Articles

2009 Restaurant Trends (Download file)

Restaurant trends for 2009 include decreases in holiday business, increases in menu prices, softening in real estate prices and demand for sites, and currency trends impacting international tourism.

Feb 12, 2009 By Richard D. Williams

Future-Proof Your Business (Download file)

Restaurant industry trends, careful budgeting, and good marketing practices will help a restaurant survive a slowing economy.

Feb 7, 2009 By Richard D. Williams

Increasing Importance of Hotel Food and Beverage is Reflected in Food & Beverage Staffing Trends (Read article)

Notable increases in compensation and staffing levels of corporate food and beverage executives reflects the increasing importance that hotel companies are placing in this functional area.

Nov 15, 2008 By Juliette M. Boone

Why New Restaurants Fail (Read article)

The high failure rate of new restaurants can be attributed in part to a lack of understanding of the restaurant's market. This article addresses the need for a market study prior to the commitment of a major investment in a new restaurant.

Feb 4, 2008 By Richard D. Williams

Designing Commercial Kitchens With Input From Operators And Concept Developers (Read article)

Involving operators, chefs and concept developers in the kitchen design process can lower operational labor cost, increase menu flexibility, minimize equipment change costs and improve employee satisfaction.

Oct 15, 2007 By Michael R. Beam and Juliette M. Boone

Minimum Wage Increases Necessitate Changing Scheduling Practices (Read article)

In order to protect profit margins, restaurant owners will be required to react to rising wage rates. Operators will be forced to examine their scheduling practices to ensure that increasingly costly labor hours are not wasted.

Jul 12, 2007 By Michael R. Beam and Juliette M. Boone

Using a Banquet Profit & Loss Statement to Enhance Profitability in Food & Beverage (Read article)

A banquet profit & loss statement is an important tool that restaurant, hotel and club operators can use to evaluate banquet and event business profitability.

May 24, 2007 By Juliette M. Boone

Golf and Country Clubs: Setting Higher Goals for Profitability in Food & Beverage (Read article)

There are many opportunities for golf clubs to operate the food and beverage facilities in a more efficient way that will save resources, deliver better product & services, keep customers happy and ultimately deliver more to the bottom.

Feb 9, 2007 By Juliette M. Boone and Darius M Hatami

Hotel F&B - To Lease or Not to Lease? (Read article)

Hotel F&B should be leased, is a mantra I hear. People claim hotels should include F&B because it can be profitable. I feel the profit motive should be secondary. The primary role of F&B is to enhance the potential Room Revenues of a hotel.

Dec 31, 2006 By Kirby D. Payne

Restaurant Rent: How Much is Too Much? (Read article)

The question of how much rent a restaurant operation can afford to pay is explored, using examples of fixed rent and percentage rent. The relationship between gross sales and rent paid is discussed.

Oct 11, 2006 By Richard D. Williams

When Do I Need an Appraisal of My Restaurant's Real Estate? (Read article)

Real estate appraisers are frequently asked to give examples of when it is appropriate to have an appraisal performed to determine market value or investment value. This article gives some examples.

May 10, 2004 By Richard D. Williams

Food & Beverage Hospitality Report - What Is My Restaurant Business Worth? (Read article)

In this article, the author explains how to determine the value of a restaurant business, including its real estate and personal property.

Aug 29, 2003 By Richard D. Williams

How Can Hotels Make Money On F&B?  (Download file)

Steve Rushmore's April 2003 Hotels Monthly

Apr 1, 2003 By Steve Rushmore

How to Lower the Property Taxes on Your Hotel or Restaurant (Read article)

Every taxpayer is interested in lowering their property taxes, but few go about it in the right way. There are some common procedural and valuation methods to employ in protesting the property tax value of a hospitality property. This article sets...

Jan 17, 2003 By Richard D. Williams

Getting Your Restaurant Ready For The Holiday Season  (Read article)

With the approach of the holiday season, most restaurant managers know that they should stock up on popular menu items, and if located in a snowy climate, they also stock up on snow melt, snow shovels, and discuss snow removal responsibilities with...

Nov 22, 2002 By Richard D. Williams

Five Common County Mistakes in Valuing a Hotel or Restaurant for Property Tax Purposes (Read article)

County Assessors, no matter where they are located, seem to make similar mistakes in valuing a hospitality property for ad valorem tax purposes.

Apr 15, 2002 By Richard D. Williams and Karen A. Smith

Meeting the Challenges of a Slowing Economy (Read article)

Any uncertainty we may have had about the economy heading into a recession vanished on September 11th.

Oct 1, 2001 By Richard D. Williams