Blog

You can call it a server line up, pre-shift, huddle, an alley rally, etc but please do call it. Daily pre-shift meetings with your service staff are invaluable in so many ways. ...

According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurant turnover was 62.6% in 2013. Losing staff is an expensive and irritating fact of life in the restaurant industry. ...

Have you ever been to a busy, successful, well-run restaurant? Anytime I see a restaurant like that, I am very impressed because I know that greatness doesn’t happen on accident. ...

Researchers at Cornell University and Michigan State University conducted a study of restaurants in three local markets over a 10-year period. Here is what they found regarding restaurant success rates: ...

With margins as tight as those found in the restaurant industry; owners and managers must be constantly vigilant when it comes to controllable costs. ...

Going out to eat is a lot of fun! It’s an experience that fulfills a basic need. When diners form opinions of restaurants they think of the whole experience of eating out. But what makes up the whole experience? It is the food, service, AND atmosphere. ...

Here’s a question: Is your floor management active? I recently ate lunch at a busy national chain and noticed there wasn’t any management actively working the dining room. ...

Restaurant guests form opinions and expectations of a restaurant way before they sit down. Early opinions are formed based on the the restaurant’s name, parking lot, and the building itself. ...

When it comes to building sales in a restaurant, nothing beats solid execution. By that, I mean delivering a quality product with great service and atmosphere is the best way forward. ...

Writing the prep list in the morning is a very important task. The morning prep list is a vehicle for which food and labor dollars are spent. In many cases, the person who writes the prep list is not an owner or a member of upper management. ...

Opening the kitchen is one of the most important shifts in any restaurant. However, in too many cases, that shift is given to novices and/or is not taken seriously. ...

For those who have been to a busy bar and have had to wait… (and for those bartenders, managers, and owners who want to make more money). ...

One concern we’ve heard from restaurant owners and managers with using Android tablets for their point of sale is that they are worried employees would play games and text friends while working. Worry no longer. ...

So one of your servers forgot to process an order, the kitchen lost a ticket, or a tray of food was dropped; whatever it is, you have what’s known as a “Long Cook Time”. It can really throw a wrench in your system and irritate your guests. ...

Are you an Expo? Do you feel overwhelmed and constantly in the weeds? ...

Good News! Hewlett-Packard recently announced their entry in to the Android tablet market with their new HP Slate 7. ...

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and get a website for your restaurant and don’t know where to start. ...

During a recent discussion with a restaurant franchisee, the issue of profitability came up. As he put it, the restaurant business has three basic levers that the owner/management can control: food sales, food costs, and labor costs. ...

Q: Is bigger better? A: Not when it comes to tablets and wait staff. Even in Texas. ...

In simplest terms, our vision is to create the definitive restaurant operating system that will make restaurants more profitable, more efficient, and ultimately create a better dining experience. ...

Following up from last month’s post, here’s the other half of why I founded Cloud Dine Systems. ...

Why did I start Cloud Dine Systems? Here’s half the answer. The other half will come next month. ...

Last month I explained how TripAdvisor and similar review sites dramatically changed the travel and restaurant business. ...

I spent most of May visiting European cities and sampling their amazing cuisine. It was not all fun and games though. Right out of the gate, I made a rookie dining mistake. ...

There won’t be a regular blog post this month. I’ll be traveling for a month through the Mediterranean countries. ...

Here’s a bit of company news. We have a piping hot new logo, fresh from the Adobe® Illustrator® pixel mines. What do you think? ...

A few days back was my 40th birthday. Besides the usual birthday party swag and Facebook friend wishes, my bank and few other businesses emailed me birthday cards. ...

Naming your company is tough. Here’s what we did. Hopefully it will help someone naming their start-up company. ...

Q: So what does Cloud Dine Systems do? A: We make mobile restaurant management systems that increase staff efficiency and increase restaurant profitability. Our first product is a restaurant point of sale system using wireless tablets and cloud services. ...