Watch our latest industry update video, where the National Restaurant Association's SVP of the Research & Knowledge Group Hudson Riehle summarizes the March Restaurant Performance Index and Mother's Day dining.
For previous industry update videos, visit our Research & Insights section.
The National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) stood at 101.0 in March, up 0.3 percent from February, driven by strong gains in same-store sales and customer traffic levels. In fact, the current situation is the strongest in almost four years.
"The overall Current Situation component of the RPI stood above 100 for the first time in 43 months, which signifies expansion in the indicators of current industry performance," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the Association.
The Restaurant Performance Index consists of two components - the Current Situation Index (measuring current trends) and the Expectations Index (measuring restaurant operators' six-month outlook) - and tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry.
Milo Cress is on a crusade to halt the standard restaurant procedure of automatically providing straws when serving soft drinks.
"Five hundred million straws are used everyday," the Vermont fourth-grader said in one of two media interviews he granted on a recent day. "We could make a difference if restaurants asked if you wanted a straw instead of just giving you one. I would like that to be the normal way."
The National Restaurant Association and the Council of State Restaurant Associations are taking aggressive steps to get the U.S. Department of Labor to withdraw or delay new regulations that would have an immediate and negative impact on U.S. restaurants with tipped employees.
Under DOL rules issued April 5, employers who apply tip credits toward employee wages must take significant new steps to inform tip-earning employees about the credit. The rules would take effect May 5.
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), in partnership with Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) and Wendy's International Inc., recognized three outstanding female students with Reaching for Your Dream Scholarships during the WFF's Annual Leadership Development Conference earlier this month.
The $2,500 Reaching for Your Dreams Scholarships are presented annually to students who have excelled academically at their respective colleges or universities and are pursuing careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry.
The scholarship recipients are:
Are you participating in Dine Out for No Kid Hungry?
If so, encourage your fellow restaurateurs to get involved in the weeklong fundraiser. The Sept. 18 through 24 event supports Share Our Strength's goal to eliminate childhood hunger. The National Restaurant Association, a founding partner, encourages its members to participate.
Here's one way to get the word out. Share Our Strength is organizing a daylong Twitter event May 4. The twEAT OUT's goal is to get more restaurants to register for Dine Out For No Kid Hungry. Share Our Strength estimates it needs 5,000 restaurants to reach its $3 million fundraising goal. That's twice what last year's Dine raised.
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and partner PepsiCo Foodservice awarded four scholarships to future leaders in the restaurant industry as part of the National Restaurant Association's Faces of Diversity awards program.
The $2,500 scholarships are for students who excel academically in college and plan restaurant and foodservice careers.
"Diversity plays a large role in our industry's strength and success, said Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO, National Restaurant Association/NRAEF. "Investing in these talented young people will result in an even more successful future. NRAEF scholarships are critical to developing future industry leaders and ensure continued prosperity for America's restaurants."
Mother's Day remains the most popular holiday on which to dine out, as the National Restaurant Association projects that 75 million American adults will do so this May 8.
According to new research by the Association, nearly half of moms would pick their favorite restaurant if she were to choose where to go for a special Mother's Day meal. And, more than half of mothers say they enjoy celebrating Mother's Day with a restaurant meal because it gives them a break from cooking at home.
The National Restaurant Association's new survey shows that when it comes to meal times, dinner is most popular on Mother's Day. Fifty-eight percent of Mother's Day diners say they will go out to a restaurant for dinner on May 8; 32 percent will go out for lunch, 24 percent for brunch, and 10 percent for breakfast. In addition, one in five Mother's Day diners (19 percent) say they will go out for more than one meal that day.
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its Salute to Excellence Saturday, May 21, at the Hilton Chicago.
Kicking off the annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, this grand affair is the NRAEF's premier fundraising event with all proceeds benefitting the ProStart® program and the NRAEF Scholarship Program. As a tribute to the event's history, the NRAEF will highlight a quarter century of foodservice industry honorees.
This year's anniversary event will pay tribute to past NRAEF honorees from the esteemed College of Diplomats, Michael E. Hurst Lifetime Achievement in Education Award recipients, and the Thad and Alice Eure Ambassadors of Hospitality. The NRAEF will also honor Ralph Brennan, president of the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, as the 2011 Ambassador of Hospitality.
Restaurateurs who investigated composting at the 2010 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show might be surprised by what they'll hear at this year's convention, according to an expert speaking on the topic.
A major deterrent to composting has been the lack of facilities that accept organic restaurant waste and allow it to decompose. But that obstacle is disappearing as demand soars and many areas speed up the permitting process, explains Holly Elmore, CEO of Zero Waste Zone, an initiative to reduce what's dumped in landfills.
"Now," she says, "everyone gets it."
The National Restaurant Association today announced the recipients of its first annual Food & Beverage Product Innovations Awards, which recognize progressive food and beverage products that will make a significant impact in the restaurant industry.
The recipients will be showcased in the F&B Product Innovations Gallery (booth 7129) at the 2011 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show at Chicago's McCormick Place May 21-24.
"Our independent panel of judges, who represent a broad variety of both commercial and non-commercial industry segments, selected these 13 products based on the forward-thinking approach to food and beverages demonstrated by their creators," said C.W. Craig Reed, Convention Chair for NRA Show 2011 and Director of Food and Beverage, Broadmoor Hotel.
Shannon Katz, a junior at Winter Park (Fla.) High School, recently was selected to represent the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's ProStart program at the Women's Foodservice Forum conference in Orlando.
Katz is an outstanding example of the power of ProStart. She puts in long hours, balancing school work with two jobs, despite challenges that require great personal strength and drive.
Katz lives with her father, his fiancée, her sister and 4-year-old twin stepsiblings, both of whom are autistic. She has found inspiration in ProStart and support from her ProStart educator, Chef Arlene Palumbo.
"My family is struggling, but Chef Palumbo sees that I have the drive to succeed," she says. "My focus is on the future and not on the past, and ProStart is helping me get there ... Chef Palumbo knew this was something that I needed and something that would inspire me."
Restaurants nationwide are "going greener," and consumers are increasingly looking for ways to do the same when dining out. With 150 million meals served in nearly one million restaurants throughout the nation each day, even simple measures to conserve natural resources can make a big difference. This Earth Day - as well as on any day throughout the year - there are ways in which guests can contribute to reducing a restaurant's carbon footprint. The National Restaurant Association offers these tips for being an eco-conscious restaurant guest:
1. Pass on the water. If you plan to order a beverage with your meal and not drink the complimentary glass of water that is commonly offered when seated in a restaurant, simply let your server know. If one out of four restaurant patrons declined that glass of water, it would help conserve more than 25 million gallons of water in a year, according to the U.S. EPA.
2. Skip the straws and utensils. If you don't need a straw to enjoy your beverage, pass on it. According to BeStrawFree.org, more than 500 million disposable straws are used in the United States every day - enough to fill 9,300 school buses! And, when getting takeout or delivery that you plan to eat at home, tell restaurant staff that you don't need disposable silverware included with your order. By declining single-use utensils when possible, you will help divert waste from landfills.
High school culinary and management students continue to make the news in the run-up to the National ProStart Invitational.
In Chicago, students from Marengo High School prepared chicken piccata, the dish that earned them first place in the Illinois ProStart Invitational, on WGN's "Lunchbreak."
Wendi Safstrom, vice president, educational programs, National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, discussed the upcoming national competition and the ProStart program. The students explained how to make chicken piccata and discussed their dreams for restaurant industry careers.
In Dallas, students from Allen High School were featured on the local NBC affiliate. The April 14 segment showed the students practicing for the ProStart Invitational and included interviews with the students, their teacher and a Texas Restaurant Association representative.
In his latest commentary, the National Restaurant Association's Chief Economist Bruce Grindy breaks down the latest state jobless rates. Thirty-four states saw their unemployment rate decline in March, one of the most broad-based improvements since the recovery began.
Bolstered by the private sector, the economic recovery gained a stronger foothold on the national level in recent months. The nation's private sector added 230,000 jobs in March on a seasonally-adjusted basis, which followed a solid gain of 240,000 jobs in February and marked the first time in five years that private-sector job growth exceeded 200,000 in two consecutive months.
But just as Tip O'Neill said all politics are local, the same often holds true for economics. While the overall health of state economies continues to vary dramatically, the trends are generally moving in the right direction.
The National Restaurant Association has unveiled the Restaurant Advocacy Fund, an initiative that will help support advocacy and issue campaigns on legislative and regulatory issues important to restaurants of all sizes, from all regions of the country.
The initiative builds on the success of the Save American Free Enterprise (SAFE) fund, which has raised and spent nearly $7 million since 1996 to protect the restaurant industry from harmful regulations and legislative proposals.
The National Restaurant Association's ServSafe® Food Handler Program will offer solutions for California restaurateurs to comply with the recent California Food Handler Card law, or SB 602. Nearly one million restaurant industry employees in the state will need to be in compliance with the law by July 1, 2011.
"As the leader in food safety training throughout the United States, we have tailored our ServSafe Food Handler Program to meet the requirements of the California Food Handler Card law to help restaurant operators prepare for compliance," said David Gilbert, chief operating officer of the National Restaurant Association.
Food handlers are defined as employees "involved in the preparation, service or storage of food." Recognizing that job descriptions and roles can vary by operation, officials have clarified the definition to include most restaurant employees, including, but not limited to: cooks, waitstaff, bussers, bartenders, hosts/hostesses, beverage pourers, chefs and supervisory personnel, such as the general manager or managers who handle food.
The restaurant industry is not only an important source of jobs and careers, it is vitally important to the success of many other industries in the economy. As McDonald's celebrates its National Hiring Day by adding up to 50,000 individuals to its roster, the National Restaurant Association has compiled a report of its research on the latest restaurant industry employment trends and the unique upward mobility that the industry offers.
The restaurant industry employs nearly 10 percent of the U.S. workforce at 12.8 million this year, making it the second largest private sector employer in the United States. Every $1 million spent in restaurants generates an additional 34 jobs in the national economy. In addition, every restaurant job supports almost a full job position elsewhere in the economy; essentially any industry that is associated with the operation of a restaurant enjoys increases in employment when the restaurant industry grows.
While many industries have shed jobs in recent years, the restaurant industry has remained a jobs and careers machine. During the challenging economic period of the last 11 years that included two recessions, there were 266,000 fewer total jobs in the economy in February 2011 than there were in January 2000. In contrast, eating-and-drinking places, which account for roughly three-fourths of the total restaurant-and-foodservice workforce, added 1.3 million jobs during the same period. Overall, restaurant industry job growth outperformed the overall economy in each of the last 11 years.
President Obama last week signed into law H.R. 4, a bill that repeals the requirement that businesses begin filing 1099 information-reporting forms for most business-to-business transactions starting in 2012.
The National Restaurant Association and its members have been aggressive advocates for repeal, testifying on Capitol Hill, writing grassroots letters to lawmakers, and lobbying Congress for quick action.
Our 2011 Public Affairs Conference was a great success! Five hundred restaurateurs from 44 states were excited to tell their stories in more than 250 meetings with members of Congress. Watch what some of them had to say about it.
After a nationwide search among the best amateur and professional mixologists, the online industry community has selected six semi-finalists for the second annual Star of the Bar competition.
The signature cocktail creators are now heading to Chicago to show off their skills in live competition at the 2011 International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) on May 22.
The six Star of the Bar semi-finalists are:
. Sean Conner from Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar in Plano, TX with his The Cake's Watermelon Crush
. Emily George from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants in Granville, OH with her BeachcOmber
. Jamie Koeppler from Madisons in Madison, WI with his Femme Fatale
. Robert Leavey from The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO with his The Real McCoy
. Dante LoPresti from Double A in Chicago, IL with his The Pink Lion
. Emilio Tiburcio from Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV with his Imperial Garden
Restaurateurs peppered lawmakers and lobbyists with questions about health care reform, interchange fees and building depreciation this week as part of the National Restaurant Association's 25th annual Public Affairs Conference.
The conference, which began Wednesday with education sessions and an awards gala, wrapped up Friday with a meeting on tax issues. About 500 restaurateurs from 44 states participated in the event.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who addressed the attendees Thursday morning before they headed to Capitol Hilll, discussed the regulatory and legislative impact on the restaurant industry.
"We have to make better choices, wiser choices, to create an environment where job creators can create more jobs," he said. He called the National Restaurant Association "not only a potent political force but a potent policy force."
An education session at next month's National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago will show operators where they're triple-pumping money into the trash.
It's common for operators to buy more food than they sell, notes Jim Larson, program development director for the Food Donation Connection. If they'd sold it, they could write off the cost on their taxes. But when it's not served, they often throw out the surplus.
When that happens, they're paying for the food, they're losing the chance to expense the cost, and they're paying a hauler to cart away the excess.
General Colin L. Powell (Ret.) will share insights into global events, and the impact those changes and issues will have in the United States and abroad, at the National Restaurant Association's annual trade show next month.
"Based on General Powell's military, political and private sector experiences, he understands the power of persuasion, purpose and building trust in getting people to work together toward a common goal," said C.W. Craig Reed, Convention Chair for NRA Show 2011 and Director of Food and Beverage, Broadmoor Hotel. "General Powell will undoubtedly impart invaluable insights on key issues that affect NRA Show attendees and us all."
In 2001, General Powell stated during his confirmation hearing to become the 65th Secretary of State that the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy during his tenure would be "America stands ready to help any country that wishes to join the democratic world." Previously, General Powell served as a key aide to the Secretary of Defense and as the National Security Advisor to President Reagan. His distinguished Army service included the rank of a Four-Star General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during which he oversaw 28 crises including Operation Desert Storm.
The National Restaurant Association's Public Affairs Conference opened Wednesday with cheers and tears.
"I am so choked up," Amporn Vasquez, executive chef, Pizza by Elizabeths, Greenville, Del., said as she accepted one of several awards for entrepreneurship and community service. "I want to thank this country, the United States of America, to give us the hope and the dream."
About 500 restaurateurs applauded Amporn, three other other Faces of Diversity award winners, four Restaurant Neighbor Award recipients and four college scholarship winners. The awards ceremony was part of the Association's 25th annual Public Affairs Conference.
Sisters Berekti and Akberet Mengistu, owners, Mesob restaurant, Montclair, N.J., received cheers when they said they were happy to be American and have the freedom to dream. "This is our American Dream," Berekti said.
The National Restaurant Association today honored four restaurant entrepreneurs and a renowned culinary college with this year's Faces of Diversity awards.
The award celebrates members of the restaurant and foodservice industry who have embraced diversity and inclusion at their operations and achieved the American dream in the process. The winners will receive the awards tonight at a gala ceremony during the Association's Public Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. In addition to the award, the Association also gave four $2,500 scholarships to college students in the winners' communities.
"It is a true pleasure to recognize the winners' personal and professional achievements, which underscore how hard work and determination lead to success in our industry," NRA President and CEO Dawn Sweeney said.
Three restaurant companies and an industry leader today receive $5,000 to continue their community service through the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Neighbor Award.
The award celebrates outstanding community service efforts by small, medium and large restaurants, as well as a Cornerstone Humanitarian.
This year's winners are Eat'n Park Hospitality Group, the Pittsburgh-based parent of the Eat'n Park restaurant chain, large business; Charleston Chefs Feed The Need, a consortium of 52 Charleston, S.C.-based restaurants, mid-size business; and Kona Kai Coffee Co., a gourmet coffee shop in Kent, Wash., small business.
Michael Whalen, president and chief executive of Moline, Iowa-based Heart of America Restaurants, is this year's Cornerstone Humanitarian.
Tom Colicchio - head judge of Bravo's "Top Chef" reality show, and noted chef and restaurateur - will get in the celebratory spirit at the National Restaurant Association's Restaurants Rock in Chicago next month.
Chef Colicchio will serve as the celebrity chef host at the official NRA Show industry celebration, which will be held on May 22 during the annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.
Held at Chicago's LaSalle Power Company, Restaurants Rock will feature the Star of the Bar finalists in live mixology competition, where the winner will be selected by a panel of judges that includes chef Tom Colicchio and master mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim, in addition to live musical entertainment by local favorite Hairbanger's Ball, outstanding food and fantastic cocktails - beverage sponsors for Restaurants Rock are Bacardi and Crown Imports.
The spring meeting of the National Restaurant Association's Information Technology Study Group will feature a tour of Chicago's Emergency Management Communications Command Center.
The meeting, set for May 22 through 25 in Chicago, will feature two and half days of education sessions on the latest innovations in restaurant technology.
At the city's Emergency Management Communications Command Center, attendees will learn how city, state and federal agencies interact with the private sector to manage and prepare for emergencies in the greater Chicago area.
Thirty-three million Americans are expected to celebrate the Easter holiday by dining out, according to new research from the National Restaurant Association. Lunch and dinner are the most popular meals for Easter celebrations, and when it comes to must-have food, more than half of consumers say they will be looking for an Easter buffet on April 24.
Overall, 14 percent of adults said they plan to celebrate the holiday with a special meal at a restaurant. Forty-six percent of those are planning a special Easter lunch at a restaurant, while 44 percent will enjoy a meal at dinner time. In addition, 29 percent of individuals visiting a restaurant for an Easter meal are planning to dine out for brunch, while 21 percent said they are going out for breakfast. Seventeen percent are planning to have more than one meal at a restaurant on Easter Sunday.
The survey also asked if consumers are looking for any "must-have" food items for their Easter meal at a restaurant. Fifty-one percent of those dining out for Easter this year said their must-have option is a buffet; 39 percent said they have to have ham, 37 percent said pastries are on their list of must-haves, and 27 percent said eggs. Lamb was less popular among the list of must-have food items at 7 percent.
Wendi Safstrom, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's vice president of educational programs, appeared on Chicago television Monday to discuss the upcoming National ProStart Invitational.
Safstrom appeared with Kaitlyn Banaszewski, a student from Marengo Community High School. Marengo will represent Illinois in the national competition in Overland Park, Kansas.
More than 300 high school students will participate in the National ProStart Invitational, set for April 29 through May 1. The students compete for about $1.4 million in culinary and hospitality management scholarships.
Lenders are adding staff and working to get word out that they have money to lend small businesses. But restaurant operators and other entrepreneurs still can't get the credit they need.
The International Franchise Association, in cooperation with the National Restaurant Association and other anchor partners, brought together lenders, business owners and government officials Thursday to address that gap.
Participants in the April 7 Small Business Lending Summit entrepreneurs discussed opportunities to improve entrepreneurs' access to credit so they can grow their businesses and create jobs.
First Santa Clara County and San Francisco did it, and now New York City. Proposals to ban toys from some restaurant meals have been a hot topic of debate.
New York's City Council announced its proposal to outlaw toys and other incentives from meals that don't meet extensive nutrition requirements on Tuesday, and the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) was quick to respond.
The group's NYC chapter's Executive Vice President Andrew Rigie went on FOX News Channel's FOX & Friends this morning to defend the restaurant industry's position.
Restaurants are adopting new ways to keep disposable food containers out of landfills, but they could use more help from customers to hurry along the process, one packaging expert says.
Green packaging options have increased markedly in recent years, says Lynn Dyer, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute. She cites advances such as "bio-based polymers," or packaging materials used like plastic but originate from renewable sources such as corn.
Similarly, she says, more restaurant packaging is made from "non-tree cellulose," or renewable resources such as bamboo. The end product looks and feels like paper, without taxing timberlands.
When Mark Eagleton testified before the House Small Business Committee in February, he hoped his story would make a difference.
He described how expanded 1099 reporting requirements in the health care reform law would force him to submit additional paperwork to the IRS for even minor transactions. He would have to submit 1099 forms for his daily $1.79 purchase of romaine lettuce from the local grocer, seasonal trips to the nursery and occasional trips to the hardware store for incidentals.
"I gave them a critical story to share with their colleagues," says Eagleton, an Egg & I franchisee in Arvada, Colo. "I hope it reached a few people."
Apparently, Eagleton's testimony and stories from other small business owners made a difference. The Senate voted April 5 to repeal the expanded 1099 reporting requirement, and the measure now awaits President Obama's signature.
Design and decor are important aspects of any restaurant and there are many critical elements to be considered. The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show will gather leading front- and back-of-house designers and management consultants to answer questions from new restaurateurs and remodeling-minded operators.
Ask the Design Experts offers free 30-minute private consultations. This NRA Show feature was created in cooperation with Foodservice Consultants Society International.
Three of the participating experts provide the following tips on some of the most frequently overlooked design elements:
A bill to repeal the 1099 paperwork mandate in the health care reform law awaits President Obama's signature.
The Senate voted 87 to 12 April 5 to approve the Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011. The bill was sponsored by Sens. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.).
The legislation repeals the expanded 1099 reporting requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The overly burdensome requirement would have made nearly every business-to-business transaction reportable to the Internal Revenue Service.
You don't have to be Michel Richard, Bryan Voltaggio or Mike Isabella to help end childhood hunger.
Top names in the Washington, D.C., culinary world showed off their talent last night to support Taste of the Nation, a Share Our Strength fundraiser. The event raised about $200,000, thanks to 1,500 attendees, 80 chefs,12 mixologists and numerous sponsors.
Venerable culinarians and innovative mixologists are participating in Taste of the Nation events in other cities, but Share Our Strength offers opportunities for restaurants of all sizes and renown to help end childhood hunger.
Dine Out for No Kid Hungry is a Share Our Strength campaign to raise $3 million this year. The National Restaurant Association, a founding partner of the campaign, encourages its members to get involved in the Sept. 18 through 24 event.
The Food and Drug Administration released long-awaited draft regulations April 1 spelling out how the agency proposes to implement a new federal law that requires certain chain restaurants to add calorie data to menus and menu boards and make other nutrition data available to guests on request.
Long-time California Restaurant Association member Bobby Coyote had never been to the National Restaurant Association's annual Public Affairs Conference. But he wanted to meet his members of Congress and visit their legislative offices on Capitol Hill, so he registered for the 2010 event.
Next week, he's taking a break from running his seven Dos Coyotes Border Café restaurants to return. He'll be joined by hundreds of other restaurant operators from nearly state for April 13-11 event.
"I'd never really talked with my senators or representative, and I wanted to tell them about the different issues that affected my business," Coyote says. "At that time, our insurance carrier wanted to triple the fees for the health savings accounts we offered to employees. Fortunately, we ended up going with another carrier, but I wanted my lawmakers to know that was what was we were experiencing at the moment.
The IRS has again delayed a mandate that will require employers to report the value of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage on employees' W-2 forms.
Our state partner the Washington Restaurant Association launched an iPhone app yesterday to help its members access news and information on the go. WRA is the first state restaurant association to create such an app.
"We're constantly looking for ways to help our members be more successful. Our iPhone app will put critical information in the palm of the busy restaurant operator's hand," Anthony Anton, Washington Restaurant Association president and CEO, said in a news release.
The application, available for free in Apple's App Store, includes news from the WRA website to keep up to speed with member updates, industry information and public policy issues that affect restaurateurs in the state. It also features the organization's programs, services and events, as well as how to become a member and renew membership.
The association says it's working on expanding the app to additional platforms, including Android.
Read WRA's news release on its new iPhone app.
Image courtesy of the WRA website.
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