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| Michael Attias |
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| Dino Lambridis |
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| ALL EARS: Operators made the most of their time, sharing ideas and picking up pointers from Dave Magrogan and other experts. |
You've heard of speed dating. How about speed consulting? Once again, the Concepts of Tomorrow Conference scheduled a series of 25-minute roundtable discussions open to all attendees. This year's “faculty” of experts led lively discussions running the gamut from nuts-and-bolts issues to long-term business strategies. Among the participants:
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Russell Barnett from CBRE's restaurant specialty practice group covered the art of negotiating leases.
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“Menu magician” Gregg Rapp explained how to increase profits through menu engineering.
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Acceleron Group's Kep Sweeney was there to show attendees how to find money to grow their concepts.
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Dino Lambridis, a founder of Evos (a 2008 RH Concept of Tomorrow), discussed ways to profit from green development.
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Ways to manage effective e-mail marketing and build customer databases were covered by Boris Bugarski of mUrgent Corp.
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Beverage guru Patrick Henry suggested techniques for boosting check averages through beverage promotions.
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Michael Attias of RestaurantCateringSystems.com offered advice on how to bring in incremental sales through catering.
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Dave Magrogan of the DMG Group expanded on his discussion of the 10 Unbreakable Laws of Business Success.
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Dunbar & Associates' Joe Dunbar explained how to make a menu a profitable sales tool.
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Author Ty Freyvogel explored ways to reduce employee turnover.
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Industry veteran Fred LeFranc looked more closely at the process of developing a strategic plan.
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Rob Hill, a partner with the J.H. Chapman Group, talked about what a new concept should do to maximize its potential value.
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Linda Funk and Angela Hemauer from the Soyfoods Council discussed ways to boost profitability of menu favorites with healthy oils and proteins.
