Don’t restaurateurs have enough on their plates?

From faltering economies to fickle diners seeking new food trends and tastes, restaurant owners and operators have enough to juggle without adding something called social media to the list. But it might be “because of social media” rather than “despite social media” that restaurateurs could see improvements to their bottom line.

We live in a country that is rich in nutrient soil with incredible farming and safe food production practices. Still, 11 million metric tonnes of food is wasted in Canada annually. That works out to be almost 40% of all food produced in Canada. Not only does food in the landfill create methane gas—a leading cause of climate change—but 1 in 8 families in Canada currently struggles to put healthy food on the table.

Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization, has been rescuing usable surplus food since 1985. To date, more than 140 million pounds of food has been recovered. It was Ontario’s ever-growing need to provide fresh, healthy food to hungry families that inspired Second Harvest’s innovative online platform, FoodRescue.ca.

Creating a website and having a digital presence is essential to today’s business. Though building a site is an added task (and expense) to your already busy day, it truly is easier and more affordable than ever to share your menu with the world and let us know where to find you.

More than $30 billion worth of food is wasted in Canada each year, and more than half of that waste happens as it is produced, processed, transported, sold, prepared and served, according to Ontario based consulting firm Value Chain Management International’s (VCMI) annual “Food Waste in Canada” report. But by reducing food waste, businesses can reduce operating costs by 15 to 20 percent and increase profitability by the equivalent of 5 to 11 percent.

As a teenager, Jordan Boesch was a “sandwich artist” at a popular quick-service restaurant, an experience in a family business that eventually spun itself out as 7shifts, a North America-wide company he founded in 2014.

“My dad ran Quiznos locations, and I worked for him. I understood early the pains of managing and running restaurants firsthand,” Boesch says.

 By David Hopkins

Opening a new restaurant requires good decision-making, the kind of decision-making critical to avoiding pitfalls along the way. Here are some of the most common missteps new owners make when opening a new restaurant.

Our world is increasingly becoming one of convenience.

With access to so much information at our fingertips and the ability to have consumer products shipped directly to you same-day, today’s consumers want what they want, when they want it, where they want it, and it’s no different when it comes to their meals.

“Be consistent.” “Be hands-on in there, every day of the week.” “Don’t take your customers for granted.”

Those are just three suggestions in a treasure trove of “recession-busting” advice offered by Flanagan district sales managers Andre Butler, Shayne Keary, and Nancie Lillie.

If it is in fact true that it is better to give than receive, then gift cards must be at the top of a restaurateur’s wish list. These simple plastic cards could be an important marketing tool—and revenue generator—at this busiest of commercial periods on the calendar.

Like the plethora of phone apps and the massive retail presence that is online ordering via organizations like Amazon, Netflix, Uber and Just Eat, meal kits are out there and slowly becoming a potential disruptor to the bricks-and-mortar restaurant industry. They answer a simple question asked by consumers: “Can I stay at home and have a great meal?”