Are You Prepared for an ICE Raid?
What every restaurant needs to know. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has intensified its focus on industries that employ large numbers of undocumented workers, and restaurants remain a top target. The question isn’t if ICE will show up it’s when. And when that moment comes, will your team know what to do? Recent enforcement actions highlight the severe consequences businesses face for non-compliance. A lack of preparation can lead to hefty fines, operational disruptions, and even criminal charges. Let’s explore past ICE enforcements against restaurants and, most importantly, what you can do now to protect your business. What ICE Is Looking for in Restaurants. ICE typically conducts one of three types of enforcement actions:
- I-9 Audits (Notice of Inspection – NOI)
- Employers receive a formal notice requesting I-9 forms and employment records.
- They must comply within three business days or risk fines.
- Fines range from $252 to $2,507 per violation—even for simple paperwork errors.
- Worksite Raids
- ICE agents arrive unannounced to investigate unauthorized workers.
- Employees may be questioned or detained.
- Employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers can face criminal charges.
- Subpoenas and Investigations
- ICE may issue subpoenas for employment records as part of an investigation.
- A subpoena does not grant ICE permission to enter non-public areas of a business…
Restaurant Chain Menu Price Inflation Returns to Normal
Price increases at restaurant chains slowed to 1.41% in the fourth quarter. Restaurant menu pricing has downshifted to a more normalized rate of inflation in recent months as more operators grow hopeful that 2025 will be less inflationary than recent years. That, at least, is the conclusion from the latest Pricing Index from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic. Restaurant chain prices increased 1.41% in the fourth quarter, compared with the third. Prices slowed at all but upscale restaurants, completing a dramatic slowdown in menu price inflation as the year went on. “The last couple of quarters, we’ve seen most of the chain space revert back to what looks like 2019 pricing actions,” Rich Shank, senior principal with Technomic, said in an interview. Restaurants, he added, “are trying to get back to what feels like a normal state of business.” Fast-casual restaurant prices increased 0.5% quarter over quarter, as did traditional casual dining. Quick-service restaurant prices increased 0.89% and family-dining chains, or “midscale,” rose 0.8%. In most cases, pricing was close to where it was the previous two quarters, through casual-dining chain prices have slowed dramatically as the year went on. All sectors finished the year with much lower inflation than they started 2024 with. Casual-dining chains started the year with nearly 4% quarterly menu price inflation, slowing to a half a percent by the end of the year. The exception was upscale restaurants, which went from a slight pricing decline in the third quarter to an increase of 4% in the fourth, according to Technomic. Those chains may be trying to make up for weak sales, as several upscale concepts have seen sales fall in recent quarters. “A lot of the brands that we’re tracking have been struggling from a traffic standpoint,” Shank said. “I think they’re trying to make up revenue loss. That sector has had a little bit of a challenge, at least the large chain segment.” Restaurant prices have been closely watched in the past couple of years as consumers have slowed their visits out of frustration over menu price inflation. In addition, situations such as the one in California, which in April last year started requiring fast-food chain restaurants to pay workers at least $20 per hour, prompting price increases…
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert
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Photo used to illustrate “Restaurant-Tavern” only and not actual representation.
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From Personalization to Value, How Restaurants Can Thrive in 2025
Resilience and adaptability are the cornerstones of restaurant success. The restaurant industry is no stranger to challenges, but the last few years have tested the resilience of independent operators like never before. From supply chain disruptions to labor shortages, 2024 was an “out of the ordinary” year for restaurants. With the lingering effects of inflation, restaurants have had to adapt rapidly to stay afloat. Restaurants that can evolve with shifting consumer attitudes, preferences, and expectations will be better set up to withstand the constantly shifting landscape. The future of the restaurant industry hinges on utilizing cutting-edge technology in order to deliver value-driven, personalized customer experiences and maximize the human aspect of the dining experience. Here’s how restaurants can adapt and lead the charge into 2025. The era of “one-size-fits-all” marketing is over—70 percent of operators now actively send personalized offers to their customers. Personalization creates a sense of connection and understanding between the customer and the brand. However, it extends beyond just using someone’s first name in an email. Forward-thinking restaurants are building personalized experiences based on customer preferences and behaviors. This might mean offering discounts on a customer’s usual order, suggesting menu items based on past choices, or even providing special perks on birthdays. The key is to strike the right tone—customers want relevant offers that feel convenient, not intrusive. Restaurants that harness customer data responsibly and use it meaningfully will be better positioned to build long-term loyalty and retention. With inflation still squeezing wallets, value and affordability will remain top priorities for consumers heading into 2025. The seemingly never-ending “value menu wars” among fast-food giants only prove how critical pricing strategy has become. Delivering value is not just about slashing prices, it is about giving customers more reasons to choose a specific restaurant over a wealth of other options. Some operators are exploring subscription models, which have gained traction in industries like media and entertainment. This could look like offering customers a subscription-based dining plan that promises exclusive perks such as free drinks, priority reservations, or discounts with each visit. These types of programs create a sense of belonging while deepening brand loyalty. Perceived value is also an essential part of building a loyal customer base. Whether through generous portion sizes, complimentary extras, or bundled offers that feel like a great deal—competitive pricing paired with creative strategies to enhance value will set successful brands apart…
The Restaurant Industry is ‘Closely Monitoring’ President Trump’s Tariffs
Operators are assessing how they will be impacted, so they can manage pricing and secure ingredients. It may be a while before we understand how President Trump’s tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China will impact the restaurant industry. What we know now coming out of the gate is the general Dow Jones U.S. Restaurant & Bars Index has actually responded with an uptick – a rare gain in a market that opened Monday morning riddled with red. That’s not to say things are calm, however. Uncertainty almost never is. In a statement issued Friday, a day before Trump issued the tariffs, National Restaurant Association president and chief executive officer Michelle Korsmo said, “In this rapidly changing landscape, small business restaurant operators are assessing how they will be impacted, so they can manage pricing pressures, secure key ingredients, and make potential menu adjustments — all while continuing to serve their communities. “As the Trump Administration reevaluates trade policies, we are closely monitoring the impacts tariffs will have on food and beverage pricing, domestic sourcing options, and menu adaptation. We will continue to work with the administration to ensure that restaurant operators’ concerns are heard.” The tariffs, including 25% for Canada, and 10% for China, begin Feb. 4. The U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement on Monday to delay the 25% tariff on Mexican imports for one month. As this trade war unfolds, some concepts will likely be affected more than others. Avocados, for instance, are one of the top imports from Mexico and could disrupt Chipotle, Cava, El Pollo Loco, and plenty of others. According to Technomic Ignite data, avocados appear on more than 42% of all menus. The National Restaurant Association analyzed potential impacts following Trump’s election in November based on what food and beverage products are imported most from each of the three markets. From Canada, the top 10 food and beverage commodity imports from 2023 in order of volume included baked goods/pastries, rapeseed/mustard/colza oil, fresh or chilled beef, chocolate and cocoa-based foods, frozen prepared or preserved vegetables, crustaceans such as shrimp or crab, “other miscellaneous food preparations,” pork, fresh or chilled vegetables, fresh or chilled fish. The total flow of commodity imports from Canada during 2023 was $418.6 billion…
Super Bowl LIX Edition
MRM research roundup. More than 200 million people tuned in to the Super Bowl last year—many with a plate of wings in front of them. But while wings still dominate as the top football snack, new data suggests that more fans are choosing to watch the game at home rather than head to their local sports bar. Toast analyzed data from restaurants on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, comparing it to the average Sunday in 2024 and found that:
- Wings win MVP with an 87 percent increase in sales
- The average price of wings ordered increased 18 percent.
- The average ticket size on the Big Game day was 9 percent smaller + there were 16 percent fewer transactions on the Big Game day.
More than one third (36 percent) of Americans plan to order food delivery for the Big Game on Sunday, Feb. 9, and 37 percent of them plan to spend more than in 2024, Chatmeter’s 2025 Restaurant Delivery & Reputation report found. Chatmeter used its generative AI platform, Pulse Ai: Signals, to analyze more than two million customer reviews and understand why most consumers are opting for pick up or cooking at home: growing frustration with expensive fees, delayed deliveries, incorrect orders, and poor customer service. “Americans love the convenience of delivery, but restaurants who hand the experience over to third party apps without a strategy risk their reputations,” said John Mazur, CEO of Chatmeter. “Customers still associate the experience with your brand. On such a pivotal weekend for restaurant delivery, promotions, menus, pricing and operations should all be informed by holistic customer intelligence.” Consumers plan to order delivery because they want to focus on something else besides food preparation (42 percent), like watching the game or socializing. More than one third (35 percent) said they plan to take advantage of discounts in delivery apps like DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats…
During Times of Crisis, Restaurants Are Always the First to Give Back
From New York to Detroit to Houston, chefs and restaurants raise money, provide resources, and show support for their LA counterparts. On Wednesday, January 8, chefs Greg Dulan and Kim Prince got a call from chef José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen. They were, at the time, tasked by the food relief nonprofit with feeding firefighters in the Altadena community, a historic African American neighborhood all but destroyed by the raging Eaton Fire just days after New Year’s. Prince, a longtime LA resident and founder of Hotville Chicken, and Dulan, a native of Crenshaw and owner of Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen in Inglewood, had 24 hours to prepare their Dulanville food truck — and to process. Like so much that week, things quickly — and repeatedly — changed. Within a day, World Central Kitchen helped to mobilize a cohort of Los Angeles-based chefs to serve residents impacted by the fires. On that Wednesday, Dulan and Prince drove down Altadena’s Woodbury Avenue, past downed power lines, and into the eerie darkness, where houses still smoldered and ash permeated the air. Longtime residents, elders, and locals who’d lived in the neighborhood for years sought out Dulan and Prince’s menu of old-school, Southern-style comfort food: Plant-based jambalaya and vegan coleslaw, as well as fried chicken, cornbread muffins, hot collard greens, red beans and rice, and sticky ribs nourished a community in deep, unfathomable pain. “These families have already experienced enough transition and displacement by losing their home,” Dulan told Eater. “Least we can offer is a stationed area where they can get meals that they are familiar with — a diet that they understand.” On January 7, the Palisades, Hurst, and Eaton wildfires erupted in communities across Los Angeles, destroying 40,000 acres of homes, businesses, and storied communities in their path. Weeks later, the city is still reeling: Communities and neighborhoods have been flattened, favorite restaurants have been destroyed, historic locations are in ashes. Yet, in the midst of tragedy, chefs, restaurants, business owners, and organizations in and outside of the City of Angels have used every single day to feed and uplift the Los Angeles community. LA restaurants’ striking mobilization efforts during the wildfires are a reflection of the hospitality industry’s indisputable history of stepping up for communities during their most crucial times of need — climate disasters, global pandemics, and national tragedies among them. “Restaurants are always the first ones to give back,” says chef Daniel Shemtob, who lost his own Pacific Palisades home in the fires. “During COVID, I watched LA suffer. All of our restaurants struggled; I was down 90 percent, and I had to close three restaurants, yet I and friends in the industry were out there giving free meals away. That’s the thing that’s so cool about our industry, and why support is so necessary — it creates the thread of the culture, because it’s local and it’s what we do for each other. It’s how we give hospitality, and that multiplies”…
Fashion Labels Are Betting Big on Restaurants and Cafés
If you build a luxury branded restaurant, they will come. Scrolling through TikTok, The Polo Bar by Ralph Lauren might pop up on your FYP, with creators and celebrities alike reviewing $37 cocktails and a $35 burger. While visiting New York City, a fashionable friend might suggest Tiffany’s Blue Box Café for a spot of afternoon tea while shopping. Swiping through Instagram, another friend might be on vacation in Paris, grabbing a designer latte branded with a snappily dressed fox at Café Kitsuné. It’s not your imagination, or some kind of hallucination induced from watching too many Birkin bag videos. Fashion brands and designers are opening more restaurants these days. The source of buzz seems to be a trio of openings in New York City—from Armani, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany’s—plus one rumored takeover. The latest is the new Armani/Ristorante, which opened on Madison Ave last December, and it’s giving quiet luxury. Now 90 years old, Giorgio Armani opened his first restaurant in Paris in 1998, and today owns 24 around the world. There was previously an Armani/Ristorante on 5th Ave, but the whole flagship moved to the Upper East Side, where the ground floor restaurant spans 4,156 square feet, including a bar and mezzanine. Supposedly inspired by Armani’s yacht, the modern design features eucalyptus wood, lacquer green walls, and marble floors. Much of the furniture comes from the Armani/Casa line; the table lamps alone start at several thousand dollars. It’s Italian fine dining in minimalist style, and if shopping feels like a daytime activity, it dives surprisingly deep into dinner. Executive chef Antonio d’Angelo flew out from Milan for the opening, and the restaurant offers prix-fixe lunch and an à la carte dinner, with plans to add a full tasting menu and aperitivo snacks. The chef recommends the cannelloni Genovese, slowly simmering both beef and veal for six hours, like his mama used to make. Of course, you could make it rain truffles for $70 (when in season). At some other Armani cafes around the world, “People come inside to have one drink to take a photo for Instagram or TikTok,” D’Angelo says. But not on the Upper East Side, where they’re staying for dinner, and it’s slightly more discreet…
Did You Know?
Navigating New Immigration Laws: A Guide for Restaurant Operators. The restaurant industry has long relied on immigrant workers to fill key roles in kitchens, dining rooms, and management teams. With immigration regulations implemented under President Trump, many restaurant operators are facing challenges in maintaining their workforce and ensuring compliance with regulations. While these changes can create uncertainty, proactive planning and strategic adjustments can help businesses adapt and continue thriving…
Employee Tip
How to Become the Restaurant Where Everyone Wants to Work. Ever wonder how you can become the go-to place where everyone wants to work? From streamlining systems and enhancing training to boosting morale and maintaining a great physical environment, these essential steps will attract top talent and build a motivated, committed team. Follow these strategies to improve your work environment and elevate your restaurant’s reputation and profitability…
