A4R_jesse

Apr10 0

Catering to kids can improve business

Posted by A4R_jesse in Marketing & Trends, Restaurants

Less than two weeks after the Center for Science in the Public Interest reported 91 percent of children’s meals at the biggest restaurant chains don’t meet the healthy standards set by the National Restaurant Association, the NPD Group reports restaurant visits by groups with children remained flat. Coincidence? Probably not.

Adult-only visits and total traffic actually increased by one percent last year, according to NPD, but for the second straight year, visits with children didn’t grow after three previous years of recession-related declines. The good news, says Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst, is this presents a great opportunity during a time when NPD is forecasting sluggish restaurant demand for the next decade.

Mar25 0

Analysts: Restaurant sales rise as tax refunds catch up

Posted by A4R_jesse in Marketing & Trends, Restaurants

With the federal government beginning to catch up on delayed income tax refunds, consumers are likely loosening the purse strings that have choked restaurant sales in January and February, research analysts say.

Piper Jaffray analysts issued an industry note this week citing that tax refund activity through March 15 was higher than comparable weeks in the prior year.

“We believe retailers serving lower- to middle-income consumers that were weighed down by delayed federal income tax refunds in late January and the first half of February have likely seen an improvement in sales trends in recent weeks,” the report said.

Feb28 0

What a minimum wage hike could cost restaurants

Posted by A4R_jesse in Management, Restaurants

Restaurant brands’ response to President Obama’s call for a raise in the federal minimum wage thus far has been muted, but industry watchers said the proposal would likely cause labor pains for foodservice companies if it becomes law.

In his Feb. 12 State of the Union address, President Obama suggested the federal rate move from $7.25 per hour to $9 per hour. The federal minimum wage was raised to $7.25 in 2009, while the federal tipped minimum wage for servers has remained at $2.13 since 1991. Currently, 19 states have their minimum wages set at both federal levels, while the remaining 31 states and District of Columbia are a patchwork of their own minimum rates, including 10 states that tie their minimum wages to inflation, as the president has proposed for the federal rates.

Several public restaurant companies have reported earnings since the president’s address, but leaders of those companies did not directly comment on the proposal during their conference calls and instead voiced concerns over other macroeconomic challenges.

Feb19 0