Study: Competition, technology to drive industry's future

Industry competition will continue to intensify in the years ahead, and operators will to have focus on offering elevated levels of food and service in tandem with technological enhancements, new research from the National Restaurant Association has found.

 

According to the report “Restaurant Industry 2020: A Snapshot of the Future,” NRA research found that operators also will have to continue to upgrade their concepts on an ongoing basis just to remain competitive. Other findings indicate that convenience stores and supermarkets will continue to expand their foodservice offerings; American restaurant operators will keep trying to expand their concepts into international markets, such as Asia, South America, Europe and Africa; and the off-premises segment, including takeout, drive-thru, delivery and mobile operations will continue to gain market share from on-premise restaurants.

“Because of this sustained competitive environment, operators will seek to more strongly differentiate themselves across a spectrum of operational characteristics, ranging from food and service to décor and technology,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the NRA’s research and knowledge group. “In addition, the industry will continue to be a breeding ground for entrepreneurialism and employment growth.”

The study, conducted using the Delphi approach, relies on a panel of industry experts to identify and analyze issues by subjective judgment.

Download the entire report here.

Senators introduce 15-yr. depreciation bill

Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have introduced a bill to make permanent a 15-year tax depreciation schedule for restaurant improvements and new construction, leasehold improvements and retail improvements.

 

The National Restaurant Association supports the bill, which would allow restaurateurs, landlords and other owners of commercial property to continue to write off property improvements and the cost of new restaurant construction over 15 years. Without congressional action, the current 15-year depreciation schedule will expire and revert to a 39-year schedule at the end of the year. NRA research shows that restaurants undergo significant renovations every six to eight years, on average.

“Restaurants experience heavy wear and tear serving 130 million guests a day at nearly 1 million establishments nationwide,” said Scott DeFife, NRA executive vice president, policy and government affairs. “Making the 15-year depreciation provision permanent provides restaurant operators with the predictability needed to plan for future investments, and we commend Sens. Casey and Cornyn for their leadership on this critical issue for our industry.”

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy," Casey said. "We should provide them with the certainty they need to grow."

The original cosponsors of the bipartisan legislation are Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), David Vitter (R-La.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

9 tips to prepare for a health inspection

Health inspections are a fact of life when you run a restaurant. Sanitarians are tasked with unannounced visits to your establishment to ensure that you are following the necessary food safety and sanitation measures to prevent foodborne illnesses among the dining public.

The proper strategy for a successful health inspection is to be ready for an inspection at any time. To stay ahead of the game, managers can conduct weekly, in-house inspections before health inspector arrives.

• Use the same form ̶ or a similar form ̶ that your health department uses, and put yourself in the health inspector's place. Check with your local health department on what regulations and forms are being used.
• Walk into your establishment from the outside to get an outsider's impression.
• Brief your kitchen staff to review any problems post-inspection. This will help convey the importance of food safety to staff members.
• Ensure all staff are on the same page. If your staff includes employees for whom English is a second language, have the findings translated so everyone understands how important food safety is to the success of your restaurant. Consider hiring a professional translator. A bilingual staff member might use terms or phrases that might not make sense or could be misinterpreted in other dialects.
• Know your priorities. Your self-inspection priorities for kitchen employees should include: food time and temperatures, personal hygiene (including hand washing) and cross contamination. Temperature guidelines include checking the temperature of products when they arrive, when they are stored and when they are served.
• Reinforce the importance of hand washing. Post signs at all kitchen sinks and in employee restrooms.
• Train your managers to ensure they are up-to-date on the latest food-safety techniques. Restaurant employees can use the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's ServSafe food-safety training programs.
• Review your local health code for any special, local requirements.
• Get involved politically to give a restaurateur’s perspective. One opportunity could be to join your state's health-code-revision committee. Involve senior staff on such committees as well.

Now that you have prepared for the inspection, you need to know what to do when the health inspector arrives. Be warned that inspections usually arrive unannounced, so you'll want to be ready on any occasion, even during rush hours.

The Louisiana Restaurant Association is a partner in food safety with the industry's regulatory agency, Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals. The LRA also is the state's largest trainer of ServSafe, an eight-hour food safety and sanitation course, and offers classes statewide, year around that meets the mandated requirement in Louisiana.

Heartland Payment Systems® Launches Mobuyle™ Restaurant Mobile Payment Acceptance Solution for Apple iOS Mobile Devices

Heartland Payment Systems (HPS), one of the nation’s largest payments processors, just made it easier for restaurateurs to accept/process card payments anywhere inside and outside a restaurant by unveiling its Mobuyle mobile payment acceptance solution for Apple iOS mobile devices, enabling merchants to take credit, debit and gift card payments on the iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®. This release follows the successful launch and adoption of Mobuyle for restaurants Android version and Mobuyle for retail iOS and Android versions.

 

“Technology innovations in restaurants has arrived in the restaurant industry with the use of tablets and iPads for ordering and is one of the top trends in 2012,” said Wendy Waren, VP of Communications for the Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA). “This payment option technology makes the closing out process for restaurant staff and guests much more efficient.”

As one of the first secure, mobile payment applications fully designed and developed by a leading card payments processor, Mobuyle can be used by existing HPS card restaurant merchants (new HPS merchants must open an account) by downloading the free application from Apple’s App Store and purchasing a Mobuyle Encrypting Card Reader from HPS (866) 427-0804.  Merchants just plug the reader into an Apple mobile device audio jack and swipe cards to process customer transactions from anywhere inside or outside a restaurant.

“Restaurant merchants need payment acceptance capabilities from just about anywhere,” said Mike English, executive director of product development for HPS, which is endorsed by the National Restaurant Association and 45 state restaurant associations including the LRA. “By accepting credit, debit and gift card payments through Apple iOS mobile devices, Mobuyle enables restaurateurs and their staff to enhance the overall customer experience.”