What do Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Texas Roadhouse all have in common? If your taste buds reminded you of the very first bite of fresh bread you can experience at each of these locations, you answered correctly.  In this economic downturn many restaurants have shied away from complimentary bread to start a meal.  Maybe the real questions should be can you afford not to offer a fresh baked complimentary introduction to dinner?  Read more at Restaurant Management Magazine and you may change your mind.

Breaking Bread (Traditions)

Looking for ideas to boost business on days that are typically slow?  Check out what this restaurant is doing to keep their business up.

Making the Best of Snow Days

Have you ever wondered how important your online business reputation really is?  According smallbiztrends.com, almost half of consumers are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews online.  Since people naturally trend toward leaving negative feedback, how can you engage your customers to leave positive feedback? Check out this article for some great ideas.

Your Secret Weapon in the Battle of Online Reputation

The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index hit a 6 year high in December.  The Restaurant Performance Index is a monthly index that is used to predict the outlook and measure the health  of the US Restaurant Industry.  With this sharp upswing, the NRA is predicting record sales for 2012 in their just released 2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast.  Check out these great articles to learn more.

Restaurant Outlook at Highest Level in Nearly Six Years

Restaurants to outpace national job growth, reach record sales in 2012

In this economy starting a restaurant can be a pretty tall mountain to climb.  Here is a great success story from The Gyro Company in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Check out this article to see how their great ideas came together and put them in a position for success.

The Gyro Co. Founder Talks Start-Up's Success

Recently McDonalds started a Twitter campaign that backfired. McDonalds started a campaign with the hashtag #McDStories designed as promotional campaign. Twitter users quickly picked up on this and turned it into an opportunity to bash the restaurant’s food and service. Check out the full story here.

Op-Ed: McDonald's Twitter campaign backfires as users turn the tables

Experts are predicting several new restaurant trends in 2012.  Consumers are going to have new expectations from restaurants this new year, including healthier menu options and online ordering.  Check out this great article to see how your restaurant measures up to meeting consumers demands.

Top 7 Quick Serve Trends for 2012

If your restaurant has not yet jumped into the game of using social media, 2012 is a great time to start.  Many national chains used 2011 to test strategies of using social media to connect with customers.  In this article some of those owners share their experience and what they plan to do differently.  Check it out.

Restaurants' social-media strategies in 2012

With the down economy many restaurant owners are making changes to keep business up.  La Pinata, a long time Business Software Solutions customer, is taking advantage of the trend towards fast casual.  Read this article on things they are doing to keep prices low and business hopping.

La Pinata» New menu, attitude » Times Record News

Are you considering using coupons to attract new customers to your restaurant?  Have you ever considered what types of customers this attracts and how it effects your bottom line?  Here is a great article discussing some of the issues with coupons and some alternatives to boosting business that won’t effect your bottom line.

How to Boost Restaurant Traffic Without Discounts by Karen E. Klein