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Dear Loyal Readers:

Here it is the middle of September, College and Professional Football are in full swing, (you can put Alabama in either category) my Cubs are holding onto first place in their division by a thread, and hockey is starting their pre-season training. Is this a great time or what!! In my last epistle, I mentioned Generation Z and how organizations need to adapt to the new workforce. Since we are still only a few weeks past Labor Day, I believe, labor should still be a topic worth discussing and passing on some tips from an article by James Frampton Vice President Sales for EMEA on improving retention, increase productivity and improving customer service is a great start. Here are some of the tips:

* Coach for Growth. According to the Workplace Leaning Report, 94% of employees say they will stay with a company longer if it invested in their career development.

* Consider a Flexible Work And Holiday Schedule. Companies who have tried this (Netflix, HubSpot, and LinkedIn for example) have found that employees don’t abuse flexible scheduling but actually have to be told to take time off!

And my last tip to share,

* Drive Engagement through Real-time Feedback Channels. Making the new workforce feel Valued is the key to achieving all the increases mentioned above.

To get all the tips and learn more about creating the new culture for the new employee, please contact me or any of my American Recruiters Associates and we will be happy to share our information with you. Now, enjoy the latest edition of American Recruiters Global Foodservice News. Until next time, thanks for your continued support.

 

Craig Wilson

President

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Domino’s Stock Outperformed Apple and Amazon over 7 Years

Domino’s Pizza claims it has surpassed Pizza Hut to become the largest pizza chain in the world. The company reported $12.2 billion in global sales for 2017, edging out the former title-holder, which had $12.03 billion. Theirs is truly a comeback story. In 2009, executives at Domino’s reevaluated their business model in light of an influx of customer complaints, such as “Worst excuse for pizza I’ve ever had,” “Microwave pizza is far superior,” and, frequently, “Domino’s tastes like cardboard.” Then, between 2010 and 2017, the company’s stock appreciated more than 2000 percent, reports The Motley Fool, in that time frame outperforming the tech giants Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Motley Fool’s data extends to April 2017, when the value of Domino’s stock was $180. Its value was $226 a share as of February 28. President and CEO Patrick Doyle turned the chain around so successfully by heeding the public’s criticisms and making better pizza. But, more importantly, he focused on digital innovation and amped up delivery service. Domino’s now employs mare people in their IT department than anywhere else in the company, and over half of their sales come from digital platforms. “With Domino’s AnyWare, pizza can now be ordered through a variety of platforms, including Google Home, Amazon’s Echo, Facebook Messenger, a smart TV, an Apple or Android smartwatch, a connected car, by texting, or by tweeting,” notes The Motley Fool. The company made ordering a pizza as simple as choosing a pizza emoji. If that wasn’t enough, Domino’s also managed to recently land the long-haired “Stranger Things” stud Joe Keery as a spokesperson. He’s featured in a commercial recreating the running home-scene in the ’80s hit “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Only, in this case, Keery isn’t trying to beat his parents home; he is trying to beat the pizza he is tracking on his phone, because you can also do that now. Domino’s stock has demonstrated consistent growth for years, and Doyle is continuously looking for opportunity to grow further, he told the Los Angeles Times, even if it means taking risks, such as when they added voice ordering to their app three years ago. “That’s the sort of thing that’s not going to generate a fast return, but that’s part of how you stay ahead of the market,” he said. – Source: CNBC.

Subway $5 Footlong is Going Away, but Paninis May Be Coming

The iconic sandwich may no longer be at your local restaurant. Trevor Haynes, current CEO of the Milford, Connecticut, company, told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview that starting this month, each franchisee will be allowed to decide whether to sell the sub that is so famous. Or infamous. When the chain brought back the $5 Footlong last winter after a years-long absence, many franchisees were irate. They complained loudly of the slim margins they earned off of the discounted ‘wich, and according to Haynes, the company – whose restaurants are 100 percent franchised – listened to the gripes. “How do we help our franchises with more of a regional value message, so they’re able to (have) a value proposition that fits with their economic model,” Haynes said. “If you look at California, there’s a very different cost of business than in Arkansas.” The 53-year-old privately-held company, originally called Pete’s Super Submarines, had $16.8 billion in global sales in 2017, thanks to some 44,000 restaurants worldwide, including 25,000 in the U.S. Subway, which has put about 1,300 stateside locations on the chopping block in two years, declined to share growth percentages or customer traffic numbers. Haynes, 47, became CEO this summer after Suzanne Greco, sister of Subway co-founder Fred DeLuca, retired. The Australian has worked for the company for 12 years on three continents and inherited a brand still smarting from the sex and child-pornography scandal of former company spokesman Jared Fogle. The demise of the $5 Footlong is just one of the differences customers will notice at Subway. Here are four other changes Haynes shared with USA TODAY. Other cheap eats are available. Remember that some franchisees may choose to retain the $5 Footlong, but Subway is encouraging different markets to try their own value options. For examples, customers in San Francisco can now buy a $3.99 6-inch sub. “Affordable food is what we’ve always stood for,” Haynes said. “It’s not just about one price point.”

Restaurant consultant John Gordon of Pacific Management Consulting Group questions how low Subway can drop its prices, due to its main meats – ham, roast beef and chicken. “Those are generally more costly on a per-pound basis than the ground beef that the burger guys use, so Subway has a hard time discounting,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of franchisee disruption and negativity regarding this discounting … They take it in the shorts. Their average check goes down.” So what about wacky stunt foods, so beloved by other fast-food brands such as Starbucks and Taco Bell? “Maybe off-the-menu-type products or Unicorn-type drinks at some time, but it needs to be profitable and successful for our franchisees,” Haynes said. New tastes are coming down the pike. The chain is testing some more exotic tastes. Haynes said they’re working on what’s been dubbed Firebird chicken, a spicier rotisserie-type poultry, and guajillo steak. Plus, 200 San Diego locations are testing a quartet of new sandwiches, which the chain refers to as “regional flavors” – a Steakhouse Melt (shaved steak, American cheese, onions, green peppers, spinach and Sub Spice), a California Club (oven-roasted turkey, fresh avocado and Mustard Seed Spread), a Provencal Tuna Melt (tuna, cheese, tomatoes, spinach and Provencal herbs) and an Italian Grinder (pepperoni, Genoa salami, Black Forest ham, onions, Signature Herb Garlic Oil and cracked black pepper). New beverages include Watermelon Agua Fresca and Passion Fruit Agua Fresca. And while the large, long rolls are a key part of Subway sandwiches, the company is now experimenting with paninis in California. They’re not the brand’s first foray into alternative breads. In March, Subway launched a line of wraps, which Haynes called “extremely successful for our brand.” Subway had tried this carb form in in 2004, followed by a tortilla option in select markets three years later. Gordon doesn’t expect much from Subway’s move to new tastes, though, explaining, “Bold flavors and spices have been a big deal in restaurants for at least five years. They totally missed that. They were asleep at the switch.” He said the $5 Footlong was a hit in 2007-2008 due to the recession and the healthy image the veggie-heavy subs had at a time when Americans began to care more about what they ate. Then, crickets. “That was 10 years ago. Nothing has happened at Subway essentially in 10 years,” he said. Gordon gives Subway a thumbs-up for its new wraps but advises moving away from bread and starting to serve meats shaved and stacked deli-style, if the chain wants to avoid fellow sub chain Quiznos’s downward spiral. You want how many pickles? They key to Subway’s continued success is underscoring customers’ ability to pick precisely what they do and don’t want on their sandwiches, according to Haynes. “With other brands, it’s very much packaged formats. We customize. You can add as many tomatoes or olives as you want,” he said. “We have millions and millions of combinations and flavors.” Aaron Allen, founder of the Orlando, Florida-based eponymous global restaurant consulting firm, is unimpressed by Subway’s continued emphasis on customization. “It’s certainly in the playbook of many more (fast-food) restaurants than it was previously,” he said, explaining that with an increasing number of chains focusing on self-ordering – both at in-store kiosks and online – the approach becomes even less unique to Subway. Subway also is bumping up against increased competition from sandwich upstarts and their step-sibling, the hamburger joint. “We need to stick to what we know and do it very, very well. We can’t be distracted,” Haynes said. “Burger chains are big competitors. We need to make sure we’re playing in that arena as well.”

The company records more than 7 million transactions globally every day, he added. Don’t just Instagram the food. Subway restaurants are being redesigned. The bright, fresh, green palette is vegetable-inspired, and the decor overhaul for everything from freestanding drive-thru locations to the kiosks will “start in earnest” next year, Haynes said. The cost is about $40,000 for a typical 1,200-square-foot store. But Allen wonders how many franchisees, more accustomed to makeovers every five to seven years, will be happy about spending money to spiff up their stores. “It’s one of the lowest price-point franchises to get into,” he said. “But it also makes it hard to refresh and modernize. It’s difficult to get the franchisees to buy into that.” Even though the U.S. is famous for its burgers and fries, you won’t have the same fast food experience in every state. Source: fsrmagazine.

Fish Fraud Sweeps over the Restaurant Industry

Chef Robert Wiedmaier is an avid fisherman and has been out on boats with his seafood suppliers. He’s checked out the processing plants in Alaska where much of his fish comes from. He has a top-notch relationship with his fishmonger. He’s even visited their docks to see where the fish comes from, what it looks like, and how it’s labeled. As a chef, it’s essential that he follows those steps. He makes claims in his restaurant, Siren, in Washington, D.C., about the seafood and its provenance. He doesn’t want to be caught flat-footed or worse, seem to be lying. But that was the case for many restaurants recently, when they discovered their supplier, Sea to Table, had not necessarily been supplying the local, wild, sustainable, and traceable fish it promised to its customers. The company was accused of mislabeling, of mixing fish from different origins, providing incorrect names for boats and docks, supplying farmed shellfish instead of wild, and of selling illegal species. Robert Perkins is the regional director, Americas, with the Marine Stewardship Council in Washington, D.C., and was surprised at the news. “The mislabeling of seafood happens a lot and I was surprised because Sea to Table seemed a good actor—straightforward.” However, he adds, looking at the big picture, it’s not shocking. “There’s so much variability in seafood that almost to deliver local seafood year round is a tough act to accomplish.” He also believes it was possibly unintentional, and points to an Oceana report from 2013 showing that as much as a third of fish is mislabeled. But who mislabeled it, Perkins asks. “Was it the importer who mislabeled it intentionally or unintentionally? I think maybe it ends up being a restauranteur who ends up using a term inappropriately. It’s a lot of work to serve seafood.” Justin Boevers, program director of FishChoice, a Fort Collins, Colorodo-based company that helps restaurants make sustainable choices, says the more expensive seafood is, the more likely it is to be incorrectly labeled—red snapper and yellowfin tuna, for example. The trouble is, Wiedmaier says, “you’ll never really know. The fishing industry is not like the USDA, where everything is graded and inspected.

There’s a lot of trickery that goes on, even with the names of fish—it’s called different names in different areas.” So, the most important thing a chef can do is to know his seafood supplier, he says. Wiedmaier has been working with Samuels and Son in Philadelphia and Congressional Seafood in Jessup, Maryland, and has built up trust over the years, he explains. Plus, he makes sure he visits them every year. “You have to have a supplier with traceability. Having a good supplier is absolutely the key. You need someone who’s going to be honest with you, — Chef Robert Wiednaier. At Siren, in Washington, D.C., Chef Robert Wiedmaier has a top-notch relationship with his fishmonger. “The more you can get yourself closer to the water with that fish, the closer you can be to your supplier. If you don’t do that, and if you don’t become an investigative reporter, you don’t know sometimes what you are getting,” he says. This means he can ask more questions and ask better questions, he says. Doug Turbush owns Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar in Marietta, Georgia. “You have to have a supplier with traceability,” he says. “Having a good supplier is absolutely the key. You need someone who’s going to be honest with you.” Turbush works with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch and has worked with Foley Fish in Boston for the past 25 years and is very impressed with the supplier. The company has its own Foley Fish School, to which Turbush sends all of his sous chefs for a three-day intensive session. During this, they learn everything about the company’s seafood, including touring the warehouse, going out on boats, and attending a seafood auction. Wiedmaier is vigilant about checking the seafood that comes into his restaurant—which is all fresh, never frozen. “We look at every single piece that comes in. It’s very important to look at fish carefully—at the eyes, the gills. As a chef these days, I’m a sourcer. This is vital, Boevers says. “You should try to buy whole fish because if you’re not seeing the fins and the eyes and the tail you are pretty vulnerable to what someone is telling you it is. Restaurants should be buying a lot more frozen seafood. Part of the problem we are having with this substitution is everyone wants fresh fish and the order takers are trying to deliver. So frozen fish reduces the pressure on the supply chain. So restaurants need to evaluate how much frozen and fresh fish they are buying.” Another important tactic is to take what’s available without demanding specific fish, he adds. “Michael Cimarusti [co-owner and chef of Providence in Los Angeles] takes what comes in today. That is the model we need to see more of. You have a subscription and don’t necessarily know what you’re going to get that day. But if you have a good chef and some flexibility in the menu, you know you’ll be getting local, fresh fish.” – Source: fsrmagazine.com

It’s National Food Safety Month, but These 4 Supplier Tips are Good Every Day

Whether you operate a large chain or a small independent restaurant, receiving product from suppliers is increasingly complicated. Ingredients can be sourced around the block or the world, and suppliers have different procedures for getting them to you safely. As National Food Safety Month continues, we’re examining how to keep your food supply safe. It’s important to ensure that any ingredients you source and use at your operation get there safely. They also must meet your establishment’s requirements. Here are four best practices for receiving food from suppliers: Enhance your receiving skills. Be knowledgeable of product specifications. Obtain ingredient specifications from the supplier or manufacturer because they can provide information on what is acceptable. The specs can also help you identify food safety risks and quality parameters. It’s also important to know all of your restaurant’s receiving procedures. If a problem does occur, any corrective actions taken should be determined by the risk you’re willing to accept. Stay on top of your equipment requirements. Ensure all of your equipment is calibrated and working properly. One of the most important pieces of equipment used during the receiving process is the thermometer. Why? To ensure you receive product at appropriate temperatures. That’s why it’s essential equipment is calibrated. Over time, there could be a “drift” in the accuracy of the thermometer, which could result in an inaccurate reading and cause a potential food-safety issue. Time and temperature controls: Verify that your products arrive and are stored at proper temperatures upon delivery. Store all temperature sensitive foods immediately. To avoid spoilage, cold TCS foods should be stored at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Hot TCS foods should be stored at 135 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Maintain documentation and use a receiving checklist: It is essential to know what products or ingredients you order from suppliers. Use a receiving checklist to help guide employees through the receiving process. The checklist will help take the guesswork out of determining whether a product is safe, or if it is of proper quality. This is a proactive approach to practicing food safety because it could help detect problems and prevent losses before they happen. Finally, any employees noticing or determining potential food safety issues should share those concerns with their managers. That action could help prevent an illness outbreak. – Source: The National Restaurant Association.

Taco Bueno Shutters 16 Locations

Taco Bueno Restaurants L.P. is closing 16 locations across four states, reducing its total unit count to 172, the quick-service Tex-Mex brand said. The Farmers Branch, Texas-based company said 10 of the closures, effective Monday, were in the North Texas, three were in Okla., two in Mo. and one in Kan. “We continually review our restaurant portfolio performance,” Taco Bueno CEO Omar Janjua said in a statement Monday. “These closures were a strategic decision based solely on business demands and changing traffic patterns.” Janjua added, “This portfolio adjustment will allow us to pursue new restaurants in strong trade areas.” Janjua, formerly CEO of Atlanta-based Krystal Company, joined Taco Bueno in March. A Taco Bueno statement said one of Janjua’s first objectives was “to identify underperforming business areas and reallocate resources toward more productive pursuits.” “It is our plan to reinvest in new locations and to remodel others to better serve our guests,” Janjua said. Taco Bueno said managers and employees impacted by the closures are being offered transfers in the Taco Bueno system where they were available. “We appreciate the effort of our teams throughout their time with us, and we hope to keep as many hard-working people as possible,” Janjua said. Taco Bueno ranked No. 175 in U.S. systemwide sales in the 2018 Nation’s Restaurant News Top 2000 rankings, down from No. 171 in the prior year. The brand’s systemwide sales were estimated at $210.8 million for the fiscal year ended in December 2017. The announced Taco Bueno closures included two locations in Arlington, Texas, three in Fort Worth, Texas, and two in Kansas City, Mo. Singular closures were in the Texas cities of Balch Springs, Dallas, Granbury and North Richland Hills, the Oklahoma municipalities of Enid, Norman and Oklahoma City and one in Kansas. Taco Bueno, founded in 1967 in Abilene, Texas, was acquired by San Francisco-based private-equityfirm TPG Growth in December 2015 from New York-based Palladium Equity Partners. – Source: NRN.

Some McDonald’s Workers Vote to Strike over Sex Harassment

Emboldened by the MeToo movement, McDonald’s workers have voted to stage a one-day strike next week at restaurants in 10 cities in hopes of pressuring management to take stronger steps against on-the-job sexual harassment. Organizers say it will be the first multistate strike in the U.S. specifically targeting sexual harassment. Plans for the walkout — to start at lunchtime on Sept. 18 — have been approved in recent days by “women’s committees” formed by employees at dozens of McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. Lead organizers include several women who filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May alleging pervasive harassment at some of McDonald’s franchise restaurants. The strike comes as union-backed organizations have been putting pressure on McDonald’s on several fronts for better working conditions, including $15 an hour wages — at a burger chain that employs tens of thousands of people around the country, many of them at low pay. Organizers said the strike would target multiple restaurants — but not every local McDonald’s — in each of the 10 cities: Chicago; Durham, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles; Miami; Milwaukee; New Orleans; Orlando, Florida; San Francisco and St. Louis. They said they could not predict with precision how many workers would join the strike, but noted that hundreds of workers had participated in the committee meetings at which the strike was planned. McDonald’s, in an e-mail to The Associated Press, defended its anti-harassment efforts. “We have policies, procedures and training in place that are specifically designed to prevent sexual harassment at our company and company-owned restaurants, and we firmly believe that our franchisees share this commitment,” the company said. The company also disclosed a new initiative that will engage outside experts to work with the company to help “evolve” those policies and procedures. Some of the experts would come from Seyfarth Shaw at Work, an employment law training firm, and RAINN, an anti-sexual violence organization. Labor lawyer Mary Joyce Carlson, who has been collaborating with women who filed the EEOC complaints, says the company needs to back up such gestures with tougher enforcement. “We see no evidence there’s been any change at all,” she said. “Whatever policy they have is not effective.” Organizers of the planned walkout say strikers will be demanding that the company improve procedures for receiving and responding to harassment complaints, and require anti-harassment training for managers and employees. Another demand will be formation of a national committee to address sexual harassment, comprised of workers, representatives from corporate and franchise stores, and leaders of national women’s groups. Carlson is an attorney for Fight for $15, a national movement seeking to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. She said McDonald’s has successfully resisted efforts to unionize its employees, and suggested that workers’ anger related to sexual harassment might fuel broader efforts to gain better working conditions. Among the strike organizers is Tanya Harrell, 22, of New Orleans, who filed a complaint with the EEOC in May alleging that her two managers at a local McDonald’s teased her, but otherwise took no action after she told them of sustained verbal and physical harassment by a co-worker. Harrell, who makes $8.15 an hour, said she and many of her colleagues were skeptical of the company’s commitment to combating harassment. “They want people to think they care, but they don’t care,” she said. “They could do a way more better job.” Another organizer is Kim Lawson, 25, of Kansas City, who also filed an EEOC complaint alleging that managers responded ineffectively when she reported sexual harassment by a co-worker. Lawson, who has a 4-year-old daughter, says she makes $9 an hour. She is heartened by strong support from other workers for the planned walkout. “Everybody’s been brave about it,” she said. “It’s time to stand up for what we believe in.” Thus far, the nearly year-old #MeToo movement has not triggered a strike targeting a specific U.S. company. Last March, on International Women’s Day, there were broad-based calls for women to stay away from work in several countries, notably in Western Europe. Annelise Orleck, a history professor at Dartmouth College who has written about low-wage workers, said she knows of only one precedent in the United States to the planned McDonald’s walkout. In 1912, she said, several hundred garment workers at a corset factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, walked off the job in a strike prompted by pervasive sexual harassment, as well as other poor working conditions. The strikers did not win all of their demands, but succeeded in winning public support and drawing attention to workplace abuses. – Source: The Associated Press

Starbucks Brews a Greener Plan for 10,000 Environmentally Friendly Stores

As part of its new “Starbucks Greener Stores” initiative, the coffee retailer plans to have 10,000 environmentally friendly stores worldwide by 2025. Among the goals of the program, announced Thursday, is for the company to generate enough energy by solar and wind power to offset all the electricity needed to run the chain’s stores in U.S. and Canada. Working with environmental verification firm SCS Global Services, the World Wildlife Fund and other experts, Starbucks will develop a framework to build and operate environmentally sustainable stores. An accredited auditing program will be developed so that all 15,000 company-owned stores in the U.S. and Canada can be audited. The resulting framework will be open-sourced so other retailers can use it. The move comes on the heels of the company’s announcement that it will eliminate plastic straws in all stores globally by 2020. “Simply put, sustainable coffee, served sustainably is our aspiration,” Starbucks CEO and president Kevin Johnson said in a statement. The company announced the initiative Thursday at The Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco. “We know that designing and building green stores is not only responsible, it is cost effective as well.” Starbucks expects to save $50 million in utility costs over the next 10 years as the plan evolves. The coffee company says it already saves $30 million in annual operating costs with green store practices. Starbucks opened its first store certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in 2005, after four years of working with the U.S. Green Building Council to develop the LEED for Retail program. Starbucks, which has 28,000 stores worldwide, operates more than 1,500 LEED-certified stores in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and across 20 countries. In addition to investing in solar and wind power to match 100 percent of the energy used by its stores, Starbucks is looking to develop technology and practices that use 25 percent less power and 30 percent less water, according to he company’s program. Other goals include reduced waste, sustainably sourced products and materials, and increased community engagement in sustainable issues by employees. “This framework represents the next step in how Starbucks is approaching environmental stewardship, looking holistically at stores and their role in helping to ensure the future health of our natural resources,” Erin Simon, the director of research and development at World Wildlife Fund in the U.S., said in a statement. “When companies step up and demonstrate leadership, other businesses often follow with commitments of their own, driving further positive impacts.” – Source: USA TODAY

Crate & Barrel to Open Restaurant in Oakbrook Center Store in Spring 2019

Crate & Barrel has long sold items to help shoppers prepare and serve meals at home, from dinnerware and drinkware to cutlery and kitchen tools. But for those who’d rather take a night off from home cooking, next spring its Oakbrook Center store will get a full-service restaurant. The restaurant is a partnership between the Northbrook-based home goods retailer and Chicago’s Cornerstone Restaurant Group, with Chicago chef Bill Kim overseeing menu development. “As a longtime destination for dining and housewares, we know that our customers love to entertain, and incorporating food and beverage offerings is a natural extension of the Crate & Barrel brand,” CEO Neela Montgomery said in an email. While the restaurant isn’t expected to open until spring, Crate & Barrel’s culinary ambitions have already prompted a lawsuit from competing home retailer RH, formerly Restoration Hardware. In a lawsuit filed in January 2017 in California, RH accused Crate & Barrel of trying to copy the playbook for its food and beverage concept. The first of those locations, Three Arts Club Cafe, opened in Chicago in 2015. The nearly 70,000-square-foot space includes a gallery, design services, a coffee and pastry shop, a wine bar, and a courtyard restaurant. Two executives who left RH for its competitor, including former Crate & Barrel CEO Douglas Diemoz, were also named as defendants. Montgomery, who took over for Diemoz last year, said the lawsuit has been resolved and declined to comment further on the outcome. She noted Crate & Barrel had a coffee shop at its store in Chicago’s Ranch Triangle neighborhood more than 20 years ago and said mixing food and beverage and retail is not a new concept.

Plans for Crate & Barrel’s Oakbrook Center store are still being finalized, but they currently include outdoor dining space on two levels and indoor dining on one level. The retailer is considering offering cooking demonstrations and other events, and it’s looking into options for permits that would let customers browse with a glass of wine while waiting for a table. Montgomery said the restaurant will be an opportunity to give customers a memorable experience at one of the chain’s stores. Crate & Barrel closed its Michigan Avenue flagship in January, but the company said sales at stores open at least a year have been growing over the past two years, including an 8 percent increase in 2017. For now, Oakbrook Center will be the retailer’s only store-restaurant combo. “Though we don’t have concrete plans for more restaurants in additional locations at this time, we’re always exploring new ways to offer meaningful moments to our customers beyond the traditional shopping experience,” Montgomery said. It’s also a first for Cornerstone, which hasn’t operated inside a retail store before, CEO David Zadikoff said in an emailed statement. Zadikoff said he thinks the restaurant can benefit from the partnership too. “For a restaurant concept, having a built-in customer base is crucial, and it’s even better that Crate’s target market loves to dine and entertain,” he wrote. Department store restaurants, like the Walnut Room in Macy’s State Street flagship, have a long history. More recently, as retailers have embraced the in-store experience to compete with online retail, restaurants have popped up in big chains like Urban Outfitters and Barnes & Noble and small boutiques like Space 519 in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. Results have been mixed. In a letter announcing RH’s second-quarter financial results last week, Chairman and CEO Gary Frieman said each of its first four restaurants were generating between $4 million and $6 million a year. A fifth opened in New York City on Wednesday, and Friedman said the company plans to add more. Brendan Sodikoff, founder and CEO of Chicago’s Hogsalt Hospitality, is also president of RH’s hospitality business. But Leonard Riggio, Barnes & Noble’s chairman and founder, said last week during a call with investors that results from its five restaurants have been “a very mixed bag.” It’s not clear whether there will be more in future stores, though the bookseller is aiming to grow its cafe business, he said. “We do not have a culture of running, operating restaurants … things like controlling food costs and payroll costs are not in our DNA,” Riggio said. “It’s a lot harder than you think it is.” A restaurant isn’t likely to bring in shoppers who wouldn’t otherwise visit the store unless the retailer can offer real destination dining, particularly in a mall with other dining options, said Candace Corlett, president of consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail. Friedman said RH does see restaurants driving extra retail sales during a call with investors last week, though he declined to say how much crossover there was. But a restaurant could also be a way to encourage customers to stay and browse, give them space to consider a purchase and “move shoppers from undecided to decided,” Corlett said. Retailers would generally be smart to partner with a company that specializes in the restaurant business, she added. “They’re just two very different businesses, and it’s not wise to think that because you know how to run one you know how to do both,” she said. – Source: The Chicago Tribune

Changing the Restaurant Game with Tabletop Technology

Over the past several years, there’s been a technological revolution happening at the restaurant table. Eateries ranging from quickservice to fine dining are employing technology both to connect customers with staff members and to entertain them. Tabletop technology runs the gamut from small, sometimes indiscreet buttons to tablets with all the bells and whistles. The Ziosk tablet, for example, allows diners to peruse the menu, order items, pay their bill and even play games directly at the table, with restaurateurs choosing the options that best fit their venue. On the other hand, Kallpod makes one- to three-button devices for both restaurants and hospitality venues that allow diners to page their server, who is outfitted with a wearable device. “When we started the company, we very simply wanted a platform to reinforce the human element of service,” explains Steven Barrow Barlow, chief operating officer of Kallpod. “And secondly, something that aesthetically didn’t bring down the experience, while also being customizable for each venue from both a programming and an aesthetic standpoint.” Likewise, Ziosk has a very simple goal with its technology. “All we want to do is make sure that we are enhancing the guest experience in the ways the guest wants it to be enhanced, and if they don’t want to interact with it that’s fine,” Ziosk CEO Jack Baum told Skift told Skift Table. How are restaurants benefiting?

While some in the industry might see tabletop technology as a distraction or hindrance, restaurants large and small are beginning to take the plunge. Shane Wheatland, chief marketing officer of restaurant technology provider Omnivore, believes it can take time for the technology to be fully understood and embraced, but it does come with several benefits. “In some people’s mind they might worry the technology is replacing people and labor, but it’s just enhancing the experience and creating a more efficient experience,” Wheatland says. Kallpod found an unlikely partner in Chick-fil-A, which rolled out the technology at three of its locations in Texas. Not only did customer satisfaction at those restaurants go up, but sales also increased 500% thanks to the re-ordering capability. “Chick-fil-A is a new partnership we’re really excited about,” Barrow Barlow says. “We really never envisioned this would be a sweet spot of where it seems to work really well.” Providers are keen to help customers understand that the technology provides a human element while also streamlining the dining experience. When bringing on a new client, Kallpod focuses on making sure the guest understands that the technology actually brings them closer to a person, Barrow Barlow explains. “From the guest side, very simply, it’s perceived like a butler button,” he says. “It’s something that reinforces the human aspect of service.” For Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant, a partnership with Ziosk has reinforced that human element of service while still allowing the restarant to reap the benefits of the technology. Customers still order with a server, but have the option of paying at the table. Ziosk also offers actionable data through real-time customer surveys, which Abuelo’s president Bob Lin says has helped the way the chain trains and rewards its staff. “If an employee’s consistently getting low marks in a particular area, then we can counsel the employee,” Lin told FSR Magazine. “Or, if an employee is getting superior ratings at every interaction, then there are things we can do to reward the employee.”  Tabletop technology also helps restaurants create a unique experience that allows them to stand out from the competition. “People feel empowered,” Barrow Barlow says. “I think today, people are distracted, people are staring at their phones. Even with a great server, people don’t want to wait for anything and they want to feel like they’re in control, especially from a time sense. I think that’s really played into making guests feel special.” Where tabletop tech is headed. While tabletop technology is currently used for payment and paging, among other options, there are several additional applications that restaurants will be able to tap into.

Omnivore’s Wheatland sees feedback as an important service that tabletop technology can offer. “Feedback is critical,” he says. “Restaurateurs [are] able to leverage that digitized technology, expand outside of just payment and get feedback immediately before it gets to social or four hours after the experience. That real-time feedback at the point of payment is critical.” Wheatland says his company continues to focus on technology and solutions that are important to restaurateurs and the tools they need to be successful while standing out in a crowded field. “They are embracing the need, primarily, to be unique, to go back to the consumer experience, what differentiates that, and how to manage the average check,” he explains. Barrow Barlow also believes the shift in the restaurant industry is lending itself well to this type of technology. “It’s interesting to think of the transition it seems like the industry is taking,” he says. “There’s the full-service piece, then the mixing of QSR and fast casual, and even full-service restaurants migrating over to a more fast casual-like approach. Our technology sort of fits in the center of that.” – Source: Restaurant Smartbrief/FSR Magazine.

7 Ways Restaurants Can Boost Their Bottom Lines by Getting Inventive with Events

Margins in this industry are tight, and, to help boost the bottom line, restaurants need to get creative. Events—participating in and putting them on—are a great way to give guests reason to walk in the door, whether it be for a grandparent’s birthday party, a blind wine tasting, or to support a local charity. On top of the financial benefits, a restaurant participating in event-related initiatives like private dining, special dinners, educational events, local/regional food events, and pop-up dinners—ultimately—is bringing people together, solidifying itself in the minds of customers as a place where community is built and good times are had.

  1. Build out the restaurant’s private dining program. To new restaurateurs, it may feel like a relic of the past—with so many new concepts opening one-room locations—but having a space to rent out for private dining can be a big boost to a restaurant’s bottom line. Sure, the whole restaurant of a one-room concept can be rented out for a special occasion, but there is a lot to be said about the power of flexibility in pleasing all customers, from couples coming in for a dinner service, to a corporate client hoping to feed 50 people and the wedding party of 150. “To someone who’s designing a restaurant, one suggestion I would make is to not underestimate the future needs and desires for having the ability to host private events,” says Scott Shor, operating partner of Edmund’s Oast in Charleston, South Carolina. “Yes, it takes more money, more planning: there’s a million reasons why most restaurants these days are opening just one room, but, if you can have a couple different options, you can have your cake and eat it too.” Since opening the original restaurant in 2014, Edmund’s Oast has not only expanded its repertoire to include two new locations in Edmund’s Oast Exchange bottle shop and the Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co., but the team has also reinvested in additional spaces within the main restaurant to host more private events. There’s a now-covered outdoor dining space called The Bower with a full outdoor bar, its own bathrooms, and capacity for groups about 100 people. The main dining room can seat 130 people or so, and the restaurant’s newest addition, The Library—which used to be an outdoor patio as well—can seat around 40 people indoors now. At Ben & Jack’s steakhouse on New York’s 44th Street, revenue from private events brings in about 25 to 30 percent of the restaurant’s total sales a year, estimates Admir Alibasic, executive chef. That is with capacity to close off sections of its larger dining room and rent out two smaller rooms seating around 25 people each. Before, when the restaurant was located on 5th Avenue and had access to six rooms for private dining, 30 to 35 percent of total sales came from private dining events, he estimates. People typically spend more at private parties, Alibasic says. A $90 to $100 ticket per person in the dining room might be as much as $130 per person at a party. The restaurant also brings in extra revenue with food and beverage minimums, room rentals, and audio-visual charges for conference rooms. “That just adds plus to your sales at the end of the night,” Alibasic says. Private dining can certainly add a revenue stream, but it also adds heart to the restaurant. “Adding an active private dining room adds to the overall feeling of the restaurant, allowing you to take care of guests in a different way,” says Marci Delozier Haas, director of private dining sales for Union Square Hospitality Group’s (USHG) Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe. “Our philosophy with all of our offerings in private dining is to make it feel like an extension of the dining room, offering the same menu items, hospitality, art, and ambiance. Really, just make it as special and unrepeatable as possible, while hoping that the guests will come back several times over the course of the year,” Haas says. To those thinking about pursuing or continuing to build a private dining program, Haas suggests getting feedback from regulars and keeping track of the restaurant’s best-selling items that will be easy to execute in large-format. Make sure a legal team is on board to help protect the business and guests when preparing contracts, and, for USHG, an online platform has made all the details easy to manage.
  2. Host more specialty dinners. “In the last five years, the events world has seen a particular spike toward innovation,”Haas says of dinners that involve collaborations between other chefs and purveyors. Piedmont restaurant in Durham, North Carolina dependably hosts specialty dinners for two reasons, says Jamie DeMent, owner. “For Seasons of the Sea, those events were to teach people about eating seafood seasonally,” she says. The series of dinners, which were hosted once per season in 2016, brought in guest chefs to work with Piedmont’s chef and explore each North Carolina fishing season. “That series was very much about education and activism,” DeMent says. The other reason Piedmont puts on events, such as the winemaker series in summer 2018, is “100 percent to get people in the restaurant,” DeMent says. “Piedmont’s business is very dependent on Duke University, as is much of Durham. So, in the middle of the May, when students leave and professors head out for their summer retreats, Durham gets a whole lot quieter.” Winemaker dinners are curated based on customer demand—“people like wine, beer, and liquor dinners,” DeMent says—and they help diversify the restaurant’s marketing message, giving the team a reason to send out an email and make a social media post. DeMent says Piedmont would put on a specialty dinner as often as people would come during the summer, but there has to be a draw—an intriguing guest—to make the event a success. But, most importantly, the dinners need to be fun. “Don’t try to be overly serious,” she says. “Just make good food, make the pairings work, and, if the people that are working in the restaurant are enjoying themselves, then the people who are coming in and eating will feel that.” “Guests get excited about what a restaurant is excited about,” Haas says about choosing event topics. “Really just go with what you know, be passionate about it, and bring social causes to light that are of interest to you and important to the world.”
  3. Cater. “Every little thing helps,” Alibasic of Ben & Jack’s says. “With one catering order a week, you end up paying three kitchen employees.” USHG’s catering business, Union Square Events, is a massive operation, one of the six pillars of the group’s business. “Essentially, we take all the food, hospitality, ambiance of Union Square Cafe—or whichever restaurant the guest desires—then we can go to the location of their choice,” Haas says. But, even though it can be a potential boost in business, Alibasic warns, “if you’re not balancing out the right way, it could end up costing you more money.” Make sure the restaurant has a profitable plan of action.
  4. Add educational events to the restaurant’s repertoire. “In the last 10 years, we’ve seen a rise in client demand for experiences, rather than just a seated dinner,” Haas of USHG says. “Guests want to be dazzled and informed.” “There is a certain category of customer that is hungry for knowledge,” says Shor of Edmund’s Oast. Most of the group’s public events—including educational events like weekly blind wine tastings or Saturday Somm School classes, as well as music-geared events like a Champagne and Jazz night—are held at the Edmund’s Oast Exchange bottle shop across the road from the main restaurant. This space was added in 2017 as a fun way to keep the restaurant’s community interested and customers involved. “It’s an exciting part of the business to grow,” Shor says. “I think events are certainly a driving force of our business, and, not only is it a way to keep things profitable, but it’s also a way to keep things relevant, moving forward, and on people’s minds.” The key to the Exchange’s success is Sarah O’Kelley, the general manager at the Exchange and a certified sommelier who is education-minded and thrives on building customer relationships based on knowledge and sharing her passion. Be warned, however, it can be difficult to know how many events is the right amount to keep a community engaged. “Event overkill is a thing,” Shor says. “It’s just trying it all, seeing what works, and dropping what doesn’t.” But giving an idea time to catch on is important, too.
  5. Participate and/or host charity events. The chef at Piedmont in Durham is encouraged to be an active part of the Triangle—Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina—community. “We’ll participate in anything anyone asks us to do,” DeMent says. “We want to be good stewards to our community.” USHG partners with charities putting on events throughout the year, but hosts a major destination as well, the Autumn Harvest Dinner, which partners with No Kid Hungry and acts as a homecoming of sorts, bringing in other chefs and alumni of the group. “It’s all for a great cause: Danny’s favorite day of the year,” Haas says of CEO Danny Meyer. Sometimes participation in these events will inspire new customers to come to the restaurant and sometimes it doesn’t. “You never know,” DeMent says. But it’s worth it to give back to the community, even if all one earns that day is a “good guy card.”
  6. Attend national food-centric events. Having traveled for festivals most of his career, Steve McHugh, chef/owner of Cured at Pearl in San Antonio, Texas, continues to make the rounds at food-centric national fests like the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival as an ambassador for Cured. “I remember how important and informative those trips were as a young cook, and I still enjoy going to them,” McHugh says. “It’s always so great to connect with fellow chefs, past colleagues, and passionate diners that are excited enough to attend a food festival.” Fests also help spread the word about the restaurant. “We have a lot of guests visiting San Antonio mention to us that they have seen or spent time with Chef McHugh in another city at a festival or event,” says Robert Rodriguez, Cured general manager.“He’s such a personable chef, that many people make these lasting relationships and stay in touch. When they’re in San Antonio, whether for business or for fun, they come visit the restaurant. I think it can also maybe even move San Antonio up on people’s list of places to visit.” “You need to get out of your own backyard,” McHugh says. “I make sure that I bring my managers with me when I travel, and rotate making sure everyone has a chance to go and experience the events. Even with the large upfront cost, it’s important to get out to your guests and help them understand what you’re trying to do, so it pays off big time in the long run.”
  7. Host pop-up dinners. A huge category that has only been growing in the name of collaboration and community-building is pop-up dinners and events. More-established restaurants are bringing in innovators from across the country and their own backyards to excite customers and learn something new. “At both the Exchange and Brewing Co., we love to work with talented food and beverage people from outside the company,” Shor from Edmund’s Oast says. The Brewing Co. has a standing pop-up on Tuesdays, as that is the day the business is closed during the week. “It started to bug us that this space was just sitting here totally unused on Tuesdays, so we invited an Eater Young Gun, award-winning, James-Beard–nominated chef in town who has a company called Short Grain to take over on Tuesdays,” Shor says. This gave Short Grain’s Shuai and Corrie Wang the opportunity to practice in a brick and mortar—something their business is working toward—and Edmund’s Oast the opportunity to keep the space active and bring in new guests. “It’s been very successful for them and great for us,” Shor says. “We enjoy being a partner and working with them, letting them showcase, and it brings in some additional people that maybe follow them, but were not familiar with us.” It’s very synergistic. Edmund’s Oast also hosts collaborative dinners with chefs from far and wide, as well as bartenders.

Marketing a Private Event Space

Finding the right way to market one’s private dining space can be tricky. “That’s a funny thing,” Scott Shor at Edmund’s Oast says, “we don’t really go out of our way to market.” Instead of paid advertising, the restaurant group relies on its reputation as a dining destination, which is built from the restaurant, bottle shop, brewery, and all the events those spaces host. Edmund’s Oast also naturally benefits from its location in tourist-heavy Charleston. Word of mouth is key, and Shor’s goal is for repeat business. “When we get a corporate client in, if we nail it and they’re very happy, they’re going to come back for more,” he says. Ben & Jack’s in New York City takes a different approach: “It’s outreach, that’s the No. 1 thing,” Admir Alibasic says.“If you just open up the space and expect people to start calling and emailing for private parties, that’s going to take a while.” Marketing to corporate clients and through Facebook is a must, he says. “You have to utilize those outlets. Everything helps, from email blasts to a text message based system, social media.”Alibasic alsosuggests looking into marketing through Google, so the restaurant pops to the top when someone searches “private dining.” “That’s a big boost,” he says.

5 Free Ways to Get Customers Talking about Your Brand

Skip’s Kitchen is a family owned restaurant in Sacramento, California. It’s constantly packed and was recently named one of America’s top hamburger restaurants. Yet, in the nine years its been open, Owner Skip Wahl has never spent one dollar on advertising. How? Word of mouth. Skip’s Kitchen is popular because its customers are compelled to tell other people about the restaurant. And it’s not because the food is good (although it is). And it’s not because the service is good (although it is). It’s because of a deck of cards. After you place your order at the front counter at Skip’s, before you pay for your meal, the cashier whips out a deck of card, fans them out face down, and says, “pick a card” And if you pick a Joker … your entire meal is free! On average, about three people win each day at Skip’s. But when they do … It’s chaos. People take selfies with the joker. They post on social media. They call their mother. All the other patrons clap and cheer (somewhat enviously). The deck of cards gambit at Skip’s Kitchen is a “Talk Trigger:” an operational differentiator that creates customer conversation. Most fast-casual operators believe that competency creates conversation. That being “good” equals word of mouth. But it often does not, because almost every competitor is at least good.

If you want customers to tell others about your restaurants — and you do — you must be different in addition to being excellent. My new study about this dynamic is called Chatter Matters: the 2018 Word of Mouth Report. In this study of more than 1,000 Americans, I discovered that 50 percent of Americans rely on word-of-mouth recommendations when making a restaurant selection. And the impact of word of mouth on dining choices is even more pronounced among younger patrons. This is especially true for online word of mouth via social media, Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor and similar. When choosing where to eat, Millennial and Gen Z diners use online word of mouth 99 percent more than do Gen X and Boomer customers. The best way to tap into this trend and create customer conversations is to give your patrons a consistent, memorable story to tell. The Cheesecake Factory, for example, has an exceptional word-of-mouth generator: it’s enormous menu, which is filled with a total of 5,940 words. I surveyed hundreds of The Cheesecake Factory customers, and a remarkable 38 percent of them have mentioned the size of the menu to someone else in the past 60 days. The customers of The Cheesecake Factory recruit new customers through their own storytelling. In the research for my new book, “Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth” my co-author Daniel Lemin and I identified different types of conversation catalysts; specific ways you can create chatter by doing something different in the operations of your restaurant. Talkable generosity: In this style of Talk Trigger, you give your customers a little something extra, Five Guys Burgers and Fries is legendary in this area, as they provide each patron a substantial volume of “bonus fries.” Social media chatter about this largesse is constant, propelling the chain’s growth. Talkable usefulness: Here, you do something for customers that is more useful than they anticipate, spurring them to tell others about the experience. Jay Sofer is the highest-rated locksmith in New York City, partially because of his Talk Trigger, which is to oil every lock in every home he visits, not just the locks he fixes. Talkable empathy:

Being more human and empathetic than customers expect is another way to boost conversation. Dr. Glenn Gorab is an oral surgeon in Clinton, New Jersey. Every Saturday, Dr. Gorab calls each new patient who is visiting his office for the first time in the following week, asking if they have any questions beforehand. Such a simple, humanizing gesture! An oral surgeon may have called you AFTER a procedure, but never before you’ve ever set foot in their office. A terrific Talk Trigger! In the fast-casual world, providing patrons with exceptionally thorough and easy-to-understand food allergens information might be a strong, empathetic talk trigger. Talkable responsiveness: Speed matters. Customers equate speed to caring in many cases. The faster you can respond, and the more convenient you are, the more memorable you’ll be. Jimmy John’s uses this conversation-starter by creating and delivering sandwiches with great rapidity.  Talkable attitude: Some businesses create conversation just by being a little … different. Perhaps my favorite example is the Sip n’ Dip Lounge in Great Falls, Montana. It’s a 56-year-old tiki bar that was named “Number One Bar in the World Worth Flying to See” by GQ Magazine. Why? Behind the bar is a giant swimming pool with glass sides. And from 9 pm until midnight every night, the Sip n’ Dip features human mermaids (and on Tuesdays, mermen) swimming in the pool for all to witness. Now THAT creates some chatter! Word of mouth is the most cost-effective way to grow your restaurant because when your current customers tell their friends, you get new customers at no additional cost. But you have to give your customers a story worth telling. Pick one or more of these five types of Talk Triggers, and get started. Source: FastCasual.

The Workforce is Getting Grayer

The workforce is getting grayer, and it appears that business practices have yet to catch up to the trend. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that workers 55 years and older are the fastest growing segment of the working population. Pair that with the fact that less than 6% of companies have a specific plan to address the aging workforce, and leaders may be caught flat-footed when working with team members who are in their sixth (or seventh) decade of life. People in their 50s and beyond have a lot to offer their employers. As Chip Conley, author of “Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder” observes, “there exists a generation of older workers with invaluable skills—high emotional intelligence, good judgement born out of decades of experience, specialized knowledge, and a vast network of contacts” who can pair with younger colleagues to create enduring business success. Research backs him up: a study co-authored by the Society for Human Resource Management and AARP found that 55-and-older employees were more engaged than their younger counterparts. Further, the study debunked the myth that older employees were more “expensive” due to payroll costs, finding that older employees increase “a company’s total annual labor costs by 1 percent or less.” Are you making the most of your experienced talent? Here are some ways to ensure that you are doing more than just paving the way to a smooth retirement for your most senior staff members. Assess your mindset: Are unconscious biases towards the 50+ population seeping into how you assign projects or consider promotions? The stereotype of middle-aged folks being out of touch or change-resistant is firmly entrenched. It is true that younger workers perform better on tasks requiring rapidly changing parameters, but more experienced workers have less variability in performance and are less likely to cause errors than their younger counterparts. The takeaway? All ages contribute positively to the team, but in different ways. So examine your thinking to ensure that you’re not falling prey to inaccurate perceptions. Capitalize on the wisdom that comes with experience: Conley describes the “Experience Dividend” that seasoned workers bring, citing their ability to have a positive effect on those around them. “There’s growing data showing that the presence of older workers increases productivity of younger workers due to the elders’ advice and guidance,” writes Conley. If you’re a younger manager, keep in mind that your veteran employees have been around the block a few times. That shiny new idea you recently pitched that tanked? It’s probably been considered before in various forms. Ask your experienced team members for feedback on why it didn’t work in the past and then work together to craft an improved strategy for this go-round. Create a two-way mentoring system: Companies have had success with reverse mentoring — pairing experienced and novice colleagues so they may learn from one another. Even if your company doesn’t have a formal program, you can put something in place for your department. Watch for employees of differing ages who have complementary talents and pair them on a project. Tell them why you think they are a good match and what you expect each person to contribute. When you employ this practice, you begin to extend leadership capability beyond yourself. As management consultant Tom Peters (who is an excellent example of a Modern Elder) says, “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” Set an expectation of valuing longevity and life experience: Leaders model the way with their actions.  So, set a standard that doesn’t tolerate ageism and instead values life experience. Start by asking yourself who in the company is a model for wisdom and lifelong learning. Hopefully, that list includes a few of your staff members. (If not, you have an excellent data point for the next job vacancy in your department.) After you create that list of people, start by inviting them as guest speakers to department meetings. If they’re willing, invite them to mentor key people in your department. And, if your list comes up short, then look outside your organization for positive role models of continuous learners who are vibrant contributors to your industry. Are you capitalizing on the wisdom from your most experienced employees? Don’t let outdated thinking or stereotypes keep you from making the most of your entire talent pool. Use these four tips to successfully lead the late-career employees on your team. – Source: SmartBrief.

Cooper’s Hawk Taps Potbelly Exec as CFO

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants is bringing on Michael Coyne as chief financial officer, effective October 1. Coyne arrives with more than three decades of leadership experience, including a six-month stint as interim CEO at Potbelly Corp. last year before Alan Johnson assumed permanent duties. He served as CFO of the fast casual since 2005 and will remain with the chain until September 21. The company announced August 31 that Coyne was leaving the brand “to accept a senior leadership position with another company.” That turned out to be the 31-unit, Chicago-based Cooper’s Hawk. Cooper’s Hawk has been featured on the FSR 50 for the past two years. The brand has total company sales of $242 million and boasts robust average-unit volumes of $8.3 million with average checks of $33. The growing concept expects to added four units this year and five in 2019. “We are excited for Mike to join the Cooper’s Hawk team,” said Cooper’s Hawk founder and CEO Tim McEnery in a statement. “His depth of experience in both large public companies and the restaurant space will contribute greatly to our leadership team as we grow our brand.” Before Potbelly, Coyne worked as senior vice president, small business at CNA Financial Corporation, and as CFO of CNA’s property and casualty operations business. He also spent seven years with Sears Holdings Corporation, working his way to vice president and treasurer. He will be responsible for overseeing Cooper’s Hawk’s finance, accounting, financial planning and analysis, internal audit, tax, and treasury areas. “I look forward to joining Tim and the unique culture he has created at Cooper’s Hawk. I’m also looking forward to adding my experience in public company operating and finance roles, investment community relationships, and strategic leadership to the talented Cooper’s Hawk team,” Coyne said. Cooper’s Hawk was founded in 2005 and is the 34th largest winery in the U.S. It hosts more than 300,000 members in its wine club, and presents as a fusion of winery and modern casual restaurants, with a Napa-style tasting room and artisanal retail market. – Source: fsrmagazine.

Chili’s President Kelli Valade Steps Down

Kelli Valade, president of Chili’s Grill & Bar, is leaving the company to become CEO and president of analytics firm TDn2K LLC, and Wyman Roberts, CEO and president of parent Brinker International Inc., will return to head the casual-dining brand, the company announced. Valade had served as Chili’s president, succeeding Roberts in the role, since June 2016 after having served as the brand’s chief operating officer since July 2009. Roberts had served as Chili’s president for seven years before Valade was promoted in to the position at the Dallas-based Brinker, which also owns the Maggiano’s Little Italy casual-dining concept. “I’m not sure I can find the words to express how extremely proud I am of Kelli and all that she’s accomplished,” Roberts said in a statement “I’ve seen firsthand the impact she’s made at Brinker and Chili’s and now she will help impact the entire industry.” Dallas-based TDn2K publishes the restaurant industry benchmarking People Report, Black Box Intelligence and White Box Social Intelligence. “Kelli is the right leader to help us to continue to build a world-class company committed to being a model and a catalyst to help our members balance people, profits and purpose,” said Wally Doolin, co-founder of TDn2K, in a statement. Before joining Brinker 22 years ago, Valade worked in human resources at Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, then parent to the TGI Fridays casual-dining chain. Prior to her Chili’s COO and president roles Valade served as senior vice president of human resources for Chili’s and On The Border, which Brinker later sold. “This was an incredibly tough decision to leave a brand that I absolutely love and taught me the power of making people feel special,” Valade said. “I’ve been honored to be a part of the amazing momentum the Chiliheads have created and can’t wait to see what’s next for the team.” Valade said that, in her new TDn2K role, “I look forward to making a larger impact on an industry I absolutely love.” She was named to the NRN Power List earlier this year. TDn2K co-founder Joni Doolin held the CEO position before Valade’s appointment. For the fourth quarter ended June 27, Brinker’s net income declined 13.6 percent, to $43.7 million, or $1.01 per share, from $50.6 million, or $1.02 a share, in the prior-year period. Revenues rose 0.8 percent to $817.1 million from $810.7 million in the same quarter last year. Same-store sales increased 0.6 percent at company-owned U.S. Chili’s units and declined 0.5 percent at franchised domestic units. Chili’s international franchise same-store sales declined 2.9 percent in the quarter. – Source: NRN.

Industry Veteran Jim Metevier Joins Pizza Brand

Mountain Mike’s Pizza LLC, parent to the nearly 200-unit franchise brand, has named Jim Metevier to the new position of president and chief operating officer, the company announced. The Newport Beach, Calif.-based Mountain Mike’s said Metevier will oversee franchisee sales, operational systems, brand marketing and guest experience. Metevier most recently served as president of the Greensboro, N.C.-based Biscuitville Fresh Southern brand. Previously, he held leadership positions at Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., including chief operating officer of the KFC U.S. division. “Not only is Jim extremely passionate about restaurant operations and the potential for the Mountain Mike’s Pizza brand, he has an impressive history of producing remarkable results for world class franchise brands such as KFC,” said Chris Britt and Ed St. Geme, co-CEOs and principal owners of Mountain Mike’s Pizza, in a statement. Metevier said he was “impressed by Mountain Mike’s positive sales momentum and significant new-unit growth, but what really sold me was the incredible food, dynamic leadership team and dedicated group of franchise partners.” Mountain Mikes, founded in 1978 in Palo Alto, Calif., said it planned to open 20 new units this year. The company has franchised units in California, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. – Source: NRN

 

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