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Five Star Restaurant Consultants
Louise Dawson (Restaurant Bootcamp Conference Coordinator)
"Welcome to Restaurant Bootcamp!
2008 has been a difficult year for many San Francisco based restaurateurs. In January, the minimum wage increased, the City of San Francisco imposed a mandatory health care initiative and a sick pay ordinance. Many restaurateurs have been wondering how they are going to adjust their business models to bare these additional costs. Did you know that the average San Francisco based restaurant profit margin is 3% of revenue? If you are a San Francisco restaurateur, have you figured out how you are going to take home a paycheck?
Restaurant Bootcamp is on May 13th, at Fort Mason and is geared towards potential and existing restaurateurs, chefs and managers. This collaborative effort between the GGRA and Five Star Restaurant Consultants was conceived as a response to the many issues that the restaurant and hospitality industry in San Francisco and the Bay Area is facing. Our goal is to bring as many industry experts together in one day and under one roof to educate and inspire our restaurateurs and their staff.
Opening Ceremonies are hosted by PR Consultant Susie Biehler, Gene Burns from KGO and sponsored by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. This morning keynote panel “The Feminine Side of the Business: Women Owners Blazing the Restaurant Trail,” features Emily Mitra from DOSA, Anne LeZiblatt from Bong Su, Elizabeth Falkner from Orson and Citizen Cake and Gabriela Sales of Charanga.
The afternoon panel “Create the Buzz,” addresses how restaurants and lounges can leverage media to keep their customers coming. This segment is hosted by PR Consultants Jared Rivera and Diana Gil-Osorio and features panelists Liam Mayclem, KPIX’s Eye on the Bay, Joel Riddell from KGO Dining Around with Gene Burns, Barb Moffatt, In Wine Country and Joey Altman, KRON’s Bay Café and is sponsored by Heffernan Insurance Group.
New Media panelists are Nish Nadaraja from YELP, Marcia Gagliardi from Tablehopper, Liz Johannesan from Open Table and featured restaurateur Eric Rubin, Tres Agaves.
Print Media panelists include Jan Newberry from San Francisco Magazine, 7X7, Examiner and Chronicle and restaurateur Doug Washington, Town Hall, Salt House and soon to open Anchor and Hope.
Restaurant Bootcamp is also hosting an array of seminars and workshops, sponsored by Five Star Restaurant Consultants, Starboard and Mill Valley Insurance. Frank Klein will present “Creating a Dynamic Wine List for under 5K,” Starboard’s Colleen Meharry will pair with Restaurant Attorneys Georgopoulos an Economidis to present “How to Purchase a Restaurant and Negotiate a Lease,” and Ted Hilliard from Hilliard Management will help restaurateurs navigate some of the new issues in “Bookkeeping for Restaurants.”
Make sure to stop by the Festival Pavilion for the Innovation Expo, sponsored by Heartland Payment Services. This one-stop-shop allows the busy restaurateur to check out resources, products and services and to join us and 7X7 Magazine for a cocktail reception at 4:00pm.
On Wednesday, April 30th at 1:00pm, Restaurant Bootcamp is hosting a special Teleseminar featuring Danny Meyer! Participants may join a live telephone call with Meyer, author of Setting the Table.
For more information, go to www.restaurantbootcamp.com".
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Starboard TCN Worldwide Commercial Real Estate
Colleen Meharry / Alex Popov / Diane Rossini
"Starboard TCN would like to welcome you to Restaurant Bootcamp!
As the official Commercial Real Estate sponsor of Restaurant Bootcamp, Starboard TCN Commercial Real Estate would like to welcome you to Restaurant Bootcamp! We invite you to visit our booth in the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason during the conference to discuss your real estate questions and needs. Starboard TCN Commercial Real Estate is the only commercial brokerage in San Francisco with a specialized restaurant division run by agents who own and operate restaurants and commercial properties. Starboard TCN restaurant division agents Colleen Meharry and Alex Popov have over 50 years combined experience in operating restaurants. Both Colleen and Alex offer their clients insightful expertise in all aspects of commercial restaurant properties including finding retail space, and buying or selling an existing operation. Stop by our booth to meet Colleen and Alex to hear tips on restaurant real estate! Here are a few tips:
Tip #1: Find a real estate broker who has owned a restaurant! Restaurants are very specialized businesses that have specialized real estate needs. These can include electrical, plumbing and ventilation requirements, but what about staffing and workflow or inventory storage requirements or other floorplan issues. Unless your broker has owned and operated restaurants they will not be able to advise you sufficiently for your most important restaurant business decision.
Tip #2: Consider buying an existing business. Many restaurant owners feel they need to develop a new location with new construction. But often times it is cheaper and faster to buy an existing restaurant operation with infrastructure already in place. With every increasing construction costs and permitting requirements you should consider buying vs. building".
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Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Amy Vitarelli
"Heffernan Insurance Brokers invites you to join us at the Restaurant Bootcamp on May 13th! From “Basic” to “Elite” Training, Bootcamp has everything for the new and veteran restaurateur.
We are proud to be sponsoring the “Create the Buzz” seminar where you can learn from people in the broadcast, print and social media on how to leverage these three areas to make your restaurant a success.
Heffernan Insurance Brokers will be conducting 1-on-1 consultation sessions during the conference. Please go to www.restaurantbootcamp.com/consultation for details and to sign up!
In the meantime, here are our “Top 3 Tips” of the day for you:
1. When reporting gross payroll for Workers Compensation, do not include employee tips.
2. Ensure that your insurance program includes coverage for violation of Wage & Hour Laws. This is a significant exposure for restaurant owners.
3. If you serve alcohol, check that your Liquor Liability policy does not exclude Assault & Battery.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference!"
About Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Heffernan Insurance Brokers, formed in 1988, is one of the largest independent insurance brokerage firms in the United States. Heffernan provides comprehensive insurance and financial services products to a wide range of businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Heffernan has additional offices in San Francisco, Petaluma, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, and Orange, California; Portland, Oregon; Plantation, Florida and West Palm Beach, Florida. Heffernan Insurance Brokers was named the Third Best Place to Work in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal and East Bay Business Times in 2007, and was named the 11th Largest Independent Broker in the U.S. by Insurance Journal in 2007. For more information, please visit www.heffgroup.com or call Amy Vitarelli at 415-808-1342.
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Gi Paoletti Design Lab
Gi Paoletti
"I am Gi Paoletti of Gi Paoletti Design Lab and I am joining Justin Martinkovic and Brian Milford in presenting Fashionable, Functional and Eco-Friendly: A Primer on Restaurant Design and Construction.
I spent fifteen years working for some of the largest firms in the country and in Australia before opening Gi Paoletti Design Lab in San Francisco. Gi Paoletti Design Lab is a full service interior architecture and design firm which provides Restaurant and Business owners with everything from space planning and construction documents to design development and decorating.
My collaborative nature is welcoming for clients who want to be a part of the process and appreciate my ability to enhance and resonate their business concept through design. I have a great appreciation for detail which extends to paying special attention to implementing sustainable technologies and renewable materials into my projects.
Restaurants utilize more energy per square foot than any other business type so I believe it is our obligation to lead our clients towards eco-friendly solutions. It can be as easy as coming up with a layout that prevents cross-breezes from cooling the food before it gets served or specifying an exhaust hood with a monitor which adjusts the fans to accommodate the current exhaust needs.
It is also important for restaurateurs to know there is a cross roads where beautiful products and environmental friendliness meets. That is where Gi Paoletti Design Lab is standing ready to show them what is available.
For example there is a local company called Vetrazzo where restaurateurs can donate bottles and old dinnerware which are transformed into countertops used in many restaurants. What a great reward to be a part of the circle that creates the beauty of a restaurant from discarded restaurant materials.
Please join me at Restaurant Bootcamp to hear more great tips on restaurant design".
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Cliff House
Lisa Bellamo
"Restaurant Bootcamp — What a Concept!
In the competitive San Francisco hospitality industry Restaurant Bootcamp sounds like the perfect solution for those still dreaming of their restaurant, for those who are in startup mode and also for the many restaurants already opened.
At Cliff House we are all of the above because the truth is no matter how many years you’re in business you still have dreams and aspirations for your restaurant. You are always in “startup” mode because the hospitality industry, like life, is an ever changing and growing experience. And with over 140 years perched on the same rocky bluff there is no denying we’ve been opened for awhile.
We’ve learned a few things over the years and for us the top three tips we have for running a successful restaurant are first and foremost “Superior Guest Relations.” Let’s face it without guests you don’t have a business, so nothing can or should be more important than the people who walk through the door. They should feel welcomed and special – we call them guests and not customers because a guest is someone you invite into your home and treat with special care. It’s not simply about feeding and serving people, it IS about “How we make them feel.”
The other two tips, Quality/Price Ratio and Expense Control… well, they are the very things you can learn about at Restaurant Bootcamp so we’ll see you there!"
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Patisserie Ganache
Ken O’Neil (Executive Chef & Owner)
"Bonjour et bienvenue!
The pastry chefs of Patisserie Ganache, located in San Bruno, are more than excited to be participating in the 2008 Restaurant Boot Camp. We invite you to stop by and sample our Parisian-perfect confections, artisan breads, American-style sweets, and heavenly breakfast pastries. (Remember that flaky, golden croissant you raptured over on the Champs-Élysées? Try ours.) Be sure to check out our portfolio of sophisticated wedding cakes and whimsical special-order creations…le ciel en fut jaloux!
As a small business serving the retail and wholesale desires of the incredibly food-savvy Bay Area, we’re looking forward to sharing what we’ve learned with other small businesses and culinary start-ups at Boot Camp. Below, our top three tips:
1. Love what you do!
2. Don’t take anything too seriously
3. Have fun and love to eat
We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, May 13th!"
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Roe
Heather Johnson
"The anticipated return of SoMa’s prized Roe restaurant, fresh off a fiery revamp, sparks back onto the scene to bring a much needed, hot new vibe back to San Francisco. From the lounge, to nightclub, to private dining rooms, Roe offers a hip, chic atmosphere balanced by an elegant, vaulted brick dining room surrounded by large and pleasing mirrors which do well to flatter the guests in shades of burgundy flare and capture the essence of our refined contemporary cuisine. Intense flavors and vibrant plates revive the taste buds and enliven the senses within the freedom of the plush experience we strive to provide for you with a smile.
Come enjoy the hospitality of our warm staff and travel the globe — reinvented — by satisfying your palates with international notes of our delectable food from our regular menu and exciting happy hour with live bands and talent, or arrive fashionably late, just in time for dancing above in the second floor nightclub where our talented DJ’s set you free — of course with the aid of our adventurous, signature cocktails which will loosen those dance feet a little.
My top three tips for running a successful Lounge and Club: Hire honest people, keep the talent consistent, and always, always follow through with commitments to staff and guests".
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Georgopolous & Economidis
Roberta Economidis / Zach Georgopolous
"As attorneys who specialize in the hospitality industry, we are looking forward to being a part of Restaurant Bootcamp. We will be presenting the seminar How to Purchase a Restaurant and Negotiate a Lease. With over 20 years combined experience representing clients in the food service industry, we recognize that a restaurant’s lease is one of its most valuable assets and can directly impact the business well beyond the negotiation phase. During our seminar we will touch upon all aspects of the restaurant purchase negotiations including the importance of finding the correct location, understanding neighborhood issues, the due diligence phase, negotiation of the lease terms, liquor license issues, private equity funding, and planning for a successful exit strategy.
We will also be available after the seminar to discuss other issues relevant to opening a restaurant or bar, including entity formation, dealing with the department of Alcohol Beverage Control, and obtaining and negotiating with investors. If we could leave you with three thoughts they would be:
1. Think through your plan thoroughly
2. Hold out for the right place, it will come along and you will be more successful for having waited, and
3. Have good professionals on your side".
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