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{Noah’s Eat} 4Rivers Smokehouse – Bounty of Brisket

Barbecue - Tampa - review

To many, anything to do with barbecue (BBQ) is sacred. There are even entire TV shows and week long festivals dedicated to the subject! The arguments about who has the best BBQ invokes the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s….Eastern vs. Western North Carolina, North vs. South Carolina, mustard based vs. vinegar based, chopped vs. pulled, beef vs. pork. And it’s not lost on me that in some parts of the US the term barbecue is a verb, and in other parts it’s a noun! Pity some of the folks in the north who thought a Sloppy Joe was BBQ. I’ve eaten at countless BBQ joints all through the south, in Texas and even in California (where there are very few!).

Which brings me to 4Rivers, where I have a long and even personal history with, dating back to the first location on Fairbanks Ave in Orlando. John Rivers opened this location as a “Barbecue Ministry” in 2009, around the time we met. I was working on the Cheerwine soft drink brand, the official soft drink of Carolina BBQ. John was buying and bootlegging the nectar of the Carolinas down to Florida from our plant in South Carolina, before Cheerwine was available in the state. He was so dedicated to the BBQ experience; he even brought down the original formula, made with real cane sugar and in an old school glass bottle.  This was also a big differentiator in a state packed with BBQ restaurants.  The other aspect of 4Rivers that makes it unique is the amazing brisket, as virtually all BBQ joints in FLA are pork centric! Simply stated, 4Rivers has the best brisket I’ve had in all of Florida.

The 4Rivers experience is a delight. It is cafeteria like, where you order off the overhead menu.  The sides are equally amazing, many of these recipes from the mind of the owner, and all delicious. On this trip I had the brisket sandwich, collard greens and green beans. Love. The brisket is moist, the collards are seasoned and the beans are perfect. Oh, did I mention the on site Sweet Shop? Two words: Red Velvet. Seriously, everything in a 4Rivers location is made with care and the employees are genuinely glad to be there! You will be glad to be there too.

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Managing Rising Labor Costs

Rising Wages in Restaurant Industry

How business savvy restaurateurs are turning a profit in the highly competitive food service industry  

The economy as a whole has been undergoing a massive shift due to the widespread adoption of technology and automation. The restaurant industry is no different. The reshaping of our modern day economy has created a huge deficit in the workforce of the food service industry. The shortage of workers along with an increasing minimum wage, has created a costly dilemma for restaurant owners.

Cost of Business

The labor costs in the restaurant business can vary depending on the nature of the locale. When operating a fast food style restaurant, one can expect a margin of 25% on labor costs of total revenue. On the other hand, fine dining and table service restaurants typically operate with a margin of 30-40% on labor costs of total revenue.

Restaurant owners are obliged to get creative with their resources in order to keep labor costs down and gross profits up. The last resort of cost cutting in the restaurant business is to pass on the rising costs back on to the consumer; this, can alienate your loyal clientele and negatively impact overall sales. And, it is much harder to push on other substantive operating costs, such as lease costs, as prime locations usually have a waiting list of people behind the current tenant, who are more than willing to pay the rate.

Help Wanted

The process of hiring new staff is costly and time consuming. It involves vetting, interviewing, training, and managing personnel on the job along with all of the other unexpected contingencies. Thorough training and scheduling of staff can help workers maximize their productivity on the job and minimize unnecessary costs such as overtime pay.

Although the federal minimum wage has plateaued at $7.25 since 1991, some states have successfully pushed for higher wages, such as in the state of California, where the minimum wage is currently set at $12 an hour. At the state and federal level, there is the ever-present, looming push for higher minimum wage hikes, which is another pressure point to the bottom line for restaurant owners. Time will tell how operators will handle the inevitable rise in wages for hospitality workers, but we suspect, that particularly in the lower priced point concepts, automation will continue to take on repetitive and mundane tasks to attempt to keep overhead down.  The payback period on a $10,000 piece of equipment can easily be less than one year and much less in a rising wage environment.

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The New All-American Bar

Orlando, FL – Imagine all of the fixings of a high class bistro in an inviting sports bar atmosphere; welcome to American Social Bar & Kitchen. The good folks at American Social are intent on elevating the sports bar’s typical ambiance and menu with a hint of class and sophistication all around. The classic pub fare is upgraded with black truffle pizza, goat cheese croquettes, and mahi tacos.

Paul Greenberg, Rick Mijares, Laurie and Tony Mijares Jr. the founders of American Social Bar & Kitchen, share their vision for bringing a world class bistro sports bar experience like none other. The newest location will open in late spring at 7335 W. Sand Lake Road.