Washington Restaurant Magazine April 2015

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How to Enter

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Go out to eat and snap a pic of your meal.

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Tag your pic with #sharemyplate.

Sysco employees must also include #syscoemployee.

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judging

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Describe the dish in the caption and tag the restaurant.

For every image shared in the #sharemyplate contest, Sysco will donate 50¢ to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign to help put an end to childhood hunger in America.

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Upload the pic with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Iconosquare.

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Prizes

Sysco c Public piEmployee a p a n s Food Network’s Chef Robert Irvine 1st d $1,000 $1,000 , n and a team of Sysco chefs will judge . m a e a t r the #sharemyplate photo contest. r a e 2nd $500tag$500 ua Sysco employee photo entries and o p q t s s . l n t y I o public photo entries will be judged a . u e3rd $250 h Icon$250 ataen t i and prized separately. o o m l w or ew G our pm c i d y s p u l r y m a a c e n r he witte r i of r t a he30. alsofo d kMar. t T s , a n # Share your plate from 23 Apr. – im o hE ustit’s y pl boo t i r U e n la w sm sysco.com/sharemyplate v e c i e c p yee r pm tioyp Fa r o F u a plo ee. yo e care ¢

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No purchase necessary. Contest closes at 11:59pm CT on April 30, 2015. For full rules, visit www.sysco.com/ShareMyPlate.html. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and DC aged 18 years and up and legal residents of Canada who have reached the age of majority. See rules for full employee eligibility criteria.

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Inside

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Features

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Sustainable restaurants: lower costs, cleaner environment, community building, customer goodwill

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A garbage train one mile long

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We have seen the restaurant of the future – and it is sustainable

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Sustainability in restaurants

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Other stories

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WA S H I N GTO N

RESTAURANT RESTAU ST RANT STAU

April 2015

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SUSTAINABILITY

DOES GREEN EQUAL GREEN? SUSTAINABLE RESTAURANTS:

lower costs, cleaner environment, community building, customer goodwill

A GARBAGE TRAIN

ONE MILE LONG We have seen the RESTAURANT OF THE FUTURE – and it is sustainable

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3/20/2015 11:12:58 AM

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Lex on Tech: Three steps to a paperless restaurant office

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News Briefs

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WRA President and CEO: Here come the Millennials – will you give them the “green” light?

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A note from the CEO: Changes on the horizon

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Government Affairs Update

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Member Spotlight: Congratulations to 2015 award winners!

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2015 Boyd’s® Coffee ProStart Invitational – an event that changed lives for the better

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Calendar/New Members

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Marketplace

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Protect profits by shifting labor management practices

On the cover Sustainability is a hot topic for the foodservice industry. This issue of Washington Restaurant Magazine gives you an in depth look at how restaurants are successfully embracing environmentally sound practices, and shows you how going “green” can add “green” to your bottom line.

April 2015 | 5

EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher, Anthony Anton Executive Editor, Lex Nepomuceno Managing Editor, Paul Schlienz Contributing Editor, Andy Cook Contributing Editor, David Faro Contributing Editor, Stephanie Davenport Research Editor, Sheryl Jackson Art Director, Lisa Ellefson WRA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chair, Phil Costello Stop n’ Go Family Drive In Vice Chair, Chad MacKay El Gaucho Hospitality Secretary/Treasurer, Mark Chriest Oki Developments, Inc. Immediate Past Chair, Bret Stewart CenterTwist, Inc. WRAEF President, Gary Sutter Northern Quest Resort & Casino WRA EXECUTIVE TEAM President and CEO, Anthony Anton Vice President, Teran Petrina Director of Government Affairs, Bruce Beckett Director of Communications & Technology, Lex Nepomuceno Director of Education, Lyle Hildahl Director of Internal Operations, Bekah Cardwell 510 Plum St. SE, Ste. 200 Olympia, WA 98501-1587 T 360.956.7279 | F 360.357.9232 www.warestaurant.org

Letters are welcomed, but must be signed to be considered for publication. Please include contact information for verification.

Reproduction of articles appearing in Washington Restaurant Magazine are authorized for personal use only, with credit given to Washington Restaurant Magazine and/or the Washington Restaurant Association.

Articles written by outside authors do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Washington Restaurant Association, its Board of Directors, staff or members.

Products and services advertised in Washington Restaurant Magazine are not necessarily endorsed by the WRA, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the WRA, its Board of Directors, staff or members.

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MAY BE DIRECTED TO: Ken Wells Business Development Director 425.457.1458 kenw@warestaurant.org Washington Restaurant Magazine is published monthly for Association members. We welcome your comments and suggestions. email: news@warestaurant.org, phone: 800.225.7166. Circulation: 6,310.

6 | |www.warestaurant.org warestaurant.org

Lex on Tech Three steps to a paperless restaurant office

By Lex Nepomuceno, Executive Editor Decluttering and getting organized are much easier than you think. The rewards far outweigh the time and resources required to establish a paperless routine. Hardware and software technology are at the point where the return-on-investment for going paperless makes perfect sense. Before I go into the “How?” let me first explain the “Why?” Make everything searchable – When a document is in a physical file folder, you must rely on your memory to reference its location later. Those documents have thousands of words, names and numbers you may or may not recall. In contrast, imagine searching through all those documents the way you search for something on Google. If you need information related to a piece of equipment you leased five years ago, you only need to type in the manufacturer’s name, and everything related appears organized chronologically.

Free up some space – It is amazing how much clutter piles up in short periods of time.

One reason all these papers pile up is because we “might” need them later. The best part about going paperless is that you “will” have that document later whether you need it or not. It becomes quite liberating when you free up an entire desk drawer, especially when you realize that nothing has been lost, just digitized.

Security and privacy – When you convert from paper to digital, it is easier to password protect and track those documents. Leaving sensitive files in unlocked cabinets and around your desk exposes you and your company to security breaches and identity theft. Imagine all those employment forms with Social Security numbers as well as credit applications you have filled out for equipment leases – anyone in your business can easily access these and put your entire company at risk.

There are plenty of other reasons to go paperless, like information back-up and data recovery, easier collaboration, version tracking, searchable annotations and easier access via different devices.

Once you have decided to go paperless, what’s next? Basically, there are three major steps restaurant owners should take.

Step one – Choose tools for capturing and storing all your business’ information. To make this simple, I will just recommend the tools I use: The Fujitsu ScanSnap ix500 scans double-sided documents at 25 pages per minute and exports to PDF, Evernote, Dropbox, Email and numerous other platforms. It is fast, reliable and costs between $300 and $400.

Next is an Evernote account into which you can scan and transfer all of your documents.

Evernote (Free to $45 per year) will convert everything to readable PDFs, so you can search every word of every document that you ever scan. Lastly, you’ll want a smartphone with the Evernote app. This way, you won’t be tethered to your desk to capture and save information. Just take a picture of that competitor’s menu or wine label, and send it to your Evernote account.

Step two – Capture and shred! Remember you are not losing any information, just converting it to digital. Use the ScanSnap to scan two-sided documents into Evernote.

This way you can use your desktop, tablet or smartphone to keyword search anything you’ve ever scanned. Under Evernote’s premium account ($45 per year), the software applies optical character recognition (OCR) to every PDF document entered, and you can search content inside PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other documents.

Step three – Organize! As you start placing all your notes, documents and other files into Evernote, you will realize how you want to organize. However, remember to throw out conventional filing paradigms. Instead of placing files in a folder, remember that keyword tags replace what folders once represented So, you’ll mark any document, receipt and correspondence for your 2015 marketing efforts with the keyword term “2015 Marketing,” and place individual assets in their respective folders, such as “Receipts,” “Fremont Location or “Business.” For more details on how this works, watch this video: http://wra.cc/wra0415a. ■

Primary Source of Information | News Briefs 2014 WRA RETRO refunds total $8.3 million – Did you receive yours?

Of the many great benefits that membership in the WRA offers, RETRO refunds are a big one. Simply put, participants in the program save money on workers comp premiums – lots of it. And the proof is in the numbers. In 2014, Washington’s SINCE 1986 hardworking restaurant professionals received more than $8.3 million. Were you one of them? If not, contact Jenny Walker, the WRA’s RETRO programs coordinator, at jennyw@warestaurant.org and start participating today. ■

RETRO

Seattle Restaurant Alliance helps Ethnic Business Coalition secure City of Seattle funding With the support of the Seattle Restaurant Alliance (SRA), Seattle’s Ethnic Business Coalition (EBC) just received a $200,000 full funding grant from the mayor’s office and Seattle’s Office of Economic Development. The two agencies were impressed with the EBC’s concept and idea of utilizing marketing and social media to help small business grow and sustain their business. “I want to personally thank everyone for your support in helping us secure this funding,” Taylor Hoang, owner of Pho Cyclo Café and SRA member who is also a leader of the EBC. “Now the work begins, and I hope to continue our partnership to make this a great program.” ■ AVA Digital Awards: WRA website wins Gold!

The WRA’s website received Gold recognition – the highest honor – from the AVA Digital Awards. These awards are part of an international competition that recognizes excellence by creative professionals responsible for the planning, concept, direction, design and production of digital communication. Work ranges from digital engagement campaigns – to audio and video production – to website development – to social media interaction – to mobile marketing. “Winning the AVA Gold Award for our website is a great honor and validates the strategic direction WRA has taken regarding its digital presence,” said Lex Nepomuceno, chief of communications and technology for the Washington Restaurant Association. “Helping our members succeed is the daily mantra of our communications team, and I believe our website reflects that commitment. Being recognized by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals for one of its top honors places warestaurant. org as one of top association websites in the country and we look forward to building on that success.” ■

Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Ted Baseler named 2015 Seattle King County Realtors’ First Citizen A big congratulations to Ted Baseler, president and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Baseler has been named 2015 First Citizens by the Seattle King County Realtors 2015. The award is given for community leadership, volunteerism and civic engagement which make the region a better place to live. Baseler received the award for his leadership in the U.S. wine industry, his role in bringing Washington wines to the world stage and for his advocacy for higher education and underserved students. ■ Hospitality employee turnover rose in 2014 The turnover rate in the hospitality sector rose for the fourth consecutive year in 2014, but remained below pre-recession levels, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) program. The overall turnover rate in the restaurants-andaccommodations sector was 66.3 percent in 2014, up 10 percentage points from the recent low of 56.6 percent in 2010.

Despite the increase, the turnover rate remains relatively low in historical terms. In 2007, prior to the economic downturn, the turnover rate of the restaurants-and-accommodations sector was 80.9 percent. This was generally on par with turnover in the previous five years (2002-06), when the annual rate averaged 80 percent.

In comparison, the average turnover rate for all private sector workers stood at 44.4 percent, in 2014, up four percentage points from the 2010 low, but still below the average turnover rate of 50 percent during the 2002–06 period. ■

April 2015 | 7

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Industry Outlook | WRA President and CEO

Here come the Millennials – will you give them the “green” light?

Anthony Anton, President and CEO

By Anthony Anton, President and CEO

I had a conversation with a Bellevue franchisee last month about how the economy is going for his business. And he said something very interesting: “You know, the corporate office has been telling us for a decade that ‘The Millennials are coming! The Millennials are coming!’

Then they were too young to buy anything. Next, the recession delayed their entrance into the workforce with any major impact. But this past six months, you walk the restaurant and you really can see that the Millennials are finally here in force, and I feel that in spite of plenty of the warnings, we haven’t made the adjustment we need to be ’their restaurant.’”

I don’t have any data to back up his reflection, but his comment didn’t surprise me. We have been warned that the massive bubble entering the restaurant consumer world has a different approach than its predecessor generations.

I have read several reports on the millennial consumer, and while many have slight variations most have six common traits:

Tech-savvy Trust word of mouth and friends/distrust brands and

mouthpieces Value ”value” over being cheap Speed matters Social interactions matter (in person or digital) Feel empowered to make the world and environment a better place

While many of these are difficult, if not strategic, and take time to adapt, the last one is easy if not just plain smart.

Restaurants are the heart of our communities, and as such, we are often the front lines of social change. Consumers spend more time inside our industry than any other, and the small steps toward a better environment do get noticed, sustain loyalty and can build a connection to your dominant customer base for the next 20 years.

Take one step toward a better environment this month. It can be as simple as only serving water upon request, which reduces water waste and the number of dishwasher loads, to something as big going to composting or replacing old refrigeration systems. If you are looking for ideas, go to our Conserve website, which WRA members and the University of Washington helped the National Restaurant Association develop.

When you do, embrace the other traits of Millennials and post it on social sites, engage your staff to be prepared to talk about it, and place note card on tables or on bill statement talking about it. Survey your customers on what your next step should be so they feel a part of you.

Your next customer is here. Your approach to sustainability could be a key to sustaining customer loyalty. ■

April 2015 | 9

A note from the CEO:

Changes on the horizon The WRA’s Board of Directors has been working with the leadership of the Washington Lodging Association (WLA) on a plan to join forces in a new trade association that will represent both lodging properties and restaurants. Both organizations have been successful in supporting and advocating for their respective sectors of the hospitality industry, and a combined association would bring even greater capacity to deliver even greater results to members.

The mission of Washington’s single hospitality association would be to enhance the success of its members and a few of its objectives would include:

Increased influence in the government affairs arena, Greater strength in addressing legal issues, A stronger financial base, Greater administrative efficiency and effectiveness, Expanded opportunities for educational programs and member services, and

Increased opportunity for innovation.

The WLA and WRA have partnered in recent years to address issues at the state and municipal levels. One of the goals in establishing a new association is to build on this partnership and strengthen the hospitality industry’s influence in government affairs.

As the minimum wage increases in SeaTac and Seattle have shown, the political landscape has changed and trade associations must act with greater speed, greater resources and greater impact than ever before. And threats are spreading like wildfire with issues now brewing in the cities of Tacoma, Spokane and Olympia. By combining forces in a single hospitality association, the industry will be even better positioned to meet challenges than with two separate associations. The equation “1+1 = 3” symbolizes this exponential increase in capacity and influence.

“WLA and WRA have so much in common, from shared policy goals to similar programs, that leveraging resources to create a unified association that is so much greater than the sum of its parts makes sense,” says WLA President & CEO Jan Simon. “More than 20 states have combined lodging and restaurant associations, and in Washington, this would be a very thoughtful bringing together of two strong and effective organizations.”

Initial discussions about joining forces began in 2012. The WLA and WRA Executive Committee are participating in a facilitated process aimed at leveraging the strength of both organizations to deliver even greater value to members. ■

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Government Affairs Update

By Bruce Beckett, Director of Government Affairs

Where will laws be made that impact restaurants of the future?

If you look at current trends, more and more city municipalities are making major decisions for restaurants. City ordinances on employment, recycling, sick leave, plastic bag restrictions and more are currently determining how local restaurants operate.

The WRA has taken an active stance at the local government level to advocate for restaurants. Will this trend of local government rule continue? Or will the state step forward to institute and override the cities?

When it comes to minimum wage, at the time of this writing, that question in up in the air. The House of Representatives has moved a bill, House Bill 1355, through the legislative process up to the half-way point, that would increase the state minimum wage to $12 an hour over a period of four years. The proposed legislation does not include health insurance or other benefits, tips or training wages in the equation.

Currently, HB 1355 isn’t moving quickly in the Senate.

Laws and ordinances move much faster at the local level, as we’ve witnessed in recent months and weeks.

The WRA has been working at the local level and will continue to do so.

In Seattle: After the passage of the minimum wage ordinance for $15 per hour. Seattle began minimum wage rulemaking by a joint committee of labor and business representatives. They began meeting in December 2014, and concluded their work in mid-January.

The WRA was fortunate to have a representative on the committee. It was also fortunate to have the opportunity to identify key issues in the rules. The WRA joined with the Seattle Restaurant Alliance (SRA) and Seattle Hotel Association (SHA) to provide detailed analysis and comments, and has met with Mayor Ed Murray and his team several times.

In order to have a stronger local presence, the SRA and SHA have formed a Hospitality PAC. The PAC is designed to provide a strategic tool for the restaurants and hotels to coalesce together on educating and supporting candidates for Seattle City Council races in 2015.

WRA Local Coordinator Morgan Hickel has been invited to participate in two important processes: to finalize the rules for the minimum wage ordinance, and rulemaking to implement the wage theft ordinance in Seattle. Both are important to restaurants and hotels.

In Tacoma and Olympia: WRA Local Coordinator Samantha Louderback joined WRA, in January, to initiate local government outreach and organization in Tacoma and Olympia.

The WRA has worked to communicate and engage Tacoma members on the paid sick leave ordinance.

Although we are not pleased that Tacoma City Council members ultimately adopted an ordinance, the ordinance is much improved from the ordinance adopted in Seattle, and from original proposals considered by the Council. Now the difficult work of rule writing will begin in Tacoma. The ordinance is scheduled to take effect on Feb. 1, 2016.

A group affiliated with 15 Now has filed an initiative requiring Tacoma businesses pay $15 per hour minimum wage beginning Jan. 1, 2016. The initiative backers have until mid-May to submit about 3,200 voter signatures to qualify the measure. If they do qualify the initiative, the Tacoma City Council has three options: Adopt it as law;

Take no action, thereby sending the initiative to the voters in November;

Put an alternative on the ballot – giving voters a

choice.

The WRA is working with Tacoma members and the Tacoma Pierce County Chamber on strategy options.

Late last year, it seemed the Olympia City Council was preparing to take up a city minimum wage ordinance.

Rumors circulated that the Council had formed a task force to examine options for increasing the minimum wage in Olympia; however, nothing has materialized – and it remains uncertain if the Olympia City Council is considering taking the issue up.

The WRA has developed a tool for communicating with Olympia members and if it becomes necessary.

Additionally, preliminary outreach to explore Olympia member’s interest in becoming an ambassador to the Council has begun.

In Spokane: Some media accounts in Spokane indicated support among Spokane City Council members for adoption of a paid sick leave ordinance. The Spokane Alliance, a group aligned closely with similar efforts in Seattle, has been working to build support for it.

With the leadership of Spokane Chapter of the WRA, two alerts have been issued to Spokane members to educate them on the issue, and encourage outreach to their City Council members. The response has been well-received.

The Spokane Chapter is working to attend City Council meetings so councilmembers can hear real testimony on the challenges of running a small business in Spokane. This work has been very successful. ■ April 2015 | 11

Sustainable restaurants: lower costs, cleaner environment, community building, customer goodwill

By Paul Schlienz, Managing Editor

SUSTAINABILTY? It’s a word we hear often these days, but what does it mean?

And why are so many restaurants talking about it?

Sustainability, in ecological terms, is the way biological systems remain diverse and productive.

In more general terms, sustainability is achieved when systems work seamlessly together to endure.

Restaurants are thus sustainable when they see themselves as part of a larger picture, where sources and the processes that go into their products are of paramount concern. Restaurants are sustainable when they reduce their waste streams, minimizing their impact on the environment. And restaurants are also practicing sustainable principles when they find ways to cut down on energy use through greater efficiency or by utilizing forms of clean energy.

12 | warestaurant.org

“A lot of customers today want to know what businesses are doing to become more environmentally conscious.”

–Laura Abshire, director of sustainability policy and government affairs, National Restaurant Association

More than ever, sustainability is on many restaurants’ radar screens. Just check out the National Restaurant Association’s recent 2015 Culinary Forecast. In this survey of nearly 1,300 professional chefs, sustainable themes ranked highly in its Top 20 Food Trends.

“We definitely have been seeing more restaurants caring about sustainability, and more of their customers are caring about it, too,” said Laura Abshire, the National Restaurant Association’s director of sustainability policy and government affairs.

“In the survey, the chefs ranked environmental sustainability as the No. 3 trend. Sustainable seafood was No. 8, food waste reduction was No. 9 – and there were also a lot of other things in the top 10 like local sourcing.”

Keep the customer satisfied Clearly, sustainability is very much on many restaurateurs’ minds.

Why now?

In Abshire’s view, an important factor is that customers are far more environmentally concerned than they once were.

“A lot of customers today want to know what businesses are doing to become more environmentally conscious,” said Abshire. “Customers want to patronize businesses and go to restaurants that align with their values. Restaurant operators are noticing that trend and trying to move in the direction of where the consumers are. Additionally, restaurants are also moving in these directions for the benefits these practices can bring to their communities.”

Restaurants have, indeed, long been central to their communities. Thus it’s not surprising to see that a major component of the movement toward sustainable practices is a conscious, concerted effort on the part of a growing number of restaurateurs to use all the wonderful, healthy food products grown in their own communities or in the great nearby.

“People like local sourcing, and like knowing where their food comes from,” said Abshire. “They like knowing that they’re helping their community and that their food didn’t travel very far and hasn’t been packaged as long.”

Another way that restaurants are saving on costs while also embracing sustainability is through energy efficiency.

“There are lots of different things you can do to save costs in the restaurants that are sustainable as well,” said Abshire.

“Putting low flow aerators on your sinks can reduce your water and energy costs. Putting a low flow spray rinse on your dish machine can save tons of water, which translates into energy savings. Installing LED lightbulbs can save a lot of energy, which is money. Utility bills are really expensive, in a restaurant, so it pays to do anything you can do to save.”

Savings are also to be found in controlling food waste.

“You can also save up to 6 percent of your food costs by tracking food waste – how much you bring in versus how much goes out,” Abshire added. “It pays to reduce the amount you spend on food because these costs are out of the top dollar expenditures for a restaurant.”

April 2015 | 13

Sustainable Washington If you’re looking for members of the foodservice industry that have taken the gospel of sustainability to heart, and put it into practice, you’ll find many in Washington state.

A case in point is Shelton-based Taylor Shellfish Farms, which operates oyster bars in Seattle and exports its products throughout the world.

“What’s more farm to table than a raw oyster?” asked Jack Cheney, a graduate student at the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, who is currently studying Washington’s raw oyster industry – the largest in the United States. “There’s nothing that’s done to an oyster from the time it’s taken out of the water to the time it’s put on your plate at the restaurant.”

Cheney emphasizes that the entire process of growing oysters has many beneficial side effects in addition to having a very minimal carbon footprint.

“Oysters are sustainable,” said Cheney. “They’re clean for water. One oyster filters 50 gallons of water per day.

It provides a wide berth of environmental benefits to the ecosystem. In Washington, we should feel really good that we have such great products in our back yard. This is a fantastic story of sustainable seafood really making an impact on the market.”

Not surprisingly, the Taylor family, which has operated its shellfish farms for five generations, are very big on sustainable practices.

“It’s something we’ve always believed,” said Marcelle Taylor, the company’s director of marketing and advertising. “It’s something that we’ll always do. It’s part of our business. It’s a big picture where you have to look toward the future. You can’t just live in the now.”

In addition to embracing sustainable practices in their operations, like extensive recycling, avoiding paper napkins in their oyster bars and carrying their oysters from farm to restaurant on reusable crates, the Taylors see environmental education as an important part of their mission. Among the company’s initiatives is sending employees into schools to teach students about the dos and don’ts of shell fishing, and how to leave a clean beach after gathering oysters.

“For some businesses, they might not see sustainability as cost-effective, but for us, if the waters aren’t clean, we don’t operate,” said Taylor. “It’s a big deal for us. We do see it as cost-effective. It’s an investment that’s a necessity.”

Another WRA member that practices local sourcing is Jeremy’s Farm to Table Restaurant, in Chehalis. Its owner and namesake, Jeremy Wildhaber, points out that there are also practical, cost-saving reasons to embrace the farm to table concept.

“If you look at food costs, the reason they are rising so much is because of transportation costs that come from trying to get the food where it’s going from long distances,” said Wildhaber, who remains mystified that products produced in Washington, including apples, are being shipped here from sources as distant as Argentina. “It makes me happy to know I’m driving my own truck and knowing who I’m buying from and knowing their farming practices. They either have farming practices I agree with or I won’t sell their products in good conscience to my customers.”

Wildhaber sees a bright future for local sourcing.

“I think the concept of farm to table is going to win out in the end because I can source food locally for a cheaper price, and I get a better product that lasts longer,” said Wildhaber. “I think people are waking up to the

“I think the concept of farm to table is going to win out in the end because I can source food locally for a cheaper price, and I get a better product that lasts longer.”

–Jeremy Wildhaber, owner, Jeremy’s Farm to Table Restaurant.

14 | warestaurant.org

community. We need to get back to the community and support our local farmers, our local bakers and everybody else we can support locally because that money then stays in your local area and circulates, benefitting everyone.”

Get educated, take action In view of all the benefits to be found in operating a sustainable restaurant, the National Restaurant Association has proactively established its own environmental education program called Conserve. Information on this initiative can be found online at conserve. restaurant.org. The program is free and open to everyone who wants to learn more about how to run a sustainable restaurant.

“Conserve was started in 2009,” said Abshire.

“Before then there wasn’t really a place for restaurants to go and get a lot of information on the topic of sustainability and how their operations can help save money through environmentally-friendly operations.”

This one stop shop on sustainability includes a treasure trove of material on topics like water management and conservation, waste and recycling, and energy. Visit Conserve’s website and you’ll find a blog, articles from experts on various aspects of sustainability, a monthly newsletter and videos on best practices.

In addition to the website, Conserve has also been spearheading projects like the Zero Waste Zones project, in Atlanta, where multiple restaurants support each other on reaching waste reduction goals.

According to Abshire, the response of restaurant operators Conserve’s initiatives has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Operators are really excited that Conserve’s website exists, that our educational information is out there, and that there’s a resource where people can go to have some of their questions answered about sustainability,” said Abshire.

“A lot of restaurants really don’t know where to start to become more sustainable or how to take the first step. Our website gives them some tools and tips and tricks so they won’t have to spend a lot of time searching for information.”

Future plans for Conserve include a possible expansion of the Zero Waste Zones project to cities other than Atlanta. Conserve is also working with the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food marketing Institute to develop toolkits on topics like food waste and how to donate and compost, and how to recycle packaging. These toolkits will likely be released later this year.

Additionally, Conserve will have a booth at the National Restaurant Association’s annual show, May 16-19, in Chicago.

“I think sustainability is a big trend,” said Abshire, who stresses that while some sustainable initiatives will have a higher cost in the beginning, over the longer term, they will ultimately save a restaurant money. “People are finding out that you can really get a lot for your money.

There are a lot of different ways you can save money in the sustainability world, and we encourage people to do that to manage costs. You can save a little bit on your bottom line, and you can show your customers that you really care about them and their values while also doing something good for the environment as well.” ■

April 2015 | 15

A garbage train one mile long

By David Faro, Contributing Editor

What would it take for you to totally overhaul the way you process your restaurant’s waste streams? Not theoretically in your head, but on a Friday night, when everyone is moving full speed? How about during a manic lunch rush? What would it take to get your employees to stop and observe what they are throwing away? How hard would it be to ensure that your staff makes a conscious effort to separate recyclables? Up until recently, that was not the case in most restaurants, and imagining a change in operations was a hard sell for many restaurateurs.

Not too far back, the attitude in most hospitality establishments was that trash is trash, and that all waste can be thrown away into a single dumpster – no problem. All the store’s garbage then moves on to a landfill of some sort, somewhere. Despite serious efforts to encourage communities to recycle, single stream waste removal has been the model for many years for most hospitality establishments. Out of sight, out of mind. The trend is changing across the nation. As a result, restaurants must comply with and plan for tougher regulations on what comes out of the back end of their kitchens.

Waste separation has always been the right thing to do, and recycling has been a public effort in most cities for a number of decades. But up until the last few years, in most cities, it was a restaurant’s prerogative to decide if it wanted to pick through its garbage, or just throw it all down the same hole.

Not anymore in Seattle.

On January 1, Seattle joined San Francisco, Portland and New York by instituting a composting mandate for businesses and citizens alike. In 2007, the Seattle City Council passed ground breaking legislation authorizing the Zero Waste Strategy to improve recycling and waste reduction rates.

The goal is to recycle 70 percent of the city’s waste by 2025.

Seattle’s self-imposed goal for 2015 is to recycle 60 percent of the city’s garbage. Adding a composting requirement is the latest ordinance in Seattle’s arsenal of regulations. The city hopes controlled composting helps meet these goals. So now, whether area restaurants want to or not, a complete recycling program is a must have in all Seattle hospitality venues, including compost.

Citizens and businesses have until July before they start to get fined for having food waste in their trash. In the meantime, a red tag on your garbage can means that your trash has been identified as over the limit. Any establishment—business,

16 | warestaurant.org

single family home, apartment, you name it—with more than 10 percent food or compostable paper in its garbage before July will be shamed publicly—in the form of a bright red tag on its garbage bin. The goal of placing a tag is to warn residents about impending fines, hopefully, creating an even stronger composting culture in Seattle.

So what does this mean for restaurants? You would think that this would cause big problems, and that the anticipation of separating waste streams might precipitate a significant amount of vitriol. According to Pat Kaufman, the recycling and waste prevention specialist for Seattle Public Utilities, the opposite has generally held true.

“Most of the calls I get are from businesses and citizens who say, ‘I am already a great recycler, but how can I do better?’ ” said Kaufman.

“Seattle is a national leader in recycling,” said Tim Croll, solid waste director of Seattle Public Utilities. “Most of our city’s businesses and residents are already composting. This requirement is a progression of our collective efforts that help our city become even greener.”

With 74 percent of Seattle supporting the compost law, it wasn’t that hard to sell to citizens. The City Council voted unanimously for the law. Nevertheless, critics of the mandate think the money could be better spent elsewhere. The price tag for the new ordinance is about $400,000.

Todd Myers, environment director for the conservative Washington Policy Center, thinks the money could be put to better use.

“There are a lot of ways to spend this money to actually do good for the planet,” said Myers. “… Seattle is very good at doing things that feel good, but very bad at doing things that [actually] do good for the planet.”

Croll thinks the ordinance ultimately will save the city money.

Most of the increased budget will be spent in the first years of the program. Funding will go towards marketing, outreach, and education, but as Croll indicated in a Q&A with the Seattle Times, “In the long run, composting is cheaper to manage than landfilling.”

Kaufman agrees. When asked why mandatory composting is a good thing for the city to do, his immediate answer is to talk

about a garbage train that leaves the city every night on its way down to a landfill.

“It’s generally about a mile long,” Kaufman observed. “That’s a lot of garbage, and garbage is the highest cost part of our [waste removal] system. Each time we are able to divert material from the garbage to recycling or composting we are able to keep our rates more stabilized and also reduce waste in general, which is what we want to do.”

Seattle plans to divert 38,000 tons of compost from landfills in 2015. This is almost a 40 percent drop from the current 100,000 tons the city now sends. The city thinks this trend is entirely possible to maintain.

Kaufman believes the recycling program was initially a goal of space [management] and an effort to maintain the life of landfills. These days though, the city looks at the issue through the lens of resource conservation, according to Kaufman.

“It’s about reducing the amount of raw materials that are needed to create all the products that we use and enjoy,” Kaufman said. “It’s turning those [waste] materials into raw materials and getting them back into the system. It is part of what our [Seattle Public Utilities] charge is.”

So what are real the numbers? Will the Seattle compost mandate actually change anything? More importantly, does anything need to change? Seattle is already one of the greenest cities in the country. Is the compost law really a necessity in a city that already outperforms most other comparable municipalities?

That may be the image that Seattle has of itself, but if one looks at the trends over the last few years, they clearly show the city losing ground. In the fourth quarter of 2014 commercial garbage tonnages were up 9.8 percent over the same period in the previous year. The cumulative total for the whole year? Up 5.8 percent. The previous two years also saw increases.

Efficient waste collection for a city well over half a million people requires a complex system. Citizens understand that.

However the increases in total tonnage over the last few years has not made the garbage train any shorter. So, Seattle Public Utilities looked to mitigate these issues through compost legislation. Fortunately, Seattle’s citizenry has been listening to the city’s plea for people to compost, and most were already on board.

In 2014’s fourth quarter, cumulative organic compost self-haul increased by 40 percent. Commercial businesses increased their composting by 8.7 percent in the same year. These are the trends the city wants to see continue. Seattle wants to support these trends as the city makes its way to their goal of 70 percent by 2025.

As a result, Seattle has set up a number of resources that restaurants can use to make sure they have a good plan in place to comply with the new laws. Visiting www.seattle.gov/util is a good start.

Kaufman observed that a huge part of his job is education, and that helping people design new systems that aid recycling is what he is employed to do. Seattle also has a website (http:// www.growseattle.com/restaurant) called Restaurant Success.

It helps restaurateurs navigate the regulations that govern recycling operations along with a host of other helpful information. For more dialed in information, contact Seattle’s full-time restaurant advocate, Jennifer Tam, who can be reached at 206.684.3436. ■ Watch the garbage train as it leaves Seattle

Scan the QR code or go to http://wra.cc/wra0415b

Listen to the full interview on composting with Pat Kaufman, recycling & waste prevention specialist for Seattle Public Utilities.

Scan the QR code or go to http://wra.cc/wra0415c

April 2015 | 17

We have seen the restaurant of the future – and it is sustainable

By Andy Cook, Contributing Editor Futuristic...

The word conjures a mental slideshow of flying cars, holograms and spaceships. In the context of restaurants, perhaps robot servers, food in a pill or 3D printed pizza emailed over the Internet. It’s all fantastic and makes cool imagery, but for foodservice professionals in today’s world, the future of restaurants is sustainability.

To these professionals, “futuristic” elicits a gallery of images showcasing organic farming, locally sourced materials and consumables, low-flow toilets, LED lighting and composting bins. Taking a sober look towards the future is a vital duty of any business owner/operator. So is a sharp eye on the bottom line.

We reached out to some of our members who are actively pursuing sustainable green practices.

Manito Tap House, Spokane manitotaphouse.com Manito partners with the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), which describes itself as ”a national non-profit organization that provides a convenient and costeffective way for restaurants, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers to become more environmentally responsible.”

In addition to a wealth of resources, the GRA issues a star rating from one to four, reflecting a business’s environmental dedication. The Manito Tap House was the seventh restaurant in the United States to receive a four star rating, in 2012, and has held that standing every year since. There are now only 21 eateries nationwide with that four star rating.

Among Manito’s green practices is energy management.

The entirety of owner/operator Patrick McPherson’s business is illuminated with LED lighting; the appliances are all Energy Star compliant, the toilets are low-flow and even sensors are affixed to the sinks. All of these innovations are environmentally and fiscally sound 18 | warestaurant.org

Everything that comes through Manito is green optimized.

Manito sources its consumables locally and has 55 Northwest beers on tap.

Why? “Because kegs can be reused over and over and over again,” said McPherson.

Manito also boasts 20 cases of bottled rare beers, some from local nano-breweries. Business is going so well that McPherson is launching his second eatery soon called The Blackbird.

Garden to Gourmet, Yelm gardentogourmet.net Patrick LeBlanc opened Garden to Gourmet in November 2014. He was born into a family of chefs, in Montreal. He pursued the career of a contractor/builder for a bulk of his adult life until his passion for the culinary arts rekindled. It was as a builder that he began his trek down the green path.

These two very different disciplines come together nicely in Garden to Gourmet. LeBlanc used every bit of construction scrap he could salvage to artfully decorate the interior of his restaurant. The floors are stained concrete, which is not only nice to look at, but is cheaper to clean with a mop than with an electric vacuum and the chemicals needed to shampoo a carpet. He even utilizes a circulation pump to ensure the hot water is tap ready. Garden to Gourmet populates itself with LED lights, Energy Star appliances and recycled/recyclable/compostable paper products (napkins, to-go boxes, etc.)

Garden to Gourmet locally sources everything. LeBlanc uses paper products are from West Coast Paper, lowering transportation pollutants. Patrick is an ”old school” business owner; he personally develops relationships with his purveyors, often driving himself locally and to nearby towns to obtain his goods in a hybrid car.

“Meeting with my suppliers – who are themselves small businesses, ensures a personal relationship that helps us all,” said LeBlanc. “Staying this local has the added benefit

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of communicating a sense of community to the community I serve. It does more than portray a commitment of sustainability to the public. It tells a story, a local story, starring people and businesses my clientele know.”

Taylor Shellfish Farms, Shelton taylorshellfishfarms.com If there is any doubt that sustainability is a futuristic axiom consider this: Taylor Shellfish Farms began in the 1890s. A Taylor harvested the farm’s first oyster 125 years ago.

Embedding dedication to sustainability and renewable resources into a family tradition lasting five generations. This dedication has grown Taylor Shellfish Farms into the largest producer of shellfish in the country. Its harvests are anticipated worldwide – and they’re still growing.

Marcelle Taylor, the company’s fifth generation marketing and advertising manager, is enthusiastically promoting the emerging restaurant brand of Taylor Shellfish, in Seattle.

“It emerged organically, with our Melrose location on Capitol Hill, starting as a shellfish market that quickly became an oyster bar,” said Taylor. “We grew the concept and opened two more oyster bars that expanded the food and beverage offerings.”

The Taylor family’s commitment to environmental stewardship extends to their restaurants. They reuse and all the packaging from the farms, have eliminated paper napkins and practice comprehensive recycling. Through community outreach, local charitable involvement and educational staff, they spread their passion into the communities they inhabit.

Making your own restaurant sustainable A common trait these members share are that they’ve been practicing sustainabilty from the get go. What are the practical challenges and benefits of steering your business towards a greener path?

How many times have you walked across your restaurant, arrived where you were intending, and were at a loss as to what you came there for? It’s happened to me countless times over my many years working in restaurants.

20 | warestaurant.org

Why? Muscle memory. It’s like driving We don’t consciously tell ourselves to check mirrors, scan for pedestrians, turn on our blinkers and slow down for a turn. All these actions happen automatically because our actions follow the intent of turning.

The foodservice workplace environment is so dynamic that we need to outsource our workflow habits to muscle memory.

Policy changes in favor of sustainability can be a challenge to implement. Add to that the perceived cost associated with green practices. These are practical concerns. There are, however, tangible benefits not only to your bottom line, but sanitary requirements and operational efficiency, as well, because it increases task awareness.

If you’re not moved to incorporate these practices for the sake of the environment, do it for the benefit of your business.

Waste separation via composting and recycling is a very cost effective practice for any restaurant. Full service is plagued by the constant loss of small multi-use items such as ramekins or flatware. The simple act of separation saves a huge percentage of these small items for being thrown away.

Full and quick service alike share the need for cost control; Having all the food waste in one spot provides a great opportunity to identify food waste and fine tune portion sizes. Projecting this intent throughout your establishment increases your staff’s attention to the finer details that equal better health inspections and less waste.

Energy Star appliances not only pay for themselves quickly over time, they come with the added bonus of rebates.

Garden to Gourmet’s stained concrete choice was sound on many levels. (No vacuum plus no shampoo equals cost savings.) Look around Manito Tap House and you’ll find it was built utilizing reclaimed and repurposed materials; cheaper (and cooler) by far than mass produced lumber. Taylor Shellfish Farms’ shipping of its product in reusable containers keep its packaging budget low, and its commitment to environmental stewardship has definitely paid off over the past century and a quarter.

Something else you get for your efforts is increased brand awareness and customer loyalty. Consumer knowledge on this and related topics are growing rapidly. Just the perception of commitment aligns your business with the values of your clientele, engendering trust and tipping the scales in your favor before they even consider ”Where should we go out to tonight?” ■

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This is our Member Spotlight section. Are you a member with a story you want told or a celebration to be shared? Email us at andyc@warestaurant.org.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Member Spotlight: Congratulations to 2015 award winners!

Restaurants serve. People.

Careers. Communities.

Cornerstone Humanitarian Award

That’s why the Washington Restaurant Association is proud to announce its 2015 state winners of the acclaimed National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s (NRAEF) Restaurant Neighbor and Cornerstone Humanitarian awards; and the winners of the WRA’s own 2015 Industry Awards and special DeVere “Jerry” Burtenshaw Award.

The Cornerstone Humanitarian Award specifically honors individual restaurant operators for their personal commitment to community service. Like the Restaurant Neighbor Award, it was developed by the NRAEF. Congratulations to Washington’s 2015 Cornerstone Humanitarian:

Kevin Parker, Dutch

“Restaurants are really the heartbeat of their communities; they’re where we meet for coffee and our kids celebrate little league games,” said Anthony Anton, WRA president and CEO. “Because of this, it is always difficult to pick a winner for these awards; all of our members give back so much.

Our winners this year are an excellent sample of what our industry looks like as a whole.

Being able to recognize this great group of people is really an honor.”

Jim Rowe, Consolidated Restaurants, Seattle (Full

Restaurant Neighbor Award

Bob Donegan, Ivar’s, Seattle (Quick Service Operator

The Restaurant Neighbor Award, developed in partnership with American Express, celebrates the outstanding charitable service performed by restaurant operators throughout the U.S. Created 17 years ago, this award recognizes the positive impact restaurants have on their local communities.

Rick Braa, Braa Associates, Seattle (Allied Member of

Congratulations to this year’s Restaurant Neighbor winners.

Starbucks, Seattle (Large Restaurant Category) El Gaucho, Seattle (Mid-Size Restaurant Category) Fraser’s Gourmet Hideaway, Oak Harbor (Small Restaurant Category)

22 | warestaurant.org

Bros. Coffee, Spokane

WRA Industry Awards The WRA honors its best and brightest members for their excellence, innovation, community service and contributions to the WRA with its own Industry Awards.

Congratulations to 2015’s winners:

Service Operator of the Year) of the Year) the Year)

De Vere “Jerry” Burtenshaw Award The De Vere “Jerry” Burtenshaw Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the hospitality industry through extraordinary volunteer service to the WRA. Congratulations to our 2015 Burtenshaw Award winner:

Roberta Greer, Tillicum Village, Seattle ■

Sustainability in restaurants

By Sheryl Jackson, Research Editor Restaurant operators have always led the charge with sustainability. A recent survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association highlights the many ways restaurants are green. Broken out by full service and quick service, below is a cross section of sustainability within restaurants. = Quick Service

= Full Service

WASTE REDUCTION Is your restaurant business currently doing any of the following? % yes Donate leftover food to food banks or other groups

22

25

20

Compost your food waste

17

15

Track the amount of food waste on a regular basis

19

75

79

70

65

82

Does your restaurant business currently recycle any of the following items? % yes Plastic, cans or glass

39

33

47

Cardboard or paper

66

66

67

Fats, oils and grease

74

ENERGY EFFICIENCY Is your restaurant business currently using any of the following items? % yes EPA Energy Star-rated appliances Programmable HVAC thermostats

37 54

34

54

41

54

Compact fluorescent lighting

63

Solar panels

5

60

64

3

6

39

41

MATERIALS Does your business purchase …? % yes Products made from recycled materials

61

59

64

Compostable products

40

Source: NRA “Gauging the Restaurant Industry’s Interest in Sustainability” April 2015 | 23

2015 Boyd’s® Coffee ProStart Invitational – an event that changed lives for the better

By Lyle Hildahl, WRA Education Foundation Director There are events that I remember like it was yesterday.

Winning the Northwest men’s singles badminton tournament, in 1971, is one of those milestones. Getting laughed at by the football and basketball jocks for getting the badminton team inspirational award at the awards banquet will always stick in my mind. Badminton was for sissies in their minds.

Winning the event and being mocked for my achievement had emotional impact on opposite spectrums that lodged a permanent place in my brain. We all have them. Some experiences influence who we become in a major way.

At the February 28 awards banquet for the Boyd’s® Coffee ProStart Invitational, a father walked up to me and thanked me.

“Your program has changed our lives for the better,” he told me. “This is the second year our son has competed in management. In ProStart, he worked on the restaurant design component of the business plan, and now he wants to go to college and study to be an architect.”

I saw a teen kneeling on the ground in tears after the awards ceremony. Her teacher walked up to me and told me that her student was just overcome with joy from winning the state championship.

contribution, as well as their sponsors, and what it represents for the future of our industry. Thank you again for all of your hard work and for making me feel very welcome in your event. It was a long day, but extremely rewarding.”

Thank you students, teachers, parents, family members, judges, volunteers, sponsors and friends for the event that changed lives for the better. ■

Culinary Competition

3 2 1

rd place: Bonney Lake High School

nd place: Kentlake High School

st place: Oak Harbor High School

Restaurant Management Competition

3 2 1

rd place: Newport High School

nd place: Lewis & Clark High School

When Anthony Anton, the WRA’s CEO asked the students which teacher should receive the Teacher of the Year Award, the students erupted in shouts of support for their own teacher.

Emotions were high throughout the event; joy, frustration, tears, anger, humility.

Certified Master Chef Roland Henin, corporate chef and chief culinary ambassador for the Delaware North Companies, sent us a brief email on his impressions of the event.

Said Chef Henin, “I was truly impressed not only by the large number of team competitors and how well they were able to cook, but also by how extremely well organized and how smoothly this large event went. I feel that everyone got something out of it in some way. I strongly feel that it is very important to recognize the students’ participation and 24 | warestaurant.org

st place: Stadium High School

Mentor

of the Year: Julie Litzenberger

Teacher

of the Year: Mary Arthur, Oak Harbor High School

Student

of the Year: Breeawna Jai Sumner, Mt. Spokane High School

速

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NEW RESTAURANTS

Training

Back Door Bakery, Lacey

Monterey Cafe, Spokane

Backyard Public House, Spokane

Monterey Pub n Grub, Cheney

CenterPlate - Safeco Field, Seattle

Mr. Doug’s Family Restaurant, Yelm

Domino’s Pizza, Spokane, Cheney, Liberty Lake, Spokane Valley, and Airway Heights

Northwest Lumpia, Tacoma

May 4

ServSafe® Manager, Kent

May 5

ServSafe® Manager, Seattle

May 12

ServSafe® Manager, Kent

May 21

ServSafe® Manager, Tacoma

Meetings Mondays at 10:30 a.m.

Government Affairs Committee Conference Call

Apr. 21

Finance Committee Meeting

Apr. 26

EF Spring Board Meeting

Apr. 26

MSC Board Meeting

Apr. 27-28

WRA Spring Board Meeting

May 6

MSC Sub Committee Meeting

May 6

Retro Invest/Retro Trust Meeting

Papa Murphy’s International, Inc., Vancouver

Ghostfish Brewing, Seattle Reds Wine Bar, Kent Godfather’s Pizza, Auburn Great Western Franchisee Association, Eugene Hi Joy Bowl, Port Orchard

Subway, Milton, Sumner, Tacoma, Belfair, Shelton, Yelm, Puyallup, and Graham Taco Time, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake

Hometown Cafe, Sedro-Woolley Timber Ridge At Talus, Issaquah Jazzbones, Tacoma Vino at the Landing, Renton

Events Apr. 25

Spokane Cork & Keg Festival

Apr. 26-27

Northwest Foodservice Show

Lorenzo’s, Sedro-Woolley, Bellingham, and Mount Vernon

Wisconsinburger, Spokane

Main Street Cookie Co., Rainier

NEW ALLIED MEMBERS

26 | warestaurant.org

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Ask the Expert | Restaurant Profit Coach

Protect profits by shifting labor management practices

By Rick Braa, CHAE

A:

Q:

With all the changes to minimum wage and the tightening labor market, what tactics can help us be more productive and remain profitable?

Maintaining the status quo or hoping higher wages are going to slow down contradicts the increasing momentum of the progressive political movement.

With voters, labor unions and politicians taking an increasing role of driving wages up, the labor model of the past is fading.

To stay relevant and protect profits, start planning and changing behavior today. Many businesses are using this time to “grow up” as a business by offering more predictable earnings and insurance for employees. The following tactics will assist in transition to a new era in labor management: Employ fewer workers with more hours. Busy people get more done. The old saying, “If you want something done quickly, ask the busiest person to do it,” holds true. Busy people have a certain number of hours they are willing or able to work; therefore, time is treated as a premium with emphasis on continued optimization of work habits and productivity. How many times have you witnessed an employee in high gear carrying more workload than you thought possible? Fewer productive people also cost less. There are employee based tax limits such as SUI and FUTA, per check charges for payroll, uniforms, employee meals and insurance all based around a single employee. Fewer employees also take less effort as there are fewer people to coach, develop, review and recruit.

Cross-train employees. Cross-training has been widely discussed for the last several years. With higher wages and fewer quality employees available, cross-training is wise. The most difficult positions to fill, currently, are in the kitchen. As a result, retaining kitchen personnel is a mission critical priority.

Cross-train them in support positions such as expediting, bussing, running food, back bar support and front desk where appropriate to help them earn tips and drive up their earnings.

Front-of-the-house personnel are typically generous in sharing with those providing the service and support they need to be successful with the guest. Additionally, this model provides protection to the kitchen during busier times. If more kitchen people are working in the front-of-the-house and the kitchen is having a difficult time keeping up, a cross-trained employee can jump behind the line and help smooth a rush.

Maximize hours of operation. Many restaurants open at certain times of the day, based on what is typical in an area or what time prep for the day begins. Look at sales in 30 minute increments throughout the day. Most restaurants experience a natural lull between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and often 5 p.m. Figure [1] displays business volume through the day for a typical restaurant.

30 | warestaurant.org

Analyze sales day by day and decide on the benefits of being open or closed during unprofitable days or hours. You may find closing for lunch or a day part advantageous especially as wages increase and menu prices high the limit for a day part.

Figure [1]

Measure productivity with sales per labor hour. With the constant march north of wages and menu prices, managing by percentages is more difficult. Most increases in menu prices seem to disappear by the time they hit the bottom of the profits and losses, with everyone along the way taking a share. To measure real productivity track and use sales per labor hour (SPLH is calculated by dividing sales by labor hours used), the numbers increase naturally with higher check averages, higher sales and higher productivity. Set benchmarks by day and by front and back-of-the-house as the numbers change based on business levels and prep intensity. Start by calculating SPLH when forecasting sales and scheduling labor. Track the metric daily and study what worked to push the number higher. Keep detailed notes as time passes regarding what worked well, and as the metric is optimized, use it in reverse to forecast labor from the sales forecast.

These are unprecedented times in the restaurant industry.

Many cities and states are responding to pressure applied by voters and labor unions by increasing minimum wage. As the minimum wage grows, the theory is that there will be more disposable income available and the economy will improve.

Economic theory is difficult to prove one way or the other. By proactively managing employee development, training, and measurement, you’ll be successful in protecting and driving profitability. ■ For a more information on improving profitability and driving performance, contact AMP Services at rbraa@ampservices.com. Rick Braa is the co-founder of AMP Services, an accounting and consulting firm specializing in helping companies grow profitability.

New And Improved Health Insurance Plans!

Our new plans with industry specific flexibility will be essential for the hospitality industry to get through the healthcare reform changes unscathed.

New plans include an extended PPO network, and employer flexibility for contribution and participation.

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