Online Reservations, cont`d.

Sept/Oct 2006
Tips and Trends Exclusively for American Express Restaurant Merchants
Tips and Trends Exclusively for American Express Restaurant Merchants
In This Issue
Restaurant Wine Poll
Online Reservations
Composting: The Next Eco-Frontier
www.americanexpress.com/restaurantresources5
B U S I N E S S
Luring the Brunch Bunch
O F
T H E
B U S I N E S S
Emergency Preparedness
“We serve a lot of wine flights
during the week so we continue the
‘flight’ concept for our Sunday
brunch. Our flights of Mimosas (orange,
cranberry, grapefruit, juice of the day) for
$18, four Champagnes for $18, and milk
(regular, chocolate, strawberry, caramel) for
$4 – equally popular with adults and
children – are big sellers. They’re served in
wrought iron wine flight carriers, which
make for a great presentation.”
ALANA MORSE, GM, PURPLE CAFE AND WINE BAR,
WOODINVILLE, WA
From hurricanes and pandemics to terrorist activity, the list of disasters which could impact a
restaurant is long. But a dramatic, worst-case scenario isn’t required to damage a business (think
power failures, transit strikes, winter storms). How quickly you can get back to business –
limiting losses and potential injuries – after any event depends on preparation. It’s important
to identify regional risks (visit www.fema.gov), local hazards, and universal threats (such as
contagious disease or bio hazards), but disaster preparedness experts agree that many common
principles apply. “In my business, you’d go crazy if you tried to think of every possible event,”
says Jim Kerr, director, Emergency Management and Business Continuity, New York University.
“Whether it’s avian flu or a hurricane, it’s all business interruption.” Bill Raisch, exec. director,
International Center for Enterprise Preparedness, agrees and promotes an “all hazards” approach.
“Start with a core plan, then tweak it for the nuances of a hurricane, fire, etc.,” he says. Bill
looks at small and medium-sized businesses as three-legged stools: people, property, and
processes/operations. “Each needs to be considered and protected,” he says.
“Our weekend ‘Pajama Brunches’ have
become an institution and after four years
we continue to get press about them.
The entire staff – servers, bussers,
kitchen staff, and even our chef/
owner Andy Husband – work in pj’s.
And, while guests are invited to wear them
as well, only a small number do (usually our
neighbors or those attending a special
party). Guests really seem to get a kick out
of seeing the variety of pj’s.”
JOY RICHARD, DIR. OF OPERATIONS, TREMONT 647,
BOSTON, MA
People: Plan how to get staff and customers out of harm’s way, remaining onsite or evacuating.
“If you expect employees to be of value to you after the event, also look at them as people with
families, not just job titles,” says Bill. He advises restaurants to help staff prepare themselves, as
does The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, which includes New Orleans restaurants impacted by
Katrina. “Employees know what they need to do, with the idea that once these things are in place,
they go home to their families,” says Charlee Williamson, exec. vice president.
“At our weekend brunches we’re
interested in appealing to families. Since
our ambiance is upscale fine dining and we
don’t get a lot of families during the week,
we’ve created a more casual
atmosphere, which includes an a la
carte menu and live jazz. Guests love
the music and it’s also a nice change for
the staff and for me.”
RUSSELL MASRAFF, CO-OWNER, MASRAFF’S,
HOUSTON, TX
Property: Understand exactly what your insurance covers and what it doesn’t (both assets and
business interruption) before you need it. “The time to review policies with a fine tooth comb
isn’t after a claim,” says Charlee. Work through all possible scenarios and look for the gaps – areas
that may not be insured – and what records you’ll need for claims.
Process/Operations: Charlee says The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group has plans to operate
without basic services – water, phone, gas, and electricity – and a “crash kit” containing everything
they’d need to keep the business going (from another location, if necessary). “Imagine you never
came back to your place of business, whether a restaurant location or a corporate office,” says
Charlee. “We’ve scanned and backed up everything – insurance policies, leases, vendor contacts,
financial statements, payroll and employee records, and our POS system is backed up on a server.”
It’s also important to understand the capabilities of suppliers. “Only do business with suppliers
who have contingency plans you can vet,” says Jim. Experts also advise businesses to have multiple
suppliers. “If you have a single source for beef, realize the potential impact on your business if an
event disables that supplier,” says Bill. “You might want to have 10% of your business with
alternative suppliers to establish credit and maintain the relationships.”
Whatever the plan, it’s essential to practice. “An emergency plan has to be a living, breathing
road map – not a document sitting on a shelf,” says Charlee. They do periodic drills to see
where the holes may be. Bill says drills are like training muscle memory and recommends them
at least once per quarter over multiple shifts. He says that practice can also be informal.
“Incorporate hypotheticals into daily activities. At shift meetings, ask what staff would do if
you had a fire or they saw flooding,” he advises. For help with disaster planning, visit
www.ready.gov/business or contact Briefing. Next issue: Communications in a Crisis.
P O U R I N G
P R O F I T S
Wine & Spirits Magazine Restaurant Poll
PERCENTAGE SHARE OF RESTAURANTS’ TOP-SELLING WINES
25%
CHARDONNAY
20%
CABERNET
15%
MERLOT
10%
PINOT NOIR
5%
SAUVIGNON BLANC
PINOT GRIGIO/GRIS
SYRAH
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Source: Wine & Spirits Magazine’s 17th annual Restaurant Poll, April 2006 issue.
(Note: Restaurants rank their ten top-selling wines in order of popularity. Percentages represent the share of these varietals
in the top ten lists. Restaurants surveyed are those listed as most popular in Zagat Surveys nationwide.)
A R O U N D
T H E
U S A
Update on Mandated Healthcare Coverage
To date, 31 states have introduced bills,
which would require employers to either
provide health benefits or pay a per-person
tax. Three states (MD, MA, VT) have enacted
legislation; bills have died or been defeated
in 24 states (AK, AZ, CO, CT, FL, GA, IN, IO, KS,
KY, LA, MN, MS, MO, NH, NY, NC, OK, RI, TN, VA,
WA, WV, WI); and in five (CA, MI, NJ, OH, PA)
legislation is pending. The Massachusetts law,
considered a prototype, requires that all state
residents obtain health coverage by July 2,
2007. “The bill was passed with the most
essential regulations still to be determined –
including final rules on a ‘head tax’ of
$295/person/year to be paid by employers
who do not offer coverage,” says Peter
Christie, pres./ceo, Massachusetts Restaurant
Assn. The state, he adds, is supposed to
come up with affordable ways to purchase
healthcare, but he says he has yet to see
anything that helps to control costs.
Vermont’s bill – requiring companies to report
employee participation in health care plans as of
March 2007 and pay a quarterly “head tax”
starting in July, also has rules that need to be
clarified . . . . Maryland’s small group reform bill,
passed in 1995, allows companies with fewer than
50 employees to purchase health insurance at
rates comparable to what larger companies are
paying. “But because the state approves all
pricing, there’s no competition and costs are very
high,” says Paula Kreuzburg, sr. vp. The
Restaurant Assn. of Maryland. “Rates in our
office alone are up 35% this year, averaging $300
per person each month.” As an alternative, the
association has created a more affordable “Mini
Med Benefits Plan” for members aimed at
covering some costs of preventive and routine
care, plus limited hospitalization, prescription
drug, and emergency room benefits. “The idea is
to keep people from using the ER as their doctor
and to stay healthy,” says Paula.
According to the 17th annual Wine & Spirits
Restaurant Poll, 2005 marked another year of
upward trends in restaurant wine sales. Of the
approximately 350 respondents – sommeliers
and wine directors – more than 78% reported a
sales increase. Prices also rose in 2005, with the
reported average overall price for a bottle of wine
jumping from $53.35 in 2004 to $57.83.
The most dramatic increase in popularity is Pinot
Noir, now in line with Chardonnay and
Cabernet. While the market for Cab is still
strong, some speculate that Pinot Noir’s rise in
popularity is part of a bigger trend of people
preferring more restrained wines. Respondents
report diners moving away from powerful, highalcohol wines, especially with food. More subtle
tastes may also explain the increasing popularity
of Sauvignon Blanc (at its highest since 1993, the
start of the red wine boom), perhaps driven by an
attraction to lighter/fresher wines and away from
heavily-oaked, low-acid wines.
Lists are more complex and varied; more
obscure varieties made sommeliers’ lists of their
ten top-selling wines. And diners are willing to
pay a premium to try something new – in
smaller quantities. By-the-glass prices rose to an
average of $10.65 with restaurants offering an
average of 21 selections. Along with flights and
half bottles, sommeliers are using glass
programs to feed diners’ curiosity and to make
wine as vital to the meal as the food.
d
“While much of the proposed
legislation is aimed at
companies with 10,000+
employees, once these bills
become law, the threshold
could be easily lowered –
affecting smaller businesses.
Mandated healthcare is not
going away – look for new
proposals in states where bills
have been defeated.”
TOM FOULKES, VP OF STATE RELATIONS,
NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION
S M A R T
M A R K E T I N G
Marketing Private Parties
“Private parties have brought us to the next level financially,” says Dan Rafalin, partner, Public,
New York, NY. “At a certain point, our revenue maxes out if we’re simply turning tables.”
Marketing private parties is becoming more sophisticated and targeted. Some advice:
Connect personally: Whenever guests at Public ask if the restaurant can handle private parties,
a partner or manager is notified. “We take time at the moment of the request to show guests
around the restaurant and discuss possibilities,” says Dan. “Sometimes I’ll even buy them some
Champagne and sit down to discuss plans – there’s nothing more important than a human
connection.” He says when guests leave knowing the possibilities – instead of just being given a
phone number to call – a booking usually follows.
“A lot of our private party business is the result of networking.
It’s imperative to join local associations, especially the Chamber
of Commerce and Conventions and Visitors’ Bureau.”
– GUS DIMILLO, GM, DC COAST, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Take advantage of the Internet. “Over 80% of our private party business comes from clients
visiting our Web site,” says Mo Shaw, gm, Ray’s Boathouse, Seattle, WA. “We are constantly
referring people to our site to review our policies, menus, equipment rentals, etc. It answers a lot
of questions and clients like being able to peruse the information at any time.” The Web site for
Canlis, Seattle, WA, features an Event Planning Kit (menus, wine list, special arrangements, etc.),
which can be downloaded, as can layouts and photos. “We want clients to feel they are being
taken care of from the moment they decide to throw a party,” says Mark Canlis, managing owner.
Stay top of mind. Ray’s Boathouse hosts an annual party for Seattle Chamber of Commerce
members, concierges, florists, event planners, and designers to remind them about the restaurant’s
private party facilities and taste the food. “The cost of the party is easily recouped in the number
of bookings that follow,” says Mo.
Reward planners. Teikoku, Newtown Square, PA, offers planners incentives – discounts up to 15%,
complimentary desserts for the entire party, etc. “When they spend $500, planners receive a $50 gift
certificate in their name,” says Alexander McCoy, gm. Joel, Atlanta, GA, has a loyalty program for
planners with 1500 members, who receive a $25 credit in their name for every $600 spent on parties
(excluding tax/service charge). Joel Antunes, owner, says that 85% of his private party business is repeat.
T O D A Y ’ S
C O N S U M E R
Re-Generation
Trend: Today’s Consumers can no longer be
easily defined by age or life stages. With seniors
in the workplace, Xers moving home, and
twenty-somethings running businesses, life
stages are blurring. Parents – notably Boomers
– are actively staying young and in tune with
what influences their kids; 67% of Boomer
parents and 65% of Xer parents believe that
they have a lot more in common with their
children than their parents did with them.
looking for an early-bird special.)
Opportunities may arise from blurring life
stages. Perhaps there’s a market helping
inexperienced Gen Y executives who need to
do more business entertaining or for happy
hours for Boomers. And remember that
generations influence each other; what
appeals to Boomer parents may also resonate
with their kids and vice versa.
Opportunity: Try to avoid the potential
young drive a lot of the trend, it’s not just
them. Regardless, with age comes a greater
need for adequate lighting, manageable
noise levels, and comfortable seating.
pitfalls of traditional age or life-stage
stereotypes. Know your customers – simply
looking at them may give you a false sense of
who they are and what they want. (Not every
gray-haired guest with an early reservation is
Caution: While Boomers trying to stay
Trend Source: Yankelovich MONITOR®
Online Reservations
According to the National Restaurant
Assn., 10% of U.S. consumers have
used the Internet to make a restaurant
reservation. This is significant given that
JupiterResearch estimates the U.S. online
population will be 206 million in 2006. “In a
couple of years, online reservations will be a
requirement,” says Claire Ellington, vp,
marketing and operations, GuestBridge, Inc.
A requirement, perhaps, because of
consumer demand for the convenience and
efficiency of shopping for and securing tables
– 24/7. And for restaurants, because the
benefits ultimately go well beyond filling more
tables, extending reservation hours, and
freeing up personnel.
“I wouldn’t use an online reservation
system that didn’t also provide table and
data management,” says Michael Klauber,
owner, Michael’s on East, Sarasota, FL.
Michael’s restaurants work with OpenTable, a
Web portal and network boasting 2 million+
users. OpenTable (www.opentable.com) and
Guest Bridge (www.guestbridge.com) both
work in real time to maximize reservation
efficiency and also provide information about
guests who have booked online – name,
address, phone, e-mail and often their
preferences, history, etc. Both systems allow
restaurants to add to and update customer
profiles. And both can, or soon will, interface
with POS systems so restaurants can gauge a
table’s status, estimate wait times, get instant
cover counts, and produce a number of
reports, including server performance. In
addition, POS interfaces will allow
spending/purchase information to be pulled
into guests’ profiles automatically.
“With an electronic reservations book, we
have access to a lot of information that
restaurants that take paper reservations
don’t,” says Michael. This information allows
restaurants to operate more efficiently, deliver
a personalized experience, and develop solid
relationships with customers – if they put the
data to work identifying top customers,
executing targeted marketing campaigns, etc.
Alex Brennan-Martin, co-owner, Brennan’s of
Houston, Houston, TX – who uses
GuestBridge – says, “I’m amazed more
restaurants don’t take online
reservations. I think many look at
it as a mysterious process and I hate
to see them missing out on such
great opportunities.”
B U S I N E S S
O F
T H E
MAKE
B U S I N E S S
Composting: The Next Eco-Frontier
As restaurants become concerned about the amount of waste they generate and its effects
on both the environment and their bottom lines, some are doing more than basic recycling.
With food waste accounting for over 50% of a restaurant’s garbage, according to Lawrence Axil
Comras, pres., Greenhome.com (a company that helps resaturants become environmentfriendly), restaurants are getting involved in composting, creating their own sites, collaborating
with each other, or having food waste picked up and delivered to a commercial composter.
“Looking at ways to lessen our impact on the environment is integral to every aspect of our operation,”
says Paul Hurst, chief engineer, The Willard InterContinental Hotel, Washington, D.C. Composting
is only one part of their long-term plan for sustainable development. “Rather than dispose food waste
via the sewer, we’re having it picked up and transferred to an industrial composter to be recycled,” says
Paul. The composter used by Scoma’s, San Francisco, CA, supplies compost to local farms and wineries,
something Mariann Costello, vp operations, says they think of as closing the loop. “Farms and wineries
we buy from end up using our compost to grow their produce and grapes,” she says.
“Basic recycling is old hat; recycling food waste is cutting
edge. Chefs now not only take pride in the food they
prepare, but the way it is being disposed of.”
– WALKER LUNN,
FOUNDER
ENVIRELATION
On a small scale, the owners of Tempo Restaurant, Alexandria, VA, haul the restaurant’s
food waste to their home garden themselves. “As a result of composting and other
recycling, we’ve been able to reduce the number of trash pickups – eliminating
expensive weekend hauls,” says Wendy Albert, co-owner. “Plus, we’re being responsible
citizens helping Alexandria meet its recycling goal of 35%.” White Dog Cafe, Philadelphia,
PA, has organized a group of neighborhood restaurants to get interested in composting. “We
hired a recycling consultant to help us find a location for the compost,” says Judy Wicks,
owner. “He made a connection for us at the nearby University of Pennsylvania.”
Tony Savage, dir. of engineering, Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, D.C., cautions that staff
buy-in is critical. “When I explained to the staff why we were going to be separating our food
waste for composting – that it is a great opportunity to help care for the environment – I was
surprised at how enthusiastic they were,” says Tony. “It’s a topic that everyone is concerned
about.” David Troust, associate gm, Mie N Yu, Washington, D.C., adds, “Whatever you do,
make it easy for your staff to comply. Put up signs in different languages; use different shapes
or color-coded bins so it’s easy to distinguish what goes where, and stay on top of your haulers
– if our pickups don’t happen the staff gets discouraged and thinks it’s not a priority.” To find
out if composting is available in your area, Walker Lunn, founder, EnviRelation, recommends
calling your local department of sanitation or environment, asking your waste hauler, or
checking with your state restaurant association. For more info, visit www.envirelation.com and
www.compostingcouncil.org and click on links.
G R E A T
I D E A
The “Franchise” System for Servers
At Gibsons Steakhouse & Bar, Chicago, IL,
servers are given a “franchise” of three tables
with a “staff” (busser, food runner, and service
bartender) to train, motivate, and manage.
“Because these mini teams work together
constantly and are so in sync, they create a
seamless service experience,” says Hugo Ralli,
co-owner. He says this system empowers
servers, giving them control of the guest
experience, which results in superior service,
ultimately higher-than-average tips (18-25%),
and very low staff turnover. ‘Staff’ motivation
includes a share of tips with the chance of
bonuses for truly outstanding work. “Some
customers come three times a week and many
ask for specific servers,” says Hugo.
PARTNERSHIP
SM
REWARDING
with American Express
Join Tucson’s top independent
restaurants as they celebrate the culinary
spirit and distinctive flavors of the
Southwest at the region’s premier food
and wine event. The Tucson Culinary
Festival, October 6-8, 2006 at the Loews
Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, AZ.
The Festival is presented by The Tucson
Originals, the founding chapter of
DineOriginals (www.dineoriginals.com) – a
national network of indepenent, locallyowned restaurants dedicated to preserving
their community’s unique culinary personality.
Special events include a Jazz Brunch, a
Reserve Tasting, and The Grand Tasting
featuring Tucson’s top chefs with more than
80 wineries and distributors. In addition,
Laura Williamson, MS, will offer a seminar
on restaurant wine service and Tony
Abou-Gamin, The Modern Mixologist, will
demonstrate the art of the cocktail.
Receive a 10% discount on Friday's Reserve
Tasting ($120), Saturday's Grand Tasting
($80; $175 for both tastings) and Sunday's
Brunch ($65; all three events $225) when
you pay with the American Express Card.
Use code TCF006. For more info and for
tickets, visit www.tucsonculinaryfestival.com.
For a special rate at the Loews Ventana
Canyon Resort, call 800-234-5117 and use
promotion code DI1AXC.
Visit
www.americanexpress.com/
restaurantresources5
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© 2006 American Express Travel Related
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