The following is an excerpt from an article written by Georgie Shockey, Principal of Ruck-Shockey Associates, Inc. Her firm specializes in operational consulting for non-commercial foodservice markets.

Energy Consumption and Waste in Food Service: The Impact & Solutions

The food service industry contributes significantly to our nation's economy and way of life. In the last ten years, this industrial sector has experienced continued real sales growth outpacing that of our nation's own economy. In 2011, the total food sales were over $1.7 trillion. Due to the vast number of food service operations (the NRA estimates over 970,000 restaurants along with nontraditional and other food locations there are about 1.2 million locations) and the nature of preparing and serving food, this industry uses tremendous volumes of natural resources and produces significant quantities of waste which together can result in major environmental impacts. The reasons for change within this industry for change within this industry in order to minimize waste are simple: food service managers can save money with decreased disposal fees, reduce energy consumption, gain efficiencies and stay competitive within their industry.

Changing or improving operations can have lasting effects on those food service establishments that are proactive in reducing waste and increasing efficiency. To remain competitive, businesses should consider going beyond traditional means of management and explore the opportunities to save money and help the environment with waste prevention. Many of the opportunities detailed may already be in place; however, every operation still has room for improvement.

Click to read the full article.

OpenTable, Inc., a leading site for online restaurant reservations, recently announced the Diners' Choice Awards for the top 100 restaurants in America specializing in American food. More than 10 million reviews were submitted between November 2010 and October 2011 that were used to determine the winners. Out of the 12,000 restaurants across the country up for the awards, Indiana's own Eddie Merlot's in Fort Wayne and Kelties Restaurant and Catering in Westfield made the list.

Congratulations to Eddie Merlot's and Kelties, whose amazing food and superior service helped them earn this title! We are so proud to have partnered with you both!

To read the entire article on Inside INdiana Business, click here.

 

Congratulations to C&T customer Martha Hoover! President of Patachou, Inc., Martha was named one of the Indianapolis Business Journal's 2011 Woman of Influence.

Click here to read the IBJ article about the amazing business she has built with a lot of hard work and determination over the years. What started as one restaurant has blossomed into a booming group of restaurants that includes the concepts Café Patachou, Petite Chou and Napolese. A fourth concept is currently in the works, Public Greens.

Congratulations, Martha!

We at C&T Design feel honored to be working with you.
 

While perusing some months-old issues of Foodservice Equipment Reports magazine, I noticed a small article that I wanted to bring to your attention immediately! If you are looking to buy foodservice equipment in the near future, you might want to look into purchasing sooner rather than later. The article below outlines an amazing opportunity that allows foodservice operations to write off equipment costs immediately, instead of spreading it out over several years, you must purchase before the end of the year to receive the maximum benefits this bill allows! I included a copy of the article found in the magazine's online archives followed by a link to the particulars of the Act on http://www.irs.gov below:

Tax Incentive Makes Sense For Equipment Buyers

April may be tax month, but there are still eight months left this year to secure some important tax perks for purchasing or selling equipment. The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010, signed by President Obama last September, provides tax relief for foodservice operations and small businesses and assistance in gaining access to capital.

The legislation allows foodservice operations to write off up to $500,000 of equipment costs immediately, rather than recovering the entire cost over a multi-year depreciation schedule. The purchase must be completed during the ’11 tax year.

The bill also extends expensing limits to restaurant structural improvements, new construction and leasehold and retail improvements. As part of the proposed $500,000 limit, operators can expense $250,000 of those costs the year they incur them, through ’11. Previously, operators could recover these costs only through a 39½-year depreciation schedule.

The legislation also includes incentives that make it easier to obtain Small Business Administration-backed loans.

This article can be found at: http://www.fermag.com/about-us/current-issue/single-issue-article/tax-incentive-makes-sense-for-equipment-buyers/461c372276.html

For more detailed information on this tax incentive, please refer to the Internal Revenue Service's website: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=230307,00.html#2022.

For help in navigating this in-depth process, call C&T Design today!

Congratulations to Brad Haber,  Buffalo Wild Wings®, Inc.'s franchisee from Dayton, OH, for receiving the 2010 Franchise Founder's Award. Brad's franchise groups, Carolina Witt, Inc. and ThreeWitt Enterprises, Inc., are responsible for running 12 restaurants in Ohio, South Carolina and Indiana. C&T is currently working with the group on their next store in Florence, SC.

Congratulations, Brad! 

C&T Design - Cincinnati ~ 4025 Port Union Road ~ Fairfield, OH 45014 ~ 888-282-8282