THE MOB MUSEUM TAKES YOU UNDERGROUND TO AN ACTUAL SPEAKEASY BY RACHEL HEFFNER AND TROY WENZEL recaps when I joined Rachael and Troy recently as we visited the Mob Museum and Speakeasy to try the specialty beverages highlighted for their upcoming St. Patrick’s Day event remembering a time in history when organized gangster killings was a way of life for the crime syndicates. Read more and learn about this era in American history

The Mob Museum Takes You Underground to an Actual Speakeasy

By Rachael Heffner & Troy Wenzel Rachael Heffner is a certified hypnotist of 6 years who helps people with challenges such as smoking cessation, weight reduction and stress management and is livestreaming free hypnosis sessions online with the help of her partner Troy Wenzel. Along with serving as the channel's technical producer, Troy streams gaming and cooking and is a chocolatier with Ethel M Chocolates. Email them at ctconjurers@gmail.com or visit heffnerhypnosis.com.

Living in a hustle and bustle world as we do, it’s always good to look back and see how we got to where we are, and identify who might’ve played a key role. The Mob Museum helps visitors of all ages learn the history of our nation’s mobster and law enforcement relationships, as well as taking a deeper look into Prohibition. You are almost transported back in time the moment you enter the building, as it was once an actual courthouse and post office. Built in 1933, it appears on the National Register of Historic Places, so one could agree it is a fitting venue for a museum commemorating such an important piece of Las Vegas history: organized crime. But the building aside, the artifacts housed there and the interactive exhibits on display have stories to tell, which bring visitors face-to-face with not only the impact organized crime had on Las Vegas and America as a whole, but the gruesome horrors endured—or perpetrated—by those involved. From bootlegging to massacres, viewers are exposed to hard evidence offered up by law enforcement, along with actual mobster artifacts on each of the museum’s three floors. Prepare for a jaw-dropping experience as you view some of the items on display, including many unedited and gruesome crime scene photos, and the actual brick wall that served as the backdrop for the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. After touring the museum, you will want to head to The Underground, where there are not only more items on display, but an actual brewery, distillery and speakeasy. This is where beer and moonshine is made, cocktails are served and special events are held. But take our word for it: You’ll want to check it out for yourself to see why there is more to The Underground than meets the eye. This St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2020, The Mob Museum’s Senior Director of Content Geoff Schumacher and Educational Programs Manager Claire White will deliver a presentation entitled “The Irish Mob in Prohibition-era Chicago” from 2 to 3 p.m. and again from 4 to 5 p.m. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, The Underground speakeasy and distillery will provide some festive specials throughout the day, including green beer and Irish coffees. Irish to see everyone there to help celebrate this one-day-only event! For more info on The Mob Museum, visit themobmuseum.org.

How Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant?

David Scott Peters is a restaurant coach and speaker who teaches restaurant operators how to cut costs and increase profits with his trademark Restaurant Prosperity Formula. Known as the expert in the restaurant industry, he uses a no-BS style to teach and motivate restaurant owners to take control of their businesses and finally realize their full potential. Thousands of restaurants have used his formula to transform their businesses. To learn more about David Scott Peters and his formula, visit www.davidscottpeters.com.

The big question when looking to open any new business is, "How much is this going to cost me?" Which also becomes the question of, "Do I have enough money to make my dream come true?" Unfortunately, it’s difficult to give you a straight answer because of so many variables such as location, décor, style of food, types of equipment, quality of your furniture, etc. What I can tell you is how to get to the number for the restaurant you have in mind. Following what I teach, you will be able to answer, "How much does it cost to open a restaurant I want to own?" Here are things you must have in place so you know where you need to be: The first is a capital budget. What is the money you need to open your restaurant? For example, you have to figure out what equipment you need and what kind of kitchen arrangement you need. But to really determine this budget, you should have your menu figured out and have recipe costing cards. This will tell you how to design your restaurant. Are you going to have more grilled or more fried items? This answer tells you what kind of equipment you'll need. What's the style of your restaurant? What's the price point? Is it a fast-casual concept that can be built out pretty inexpensively or will you have a higherend restaurant that has real oak on the walls? What kind of tables and chairs are you going to have? High quality or value-engineered? Your location will play a big role as well. Are you buying a building or renting space? The second thing is to develop an operating budget. This is a question of how much does it

cost to operate and what will your sales be like. What is your sales mix, or how much food are you going to sell vs. how much alcohol? Are you 85 percent food, or are you a bar that only sells 50 percent food? That answer affects your budget. You also need to determine your cost of goods sold target. Break it down into food, bottle beer, draft beer, wine and liquor. Each category will have its own target cost of goods sold. Next is your labor. Break out your labor by position. If you're full service, you'll have servers, hosts, food runners, bartenders, bar backs, cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers. List out all your positions including your management team and categorize them by hourly or salary. If they're hourly, what percentage of sales is their target? In this operations budget, you're aiming for a 55 percent prime cost. (The prime cost formula is the grand total of your total cost of goods sold, which includes both food cost and liquor or pour cost, plus total labor cost). Prime cost covers your variable expenses for your operations budget, but you also need to include your fixed expenses, such as rent/ mortgage, loan payment, paper supplies, linens, etc. This builds your targets and tells you where you need to be to make money. Then you can put a plan in place to make sure you hit those targets. With your budget you can also plan for extra cash to deplete that will cover losses during training and opening. Your operating budget will tell you when you can expect to turn the corner and start making money.

These two budgets will help you get money from the bank. They are going to be looking for a ratio of 1:1.25. If you borrow $1 million to open the restaurant, you should make $1.25 million for them to feel good about your loan. That's not what I would use to determine your potential for success, but it's what the bank will use. If your prime cost is 55 percent or lower, you’re well on your way to running a profitable restaurant, no matter what it costs you to open.

Chef Talk Designation of Origin

Chef Allen Asch M. Ed., CCE is a retired culinary arts instructor who has earned degrees from Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales University and Northern Arizona University and taught at UNLV. He earned his Certified Culinary Educator Endorsement from the American Culinary Federation in 2003.

After writing last month about empanadas, specifically the pasties, I continued my research into the origin of foods as well as the requirements for calling foods certain names. I was in the supermarket shopping the other day and walked down the aisle with the oil and vinegar selection and looked at the variety that were available. This made me think, “why are there so many balsamic vinegars on the shelves?” I understand much of the differences between different brands and prices but I decided I needed to investigate a little further. I went to a specialty store for condiments and had a great conversation with the sales person about some of the variables involved in the sale of balsamic vinegar. At this store, a 16-ounce bottle of the vinegar ranged from three dollars to two hundred dollars. Like wine, the grapes pick up the flavor profile from the environment including: soil, sun exposure and rain. One of the great things these industries do is put a guarantee on their product called the Protected Designation of Origin, PDO, or DOP which stands for Designation of Origin. The specific initials and terminology are different in each country and sometimes tailored to each product. This is a guarantee that the product is from a specific region and other official rules apply to how each product is prepared or handled. Certainly, I understood the difference between aged and non-aged vinegars, but there are many other variables to this bottled flavorful condiment. There are many differences between different brands and qualities of the many bottles of balsamic vinegar available. For an item to be called balsamic vinegar, according to the Italian

DOP (“Denominazione di Origine Protetta”), the grapes must be grown from one of two types of grapes that are grown in only two places in Italy. The two grapes are the varieties of Lambrusco or Trebbiano, which are white grapes, usually late harvested. The two places that these grapes can be grown are Reggio Emilia and Modena. Additionally, the only ingredient allowed is grape “must.” Must is defined as crushed grapes, including the stems, skin and seeds. The inclusion of the stems, seeds and skin is what gives it the deep color that we think of when thinking about balsamic vinegar. The must is cooked over a flame and concentrated to half of the original amount. Then the must is left to ferment naturally for up to three weeks, and then aged and further concentrated for a minimum of 12 years. Within the 12 years, the concentrate is aged in a succession of smaller and smaller barrels, using different woods. The woods vary by producer, but might include chestnut, oak, cherry, mulberry or juniper. When bottling, the smallest cask is half emptied and added to some must from next size barrel. The barrels are never emptied, but refilled with must from the next largest cask. All of this is under the watchful eye of the DOP. There are designations that have less aging, but they would not have the DOP seal on the bottle. For example, a five-year aging process would be designated with theIGP stamp standing for “Indicazione Geografica Protetta,” or a protected geographical indication. This style of vinegar can cost around 40 dollars a pint. Who knew it took so much to attain a seal or label? The vinegars above should never be used in

cooking, but added as a condiment or finishing flavoring. This differs from the process to make cheaper balsamic vinegar. This is made by adding some wine vinegar with food coloring masquerading it as Italian balsamic. Any label that says balsamic vinegar but doesn’t have the letters IGP or DOP listed is technically considered “condimento balsamico” or condimentgrade balsamic. Check the ingredient list before you buy; cheap balsamics often have added sugar to mimic the sweetness of an aged balsamic. These vinegars might say “bottled in Modesto,” which means the grapes are grown elsewhere and only processed or bottled in the designated regions. These laws also protect the names of wines and certain cheeses including Parmesan, Gorgonzola and Feta. Certain meats such as Prosciutto need a certification. Prosciutto comes from the same region as Parmesan, where the pigs are fed the whey byproduct of the Parmesan cheese making process. Another detailed need for naming an item is Roquefort cheese, which must be made from milk of a certain breed of sheep, and ripened in the caves near the town ofRoquefortsur-Soulzon in France, where it picks up its unique flavor from a fungus, Penicillium roqueforti, that occurs naturally. This system is similar to the DOP and PDO mentioned above, but carries the AOC certification, appellation d'origine contrôlée, which is the French version. This process is similar to items that carry a Kosher, Halal or Organic Certification in that inspection happens throughout the whole processing of the product.