE

How To Position Your Business for a Successful Sale

Selling a business can be a pivotal step for any entrepreneur. Ensuring you adequately prepare is crucial to attract the right buyers and obtain the best value. In our experience, a successful and smooth sale process comes down to a few essential items- find out what they are here.

GRA PRESIDENT + CEO KAREN BREMER TO RETIRE

Georgia Restaurant Association's Karen Bremer to Retire in January

The Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA) has announced that president and CEO Karen Bremer will retire on Jan. 16, 2024, after 13 years with the organization and 50 years in the hospitality industry. During her tenure at the helm of GRA, Bremer heightened awareness of the restaurant industry’s positive impact on the state’s economy. Keep Reading.

GRA ADVOCACY UPDATE

Macon Kitchen Cabinet with Mayor Lester Miller

Join Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller and the GRA team on Thursday, September 28th at The Rookery for a Kitchen Cabinet roundtable to discuss issues within the restaurant industry! This event is a great opportunity to connect with Macon restaurateurs and discuss your concerns with an elected official – one-on-one. If you plan to attend or have any questions about the event, please contact Dedan McFadden here or call us directly at (404) 467-900. We look forward to seeing you there!

When: Thursday, September 28 | 2:00PM - 4:00PM

Where: The Rookery | 543 Cherry St. Macon, GA 31201

FREE SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING

Free Suicide Prevention Training for Your Employees

In observance of National Suicide Prevention Week, we are urging all food service workers to complete the FREE Question, Persuade, Refer training.

QPR, the CPR of suicide prevention training, is a simple, 45-minute course that prepares you to support a friend, family member, or teammate who is contemplating suicide.Giving Kitchen is proud to provide food service workers nationwide FREE access to the QPR suicide prevention training course online. QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer - three steps anyone can learn to prevent suicide. Equip yourself and your team with the skills to help others who may be struggling with depression, mental illness, or suicidal ideation. This course is always free for food service workers using the special Giving Kitchen code GKQPR.

To begin your training, please enter code GKQPR at the link below.

TAKE THE COURSE

FEDERAL UPDATE

IRS: Georgia taxpayers impacted by Idalia qualify for tax relief; Oct. 16 deadline, other dates postponed to Feb. 15

This week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced tax relief for individuals and businesses affected by Idalia in 28 of the state's 159 counties in Georgia. These taxpayers now have until Feb. 15, 2024, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. This is similar to relief already being provided in Florida and South Carolina.

The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) See the full list of eligible localities here.

Senate may vote on Credit Card Competition Act later this year

What’s happening: Thanks to everyone who contacted their senators to urge them to support the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), the Senate may vote on CCCA before the end of the year.

What you should know: The big banks and credit card companies are working to block CCCA because it would lower swipe fees. Together, we can push back against their misinformation and build support for this commonsense legislation, which would save business owners like you an estimated $15B a year.
What’s next: In the coming weeks, the Association will share more ways you can help build support for CCCA. In the meantime, please tell Congress to support CCCA if you haven’t already.

Georgia Department of Revenue | Sales & Use Tax Rates Effective October 1, 2023

The Georgia Department of Revenue has posted the upcoming quarterly sales and use tax rate changes.

County affected: Rockdale

Please visit the Department’s website to view current, historical, and upcoming sales and use tax rate charts.

SERVSAFE FOOD SAFETY MONTH

WEEK 3 |Cracking the Code on Health Inspections

In week three of National Food Safety Month, we’re setting the record straight on health inspections and revealing some of the most common, and preventable, health code violations.

Free Resources:

DINING WITH GRATITUDE

Dining with Gratitude This October

Calling all Georgia restaurants and food service establishments, this October help Giving Kitchen raise critical funds and vital awareness by participating in Dining With Gratitude. The ask from GK is simple:

1) pledge at least $1,000 for food service workers in crisis through a direct donation or percentage of sales,

2) tell your staff about Giving Kitchen at lineup

3) in October, share with your customers you’re stepping up to support food services workers in crisis and invite them to dine with gratitude - they will send you a package for promotion kit in September. Register and find more details here.