6 Ways Restaurants Can Deal With Winter Weather

It's hard enough running a restaurant in calm conditions, but kitchen life can get extra difficult when things get ugly outside. Now that we've weathered winter storm Jonas, here are six ways to protect your business when the next weather emergency hits:

1. Prepare for action in case power goes out. Extreme weather puts extreme stress on the electricity grid. If you have access to a back-up generator, prepare it for action. Most of the time, the generator won't run the entire restaurant so know which systems to keep alive and which to keep dark. Make sure to hook the generator to the walk-in box first. If your power is out for a significant period of time, you could lose food. Protecting that investment and ensuring food safety is the priority. Moving food from your reach-ins to the walk-ins will give you some extra protection.
2. Make sure battery back-up systems are usable. If your power goes out, any programmable system without a battery back-up will need to be reset. That could include timeclocks for defrost and lighting systems. Equipment with dead battery back-ups will lose programming. Example: A wall-mounted thermostat that hasn't been checked on in a while. If the back-up battery is dead, the thermostat won't function correctly when the power comes back on. You'll have to reset it, so check thermostat batteries as well as all of your time clocks.
3. Have emergency lighting systems in place. When the lights go out, the kitchen – loaded with hot equipment and slippery floors ‑ can become dangerous. Ensure your emergency lighting systems are in working order and have plenty of flashlights.
4. Be diligent about personal safety. In a storm situation, emergency services are stressed to the max so be extra careful about fire safety. Keep your grease filters clean and double-down on staff safety. Keep egress in and out of the building clear and be careful of ice above and below the doors.
5. Shut off your equipment. Kitchen appliances, such as convection ovens, use a combination of gas and electricity. When the power goes off, the electric side will stop, but the gas could continue to flow. The same can be true of electric solenoids that control gas flow in your exhaust hood. If there are problems with safety systems when the power comes back on, the gas valve might work, but the pilot lights might not. Make sure all appliances are turned off if power goes down.
6. Maintain equipment before storms hit. Take care of deferred maintenance items on your checklist before storms hit. Poorly charged refrigeration systems, water heaters that haven't been blown down in a while, HVAC units with clogged filters and uninsulated water lines are big gambles. If service technicians can't get to your restaurant in a storm, you could face trouble. If you have broken ductwork above the ceiling, a poor air balance that keeps your doors from shutting, or an economizer that is stuck open, you will waste energy and gobble up the profits you make selling hot chocolate and Irish coffee!

(via National Restaurant Association)

NYC Restaurants' 'Hospitality Included' Movement

The movement to get rid of tipping in New York City restaurants has been slowly picking up steam since Danny Meyer announced in October that he was going to do away with the practice at his Union Square Hospitality Group’s 13 full-service restaurants in the city.

I mean, restaurants aren’t exactly lining up to upend their business models and try to change the cultures of their servers as well as their customers, but more restaurants are trying it than I would have expected. After all, so far even USHG has only implemented the “Hospitality Included” approach at one of its restaurants, The Modern.

That approach differs from the more common practice of tacking on an automatic service charge. Instead, the actual prices on the menus are raised.

Meyer told me shortly after announcing his plans that he thought raising menu prices was a more honest approach, and also that the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs might frown on such service charges being redistributed to anyone but servers — something his lawyers warned him about.

And the main point of getting rid of tipping is to put that money elsewhere — mainly in the hands of underpaid kitchen staff.

There are other reasons: Creating a more professional working environment for servers, eliminating the discriminatory tipping practices of customers — such as tipping scantily clad female servers more or servers with foreign accents less — and generally allowing restaurant management to regain control of the roughly 20 percent of the restaurant’s income that comes from tips.

Rising costs of doing business has resulted in menu prices going up for years, and as those prices go up, the disparity between what servers make — coming mostly from tips which are mostly a percentage of their customers' bills — and kitchen staff make, has widened, worsening an already not awesome cultural divide between front-of-house and back-of-house, and making it harder to recruit kitchen staff.

These and other issues we’re being considered and discussed before Meyer decided to pull the trigger with The Modern, but since then, other operators have come on board, including Will Guidara and Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park (but not at their other restaurant, The Nomad), Andrew Tarlow, who runs five restaurants in Brooklyn (and implemented Hospitality Included at one of them, Roman's, on January 18), Gabriel Stulman of six-unit Happy Cooking Hospitality (he got rid of tipping at one restaurant, Fedora, at the beginning of January), and Nate Adler, who went all in with Hospitality Included on December 14 at his single restaurant, Huertas.

Stulman and Adler recently joined Leah Campbell, from Andrew Tarlow's team, and USHG chief restaurant officer Sabato Sagaria on a panel at Journee, a new club for education and networking among hospitality workers, to discuss what they’d learned.

What they learned is that getting buy-in from their servers wasn’t that hard. Or it might be more appropriate to say that they suspected what they needed to do to get buy-in from servers and they did it. They of course gave them raises to at least $9 per hour, which became the statewide minimum wage this year, anyway, and implemented a revenue-sharing program in which a certain percentage of top-line sales was shared with servers — 8 percent or revenue at The Modern, more at some of the other restaurants. Adler also gave raises to line cooks, who now get $12, and other back-of-house workers to $11, and he implemented revenue sharing across the board. The other panelists are hoping to be able to share revenue with kitchen staff eventually, but they're not doing it yet.

They also have included their servers into the planning process. Sagaria said they laid out a roadmap for career progression for front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house staff. Others have tapped their servers’ motivation to make more money through revenue sharing to brainstorm new money making ideas, which is why Roman's is introducing pizza brunch.

All of the restaurants have implemented the revenue sharing on a weekly basis, and are doing it across the board, so whether the servers are working on a slow Tuesday lunch or a crazy Friday dinner rush, they share equally, based on how many shifts they work.

Adler said that once he explained his plan and reasoning behind it, the servers actually encouraged him to implement it.

But has service gotten worse now that servers don’t have direct and immediate motivation to be gracious and speedy with their customers?

Not according to Sagaria, who has gotten about 1,000 comment cards at The Modern since they got rid of tipping — a staggering number — and they have been largely positive. Furthermore, their Open Table scores on food, experience, service, etc., have gone up in “almost every single category,” he said.

He said Yelpers have been mostly silent about the change, except for the occasional tangential bit of snark, such as, “When the bread came out it wasn't warm, probably because there’s no tipping.”

However, it’s proven a bit more difficult to convince customers that a $25 entrée with the gratuity included is basically the same as a $20 entrée if you need to add a tip.

Stulman said he’s seeing his customers ordering less — skipping appetizers or splitting entrées. Since he raised the price of his steak from $34 to $39, sales have plummeted, even though customers would leave a $6 or $7 tip on that $34 steak, meaning they'd actually be spending less under the new system.

“I think there is a problem with value perception,” he said.

Sagaria said he has seen less of that with food, which he said people order with their stomachs.

“You’re saying, 'O.K., what am I hungry for?’ It’s not ‘Do I want the $40 chicken, or the $30 chicken or the $20 chicken?’”

But wine’s a different story, he said, and people used to buying and $80 wine and tipping $20 balk at buying a $100 bottle without tipping.

He said to try to address that they’re putting their “Hospitality Included” message on every page of the wine list rather than just the front page and table of contents, but Stulman was skeptical.

“Messaging is something we put a ton of effort into,” he said. “When you go to Fedora’s web site, bam! We’ve replaced the first picture with a message that says ‘Gratuity Free.’ We use Resy as our reservations platform. When you go on Resy there is a message right on our restaurant’s message that says ‘Gratuity free. No need to tip.’ When you make a reservation, in your email confirmation, we inform you that the menu prices reflect all service and you do not need to tip. Then, you get a text message 30 minutes before your reservation that reminds you that you have a reservation in half an hour, and that text message says, ‘No tipping.’ When you arrive, we have a wonderful graphic ... on the front and back of our cocktail list. Either side you flip it, you see it. That [gratuity free] logo is on the dinner menu. I, personally, have been the maître d’ for half a dozen of the last dozen shifts. When I seat every guest myself [I tell them] ‘I just want to let you know that we have eliminated tipping at our restaurant and our prices reflect that change. Please, no need to leave anything else.’’

But people still don’t want to buy the steak that used to be a top-selling item.

It’s early days yet, and maybe people will adjust. But there’s a reason $8.95 is a more common menu price than $9. Value perception is a tricky thing, and time will tell if customers will come around.

(via Nation's Restaurant News)

Five Hotel Trends to Watch in 2016

NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtuoso®, the global network of luxury travel agencies, is demonstrating that it has its finger on the pulse of what upscale travelers desire with the recent expansion of its Hotels & Resorts program. In the last year, Virtuoso added 95 new properties, bringing the total portfolio to more than 1,100 hotels in 100 countries. Of this total, 468, or 43 percent, have chosen to partner exclusively with the network, affirming the network's leadership position in the industry. The network has grown strategically to position itself at the forefront of luxury hospitality trends.

At 24 years, Virtuoso Hotels & Resorts is the longest running and most prestigious program available to consumers. Designed to benefit leisure travelers, the program offers benefits worth up to $450 per stay that are only available through a Virtuoso travel advisor. Standards such as breakfast, room upgrades and early check-in/late check-out are matched with value-added extras that enhance the overall experience like spa treatments, dinners, airport transfers or rounds of golf.

Always ahead of the curve, Virtuoso Hotels & Resorts has expanded purposefully to provide travelers with hotel options thataccommodate their ever-changing needs. Here are five trends shaping the growth of the esteemed portfolio of hotels, resorts, spas, lodges, camps, villas and even private islands.

1. Larger Suites and Villas: Multigenerational travel is the hottest trend of 2016, according to the Virtuoso Luxe Report. Hotels are responding to the demand for group lodging by offering extremely large suites and villas. In Virtuoso's portfolio: an 11-bedroom suite opening this year at The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman that will be the biggest in the Caribbean, the largest penthouse suite in the U.S. at New York City's The Mark at 12,000 square feet, and Four Seasons Nevis offering guests 40 villas.
2. Experiences that Create a Sense of Place: Voyagers today place great value on experiences that will create memories to last a lifetime. Virtuoso's collection of hotels and resorts offer an array of authentic experiences that are distinctive to their destinations. As a result, Virtuoso clients can enjoy everything from world-class concerts at Schloss Elmau, a historic Bavarian castle; to a Western cattle drive at The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming; to a private coffee-tasting experience at El Silencio Lodge & Spa in Costa Rica.
3. Lifestyle Hotels: As Millennials blaze a new trail in the luxury travel world, Virtuoso has grown by selecting properties appealing to that demographic. Exciting brands such as Andaz and W Hotels are represented in the portfolio, which has also recently welcomed its first Conrad hotel (in the Algarve in Portugal) and first Edition hotel (in New York City).
4. Virtuoso Preview: Luxury travelers want to be the first to discover the globe's hottest new properties and if they can get exclusive access and perks, even better. Virtuoso offers just that through its pioneering Preview program, which introduces emerging or reemerging hotels and resorts to the clientele of its elite travel advisors. Six years after its birth, Preview continues to support properties from world-class luxury brands during their pre-opening phase and debut. Current participants include the Ritz Paris and Faena Hotel Miami Beach.
5. Broadening Global Appeal: In the past year, Virtuoso has expanded its network of worldwide members, adding its initial travel agencies in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as growing its presence in Europe. To get ahead of the demand for destinations that appeal to those markets, the Hotels & Resorts program has invited properties in strategic locations to join the network. New hotels in Cyprus (popular with Europeans) and Paraty, Brazil (a favorite of South Americans) are just two examples of how Virtuoso is catering to this diversity.

Luxury travelers can acquaint themselves with all the Virtuoso Hotels & Resorts offerings in the hot-off-the-presses 2016 Virtuoso Best of the Best directory. At a record-setting 632 pages, the new Best of the Best features every hotel in the portfolio, offering insider tips on how to enjoy each to its fullest.

A new feature this year highlights another key travel trend: the changing way travelers are shopping for lodging. Virtuoso created Curated Experiences to give travelers at-a-glance information about a property's room style, experiences and atmosphere. If they're looking for a contemporary resort that's close to the beach, offers a wellness program and has a casual vibe, now they can easily find it. Curated Experiences is another first-to-market advantage for the Hotels & Resorts program.

Best of the Best also showcases unique experiences in each region, giving readers 60 pages of creative ideas. Those include a private after-hours tour of the Vatican City Museum, dining with a member of Bhutan's parliament, and blending your own wine in Chile.

Best of the Best is currently being distributed to the homes of 150,000 of Virtuoso's best clients, as selected by their advisor. To view the directory online, click here. For more information on Virtuoso or to find a Virtuoso travel advisor, visit virtuoso.com.

About Virtuoso Virtuoso® is the leading international travel agency network specializing in luxury and experiential travel. This by-invitation-only organization comprises over 380 agency members with more than 11,400 elite travel advisors in over 30 countries throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Drawing upon its preferred relationships with 1,700 of the world's best hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies and premier destinations, the network provides its upscale clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. More than (U.S.) $15.5 billion in annual travel sales makes Virtuoso a powerhouse in the luxury travel industry. For more information, visit virtuoso.com.

(via PR Newswire)

Restaurant Middle Class Job Growth 4x Stronger Than Overall Economy

The restaurant industry has been a driving force behind the nation’s recovery from the Great Recession, adding roughly 2 million jobs during the current expansion. Not only are restaurants among the leaders in total job growth, they are also adding middle class jobs at a much stronger rate than the overall economy, according to the NRA’s Chief Economist Bruce Grindy. His Economist’s Notebook commentary and analysis appears regularly on Restaurant.org and Restaurant TrendMapper.

The restaurant industry has been a driving force behind the nation’s recovery from the Great Recession. From the beginning of the employment recovery in March 2010 through the end of 2015, restaurants added roughly 2 million jobs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This equates to an average of more than 900 net new restaurant jobs added each day.

Overall, the 21 percent increase in restaurant jobs during the recovery is more than double the 10 percent gain in total U.S. jobs during the same period. Not only are restaurants among the leaders in total job growth, they are also adding middle class jobs at a much stronger rate than the overall economy.

In fact, the restaurant industry added middle class jobs* at a rate four times stronger than the overall economy during the recovery from the Great Recession, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Between 2010 and 2014,the number of restaurant jobs with annual income between $45,000 and $74,999 jumped 32.7 percent.  In contrast, the total number of jobs in the U.S. economy with income in this range rose just 8.0 percent during the same period.

Due to the scheduling flexibility demanded by much of the industry workforce, most restaurant employees work on a part-time or part-year basis.  Only 43 percent of restaurant workers are full-time/full-year employees, compared to 69 percent of the total U.S. workforce.

As a result, the restaurant industry is home to only 1.8 percent of all jobs in the economy with annual income between $45,000 and $74,999.

However, the restaurant industry was responsible for 5.9 percent of the net new middle class jobs added to the economy between 2010 and 2014, or more than three times larger than its current share of these jobs.

*For the purposes of this analysis, middle class jobs are defined as those with annual income between $45,000 and $74,999.

(via National Restaurant Association)

Minimum Wage Changes to New York’s Fast Food Industry

As we previously discussed in May and July of this year, wage and hour requirements for the fast food industry in New York State are changing starting in the new year. These changes, which go into effect on December 31, 2015, result from recommendations made by the Fast Food Wage Board, which Governor Andrew Cuomo instructed Acting State Labor Commissioner Mario J. Musolino to empanel in May of 2015. The Wage Board announced its recommendations in July, and Acting Commissioner Musolino accepted those recommendations in September of 2015.

The new requirements apply to any employee working for a covered “Fast Food Establishment” if the employee’s job duties included at least one of the following: customer service, cooking, food or drink preparation, delivery, security, stocking supplies or equipment, cleaning, or routine maintenance.

A covered “Fast Food Establishment” is any business that meets the following criteria:

• Primarily serves food or drinks, including coffee shops, juice bars, donut shops, and ice cream parlors; and
• Offers limited service, where customers order and pay before eating, including restaurants with tables but without full table service, and places that only provide take-out service; and
• Is part of a chain of 30 or more locations, including individually-owned establishments associated with a brand that has 30 or more locations nationally.

The higher minimum wage rates for covered employees are as follows:

New York City:

• $10.50 per hour beginning December 31, 2015;
• $12.00 per hour beginning December 31, 2016;
• $13.50 per hour beginning December 31, 2017; and
• $15.00 per hour beginning December 31, 2018.

New York State (excluding New York City):

• $9.75 per hour beginning December 31, 2015;
• $10.75 per hour beginning December 31, 2016;
• $11.75 per hour beginning December 31, 2017;
• $12.75 per hour beginning December 31, 2018;
• $13.75 per hour beginning December 31, 2019;
• $14.50 per hour beginning December 31, 2020; and
• $15.00 per hour beginning July 1, 2021.

The New York State Department of Labor has now published a revised Hospitality Industry Wage Order codifying the new requirements in addition to a page addressing a number of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to assist employers with implementing the new requirements.

There are several points to note from the new wage order and the FAQs, which employers should watch as they implement changes to their policies in an effort to remain in compliance with the law:

• Tip credits are not available for fast food employees. However, we note that a fast food establishment is one where patrons order and pay before eating and which offers limited service. So, if employees were previously receiving a tip credit wage because they were waiting on and regularly receiving tips from customers, it is very possible, if not likely, that the employees will not be considered fast food employees under the new requirements.
• Although fast food workers do not regularly earn tips and an employer cannot take a tip credit for them, fast food employees must be allowed to keep any tips that they do earn.
• With the increase in the minimum wage for fast food employees, employers must be sure to pay the higher rate for spread-of-hours pay and call-in pay, should those apply.
• A “fast food establishment” need only have 30 locations nationally–not 30 locations in New York State–to qualify for coverage.
• The 30 establishments need not be commonly owned and operated to trigger coverage as a “fast food establishment.” The 30 establishments can be operated as a franchise if the franchisor and franchisee own or operate 30 establishments.
• A “chain” is defined as a set of establishments that share a common brand or that are characterized by standardized options for decor, marketing, packaging, products, and services.

(via JDSupra)