When you log on to your favorite news site to see that 25% or 40% or 85% of restaurants will not survive this mess, you feel depressed and downright disturbed. (By the way, I predict the lower number.) As of today here in Texas, though, most restaurants can go back to 75% capacity – up … Continued
Qualifying for a potential PPP2 loan is critical to survival planning. Congress is working with a formula where PPP2 loans, if they happen, reward people who could not (or did not) open after the shelter-in-place orders – or had central business district or tourist locations. Those restaurants need the help. On the flip side, qualifying … Continued
2020 has taken its place as the best year of our lifetimes to honor the American worker. Like everything else, Labor Day has taken on the personality of what we got this year-not what we typically encounter. With no experience to fall back on, we expect there will never be anything like it again, … Continued
Any restaurant owners out there who want to feel better? If so, I recommend spending some time right now improving your restaurant company with the future in mind. Restaurant owners who live in the middle (or wherever we exist now) of this pandemic feel a lot better when they focus on the future, remember that … Continued
Welcome to a new phase of dealing with the pandemic. More and more lately, owners of multi-unit restaurant groups tell me about how they spend their time – and what that time yields right now. When this all started in March, restaurateurs were shocked into action and didn’t understand that this would be a new … Continued
TRA Marketplace started yesterday. If you missed the first day, don’t panic! This year, it runs for six days – and, even better, it’s virtual and free. You can still register here so you get to log on, explore, and learn. Participate this year – don’t be a proud, rugged individual. While rugged individuals may retain their pride, … Continued
If you could take a time machine back to early March, you probably wouldn’t recognize yourself, your guests, or your employees. Remember that carefree childhood? The COVID-19 crisis has changed us all. We are living through one of the toughest times we will ever face (as grownups). We have new concerns, perspectives, and needs that … Continued
You may have heard the opinion that, when this crisis ends, chain restaurants will still be standing, but independents will be gone. That idea is supported by the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC), which says 85% of independent restaurants will fail. That 85% number may generate headlines but, while the IRC does a lot of … Continued
When a new restaurant opens: For the first few weeks, everyone runs around chaotically excusing every misstep saying, “We just opened – things happen!” After a while, though, that excuse rings hollow and gets in the way of progress. Typically three or four weeks into operations, I walk in and say, “We are not going … Continued
The past few weeks have been a violent wake-up alarm that ended fleeting dreams of “best-case” COVID-19 scenarios. Negativity and challenges can be overwhelming. Like me, do you have strong feelings about the missed opportunities that have made this crisis much worse than it could have been? Instead, focus on the indicators that tell you … Continued