Hospitality
Frank Bennett
The DNA Required to Clone a Successful ...

Successful full service neighborhood restaurants are rarely duplicated in a second location, even by their original founder. I have observed this phenomenon over and over throughout my forty years on the New York restaurant scene. Whenever a successful restaurant in one neighborhood tries to expand to another location, it rarely enjoys the success of the original restaurant and often fails completely after a short stay in business. Why? Why can't successful restaurateurs do it again? The failure rate for duplicating successful restaurants is too high! What goes wrong when industry leaders try to repeat their success?

 To find the answer, I decided to interview 25 independent restaurant owners who had tried to open a successful second restaurant and had met with varying degrees of disappointment.

WILL WINTER NEVER END ?

Londoners, who have endured yet another dark, dank, chill, sloppy winter, will wake up on the Sunday following the full moon after the March equinox with a sense of anticipation and renewal. They will peak from under their downy covers only to see that dawn has awakened and the streetlights have already winked off. They will realise in the deepest part of their soul that they will not have to use their car headlights to drive to work. They will notice that the smell of the city has suddenly been washed away and replaced with the slight scent of nature. The joyful anticipation of soon retiring both galoshes and Macintosh will bubble up in their mind. Oh my God...it's Easter Sunday!

 

THE SOLUTION TO PAPERWORK BURNOUT

I recently interviewed a caseworker who had quit the business. She had burned out. I assumed I was about to hear a harrowing tale of towering caseloads, insensitive supervision, unruly clients, unreasonable hours, and unsatisfying outcomes. Yes, all of these factors contributed to her eventually quitting. But, the surprising factor that she kept coming back to, believe it or not, was PAPERWORK. That's right, paperwork! 

ST. NICHOLAS DAY December 6th

In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Christmas season begins on December 5th, the eve of St. Nicholas Day. The modern myth here in the UK of Santa Claus coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve, December 24th, has evolved from traditions surrounding the real St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, who died AD 343. The anniversary of his death, December 6th, became a day of celebration in Eastern Europe and, eventually, throughout the Christian world.

TOP 10 PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZATION

Early in my career - in the ancient days of paperwork, I was working for a large mortgage company. To say that the office was a mess of paper piled high in "in and out" boxes and on every available surface, would be a polite understatement. Early one Monday morning we were introduced to a new CFO. He walked around our massive office peering over mountains of paper to greet each loan processor warmly. Then he went to the front of the room, asked for attention, and announced a new efficiency plan he called..."No Carry-Overs". 

TREADING CLAMS

TREADING CLAMS

BY FRANCIS BENNETT

TREADING CLAMS - AVAILABLE ON AMAZON - KINDLE EDITION

"A blend of the humorous and the sentimental, the devastating and the hopeful. Bennett's eagerness and sincerity shine through.... impressive power". ~ KIRKUS REVIEWS

"Earlier in the week I had one of those dreadful days that leave you wound up and cross and I reached for a book to relax with. I didn't think about it - I picked up TREADING CLAMS because I KNEW that I would feel better for reading it. I did. Crabber worked his magic in these eight beautifully written stories."  ~ Sue Magee, THE BOOKBAG UK

"A good story can transport you to another time, another place, another life. Bennett writes with the kind of description that makes you feel you've been there and it is still a faint memory. Adults and children will equally enjoy John White's experiences and find, by the end of the last one, that they wish for more."  ~ Ben Sharpton, author of 7 SANCTUARIES

THE FIRE ISLAND NEWS

Captain Kolonick was blind.  Most people don’t know a blind person, but I knew Captain Kolonick.  Because I knew him since I was a little kid I’m not afraid of blind people like most folks are, although folks rarely admit it.  They’re probably afraid that blind people will hurt themselves by bumping into stuff or falling down suddenly when they’re around, and that would make them feel guilty or responsible somehow.  Maybe they’re afraid they’ll get blind themselves by hanging around blind people.  I don’t know.

Captain Kolonick was not scary.  He ran his own business, all by himself, and he was pretty good at it, if you ask me.  My father called him the ‘sole proprietor’ of the Fire Island Fisheries.  The Captain was a shellfish dealer.  He bought clams and oysters from the local diggers around the bay and sold them to the big hotels and restaurants in New York City.  

BLOG ARTICLE: IS THIS YOU?

Waking STRESS + Weight STRESS + Children STRESS + Spouse STRESS + Commuting STRESS + Office STRESS + Boss STRESS + Social STRESS + Financial STRESS =
BED-TIME STRESS LEVEL!

  • Are you a young urban professional living and working in London? Does the description above resemble you?
  • High levels of constant stress and the resulting physical and psychic disorders are London's modern epidemic.
  • "Why is this happening to me and how can I cure myself?" This is the question so many of you are asking.

THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY HAS ISOLATED THE CAUSE

CAUTION! Dangerous Curves Ahead

The Indian restaurant market is booming. Foreign restaurant companies like Domino's and McDonald's are taking part in a $48 billion market explosion. This enormous market expansion has been ignited by a variety of factors.

Restaurant company management hears the same cry in every boardroom around the world. "Let's go! We don't want to be left behind. India is another China. We must be part of this boom. What are you waiting for?