Industry Tidbits

Restaurant industry tidbits from AMBORRA

A brutal year for restaurant bankruptcies continues to claim new victims.

From beef to mayo, consumers continue to spend more to buy lessA brutal year for restaurant bankruptcies continues to claim new victims.

As prices creep up, wine directors around the country are coming up with creative by-the-glass programs and high-value pours to take some of the sting out of tasting adventurously.

Escalating payroll costs and diners’ dwindling tolerance for higher checks are putting independent restaurants in a squeeze.

Manzke and Bicyclette, a duo of restaurants from two of L.A.’s most celebrated chefs, are set to close March 2. It’s the latest in a handful of notable early-2024 closures – and follows roughly 70 shuttered restaurants and bars in 2023.

Mayor Adams’ administration finalizes new rules with input from residents and restaurant owners. See the city’s new design parameters and limitations for the growing, popular, yet at times unsightly, NYC outdoor dining program. Owners face a summer deadline to apply. Street structures must also be removed in late fall.

Outdoor dining has continued to grow in popularity as the city has pushed past the pandemic, according to research. Last spring and summer, rates of outdoor dining rose by about 24% compared with a year earlier even as total dining was flat, according to research by the OpenTable reservation app.

As more diners share appetizers and entrees at the table, eateries rework their menus.

Charges of disability discrimination are on the rise as more companies deny workers’ requests to stay home for mental-health reasons.

Employers are offering more paid time off in a strong labor market. Employees are using it.

You’re being asked to tip more and more places today. If you’re annoyed, you’re not alone. WSJ explains why tipping culture has grown, and why the U.S. probably isn’t getting rid of it anytime soon.

Your favorite TV show, your next car, your Caramel Macchiato, your Mom’s hip surgery – it is no longer just corporate bigwigs who are feeling pinched by the upsurge in strikes.

Perhaps it’s time for proprietors to loosen their own ties and rethink what they are offering patrons.

This is why we can not get people back to working in the Hospitality Industry.

Beware the chicken wings: Work events have people relearning the rules of dining banter and etiquette

Some say point-of-sale provider Toast Inc. is bypassing client restaurants to charge consumers directly.

Riddled with confusion and guilt, Americans are handing out perfect Uber and Airbnb scores; “Don’t have to earn it anymore”

While office towers sit empty and nearby businesses struggle to pay their bills, residential neighborhoods in America’s biggest cities are bustling again.

The classic weekend meal synonymous with relaxation finds more takers during the workweek.

Bosses have tried different tactics to repopulate workplaces, and now at least one prominent employer is vowing that staffers’ pay could be affected.

As the city approaches the third anniversary of COVID lockdowns, Manhattan’s skyscrapers hover around the 50% occupancy mark.

In an uncertain economy, companies post ads for jobs they might not really be trying to fill
PERSONAL REMARKS: Very interesting article, and one that people should read as it translates into lower expectations for the turns on any given night.

New York City has reportedly seen the largest reduction in spending nationwide. The shift to remote work is costing New York City more than $12 billion each year.
PERSONAL REMARKS: This is a Business Report that just got released, showing and referring to the overall NYC lost revenue from remote workers, and I would add to that the loss of consumers coming in for a night out.
As you will see, for every remote worker or 48% of any given company workforce are spending almost ($5,000) less than before the pandemic hit in 2020.
In total the city is seeing an estimate ($12.4 mmm) in lost tax revenue, this translates into all business are seeing and experience a (loss) revenue across all spectrums.
With this information in hand, we should be able to adjust our projections for terms of Sales and overall reduction in expenses until we see things picking up. But with only 52% Daily Office Occupancy it will be tight for awhile.

Restaurants, hotels and hospitals are finally staffing up, more than making up for losses in tech and other sectors. “Knock on wood, things are running like they were before the pandemic,” said one restaurant executive.

Minimum wages would range by region from $20 to $21.25 per hour by 2026.

Bars are trying to outdo one another with ever-fancier booze-free drinks. ‘Look Ma, No Booze.’.

Federal Reserve projects unemployment rate to rise during year ahead. The labor market proved to be a resilient stabilizer in 2022 for a U.S. economy facing the highest inflation in four decades.

Leisure and business travel is picking up, though occupancy is still short of prepandemic levels. New York City hotel owners are toasting a year that showed signs of a sustained recovery from the pandemic, but the prospect of a possible economic downturn is dampening further celebrations.

A lot of restaurant and retail workers earn more than rising state pay floors.

Remote work, deglobalization, stalled technology have started eroding some advantages of higher-skilled workers. The question is whether it will last.

Employment nears prepandemic levels as pay and working conditions improve.

Sales of higher-priced liquor and wine are slowing after years of growth. Shoppers are reaching less for the top shelf.

Labor-management relations watchdog proposes a rule that will allow workers to claim they are employed by two employers simultaneously, opening the way for employee claims against businesses that use franchises, independent contractors, and suppliers.

It would repeal a 2020 rule issued under the Trump administration stating that employees could only claim employment with companies with “substantial, direct, and immediate control.”

PERSONAL REMARKS: Who is accountable for providing the solution to workers regarding compensation if one thing was to happen? This may force compensation insurance on workers, not on the payroll.

Representatives for chains together with McDonald’s persuaded lawmakers to get rid of provisions holding them accountable for labor violations by franchisees.

PERSONAL REMARKS: This was signed into law on Labor Day. 20% increase in fast food restaurants.

Most shoppers will not see an abundance of rising attributable to increased federal subsidies, however, several little employers are hit.

Premiums for several reasonable Care Act health-insurance plans are set to rise sharply next year, a signal of however rising labor prices and alternative expenses are commencing to ripple through the tending economy.

PERSONAL REMARKS: The impact will have a higher cost passed on to the small employer and limit employment.

California could presently need nearly all employers hiring within the state to start listing pay on job positions, a move that might influence several of America’s biggest corporations.

PERSONAL REMARKS: This is detrimental to anyone seeking to advance above their co-worker. There is no recognition for the employee trying to achieve.

Over 1,600 merchants together with Walmart Inc. and Target Corporation are urging U.S. lawmakers to pass legislation that will interrupt the hold that credit cards have over the credit-card market.

This legislation, which was introduced by Senators Durbin and Marshall in July 2022, would supply merchants the potential to route many credit-card payments over networks excluding Visa and Mastercard.

The merchants including an assortment of small businesses like gas stations, restaurants, and grocers would then pass the fees along to consumers in a form of higher prices.

PERSONAL REMARKS: Refer to the below websites for further information on merchants consistently violating surcharging and links to rules: Visa  |   Mastercard