7 Shifts

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Florida tip laws, just like the broader set of Florida restaurant labor laws , can be tricky to navigate. Restaurant owners and managers must keep up with a steadily rising minimum wage (including tipped minimum wage), overtime laws, and other state-specific labor laws. Restaurateurs opening up shop in Florida may have questions about tips. How do you handle payment if an employee has both tipped and non-tipped responsibilities?

Restaurant Law 195

Restaurant Law Employee Relations 2024 Cash Management 195

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 18, 2023

The role of a restaurant manager is always in motion. There’s always something else to get done, a new fire to put out, and broken things to fix. All of that on top of the everyday tasks from scheduling to payroll to reporting can catch up to you. But there are several different tools to help you manage your restaurant—from single shifts and tasks to top-level overviews showing your business's health.

Management 195

Management Management Email Marketing Point of Sale 195

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 19, 2023

Tara Gilad started Vitality Bowls to solve a problem. Her daughter struggled with food allergies, and finding a safe place for her family to dine out felt nearly impossible. Undisclosed ingredients and cross-contamination made it a risk. “We started Vitality Bowls because our daughter was born with severe food allergies, and we quickly realized that we couldn't just eat at any restaurant and restaurants weren't following any allergy safety.

Restaurant Law 195

Restaurant Law Fine Dining 2014 Food Safety 195

7 Shifts

JANUARY 5, 2024

New York restaurant owners must maintain compliance with laws and regulations on multiple levels: statewide regulations, federal guidance, and local ordinances. The result is a complex patchwork of laws that varies from place to place. To keep your restaurant compliant (and avoid fees and litigation), it’s important to be aware of the ways New York’s state laws vary from federal and local regulations.

Restaurant Law 195

Restaurant Law Cash Management Tip Distribution Employee Relations 195

7 Shifts

JANUARY 9, 2024

New Jersey generally follows federal tip law standards, but the state does forge its own path in some key areas. The consequences for failing to meet these standards can be stiff: one prominent restaurant owner failed to pay more than $715k in payroll taxes and ended up pleading guilty on two counts, both of which could have landed the restaurateur in jail and came with a five-figure fine.

Restaurant Law 195

Restaurant Law Cash Management Tip Distribution 2024 195

7 Shifts

JANUARY 10, 2024

Restaurant management systems have evolved rapidly over the past couple of decades. Not long ago, this software ran only on bulky PCs in back offices or slow, awkward point-of-sale (POS) stations tucked along the edges of the dining room. Now, restaurant staff can access everything they need on their smartphones. They can take orders on iPads and process transactions via handheld POS devices.

Management 195

Management Management Point of Sale POS 195

7 Shifts

JANUARY 10, 2024

Twenty minutes east of the White House, in D.C.’s Union Market District, sits the modern Mexican restaurant Destino. Located in a market with a focus on Latin American businesses, what sets Destino apart (aside from inventive cocktails) is the note under the dessert menu: “In lieu of tipping, we add a 20% service charge to each order to support a professional wage for our entire team.

FOH 195

FOH Front of House Customer Service Back of House 195

7 Shifts

JANUARY 23, 2024

A restaurant’s schedule is its framework for success. It’s the key to creating a consistent experience every day, week, and month of the year — the essential structure for the restaurant’s operations. Getting it right is critical for sustained success in the restaurant industry. But it isn’t simple. Effective employee scheduling means finding the right mix of shifts and shift types for your business.

Restaurant Law 195

Restaurant Law Employee Relations Tip Distribution Communication 195

7 Shifts

JANUARY 31, 2024

Managing a restaurant is a delicate routine—if we can even call it a routine. A better description might be a balancing act that presents new and unique challenges every day. Managers are responsible for nearly every aspect of the restaurant and have to cover a variety of duties. This wide-ranging responsibility is a lot, and it often leads to burnout.

Management 195

Management Management Kitchen Safety Front of House 195

7 Shifts

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

Restaurant technology is no longer a nice-to-have: it’s an absolute necessity for building a modern, resilient restaurant that can become and stay competitive. The first technologies that restaurants often invest in are cloud-based point of sale (POS) systems and payroll processing. A wide-ranging industry report from Toast included a section on restaurant technology trends, noting that 82% of restaurants were using a POS, followed by 56% using payroll software.

Technology 312

Technology Mobile Ordering Social Media Online Ordering 312

7 Shifts

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Restaurants of today are infused with technology in many new ways, and it’s making a difference. The ripple effects of the pandemic continue: the National Restaurant Association finds that off-premises dining continues to happen much more frequently than before, with 66% of consumers more likely to order takeout in 2023 than they were before the pandemic.

Operations 367

Operations Management Management Mobile Ordering 367

7 Shifts

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Restaurants of today are infused with technology in many new ways, and it’s making a difference. The ripple effects of the pandemic continue: the National Restaurant Association finds that off-premises dining continues to happen much more frequently than before, with 66% of consumers more likely to order takeout in 2023 than they were before the pandemic.

Operations 352

Operations Management Management Mobile Ordering 352

7 Shifts

JANUARY 23, 2024

A restaurant’s schedule is its framework for success. It’s the key to creating a consistent experience every day, week, and month of the year — the essential structure for the restaurant’s operations. Getting it right is critical for sustained success in the restaurant industry. But it isn’t simple. Effective employee scheduling means finding the right mix of shifts and shift types for your business.

Restaurant Law 418

Restaurant Law Employee Relations Tip Distribution Communication 418

7 Shifts

JANUARY 10, 2024

Twenty minutes east of the White House, in D.C.’s Union Market District, sits the modern Mexican restaurant Destino. Located in a market with a focus on Latin American businesses, what sets Destino apart (aside from inventive cocktails) is the note under the dessert menu: “In lieu of tipping, we add a 20% service charge to each order to support a professional wage for our entire team.

FOH 221

FOH Front of House Customer Service Back of House 221

7 Shifts

JANUARY 10, 2024

Restaurant management systems have evolved rapidly over the past couple of decades. Not long ago, this software ran only on bulky PCs in back offices or slow, awkward point-of-sale (POS) stations tucked along the edges of the dining room. Now, restaurant staff can access everything they need on their smartphones. They can take orders on iPads and process transactions via handheld POS devices.

Management 195

Management Management Point of Sale POS 195

7 Shifts

JANUARY 9, 2024

New Jersey generally follows federal tip law standards, but the state does forge its own path in some key areas. The consequences for failing to meet these standards can be stiff: one prominent restaurant owner failed to pay more than $715k in payroll taxes and ended up pleading guilty on two counts, both of which could have landed the restaurateur in jail and came with a five-figure fine.

Restaurant Law 221

Restaurant Law Cash Management Tip Distribution 2024 221

7 Shifts

JANUARY 5, 2024

New York restaurant owners must maintain compliance with laws and regulations on multiple levels: statewide regulations, federal guidance, and local ordinances. The result is a complex patchwork of laws that varies from place to place. To keep your restaurant compliant (and avoid fees and litigation), it’s important to be aware of the ways New York’s state laws vary from federal and local regulations.

Restaurant Law 195

Restaurant Law Cash Management Tip Distribution Employee Relations 195

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 19, 2023

Tara Gilad started Vitality Bowls to solve a problem. Her daughter struggled with food allergies, and finding a safe place for her family to dine out felt nearly impossible. Undisclosed ingredients and cross-contamination made it a risk. “We started Vitality Bowls because our daughter was born with severe food allergies, and we quickly realized that we couldn't just eat at any restaurant and restaurants weren't following any allergy safety.

Restaurant Law 221

Restaurant Law Fine Dining 2014 Food Safety 221

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 18, 2023

The role of a restaurant manager is always in motion. There’s always something else to get done, a new fire to put out, and broken things to fix. All of that on top of the everyday tasks from scheduling to payroll to reporting can catch up to you. But there are several different tools to help you manage your restaurant—from single shifts and tasks to top-level overviews showing your business's health.

Management 397

Management Management Email Marketing Point of Sale 397

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Florida tip laws, just like the broader set of Florida restaurant labor laws , can be tricky to navigate. Restaurant owners and managers must keep up with a steadily rising minimum wage (including tipped minimum wage), overtime laws, and other state-specific labor laws. Restaurateurs opening up shop in Florida may have questions about tips. How do you handle payment if an employee has both tipped and non-tipped responsibilities?

Restaurant Law 195

Restaurant Law Employee Relations 2024 Cash Management 195

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 13, 2023

California has some of the strongest, most employee-friendly tip laws in the country. Some of them even reverse the standard rule or pattern, threatening to catch multi-state operators by surprise. California’s law differences make it almost like another country unto itself, and can trip up even established restaurateurs. Jon & Vinny’s employees recently filed a class-action lawsuit against the Italian food restaurant, claiming that they shorted servers’ pay due to a murky service fee policy

Restaurant Law 221

Restaurant Law Tip Distribution Employee Relations Customer Service 221

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 13, 2023

Texas tip laws are less complex than most other large states, but no less important to get right: Just ask one Texas barbecue restaurant, which the Department of Labor fined $867,000 , after they improperly withheld tips from employees and paid them out to managers instead. How do Texas restaurateurs need to approach wages, tipping, and taxes to avoid becoming another cautionary tale?

Restaurant Law 221

Restaurant Law Tip Distribution Cash Management Customer Service 221

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Massachusetts has a unique mix of labor laws and employee protections that apply to restaurants in the state. Between their relatively high minimum wage and tip credit, wide-ranging state law on tips, and detailed guidelines on employing minors, it can be hard for restaurants to navigate. Plus, their “triple damages” clause makes labor law violations far more expensive in Massachusetts than in most other states.

Restaurant Law 221

Restaurant Law Tip Distribution Employee Relations Customer Service 221

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 6, 2023

Colorado isn’t making life easy on restaurateurs. Tip laws differ from national standards in some areas, and staying on top of potential changes as bills make their way through the legislative process takes time and energy. Restaurant owners can breathe a sigh of relief that the complex and potentially expensive “fair workweek bill” didn’t pass. But other changes are coming soon that will likely affect every restaurant and restaurant group operating in the state.

Tip Distribution 221

Tip Distribution Restaurant Law Employee Relations 2024 221

7 Shifts

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

“We want to wow our guests. That's the main protocol here,” says Rohit Sharma, GM and operating partner of Bar 404. Taking its name from a 404 error page , Bar 404 embraces the secretive nature of a speakeasy. You must know where to go—in this case, a candle shop—to find it. But once you’re through the door, the name inspiration and logo take on another meaning: “When you're entering the cocktail bar, you delete all your unhappiness and just come to the bar and enjoy the vibe,” says

Bar 221

Bar POS Point of Sale Customer Service 221

7 Shifts

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

Picking the right payroll provider is important. A good one not only ensures that your employees are paid accurately and on time, but also plays a significant role in regulation compliance , operational efficiency, and team happiness. Thanks to all the information at your fingertips, making the switch doesn’t have to be so hard. With a bit of legwork, you can smoothly change providers to one that serves your restaurant better—without you and your staff losing your cool.

Download 221

Download Employee Relations Demo Customer Service 221

7 Shifts

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

If you run a restaurant in Colorado without clearly understanding the labor laws governing how you do business, you could be setting yourself up for trouble. Consequences might include lawsuits, fines, and closures—like this cafe in Castle Rock that got shut down for 30 days for refusing to follow social distancing orders during the pandemic. But Colorado has some specific guidelines regarding payment and overtime for restaurateurs to be aware of, and depending on your location, you may ev

Restaurant Law 221

Restaurant Law Food Safety Employee Relations Article 221

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Let’s face it—no one looks forward to running payroll. Doing calculations and triple-checking numbers isn’t your idea of a fun afternoon. But if running payroll fills you with dread and anxiety, something is wrong. If you find yourself putting off payroll because the process is too painful, don’t beat yourself up for procrastinating. Your payroll system should work for you, not against you.

Customer Service 221

Customer Service Information Pricing Insurance 221

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Florida is a great place to operate restaurants thanks to its huge tourism draw and an influx of retirees with disposable income. But restaurant owners, managers, and employees need to be aware of the labor laws and protections in place in the Sunshine State, like Florida’s unique approach to the minimum wage— which is steadily on the rise. But beyond minimum wage laws, there are other Florida-specific regulations—like overtime laws and child labor laws—that affect the restaura

Restaurant Law 221

Restaurant Law Certification Food Safety Cash Management 221

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 30, 2023

With a diverse culinary scene and a booming population, Texas can be a great place to own a restaurant. However, if you do operate a restaurant in the Lone Star State, you need to be aware of Texas labor laws. Not sticking to those laws could land your restaurant in hot water, like two Houston-area Sharky’s locations that had to pay almost $47,000 in back wages and damages after the U.S.

Restaurant Law 221

Restaurant Law Tip Distribution Food Safety Certification 221

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 26, 2023

Nearly three and a half years after the pandemic rocked the restaurant industry, the total industry workforce has eclipsed its previous peak in February 2020. According to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), eating and drinking places added 60,700 jobs in September. The number of employees in the restaurant industry year over year We’re seeing the most significant month-to-month surge since January of this year and the 33rd consecutive month of growth, stretching back to

Employee Relations 221

Employee Relations Mobile Ordering Customer Service Download 221

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

In the restaurant business, the only constant is change. But what separates successful restaurants from the rest are the ones that can best adapt. 2020 marked the beginning of a new era for restaurant management. The pandemic, for all its devastation, granted many restaurants a silver lining: a chance to reset. And the restaurant business has gone through a decade's worth of change in a few short years, leading to new staffing challenges—and new shades of the old ones.

2023 397

2023 Leadership Hiring Fast Casual 397

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

The restaurant industry continues to display its resilience as it steadily adds more jobs month after month. Preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that the Food Services and Drinking Places sector experienced a net gain of 14,900 jobs in August. This momentum is in sync with the industry's performance during the spring and summer months, consistently averaging an increase of 15,000 jobs per month.

Customer Service 396

Customer Service Mobile Ordering 2022 2020 396

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

The restaurant industry continues to display its resilience as it steadily adds more jobs month after month. Preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that the Food Services and Drinking Places sector experienced a net gain of 14,900 jobs in August. This momentum is in sync with the industry's performance during the spring and summer months, consistently averaging an increase of 15,000 jobs per month.

2023 221

2023 Customer Service Mobile Ordering 2022 221

7 Shifts

AUGUST 2, 2023

So, you've decided to implement a digital tip payout solution in your business—congratulations! Now it's time to get your team on board! Technology continues to revolutionize our lives and the world, and the restaurant industry is no exception. Restaurants without team management tools may miss out on top talent, like those who value tech: Gen Z.

Tip Distribution 195

Tip Distribution Cash Management Employee Relations Audits 195

7 Shifts

JULY 27, 2023

Jason Hammel opened Lula Cafe in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood back in 1999. More than 20 years later, the award-winning farm-to-table institution is one of the city's most celebrated restaurants. For an industry with a high rate of first-year closures, Lula Cafe's longevity is a testament to what Hammel calls a youthful mindset. He joined us on the Pre-Shift Podcast to chat about the keys to Lula Cafe's longevity, how they changed after the pandemic, and how the industry has changed since

Communication 195

Communication Front of House Education Back of House 195

7 Shifts

JULY 13, 2023

There's no two ways around it. The hospitality industry is becoming digital in every sense. Most notably with how the bills get paid. Restaurant transactions have been moving away from cash and towards electronic forms of payment for years—and that's extending to tips now too. So much so that 84% of restaurant transactions are cashless, according to a recent PYMNTS study.

Cash Management 195

Cash Management Back of House Training Insurance 195