Specialtyfood.com released their list of 15 Under 35: Food Entrepreneurs Making Waves. The 15 featured entrepreneurs are from all over the country and run the gamut from a specialty tea company, an inventive wine retailer, to an online job search engine catered to the food industry. These innovative business owners might be young, but each has proven a new model for success and are redefining how we view and consume specialty foods.
In Baldwin Park, CA, a 100-square foot replica of the first In-N-Out burger stand opened. The interior is donned with original amenities including an antique Coldspot refrigerator, vintage fryers and two-way speakers in the drive-through lane. Unfortunately, there’s no food at this location as it is intended as a showpiece only.
Guests have grown increasingly conscious of sustainable packaging at restaurants. Sustainable packaging reflects a brand’s philosophy, cant guests do not want to patron or have association with an enterprise that appears to not care about the environment, reports Fast Casual. Here are some ways restaurant operators can instill sustainable packaging:
1) Trace the sourcing of your packaging materials
Sustainable traceability has both environmental and ethical roots. Guests want the comfort of knowing that the packaging they’re using is from a legal, acceptable and sustainably managed source.
2) Source from neutral, non-profit organizations that conduct certification auditing
The following NGOs confirm whether sustainability certifications are being upheld:
3) Consider renewable resources for packaging needs
Guests place an emphasis on whether products have been sourced from renewable resources that have been recycled or plantation-grown, for example.
4) Examine opportunities to employ reusable packaging
Guests appreciate that “greener” value in the containers that store their food, which is why reusable packaging for to-go products is essential. Consider implementing multi-use to-go containers that have several functions and can be used in many ways.
5) Take measures to reduce food waste
This includes composting leftovers, switching to packaging that promotes long-lasting freshness for food, and making the removal of all food from to-go containers simple for guests.
After a successful test run for Chipotle’s vegan protein option, tofu sofritas, in the West Coast last year, the soybean-based staple will be making its way to Chipotle’s permanent menu in New York and Boston locations beginning March 3, announces Grub Street. Chipotle describes sofritas as “organic shredded tofu braised with chipotle chilies, roasted poblano peppers, and a blend of aromatic spices. Hodo Soy Beanery in Oakland supplies Chipotle with GMO-free tofu.
José Andres revealed to Vanity Fair about his plans to enter the fast-food industry in the coming year and a half.
“Maybe I shouldn’t tell you . . . I’m not going to tell you why, but, I’ve been saying for a while that more and more chefs, we need to be [better at] influencing how to feed the many. We only feed the few. I don’t mean only on hunger issues, which I love to see the food community very involved in, solving the hunger and obesity issues in America and overseas, but I believe there’s an opportunity for chefs to have more of a say in how we’re going to feed the vast majority of this planet. You achieve that through the fast-food restaurants. I guarantee you that in the next 10 to 20 years we are going to see more and more fast-food restaurants lead by chefs.”
In response to the interviewer confirming Andres’ interest in exploring the fast food industry, Andres reasoned, “It would be right. Let me ask you: Who do you prefer, a clown organizing your menu—with all due respect to Mr. McDonald—or a chef? I do believe it’s a very simple answer.”
Pop-up shops in airports are gaining international recognition and success, reports USA Today. These small (yet fruitful) and transient retail enterprises have already made headlines in malls and upscale shopping streets; more recently pop-up shops have burst onto the airport scene in an impactful way.
“From a business standpoint, it’s a great idea,” said Ramon Lo, editorial director of Airport Revenue News. “Short-term leases can give vendors a chance to dip their toes into the airport arena and build awareness for street-side locations,” while allowing airports to vet new operators and, often, fill unused spaces, he said.
Pop-up restaurants have been a huge hit at Copenhagen Airport, where top Danish chefs served special tasting menus from an open kitchen. Every few months a different company creates a pop-up in the “Brand Box” in the airport’s main tax-free shop.
In October 2013, JetBlue hosted a three-day Farmers Market in T5 at JFK International Airport. “That was such a successful pop-up experience that we’re now looking at how we can integrate it more on a regular basis,” said JetBlue spokeswoman Tamara Young.
Hickory Farms tested the idea of a Holiday Market shop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport during the most recent holiday season.
It can often take some negotiation with airports to secure the space for pop-ups, “but airports are motivated and sometimes ask for these pop-ups because they of course share in the benefit of the sales,” explained Hudson Group spokeswoman Laura Samuels.
Eater reports that Ebony Interactive Restaurant in Dubai has installed tables that posses the dual-functionality of internet-surfing touchscreens. Guests have the ability to peruse the menu, including photos of the food, order, and watch their meal be prepared by means of a “Chef Cam.” This camera gives guests the opportunity to watch their meal be prepared in real time in the kitchen.
The owner tells the Khaleej Times that he wanted to combine “a unique dining experience” with the “latest technology,” choosing to open in Dubai because “it already considers itself a smart city.” He proceeds by describing the restaurant as having “excellent ambience.” Guests who choose to look up from their table may watch a digital image of a fish swimming in a tank on the interactive wall.
Ebony Interactive Restaurant takes dining technology innovation to another level. Not only can guests use their tablet tables to order, but they can also display table cloths, “send greeting cards to other tables,” order taxi rides home, and “view photos and share them with their companions on their individual seats on the table.”
Guest contributor Dana Zukofsky, Associate Director of accounting firm SS&G, provides clarity on tax procedures for restaurant operators. Zukofsky says, “At SS&G, we often receive questions or overhear comments from restaurant owners, operators, and CFOs about misconceptions in the industry.” Five common myths are outlined below:
1) Myth: “The money I spend eating at competitors’ restaurants is fully deductible because it is research.”
Truth: The cost of such “research” is considered a meal and entertainment expense by the IRS and is only 50 percent deductible for tax purposes.
2) Myth: “When I sell a holiday gift card with an incentive attached (e.g., customer pays $25 but receives a $30 gift card), I can expense the discount when the card is sold.
Truth: When such a gift card is sold, the discount expense can be immediately recorded on your books and records, but, for tax purposes, the discount is deductible in the tax year in which the card is redeemed.
3) Myth: “My tipped employees only need to report tips of 8 percent rather than the total amount of tips earned.”
Truth: The 8 percent rate used for analysis on Form 8027 (Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips) is only used for tip allocation purposes. Using this rate does not mean that directly tipped employees must report 8 percent. Tipped employees should report the full amount of actual tips received.
4) Myth: “I can defer the revenue from a gift card sale until the gift card is redeemed.”
Truth: The IRS has three approved methods for recording taxable income from gift cards:
5) Myth: “I have to use the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 for purposes of computing the FICA tip credit on my federal tax return.
Truth: Congress froze minimum wage at $5.15 per hour for the purpose of calculating the FICA tip credit. Take advantage of this in order to maximize eligible tips and the value of the credit. If you use $5.15 per hour in the calculation, a larger credit will result since fewer tips are needed to bring cash wages to $5.15 than to $7.25.
If you have questions about any of these issues or need help with a specific situation, email us at Restaurants@SSandG.com.
The demand for New York bagels is very high— so high that San Franciscans are willing to form 2-hour long lines out the door, in the rain, to the Eastside Bagels pop-up. Eastside Bagels is serving Russ & Daughters bagels, shipped overnight, and their latest venture has proven to be such a success that plans for expansion are in the pipeline.
Nearly 1,200 jobs have been generated since the California Homemade Food Act passed in August 2012, reports Serious Eats. This bill allows small business owners who produce “cottage foods” from their home kitchens to sell their goods at farmer’s markets, to retailers and from home. Products containing meat, dairy or seafood are not permitted in the bill, and producers must first pass a food safety class before they can sell. The foods that can be sold include breads, jams, candies, nut butters, mustards and more. Several other states are hopping on the “cottage food” bandwagon as well.
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