The restaurant industry’s monthly same-store sales growth rate rose at an all-time-high in December, fueled by sharp gains in guest traffic and cooperative weather, according to the latest NRN-MillerPulse survey.

Industrywide same-store sales rose 5.4 percent in December, compared with a 2.9-percent increase the month prior, which is the largest increase in the survey’s history. The month capped off a relatively strong 2011 that saw same-store sales up 2.6 percent overall, leaving operators and analysts pleasantly surprised.

“December was a win across the board,” said Larry Miller, restaurant securities analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Atlanta and creator of the monthly MillerPulse surveys and research. “This could be the first sign of the rising tide that we’ve been waiting to see.”

MillerPulse, an operator survey exclusive to Nation’s Restaurant News, polled around 70 restaurant operators in January regarding December sales, profit trends, performance and outlooks. Respondents cover all regions of the country and represent the quick-service, casual-dining, fine-dining and fast-casual segments. Those surveyed in January represented restaurants that booked about 4 percent of industry sales.

Both the quick-service and full-service segments posted record-setting increases in same-store sales, the survey found. Sales at quick-service restaurants, which include both fast-food and fast-casual brands, rose 6.7 percent in December, compared with a 4-percent increase November. Sales for full-service restaurants, which include both fine-dining and casual-dining brands, increased 4.2 percent in December, compared with a 2-percent increase in the prior month.

The substantial sales increases were largely driven by guest traffic gains, which rose nearly 3 percent in December, compared to being relatively flat in November. Quick-service traffic jumped 4.2 percent in December, compared to just over a 1-percent increase in November, while full-service traffic rose 1.7 percent after seeing a 1.1-percent decline in November.

“If you love somebody, set them free.”
I don’t know if the phrase is one we should adhere to when it comes to
romantic relationships, no matter how convincingly Sting sings it. But I do
think that if we were to tweak it, and say instead, “If you’ve prepared
somebody, set them free,” the phrase would certainly be one we should
adhere to as leaders in the hospitality industry.
I don’t mean we should train people and then kick them out of the nest to
see how well they can fly. In my book—or pop song, if I were to sing one
(which, trust me, you don’t want me to do)—on-the-job training is just as
important as initial training. What I mean is that once you’ve given your
people enough training and tools to get the job done, it’s important to give
yourself permission to step back, let them put into practice what they’ve
learned, and coach from the sidelines.

Reinforcement coaching

By now, the terms reinforcement coaching and corrective coaching are
commonplace in our industry, and yet, as a result of the myriad demands
put upon leaders and managers, many of us neglect to put them into
practice consistently. We think of them as things we should do when we
have time instead of as an integral part of our everyday operations. When
they’re not a part of our regular in-house interactions, it can be easy to
forget their value.

Part of being a leader is being a strong
communicator with a positive attitude.
A strong communicator who believes
people can achieve far beyond what
they think is possible for themselves is
going to have a much better chance of
getting her people to gain an
understanding of the vision, mission and
big-picture goals of the organization.
Through reinforcement coaching, you
can inspire people to keep doing a job
well done, share your vision and show
by example it is possible to go
throughout your day with your
organization’s end goals in mind—and
that doing so makes a real
difference.

When I find myself talking about reinforcement coaching with hotel
managers, or with anyone for that matter, I usually wind up mentioning
Stephen R. Covey. The author’s idea of creating an emotional bank
account can be applied to all kinds of relationships, and yet I can’t think of
a relationship to which it can be applied to more transparently than to the
one between manager and employee.

When you engage in reinforcement coaching, you are essentially making a
deposit into someone’s emotional bank account. What if all you did was
point out the instances in which people were doing things wrong? How
receptive do you think they would be to your comments? If you correct
people without making regular deposits into their emotional bank accounts,
they’re going to become withdrawn pretty quickly when you try to correct
them. If, on the other hand, you’re the type of leader who regularly looks
for things employees are doing right and praises them along the way, odds
are you’ve built up substantial emotional bank accounts, and, as a result,
your employees are more receptive to correction.

Toolbox Ad Will Appear Here

The two most powerful words a leader can offer during reinforcement
coaching are “thank you.” Simply saying thank you, however, is not
enough. Real reinforcement coaching is stopping what you’re doing,
Copyright © 2004-2011 Smith Travel Research /DBA HotelNewsNow.com (HNN).
enough. Real reinforcement coaching is stopping what you’re doing,
addressing the employee by name, making eye contact, and taking the
time to be clear about what it is that you’re praising and why you’re
praising it. Be specific rather than general. State your observation, relate
it to one of your standards, and then explain how the employee’s actions
are benefiting the employee, coworkers, guests or organization as a whole.
Say something like, “Thank you for using the guest’s name at each checkin,
Maria. Meeting that standard really helps the guest feel a personal
connection and makes them want to come back.” This example lets the
employee know what she’s doing right and how her behavior is benefiting
the guest and the organization. It doesn’t just pat the employee on the
back, but presents her with a bigger picture and makes her more likely to
repeat the performance that meets the standard.

Reinforcement coaching is all about trying to catch people doing something
right. As a leader, you should constantly be looking for the little wins, the
things employees are doing well and according to standard, so you can
reinforce correct behaviors and develop an effective, efficient team that
produces better results.

Corrective coaching

The first thing leaders have to decide whenever employees stray from the
proper path or away from the end goal is not to ignore it. This is often
easier said than done. Acknowledging behaviors that don’t meet standards
can be uncomfortable, particularly if a manager is new or has been newly
promoted and is now responsible for staff members they consider peers.
Many managers simply believe they’re too busy to point it out each time
an employee’s behavior doesn’t meet the standard.

Solid corrective coaching techniques can make correcting behaviors that
don’t meet the standards less stressful and less time-consuming. Some of
these techniques include:

• using the employee’s name;
• making eye contact;
• acknowledging the behavior that didn’t meet the standard (without
putting the employee on display);
• asking a “What is the effect?” question in order to get the employee to
consider the consequences of their actions;
• acknowledging the things the employee is doing right; and
• letting employees know how a change in their behavior will have a
positive impact in the big picture.

The next time you see someone engaging in a behavior that doesn’t meet
the standard, pull them aside. Then, state what you observed them doing
in the form of a question. Good questions force employees to consider the
effects of their actions. Don’t ask, “Linda, what do you think you just did
wrong?” Instead, say, “Linda, could you step over here for a minute? I was
watching you check in those last five guests. When you don’t use the
guest’s name during check-in, what do you think is the effect?” Pause and
let the employee answer.

Whether you do it at the beginning, middle, or end of a corrective
coaching moment, you should also acknowledge the things that the
employee is doing correctly. You might say something like, “Thanks for
meeting our timing standard and getting those guests checked in
efficiently. I can see that your coworkers take cues from your example in
that regard. If you remember to use the guest’s name every time, I know
your coworkers will remember to do it, too.” A comment like this lets an
employee know you appreciate the things they’re doing right. It also
makes clear that even though you’re seeking to correct a certain behavior,
you’re not doing it because you want to harp on them, but because
correcting the behavior will have a specific benefit.

It’s been said the wisest leaders are those who make the most of the time
they spend with their people. Set your people up for success through a
structured training program, but once that’s in place, step over to the
sidelines and become the coach. There’ll be no limit to the potential you
and your team can fulfill.

“Who does she think she is?”

I’m sure that ran across your mind as you read my headline.

“We pay good money to agency recruiters! THEY should be asking the question…How to provide a great service to US!”
Believe me, we think about that all the time. Most of us are consumed by that question! We have attended dozens of motivational seminars, logged multiple webinars, and read countless books on how to provide a great value to our clients.

In spite of our earnest endeavors, however, frustration can develop in the Recruiter/Client relationship. Maybe you consider us over-enthusiastic. Or not enough. Maybe you hear from us every day. Then we disappear. Maybe it seems we aren’t acting with urgency. Maybe we ask “Why?” a little more than you’d like. You don’t want to completely sever the relationship with us, because the next candidate we provide could be your next hire! But we are doing things you consider perplexing.

I believe I can help you with that. I recently surveyed Third Party Contingency Recruiters with multiple agencies, in several markets, and across various disciplines…and I captured their thoughts on relationships with clients. It’s a glimpse into the world of the Agency Recruiter. It is my hope that reading a sampling of their answers below could only strengthen the bond between you and those you choose to work with.

It’s no secret that we Recruiters are handling multiple positions with multiple companies in a given time period. And it’s also no secret that some of our clients get the red carpet treatment, while others don’t. So I asked my Survey Group…”What motivates you to give certain clients 110%?” Surprisingly enough, the answer was *not* “the client who pays the best fee.” Instead…

-A client who views, and treats me as a partner, not a vendor or commodity.
-A client who works with me exclusively or as part of a very limited number of recruiting firms.
-A client who takes the time to get to know my background and qualifications.
-A client who listens to me when I say to them: “Just trust me. Even though this resume is not your ideal profile, I believe you need to interview this person.”
-A client who gives me repeat business…of course when I’ve earned it.
-A client with a consistent message…rather than changing their position regularly.
-A client who continues to communicate as they move our candidates through the interview stages, and provides honest feedback.

So I followed up with this question: How does a client fall into disfavor with you?

-When the client sends out mass emails to a dozen different recruiting firms with their needs list. It signals that I’m just a vendor to these companies, and not a partner in talent acquisition.
-When they only want to communicate via email, and never by phone. This doesn’t permit me to ask relevant questions about their projects and get a ready answer.
-When they take a pass on my candidates and will not explain why. I need this information so that I may redirect my search or narrow my focus.
-When they give me “urgent” job orders. Then they take several weeks to schedule interviews with my candidates. I worked extra hours to respond to this “urgent” need. What changed?
-When they give us a job order, interview our candidates, and decide to fill the position internally. We are willing to accept that our candidates may not have been as good as their internal. However, we also suspect we are being used to “comparison shop.” That’s not fair.
-When the client changes the criteria of the job order so many times, it feels like a moving target.

So then I became even bolder, and asked my Survey Group: “What one thing do you want a client to know…but are a little scared to tell them?”

-Don’t ask us for a discount without a reason. If you want a certain amount, or percentage off my going rate, be willing to agree to an exclusive. Or volume orders.
-We are inclined to give priority to clients who use us frequently and take our work seriously.
-If you ask for a dramatically reduced fee arrangement, and if I agree to it, you will not get the best talent in the market from me. The best candidates will be directed to clients who honor the work I do with a fair rate.
-There’s no reason not to return my messages. I am working for free out here, until I find the right candidate for you. The least you can do is return my calls.

I turned the tables on my Survey Group, by asking them to take some responsibility for client relationships that have gone awry. So I posed this question: “What one thing did you do to a client that you regret?

-Didn’t return their calls/messages quickly enough. They found another recruiter who did.
-Didn’t cover the search adequately, and the client found their candidate on their own.
-Didn’t respond with urgency. I thought I had the exclusive and all the time in the world.
-Didn’t replace candidates who had been eliminated from the search with more candidates. I thought I had my superstars the first time.
-Didn’t check in on my client after submitting four candidates. Just thought he/she could take it from there.
-Tried to read the client’s mind. I should have just called or emailed and asked the question.
-Wasn’t sensitive to the hiring authority’s schedule and demands. I kept calling him in the middle of the day when he was busiest and couldn’t concentrate. I should have asked which time of the day worked best, or set up a standing appointment.

People get fired every day. It’s not often when a Recruiter fires their Client, but it does happen! So I asked my Survey Group, “Have you ever fired a client, and why?”

-I caught my client in a mistruth more than once. I couldn’t trust them after that.
-The client was passing on my candidates. I found out a year later that they were called directly and hired outright.
-The client was looking for ways to avoid paying my invoice. Gave me a lot of excuses.
-The client waited a whole year to pay the invoice. We had to call collections.
-The client didn’t disclose to me that they had already known about my candidate. But they watched me go through the process, scheduling interviews, checking references, negotiating the package, without this disclosure. And in the end, I was told I would not be paid for the placement.
-Never making the hire. The client gave us multiple positions to fill. Lots of talking and talking. But no traction. No results.

I acknowledge that I have shone a light on very real and very raw observations and experiences of a sample group of Third Party Contingency Recruiters. And after reading this, you might be tempted to wave the white flag, retreat to the corporate office, and just do this recruiting thing yourself.

That was not the intention. You just got a rare glimpse into the world of the Agency Recruiter. Now you know how we tick, and how your behavior can affect our results. Therefore, I encourage you to continue to use our services, and remind yourself why you originally engaged us in your recruiting efforts. Your reasons will likely match the answers to my Survey Group’s final question: “What value do we provide our clients?”

-We give our clients their jobs back! When they are not screening, scheduling, checking references, networking, and asking for referrals, they are attending to the rest of their responsibilities. Let us do the footwork!
-During the recession, Human Resource Departments were decimated. But Recruiting real talent cannot stop. View us an extension of your HR Division!
-We provide industry (or market) specialization, and a network to go with it! What may take the client months to place…we might be able to accomplish within weeks.
-Empty positions cost a company money and customer loyalty! Rather than settling for someone that you could find in a short time…use a Recruiter to produce a larger selection of qualified and interested candidates.
-If the client is uncomfortable calling desirable employees from their competitors, reach out to me! I’ll do the calling!
-If the client is at the end of his/her rope…and if they’ve looked everywhere for the perfect candidate…
I might be the solution! I might be aware of the person for which you have been combing the earth!

By Ruchira Agrawal

The times we live in today are very different from just 10 years ago. Job security and staying in the same career for your entire life are almost a thing of the past. Most people will change careers between 5-7 times in their lifetime according to recent studies.

Why would someone want to change or reinvent their career?
1.Losing enthusiasm for the work – After you spend a number of years working in one field, you begin to feel a loss of connection with your work. This sometimes happens with high-achievers
2.Need for personal fulfillment – Your work just doesn’t feed your soul; it doesn’t bring any fulfillment or satisfaction. You may be good at it but it doesn’t align with who you are. This mostly happens around mid-life for people.
3.Personal aspirations aren’t aligned with work anymore – People grow and change and so do their desires, goals and aspirations. Ten years ago, perhaps something else was important and now your needs have changed. Work can then starts to become a barrier rather than providing fulfillment.
4.Circumstances – Perhaps the industry you were involved is stagnating or even dying. Or you have crossed a certain age and jobs are tough to come by. Circumstances such as these may also put somebody in a position where they think about reinventing their career.

Reinventing your career is really about your personal journey of self-discovery. Whatever your reason for wanting to make a change, the desire to do it must come from within. The desire to take charge of your career and life should be there as well.

Here are 6 important steps to bear in mind that will give you a head start:

An open mind – An open mind–like a blank slate with no pre-conceived notion of what you can or cannot do–serves very well as you look for a career that’s new and different. Explore your options by reading about them and talking to people, try to just absorb everything instead of judging things right away. Don’t be afraid of the “New”. This will help you expand your mindset.

What will I be when I grow up – If you had a childhood dream, something that you always wanted to do and couldn’t, this is a time to connect with it.

Passion, abilities, needs and values – Often running our lives on auto-pilot, we forget what our interests are, and this is a great time to remember them. What really grabs your interest? The best way to reinvent your career is to first discover what you really want to do and then excel in it by becoming good at it. Pay attention to everyday things and events however miniscule they may seem–your answer may be hidden there. Do people come to you for advice automatically? Are you good at organizing things neatly and effectively and love working with people? There could be things you are already doing and enjoying, but you may not have paid attention.

Don’t forget to use your intuition – Your intuition is such a versatile tool and it can be easily used in both personal and professional situations. As you are trying to look for answers, let your instincts guide you.

Applying the same discipline as your corporate job – Once you’ve identified what you would like to do, start learning so you can move into it. Don’t be afraid to take courses or get help from experts in the industry. Speak to those who have already blazed the trail before you.

Fear is not your friend – Once you’ve identified your likely choices, then it’s time to take action. This can be frightening and often makes people freeze and stay in one place. You have to identify your fears – failure, the unknown, and so forth, and realize that they are not realistic. It’s true that there is no guarantee for the future but that shouldn’t stop you from taking forward steps.

Change and reinvention should be an exciting prospect as you are looking towards your bright future.

By Dee Adams

If you’ve ever dreamed about starting your own business, you are not alone. There were almost 9 million self-employed workers in 2010, according to statistics compiled by Challenger, Gray, & Christmas. Each year, a percentage of the workforce trades in their 9-5 jobs for the entrepreneurial life, but some workers start a sideline business to supplement their salaries.

Business startup cuts across all socio-economic groups; from managers, executives, and professionals to blue collar workers. Success stories include:
•A Harvard graduate with a degree in mathematics and economics who left management consulting to pursue her passion for desserts. She started a bakery and Café, and began writing cookbooks.
•A Ph.D. in political science from University of Chicago who opened a motorcycle repair shop. He wrote a book about the value of working with one’s hands.
• A web designer and consultant fired from her job because of her personal blogging. She built a lucrative home-based empire with her mommy blog.
•A firefighter who invented better fire safety equipment for the consumer and industrial marketplace, and created a multimillion-dollar venture.

But, for many other would-be entrepreneurs finding the right startup is challenging.

Many issues may cloud the process, and certain questions asked and answered in the pre-planning stage can pinpoint conflicts and problems, and their solutions.

Here are several important questions:

Do you know how many aptitudes you possess?
Aptitudes are inborn natural talents and should not be confused with acquired skills. Each person has an average of six innate skills, some unused and some hidden.

While a percentage of the population may be able to determine their own aptitudes by self-assessment, most people are not aware of their full potential, according to writer Margaret Broadley. Over a 40 year period, Broadley documented the work of the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization specializing in the scientific research of human abilities.

What are your least favorite skills?
Create a checklist of work tasks that you dislike and have trouble executing.

What feels more comfortable, introverted or extroverted personality traits?
Make a checklist of your actual patterns of behavior in work and social interactions, not what you believe your traits are.

Note: Some people adapt their personalities in order to fit into social or working situations and may have an opposite personality from the traits that they often exhibit.

What is your motivation for choosing self-employment?
Using a single sentence, describe why you want to be your own boss.

What is your history with money?
Your money history includes your family’s relationship with financial issues, the messages you learned as a child, and your pattern of behavior and attitude toward money as an adult, which may be reflected in your current credit history.

Summarize your answer in two or three short sentences.

Socio-economic factors, like the state of the economy, the ability to borrow money, or to easily relocate have an impact on the number of people who pursue entrepreneurship each year, but many aspiring entrepreneurs ignore national economic trends in pursuit of their dreams. Those who succeed keep their risks low, and instinctively review their personal development homework beforehand.

What other issues are standing in your way?

How many of us have heard these famous last words at the end of a not-so-successful date? They remind me of Charlie Sheen’s character on Two And A Half Men. “I’ll Call You” was Charlie’s escape hatch which allowed him to quickly part company with his lady friends without a big confrontation. It was never genuine. Rather flip and dismissive. Which is why Job Seekers recoil when they hear the same words from a Professional Recruiter: “I’ll Call You.”

I understand the temptation to lump Recruiters in with the Charlie Sheens’ of the world. After all, today’s society has been conditioned to understand “I’ll Call You” to be the ultimate blow off. However, I can assure you, and the rest of today’s Job Seekers, that when we Recruiters say “I’ll Call You” we actually mean it! It may not be the next day or next week. But if your work history is strong, and your skill set relevant to our niche, we will eventually call you.

Most Agency Recruiters, like me, are driven by our clients’ immediate needs…critical positions which need to be filled ASAP by candidates who meet a very specific set of criteria. This explains why a highly-qualified Accountant will hear “I’ll Call You” when the Recruiter is working on filling Sales positions. Or why an accomplished Engineer will hear “I’ll Call You” when the Recruiter is handling several Chef openings. Or why the recent college grad will hear “I’ll Call You” when the Recruiter is seeking out CEO candidates. It doesn’t mean the Accountant’s or Engineer’s or College Graduate’s resumes were awful and that they “never find a job in this town again.” It simply boils down to timing.

I’ll admit we Recruiters see thousands of resumes a month. Even if we say “I’ll call you,” how do you, the Job Seeker, know that we won’t forget you three months from now? I’ve been asked by Job Seekers before:”Can I call you every week to stay in touch?” It’s a nice idea, really. But if I honored this request by the several hundred prospective candidates I’ve been in contact just in the last month, then you will legitimately be able to compare me to Charlie… *after* he lost his mind!
If you, the Job Seeker, wish to stay on a Recruiter’s radar for future opportunities, then you will benefit the most by supplying the following:

• an updated copy of your resume
• accurate salary history
• reasonable salary expectations
• markets for relocation
• list of tangible, measurable accomplishments
• aspirations for your next position
• three professional references
• an active cell number
• and a viable email address

A good Recruiter will enter every tidbit of this information into a profile he/she has created for you in their keyword-optimized database or tracking system. Between your resume and the above bullets, you have armed the Recruiter with the information needed to match you to upcoming positions. And when the right position matches up…then the magic happens. And unlike Charlie Sheen…the Recruiter actually calls! It may be in two weeks…two months…or two years. But the Recruiter calls.
Please don’t misunderstand. I do not mean that you, the Job Seeker, should completely drop out of sight after the initial phone screen with your Recruiter. I’ll confess that occasionally well-timed calls from active Job Seekers who want to update me on a new accomplishment or a changed email address, have been followed up with my query “By the way, may I run a new opportunity past you?” So in the end, the best way to treat “I’ll Call You” from a Recruiter is to view it as the beginning of a beautiful friendship. (Giving props to Bogey.) Not the dismissive end of a brief encounter. (Ala Charlie Sheen.) Your Recruiter likely wants to help. It’s just he/she may not be able to do so right now. But when that perfect project does come along with criteria that matches your background & skill set, then both you and the Recruiter will be…Winning!

Wendy Gawlik CPC

By Zachary Roth | The Lookout

The economy added slightly more jobs than expected in July, though not enough to ease mounting concern that a double-dip recession could soon take hold.

The Labor Department said employers added 117,000 jobs last month. Analysts had said that anything above 100,000 would be good news.

The awful numbers for June and May were revised slightly upward, to gains of 56,000 and 46,000 respectively.

Still, a day after the market plummeted amid concerns over slow economic growth and Europe’s debt crises, the news will likely do little to ease the concerns of investors or give hope to those out of work. Most economists believe the economy needs to add around 250,000 jobs a month just to keep pace with the rate of growth in the workforce.

The overall unemployment rate ticked down slightly, to 9.1 percent from 9.2 percent, but that was in part because of people who gave up looking for work after growing discouraged, and who are therefore no longer counted in the statistics.

By Liz Goodwin | The Lookout – 3 hrs ago

A study by the National Employment Law Project finds that middle-wage jobs–those that pay between $13 and $20 an hour–have been the biggest casualty of the recession. This year’s job market has 8.4 percent fewer jobs in that pay range than existed prior to the onset of the crash in 2008.

This is leading to an “hourglass economy,” the researchers write, with disproportionate numbers of Americans finding themselves at the top or bottom of the wage scale.

Most of the job growth since the recession has been in low-wage jobs, which shot up 3.2 percent in 2010, even as real wages for those workers have declined. The researchers say “retail salespersons, office clerks, cashiers, food preparation workers and stock clerks” have seen the fastest growth in available positions.

The economy has seen a 4 percent drop in higher wage jobs (those paying between $20 and $53 an hour) and a .3 percent decline in low-wage jobs since early 2008. But those wage sectors have still sustained a better recovery than mid-wage jobs have.

The lag actually pre-dates the ’08 collapse, researchers say, with mid-wage occupations such as machinists and pre-school teachers growing at a markedly slower pace than higher-wage and lower-wage jobs did. “Growing wage inequality in the United States is a phenomenon that’s three decades in the making, and which the recession

Beef O’Brady’s, Buffalo Wild Wings expect to see sales return
July 25, 2011 | By Alan Snel

Restaurants that rely on NFL Sundays for an important chunk of their sales were celebrating Monday when news broke that the National Football League players will sign a labor settlement with team owners to end the 132-day owners lockout.
“It’s an absolute relief,” said Aaron Carricato, owner of two Beef O’ Brady’s units in Tampa. “The NFL season for us is by far our busiest season.”
Carricato said that if the lockout scrubbed the 2011 NFL season, his Sunday restaurant sales would plummet 40 percent. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, a Tampa, Fla.-based family sports pub chain, has 217 sites in 23 states.
“Without football it would have made a humongous difference,” he said. “We love 25 weeks of football and crave it the other 27 weeks.”
For the owners of five Beef ‘O’ Brady’s restaurants in Florida’s Panhandle and Mississippi, the end of the lockout means they won’t have to continue a free beer promotion that was introduced in April when the labor stoppage was about 35 days old.
The five restaurants gave away free Bud Light to customers starting at 4 p.m. on each day of the lockout. Those five units added a minute every day for the free beer for each day that there was no labor agreement. For example, on Day 40 of the lockout, customers were given free beer for 40 minutes starting at 4 p.m.
Another chain that reached out to its customers during the lockout was Minneapolis-based Buffalo Wild Wings. The 740-plus-unit casual-dining chain introduced TV spots during the NCAA college basketball tournament games asking viewers to help “save our season” by visiting Buffalo Wild Wings’ Facebook page and adding their names to an online petition.
“The end of the NFL lockout is a huge help for us,” said Chris Kulig, general manager of a Buffalo Wild Wings store in a suburban community outside of Tampa. “That’s a primary source for income on the weekends.”
Kulig said his restaurant has an NFL promotion called, “Countdown to NFL Fridays,” when the restaurant gives away free T-shirts, toy footballs and gift certificates to drive traffic for NFL Sundays.
“It helps people get excited about the season. To know the NFL is coming back is great,” Kulig said. “Now that we have a season, people can get interested in NFL fantasy leagues.”
He noted that Sunday sales increase 10-15 percent during football season.
Previously, NRN reported that Stephen Anderson of Miller Tabak & Co. estimated that 10 percent of Buffalo Wild Wings’ sales are tied to NFL broadcasts, and David Tarantino of Robert W. Baird & Co. wrote that cancelled NFL games could erode the brand’s average weekly sales by as much as 15 percent during the season.
Buffalo Wild Wings plans to hold a conference call to discuss its second-quarter earnings report Tuesday
Brand columnist Denise Lee Yohn, who writes on the restaurant industry, compared the NFL to an “ecosystem” that gives economic life to communities:
“Professional sports are interwoven into everyday life, including restaurants,” Yohn said. “When a lockout happens, it shows how fragile the ecosystem is.”

Food inflation for groceries narrows gap between away-from-home and in-home dining cost
June 27, 2011 | By Mark Brandau

Consumers are slowly returning to restaurants for dinner after more than three years of declining guest visits for an evening meal, according to new findings from market research firm The NPD Group.
Since the recession’s beginning in 2007, dinner traffic had been falling, especially at casual-dining restaurants. But NPD said Monday that total visits have turned positive in the past three quarters. According to NPD’s CREST service, which tracks consumer use of all foodservice outlets, dinner visits increased 2 percent in the first three months of 2011, following traffic gains of 2 percent and 1 percent in the third and fourth quarters of 2010, respectively.
“The improvement may reflect some easing in unemployment, a modest improvement in consumer confidence, as well as a release of pent-up demand during the periods reported,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst. “I also believe that rising food costs in-home have narrowed the gap between the price of food at home and a restaurant meal.”
Recovery at quick-service restaurants, which account for 77 percent of total industry traffic, drove the growth of dinner visits, NPD said. Traffic at midscale and casual-dining restaurants remained weak. In the first three months of 2011, dinner visits rose 1 percent at quick-service brands but fell 2 percent at midscale and casual-dining restaurants. Dinner traffic rose 5 percent at fine-dining restaurants, but upscale locations account for just 1 percent of all restaurant visits, NPD noted.
Over the past several years, restaurant chains have turned to aggressive promotions to maintain dinner traffic, particularly in casual dining, where the bar-and-grill brands Applebee’s and Chili’s ran dueling $20 prix-fixe deals. Red Lobster’s current $15 Seafood Feast limited time offer — which offers soup, salad, dessert, an entrée and unlimited biscuits — was credited with increasing traffic and wait times at the casual-dining chain, according to Wells Fargo research.
Quick-service chains have promoted premium products for consumers trading down from casual and upscale restaurants while running aggressive offers of their own, like 10-piece buckets of chicken for $10 at KFC or a $7.99 carryout special at Domino’s Pizza.
“There continues to be areas of weakness in the industry, but the industry did pick up in the last few prior quarters,” Riggs said. “It remains to be seen, however, if we’ll be able to sustain the improvements given the current economic volatility.
“All the reasons consumers go to restaurants — convenience, varied selections, someone else doing the cooking — are still valid and could continue to drive the industry’s improvement,” she said.
Over the past six months, traffic on the weekends improved across all dayparts and visits from families with young children also rose, NPD found.