restaurant industry

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Actually, That Waiter Doesn't Want You to Order Dessert

The food may be rich, but the profits are slim

(Newser) - When your waiter asks if you'd like coffee or dessert, he's hoping for a yes, right? Perhaps not. It turns out that many restaurants are better off, from a financial perspective, if you get out of there and make room for the next customer, the Washington Post reports....

Restaurant Reservations Getting Phased Out

Upscale places using tickets instead

(Newser) - Classy restaurants across the country are doing away with traditional reservations. Instead, well-heeled diners at these establishments need meal tickets—quite literally, NPR reports. At Trois Mec in Los Angeles, for instance, you can score $100 tickets for a five-course meal; that includes tax and tip. (The tickets are sold...

TGI Friday's Latest: 'Infinite Appetizers'

Chain is taking a big risk, analysts say

(Newser) - How many mozzarella sticks or boneless buffalo wings can hungry diners wolf down in one sitting? TGI Friday's is betting it's not so many that it'll lose its shirt on the new "Endless Appetizers" deal. The promotion—believed to be the first of its kind from...

Restaurant Owner: Why Getting Rid of Tips Works
Restaurant Owner: Why Getting Rid of Tips Works
OPINION
Aug 15, 2013 8:09 AM CDT

Restaurant Owner: Why Getting Rid of Tips Works

Jay Porter describes how his experiment helped everyone

(Newser) - In 2006, Jay Porter abolished tipping at his San Diego restaurant. Instead, the eatery instituted an 18% service charge for all dining-in meals (slightly less than the average tip had been), and refused to accept anything beyond that. This allowed the "tip" revenue to legally be shared among both...

Worker Video: Golden Corral Hides Food by Dumpster

Scandal explodes on Reddit

(Newser) - Food chains around the country must rue the day someone decided to add cameras to phones. Golden Corral is the latest to have its dirty ground beef aired online, as Reddit exploded this morning in reaction to a video from one employee showing all manner of meat camped out near...

Eatery Trademarks 'Breastaurant'

Bikinis Bar & Grill edges out others in the field

(Newser) - Hooters has long been casually referred to as a "breastaurant," but now a different eatery has gone and trademarked the term. "We're really excited about receiving this federal trademark," says the CEO of the Texas-based Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill chain. "It just further...

Why You Should Stay Home for Valentine's Dinner

Joanne Chen: Dining out is bound to be a hectic, frazzled affair

(Newser) - A romantic dinner at a nice restaurant may sound like the perfect Valentine's Day plan, but Joanne Chen at Time offers a few reasons why couples might want to eat at home instead. For one thing, it's a good bet that the restaurant will be jam-packed with couples...

Restaurateur Reveals Ugly Secrets of Fine Eateries

 Restaurateur 
 Reveals Ugly 
 Secrets of 
 Fine Eateries 
bribes, boozing, bill clinton...
Apr 29, 2012 1:29 PM CDT

Restaurateur Reveals Ugly Secrets of Fine Eateries

Joe Bastianich book 'Restaurant Man' comes out this week

(Newser) - Welcome to the world of New York restaurants, where Wise Guys drop "hundies," Bill Clinton always gets a table, and the maitre d' is usually on the take. Long-time restaurateur Joe Bastianich—co-owner of dining hotspots like Babbo, Lupa, and Eataly—dishes on the biz in a potty-mouthed...

How You're Coming Across to Your Waiter

Restaurants increasingly training waiters to 'read' tables

(Newser) - Gone are the days of, "Hi, my name is Tom and I'll be your server tonight." Restaurants are increasingly moving toward a less scripted approach, teaching waiters how to "read" tables and subtly mold their service to fit each individual group. The Wall Street Journal offers...

San Francisco Waiters Push for 25% Tips

Turns out some NYC bars, clubs already add 20% to checks

(Newser) - Are you tipping enough when you go out to eat? The San Francisco restaurant industry apparently doesn’t think so. A column from Ed Arnow of the Contra Costa Times reports that “there’s a move on” among local restaurant workers to “make 25% the standard tip in...

Google Buys Zagat Guide
 Google Buys 
 Zagat Guide 
Sep 8, 2011 12:01 PM CDT

Google Buys Zagat Guide

They promise to make it central to their local and map products

(Newser) - We’re going to bet that Yelp is pretty upset right now, because Google took what looks to be a big step into its turf today by acquiring Zagat to bolster its location offerings, Mashable reports. Marissa Mayer, Google’s VP of Local, Maps, and Location services, announced the deal...

Why Are Restaurant Websites So, So Bad?
 Why Are Restaurant 
 Websites So, So Bad? 
Farhad Manjoo
Aug 10, 2011 2:51 PM CDT

Why Are Restaurant Websites So, So Bad?

For the most part, they're stuck in 1999: Farhad Manjoo

(Newser) - When you type in the URL of a restaurant website, you're probably looking for information like address, hours, menu, prices, maybe an easy reservation system. Instead, you typically get full-screen photos of the executive chef, links to all their other restaurants, Flash buttons and menus that won't work...

Nina and Tim Zagat: Don't Open a Restaurant
 Seriously: Don't 
 Open a Restaurant 
Nina and Tim Zagat
Apr 7, 2011 1:53 PM CDT

Seriously: Don't Open a Restaurant

The Zagats have news for you: It's not as fun as it looks

(Newser) - Do you dream of opening your own restaurant one day? Well, Nina and Tim Zagat have some advice for you: "Don't do it!" And they should know, considering they co-founded and publish Zagat Restaurant Surveys. Opening a restaurant is about a lot more than just being "a...

Hottest Trend in Dining: Gardens

According to chefs, who say they're cheap, and popular

(Newser) - Chefs have responded to the local food movement by going as local as it gets: their own gardens. In a survey of 2,000 chefs by the National Restaurant Association, a third identified gardening as the top restaurant trend of 2010, the AP reports. Growing produce, they’ve discovered, is...

McD's: We'll Dump Worker Plans Over Health Reform

Chain wants waiver from 'mini-med' spending rules

(Newser) - McDonald's is threatening to drop employee health insurance because of new federal health care regulations requiring it to spend at least $4 out of every $5 its plan receives on health benefits. Mickey D's says that the requirement, meant to force companies to spend money on actual worker benefits rather...

Tom Colicchio: How To Be a (Real Life) Top Chef

Reality TV's favorite cook tells you how to run a restaurant

(Newser) - Tom Colicchio’s probably most famous as the head judge on Bravo’s Top Chef, but the man can run a restaurant, too. He even won the 2010 James Beard for Outstanding Chef. This week, he offered Newsweek some tips for aspiring restaurateurs:
  • Dinner parties aren’t the same thing:
...

McDonald's: Soon-to-Be Chi-Chi Destination


 McDonald's: 
 Soon-to-Be 
 Chi-Chi 
 Destination 
WANT FRIES WITH THAT LINGER ZONE?
May 19, 2010 1:49 PM CDT

McDonald's: Soon-to-Be Chi-Chi Destination

Burger joint goes yuppie with 'linger zones'

(Newser) - You know those giant golden arches thrust into the sky on a pole in front of your local McDonald's? Kiss 'em goodbye. They're just one of the casualties of an upcoming total redesign of the McDonald's franchise, Salon reports. Gone, too, will be the red, double-sloped roofs, and the cafeteria-like...

Garden Yield Too Much? LA Eatery Will Take It
Garden Yield Too Much? LA Eatery Will Take It
ITS NAME? FORAGE, OF COURSE
Feb 6, 2010 5:20 AM CST

Garden Yield Too Much? LA Eatery Will Take It

Forage won't let fruit and veggies go to waste

(Newser) - Ever felt guilty about not using all the bounty you’ve grown in your home garden? Well, if you’re in Los Angeles, now you don’t have to toss it. Just-opened (to say nothing of aptly named) Forage will take it, and use the fruits and vegetables on its...

That Menu Is Playing With Your Mind, Wallet

Restaurants high and low use psychology to boost spending

(Newser) - In the recession, restaurants casual and white tablecloth alike are desperately updating one of their secret moneymakers: the menu. Numerous studies have concluded that customers spend more when items have sumptuous descriptions, a relative’s name is included, or, most importantly, the $ sign is banished entirely. Whether you can...

Rolling Stone Gets Into Restaurant Biz

Hollywood lounge plans to outclass Hard Rock; chain possible

(Newser) - Aiming to sidestep the pitfalls that have bedeviled countless other entertainment-industry players, Rolling Stone magazine is opening its own Hollywood restaurant. “We've been looking for the ideal opportunity to expand the Rolling Stone brand," co-founder Jann Wenner tells the Los Angeles Times . And no, it’s not because...

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