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Newsela | Fast-food protesters want minimum wage increase on front burner

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Newsela | Meet Flippy, a burger-flipping robot alternative to human workers

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Will we one day order food from fully automated restaurants staffed entirely by robots?

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Order a drink at Mama's Fish House in Maui, and it'll arrive topped with a black paper straw. At South Africa's Conscious 108, you'll likely get a straw made of steel.

And at Harlem Public, waiters hand out Twizzlers, with their tips cut off, for sipping certain drinks.

The best part? When they're done slurping up their cocktails, "close to 100 percent" of customers eat the Twizzler-turned-straw, says owner Lauren Lynch. In other words: zero waste.

As local governments mull restrictions on plastic straws, restaurants and bars around the world are toying with new ways to replace a piece of plastic that has become a ubiquitous part of dining out, whether at a fast-food drive-through or a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Legislation introduced recently in California would make it illegal for waiters to dole out unsolicited plastic straws. Seattle is banning plastic straws and utensils beginning in July, and California cities Davis and San Luis Obispo now prohibit restaurants from handing out plastic straws unless requested by a customer. Coastal countries like South Africa, Costa Rica and Thailand have also been at the forefront of such a movement, shifting to straws made of bamboo, wood or paper instead of plastic.

A Calif. bill would jail people for handing out straws. It may be based on a child's research.

"There is so much plastic waste that washes up on our beaches that we knew we had to do something," said Emma Iacono, co-owner of Ylang Ylang Beach Resort in Montezuma, Costa Rica. "We're trying to eliminate as much plastic as we can."

The resort stopped using plastic straws nearly two years ago, and now provides biodegradable straws upon request.

"Some people are a little grumpy about it, but most of them understand," Iacono said, adding that the resort went from using 500 plastic straws a week to about 25 biodegradable ones.

By some estimates, Americans throw away 500 million plastic straws a day. The no-plastic movement, which has grown steadily in recent years, gained momentum following a viral video three years ago that shows a sea turtle with a plastic straw wedged in its nose. Walt Disney World has since banned plastic straws at some of its theme parks, and the Smithsonian Institution has taken steps to eliminate them from its museums. Even celebrities have taken note: Actor Adrian Grenier and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson are among those speaking out against plastic straw use.

"Can humanity survive without plastic straws? I think so," said celebrity chef and Washington area restaurateur José Andrés.

But his customers don't always agree.

Back in 2010, Andrés swapped out plastic straws for paper ones at his Washington restaurants, which include Jaleo, Zaytinya and Oyamel. As a scuba diver, he said he'd seen firsthand the impact of plastic straws on the environment, and wanted to do his part to cut back on unnecessary waste.

Diners were livid.

"It was the closest thing I've ever seen to a customer revolt," he said. (Another close call: When he changed his recipe for patatas bravas 20 years ago.) "Nobody liked them. Customers were mad. Bartenders wanted to quit because they weren't getting tips. It was awful."

He reverted back to plastic and tried again a few years later, to the same results. Now he's settled on a compromise: Customers don't get plastic straws unless they specifically request them, and only about 5 percent do.

At Minibar by José Andrés - where meals cost $275 per person, not including drinks - cocktails sometimes come with straws made of wood, metal, glass and even hollowed out fennel.

"The straw is this human invention that, for some reason, we've come to love," Andrés said. "But it's beautiful to drink directly from a glass. It's the most elegant thing. Why would you want a piece of plastic?"

(Andrés has also jumped on the opportunity to call out the president: "Please @realDonaldTrump remember plastic straws are bad for the environment . . .," Andrés tweeted in December in response to a photo of Trump using a straw.)

Demand for biodegradable straws is on the upswing, according to restaurant suppliers around the country. Online retailer Webstaurant Store now offers 34 types of compostable straws, alongside 114 plastic varieties. Restaurantware.com, which specializes in eco-friendly supplies, stocks several varieties of stainless steel straws, including some the company says are gold-plated.

"Straws are kind of an unnecessary item we've gotten accustomed to," said Kara Woodring, a sales representative at Aardvark, a Colo.-based manufacturer of paper straws. "If you can go without, that's great. But if you can't, we have an alternative."

The company, which invented paper straws in 1888, sold them with much success for decades. But by the 1960s, low-cost plastic straws had begun flooding the market.

"Plastic came around and wiped out all of our manufacturing at that point," Woodring said. "It was a dramatic shift."

The company came back to life decades later, in 2007, when it updated its paper straws at the request of Ted's Montana Grill, the chain of restaurants founded by media mogul Ted Turner. But overall demand was tepid - Aardvark had just a couple of clients, and many restaurants were wary of paying a premium for straws that customers didn't seem to like. (Paper straws cost about 1.5 cents to 2 cents apiece, about four times what plastic straws do, Woodring said.)

Now Aardvark has thousands of clients. Sales of its biodegradable option have doubled over the past five years, even as company executives urge restaurants to do away with straws entirely.

"Less is more," Woodring said. "Most people don't need a straw at all."

At Freehold Brooklyn, a coffee shop, bar and private event space in New York, managers say they used to spend $9,000 a year buying 1.5 million straws. But over the past two years, they've swapped out plastic for paper, and have begun weaning customers off straws altogether. These days, waiters hand out just five or six straws a week, said marketing director Lydia Mazzolini.

"It's so easy to do without a straw once you try it," she said. "We think of it as a gateway plastic."

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Paper, bamboo, Twizzlers: Restaurants consider alternatives to the plastic straw

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Order a drink at Mama's Fish House in Maui, and it'll arrive topped with a black paper straw. At South Africa's Conscious 108, you'll likely get a straw made of steel. And at Harlem Public, waiters hand out Twizzlers, with their tips cut off, for sipping certain drinks. The best part?

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A new breed of food establishment is attempting to do away with food waste entirely

smithsonianmag.com

The restaurant and wine bar Rhodora, in Brooklyn, does not have a trash can. They don't need one. While hauling bags of dripping trash to the alley is a least-favorite chore for dishwashers and bussers around the world, Rhodora simply doesn't generate anything to throw away. They don't allow any type of single-use plastic. They use a shredder to turn cardboard wine boxes into compost material. Corks are donated to an organization that uses them to make sustainable shoes.

Rhodora, which opened last year, is one of a small but growing number of "zero-waste" restaurants around the world. These establishments aim to avoid not only food leftovers, but also any scrap of trash. Though the term "zero-waste" is often used loosely, there are several organizations offering certifications for businesses that reduce their waste by a dramatic amount.

"Food waste has been gathering real momentum as an issue for restaurants over the last ten years or so," says Andrew Stephen, CEO of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, a UK-based organization that helps food businesses become more environmentally responsible. "With...food waste globally accounting for 8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, the environmental case is compelling."

In the United States, food waste and packaging account for nearly half of the material sent to landfills. Though restaurants from McDonald's to Starbucks are nodding to environmental concerns with " no straw Mondays" and reductions in single-serving plastics, it's only a drop in the bucket. So a handful of restauranteurs are going all-in, trying to get rid of trash entirely. There's an economic case to be made for waste-reduction too. One study shows that restaurants save $7 for every $1 invested in anti-waste methods.

"Everybody's realizing there has to be a change," says David Johannes Suchy, co-owner of Frea, a year-old, zero-waste vegan restaurant in Berlin.

At Frea, guests dine on handmade gnocchi with salsify (a root veggie sometimes called "vegetable oyster" for its allegedly oysterish flavor) at tables made from reclaimed oak beams. The lampshades above the bar are made from mycelium, the threadlike part of a fungi. In the back is "Gersi," the restaurant's affectionate nickname for their composting machine. Any leftover bits of food can be turned into compost within 24 hours, which is then delivered back to supplier farms.

Avoiding food waste is the first and perhaps most obvious challenge for zero-waste restaurants. Chef Doug McMaster at London's Silo, considered by some the finest zero-waste restaurant in the world, only serves a set menu. This eliminates the worry that one particular item-the cured mushroom stem? The braised dairy cow?-won't sell well, and will thus spoil in the refrigerator. Composters are a necessity as well. Like Frea, Helsinki's Nolla (meaning "zero" in Finnish) gives compost to its suppliers. Guests are welcome to take home a scoopful as well-a different kind of doggy bag. Nolla also has food-tracking software more commonly used among corporate food service companies to keep track of what sells and what rots.

The décor at this new breed of zero-waste establishment is a showcase for sustainable design. At Silo, plates are made from recycled plastic bags and tables from packaging waste. Wall light fixtures are made from crushed wine bottles while a ceiling fixture is crafted from dried seaweed. The bar stools are made from mycelium, purpose-grown in molds then baked until solid. They're compostable, of course. At Frea, an enormous piece of wall art is made from melted plastic collected during the restaurant's construction. At Nolla, gift cards are made with biodegradable poppyseed paper. Recipients can plant them in their gardens after use. Nolla also hosts occasional "blackout dinners," where cooking is done without electricity on a live-fire grill and guests dine by candlelight.

Delivery packaging is historically the weak link for establishments attempting zero waste. Since major food suppliers generally ship their goods in disposable materials, zero-waste restaurants work with smaller, more local suppliers, which fit with their small footprint ethos anyway. At Rhodora, bread is delivered by bike in a bin from a Brooklyn bakery. Cheese is wrapped in beeswax paper. At Silo, all food is delivered in reusable crates, bags and buckets. If something comes packaged in disposable plastic by mistake, the chef will send it back. Nolla supplies its small farmers and producers with reusable containers. At Frea, oil is brought in buckets; extra oil is used for making flavored cooking oils to sell.

Back, for a moment, to the Rhodora's lack of trash can. No matter how scrupulously you avoid waste, there are some things that are both unavoidable and hard to recycle. While reusable menstrual products like silicon cups are growing in popularity, restaurants obviously cannot mandate their customers use them. Rhodora has a collection bin from Terracycle, a company that claims "nearly everything we touch can be recycled," in the bathroom for this issue.

Then, there's the challenge of cleaning products.

"Our dishwashing areas have all very high efficiency machines, but they need their cleaning products, and there are no ecological cleaning products," says Frea's Suchy. "The industry makes it really hard for us in some ways."

As the zero-waste concept gains steam, there will inevitably be poseurs, or restauranteurs aiming to tap an eco-conscious customer base without putting in the real work.

Stephen offers some pointers on what to look for to make sure a restaurant has a genuine commitment to sustainability, whether or not they call themselves zero-waste.

"Check the menu for dishes that highlight use of the whole ingredient-whether that's nose to tail, root to fruit or indeed tail to fin," he says. A menu full of pickled and preserved items is also a sign of a chef "committed to extracting maximum value" from ingredients, he says. So is a menu with little-or no-meat and dairy.

"Sourcing and serving more veg-led dishes will significantly reduce a restaurant's footprint and help diners use the power of their appetite wisely," Stephen says.

Silo's current menu only features one meat dish, while Nolla's menu is about 1/3 vegan, 1/3 pescatarian and 1/3 meat. Rhodora serves no meat and focuses on small, preserved fish, such as spicy sardines, smoked mussels and cockles in brine, which are much more sustainable than larger ones because they grow quickly and don't need to be farmed. Frea, of course, is completely meat-, fish- and dairy-free.

"We think that the survival of the human race is not based on animal products," Suchy says.

If our survival depended on Frea's menu-handmade sourdough, herby stuffed pasta with saffron sauce, chocolate mousse with pickled apples-we think we'd be just fine.

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smithsonianmag.com The restaurant and wine bar Rhodora, in Brooklyn, does not have a trash can. They don't need one. While hauling bags of dripping trash to the alley is a least-favorite chore for dishwashers and bussers around the world, Rhodora simply doesn't generate anything to throw away.

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The concoctions are getting crazier and more outlandish.

This summer, there's a pickle-flavored slush, a watermelon one with seeds you can swallow and a lineup of other drinks to help beat the heat.

"In a world where the ordinary gets ignored, everyone is trying to do something extraordinary," New York-based brand consultant Allen Adamson said. "They're trying to find the edge of the table so they're concocting drinks from pickles to radishes."

There's not a radish-flavored drink that Adamson knows of, but given some of the crazier drinks hitting the market, no one will count it out.

"The trick is to be so different that you get people to do a double take and look at it again," said Adamson, co-founder at Metaforce.co. "It's not so much to ensure the flavor is going to be a home run but just a flavor that sounds different."

Although many restaurants make summer menu additions, Adamson, author of "Shift Ahead: How the Best Companies Stay Relevant in a Fast-Changing World," said this year there appears to be an increase in the wackiness as people look to share more on social media.

"It's increasing as people view social media and pictures to share more and more of their experiences they look for things that will be sharable," he said.

Think Starbucks' Unicorn Frappuccino or Crystal Ball Frappuccino.

While many companies are looking for the next trendy item Starbucks announced in April it was cutting its limited-time offers by 30 percent.

Recently, the coffee giant appears to be playing it safe.

This month, it's added the Mango Dragonfruit Refresher and the Serious Strawberry Frappuccino to its permanent menu and two new limited-time drinks, Summer Sunrise and Summer Sunset, which are both Cold Foam Tea Lemonades.

The company describes the tea drinks as "a refreshing, layered combination of tropical pineapple infusion and lemonade topped with a velvety cold foam infused with sweet Teavana Passion Tango herbal tea."

"Crazy drinks, off the wall drinks and new drinks are more sharable than iced tea and lemonade," Adamson said. "I think it's a function of younger people seeking out something bizarre and different to tell their friends about."
More: More: More: More: Starbucks' newest menu addition: The Mango Dragonfruit Refresher Pucker up! Sonic's new Pickle Juice Slush now available nationwide Taco Bell introduces its latest watermelon freeze with candy 'seeds' KFC, Sonic go pickle crazy, joining potato chip and, yes, ice-cream makers
Cool drinks of summer

Many of the summer's new drinks aren't wild or wacky but they still bring the cool factor and pack in sugary calories. These drinks are available at participating locations, most for a limited-time.

The fast-food chain is celebrating that it now serves Coca-Cola products by making Coke Floats this summer, which are available in 16- and 24-ounce servings. The 16-ounce float will be $1 for the month of July.

Auntie Anne's: The Candy Lemonade Mixers have taken sweet to a new level. Through Aug. 12, get a flavored lemonade topped with Sour Patch Kids or Swedish Fish soft candies.

Burger King: For a limited time, participating locations have the Salted Caramel Shake.

The chicken chain has a new iced tea drink, the White Peach Tea Lemonade, at restaurants nationwide as part of its Summer of Peach campaign. The summertime favorite Peach Milkshake also is back.

Cracker Barrel: Through July 15, get a strawberry lemonade and the S'mores Latte, which is available hot or iced as part of the limited-edition Campfire menu.

Dairy Queen: Paying homage to the new Jurassic World movie, the chain's new limited Jurassic Chomp Blizzard includes peanut butter bites and fudge topping. The four other Blizzards on the summer menu are: Summer Berry Cheesecake, Twix, S'mores and Cotton Candy.

Del Taco: Available as part of the chain's new Late Night Bites Menu, the Churro Dipper Shake features a warm churro dipped in a vanilla shake with chocolate swirls.

Dunkin' Donuts: The brand's popular ice cream-flavored coffees - butter pecan, cookie dough and pistachio - are back this summer along with new Frozen Lemonades. The frozen drinks are available for a limited time in original and strawberry.

McDonald's: The Cold Brew Frozen Coffee and Cold Brew Frappe are two seasonal additions to the fast-food giant's McCafé menu. Along with other small McCafé espresso drinks, the new drinks are $2 as part of the $1 $2 $3 Dollar Menu.

Paris Baguette: Participating locations have new frappe flavors, which include Cotton Candy, Matcha Green Tea and Honeydew Coconut.

PDQ: The limited Firecracker Shake is available starting June 26 at all locations, while supplies last. It features red velvet cake, strawberries, vanilla ice cream and popping candy.

Sonic Drive-In: Pickle lovers either love or hate Sonic's new Pickle Juice Slush, which is now available nationwide along with three other summer flavors, Tiger's Blood, Blue Hawaiian and Bahama Mama. Drinks and slushes are half-off from 2 to 4 p.m. for the chain's Happy Hour.
Kelly Tyko is a consumer columnist and retail reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers and TCPalm.com, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Follow her on Twitter @KellyTyko and email her at kelly.tyko@tcpalm.com.
There's a warning with the new Watermelon Freeze. The pink drink includes edible black candy seeds and is served with a big green straw that looks like a rind. But because of the seeds, the drink is not suitable for children under age 4 because of the potential choking hazard. Save on the Freeze and other drinks during Taco Bell's Happier Hour from 2 to 5 p.m. where medium drinks are $1 at participating locations.

The convenience store chainhas released a new Jolly Rancher Cream Smoothie along with a "not so secret" secret menu with brightly-colored Summertime Sips. To access the special menu, which also includes a Summertime Swirl bagel, click on the Wawa goose logo at the bottom left corner of store kiosks. At Florida locations for the Siptopia promotion, 16-ounce handcrafted drinks are $1.99 including smoothies.

Wendy's: The chain has six new summer beverages, including Strawberry Watermelon Fruit Tea, Berry Cherry Fruit Tea, Honest Tropical Green Tea, Limeade, Strawberry Lemonade and All-Natural Lemonade.

White Castle: For a limited time, the Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie is back.

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Restaurants compete to have this summer's coolest and wackiest drinks

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The concoctions are getting crazier and more outlandish. This summer, there's a pickle-flavored slush, a watermelon one with seeds you can swallow and a lineup of other drinks to help beat the heat. "In a world where the ordinary gets ignored, everyone is trying to do something extraordinary," New York-based brand consultant Allen Adamson said.

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OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) - Diners in a Maryland beach town are bouncing back into dining out amid the coronavirus pandemic with a little help from inflatable inner tubes on wheels.

About a dozen of the so-called "bumper tables" were rolled out at Fish Tales, a restaurant in Ocean City, Maryland, on Saturday, news outlets reported. The inflated tube tables were created by Baltimore-based company Revolution Event Design & Production to allow people to practice social distancing while eating and talking in outdoor settings.

The devices feature a hole in the middle to accommodate people around 4 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall. Participants get a little spring in their step with wheels attached to the bottom for moving around - all while maintaining a 6-foot (2-meter) distance from each other.

"We wanted to come up with a creative and fun way to keep everyone safe and compliant, but still bring back the social and festive and party aspect of the event," Erin Cermak, the CEO of Revolution Event Design & Production, told the Baltimore Sun.

Shawn Harman, the owner of Fish Tales, said he and his wife have purchased 10 bumper tables from Cermak's company. Harman said he plans to order 40 more tables so customers can enjoy their food and remain distanced while dining in the restaurant's parking lot.

"If you come in to get a pound of shrimp and a beer, you can stand in one of these and walk around and look at things and talk to people," Harman said. He said the reception to the bumper tables was positive when his family and friends took them out for a trial run outside his restaurant Saturday.

"There are other restaurants in other parts of the country that have contacted us to get information to order them," Harman said.

Cermak, who is the cousin of Harman's wife, told the Baltimore Sun that many restaurants, cafes, and even a sports franchise have contacted her after news outlets reported on the tables. She said her company can customize them for businesses and also rent them out per day.

Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Bouncing Back: Restaurant Debuts 'Bumper Tables' Amid Virus

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OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) - Diners in a Maryland beach town are bouncing back into dining out amid the coronavirus pandemic with a little help from inflatable inner tubes on wheels. About a dozen of the so-called "bumper tables" were rolled out at Fish Tales, a restaurant in Ocean City, Maryland, on Saturday, news outlets reported.

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Making your restaurant stand out from competitors

Posted by Michael Elkins on May 14, 2018

I am a restaurant chef with many years of experience in cooking for restaurants. I have owned 'Buddy's Restaurant' in Roanoke, Virginia, for many years. I am here to share my experiences and help new entrepreneurs in the food business.

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Why Your Restaurant's Concept Is Critical | Successful Restaurant | Waiterio

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Posted by Michael Elkins on May 14, 2018 I am a restaurant chef with many years of experience in cooking for restaurants. I have owned 'Buddy's Restaurant' in Roanoke, Virginia, for many years. I am here to share my experiences and help new entrepreneurs in the food business.

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Ask people to name a themed restaurant and their first answers might be "Medieval Times" or "Hard Rock Cafe". Themes in restaurants are a way of ensuring an experience to remember - it's a place that really has a vision, a concept and a look that will make the diner feel that it's a night worth talking about. That's worth a premium, don't you think? It's why themed restaurants can often get away with charging just a little more, and it might even make sense to have some merchandising.

When there's a central concept or a tangible idea that serves as the driving force behind the restaurant, then that's likely a theme. When there's a cultural, historical, conceptual or environmental idea that is identifiable not just through the space but also in the menu, the food and all the marketing, then it's a themed restaurant.

Take Mexican restaurants, for example. A Mexican restaurant using some Mexican flavor is par for the course, and that's not really a theme as much as it's about being authentic. However, say it's a place that has hardcore Dia de los Muertos decor - full-on Day of the Dead decor with in-depth, whole-wall murals, extravagant homage to skull art installations and all sorts of vibrantly colored Latin drama. Even in Mexico, that sort of place would be considered a bit over the top regarding authenticity.

The motivation behind a theme tends to be about driving an audience who's looking for a notable experience rather than just a meal. The notion is that sometimes the ambiance is as important as the food. Of course, that's a misnomer because the food isn't some minor character; it's a starring role, and it needs to be a winner.

However, if an establishment does have great food and does represent the central theme well, then the theme could be what elevates the space from just another restaurant or bar and puts it into the "places to go" column for any city.

Take the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant in the Maldives, considered to be one of the most beautiful restaurants in the world. Put that meal in any other place, and it's maybe $150 for a seven-course meal, but put it nearly 20 feet under the sea in a glass dome that seats just 16 diners, and suddenly it's $500 per head for dinner and the memory of a lifetime. That's an extreme and rare theme, but it's an example of how much location or concept can influence what a diner might be willing to spend for an experience.

Some themes are what you might call "evergreen" because they're always in season. That's why something like the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament experience is still going strong with 10 locations after nearly four decades. The expense in starting up a concept like Medieval Times is considerable because the space required is so great, but they also have a fixed menu that pretty much never varies and is also evergreen - always in season and affordable not just for the diner but for the franchise. An ear of corn, chicken and potatoes are affordable, popular and easy to source, so what's not to love?

Theme restaurants will frequently have menus that serve the idea rather than the season and can allow for some budget-friendly constants in sourcing supplies. Having a theme can also be budget friendly on the marketing side if it creates ongoing buzz and conversation.

Some themes are so interesting that they're a draw and a must-see experience for both tourists and locals, and it's enough to keep them churning the paying clients in and out. In Budapest, for instance, just off the Danube is a highly popular bar called the For Sale Pub, decorated with for-sale ads and receipts of all kinds hanging off the walls. You can't see a single bit of drywall, and it's a must-visit tourist spot but also offers specials to lure locals. Another example is Ninja, a destination restaurant in both Tokyo and New York, where ninjas are servers, and you dine in a subterranean, Japanese-village-designed space.

The trouble with a theme, whether you're talking a tiki room bar or it's something outsized like the Ithaa Undersea experience, is that the diner really needs to be in it for the experience as well as the food. If it's over the top and a full-on experience, then that can be a deal breaker for locals after a long Wednesday at work, and there will need to be either a huge population base or a steady flow of tourists and visitors. For locals, a themed restaurant is often a destination experience and something akin to doing the paddle boats at the park. It's a great time, and you'll tell your friends about it, but it may not be something you're inspired to do more than once a year if that.

Another downside can be that the theme may make it hard to persuade diners that the food is worthy. With a kitsch-forward interior, it can be hard to take an establishment seriously no matter how pure the kitchen's intentions may be. Also, because of the theme and the premium price, a disappointing meal can make diners even more venomous in their assessments, like the legendary New York critic Frank Bruni giving Ninja zero stars for being pretentiously overpriced and campy.

Beyond the camp factor being potentially off-putting for some diners, the often-higher prices can make it difficult for theme restaurants to sustain their livelihood because that premium price is justified for those looking for the experience, but regular diners who have had that experience won't be keen to pay up once again.

Theme restaurants can doom themselves to a self-fulfilling prophecy when creating the "something everyone has to experience at least once" scenario of their theme. Look up reviews of something like Medieval Times and you'll see reviews like, "I've never been before, and I'm so glad I went!" or even things like, "Wow, I haven't been here since I was in third grade, but I had a blast, and my kid loved it too."

If a restaurant is so kitschy and theme-laden that people can go, have the experience and then not be inspired to try it again for 25 years just because it's so niche, well, it's not exactly primed for repeat business, is it? Studies suggest that attracting new clientele is five to 25 times more expensive than wooing repeat customers, and that's a real roadblock for themes. Why go again when you've already had your "at least once" in your lifetime?

The struggle for theme restaurants, then, is in creating that holy trinity of having an experience to which people want to return on a regular basis, with dependably great food that falls in a justifiable price point. It doesn't happen often, but every now and then, a theme hits pure gold, like the Hard Rock Cafe and its lionizing of rock and roll history and that exportable Americana theme that's been a hit in 75 countries around the world.

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Some of your most memorable dining experiences may have been in theme restaurants. What do you remember about the experience overall: the food or the space? Did you ever return? These answers indicate some of the pros and cons about theme restaurants and their marketing challenges.

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In the third installment of her How to Open a Restaurant series, hospitality consultant Alison Arth shares her top 10 tips for hiring the best staff to represent your business. Read on!
If you don't hire the right people, you won't be successful. It really is that simple. Your people are your biggest asset, and in our industry they're often the scarcest resource, so you need to have a strategy in place for identifying them before you begin the hiring process.

Developing and executing a hiring strategy requires a significant investment of time and energy, but skipping it will cost you big time in the long run through frequent turnover, negative guest experiences, and brand inconsistency. This article outlines 10 keys to bringing on the best opening team for your new restaurant.

1. Define greatness. Never assume that all of your managers have the same definition of what makes a good employee. Sit down with them before conducting the first interview to collectively establish the core values that all employees will need to possess.

2. Post specific and informative job ads. The ads that you post should include keywords describing your company culture as well as your restaurant's concept, style of service, projected opening date, and any relevant specifics regarding job description and schedule requirements. Ads should be professionally presented and shared through multiple channels (online, word of mouth, and social media).

3. Have at least two managers interview every candidate. Passing over a great candidate can be as big of a loss as hiring a bad one, so make sure that you're taking more than one person's opinion into account. Managers should sync up between interviews to highlight any areas of concern for others to further investigate. This practice also ensures hiring managers all have buy-in, so no staff members are brought on board because one manager lobbied for them.

4. Develop a core set of interview questions. Assembling a thoughtful list of questions designed to determine whether a candidate shares your values and uncover details of their professional experiences will eliminate haphazard interviewing and keep the process objective. It will also ensure that your interviews are efficient and will immediately demonstrate your level of professionalism to the applicant.

5. Take notes. This is particularly important when you're interviewing for an opening team because you'll be meeting with applicants constantly. It is very easy to forget how you felt about someone or mix them up with a different person when you're in the throes of pre-opening onboarding.

6. Attitude is king. Skills and information can be taught, but a person's attitude usually cannot be altered. Don't let yourself be wooed by an impressive resume if the applicant is missing any of the core values your team has collectively established as critical. Remember that an interview is a controlled, deliberate presentation of a person; if they are not projecting positively in this setting, how will they behave under pressure?

7. Train managers to assess physical cues. If an interviewee is describing how friendly and warm their service style is, but they've barely cracked a smile since walking through the door, don't assume that they will suddenly change when they are on the floor. When you ask why they left their last position and they avoid eye contact, dig deeper.

8. Make interviewing a two-way street. Interviews are, of course, about identifying great candidates, but you can never overlook that candidates are also evaluating you. This means being on time, reading their resume beforehand, and dressing appropriately; it will go a long way to creating a strong impression of what can be expected if they come on board. You'll want your managers to always be putting their best foot forward to ensure that when you come across great candidates, you're able to hire them.

9. Check references without exception. Ask every candidate you're seriously considering to provide you with three professional references. Let the applicant know up front that you will need to hear back from at least two of them in order to move forward with the hiring process. No matter how great someone seems or how strongly you connected with them, do not skip this step. You don't want to learn this lesson the hard way...trust me!

10. Aim for balance. When it comes to assembling a team, diversity is your friend; this applies to knowledge, skill set, past experience, and personality. Pay attention to balance as you bring people on board, as a diverse and dynamic staff helps everyone to learn from one another. Be wary of hiring too many people from the same restaurant or company. You want to develop your own culture, not adopt someone else's.

In order to select great people, you must first decide what essential qualities an employee should have to deliver the best iteration of your brand experience and positively contribute to your company culture. Restaurant openings are a rare and valuable opportunity to hire a group of aligned people from the get-go, so it's crucial that your leaders are using an organized process to determine which candidates are the right fit for your opening team.

Photos courtesy of Bonjwing Photography.
When it comes to opening a restaurant smoothly and running it successfully, Alison Arth is a pro. She held leadership positions on the opening teams of multiple restaurants within Daniel Boulud's prestigious Dinex Group in New York before working as General Manager ofLocanda and Director of Food and Beverage at The Battery in San Francisco. Now, as the founder and principal of hospitality consulting firm , she partners with restaurants to create consistent, genuine guest experiences and build long-term success. To date, she's been involved in 13 restaurant openings; most recently, she has consulted on the opening of Gavin Kaysen's Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis. At Open for Business, we're thrilled to partner with Alison for a new series on starting and growing a restaurant business, step by step.

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How to Hire the Best Staff for Your Restaurant - Open for Business

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In the third installment of her How to Open a Restaurant series, hospitality consultant Alison Arth shares her top 10 tips for hiring the best staff to represent your business. Read on! If you don't hire the right people, you won't be successful. It really is that simple.

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Dorothee Mitrani-Bell came to the United States from France in her twenties because she felt a new life awaited her in California. She studied architecture at UC Berkeley, and on her days off she managed a restaurant in San Francisco. After a suggestion from a friendly neighbor got her thinking, she jumped at the unexpected opportunity to open her own restaurant and combine her love of design, food, and her home country. She has owned and operated the ever-popular destination, La Note Restaurant in Berkeley, CA for 18 years. Here is her story:
The Start

Just like any college student, I had been working at a restaurant while I was studying for my undergraduate degree in Architecture at UC Berkeley. But I differed from my classmates in that I never saw myself actually becoming an architect or working in an office environment. My goal was really just to graduate. I also never anticipated opening a restaurant. So in a sense, the restaurant came to me.

Because I was from France it took some time to get equivalencies that would qualify me for an American diploma. So the day I walked the stage, I was not only 29 years old, but I was pregnant!

Fast forward to a few months after my son was born -- one morning he had came down with a bad cold, and I called the restaurant to ask if I could come in a little later since he wasn't feeling well. The four-word response I received on the other end of the line was essentially what launched me into the entrepreneurial life I'm living today. My boss responded, "That's not my problem." I told myself I had to quit. I loved work, but my family life was also very important to me, and I wasn't willing to sacrifice either one. I decided to take some time to figure out the next best step.

Meanwhile, I had a neighbor who intended to open a jazz school and wanted to know if I would be interested in managing the school's café. I declined the offer because I no longer wanted to manage, but I told her I would help her scout a location. After several visits, we walked into a dilapidated building that dated back to 1875 and I had an immediate connection to the space. This is why I say I feel that the restaurant chose me. The architect in me felt pulled to bring about its revival. I called my neighbor and said "I've decided I don't want to be the manager, I want to be owner of the café." So I just went for it! From that moment, I did whatever I could to get it running. That was June 1995 and we opened October 1st 1997.

How did you fund your business in the beginning?

I didn't have funds because I had just come out of school, but I had always been building my credit -- I knew that was important. At the time I had 2 credit cards totaling $50,000, and I was lucky because the restaurant didn't require the usual building permits and fees. Originally there was one person who offered $8,000 with the intention of being a partner, but within 2 months he exited the situation, and wanted to take a chunk of the business with him. Unfortunately, for the first 2 years, I had to buy him out ($50,000) because of our agreement. It would have been a much more profitable beginning had I not run into that sticky situation. But ultimately, I opened La Note with just the 2 credit cards. I am really grateful that right away I was able to pay my bills. I know I've been very fortunate.

Did you get any extra funding?

Yes, it wasn't long before I got my first commercial loan. I don't believe you can (or should) be a business owner without backup. For me, there has to be at least a $50-100k line of credit at all times because we have 45-50 employees on average, and you have to prepare for the unexpected. Today the restaurant is 18 years old and we still have months that beat previous records! It's amazing that we're still growing.

Running the Business

How did you learn to run your business?

I would define an entrepreneur, aside from someone who can take a risk and go forward with a vision, as someone who is incredibly adaptable and able to commit himself or herself to fixing problems all day long. Creativity is built into my job description.

I didn't go to business school, but I probably picked up a few things from my parents who were both business owners. I also learned basic day-to-day management when I was working at the restaurant during college. Essentially I compare my beginnings to someone setting up their own home structure. Asking me now how I started is like asking someone five years after they've set up their first home, "how did you know where to put the furniture?" I learned by doing. I was constantly adapting to the needs that arose.

At the beginning I was in survival mode, which was a rush, but when that wore off I started to feel the stress of it. I was raising my kids and I didn't have partners or managers. It was hard until I realized that I could view things from another angle: that I was the one in charge of fixing the problems, and that that was my job. Eventually I got my stride. Once I surrendered to what my role was, things became easier to manage.

There are certain key things that direct my decision-making. I focus on keeping the morale up and keeping the concept going, and above all, I have to stay true to my story -- my original intentions for the business. My vision at its roots was about people, conviviality and good humor. So my product and what I wanted to sell was the means to achieve that through place and experience. As grumpy and as mean as people can get, I want them to be happy. That was my ultimate goal and whatever it took to make that happen is what I had to do.

Through it all, I have stayed consistent and led with my heart.

What's the most rewarding part of running the business?

The magical component of every person that walks in the door is what's most rewarding. Sometimes it's easy after 18 years to take it for granted, but I've since opened other businesses that have not been as giving, so I know now not to take it for granted.
What's the most difficult part?
People will tell you that maintaining schedule and staffing, especially in the restaurant business, is probably one of the most difficult aspects of the business. If someone doesn't show up, you're short. I do get the mishaps, but I've made La Note about the team. Everyone knows they play a part. People want to work with me and I want to work with them. We invest in and count on each other.

What's the most surprising part?

Definitely the most surprising aspect of my role is how frequently I feel like I'm a psychologist, making sure every member of the team is on board.

What I've Learned

What do you wish you had known before starting the business?

Nothing!!! I am happy to have discovered it the way I did. I would have been utterly bored out of my mind knowing all the technical parts that I know now if I had had to learn this in school. Some people do really well in those surroundings -- I'm just not that type. Having a vision is the ability to make a story happen. I would not have wanted anyone to tell me any forecasting at the time.

What advice do you have for others starting out?

Since opening La Note restaurant, I have started over a couple other businesses; but I could never recapture the magical moments of this first business when I wasn't fully aware of everything ahead of me. As you become more experienced, the element of fear creeps in because you understand what happens if you can't pay your bills. If you're scared, you're less free to be creative and go forward. So my advice is not to worry -- it can be paralyzing.
Like this story? Read more business owner stories on Fundastic.

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A Restaurant Success Story -- 18 Years and Counting

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Dorothee Mitrani-Bell came to the United States from France in her twenties because she felt a new life awaited her in California. She studied architecture at UC Berkeley, and on her days off she managed a restaurant in San Francisco.

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Many people dream of opening a restaurant. The idea of being a successful restaurateur has become more popular and glamorized in recent years with the rise of celebrity chefs and TV cooking shows.

However, the reality of running a restaurant is often unglamorous, expensive, and stressful. Many restaurants struggle to make a profit, many restaurants fail, and many restaurant owners find that the dream of running a cozy, friendly little food-service business can quickly become a nightmare.

I recently came across an article from Toronto Life, written by Robert Maxwell, a former restaurateur who says that fulfilling his dream of becoming a restaurant owner almost ruined his life. It cost him his savings, his house, and almost ended his marriage. This article is gripping, well written, honest, authentically human, and highly informative; there are many lessons that other business owners can learn from Robert Maxwell's experience.

Any business owner, no matter their industry, can learn from those who have struggled to run a restaurant. Here are a few marketing and management lessons that other business owners can take away:

Test before you launch

Robert Maxwell was an enthusiastic home cook who loved trying new recipes, watching cooking shows, and reading about food, and he thought that his kitchen skills and his love of food would translate to restaurant success. He even operated a booth at a Toronto food festival to practice cooking and serving his favorite recipes; he served 400 people in one day and he thrived on the adrenaline rush.

This is a good idea for any new business owner: Do a test run of your business idea. Do a proof of concept. Start small and see if you can make money first on a small scale before you go all in on starting a new business, making bigger investments and taking bigger risks.
Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
Get the price right

Unfortunately, even on his first day at the food festival, Maxwell lost money. He served food to 400 people, but it was more of a labor of love-he didn't actually turn a profit on his first day in the "restaurant business." This lack of pricing acumen later was a problem when Maxwell opened his restaurant, The Beech Tree. Even though Maxwell's restaurant was serving critically acclaimed, complex, ambitious cuisine, he wasn't charging a high enough price to turn a profit.

This is a major mistake that many new business owners make: not charging enough for their products or services. You need to make sure you're making money every day. Sure, sometimes you can have lower-priced products or introductory services that serve as "loss leaders," but your business needs to be profitable, and a smart pricing strategy is one of the most important ways to make this happen.

Being an entrepreneur and manager are different skill sets

Maxwell eventually lost his restaurant. The business is still operating and succeeding today, but under new ownership. Maxwell lost a lot of money on his dream of restaurant ownership; he quickly became overwhelmed by debt, started drinking too much and taking anti-anxiety pills, and eventually had to sell his house and cash in a retirement savings fund. Today he's in a better place emotionally and his family is intact, but he's still going to be in debt for a long time. It's a sad, hard lesson, but it's true: Passion is not enough.

Many new business owners think that just by being a creative visionary with a passion for the business, they can somehow power their way to success. But it's not enough to love your business; you also need some technical business management skills. Maxwell might have been too hasty in getting into the restaurant business-he should have spent a year or two working in a restaurant to really learn the nuts and bolts of how to build a profitable restaurant, before going all in as a first-time entrepreneur.

Many business owners like to focus on optimistic attitudes and success stories, but failure is part of the business world as well. Robert Maxwell has generously and bravely shared the story of his business failure, and other business people-regardless of industry-can learn from it. We all need to remember to look before we leap. Test, test, test. Price our products and services in a way that generates maximum profit.

The restaurant industry is one of the most competitive, risky, and cost-intensive industries of all, but no matter what industry you're involved in, the sacrifices of entrepreneurship can be worth it if you have a sound strategy, if you go in with your eyes open, and if you understand how to manage your weaknesses and compensate to overcome what you don't know.
RELATED: Starting a Food Truck Business: 4 Legal Details That Matter I am the director of sales at Strategic Sales & Marketing, a leader among appointment setting companies, providing lead generation consulting to hundreds of businesses. To follow the latest discussions in best-practices for lead generation, join my Linkedin Group with over 6,500 sales professionals and business owners, Manage Your Leads. Read all of Gregg Schwartz' articles. This article was originally published on AllBusiness.com.

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Business Lessons Any Entrepreneur Can Learn From A Failed Restaurant

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Many people dream of opening a restaurant. The idea of being a successful restaurateur has become more popular and glamorized in recent years with the rise of celebrity chefs and TV cooking shows. However, the reality of running a restaurant is often unglamorous, expensive, and stressful.

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Dummies has always stood for taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand. Dummies helps everyone be more knowledgeable and confident in applying what they know. Whether it's to pass that big test, qualify for that big promotion or even master that cooking technique; people who rely on dummies, rely on it to learn the critical skills and relevant information necessary for success.

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Running a Restaurant For Dummies Cheat Sheet - dummies

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Running a restaurant is a tough business. Coming up with the concept, designing the menu, hiring the right staff, and running it from day to day are all difficult and time consuming. You need to develop the right attitude, promote the restaurant, keep an eye on the competition, and communicate with your customers.

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5 Simple but Powerful Tips for Running a Successful Restaurant Business

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The restaurant industry is one of the toughest businesses to break into. And yet, thousands of new restaurants pop up all over the country every year with a wide variety of different restaurant and food business concepts. With so much stiff competition coming from all sides, it's no wonder that the overwhelming majority of new [...]

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Not every available space is right for a restaurant. A good restaurant location is harder to find than some people think. What may look like the perfect spot- say a bustling pedestrian street in the heart of downtown- may turn out to be a dud.

Other times a spot that you would never think to put a restaurant - like in an old shoe shop in a run-down mill town - is a success. Of course, food and service are important to the success of a restaurant, but the location can be just as crucial, especially in the early years. Read on for ten things you should know about selecting a restaurant location.

Parking Is a Must

People are lazy. There is just no way around it. If they have to walk a fair distance to get to your restaurant, they may opt to go somewhere else "more convenient." If you live in an urban area where everyone walks and there is public transportation, this is less of a factor. If you are thinking of a restaurant location out of town, in a place that requires you to drive to get there, you'd better have parking available. If your restaurant location doesn't come with a large parking lot, is it near a municipal parking lot for patrons to use?&nbsp;

Visibility Is Important

Setting up shop in a location with either high foot or car traffic is ideal. Making your restaurant (or restaurant sign) visible to the public is like free advertising. It reminds them that your restaurant exists and they should stop by for dinner sometime.

Size Does Matter

Even the smallest bistro or coffee shop requires adequate space for a kitchen, walk-in refrigerator, dry storage and an office for paperwork. Your dining room needs space for a wait-station and possibly a bar. What looks like a huge space for rent can quickly fill up with all the equipment needed to open a restaurant.

Understand the Curse

Some locations house one failed restaurant after another. Soon people associate the space - not necessarily the individual restaurant- with bad service, poor food, and lackluster ambiance.

Put Safety First

One of the first steps in choosing a restaurant location is finding out if the building is up to code. Does it have proper wiring, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, handicap-accessible doors, restrooms, ramps? A walk through the building with your local code enforcement officer will help you determine what needs to be done to a space before you open a restaurant.

Know Your Neighbors

When looking for a restaurant location, consider who else is doing business in the neighborhood. Are there already half a dozen restaurants with the same concept as yours? Is the area busy or full of empty storefronts? Successful businesses attract other successful businesses.

If You Build It, They Won't Always Come

Many restaurants are located off the beaten path and do quite well. But choosing to open a restaurant out of town, in a remote area is a gamble. Customers might visit for special occasions, but not on a regular basis.

You Can Negotiate Your Restaurant Lease

Many people are surprised to find out that they can haggle with prospective landlords about a lease. Not just about the monthly rent, but also about who pays for things like heat, snow removal, lawn care, general maintenance. Don't be afraid to ask for concessions when looking to rent restaurant space.

Don't Be Impulsive

You may visit one spot and decide that it is "the one." Before you start sketching out the dining room, be sure to visit multiple sites. And visit prospective restaurant sites during different times of days, during the week and on weekends. For example, is the area really busy during the work day and dead at night and on weekends? Patience pays off when selecting a restaurant space.

Understand the Commitment You Are Making

Before you sign a multi-year lease, consider the consequences if your restaurant fails. It isn't pleasant to think about, but if you are roped into a five or ten-year lease, your landlord can still demand monthly rent, even if you are out of businesses. Ask for a one or two year lease to start. Once you have established a successful restaurant, you can sign a longer lease.

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Here Are Some Tips on Where You Should Locate Your Restaurant

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Not every available space is right for a restaurant. A good restaurant location is harder to find than some people think. What may look like the perfect spot- say a bustling pedestrian street in the heart of downtown- may turn out to be a dud.

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Location, location, location. You've probably heard it a million times.

That must mean it's important, right? You bet. Location can make or break a restaurant, so it's important to pick a good one. (tweet this)

According to Forbes, if you're thinking about opening a coffee shop or bistro, location is everything.

Restaurant expert, Lorri Mealy, explains that one reason restaurants fail is a poor choice in location. She says a bad location is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, reason restaurants fail.

Before we can talk about what makes a great restaurant location, let's talk about what makes a bad restaurant location.

Several items make for a bad restaurant location and one you want to steer clear of. These include:

Poor visibility - your restaurant isn't easily seen from the street.

No parking - it's virtually impossible to find a parking place.

High crime rate - this can make diners uncomfortable.

Ask yourself, "Are other restaurants in the area doing well?" If the answer is no, and yesterday's restaurants are boarded up, then you are definitely not in a good location.

So, what makes a great restaurant location? Let's find out.

User-Friendly Parking

Unless your restaurant is located in a big city where people are accustomed to walking, it's safe to say that most people are lazy.

How many times have you seen people drive around a parking lot for five minutes before they found that front-row parking spot they were looking for?

Ideally, your new restaurant should have its own parking lot. Take into consideration how many people you can seat at a time and make sure you have enough parking spaces to accommodate them. If you don't, take a look around and see if there is a convenient overflow parking lot.

Accessibility

We bet you've noticed that major chains are often located right off the highway. There is a reason.

It makes it easy for in-town and out-of-town diners to access. Being located off a major roadway often means customers don't have to fight traffic.

Visibility

When scouting locations, see if your restaurant is easily seen from the street. If the location isn't directly accessible through Google Maps, it's likely not a good choice.

Consider the downtown location, or the location in the busy night-time district. These are examples of great restaurant locations because they are visible and accessible.

Think about traffic patterns. High-traffic areas are usually good spots for restaurants.

Target Market and Population Base

Assuming you've spent time planning your target market, you want to talk a look around your proposed location and decide if there is enough of a population base to sustain your restaurant.

Take a look at how far away you are from your market. Try to stay no more than 20-30 minutes away from your target.

It's a good rule of thumb to place your restaurant where your target market lives, works and/or plays. Look at some of these things regarding the population base when deciding your restaurant location:

Age of your target. Does your location fit the age of your target demographic?

Are there enough people in the vicinity?

Can they afford your restaurant?

Crime rate. This might affect some concepts more than others. If you're marketing a family-style restaurant, it's usually best to stay out of high crime areas. If you're a restaurant with a bar, you might have more success in a downtown or inner-city area.

Look at the Competition

Check out saturation levels. If there are already four pizzerias on the block where you want to place your restaurant, take some time deciding if the area can handle another pizza shop.

Do some sleuthing. It isn't always a bad thing to be grouped with similar restaurant concepts, but you'll need to analyze the market before deciding.

Case Study

Let's look at the restaurant franchise Huddle House. They have spent time working out a formula for a great location for their franchisees.

Here is an overview of their recipe for success and how they determine good locations for future restaurants:

Minimum population is preferably about 12,000 within a 5-mile radius in rural locations.

Overall trade area is growing or stable.

Interstate locations, if possible, have a minimum traffic count of 24,000, with a small-town population of 7,000 -10,000 within a 3-mile area.

Lot size for freestanding restaurants is usually a minimum of 25,000 square feet, unless parking can be shared with adjoining lot.

Minimum of 36 parking stalls is desired.

Good accessibility into location is a must.

Preferred maximum traffic speed of 45 mph at site.

Average travel time to work should be 30 minutes or less.

Retail support ideally is within one mile of site.

Ideal household income is between $32,000 and $75,000 per year.

Unemployment rate is optimally less than 10%.

Does this mean their formula is perfect for your restaurant? Not necessarily. If your restaurant is similar to their model, it's a good place to start.

If you are, for example, a high-end restaurant, you can view their "formula," and re-purpose it to fit your unique concept. Perhaps you'd want to place your restaurant in a professional area with income in a higher range.

If your concept is a bakery or coffee shop catering to college students, you might also want to adjust some of their parameters. You might not care about parking, but you'd want to be within walking distance of campus, dorms and apartments.

Can You Overcome a Bad Location?

Maybe.

To try and overcome a bad location, you'll need some very creative marketing to succeed. Underdog Coffee in Oregon is one such restaurant who overcame a terrible location.

How'd they do it? They made a play on the poor location with their name - Underdog Coffee, used better coffee beans than the previous shop, and created eye-catching, backlit signs.

Other ways you might overcome a bad location are by being ultra unique and one-of-a-kind.

To Conclude

Before opening your restaurant, you need to assess your location. (tweet this) Look around you. See who is in the neighborhood. Decide who your target customer is.

If you want to draw the young business crowd, situating your restaurant in a shopping mall probably isn't the best idea. Your best bet is in the downtown area or a trendy spot with a good night life.

Restaurants in shopping malls tend to attract families, teenagers and the elderly.

Looking to draw an adult crowd with business people? Look for a location near office buildings.

It's important to your success to first define your target customer. Who are you marketing to? Who might be interested in your food? What is your price point? Will they be able to afford it?

Once you've answered these questions, you can scout out the perfect location for your restaurant. Once your great location is secured, you are well on your way to restaurant success.
The first step to attracting more customers to your superb restaurant location is to have a great restaurant website. Restaurant Engine can design a mobile-friendly, responsive website for your restaurant. Mobile-friendly means your customers can easily view your location, phone number and menu on their mobile phone or tablet as well as their desktop. Request your free consultation today and let us help you market your great restaurant location.

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What Makes for a Great Restaurant Location?

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Location, location, location. You've probably heard it a million times. That must mean it's important, right? You bet. Location can make or break a restaurant, so it's important to pick a good one. (tweet this) According to Forbes, if you're thinking about opening a coffee shop or bistro, location is everything.