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Reality Check

Peter Romeo

The blog from award-winning journalist, RB Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo. Peter taps into his decades of experience covering the restaurant business at a variety of publications to discuss any number of issues related to the operations and general direction of restaurants.

Financing

Developing a restaurant? Why not just hit your head with a hammer?

 By Peter Romeo on Mar. 23, 2023

Reality Check: The industry's rebound is being hampered by a host of construction and permitting issues. And the near-term outlook isn't good.

Operations

Meet a new catering powerhouse named Cracker Barrel

 By Peter Romeo on Mar. 03, 2023

The family-dining chain has set a goal of hitting the $100 million sales mark for big to-go orders this summer. As executives attest, so far, so very, very good.

Operations

Restaurants' standard defense against food poisoning is drawing fire

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 19, 2023

Reality Check: A union-affiliated group is blasting ServSafe as an underhanded way of defeating pro-employee legislation. What exactly is the deception? And what about the program's benefits?

Workforce

Don't look now but restaurants are reinventing their labor model

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 11, 2023

Signs abound that the business is awakening to the need for dramatic action.

Workforce

The union wave is leaving behind a string of closed restaurants

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 04, 2023

Some proprietors say they don't want the considerable strain of having a union shop. Others say it's just a coincidence. But labor says it's nothing more than spin-doctored union busting.

Workforce

Here's why Starbucks' union employees say they have to strike

By Peter Romeo on Dec. 16, 2022

Reality Check: Amid the harumphing by both sides, the actual points of disagreement between labor and management are starting to become clear.

Workforce

Why restaurants should care more about apathy

By Peter Romeo on Dec. 01, 2022

Reality Check: The industry’s efforts to avert spikes in labor costs and benefits might as well be canceled due to lack of interest.

Beverage

Looking for a less painful way to discount, restaurants make happy hours all day long

By Peter Romeo on Oct. 17, 2022

As they look to provide value during a time of high inflation, full-service restaurants are sacrificing some of their highest-margin items: drinks.

Financing

How Canada’s restaurants intend to fix some familiar-sounding problems

By Peter Romeo on Oct. 13, 2022

The top challenges are the same ones facing operators on this side of the border. The solutions, not so much.

Workforce

In restaurant wages, $22 is the new $15

By Peter Romeo on Oct. 07, 2022

Reality Check: The new aspirational goal of organized labor is a 50% increase over what was once regarded as a moonshot of a raise. And it's already being hit.

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