The national news and business media worked hard parsing last week’s report on employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The reasons were simple, if the details weren’t: The unemployment rate surprisingly dropped from 9% to 8.6%, yet it was another ho-hum month of jobs growth with only 120,000 net new nonfarm payroll jobs created.The…

Both the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index and The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index improved last month, finally getting back to last summer’s levels, which are still nothing to get excited about. But they have clawed their way back following the debacle of the debt-ceiling disaster in August. The University of Michigan Sentiment…

Bricks and mortar, stainless and aluminum all wear out and break down. The foodservice industry has benefited recently from some critical tax benefits on construction and improvements, but without Congressional action, those benefits run out in a few weeks. Current federal tax law allows operators to write off the cost of restaurant construction and restaurant-building…

Where there’s a plastic toy desired by small children, there’s a way. As Dec. 1 dawned and San Francisco’s ban on restaurants (i.e. fast-food chains) providing toys in children’s meals took effect, the chain targeted by the city council—McDonald’s—was joined by its top burger competitive, Burger King, in circumventing the ban. Both chains announced they…

The market for automated ordering systems might get a boost in eight states facing big minimum-wage increases on New Year’s Day. Nationally, the minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour; it varies from state to state, with minor increases absorbed over the years. But come Jan. 1, employers in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon,…

Simple care and feeding can keep your griddle griddling.

Refrigerated prep tables keep cold food ready for prep or cooking, but improper maintenance can cause them to lose their cool.