MARKETING: Restaurant Holiday Catering & Marketing Tips
The holidays are just around the corner, and for many restaurants, that means gearing up for catering gigs. Office holiday parties are often a big draw for restaurants that cater, so it’s important to know the ins and outs of how to successfully set yourself up for catering jobs, and how to market your business to draw in more events throughout the holiday season. Here are some marketing ideas you can use to promote your food and your services to area holiday parties.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Nearly Half of US States to Increase Minimum Wage
Even though The Fight for $15 isn’t moving very fast in Congress, it is making plenty of headway on the state level. Nearly half of US states will be raising their minimum wages effecting at the start of 2020. The House of Reps, however, did pass the Raise the Wage Act which would’ve doubled the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025, but the Senate has yet to consider the bill. Minimum wage increase is currently No. 4 among restaurant operator challenges.
Hate Crime Stays at Heightened Levels
According to statistics released by the FBI, hate crimes remain at heightened levels in the United States. Last year, there were 7,120 hate crime incidents, 55 fewer than the total number reported in 2017. The data shows that the majority of the reported hate crimes were motivated by race, ethnicity or ancestry bias (59.6%).
McD’s Hit with Class Action Lawsuit
A former McDonald’s employee filed a sexual harassment class action lawsuit against the burger chain. The case is one of several Times Up Legal Defense Fund-backed legal actions against McD’s. This latest plaintiff claims she was harassment multiple times over her year-and-a-half tenure at the company, being called slurs and physically assaulted by one of the managers. The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of all women who worked at that same restaurant for the past three years.
TOXIC MIXOLOGY
Why it matters to you: Cleaning supply training could actually save a life.
Over the past several weeks, there have been two alarming stories regarding cleaning supplies and toxic chemicals being mismanaged and, in on case, the consequences were fatal. In Washington DC, the owner of Heaven and Hell was fined $90k by the DC liquor control authority for pouring Foam-Brite Condenser Coil Cleaner into a Long Island Iced Tea instead of sour mix. Also known as “Yellow Death,” this chemical is so toxic it got that evocative name. The owner, Mehari Woleemariam, claimed responsibility for pouring the dangerous chemical by mistake, but the bar was ultimately held accountable with a fine and a 90-day suspension of their liquor license.
Meanwhile, last week at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Massachusetts, a kitchen staffer mixed two chemicals while cleaning the floors that caused the death of one employee and sent 10 other to the hospital. The deadly mix was the classic mistake of mixing chlorine and ammonia which creates the dangerous gas chloramine. If there is a better incentive to properly train your staff in managing chemicals, then we can’t think of one.
Here’s the problem, chlorinated (bleach) and ammoniated products are ubiquitous in our restaurants. Glass cleaner uses ammonia and any floor cleaner you can imagine includes some bleach. This mistake is just too easy to make. Many operators simply don’t allow one or the other even in their building. Given the result at this BWW, you can imagine just how smart that policy appears now.
MILK TOAST
Why it matters to you: Oversupply and over-politicization is killing the dairy industry and that’s not where it will end.
For many restaurant operators, product choices come down to whomever their prime vendor is and what they choose to stock. That’s unfortunate for the local family farmer that doesn’t inure to their favor. Such is exactly the case in Wisconsin with dairy farmers suffering from oversupply and unfair advantage going to Big Agra. In fact, two family-run dairy farms are closing daily in the state characterized by its “cheese head” Green Bay Packer fans. There is a glaring analogy for the plight of these independent dairy producers and our own industry, which has seen massive chain growth, but only a trickle of the same for small operators. To further worsen the situation in Wisconsin is some absurd politics being played that puts the farmers squarely in between the state’s governor and its legislature.
The Senate voted to remove the Governor’s pick for Agriculture Secretary in a bid to block rules regarding manure pit odors and a $100k expenditure for mental health services for independent farmers that are losing their homesteads. The analogy here is stark for any of you that are operating your own independent operations. If you aren’t big, you will get run over by the most powerful interests in your state. That is exactly why every operators must be at minimum politically aware. Let’s face it: you already picked a side and it’s your own self-interest. Protecting your ability to compete should be enough incentive to keep you focused on the goings on at your own State House.
[Source: Mother Jones]
