In this economic crunch, everyone’s looking for a little extra value. As a restaurant operator, you’ve likely seen this firsthand, as cost-conscious diners continue to seek out satisfying dishes at lower prices. As a result, many customers are bypassing once-popular appetizers like soups or salads and heading straight to the main course. Darren Tristano, Executive Vice President at foodservice research firm, Technomic, Inc., explains this trend:

To justify spending on items from the left side of the menu, they want more value—dishes with unique flavors they can’t make at home, or are large enough to share or eat as an entrée …

With this in mind, it’s more important than ever to make sure your restaurant’s soups and salads work just as well on their own as they do before the main course. Luckily, it couldn’t be easier to move beyond boring chicken noodle soups and dull Caesar salads. The same pastas you serve as individual entrees are just what you need…

Part 2 of 2

Now you know just how easy it is to save money and conserve energy with a few quick changes to your restaurant’s water and electricity use. But why stop there? Remember the three R’s — reduce, reuse and recycle! From doing away with Styrofoam tableware to starting a compost pile, you can improve your operation’s environmental efficiency through the simplest substitutions or the most creative recycling programs. We’ll help you find the right balance for your restaurant.

Repairs and Remodels
As any operator can tell you, there’s no way to avoid the occasional repair or remodeling job. Whether your restaurant’s in need of some minor renovations or a total overhaul, there are plenty of ways to go green without going overboard on your budget. Recycled brick, stone and wood products offer interesting (and eco-friendly) alternatives to standard construction materials, while natural lighting sources like windows and sun lights create a more enjoyable dining room atmosphere than harsh overhead bulbs.…

Part 1 of 2

These days, you’ve probably heard a lot about running a more sustainable, environmentally friendly restaurant. But it takes so much effort to keep your operation running smoothly, the last thing you want to do is change the formula that’s working for you! Don’t worry — it’s easier than you’d think to run a greener establishment with just a few quick changes to your daily operations, and with all the incentives out there for eco-friendly restaurateurs, the timing couldn’t be better to start “greening” your business.

In our two-part series on greener restaurants, we’ll give you some surprisingly simple tips for conserving water, energy and cash. We’ll also show you how to use the three R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle) to run a cleaner, greener establishment. You can improve your operation’s environmental efficiency through the simplest substitutions or the most creative recycling programs. We’ll help you find the right balance for your restaurant.

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It’s clear that the resurgence of comfort foods is one of the major menu trends to emerge out of the economic recession. And what’s a better comfort food than pasta? From penne pomodoro to fettuccine alfredo, few dishes marry satisfying taste an budget-friendly value like pastas. Wholesome, flavorful and easily customizable, pasta is the perfect comfort food for cost-conscious diners and restaurant operators alike.

If anyone knows the value of pasta, it’s the owners and operators of Italian restaurants. From nation-wide chains and franchises to local mom-and-pop shops, more and more pizzerias are adding pasta-based entrees and appetizers to their lineups – and reaping the financial rewards.

Roughly 60% of the independent pizzeria operators surveyed in PMQ Pizza Magazine’s 2009 census already served some kind of pasta dish in their restaurants, and an additional five percent planned to introduce one within the next six months. What’s more, those already serving pasta in their pizzeras reported that…