Restaurant Punk

As a business owner, scheduling is an inevitably challenging task at times. From sick kids, COVID, and hangovers to last-minute visits from friends and the endless list of other reasons employees call out, how do you handle it when someone says they can’t show up for their shift? Noelle, Nick, and George are discussing their opinions on questions, including:

• Do you have a policy regarding callouts?
• Are you more annoyed by 24-hour or same-day callouts?
• Does the age of your staff impact their likelihood of calling out of work?
• How does an employee arriving late impact the restaurants readiness for a shift?
• Are men or women more likely to call out of work?

All business owners know that they need to market themselves if they want to keep their doors open. From print advertising and coupons to match books and social media, Noelle, Bobby, and Nick are exploring the topic and answering questions, including:

• Is there a generational gap in how business owners view marketing?
• How has marketing changed in the past two to three decades?
• Do you assess the analytics of the marketing channels you’re leveraging?
• What is the most successful way to advertise your business?

In the restaurant industry, burnout is an all too real problem. So, as an owner, is it worthwhile to consider closing one day per week to ensure that everyone has enough time to recover from the stress of the job? Nick, Nikos, and Liz are answering questions, including:

• What are the benefits of closing one day per week?
• Are there any drawbacks to having a regular “day off” for restaurants?
• How does closing for a day impact restaurant momentum?
• Should your hours differ between seasons?
• Is it difficult for staff to get back into their groove when they have too many consecutive days off?

Unless you live in an entirely walkable/bikeable city or one with exceptional public transportation, parking your car to patronize a restaurant is almost inevitable. Join Nick, George, and Nikos to discuss the impacts of parking on businesses while answering questions, including:

• Does having to find and pay for street parking deter customers from patronizing businesses?
• Do restaurants with complimentary parking lots get more business?
• Does having an on-site parking lot impact a business’s profit?
• Would you pay a customer’s parking ticket for them?

Options for airport dining vary from city to city and terminal to terminal, but typically, you end up disappointed (or worse) no matter what you decide to eat. Join Peter, Bobby, and Nick as they discuss all things airport cuisine, including sky-high prices and sub-standard quality, while answering questions, including:

• What are the mechanics of restaurant food sales in airports?
• How has the rise of food trucks impacted the restaurant industry?
• How do you define comfort food?
• Do you bring your own food on planes or order in-flight service?
• Is plane food any better in business class?

Being a manager isn’t easy, and many factors impact how your team respects you. How do you hold people accountable? Are you a boss who calls employees out in front of other people? Do you give feedback for improvement? Nick, Noelle, and Yianni are exploring the qualities of good managers and answering questions, including:

• Can you work in a kitchen if you’re color-blind?
• Do you enjoy managing people in the work environment?
• Does management experience prepare you to become an entrepreneur?
• Should your management style be adaptable in different scenarios?
• Is managing employees harder than managing vendors and distributors?

Knowing which customers haven’t worked in the hospitality industry is like a sixth sense you develop when working in restaurants. Typically, those who haven’t are more likely to be rude and fail to understand basic etiquette rules, so we propose that every person be required to work in a restaurant for at least one year, preferably as their first job. Hear what Nikos, Nick, and Liz have to say about the topic as they answer questions, including:

• Are people who haven’t worked in hospitality more likely to be rude at a restaurant?
• Do hosts and hostesses have a different customer-relations experience than other hospitality employees?
• How do you feel about restaurant industry employees who act like a$$holes when dining out?
• What is the most challenging environment for customer relations?

At any job, there are hard rules and there are common courtesies. In the restaurant industry, one of the most debated topics is whether or not the bussers and/or servers should be responsible for scraping plates and emptying drinks when clearing their tables. George, Liz, and Guest Host Nick are answering related questions, including:

• Before dropping them in the dish area, should you scrape your dirty plates as a server?
• What are the impacts of treating coworkers with ‘common courtesy’?
• How does the restaurant industry age small business owners?
• What generational differences in work ethic emerge in restaurants?

Many restaurants offer takeout options, and some will even prepare meals for a crowd served in disposable sheet pans, but operating a catering and events business tends to be a standalone endeavor. Noelle, Peter, and George are discussing a not-so-recent engagement within Kara Restaurant Group and answering event-related restaurant questions, including:

• Would you rather own a restaurant or a catering business?
• Are catering gigs easier to plan for than running a restaurant?
• What are the unexpected challenges of operating a catering company?
• How do small restaurants break into catering gigs?

Whether they’re drinking to cope with annoying customers, taking a shot with a hot-shot guest, or just enjoying a shift drink after a long day, there is a lot of alcohol consumption in the restaurant industry. Liz, Noelle, and Nick are reflecting on their relationship with drinking on the job and experiences with other coworkers, owners, and employees and answering questions, including:

• Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you felt a drink was necessary to navigate the demands of the restaurant industry?
• Does bartending in high-energy environments lead to more drinking on the job?
• Are hospitality industry professionals more likely to drink?
• When you hear ‘drinking on the job,’ what do you picture: binge drinking or a shift drink?