Ready To Sell? Maybe You Should Be
Drafting a dream – plan your exit before you begin. Are you ready to unlock the real secret to building wealth in the restaurant industry? It’s probably not what you think, and it might even be easier than what you’re doing now. Every story deserves an unforgettable ending. In 2018, I opened a self-serve tap house and sports bar called Auggie’s Draft Room. Of all the concepts I’ve brought to life, this one stands out as my most successful. But here’s the twist: its success didn’t come from a perfect concept, prime location, or impeccable timing. Quite the opposite. In our first six months, we barely grossed $200,000 in revenue. Fast forward to December 2024, and Auggie’s grossed over $300,000 in a single month. This transformation wasn’t luck. It was the result of decades of lessons learned, strategies honed, and unwavering determination. Auggie’s became more than just a success story; it became the centerpiece of my book, Drafting a Dream. In its pages, I share every tool an aspiring restaurateur needs to develop, open, and thrive with their own concept. From struggling to soaring, Auggie’s Draft Room is living proof of what’s possible when you commit to turning dreams into reality. The book’s success, becoming an Amazon bestseller, reinforced the power of these lessons. To everyone who’s read my book, first, let me thank you for joining me on this journey. Second, I have a confession. I didn’t know it at the time, but I left something out. One critical chapter that could hold the key to unlocking true wealth in this industry. Consider this your director’s cut, the final piece of the puzzle that didn’t make it into the original book. It’s not just another chapter; it’s the most important lesson I’ve learned in my career. And now, I’m sharing it with you. In the 90s, I created a concept called Dominic’s of New York. It was so well received that I ended up franchising it. One of my franchisees, Vincent Russo, taught me a lesson that changed the way I look at the restaurant industry. While most Dominic’s operators, including me, were focused on the day-to-day challenges of running and building successful restaurants, Vincent made millions of dollars operating just one location. On top of that, he had enough free time to take vacations most of us could only dream about. Vincent cracked the code…
2025 Small Business Outlook
How will the small business economy fare. Twenty twenty-four will be remembered for many things, but the soft landing of the U.S. economy and the reelection of Donald Trump as President of the United States will likely prove most significant. Both were a surprise to many experts and seem to tell conflicting stories about the health of the U.S. economy, but both will have a huge impact on small businesses in 2025 and for years to come. To observers on Wall Street, within the Federal Reserve, and inside the Democratic Party, 2024 was the year that inflation was tamed and GDP continued to grow, while consumer spending remained strong and unemployment low. The stock market, led by technology innovations and AI exuberance, soared accordingly. But to vast numbers of Main Street Americans, prices remained uncomfortably high, wages stagnant, housing scarce and expensive, and while unemployment was low, good paying jobs with dependable shifts and quality benefits were elusive. The electorate voted for change accordingly. The key question for small businesses is how the economy will change in 2025, and more specifically, how the political and economic changes that have been promised by the Trump Administration will impact inflation, interest rates, unemployment, taxes, and tariffs. Will these changes be a net positive for small business owners? And if so, which industries will benefit over others? To answer these questions, we look to the promises made by the incoming Trump Administration whose platform focused on lower taxes, less regulation of business and the environment, less immigration and the expulsion of the undocumented from the United States, higher tariffs on goods manufactured abroad, and a more efficient federal government. Which of these promises will be kept? Which will be stifled by opposition? And which will be used as bargaining chips to achieve other goals? We anticipate a combination of outcomes, but that the tide will trend toward lower taxes, tighter labor markets, higher tariffs, and continued economic stimulus in the form of wide budget deficits. As a result, we expect the economy to grow in 2025 but also expect inflation to accelerate. Small businesses will have a difficult balancing act of capturing economic growth, while weathering accelerating costs.…
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert
MOUNT HOLLY, NJ RESTAURANT & BAR SOLD
Bielat Santore & Company, Allenhurst, New Jersey, the state’s premier real estate firm in the food and beverage industry has sold another Burlington County Restaurant & Bar – Dempster’s Sports Pub & Restaurant, Mount Holly Township, New Jersey, has been sold according to Bielat Santore & Company’s sales associate, Bob Gillis. The family owned and operated Sports Pub has been successfully run by the Dempster family for over twenty-five years. Mr. Gillis was able to find the perfect buyer, another family that had been looking for an opportunity to own an Irish, sports-themed pub in the area. Gallagher’s Taproom, as it will now be called, will remain open for business while performing minor renovations and branding.
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Early Week Reservations Are on the Rise
How restaurants can adapt and grow. Restaurants can set themselves up for sustained growth by meeting diners where they are. Weekends may still be the most popular days for dining out, but a real plot twist in restaurant reservations is happening early in the week. According to Toast’s Q3 2024 Trends Report, same-store reservations have jumped on Mondays and Tuesdays (11 percent) and Wednesdays (8 percent) compared to the year prior—turning once-quiet nights into unexpected hot spots for diners. These numbers signal a meaningful opportunity for restaurants to boost revenue early in the week. This is especially true as weekend reservations plateau; Toast’s Restaurant Trends Report found Saturday reservations stayed relatively flat in Q3 2024 (negative 1 percent) compared to Q3 2023. For operators, the takeaway is clear—adjusting your strategy to capitalize on these changes could help you thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. Let’s dive into the factors fueling this trend and how operators can turn it to their advantage. What’s driving this shift in reservation patterns? One explanation for the uptick in Monday and Tuesday reservations could be the growing appeal of a quieter dining experience. Guests may be avoiding the hustle and bustle of weekends in favor of more relaxed evenings out during the workweek. Others may seek relief from the post-work grind, opting to eat out rather than cook at home after a long day. Saturdays still account for 27 percent of all reservations—the highest of any day, according to the Toast Trends Report. Meanwhile, Sunday (6 percent), Thursday (2 percent), and Friday (2 percent) saw modest increases in Q3 2024, reinforcing the idea that diners are spreading their reservations more evenly throughout the week. Another influencing factor is that 38 percent of guests surveyed, per an additional 2024 Toast survey of 1,571 adult U.S. consumers, said that a loyalty or rewards program is a “must-have” technology for restaurants. Early-week promotions and loyalty offerings could further drive this dining behavior, creating an ideal window for operators to attract guests on slower nights…
Balancing Growth with Strategic Risk Management
The restaurant industry’s adaptability has been its hallmark through past challenges. As 2025 unfolds, the restaurant and hospitality sectors are navigating a pivotal era. Having emerged from pandemic-related hurdles, the industry is rebuilding with cautious optimism. The quick-service restaurant market, valued at $289.68 billion in 2024, is projected to grow nearly 5 percent over the next decade to $468.98 billion by 2034. Shifting consumer lifestyles and a growing reliance on convenience-driven food choices are fueling QSR growth around the world. This evolution, shaped by busier schedules and expanding e-commerce integration, is set to drive demand for quick-service offerings significantly. Despite this positive outlook, fresh challenges such as supply chain and workforce shortages emphasize the importance of strong risk management frameworks for sustained success. Uncertainty remains a constant for 2025. Rising costs for food, utilities, and supplies, coupled with regulatory shifts and climate disruptions, pose ongoing challenges for restaurants. Success will hinge on adopting enterprise risk management (ERM) strategies that integrate operational risk, human resources, and insurance planning. Proactive maintenance, safety investments and effective risk practices enhance insurability and financial performance. Measures like hurricane-resistant infrastructure and water-detection systems illustrate commitment to risk mitigation and improve insurer appeal. In 2024, U.S. restaurants achieved record-breaking sales of $1.1 trillion, showcasing their post-pandemic resilience. Improved economic conditions, easing inflation and stabilized interest rates supported this growth. Within the QSR segment, younger consumers led the charge, favoring delivery, takeout and streamlined service options designed to match modern preferences…
How DEI Pushback Is Reshaping the Restaurant Industry
Policy on the menu. Shortly after taking office for the second time in January, President Donald Trump released a flurry of executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs — touting them as “discriminatory” and in possible violation of “the civil-rights laws of this nation.” Although most of these laws target federal institutions like the executive order that specifically orders the Federal Aviation Administration to halt “Biden DEI hiring programs,” the private sector will be impacted as well. In the executive order released on Jan. 21, Trump orders “all agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities,” though does not outright ban diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. n response to these executive orders, many companies have already begun to dismantle or change their DEI programs, like Goldman-Sachs, Disney, Google, Amazon, Walmart, Meta, and more, with companies like Meta citing the changing “legal and policy landscape” around DEI, as initially reported by CNBC. Within the restaurant industry, McDonald’s was one of the first companies to change its DEI policies during the transition to the new presidential administration, with the quick-service chain announcing on Jan. 6 that it would be “retiring” some of its DEI practices, specifically citing the changing legal landscape after the United States Supreme Court ruling in Students For Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College in June 2023. “The Trump administration’s rollback of DEI initiatives could have a chilling effect on diversity efforts within the restaurant industry,” said Jonathan Brown, an attorney with the law firm Pearlman, Brown, and Wax. “While Title VII protections remain in place, the administration’s anti-DEI stance brings increased legal scrutiny to diversity focused employment decisions such as hiring and promotion. Employers who aggressively scale back DEI policies may open themselves up to reverse discrimination claims, adding another layer of legal risk.”…
The Dual-Branded Applebee’s/IHOP Concept Makes its U.S. Debut
Parent company Dine Brands is targeting at least 12 more domestic dual-branded models this year. The first domestic dual-branded IHOP/Applebee’s opened in Seguin, Texas. Inspired by the concept’s success internationally, Dine Brands has been planning to bring its dual-branded IHOP/Applebee’s model to the U.S. for about a year now. That plan came to fruition this week with the grand opening of the IHOP/Applebee’s restaurant in Seguin, Texas, just outside of San Antonio in partnership with franchisee Ramzi Hakim Group. At least 12 more such restaurants are planned this year, underscoring parent company Dine Brands’ bullishness about the concept, which features signature dishes from both IHOP and Applebee’s on a single menu – from pancakes, eggs, and bacon to boneless wings and a full bar. The restaurant also includes some unique items mixed and matched from both brands, such as the Buffalo Chicken Omelette and the Ultimate Breakfast Burger, as well as specialty cocktails like espresso martinis and Irish coffee. “This dual-branded model is more than just two great restaurants under one roof. It’s a vision for the future – a future of growth, of opportunity, and bringing even more communities a place where people can gather, connect, and enjoy the best of both worlds – Applebee’s and IHOP. Seguin is just the beginning, and we are so excited of what’s to come,” Ramzi Hakim Group vice president Danny Hakim during a grand opening event Monday. The Hakim Group has been an IHOP franchisee in the San Antonio market since 1991 and now counts 37 IHOP restaurants and recently added nine Applebee’s. Hakim said the decision to add the first dual-branded location in the U.S. was a no-brainer. “Being in a business is a risk. Those risks are what make a business successful. If you don’t try new things, you’re going to stay stagnant,” Hakim said. Dine Brands chief executive officer John Peyton added that there’s a reason the company chose this franchisee to get the concept off the ground stateside. “They are tremendous operators, they’re great developers, but most importantly, they understand innovation, they understand test and learn, and they understand that this is restaurant number one of what we plan for hundreds,” Peyton said. “We all got into this together knowing this was a science experiment, a prototype, and that’s why they were the right choice for this”…
Denny’s Plans to Close More Restaurants Than Previously Expected
Nearly 30 additional locations could shut their doors this year. Denny’s plans to close as many as 90 restaurants this year, about 30 more than previously expected, as it looks to get rid of underperforming locations and return to growth. It comes amid a chilly start to the year for Denny’s, which reported a sudden decline in same-store sales in January and February after finishing 2024 on a strong note. The results sent the company’s stock plunging more than 20% through mid-afternoon trading on Wednesday. The 1,500-unit diner chain said in October that it had earmarked 150 restaurants for closure in 2024 and 2025. It closed 88 of them last year, and will close another 70 to 90 more this year, which would be about 30 more than it had originally planned. The restaurants that have already closed had average unit volumes of under $1.1 million and had been open for an average of nearly 30 years. “In any mature brand, when restaurants have been open that long, it is natural that trade areas can shift over time,” CFO Robert Verostek told analysts during an earnings call Wednesday. He said that closing more restaurants would improve franchisee cash flow and allow them to invest in things like remodels. The company also expects to open between 25 and 40 restaurants this year, split evenly between Denny’s and its smaller sister concept, Keke’s Breakfast Cafe. It’s all part of Denny’s comeback plans under CEO Kelli Valade, who took the reins in May 2022. The plan includes reaching AUVs of $2.2 million amid an overall revitalization at the 70-year-old chain. But those efforts have hit a snag to start the year. The chain said at the ICR conference in mid-January that consumers seemed to be stabilizing after years of inflation, and that 2025 was shaping up to be a more normal year. But that trend took a sudden turn for the worse in recent weeks, executives said Wednesday. Same-store sales declined 0.7% year over year in January and are down about 5% through the first two weeks of February, though they have improved in recent days…
Did You Know?
Five Top Payment Trends that Must Be on Your Radar. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital payments, driven by a surge in online commerce. Today, digital payment methods, especially mobile payments, have matured across Europe as consumers embrace diverse digital channels with ease. Convenience and a wide range of options have emerged as key purchasing drivers, providing significant opportunities for innovation to ensure more inclusive and seamless payment experiences. With this in mind, what can restaurant operators expect from payments in 2025?…
Employee Tip
How to Master Your Kitchen’s Order Flow. As the kitchen heats up, mastering your order flow is critical. Maintaining an efficient order flow system not only keeps your kitchen calm but also minimizes order mistakes and cuts guest wait times in half. Creating a reliable order flow starts with introducing smart integrations to your restaurant ordering system. Investing in a powerful POS system that is equipped to automate order-taking, generate orders from multiple touchpoints and display them on a digital dashboard is the key to optimizing your kitchen flow…
