2016 was an interesting year in restaurant finance. All the year’s action—the growing impact of activist shareholders, changes at the SBA franchise registry, the overall beating in casual dining’s performance and yet, new finance…
It’s not often you can walk into a restaurant and instantly know it’s going to be a success. Erik the Red, developed by Erik Forsberg out of the old Hubert’s space in what is…
Talking with Chef Paul Lynch of the Urbana Craeft Kitchen & Market in the Hyatt Regency near Mall of America made the whole restaurant come alive for me. His version of a three-in-one concept…
Iconic restaurant companies are unique to the U.S. restaurant industry. Every major U.S. city has restaurant companies that have developed multi-brands and have established a special position in the city, like Union Square Hospitality…
My last few columns have dealt with non-traditional restaurant venues. What is significant about them is they create more revenue sources. It is not that people, if they had their druthers, wouldn’t prefer traditional…
I had difficulty finding Mucci’s the first time. There is no signage on the building, only something small in the window stating its name and the hours. I had already read a number of…
In the 18 months I’ve written this column, I’ve reviewed approximately 15 new restaurants, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect back and discuss how they found the money to…
Probably the best known nontraditional restaurant sites—and maybe, in some ways, they are traditional—are food courts. In my quest to get a handle on them, I have come to the conclusion I’m not sure…
When you walk in the Commodore Bar and Restaurant in St. Paul you immediately look around to see if F. Scott and Zelda are sitting at their usual corner table in the bar sipping…
