April 11, 2014 Matthew Mabel Every day, restaurants have so much competition—from other restaurants, food trucks and even prepared food departments at grocery stores. To stand out in this competition, owners and managers must sure every guest has a positive experience, every day, on every shift. By consistently achieving high standards, a restaurant will be … Continued
Rockwall High School won this year’s Texas ProStart Restaurant Management competition. Here are five reasons why: They used humor and enthusiasm to portray their ideas. They were through, detailed, committed, thoughtful and comprehensive. They solved all aspects of a problem, not just one part. They established a clear protocol for problem solving. They were creative, … Continued
Our server forgot to fire our third course. Which would normally lead to eye rolling, dissatisfaction, exasperation or worse. But the first two courses had been so . . . good, each plate so so well-conceived and unique to Dallas, and we had ordered so much food that we were satiated and almost grateful, ready to … Continued
The most important position in any restaurant company is the General Manager. Properly educated and deployed, the GM can become a point of strength that allows restaurant companies to reduce the corporate overhead historically associated with supervising GMs — as well as improve results. How? When GMs are educated on developing systems, processes, and procedures, … Continued
Fundamentals may look like the boring stuff of business, but in fact they are the foundation for unique and special concepts that capture imaginations of diners and build wealth for their owners. Some companies do well because they are great at the fundamentals of business. Others prosper through the magic of branding and concepts, or … Continued
Nation’s Restaurant News recently published a special report, 2020 Vision, The Future of Foodservice, looking at what restaurant menus, design, consumers, and technology will look like when the next decade begins. NRN Senior Food Editor Bret Thorn asked me and three other industry experts to speculate on The Future of Menus, what restaurant menus will look like … Continued
Businesses start because they’re good at something. The best businesses grow and prosper because they become good at everything. Most business people know where their weak spots are. The best business people do something about them. I’m reflecting on two of the restaurants I visited in Dallas on a recent weekend. One of them is … Continued
Growing sales? Growing units? Every entrepreneur I have ever known thinks about these things every day. And it turns out the people who sell to them are thinking about the same things on their behalf. In the B to B world, vendors and suppliers come to know a great deal about the people they serve. … Continued
The best businesses control themselves, keep things simple, stay on track, and do not allow themselves to be overwhelmed, overloaded, or confused. Their guests and customers are exposed to an ever-increasing daily barrage of messages daily from a million different points in the world. In order to engage people, it’s smart to understand that there is … Continued
Businesses tend to build their foundation on one thing they do really well. The best businesses then import competence and develop the skills that do not come naturally to them. Eventually they have the complete package, even though they still rely on the thing that they do the very best. In that way, a business … Continued