IDEA ZONE at the #LRAEXPO14: Do you know what you don’t know?

To be successful in the restaurant business, you have to know a lot about a lot of things. From one moment to the next you transition from human resources professional to purchasing guru, chef to manager, bookkeeper to plumber, and then on to a myriad of your other unofficial job titles in role as owner, manager and/or chef. Running a restaurant requires that you be a “jack of all trades,” but hopefully a master of some.

The IDEA ZONE, back for its third year at the Louisiana Foodservice & Hospitality EXPO, August 2-4, 2014 at the Morial Convention Center, is a series of complimentary, expert express presentations designed to deliver pertinent, relevant and timely need-to-know information for restaurateurs.

Saturday’s IDEA ZONE series begins at 11:45 a.m. with So…you want to grow your restaurant brand/concept? What is really involved in taking a restaurant brand/concept from one or a handful of locations to be ready to expand regionally and nationally at a rapid pace and still maintain consistency, quality and profitability? Together, LSU alumni Brent Bueche and Scot Byrd of BBI Architects in Baton Rouge will teach you the basics of a successful restaurant brand/concept, how to analyze regional markets and growth patterns, understand how design reinforces the brand and improves the customer experience, and restaurant prototype standards and scalability.

Following at 12:45 p.m., David Kusher of Kushner LaGraize LLC hosts Top tax benefits that exist for restaurant owners that most restaurant owners don’t know about and miss every year. There’s not a person on the planet who wants to pay more in taxes and right now, that could very well be you.

If you’ve ever seen an episode of Jon Taffer’s Bar Rescue, you’ve seen the worst of the worst in terms of lost profits behind the bar. At 1:45 p.m., John Carter of Bevintel, the world’s number one on-premise liquor inventory control system, brings you Promoting profits and preventing loss behind the bar. Carter will give you valuable tips on preventing loss and adding five or more points to your bottom line through inventory control and promoting profits in restaurants and bars. Your time at this session could be money in your wallet.

Up next at 2:45 p.m. is Online marketing recipe book for success, by Fishbowl’s Joe Gabriel. In today’s ever-changing landscape, restaurateurs now have to add another title to their resume: “Online Marketer.” Gabriel will go over the five easy steps to be successful in building an online presence, managing it and engaging your guests to drive sales.

Michelle Anderson,
Fisher & Phillips, LLP

And finally, a topic that we get calls about from members all the time—What can I really charge employees? LRA General Labor Counsel Michelle Anderson of Fisher & Phillips will share the legal perimeters regarding deductions for uniforms, breakages, misorders and tools of the trade. Restaurateurs, you’ll also get the run down on the tip credit, services charges and how to avoid wage and hour litigation. 

The IDEA ZONE is located at the end of Aisle 100, conveniently located next to the Community Coffee trolley and features seating and high boy tables in the back for your convenience. Of course, we don’t expect you to spend your day listening to presentations, but hopefully, you’ll find one or two that can help you become an even more successful (and legally compliant) restaurant owner.

To attend sessions in the IDEA ZONE, you need to register to attend the EXPO. LRA restaurant members receive four complimentary admissions to the EXPO and registration is easier than ever before here. 

Thank you to this year’s Platinum Sponsors!

Heartland Payment Systems, Louisiana Cookin’, Capital One, Republic National Distributing Company, UnitedHealthcare, Glazer’s of Louisiana, Louisiana Restaurant Association Self Insurer’s Fund and the LRA Education Foundation.

Gold Sponsor—Midlands, Generations Hall & Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses; and Silver Sponsors—Fisher & Phillips, LLP and Johnson, Johnson, Barrios & Yacoubian.