R&I Insider - June 1, 2005
By The Editors -- Restaurants & Institutions, June 1, 2005
Calorie Recall
How do kids really spend their lunch money? Parents in a few school districts have answers at their fingertips, thanks to an online payment system many schools use. It enables adults to check balances, manage funds and track how their children spend money.
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For a nominal fee, parents deposit money into their child’s account. Students pay for meals electronically, using a numeric code. “If mom surfs the Internet, she can enter the child’s code into the Web site and check activity,’’ says Sandra Laffan, school nutrition director, Marietta (Ga.) City Schools.
The program also helps dietitians know who’s eating balanced meals, says Laffan. Parents can access archives to track if a child is eating too much candy. Teens are harder to track, says Chad Mitchell, director of school foodservice for 23 schools of Rock Hill (S.C.) School District-York 3. “Those with jobs have freedom to spend cash on vending or à la carte.’’
The electronic transfer of cash speeds up service and reduces cash-handling mistakes. The program, designed by a Loganville, Ga.-based software company, averages 36,000 monthly transactions from schools, according to Tina Bennett, spokesperson for the company.
Fast Fix
Facing a projected revenue shortfall of more then $300 million for the city’s 2005-2006 fiscal year, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is asking voters to approve a 2% “fast-food tax” to be levied on top of the 6% state sales tax already in place for restaurant meals.
“It’s a small amount for the individual customer, but it will add up to a meaningful amount to preserve essential city services,” Kilpatrick told the city council in a recent budget address.
At press time the mayor’s administration had yet to define what restaurants would qualify for the tax, which Michigan Restaurant Association Director of Public Affairs Andy Deloney calls “completely unworkable and very much unenforceable.”
Before submitting the proposed tax to voters, the city needs approval from the state of Michigan, which controls sales tax, Deloney says. While the association believes the legislation faces an uphill climb, members are concerned that approval of the first-of-its-kind tax would spark similar measures in other cities.
MENU FOCUS
As the sun shines stronger, warm-weather cocktails make refreshing and profitable accompaniments to casual bar bites as well as more structured meals.
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BUDD LAKE, N.J.
Brewhaha Restaurant & Pub: June Hurricane with vodka, cranberry juice, pineapple juice and raspberry, peach and apple schnapps
CHICAGO
Settimana Café: Tuscan Orange with orange-flavored rum, two types of orange liqueur, orange juice and cream
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Paul Lee’s Chinese Kitchen: Ginger’s Passion, a frozen blend of orange-flavored rum, mango, passion-fruit juice and ginger
T.G.I. Friday’s: Ultimate June Bug with melon liqueur, coconut rum, banana liqueur and pineapple juice
NEW YORK CITY
The French Quarter: Purple People Eater with raspberry liqueur, blackberry brandy, cherry brandy, almond liqueur and citrus-flavored vodka with orange, pineapple and grapefruit juices
PITTSBURGH
Soba: Peach Blossom with peach-flavored vodka, house-made vanilla syrup, cream and a splash of soda
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Poste Brasserie: Lavender margarita with tequila, orange liqueur, lavender, lime juice, lavender salt rim
New Role for Orza
Not every chief executive is asked to be the dean of a business school. But not every executive has Vince Orza’s résumé, which includes stints as marketing professor and politician as well as founder, chairman and CEO of Edmond, Okla.-based Eateries Inc.
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Last month, the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University (OCU) asked Orza (who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Oklahoma in 2002) to serve as interim dean of the school. Orza received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from OCU and a PhD from the University of Oklahoma.
“It was a surprise to me,” Orza says. “The current dean [Bart Ward] decided to step down and they asked if I would consider doing it permanently but I want to take a year to decide if it’s something I want to do.”
He will take a leave of absence from Eateries, parent company of Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub, Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant and Pepperoni Grill casual-dining chains.
Columbus Discovers America
Columbus, Ohio, Residents can discover America all over again at local institution Cameron’s American Bistro, where Chef Erik Goldstrom is presenting tastes inspired by culinary capitals coast to coast in the restaurant’s City Trip menu program. First up among the four locales scheduled for 2005: Las Vegas.
Available through the end of this month, the City Trip menu section features Sin City specials including Spring Watercress Salad with Belgian endive, Gorgonzola, black walnuts and champagne vinaigrette; Steak Benedict with green onion potato pancakes, apple-wood-smoked bacon and crab hollandaise; and the Chocolate Stratosphere, a tribute to the Vegas Strip’s landmark tower.
“These City Trip menus are almost like culinary postcards,” says Goldstrom, whose dishes reflect his travels as well as input from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants Vice President of Culinary Development Chuck Kline and Owner Cameron Mitchell.
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Investing in Quality
Student complaints about the quality of lunchroom food are nothing new, but Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools administrators are responding. The district is increasing meal prices by 50 cents during the 2005-2006 school year to improve quality and, in high schools, better compete with off-campus food options.
“We have been trapped in a fixed-revenue base,” says Dudley Hawkey, Columbus Public Schools director of foodservices. “Adding 5 to 10 cents per entrée will enable us to provide more quality meals, to upgrade what we’re doing and maintain a balanced budget.”
Consumer Beat: Finding Satisfaction
With gasoline prices up and inflation-adjusted wages down, consumers are not in good moods. That’s evident in the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI), which declined during the first three months of 2005.
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The ACSI’s overall 0.8% drop to 73.0 was the largest quarterly decline since 1977 with one exception: the last quarter of 2004.
Two services—cable/satellite television and healthcare—showed first-quarter declines, but the limited-service restaurant category as a whole reached its highest ACSI ever, increasing 3% to 76.
On an individual-company basis, however, ACSI results versus 2004 were mixed for quick-service chains. Taco Bell’s customer-satisfaction score rose 6% to 72, while Burger King’s up 4% to an ACSI score of 71, a record high for the brand. Also improving were Papa John’s (+2.6% to 78) and Wendy’s (+1.4% to 75).
McDonald’s ACSI score of 62 was the category’s lowest and a 3.1% drop from 2004. Other declining brands were Little Caesars (-1.3% to 74), Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut (each off 5.3% to 71) and KFC (-2.8% to 69). ACSI data is compiled by the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor.
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One Quick Question
Ask Richard C. Larson (r.) for his title and he responds, “Just call me Professor Queue.” The moniker is apt since Larson, a professor in civil and environmental engineering and engineering systems at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, is a specialist in the psychology of waiting in lines. That prompted a question:
Q. How can operators effectively handle customers waiting for a table?
A. Offer them a menu and glass of wine. You get allegiance because there’s the perception the wait is over and service has started. The menu involves them in the experience. It begins the discussion of which appetizers and entrées to order. When they’re seated, they’re relaxed and prepared to order. A double-win for operators is that it reduces table occupancy time.
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Table Turns
Paris-based Chef-restaurateur Joël Robuchon agreed to open his first two U.S. restaurants this September at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas. The 60-seat Joël Robuchon at The Mansion will feature a menu of his signature items in the chef’s dining room. The 50-seat L’Atelier du Joël Robuchon will include an open kitchen, counter service and menu of small plates. ...
Warren Dodge resigned his positions as group president and CEO of Levy Restaurants, Chicago. ...
Marco Cavuoto (alumnus of Bacara Resort and Spa, Santa Barbara, Calif.) was named executive chef at St. Julien Hotel & Spa, Boulder, Colo. ...
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Avado Brands, Madison, Ga., named Frank Jock (formerly of Delta Airlines) as corporate executive chef and director of research and development. ...
Brian Walter (formerly of Union Club, New York City) is the new executive chef at Acqua Ristorante, Raritan, N.J. ...
Donald Fox was promoted to COO of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Firehouse Subs. He had been director of franchise compliance. ...
Francesco Berardinelli (formerly of Alain Ducasse at the Essex House Restaurant, New York City) was named executive chef of Francesco at Mix, New York City. ...
McDonald’s Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., announced the promotion of Wade Thoma to vice president of menu management for McDonald’s USA ...
Restaurateur Piero Selvaggio announced appointments of Enzio Gamba (formerly at Valentino, Las Vegas) as executive chef and Giacomo Pettinari (last at La Torre del Saracino, at Seiano, Naples, Italy) as chef de cuisine at Valentino, Santa Monica, Calif. ...
Union Square Hospitality Group President Danny Meyer named Carmen Quagliata (formerly at Tra Vigne, St. Helena, Calif.) as chef de cuisine for Union Square Cafe, New York City. ...
Matthew Smith was named executive chef at Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, Hawaii. He has held similar positions at Grand Hyatt Seattle and Park Hyatt Los Angeles. ...
Owner Dede Gotthelf named Samih Nelovic the executive chef for Southampton Inn, Southampton, Long Island, N.Y. Previously, Nelovic was executive sous-chef at Equus Restaurant, Tarrytown, N.Y.
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