Empty Businesses and Tough Times at the Other Border

Those who know Steven Nadeau, a restaurant owner in this town near the Canadian border, like to joke that his place is internationally renowned. A decade ago, the crispy wings and deep dish pizza were so popular among his northern neighbors that he bought a second cash box for Canadian dollars.

But these days, the tin box sits empty, and the restaurant, Trombino’s, is struggling to stay open. Mr. Nadeau counts himself lucky, though — down the road, an eerie stillness has enveloped a mall where most of the stores closed after Canadians stopped coming to shop.

$15 minimum wage hurting (not helping) restaurants

A new year is fast approaching and 2020 could be a painful one for our nation's  restaurants : 24 states and the District of Columbia will raise their  minimum wages  effective New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day.

Labor unions  and their allies are cheering the policy change, but the evidence shows unreasonable wage floors are no cause for celebration -- they are, in fact, destroying restaurant scenes in some of the best-known dining towns from coast to coast.

How Suggested Gratuity Can Increase Tips

If your servers don’t make enough in tips to cover the difference between their hourly rate and minimum wage, it’s your job as a business-owner to come out of pocket to ensure your staff is making enough to make a living.

So, let’s take a look at how you can use suggested gratuities to increase tips for your waitstaff. 

Why Messaging is the Next Big Thing for Restaurants

Messaging is an underutilized yet uniquely impactful way for brands to meet consumers authentically, securely, and when they are most relevant—leading to increased brand awareness and bringing additional foot traffic through the door. Restaurant marketers must prioritize messaging as a powerful new channel for raising awareness and reinforcing brand-consumer relationships—pushing the boundaries of what we once thought of simply as chat beyond promotional offers and customer service.