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Reality Check

Peter Romeo

The blog from award-winning journalist, RB Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo. Peter taps into his decades of experience covering the restaurant business at a variety of publications to discuss any number of issues related to the operations and general direction of restaurants.

Workforce

A $20 minimum wage isn't enough for some California lawmakers

 By Peter Romeo on Feb. 14, 2024

Reality Check: A candidate for the state's open U.S. Senate seat would like to see a $50 pay floor nationwide.

Operations

5 jaw-dropping facts about the state of restaurants

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 09, 2024

Reality Check: This year's mother of all industry forecasts is packed with tidbits that are likely to surprise. Here are five we found in the National Restaurant Association's State of the Restaurant Industry report.

Workforce

What's at stake for restaurants in the Congressional battle over border security

By Peter Romeo on Feb. 06, 2024

Spoiler alert: It’s the shot at expanding the labor pool by thousands of prospective hires per day.

Operations

Maybe cash should be king again for restaurants

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 10, 2024

Reality Check: Credit card fees are increasingly being passed along to consumers, offsetting a moderation in menu inflation. Operators need to do something about that.

Operations

Why U.S. restaurateurs should heed what's happening in the U.K.

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 04, 2024

Reality Check: Soaring menu prices are expected to cut Britain's population of fish-and-chips joints in half. There's a lesson in there for operators on this side of the Atlantic.

Workforce

Texas' new law spells trouble for restaurants. But mum's the word

By Peter Romeo on Dec. 20, 2023

Reality Check: The industry can't publicly condemn Abbott's anti-immigrant measure without looking like a chronic lawbreaker.

Leadership

Here's where today's big-chain chiefs are learning to lead

By Peter Romeo on Dec. 12, 2023

Reality Check: Musicians have Julliard, engineers have MIT and doctors have Johns Hopkins. The training grounds emerging as the ideal schools for restaurant CEOs are the big consultancies.

Operations

Should Cracker Barrel get out of the gift shop business?

By Peter Romeo on Dec. 01, 2023

Reality Check: The retail component of the family dining concept drew off sales and profits during the brand's most recent quarter. Maybe it's time to leave the shops out of future Cracker Barrels.

Leadership

Who's on your fantasy restaurant-management team?

By Peter Romeo on Nov. 28, 2023

Reality Check: Why bother with fantasy football when the ideal virtual C-suite is waiting to be picked? Here's my roster.

Workforce

Pluck off, Chicken Littles

By Peter Romeo on Nov. 02, 2023

Reality Check: The industry's tendency to portray every legislative or regulatory proposal as a restaurant killer is getting very old. Couldn't we be adults and focus on the real effects, like less opportunity?

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