July/August 2010

By Jaymi Curley

With a host of popular metro-area restaurants under its belt, local restaurant corporation Metrotainment Cafes is poised for growth in an economic environment when many are just trying to hold their ground.

Metrotainment Cafes was founded in 1991 by CEO Jeffrey Landau as a natural expansion of his career in the hospitality business. “I had worked in restaurants prior to that, learning just about every aspect of the business,” says Landau, “and I wanted to open up my own restaurant.” That first restaurant was to become Einstein’s, a restaurant in Midtown that has since become a fixture in the Midtown dining scene. “I didn’t have very much money at all. It was definitely a low budget endeavor. We found an old restaurant in the heart of Midtown that had recently closed down, and I thought it was a great opportunity.” At first occupying a single 1920’s bungalow, the Einstein’s concept, which Landau describes as a “casual neighborhood favorite with an innovative menu,” has grown to encompass three houses on prime corner real estate in the heart of Midtown.

Though his early focus was on growing Einstein’s, Landau still kept an eye out for chances to take his company forward.  “Midtown was starting to take off in the early- to mid-90s, so we saw a lot of opportunity there,” says Landau. “I don’t think in 1991 we had a vision as to where we were going to go with the company. But we saw potential for growth. Einstein’s was doing really well, and Midtown was really becoming a vibrant community.”

Another opportunity for Metrotainment opened up in 1993, as they added a “casual steakhouse in a honky-tonk atmosphere” called Cowtippers. Its location on Piedmont road in Atlanta made it highly accessible to several popular neighborhoods in the Midtown area. “It was a recently closed-down restaurant as Einstein’s was, so we saw a lot of opportunity there.”

As Metrotainment Cafes has added concepts in its expansion, including sports bars Hudson Grille and Joe’s and a wholesale bakery operation, all of its themes have been connected by the company’s central philosophy that puts the guests squarely in the center of its focus. Landau says that the key is “to offer guests great value in an entertaining environment. We are always focused on offering guests true value in fun, entertaining and interesting environments.”

Landau believes that added value is the difference between success and failure, particularly in an economy that has not been kind to the restaurant business as a whole. “We believe that in difficult economic times—and I don’t think a return to a robust economy is going to be happening anytime soon—focusing on value, rewarding our loyal guests, and providing an entertainment component is really important.”

“Our guests are looking for more than a good meal when they dine out,” says Landau. “We are providing extra value in entertainment, such as sports in our sports bars. Hudson Grille and Joe’s on Juniper all have dozens of plasma TVs, and we purchase all the sports packages from the networks. It is expensive, but we certainly offer more than just a great dining experience.”

Metrotainment Cafes manages the main portfolio of its business with a laser focus on strategy, but still maintains touch with the human factor that helps it to succeed. With a soon-to-expire lease under consideration, the group sold off its popular Buckhead sports bar Cheyenne Grille in favor of opening a Hudson Grille location in Midtown Atlanta. “Hudson Grille is the concept we are attempting to expand really, and Cheyenne Grille was a one-off. We hadn’t had any plans to open any more branches of that one anyway.”

But rather than import a whole new staff as some restaurants might, Metrotainment kept the staff intact, essentially just moving the well-oiled machine that had been providing great service for years. “We relocated the entire team from the Cheyenne Grille after the sale to the new Hudson Grille in Midtown, and it was an existing, built-out restaurant that did not require a large investment.”

Indeed, keeping an eye out for already finished locations has been a key move for improving Metrotainment Cafes’ bottom line. Landau says, “Typically we have expanded into existing locations, which dramatically cuts the initial investments. I would say this cuts the investment by 50 percent plus.”

In a tight economy, this kind of cost saving measure can be crucial. “We would not have gone out and opened up a raw space, especially since it is difficult right now to achieve much financing. I look at the new Hudson Grille as more of a move, rather than a cold opening.”

Moving in to spaces where other restaurants have already been thwarted might seem a risky undertaking since location is a key factor in success in the restaurant business. But Landau maintains that keeping the focus on the people in the equation—guests and staff alike—gives Metrotainment Cafes a solid basis for overcoming any lingering ghosts of restaurants past. “We commit to employee training, we offer a concept the neighborhood finds more unique and we constantly look for ways to provide the guest with an experience at a reasonable price point,” says Landau. “Hudson Grille has a great feel, but the burgers are still $7.95. We’re not doing a ten-dollar hamburger at the Hudson Grille.

When guests walk out the door, they are going to think ‘Hey, we got our money’s worth and then some.’ We are always trying to exceed their expectations.”

Landau believes strongly in providing the best training for every member of his staff, seeing that as a prime investment in Metrotainment Cafes’ success. “It is paramount to achieving that goal. The dining experience is driven more by service than any other component. If the staff is not well-trained and well prepared, we will not be able to offer our guests an enjoyable dining experience.”

Currently Metrotainment is focusing all of it plans for growth inside the perimeter of metro Atlanta. “There are exceptions of course, but we feel more strongly about the potential for growth inside rather than outside the perimeter right now.” With consumer spending pulling back across the board, the city centers appear to be the areas where money is still comparatively fluid.

“I am not an economist,” says Landau, “but I feel strongly there is far more disposable income ITP than OTP right now. We have experienced both, and I think a lot my peers and our vendors share this opinion. If you are getting a lot of singles and young couples without a lot of dependents, you can still do well and excel in this environment. If your clientele is more family oriented—lot of dependents, big home, big mortgages, college tuition, private school tuition—you are relatively going to get creamed in this economy. Young people are still going to go out to eat, drink, socialize and meet people of the opposite sex. Families don’t have to.”

Landau fully embraces technology and social media as a way of connecting with Metrotainment’s client base.  “We are trying to create online community by communicating with our guests on a weekly, even daily basis.” Harnessing opt-in email blasts, Facebook, Twitter and other avenues keeps his customers informed while building a sense of loyalty to the local restaurants. “We let them know about specials, who’s working tonight, what events are happening. We are even sharing recipes. We’re trying to create what we have done within the restaurant—creating a community—and move it to the online world.”

This connection with customers has resulted in getting the kind of feedback that marketing teams salivate over. And in return, Landau notes that guests of Metrotainment’s establishments feel like they are making an impact. “We pride ourselves on responding in a timely fashion to all our customer feedback. It is invaluable for helping to ensure the best customer service. If we see a trend, we can respond quickly. And you’ll find that a number of changes we’ve made, from menu items to the events we host are based on customer feedback we get on Facebook, Twitter and by searching comments on the web.”

Metrotainment’s new concept, a retail bake and beverage shop called Sugar Shack, which at press time was due to open at the end of June was a direct result of customer feedback. “We have the Metrotainment Bakery, which is primarily wholesale baked goods, though we did sell some limited retail goods there. And we kept getting feedback that what the people wanted was to have those bakery items available in a retail space, someplace where they could actually have a seat, slow down and enjoy their pastry there. And then an opportunity came up where we could get a space in Brookhaven, about 500 feet away from a Hudson Grille location that was already there. We decided it was absolutely the right time for it.”

Sugar Shack will be featuring Metrotainment Cafes baked goods along with a limited assortment of sandwiches and coffee, and the location in Brookhaven Station at a crossroads of several metro neighborhoods combined with a buzz created by social media chatter presages a successful opening.

Restaurant Forum asked Jeffrey Landau, president of Metrotainment Cafes, what three things he’s done in the last three weeks that have improved or impacted his business:

1) We’ve made a concerted effort to hire from within the company. In the last three weeks, we’ve taken three individuals who worked for the company on an hourly basis for a long time and promoted them to manager positions. All three of them are off to a tremendous start, and I have the utmost confidence in them. I think we’ve improved the restaurant by rewarding their loyalty, and in turn we have hired people who understand the culture of the company and I think are going to be even more committed at the outset more than an outside individual.

2) We’ve made some enhancements to our loyalty card program. We’ve been working with our loyalty/gift card provider and been making that program more user-friendly for our guests. It is becoming a little easier to earn those rewards.

3) At Joe’s on Sullivan, our restaurant in College Park, and at Cowtippers, we have made changes to the menus at both those establishments. Both menus have gotten major overhauls, and we are getting a lot of positive feedback on both.

Insights from Nancy Oswald

Every Ruth’s Chris Steak House, whether in a large metropolitan city or smaller town, takes pride in being not only a restaurant, but also a part of the local community.   Decisions to invest in a community are the driving force of any new business decision we make.  We follow general business principles when selecting cities to open new restaurants, examining population and income demographics, executing detailed analyses of exact restaurant locations and consulting our experienced legal counsel Charles Hoff.  Our Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses in Huntsville, Ala., and Columbia, S.C., are located adjacent to convention centers, enabling us to appeal to traveling groups, convention audiences and locals alike.  We have partnered with premium hotels including Embassy Suites, Hilton and Crowne Plaza in Birmingham, Ala., Huntsville, Columbia, Greenville, S.C., and Kennesaw, Ga., providing strong and synergistic relationships.  The overall economic aspects of a potential city and opportunities within the local dining community are always very important, but we examine closely a variety of situations and facets to help ensure the success of Ruth’s Chris in that particular market.

We have found Ruth’s Chris is successful in smaller cities predominately because the areas open our restaurants have embraced the Ruth’s Chris brand and greatly welcomed us. The towns’ pride in having a Ruth’s Chris Steak House has elicited an endearing degree of support.  When we opened in Huntsville, in October 2006, then-Mayor Loretta Spencer attended every opening event, leading our signature jazz procession for the Ruth’s “Chris”-ening with parasol in tow.  A Ruth’s Chris “raving fan,” she was such a visible fixture during our first few weeks open that we designated her favorite table as “The Mayor’s Table.”  Her kindness in honoring the restaurant and visiting Ruth’s Chris corporate executives with keys to the city remains a highlight of the restaurant’s history. The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County’s executive team invited us to their offices and educated our local team on the area’s economic background, position and goals to ensure we were well-informed about the Huntsville business scene, enabling us to make strategic decisions with that knowledge.

We experienced similar Southern hospitality in Columbia. The city’s Mayor Bob Coble, affectionately known to citizens as “Mayor Bob,” declared our opening day of August 20, 2007 as “Ruth’s Chris Steak House Day” in the City of Columbia.  In addition to the mayor, our Columbia opening was attended by many local dignitaries, including University of South Carolina football Coach Steve Spurrier, the governor and lieutenant governor. The city embraced our arrival and afforded us rare opportunities for high-profile media coverage that might not have been available in more intensely news-laden metropolitan areas.

Further, our success in areas less populated than Atlanta is the way Ruth’s Chris immerses ourselves in new communities.  In Columbia, we dedicated our pre-opening charity events to South Carolina’s Harvest Hope Food Bank following their devastating loss from a cooler’s sprinkler malfunction. The pre-opening events raised more than $16,000 for the food bank, immediately creating a corps of dedicated supporters who understood that Ruth’s Chris is a civic-minded business and awakening the food bank’s desire help us succeed.
Our restaurants have thrived in part because of our direct involvement with key community organizations.  We make a point of establishing caring partnerships and have been fortunate to engage in instantly reciprocal processes – processes that must continue long past opening festivities.

One of Ruth’s Chris Steak House’s four core values is that we are good civic citizens, continuing to honor the legacy of our founder, Ruth Fertel, who was passionate in her belief that commitment to community involvement is our part in developing society.   Much like Fertel, my Sizzling Steak Concepts, LLC franchise partners, Jim Brooks, Phil Brooks and Mark Oswald and I are dedicated to community and caring for guests by serving the highest quality food with exceptional service in warm and inviting atmospheres.

Nancy Oswald is a Sizzling Steak Concepts, LLC partner, owner of 8 Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses and a former Chairperson for the Georgia Restaurant Association’s Board of Directors.

May/June 2010

by Jaymi Curley
Small towns persist in the American imagination as sleepy wayside places, consisting of one stop light and few options for a good meal beyond the country kitchen, barbeque shack or the ever proliferating fast-food chain.  But in light of a recent trend toward the revitalization of rural, historic downtown areas, the restaurant industry in many small towns is getting a major upgrade, and in turn is doing a lot to boost the fortunes of the surrounding community.

Across the nation, rural communities are committing local funds and using federal grants to accomplish large-scale downtown revitalization projects. These improvements are being targeted to expand shopping and socializing opportunities in small town centers, while also adding jobs to the community and restoring and making use of historic buildings that have often been boarded up and standing empty for years. Attracting new and interesting players in the local restaurant scene is a large part of being able to sustain the progress created by the downtown projects.

Emmitt Nolan, Main Street Manager for the City of Brunswick, has noted the positive changes that are happening as a result of his city’s Main Street revitalization. “People finally have started returning to the area.  We started programs like First Fridays where the retail shops, art galleries antique stores stay open a little later. We have kind of made it a destination, a shopping area, and so the restaurants are following.”

Some counties are experiencing population booms and are looking for restaurants to serve the appetites of the community.  John A. Henry J.D., CEO of Effingham County IDA, says “Effingham County has been working to attract restaurants to the Savannah bedroom community in the wake of a population boom. The community has grown nearly 43% in the past decade alone.”

Many Georgia chefs are seeing new opportunities by choosing to open up outside of the major metropolitan areas, and setting down roots in smaller communities around the state.  When Chef Jayson Ridinger, owner of Cargo’s Portside Grill in Brunswick, bought out the restaurant in early 2009, he saw the same charm and potential of the community that Cargo’s original owner had.
“There’s a family-oriented feel to this place,” he says of the city of Brunswick. “There is a micro-community here where all the businesses and the vendors, we all take care of each other. I’ve lived in Phoenix, Wyoming, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh. I’ve traveled all over, and you just don’t find this kind of atmosphere anywhere else. I love it.”

Chef Scott Dixon, owner of Scott’s On The Square in Gainesville, spent six years away from the restaurant business, but when he decided to open his own fine-dining establishment, it wasn’t Atlanta or one of the surrounding metros that attracted him.

“We had moved up to the Gainesville area about four or five years prior, and we loved the area,” says Dixon, “but thought it kind of lacked the variety of high-end restaurants that we had had in Alpharetta or Buckhead. And we always said if we were going to open a restaurant, this would be a great place to do it.”

Dixon says that opening his restaurant in a smaller community like Gainesville afforded him the opportunity to stand out and do something different. “What I didn’t want,” says Dixon, “is to be a kind of ‘me-too’ to the chains and casual type places that there are a lot of here. And in Atlanta, you have so many high-end places to eat, you just fade into the crowd.” With the market for high-end dining being relatively untapped in more rural communities, Dixon was able to make a niche for himself. “I think there is a very strong market open for [fine dining]. So many people who have moved up the lake and around that area were still going down to Atlanta to eat, or would want something of that quality and caliber.”

The fact that the fine-dining experience is offered by a locally owned business is definitely an advantage in a community that, while growing, still prides itself on having a hometown feel and an unyielding support for its homegrown businesses. “Most of our fine-dining restaurants downtown are mom-and-pop places. We know who is in the kitchen. We see them around town. But they are just updating our image. They are just an upgraded experience from the diners and such,” says Nolan.
Dixon agrees. “I have had a wonderful reception here in Gainesville, and I’m getting great feedback and encouragement from the people here.”

“Honestly, if I closed my doors tomorrow,” says Ridinger, “I may pick a new concept, I might pick a new business, but I’d still pick a small downtown to open up again, and that’s a fact.”
A chef’s creativity in terms of menus doesn’t suffer at all in the rural areas; the demand for high-quality and interesting ingredients prepared in diverse ways is just as strong in the small town square as it is in the heart of Buckhead in Atlanta. And the current trend toward locally sourced, fresh ingredients takes on an even greater significance.

“On some levels, the localization aspect of the ingredients is even more important here,” Dixon says. “A lot of our clientele aren’t that far removed from the farm. There are a lot of people that work in agriculture, and Gainesville is the chicken capital of the world. So much of what goes on here is centered around all things poultry. And there is so much great produce grown on farms, a stone’s throw away. We definitely try to embrace that.”

With the proliferation of celebrity chef, food-centered programming and the internet, there are not many food trends that escape the notice of even the smallest corners of the state.

“I think we have just as savvy a consumer here as any larger city,” says Dixon. “Many people who consider themselves ‘foodies’ and are looking for something – I won’t say cutting edge, but something out of the ordinary in terms of preparation. We may not have as many of them here as we do in Atlanta, but the people in the community respond well to our menus. For example, I did an espresso-and-cocoa-rubbed rack of lamb, and we ended up serving it with a semi-sweet chocolate sauce, which is something kind of different and out there. But I told people who were skeptical, ‘Hey, you don’t like it, I’ll make you one without all the stuff on there.’  I change my menus about every four months, and we had the dish on there the whole four-month period, and it became one of the most popular dishes.”

“Good food is good food, and with me, flavor comes first,” says Ridinger. “My goal is always to win the trust of my customer. Once I have done that, I can be comfortable maybe pushing the envelope a little, because I can count on them to go with me. One of the specials we had done recently was a rabbit alphabet soup, a really delicious rabbit soup with pasta letters and it was served with a rabbit leg tucked on the side. We also have had a blue cheese ice cream. It was a risk, but I can take a risk, because I am sure my customers are with me.  People want to be excited about what they are eating. If you are not doing all you can to prop that up, you are not doing yourself justice.”
By balancing his menu with traditional southern favorites, like Fried Green Tomatoes and Striped Bass, with more exotic elements like Thai Style Calamari and high-end comfort food mashups, like Lobster Mac-and Cheese, Ridinger aims to have a menu on which any customer can find a dish that will keep them coming back.

One of the major advantages of choosing small town life is the cost savings that can be recognized in some areas of overhead. The often high property values and rents in the Atlanta area can make opening a new restaurant there extremely difficult. Lower property costs in small cities can pave the way for a chef-owner to open a larger venue than might be possible in urban metro areas.
“If I had opened my restaurant is Atlanta,” says Ridinger, “it would have cost $1 million plus. I actually opened my first restaurant in downtown Brunswick for just a little over $120,000. It was the same equipment, the same everything, it’s just that everything costs so much more in Atlanta.”
“My profit margins are fairly close to the same,” Dixon agrees. “Our rent costs are definitely less than in Atlanta, and with the labor pool we have a slightly lower payroll cost than we would have otherwise.”

In addition, the presence of historic buildings with space to let or purchase can mean that architectural details an owner might pay a premium for to have built into a space in a large city can be available for much less.

“A lot of these old building historic have the high ceilings, the exposed brick, and even the large glass storefronts,” says Nolan, “They make excellent restaurant spaces. There are some good deals to be had as far as spaces for sale or rent. Also, there are grant monies out there at the state level that a lot of people aren’t using. It is just a matter of spending the time to fill out all that paperwork, but there are ways to get help with costs.”

“Downtown is gorgeous,” says Ridinger. “There is a story that comes with every building. It just makes the whole experience richer.”

While lower costs can make opening in smaller communities attractive, there are a number of challenges that come along with that decision. Dixon notes, for example, that since the entire pool of customers can be much smaller, it can be difficult to draw in the stable base of regular repeat customers that is the bedrock of a restaurant’s success.

“We are trying to be seen as something more than just a special occasion type place,” he says. “There are definitely some challenges in that area.”

Nolan also sees that economic impact in Brunswick. “The economy being what it is now, and with the number of restaurants we have now, the challenge is going to be that the piece of the pie they are getting is smaller.”

Chef Ridinger says that his difficulty is in luring the well-heeled “island people,” inhabitants and visitors to nearby St. Simons and other Georgia sea islands who are reluctant to cross the bridge to spend their dining dollars in Brunswick.

One way in which Chef Dixon faces down this challenge is by identifying his restaurant as fine-dining but with a comfortable twist. “We call ourselves ‘casual fine-dining.’ It tends to make us more approachable,” says Dixon. “We want to designate ourselves as fine dining, because we want them to think of us more as chef-crafted food with higher quality raw materials across the board. But we still want them to feel comfortable to walk in the front door with jeans on and have a meal or a drink. We could go the coat-and-tie route if we wanted to, but that’s not what I think people want now.”

Ridigner relies on his offers of special wine dinners combined with excellent service to translate into word-of-mouth raves from his discerning customer base. “Everything we do, we have to always be on our game.  Outstanding food and outstanding service — this is what I tell my staff all the time. We have to always be competing at a big-city level. Our food, our quality, our service has to always be at the highest standards.”

The type and strength of the industry in the surrounding community can also make a big impact on the bottom line.

“We still cater to the business customers, particularly the medical community, which we have a lot of up here. We have the top heart center here, and with the size of the medical community, it is a big help,” says Dixon.

In turn, the presence of a fine-dining option can be a big help to local business, particularly ones trying to lure top talent from larger, more cosmopolitan areas. “A doctor who was being recruited by one of the hospitals told me that my restaurant was one of the deciding factors that helped sway him to relocate here from New York,” says Dixon. “He’d come in for lunch with the doctors who were trying to get him to join the hospital. Then he came by to visit after he had made the move. He told me that he’d felt good about the fact that there’d be at least one place to eat where things reminded him a little bit of New York, in a very different atmosphere.”

There are also any number of quirks in small communities that an owner in a large city would never have to consider, but that can impact the business heavily. “We’d been open a few weeks,” recalls Chef Dixon, “and on every other Wednesday night we had been packed, but on this one, we were empty. So I asked my bartender—a local guy—where was everybody? He just looked at me funny and said, “Well, people go to church on Wednesday.”  There are those kinds of dynamics you never think about. You really have to be plugged in to the community.”

Strong community involvement can be a make or break proposition in a small town, especially for a chef who comes from outside the community. Ridinger says his restaurant donates numerous gift certificates to local charities and does appearances at local events to cement his brand firmly in the Brunswick area.

Dixon finds his business interests supported by his deep involvement with a number of local committees.

“The most important thing for us here was really immersing myself in the community and getting involved.  My involvement with the Chamber of Commerce and really getting into the local business community was invaluable to gaining acceptance here. Now I am on the board for the Chamber of Commerce, and I serve as the associate director for the downtown association.”

Above all, a chef who takes a chance on a fine-dining establishment in a small town gives something back to an entire area. “The fine-dining options add culture to our community,” says Nolan. “You’re in a small place like Gainesville, but you feel like you could be in Atlanta, maybe New York.”

Tipping the Glass – Georgia’s Restaurateurs on Trend with Wine and Beer

March 2010

by Shannon Wilder

When it comes to beverage trends, the clear expectation is that flavor is going to carry the day. But what comes to the fore in this economic environment is that, across the board, savvy restaurateurs are focusing as much on the experience surrounding the drinker as what’s in the glass, whether it’s wine, beer or non-alcoholic beverages.

According to data from the Beverage Information Group, people in the United States consumed nearly 3 gallons of wine per person in 2008. Many are the first round of Millennials—those born roughly between 1980 and 2000— who are now of legal drinking age and who are more savvy about wine at an earlier age than previous generations.

Many diners, including Millennials, will continue to be cost-conscious through 2010 as the economy slowly rebounds, and that means bottles of wine between $25 and $50 will continue to be frequent sellers.

Unique Experiences Reign
Diners have been cautious regarding who they spend their money with, and that won’t change in 2010. Restaurants who can provide these cost-conscious patrons a unique experience without them spending a bundle will be rewarded with repeat and loyal customers.

For Joël Brasserie in Atlanta, that unique experience translates to wine tastings and dinners, educational wine seminars, and its French-born sommelier, Perrine Prieur.

Prieur, who grew up on her family’s vineyard in Burgundy, has an extensive knowledge of wines from around the world. Diners often seek out Joël—recognized in both 2007 and 2008 with Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence—and Prieur because of her deep understanding of French wines.

Prieur helps educate diners and attract people to the restaurant with monthly wine seminars. The budget-friendly events are $35 for an hour and a half session, complete with hors d’oeuvres, and focus on wines of a particular nation or region, such as France, Italy, Spain or South America.  She also uses the seminars to focus on new and upcoming trends such as organic and biodynamic wines.

And while the more pricy wine dinners are nothing new, they still do attract diners looking for that unique experience and will continue to be popular in the coming year.

Prieur says she enjoys planning wine dinners for her restaurant’s clientele. “Every month, sometimes twice a month, I try to get winemakers here,” she says. “I try to do wine parings but it’s boring to do always the same wines. Each dinner needs to try something different.” So far, she’s hosted vintners from Chile, Argentina, Napa Valley, Oregon, Bordeaux and Champagne. A recent wine dinner focused on a vineyard in Burgundy that uses organic practices.

As far as the wines themselves, more clear fruit flavors are starting to overtake the woodsy notes, and brighter flavors are gaining popularity.

Staying Green and Close to Home
It’s no surprise that the organic and local movement is starting to infiltrate the beverage world given its popularity in chefs’ kitchens, and organic and local wines will continue to pick up steam in the coming year.

While there are several Georgia wineries gaining recognition, Prieur has noticed that it’s been difficult to carry Georgia wines in the restaurant, but sees that changing in the coming years as the local movement continues to gather steam.

She currently offers an ice wine from Clayton-based Persimmion Creek, noting that it pairs well with dishes as diverse as foie gras and a Fuji baked apple with caramel sauce.

“I’d like to pour some more and represent a little bit more,” she says of Georgia-based wineries, “but it’s not that big a demand yet.”

Although interest in “green” beverages is growing, restaurant diners may still be confused about some of the terminology. Part of the issue is that these sustainable labels don’t always have teeth. While food and beverages can be certified organic, there is still some confusion regarding other green terms slapped onto labels. More regulations within the wine industry are on the horizon to help customers navigate these increasingly popular terms, and with it an increase in diners’ requests for these more earth-friendly options.

Tech-Savvy Equals Wine Savvy

The wine world has not been immune to the influence of the Internet, and Millennials are leading the charge.

From the social networking site Wine 2.0 to more than 700 wine blogs and iPhone apps, technology and the Millennials who use it will continue to influence how restaurant patrons learn about and purchase their wines while dining out. It’s a trend that shows no sign of stopping, and could influence how restaurants market their wine lists in the future.

Getting Crafty
Just as the local and organic movement is touching the wine world, so too are there an increasing number of organic and locally brewed beers being requested by diners.

According to the National Restaurant Association, the top trend for beer and wine is locally produced wine and beer, with organic wine and beer coming in fourth and craft beer ranked at No. 6.

A few decades ago, says Nick Kaye, managing editor of Atlanta-based Beer Connoisseur, a newly launched magazine that aims to be the brew crew’s version of Food & Wine, there were just a handful of big breweries producing beer in America.

Now, however, the craft brew movement is in full force. Much like family-owned wineries, craft breweries – defined by the Brewers Association, a trade group for craft brewers, as producing no more than 2 million barrels of beer a year – are cropping up all over the country producing innovative reinterpretations of historic beer styles made from a mix of traditional and nontraditional ingredients.

You’d be hard pressed to find a drinking establishment in the state these days that doesn’t have at least one local Georgia brewery represented in some form.

That wasn’t always the case. Alan LeBlanc, co-owner of Atlanta’s Max Lager’s, the state’s oldest independent brewery restaurant, encountered a sort of bias against craft beers and microbrews when he started up 12 years ago. “They’d say, ‘No, I don’t like microbrews’ because they had one they didn’t like. I think a few years back we reached the tipping point where people realized they might not like all the microbrewed beers, but that doesn’t mean its bad beer. It’s no different than preferring Merlots over Cabernets.”

The craft beer movement, Kaye says, “is a mission to spread the word of good beer and get it into more people’s mouths and restaurants. Beer is being treated these days, and appreciated these days, the way wine always has. It’s a whole new level.”

And like wine, several restaurants in Georgia are starting to offer beer-cheese pairings and beer dinners. In fact, Kaye says when it comes to one time-honored pairing – wine and cheese – beer may be ready to give the grapes a run for their money. “At its base level, the effervescence of beer, the carbonation really cuts through some of your more heavy, fatty buttery cheeses like a goat cheese.”

Knowledgeable Staff
Many in the state’s rapidly expanding restaurant market rely heavily on well-prepared servers who function as de facto cicerones, the beer world’s version of the sommelier, to help educate diners on the increasing array of beer choices.

Kaye singles out Taco Mac’s extremely knowledgeable Beverage Director Fred Crudder, who has a sort of club room named after him at the Sandy Springs location. It’s open to members of Taco Mac’s Brewniversity, a combination beer education and customer rewards program that helps patrons navigate the chain’s formidable beer offerings.

Based on Taco Mac’s former Passport Club program, the Brewniversity encourages patrons to try new beers. Diners get credit for each different brew they select, and an “ID card” keeps track of progress. Those in the program start to receive rewards starting with the 13th unique beer consumed.

Trend Setters
Down in Savannah, the Nichols brothers, John and Phillip, who recently reopened one of the city’s oldest dining establishments, the c. 1933 Crystal Beer Parlor, offer a page-plus menu advising the perfect beer to go with dishes such as chili cheese dogs, gumbo, steaks, shrimp, and even a Greek salad.

Crystal Beer Parlor has close to 100 beers in bottles and 15 on tap. The Nichols also keep a book out in which patrons are encouraged to make suggestions. Most of what’s currently in stock, Nichols says, is craft brews, including beer from Savannah’s own Moon River Brewing Co.

Max Lager’s, which, like Moon River, is one of the nation’s 990 brewpubs, now offers beer parings, beer dinners and beer flights with six glasses.

“It’s very social,” says Alan of the beer flights. “It’s very interactive, and you’re developing a nice knowledge.”

The restaurant has also launched an entirely new event, Beer Judging 101. LeBlanc says patrons are presented with an official beer-judging sheet and compare one of Max Lager’s house brewed beers with similar bottled varieties. The idea is to learn to assess the characteristics of each.

“We conduct a beer judging seminar to teach people about the different varieties,” he says. “I’ll bring our beer and several bottles of a similar style together and lay out the official beer judging guide sheets and have some appetizers beforehand. Then we’ll come in and sit down and do a beer judging seminar so people can see varieties, … what the differences are in character. That’s something I find to be a lot of fun.

“It’s about different, unique flavors and experiences,” he adds. “Not seeking the same old same old but trying to discover something interesting, something that you like, something that’s different.”

Unlike many of the state’s dining establishments with hundreds of beers available, Max Lager’s carefully culls its offering to some 30 bottled beers in addition to the handful of house brews. While some offerings—usually a dark lager, a pilsner and Vienna-style red beer—stay on tap year-round, LeBlanc says brewer John Roberts reserves one or two of the restaurant’s taps for a seasonal brew such as a barleywine beer that will be ready to pour this spring and an Imperial Oatmeal Stout, which is earmarked for St. Patrick’s Day.

Before the new Crystal Beer Parlor owners relaunched the restaurant, they sat down with a local beer expert and planned out the offerings. Among them is a selection of retro beers called “Beers of Our Fathers,” which includes such familiar names as Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz, Stroh’s, Dixie and Genesee Cream Ale.

Nichols also keeps an eye out for vintage beers – he happened upon some vintage 2006 and 2007 Stone Double Bastard, a California ale. “I got the only two cases in Savannah and sold them in 24 hours,” Nichols says. The higher the alcohol content, the longer the beer keeps, he adds. But don’t expect any 100-year-old vintages; beers last about five to six years.

He also plans to start carrying gluten-free beer in the near future. He’s had a few requests for this type of beer, which is made from sorghum, and also has a family member with celiac disease—such people can’t tolerate gluten, which normally comes from grain, especially wheat.

The industry is also seeing an upswing is canned beers, but not like the ones your father used to drink. Canned beers have had a bad rap for so long, but with new lining technology, more breweries are finding that the cans keep the beer fresh longer and give a truer taste with some types of beer. Dale’s Pale Ale, a craft beer out of Lyons, Colo., is just one example of a high-end beer that’s sold in a can and has started to have a wider distribution in Georgia.

It’s this mix of quality and perceived value that will continue to drive the beverage industry into 2010.

“Conspicuous consumption is not cool anymore,” LeBlanc says. “For somebody like us who’s always offered a high-quality product, we’re not the cheapest but we’re not the most expensive—we’re being successful in this environment.”

November/December 2009

On November 15, the restaurant industry gathered at the third annual Georgia Restaurant Association Crystal of Excellence Awards Gala to recognize and pay tribute to the leaders who have made outstanding contributions to Georgia’s restaurant industry. This year’s GRACE Awards featured keynote speaker Virginia Willis.

The GRACE Awards, crystal works of art created by renowned local artist Hans-Godo Frabel, stand for excellence in the following five categories: Restaurateur of the Year, Industry Partner of the Year, Distinguished Service Award, Innovator Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. These awards show appreciation for our stars, the people devoted to our industry. On behalf of the Georgia Restaurant Association, congratulations to both the winners and the finalists.

Karen Bremer Wins GRACE Lifetime Achievement Award

Restaurateur of the Year: Hank Clark, Marlow ‘s Tavern

Distinguished Service Award: Patrick Cuccaro, Affairs to Remember Caterers

Innovator Award: Holly Elmore, Green Food service Alliance

Industry Partner of the Year: Jason Howell, Royal Cup Coffee

Winner: Jason Howell , Atlanta District Manager, Royal Cup Coffee

Since the 1890s, when founder Henry T. Batterton’s fresh, flavorful coffee became known as the “Royal Cup of Coffee,” the Birmingham, AL-based company has been serving up hot coffee to people around the state.

Since 1958, the importer, roaster and distributor of premium coffees and teas has been distributing more than 30 varieties of coffee to hotels and restaurants.

As Atlanta District Manager, Jason Howell works with restaurants to develop customized packages of equipment and coffee servers, depending on a restaurant’s needs and what they’re trying to accomplish. Having been a part of the restaurant industry himself, he understands each individual restaurant’s unique needs, and works with local Royal Cup Coffee representatives to ensure restaurants are satisfied with the company’s service and product.

The company purchases large quantities of coffee beans, which allows the company to pass on the value and bulk purchasing to its customers, helping the company keep prices down and be more profitable as well.

For Royal Cup Coffee, however, it’s not just about getting the best bean at the lowest cost. The coffee and tea company works with the Rainforest Alliance to purchase certified-sustainable coffees from farms where workers are provided fair wages, decent housing, schools and access to health care.

Aside from his work managing Royal Cup Coffee operations in the metro Atlanta, Augusta and Athens areas, Howell is also active within the restaurant industry and the community, supporting several nonprofits. He is also involved with the American Culinary Federation Atlanta and Athens chapters, as well as on the GRA’s board of directors. He was named the 2008 and 2009 Manager of the Year Southeast Region for Royal Cup Coffee.

His first job in the restaurant industry was when he was 14 years old as an oyster shucker and busboy at Palmer’s Seafood in Savannah. He has been with Royal Cup Coffee since 2004.

Advice to those just starting out: “Number one: Work hard – very hard. Number two: Be a business partner, whether you’re a chef, restaurateur, salesperson or otherwise, not just a vendor selling a product, or an operator trying to source goods and services. We can all learn from each other and help each other be successful. Number three: Give back to the industry and people that support you financially,” he advises.

Best job he ever held: “My current position with Royal Cup Coffee. Royal Cup Coffee is a family-owned and-operated company with a commitment to producing the finest coffee and tea products available anywhere, plus sensational customer service. The Smith family, [which owns] Royal Cup Coffee, also maintains a commitment to [its] employees and their families, numerous charitable and industry organizations (including the GRA), as well as their treasured customers, and that commitment is cultural within Royal Cup Coffee,” he says.

Industry Partner of the Year Finalists

• Chris Coan, General Manager, Business and Government Markets, Gas South
• Barbara Waters Wilson, Marketing Project Manager of Georgia Power

Winner: Holly Elmore, founder and Executive Director of Green Food service Alliance

If you had to pick two words to describe Holly Elmore, they would be “passionate” and “driven.” The founder and Executive Director of the Green Foodservice Alliance (GFA), an affiliate of the GRA, has been instrumental in encouraging those in the foodservice industry to take action now to reduce its impact on the environment.

After a stint in the corporate accounting world, Elmore began her career in the foodservice industry when she launched Executive Catering & Events. Over the next 15 years, Elmore operated the corporate catering company along with two successful restaurants in the Atlanta market.

Something felt like it was missing though, so she changed directions. In 2007, she launched GFA and hasn’t looked back since.

“These are amazing times,” Elmore says. “The foodservice industry is mobilizing and changing its industry practices. It is thrilling to be one of the many catalysts motivating an industry to create new operating standards.”

One of the first, and most impactful, initiatives launched by GFA is the Zero Waste Zone, which focuses on downtown Atlanta’s convention district and participating foodservice operations. More than 10 companies, including the Georgia World Congress Center and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, have pledged to recycle, reuse spent grease for the local production of biofuel and compost or donate food residuals to decrease the amount of waste going to landfills. Plans are in the works to expand the zones to other areas within Atlanta, across Georgia and throughout the country.

Major industry trends in 2010: “Sustainability and integrity is more than a trend; in the near future these virtues will be demanded of corporate executives to maintain successful businesses in the new economic climate. It no longer works to only be concerned about a business’ profitability and its impact on the immediate community. Businesses must understand the environmental impact of their raw material purchases and the results their product has within the global community,” she notes.

Most pressing challenges facing the industry: “The current economic tide is serving as a cleansing device for the industry. Creative operators with flexible business models will ride the tide of evolution to phenomenal results. Adapting to customer demand for value is a key to success. Each operator must evaluate their own customer base to determine how to entice their customers to dine in their establishment. No one solution will work for the industry; these are times for creative exploration,” she adds.

Her greatest accomplishment: “Creating the Green Foodservice Alliance is the result of being true to my heart and not following a logical path. I am honored to be the engine behind an organization that is making national news and evolving the standard operating practices of the second largest industry in the nation,” says Elmore.

Innovator Award Finalists

• Bill Johnson, Senior Principal,The Johnson Studio
• Patrick Gebrayel, Executive Chef, Dunwoody Country Club

Winner: Patrick Cuccaro, general manager of Affairs to Remember Caterers

Combine a theater background, an advertising career and an ever-present love for food, and you have a recipe for Patrick Cuccaro’s career path. With more than 20 years of hospitality experience, Cuccaro now helps to set the stage at Affairs to Remember as its General Manager.

“It has been my privilege to create a business environment that places respect and innovation at the top of its priority list,” says Cuccaro, who joined Affairs to Remember in 1990. “Crafting a company driven by strong core values was a very big challenge, but it also represents my greatest sense of accomplishment.”

Cuccaro not only oversees the work of the company’s catering consultants, but he also manages Affairs to Remember’s internal culinary research and development, human resources, community and public relations and marketing.

Cuccaro is also a founding member and President Emeritus of the Off- Premises Caterers’ Coalition of Georgia. He serves on the GRA’s board of directors, where he cochairs the Off-Premises Caterers Roundtable.

His latest project is a three-day training course, catering boot camp, developed for the GRA to help restaurateurs who are cultivating catering as a secondary revenue source. He also helms the nonprofit initiative Legacy 2×10, which helps organizations afford luxury fundraising services through in-kind donations of catering and event services. Since the program’s inception in 2007, they’ve already donated $1 million in in-kind services to charitable organizations.

“Those who know me understand that contributing to others gives me great pleasure,” Cuccaro says. “To be nominated for doing something that I do out of sheer force of nature is doubly gratifying.”

What the restaurant industry means to Georgia: “As recently as 25 years ago, Georgians yawned when the Ritz Carlton brought a world-renowned chef to open its new Dining Room. Today, celebrity chefs abound and consider Atlanta to be fertile territory, and some of our best homegrown chefs from all over the state are receiving national awards and attention. Georgia’s foodservice industry holds the promise of long-term, rewarding careers for those professionals who chose to master the skills required,” he says.

Major trends for 2010: “Many families have begun to place a higher value on at-home dining. While some restaurateurs might find this an alarming trend, others see it as an opportunity to provide inhome meal replacements and catering. Indeed, Off-Premises Catering will continue to be a revenue powerhouse when it comes to enhancing the bottom line,” says Cuccaro.

Advice to those just starting out: “Try to put yourself in the presence of the best possible talent. Look for the best company, not the best instant deal. At Affairs to Remember, you start at the bottom, even if you have proven industry-specific experience, and you work for the rewards. It takes time, at least three years, just to get the lay of the land. If you want a rewarding career, you must simply look for the best possible environment,” he notes.

Distinguished Service Award Finalists

• Kat Cole, Vice President of Training and Development, Hooters of America, Inc.
• Bobby Donland JR., Executive Managing Partner/Owner of Donland and Geenbaum’s New York Prime-A Steakhouse

Winner: Hank Clark, partner, Marlow ‘s Tavern

A 23-year veteran of the restaurant industry, Hank Clark has served as Market Partner for Aqua Blue and Marlow’s Tavern since 2002.

Clark studied business administration at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK, and began his restaurant career with Brinkers International. Seven years ago, he teamed up with John Metz, chef and co-owner of Marlow’s Tavern and Aqua Blue, to launch and run the two successful concepts in the Atlanta area.

“I fell in love with the daily action that takes place in restaurants,” says Clark, who adds that creating the Marlow’s Tavern concept has been his greatest achievement. “To take something from a blank piece of paper to a place where thousands of people enjoy great food and beverage daily is a great feeling.”

Clark is dedicated to the development of the Atlanta-area foodservice industry. He sits on the GRA and GRA-PAC board of directors and is also Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee. He has also leveraged his business success to help the Special Olympics over the years and champions political advocacy within the restaurant industry.

“I am trying to give back as much as I can to our industry,” Clark says. “I have been blessed by having been surrounded by people that have given their time and money to help me be successful. Now I am at the place in my career where I am able to give back and help the next generation of leaders in our industry.”

Major trends for 2010: “Restaurants must continue to offer great value for their services. Personalizing guests’ experiences and getting to know your loyal base, as well as new guests, will become more and more important. In tough economic times, people are very intolerant of mediocre experiences, so a stronger focus on daily execution must happen,” Clark says.

Most rewarding part of his career: “Seeing so many of our hourly employees become leaders in our management ranks. We promise an opportunity to grow and advance within our company, and seeing people take advantage of that opportunity makes me tremendously happy,” he adds.

Advice to those just starting out: “Find great mentors and set a plan for advancement with them. Learning how to set goals and how to go after them daily with measurable results is key to advancement. If someone wants a career in the restaurant industry, I would also recommend a culinary degree. Even if your aspirations aren’t to become a chef, having great knowledge of food is something you can use to jump ahead of everyone you are competing with,” he says.

What motivates him: “I am motivated by the desire to succeed. I know that if I don’t give my best daily, I am letting hundreds of our people down. They expect great things from our leadership team, and I wake up daily thinking about that.”

Restaurateur of the Year Finalists

• Mark and Nancy Oswald , co-owners/franchisees, Ruth’s Chris Steak House
• Niko Karatassos Director of Operations, Buckhead Life Restaurant Group

Winner: Karen I. Bremer, consultant , Bremer Consulting

For more than 30 years, behind the doors of Dailey’s and City Grill, tucked into the kitchen at Mick’s and the Pleasant Peasant, there was Karen Bremer. Since 1981, she has been there, working to build a business, helping to strengthen the city’s restaurant industry and taking countless employees under her wing.

As President of the Peasant Restaurant Division of the Atlanta Dining Group, Bremer was the chief officer in a $26-million, multiunit, high-visibility citywide operation. In her first year as president, she increased the revenues of her division by 6% and overall profits by an impressive 7%. After three years as president of the Peasant Restaurants, she assumed ownership of two of its most popular restaurants, Dailey’s and City Grill, and began her own Atlanta-based company, Great Hospitality, LLC.

However, it is her commitment and dedication, her responsibility to the restaurant industry and her employees that drive Bremer.

“When one is in a leadership position and responsible for other human beings, I think you have the responsibility to give back to your community,” she says. “We take, so, therefore, we give back. I was brought up in a home where volunteerism was considered to be a part of who you are.”

She has served as past president of the Georgia Restaurant Association, treasurer of the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association and was appointed in May 2002 to serve on the board of directors of the National Restaurant Association. She is on the board of directors of the Atlanta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and a member of the executive board of the TEAM Georgia.

Although she didn’t know it at the time, the seeds of Karen’s career in the restaurant industry were planted when she was just 15 years old as a checker for S&S Cafeteria.

She went on to major in public relations, but after an internship with WR Grace Restaurant Company helping to open restaurants in California, she was hooked.

“I just fell in love with the opening of restaurants, and making the magic of a whole team of people coming together and serving people food and making sure there was hospitality, all of that.”

She has gone on to lead a successful career in the restaurant business. Unfortunately, like many in the restaurant industry, Great Hospitality could not outlast the economic downturn. In the summer of 2009, both Dailey’s and City Grill closed.

“When I closed the restaurants, the amount of letters I received, e-mails and telephone calls from regular customers and ex-employees – there’s been a tremendous amount of support within the community and from other restaurateurs, and that’s been very uplifting,” she says.

Although the closures were difficult for Karen, she vows to remain in the restaurant industry and recently launched her own consulting company.

“There’s this next chapter on hold for me,” she says. “You know, the true measure of your success at the end of the day is not what you’ve got in the bank; it’s the difference you make on those around you. We’re supposed to leave this place in better shape than when we found it.”