Famed NYC restaurant Tavern on the Green auctions its contents

Tavern on the Green prepares for auction By Elissa  Elan

 

NEW YORK (Dec. 16, 2009) For Tavern on the Green and its many patrons past and present, the end of an era is fast approaching as the New York City landmark prepares to auction off its contents, including its world-famous Tiffany lamps, next month.Tavern on the Green is using proceeds from the auction to pay creditors after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. According to officials for Guernsey’s Auction House, which is handling the sale, the auction is expected to raise millions from the sale of the restaurant’s many relics, including authentic Tiffany lamps and chandeliers made of Baccarat crystal, hand-painted murals, fine linen, china, stemware, and even its inventory of wines and spirits.

The auction will be held Jan. 13-15, with the first two days open to the general public and the third day open to restaurateurs, architects and designers only, said Arlan Ettinger, Guernsey’s president. Bidders do not have to attend the auction in person, Ettinger said. They can bid in absentia over the telephone, e-mail or online at www.liveauctioneers.com.

Read the rest of the article at  http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=377074#ixzz0aQQSiUBD

Experts cautiously optimistic about the “restaurant industry’s fortune” in 2010

From Nation’s Restaurant News Breaking News:

As restaurant sales bottom out, rebound eyed in 2010  By Sarah E.  Lockyer

NEW YORK (Nov. 19, 2009) Fitch Ratings, a credit and debt rating firm, expects the restaurant industry’s fortunes to improve late next year, following what it calls the bottoming out of weak industry sales trends currently taking place.

While operators are expected to continue tightly controlling their costs and capital expenditures, and commodity prices should remain relatively stable in 2010, positive sales trends — which have eluded most restaurants this year — are anticipated in the second half of 2010 as the macro economy picks up, Fitch said in a report released this week.

“Modest [restaurant industry] improvement could occur in the later half of 2010 as the broader economy continues to recover and consumers regain confidence,” the Fitch report said. “Nevertheless, Fitch does not expect a rapid upturn in [same-store sales] growth due to the potential ‘longer-tail’ nature of the economic recovery.”

Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=376166&menu_id=1368

One thing that is only hinted at in the article is the fact that there will likely continue to be a shakeout in the industry. From chains closing underperforming stores to independents being forced to close operations, it’s likely that the number of units will continue to decline and jobs will continue to be lost. The upside to this trend is that operators are being forced to be more efficient, deliver better and more flexible customer service and employ more out-of-the-box thinking.

The other obvious positive is that the bleeding seems to have slowed. Not to a trickle, but reduced from a gushing head wound. while not reason to rejoice, reasons to be “cautiously optimistic”. And it’s certainly not time to take the eye off the ball.

In recession, Vegas eateries can’t beat odds – from Newser

From mid-summer:

By Jason Farago| Posted Jul 15, 09 6:14 AM CDT

“(Newser) – Just a year ago, 25% of the country’s highest-grossing restaurants were in Las Vegas—where diners ran up $15,000 checks and tipped waiters with wads of C-notes. But now restaurants are closing, new construction languishes half-finished, and more than 5,000 food industry workers have lost their jobs. “It was gold, and suddenly it became fool’s gold,” one restaurateur tells the New York Times”.

Read rest of the article here:

http://www.newser.com/story/64417/in-recession-vegas-eateries-cant-beat-odds.html

Restaurant sales still somewhat stagnant

From Nation’s Restaurant News:

Restaurants’ 3Q results likely to show slow sales

by Sarah Lockyer

 

As third-quarter earnings season begins this week with some of the largest restaurant companies reporting results, including McDonald’s, Brinker International and Chipotle, analysts are expecting slow sales and profits that are driven by cost cutting, much like the earlier quarters this year.

Despite comparisons to the third quarter last year, when sales dropped severely in the midst of the recession, restaurants have yet to see an uptick in customer visits or spending and are therefore still relying on depressed commodity and operating costs to drive earnings.

“Our October-to-date channel checks across the entire restaurant industry suggest another geographically broad-based negative same-store-sales deceleration across all categories despite generally easier year-to-year comparisons,” said securities analyst Paul Westra at Cowen & Co. in New York.

He estimated same-store sales declines of about 100 basis points, or 1 percent, compared with the third quarter of last year.

Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=374604#ixzz0UZpZjBGT

Waiters now need to be more resourceful than ever. As a waiter, you need to pursue every selling opportunity,  maximize every table, and utilize every skill in your toolbox. But never lose sight of the guest. They are your bread and butter and you don’t want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Be resourceful – don’t be greedy or rapacious.

　

 

 

NEW YORK (Oct. 19, 2009)

Foreign restaurants also hit by worldwide recession

 

 

Restaurant traffic woes a global problem

by Lisa Jennings

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (Aug. 25, 2009)

During the first quarter, foodservice traffic was down in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, and it was essentially flat in Canada.

Total spending at foodservice outlets declined during the first quarter in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United Kingdom — though not in Canada or the United States, according to NPD, a Port Washington-based market research firm that tracks consumer dining habits.

American restaurant operators might think they had it bad in the first quarter this year, but research released Tuesday by The NPD Group indicates that foodservice outlets in Europe, Canada and Japan also suffered as consumers cut back on spending and restaurant visits. 

 Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=371758

Steakhouses work the bar angle to attract guests

Premium steakhouses are using expanded bar offerings, in both the food and drink realm, to bring guests back to their dining rooms and bars. They are offering smaller and less expensive variations on their normal fare, almost in a tapas style. They are also rolling out signature drinks in order to capture a younger demographic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morton’s has their “Power Hour” in selected locations. They have some value-priced $5 glasses of wine, $7 “Mortini’s” (selected Martinis, Cosmopolitans and Mojitos) and they are offering $6 “bar bites”, including miniature crab cakes, trios of little burgers, four tiny filet mignon “sandwiches” and “iceberg wedge bites”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Palm Steakhouse has upped the ante with their “Prime Times Bites” bar menu. They also have trios of “sliders”, theirs being Kobe beef. They have a smaller version of their massive fried calamari bowl, plus they have mini crab cakes, a trio of steak “capri” sliders (steak, basil and mozzarella) and little Philly steak bites. Prices range from $7 to $12  but from 5-7pm and after 9pm, they sell for the unheard of price of $3.50 (three Kobe beef sliders for only about 50 cents more than Krystal or White Castle burgers?!!??) They have also done an upscale makeover of the look of their bar tables . This is rolling out nationwide as I write this, having been tested in certain locations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fleming’s Steakhouse has their “5 for $6 ’til 7” promotion in their bar. For $6, they have 5 premium cocktails, 5 value priced wines and 5 appetizers such as “tenderloin carpaccio”, seared ahi tuna and “wicked cajun barbecue shrimp”. This is served from 5pm to 7pm.

These are examples of fresh thinking in the steakhouse sector. They augment the usual summer special dinner deals that chains have been offering during their slower months and are intended to expand their demographic.

How things have changed since 2005 when Nation’s Restaurant News ran an article entitled “Big high-end steakhouse chains are primed for 10% growth”. Here’s a snippet of that optimistic report:

“Demand for high-end steakhouses seems to have continued to rise in many markets across the country. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this in 25 years,’ said Dave Cattell, chief development officer for Ruth’s Chris, the 86-unit chain based in Metairie, La. ‘There are lots of opportunities, and I don’t see any end in sight.’ “.

You can access the rest of the article here:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_9_39/ai_n13251038/?tag=content;col1