Many businesses thrive on customer ratings, especially restaurants, which is why we want to give our readers a heads up on the recent changes in the online world of foodservice reviews.

Running a promotion for your restaurant is a great way to attract new customers and let loyal patrons know you appreciate their business. From face-to-face interaction to social media outreach, there are many ways to go about a promotion, and which method works best is sometimes just good old fashioned trial and error. Here you’ll find some restaurant promotion ideas that have proven to be effective.

As a manager, you’re constantly swatting back those pesky wrenches that peck at the gears of your restaurant’s machinery. Every day, you shoo away the problems before they can grind everything to a sudden halt. With disgruntled guests, for example, you must become the epitome of warmth, appeasement and unjudgmental understanding. Or, with lazy employees, you must become a firmer, more vocal and crueler version of yourself. And, with the inventory—well—with the inventory, you simply must take attendance: you must walk around your store with a clipboard and tally up all the food.

We all know that wine has to be stored carefully, but we might not all know why.  Oxidation, or the exposure to oxygen in the air, is the sworn enemy of a good wine because wine, just like the fruit it’s made from, turns bad with extended exposure to oxygen.  The color and aroma can begin to change within a few hours of opening the bottle, and a bottle of wine which isn’t preserved is generally considered unfit to be served after three days.

Don’t trust Internet doctors.

While researching microwaves for our JES Restaurant Equipment buying guide , I came across article after article [ 1] [ 2] [ 3] that claimed microwaves do terrible things to your health. They zap nutrients out of your food! They’re radioactive! There’s a small chance that they WILL give you cancer!

Every good restaurant needs a great menu If you are a restauranteur, devising a great menu should be at the top of your priority list. The menu can either turn your customers away immediately or keep them coming back well into the future. What most restaurant owners fail to realize is that a good menu is more than just a list of entrees and appetizers on paper. It should complement the overall look and atmosphere of your restaurant with a good design and layout. It should also be updated regularly to adjust for cost and determine which items sell and which items aren’t.

It’s that time again.  Your cafeteria has weathered another year of notes scribbled on tables, dishes dropped on floors, salt and pepper shakers transformed into Hot Wheels and dish machines  strained to their limits.  Perhaps you’re noticing rising energy costs which can be caused by older appliances, such as milk coolers, as they begin to wear out.  It’s not that you aren’t careful.  It’s just that your work space is one of the busiest places in town for nine months of the year, and summer is the only season when it slows down.  If you’re going to upgrade, you need to do it now, while the budget funds are there.

In an effort to raise a healthier generation of kids the Let’s Move Campaign is pushing for schools to offer healthier food options to their students. One recommendation set forth was to upgrade the cafeteria equipment to support the provision of healthier foods, for example, by swapping out deep fryers for salad bars.

Choosing the right dishwasher for your restaurant or establishment can seem pretty overwhelming, especially when your current dishwasher just kicked the bucket and your employees are threatening to riot from being forced to manually wash all the dishes in the restaurant. But the more you know about commercial dishwashers the easier it is to decide on the right machine to get your business back on track.

In our last post we began to discuss cleaning food-contact surfaces, but found it extensive, and decided to make two shorter blogs. Today, we’re getting it to more detail about the correct and safe usage of chemical sanitizers. The proper method of cleaning dishes in three compartment sinks has been previously covered in our blog Wash, Rinse, Sanitize-How to Clean Equipment and Utensils in a Compartment Sink , so in this post, we’ll look at dish machines and cleaning food-contact surfaces which can’t be fitted into either a sink or a dish machine.

Although the concept of induction cooking was first developed back in the early 1900’s, induction cooking equipment has just recently started to catch the attention of the foodservice industry. With the refinement of the technology came lower prices and greater ease of use, and as such this effective and energy-efficient method of cooking is being integrated with increasing regularity into both commercial and residential cooking equipment. Induction cooktops feature a unique suite of benefits that are universally enjoyed by those who invest in the technology, but the cooking mechanism is rather different from most conventional methods, and knowing how it works can help you get the most out of your induction cooker.

It seems as though one of the more frequently asked questions around the sales office is, “What’s the difference between air-cooled & water-cooled?”… Well I’m here to give you that answer.  While it may seem as thought the answer is self explanatory most people do not understand the difference or the pros & cons of each.

In my early years as a restaurant manager, I encountered a well-intended 18 year old dish washer (the employee, not the machine) who voiced a misconception that’s uncomfortably present. Having skipped pre-rinsing dishes before they were run through the dish machine , he now found himself facing my instruction to hand-wash dishes which came through the washing cycle with small bits of food stuck on them. He asked why, and I explained that the presence of food on a dish indicated that it was a dirty dish to which he responded, “But it’s clean dirt!” Well now…

From  salad/sandwich prep tables to  bottle coolers , True Manufacturing has the commercial refrigeration you’re looking for.  True has been an industry leader in commercial refrigeration for 65 years and to this day they continue to go above and beyond in the areas of quality, design, availability and performance.

June is right around the corner and being that it is the sixth month of the year its a perfect time to do a little preventative maintenance on your commercial ice machine . The things that I’m going to outline here will only take a few minutes to accomplish and will help keep the ice flowing during the busy summer months ahead.

With summer just around the corner, carnival season is soon to be upon us. While this traditionally busy season is usually a delight for concessions operators, the rush of business can quickly turn into a hectic nightmare if you are not ready. Preparing for the summer months is absolutely necessary to ensure that your concessions operation runs smoothly, but if addressed in small, manageable chunks, keeping your stand or trailer up to snuff can become a normal, routine task. Here are a few things to keep in mind while during your spring cleaning.

We here at JES know our Charbroilers and Star is top of the line so when selecting a char-broiler Star makes it easy and has just the right model for you! Whether you need the proven reliability or affordability and performance of the Star-Max line, or need high volume, heavy-duty Ultra-Max line, Star Char-broilers will deliver years of trouble-free operation. Star offers Char-broilers in both gas and electric. Lets start with the Gas char-broiler first…

This guide includes the 300 most commonly used Spanish words in restaurant kitchens. It’s the perfect way to communicate with your Spanish-speaking restaurant staff without learning a new language. Bookmark this page, and retrieve it when you need it.

To be the best in the food service industry you have to have the best equipment and Star Manufacturing offers you the best available. Food service and concession operators world wide recognize the one name that means “quality equipment” in every language: STAR. Star Manufacturing International, Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, has been making durable, reliable, quality products since 1921. That year, we introduced our first product, a popcorn machine. Since then, they have grown and expanded into one of the world’s most respected and valued manufacturers of products in six major categories:

If you are a food service operator and own a steam table food warmer , then chances are you will find yourself having to remove water from the food warmer. The best way to remove water from a steam table is to first turn off the steam table and allow the water to cool completely. Next place a cart with rollers next to the cooled steam table.