Bill Marler

AUGUST 3, 2021

Is there another outbreak brewing? It was about three weeks from now, sixteen years ago, that I was teaching my daughters to surf on the Oregon coast when I got a tip that an E. coli outbreak was brewing. It eventually blew up to the 2006 Dole baby spinach E. coli outbreak that sickened 205 – killing 5. The industry called it their Jack-in-the-Box and their 911. 2006 seems a long time ago, but when I got a tip today that an outbreak – hopefully smaller in size – is coming to a salad bar near

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FDA 350

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 10, 2021

The food and beverage industry is on a hiring frenzy. With pandemic-related restrictions being eased and dine-in being allowed again, restaurant owners are in need of a lot of staff. The April 2021 Job Openings and Labor Turnover summary issued by The Department of Labor showed that restaurants added almost 350,000 new job openings since March, bringing the sector’s total number of job openings as of April to 1.34 million.

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Food and Beverage Food and Beverage Staffing Inventory 237

Sculpture Hospitality

AUGUST 6, 2021

The food and beverage inventory in your restaurant or bar is your biggest asset. Yet so many kitchens and bars are loaded with products that are never used in recipes or never sold - that’s liquid cash that’s eating into your profitability.

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Food and Beverage Food and Beverage Recipes Inventory 146

Wasserstrom

AUGUST 5, 2021

Consumers and businesses waste food to the detriment of themselves and the planet. In this article, we will first discuss why food waste is a problem. Next, we will provide tips, techniques, and resources to help restaurants and other commercial foodservice operations take steps towards preventing waste altogether while boosting public relations and saving money. […].

Restaurant Management 78

Restaurant Management Restaurant Manager 78

Optimum Control

AUGUST 12, 2021

Have you been running your restaurant, and while consistently turning over covers, your profits don’t seem to be increasing? One of the first areas to look at is your food costing. The content of this article will cover what food costing is, how to calculate your restaurant’s food cost, and how you can use your actual food cost vs. theoretical food cost to hone your operations into an even more well-oiled machine than ever before.

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Recipes Inventory Restaurant Management Restaurant Manager 52

Culinary Digital

AUGUST 10, 2021

Dining out not only evokes cherished memories and family traditions, but it also gives senior living residents one of life’s greatest pleasures. Amid the COVID pandemic, foodservice operators might have ramped up outdoor dining and curbside pickup. However, they have adopted innovative technologies to lure senior living dining with contactless delivery, consumer meal kits, and faster takeaway.

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Senior Living Nursing Home Nutrition Catering 52

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 3, 2021

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) program provided the relief many companies needed to stabilize their financial position and see them through the pandemic-created economic crisis. The capital was intended to help business owners pay employees, pay outstanding rent and other bills, and invest in reopening and getting back to business. The PPP program offered 5-year loans carrying a 1% interest rate making it some of the lowest cost financing small businesses were able to find.

Food Service 218

Food Service Food Service 218

Sculpture Hospitality

AUGUST 4, 2021

As we slowly move into what is hopefully the “post-pandemic world”, restaurants and bars around the globe are beginning to reopen their doors to guests and look at ways they can optimize their profitability.

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Eating at a Meeting

AUGUST 31, 2021

It has been a year - 52 weeks - that the Eating at a Meeting podcast has been a thing. The recordings started as interviews for my blog (thrivemeetings.com/blog) and then Facebook live videos inside the Eating at a Meeting Facebook group. I'm in awe that I have interviewed and recorded 93 episodes in the 52 weeks. The wealth of knowledge and expertise my guests have provided to me and you, the listeners is incredible.

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MSU Agrifood Safety Produce Bites

AUGUST 2, 2021

Whether it's mice, rats, birds, or rabbits, many growers struggle with managing pests on the farm. In this episode, Phil Tocco , a Produce Safety Educator with MSU Extension, and Emily Hale , a Produce Safety Technician with the Blue Water Conservation District, give some advice on how to keep these pests under control. Additional Resources Animals in Production Areas – Article by Emily Hale Funding for this podcast was made possible in part by the Food and Drug Administration through grant PAR-

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Bill Marler

AUGUST 29, 2021

So, why not use the authority granted under the FSMA and use the FDA’s mandatory recall authority? According to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), before FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act)was enacted, the FDA relied on responsible parties to voluntarily recall violative food products (except infant formula recalls which are described under section 412 of the FD&C Act – Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act).

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FDA Purchasing Food Safety 202

Bill Marler

AUGUST 30, 2021

As I posted yesterday, I am still unclear why the FDA has not used its recall authority to force Felix Custom Smoking to recall the product that the FDA determined to be at risk of being tainted by the deadly pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. Taking aside the weakness of the FDA (or whatever the cause of the inaction) and the moral failing of Felix Custom Smoking to recall product that might sicken or kill their customers; since Felix Custom Smoking refused the recall, the questions is: what if

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FDA Purchasing 201

Bill Marler

AUGUST 18, 2021

When the CDC declared the Jimmy John’s E. coli O103 outbreak over at a total of 51 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O103 reported from 10 states, that included only 3 counted in Iowa. According to the CDC, illnesses started on dates ranging from January 6, 2020, to March 15, 2020. Ill people ranged in age from 1 to 79 years, with a median age of 29 years.

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FDA Hospitality Hospitality 201

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 5, 2021

The restaurant industry took the brunt of the pandemic’s economic and societal impact and is now being asked to respond to the permanently changed consumer landscape. As the world grapples with the next wave of COVID-19, businesses are confronted with product and labor shortages, a sudden increase in ecommerce and a variety of shifting consumption patterns.

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Staffing 215

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 4, 2021

If you’re operating a thriving restaurant business on the other side of the pandemic, that might mean you have a concept with legs to expand beyond your current location(s). Consider that around 60 percent of new restaurants fail within the first year. And nearly 80 percent shutter before their fifth anniversary. There is good reason to be optimistic about restarting restaurant expansion: restaurant sales continue to set records, the federal stimulus has added billions of dollars to compan

Recipes 215

Recipes 215

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 3, 2021

As we return to in-person dining across the country, restaurants are facing yet another challenge: delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX) for guests who come with high expectations after more than a year stuck at home. Not only is there a ripe opportunity to attract formerly takeout-only customers for in-person dining, but an opportunity to enhance customer experience for all customers and differentiate from the competition.

Customer Experience 215

Customer Experience 215

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 30, 2021

In light of the recent Surfside condominium collapse of Champlain Towers South, many building owners and tenants are evaluating the condition of their buildings, including deferred maintenance items and potential construction and design defects. Restaurant owners should likewise be concerned about the condition of their premises. Construction defects can devastatingly affect revenue and raise health and safety concerns for patrons and employees.

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Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 9, 2021

The pandemic has led to profound and, in many cases, likely long lasting, changes in the way we live, work and conduct businesses. Restaurants, in particular, have had to go through significant transformation. One of the ways in which many restaurants have responded to new concerns about transmission of viruses and other contagions in their establishments has been through the adoption of QR coded menus.

Restaurant Management 212

Restaurant Management Restaurant Manager Purchasing 212

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 3, 2021

The employee shortage might be temporary, but there are ways that your business can attract talent now and retain a competitive advantage in the future. There are more jobs than ever before, yet restaurants are struggling to attract employees. The number of workers quitting their jobs in April reached new highs of four million, with 5.6% of restaurant workers quitting their jobs.

Food Prices 212

Food Prices Staffing 212

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 24, 2021

It’s a business tale as old as time: the newly-hired CMO figures he/she can move a whole lot of product if they can just get their hands on enough budget upfront to build out savvy online ordering tools, an app with a strong loyalty program, and a delivery solution with order injection, alongside the budget to market the brand on tv, build a social strategy injecting maximum snark and fun into social media, drive push notification strategy against marketing goals, and hire influencers from

Inventory 208

Inventory 208

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 20, 2021

While the restaurant sector shut down during the pandemic, food supply chain technologists were working hard to open new avenues to improve automated processes for restaurants. As restaurants reopened to increased costs and staff shortages, automation has become less a future goal than an urgent need. For example, technology exists that allows restaurant operators to take inventory in a matter of minutes, while achieving 99.9-percent accuracy, saving labor, reducing waste, and making food safer

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Inventory Food Supply 208

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 16, 2021

Looking back on my last few articles, I have focused on facts, on technology and on the hard time that we are all having hiring staff. However, in the past few months, I have run across some incredible stories that are heartwarming and inspiring. They remind us not only that there are great people out there, but also that many of them work for us! The common thread is that each story is about incredible staff and great managers and that, together, they support each other inside and outside of th

Chef 208

Chef Dining Operations Purchasing 208

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 9, 2021

Modern Restaurant Management ((MRM) asked Lindsey Yeakle, Gluten-Free Food Service (GFFS) Program Manager, Food Safety at Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG), what restaurants need to know about gluten-free options. Yeakle has a culinary history working at four-star and four-diamond rated restaurants. A celiac disease diagnosis encouraged her to attend culinary school at Indiana University of Pennsylvania Academy of Culinary Arts.

Food Service 208

Food Service Food Service Restaurant Management Restaurant Manager 208

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 18, 2021

The design of a restaurant can provide the ambiance needed to keep customers coming back, even if the building’s space isn’t divided into specific use areas. Restaurant owners can separate the kitchen, dining area, and bar using different techniques with walls, altering the layout of the space to create a better traffic flow and better experience.

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Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 13, 2021

It’s no surprise that many restaurant owners, especially Texans, rely on meat smokers as a staple cooking appliance. When serving a large customer base, smokers are a huge asset to restaurants. While smokers can be credited for creating some restaurants' finest dishes, they can be a great hazard to one’s business if not properly maintained.

Purchasing 203

Purchasing 203

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 5, 2021

This adapted from " Manage to Engage. How Great Managers Achieve Remarkable Results. " We all know we feel valued when others make us feel valued. And in the restaurant business, particularly coming out of a pandemic, it can be tough from both sides – enabling the boss to help people feel valued and engaging teams to feel valuable. We also know there are a lot of people working who just don’t enjoy it – they are far from feeling valued at work, or in corporate speak, th

Restaurant Management 203

Restaurant Management Restaurant Manager 203

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 4, 2021

Starting in August , more than 9,000 wildfires burn in the U.S., on average, causing nearly two million acres of damage, which includes residential and business structures. Across the country, the most damaging wildfire seasons have been in recent years, including 2017, 2018, and 2020, accounting for 62% of the structures lost over the last 15 years.

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Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 11, 2021

This year, Tork wanted to provide restaurants with even more insights, tools and resources through its Take Back the Lunch Break effort to help during this critical period of recovery. As such, Tork conducted research to understand the consumer mindset when it comes to lunchtime behavior during the workweek and through these insights, created key tips to help improve business operations.

Catering 198

Catering Catering 198

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 30, 2021

While U.S. foodservice brands frequently expand into Canada, the reverse is less common. Why? The simple reason is: technology. Many Canadian restaurant brands hit an immediate wall when they attempt to adapt to the United States’ tech-forward approach to operations. Now, with consumer behavior increasingly shifting toward intuitive and automated restaurant experiences, Canadian brands are faced with the need for the support, flexibility and efficiency of the right technology suite in orde

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Point of Sale Inventory 197

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 24, 2021

Restaurants and hotels worldwide have come out the other side of the pandemic only to stumble headfirst into the newest obstacle: a staffing shortage. But this isn’t just your typical staffing shortage. According to a survey conducted by the James Beard Foundation, 16 percent of restaurateurs consider re-hiring their staff to be a more significant obstacle to re-opening than getting their customers to come back or paying their vendors.

Staffing 197

Staffing 197

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 23, 2021

The following principles are adapted from the author’s new book, Leading the Customer Experience. Innovation, the late Peter Drucker pointed out in his landmark book, The Discipline of Innovation, is the “effort to create purposeful, focused change in an enterprise’s economic or social potential.” He noted that it’s different than other disciplines.

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Customer Experience 197