There has been a great deal written about nontraditional restaurant sites (NTS), but not about their economic viability. While traditional restaurant sites are defined as stand-alone, inline or first floors of hotels and office…
As you can see from the Monitor’s annual Top 200 ranking of the largest franchisees, a significant share are multi-concept operators. Multiple concepts seem to be the trend and a way for the large…
Just over two years ago, Blake Verdon and Jeremy Hale left their corporate jobs to pursue the dream of starting their own brewery and taproom. On June 4, 2014, their efforts came to fruition…
There’s more than one reason hot dogs are on the menu at a Japanese sushi restaurant on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. One, they’re a welcome item on the kids’ menu; two, Chef Hide Tozawa,…
A good friend of mine invests in early stage restaurant companies and new concepts. The first thing he asks is, “What are my dining privileges?” and “How many gift cards do I get?” It’s…
There are only 38 diners on the National Registry of Historical places. Before coming to rest at 4020 East Lake Street in Minneapolis, the Hi-Lo Diner was a 1950s Fodero Diner, from Gibsonia, Pennsylvania….
As franchisees become more sophisticated, they are more discerning when choosing that next opportunity. Assembled with the help of my partner, Jim Wahl, below is a checklist of the key elements franchisors need to…
St. Genevieve, Chef Steven Brown’s latest establishment, is already attracting the fine dining neighborhood crowd looking for someone setting a high bar. It is a true French bistro of the ilk you would see…
One of the old debates in the restaurant industry concerns the way to structure the overall company—whether to create a single or multiple companies organized by units, property ownership or geographic region. Here are…
