Georgia Restaurant Association

GRA News

17 Jun 2013 11:19 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

These upcoming events are brought to you by the Georgia Restaurant Association. For info visit www.garestaurants.org/events.

Fulton County Food Code Briefing
July 24, 2013 at GRA office.

NRA-PAC Fundraiser
Sept. 30, 2013 at Canoe Restaurant.
Pull for the PAC Fundraiser
Oct. 14, 2013 at Foxhall Resort and Sporting Club.
Atlanta Food Service Expo
Oct 20-22, 2013 at Georgia World Congress Center.
GRA Annual Meeting
Oct. 21, 2013 at Georgia World Congress Center.
2013 GRACE Awards
Nov. 10, 2013.

How the Restaurant Industry Approaches Sustainability

17 Jun 2013 10:35 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

The Griffin Report of Food Marketing
BY KAREN BREMER

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. The objectives of environmental sustainability, such as conservation of resources, mindfulness of waste and buying local, become the strategies for businesses and local economies to move forward. Incorporating sustainability practices into the restaurant industry are key reasons why the industry continues to grow.

The average American dines out 5 times during the course of a week. The dining dollars represent almost 48 cents of every food dollar spent in Atlanta as well as across the state of Georgia, which has held that market share even through uncertain economic times.

The restaurant industry is one of the few industries that has recovered all of the jobs lost during the great recession, as well as created 105,000 additional jobs nationally over pre-recession jobs.

Certain programs are available for restaurants to promote sustainability and green initiatives. The Georgia Restaurant Association partners with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to raise awareness of Georgia Grown product through the Georgia Grown Executive Chef Program. This program helps foster relationships between chefs and farmers across the state and will increase awareness for both restaurateurs and consumers about which local Georgia products are available seasonally.

The Georgia Restaurant Association also promotes programs like ConServe and Zero Waste Zone. Sustainability is a major priority and we like to provide restaurant operators with ways to lessen their environmental impact.

ConServe, a program created by the National Restaurant Association, is designed to initiate and inspire actions that improve a company's bottom line, but also are good for people and the planet. Conserve explores conservation efforts being adopted by restaurants around the nation and offers suggestions and resources to help you reduce the cost of running your operation undefined both to your bottom line and the environment.

Zero Waste Zone (ZWZ) is an Elemental Impact Program in partnership with the National Restaurant Association.

The ZWZ goal is to divert the maximum amount of recyclable items and organic matter from landfills and back into the production cycle.

Initiatives like these help the restaurant industry to be more sustainable, both for the environment and the economy. These programs challenge restaurants to generate greater efficiencies, reduce waste and expand their capacity to use renewable resources as new practices become available.

We hope that all restaurants will eventually find a way to support and participate in environmental responsibility.

Karen Bremer is executive director of the Georgia Restaurant Association.

Right Side Round Table: Should states lower blood-alcohol limits from .08 to .05?

13 Jun 2013 4:04 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Chattanooga Times Free Press

Question of the week: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently called for states to lower blood-alcohol limits from .08 to .05. Do you agree that such a move is an effective way to reduce accidents and deaths on our roads? Are there better ways to curb impaired driving in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama?

The NTSB's heart is in the right place (whatever heart a huge federal bureaucracy can have) with its recommendation that states reduce their blood alcohol limits from .08 to .05. After all, it wants to prevent injuries and deaths related to drunken driving. But the push to lower the limits is a step too far.

Drivers whose blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) is higher than .01 but lower than .08 account for only 5 percent of all highway deaths. Further, evidence is shaky about whether driving ability or awareness is significantly reduced for a driver with a BAC of between .05 and .08.

Alcohol-related driving accidents are caused largely by drivers with BAC levels exceeding .1. The NTSB's call to lower BAC standards, however, does nothing to get problem drinkers, or those with outrageous blood alcohol levels, off the road. Instead, it launches a witch hunt against casual drinkers who have two glasses of wine at dinner or a couple of beers at a happy hour and are perfectly capable of driving safely.

The steps taken to improve highway safety in recent decades are nothing to ignore.

But neither is the right of adults to responsibly consume one or two alcoholic beverages and drive, when doing so does little or nothing to increase the risk to themselves or the public.

-Free Press

Tennessee Rep. Tony Shipley

R-Kingsport

The recommendation to drop the blood alcohol limit to .05 would result in reducing alcohol-related highway deaths. Unfortunately, the average first-time DUI offender has driven 80 to 90 times before being caught -- and that fact applies at .08 or .05. The good news is, thanks to new Tennessee law, whether the law is lowered to .05 or stays at .08 a DUI offender's car would get an ignition interlock and he or she would not be able to become a second-time DUI offender.

I do not believe a drop to .05 is in the cards immediately. First, I have not seen studies supporting a drop to .05. Secondly, and most importantly, there are financial repercussions for the state. The money to install interlocks after DUI convictions comes from user fees. However, equal protection laws force the state to provide interlocks for those who cannot afford the $3/day interlock charge. While we have a surplus in the interlock funds, changing the system to accept no BAC over .05 could endanger the financial well-being of the life-saving program we have today at .08.

Perhaps we can start with non-felony penalties such as fines, community service and directed drivers' education classes for drivers with blood alcohol levels from .05 to .08.

Barry M. Martin

Georgia state executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving

MADD Georgia applauds the long-standing efforts of the NTSB to ensure our safety. NTSB's recent proposal to lower the blood alcohol limit of drivers to .05 is certainly offered in that spirit. Several years ago NTSB also recommended a three-pronged approach to ending drunken driving, an initiative that MADD has fully embraced in the form of our Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. MADD intends to stay the course set by the campaign, which includes support of high-visibility law enforcement, legislation that requires ignition interlock devices on the cars of all convicted drunken drivers and continued research into the cars of tomorrow which will include passive alcohol detection systems that prevent a vehicle's operation if the driver has been drinking. MADD believes that this is the quickest and most effective way to once and for all eliminate drunken driving and save the thousands of lives being lost every year to this crime.

Karen Bremmer

Executive director of the Georgia Restaurant Association

The Georgia Restaurant Association is the state provider of ServSafe Alcohol Training and we represent members of our communities who follow state laws concerning the service of alcohol. The restaurant industry has deep concerns about drunken driving, however, we feel that efforts to reduce fatalities and increase safety should be focused on chronic repeat offenders who excessively drink and then drive. We support the recent measures taken by the Georgia Legislature creating legislation that mandates breathalyzer installation on the automobile ignitions of repeat offenders. We feel that these steps are more effective than punishing the many thousands of Georgians who enjoy an adult beverage in a responsible manner with a meal.

Georgia Eyes Immigration Overhaul

12 Jun 2013 11:56 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

GPB News
BY: JEANNE BONNER

The U.S. Senate took the first steps toward voting on comprehensive immigration reform Tuesday. It’s expected to pass the Senate, and then it will move to the House, where a tougher battle awaits. If passed in its current form, the bill would affect a wide range of Georgia residents.

And Atlanta immigration attorney Charles Kuck says it would help the state in five ways. Firstly, border security.

“Stronger border means fewer undocumented workers in Georgia," he said in an interview. "People don’t stay in Texas, and Arizona and California anymore. They move to where the jobs are, and Georgia is growing new jobs."

Secondly employers looking for lower-skills workers would benefit.

"There’s going to be temporary worker program to actually enable easily employers to get the workers they need – when they need them,” he said.

That’s welcomes news to Georgia’s farmers, says Charles Hall with the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

He says Congress needs to pass something so all states have the same labor laws.

“In Georgia, we’re sitting here with mandatory E-Verify where none of the other states around us, except Alabama, have E-Verify. So we’re kind of an island here. But we’re kind of optimistic or hopeful that we can get everyone on the same page,” he said in an interview.

Hall is referring to the provisions of a state law that requires most employers to check workers’ immigration status.

Karen Bremer with the Georgia Restaurant Association says her industry also supports the bill. She says restaurants need workers.

"We have shortages right now in restaurants not just in Georgia but across the U.S.," she said.

The federal overhaul would also provide more visas for higher-skilled workers. And Kuck, the immigration attorney, says the bill would resolve the problem of undocumented workers.

Those eligible to stay would pay a fine and back taxes, and take steps toward becoming citizens.

But many say it’s wrong to reward people who broke the law when they entered the country. Some also say the bill would pave the way for foreign workers to take jobs from Americans.

Groups Split Over Proposal to Drop Drunken Driving Benchmark

28 May 2013 11:54 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

The Republic

There's mixed reaction in Georgia to a proposal from a federal agency's call for states to lower their blood-alcohol limits from drivers.

The National Transportation and Safety Board made waves with its call for a 0.05 limit, down from the 0.08 that has become standard.

Georgia's chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving doesn't oppose the idea. But executive director Barry Martin told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/19h4hDU ) that it's not politically feasible. Martin said the focus should be on initiatives that require drivers convicted of DUI to use automobile devices that test their blood-alcohol levels. The units prevent an ignition from working when a driver is over the legal limit.

"We are not prohibitionist. We are not interested in eliminating drinking," Martin said.

Leaders of the Georgia Restaurant Association, meanwhile, say strict enforcement of existing laws is the best way to ensure public safety.

"Efforts should be focused on chronic repeat offenders who excessively drink and then drive and not the many thousands of Georgians who enjoy an adult beverage in a responsible manner, with a meal," said Karen Bremer, the group's executive director.

If the lower limits became law, it would affect more casual drinkers, particularly those with lower body weights. A woman weighing about 120 pounds could register a 0.05 after just one drink. A man weighing up to 160 pounds would clear that threshold after two drinks.

"We are supportive of penalizing chronic alcohol abusers," Bremer said. "But we feel strongly that a responsible adult should be able to enjoy a glass of wine with their dinner."

The federal transportation board said the change could cut DUI-related deaths by about 10,000 each year, according to the newspaper.

There has been a statistically significant drop in highways deaths in Georgia since the lawmakers lowered the limit in 2000.

In 2011, the latest year for available statistics, the number of roadway deaths in the state was about a third lower than the last full year of the old 0.10 limit. The percentage of highway deaths attributed to alcohol-related crashes undefined 23 percent in 2011 undefined was 5 percentage points lower than the number in 2000.

"It does make a difference," Georgia State Patrol Col. Mark McDonough said.

There are other variables, of course. Generally, cars and roads become safer with engineering advances over time. But, McDonough noted, economic struggles introduce an additional factor, as people drink more often and more heavily when they are having a hard time.

Can you stay slim and still eat at restaurants?

15 May 2013 2:25 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Consumer Affairs
BY MARK HUFFMAN

The dramatic rise in obesity has health officials searching for answers. While there may be many contributing factors, there's no question Americans are consuming more daily calories than they did in previous generations.

Food is plentiful, relatively cheap, and packed with calories. When you prepare food at home you can carefully control your caloric intake, but it's harder to do when you dine out.

Restaurants are very competitive and they draw customers with good-tasting fare, served in large portions. The Keystone Forum, funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recently studied the association between food consumed away from home and Americans' tendency to put on weight. It found that the average American now eats at least four meals a week somewhere other than home.

Again, that's a change from 50 years ago when restaurants were less numerous and people ate more meals at home

More recent changes
Even as recently as 1978 Americans only got about 18% of their calories from restaurants. By 1995 that percentage had jumped to 34%.

The Keystone Forum concluded that regularly consuming food prepared away from home is associated with obesity, higher body fat and a higher body mass index (BMI). Women who eat at restaurants more than five times per week end up with 290 more calories per week than women who dine out less often.

A number of restaurant chains, including Subway and McDonald's, post calories on their menus, to help consumers understand how many calories they are consuming when they order a triple-decker hamburger and fries.

In 2010, Congress passed a law requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets to post calories and other nutrition information on menus and menu boards. But some nutrition and health researchers suggest that may not be enough.

Studying small restaurant calories
Researchers at Tufts University analyzed meals from independent and small-chain restaurants, which they say account for approximately 50% of the nation's restaurant locations and are exempt from the new federal rules. They discovered the average single meal was also high in calories – two to three times the estimated calorie needs of an individual adult at a single meal. In fact, the average meal, they say, had 66% of of the calories most people need in a 24-hour period.

"On average, the meals studied contained 1,327 calories, which significantly exceeds the estimated energy needs of an individual adult at a single meal," said Susan B. Roberts, the study's senior author. "Meals from all restaurant types provided substantially more energy than is needed for weight maintenance."

She said nearly three-quarters of the meals analyzed contained more than half of the FDA's daily energy recommendation of 2,000 calories, and 12 meals contained more than the entire recommended daily energy intake.

The study looked at the food typical of small, independent restaurants – Italian, American, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese. It found Italian had the highest average calories – 1,755 – and Vietnamese the lowest – 922. It's conclusion? All restaurants should be covered under the new law.

Promoting healthier choices
The National Restaurant Association, a trade group representing the nation's restaurants, has opposed regulations requiring restaurants to post calorie information. It had pushed voluntary efforts, such as 2011's Kids LiveWell program, to encourage children to choose a restaurant's healthier selections when eating out.

“We are educating consumers and their children in how to dine outside of their homes in more healthful ways and that is a great thing,” said Karen Bremer, executive director of the Georgia Restaurant Association. “As consumers ask for more healthful foods, the industry will provide it. We are one of the quickest industries to respond to our customers’ needs.”

Federal statistics show more than 19% of children ages six to 11 are considered obese, as are 18% of teens ages 12 to 19. The numbers are worse for adults – about 68% are overweight or obese.

So while restaurants may be responding to customers' desires, it's entirely possible they are not responding to their needs.

Restaurants Show Resilience

14 May 2013 2:27 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Atlanta Journal Constitution
BY KAREN BREMER

Americans and Georgians alike may have recently been surprised by the employment figures released in early May by the U.S Department of Labor. However, these numbers came as no shock to restaurateurs. In April, the job growth of the restaurant industry rose nationally by 38,000 people.
For all of 2012, the number of restaurant jobs in Georgia grew by 11,800. These numbers demonstrate the resilience and strength of the restaurant industry in job creation.

Our sector continues to grow as the average American dines out five times a week. The dining dollars represent almost 48 cents of every food dollar spent in Atlanta as well as across the state of Georgia, which has held that market share even through uncertain economic times. The restaurant industry is one of the few industries that has recovered all of the jobs lost during the Great Recession, as well as created 105,000 additional jobs nationally over pre-recession jobs. This growth is made possible because our industry is truly an industry of opportunity.

The restaurant industry also gives you the freedom of what you want and when you want it. When dining out, you have the option to choose what you eat, where you eat and how you eat it. One of the many positive aspects is that the restaurant industry gives guests the option to help support local farmers and programs such as Kids LiveWell, an initiative in which restaurants provide healthy meals for children.

With so many choices in the food service industry comes the reliance of the help of many hands. Nearly half of all adults have worked in the restaurant industry at some point during their lives, and more than one out of three adults got their first job experience in a restaurant. Eighty-one percent of restaurant employees said that the restaurant industry is a place where people of all backgrounds can open their own business. Restaurants also employ more minority managers than any other industry.

Another reason our industry continues to grow is a testament to the people. Food service providers possess optimism, joy and pride in serving others. In Georgia, 75 percent of all restaurants are considered small businesses. While some restaurants might be considered a franchise of a major restaurant brand, the owner and operator is still someone who is invested in his or her community.

Restaurant owners and operators have the courage to take risks and create businesses that produce jobs while spreading success to others. A great skill that restaurateurs also possess is that they can easily adapt to a rapidly changing industry. Restaurants are forced to respond quickly to the changing wants and needs of their employees and customers, which is made possible by the hands-on approach of restaurant operators. So as we continue to watch our restaurant industry grow, dine out, dine often, dine Georgia.

Karen Bremer is executive director of the Georgia Restaurant Association.

Georgia groups promote state's bounty

09 May 2013 12:11 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

The Packer

BY: Doug Ohlemeier

The Georgia Grown program is working to educate Georgians about how much of the produce they consume originates in their state.

Introduced last year, the program works help retailers and restaurants source and identify Georgia produce.

JH Harvey Co. LLC, Nashville, Ga., was the first chain to join the program and Matthew Kulinski, deputy director of marketing for the Georgia Department of Agriculture in Atlanta, said more chains are joining.

The program provides support including photos and biographies of growers and other information to help supermarkets spotlight Georgia produce, he said.

He said the agency is attracting interest from other retailers as well.

In February, the agency started a Georgia Grown restaurant program.

Working with the Georgia Restaurant Association, the effort provides logos restaurants can use on their menus to show consumers when they’re serving items featuring Georgia produce, Kulinski said.

Kulinski pointed to an Atlanta restaurant in the Virginia Highland suburb that uses the logo to clearly identify Georgia products.

The program is also working with corporate cafeterias, including Cox Communication’s corporate headquarters in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody, Ga., Kulinski said.

Sodexo Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., services Cox’s five corporate cafeterias. Kulinski said the foodservice provider is eager to showcase Georgia products.

“Most Georgians are aware of Georgia peaches and Vidalia onions,” Kulinski said.

“But they’re not aware of the blueberries that are now big, corn and even apples. They want to buy Georgia products. It’s the low-hanging fruit we’re trying to take care of first.

“They’re already buying Georgia blueberries and they want to buy them. It’s simply not identified as Georgia blueberries. They have no idea what they’re buying. We’re really informing the consumer that they can make better purchasing decisions.”

To help with that state identification, Kulinski said the agency is working with a major watermelon shipper to develop special cartons that identify the watermelons as Georgia Grown.

Peaches

The Peach State is planning some retail promotions to remind shoppers about the summer availability of one of Georgia’s signature crops.

The Byron-based Georgia Peach Council is focusing on brand promotion.

According to research, Georgia’s peaches rate highly with consumers.

The industry supports the brand by harvesting peaches of high enough quality to encourage shoppers to return to stores, said council president Duke Lane III, vice president of sales with Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley, Ga.

Lane said the industry is working with a Tampa, Fla., marketing firm to conduct consumer public relations activities including launching a Facebook program.

The Georgia in July program plans to promote the state’s peaches with select retail partners, Lane said.

The promotion will try to merchandise peaches through bin wraps, farm market bags and a retail tool kit as well as in-store radio, Lane said.

“We’re finding retail partners in different areas of the country to be the industry leader of Georgia peaches in those markets,” Lane said.

“What we’re trying to do is drive consumers to the stores and let them know when peaches are available at their best. When they go to the stores, the messages will reiterate they’re at the peak of their season.”

The retail promotions are scheduled to run July 10 through early August.

Council marketing director Will McGehee, sales manager for the Genuine Georgia Group and Pearson Farm, Fort Valley, said the efforts pay dividends.

“Georgia growers are doing a lot of work to bring Georgia peaches to the retailers,” he said.

“If they plan to commit to Georgia peaches on ad, we have to supply them. We feel there’s a lot of brand equity in Georgia’s peaches. We can’t say enough about the optimism leading into this year. We have a lot of programs lined up.”

Georgia Restaurant Association Asks Federal Lawmakers to Address High Commodity Prices

22 Apr 2013 9:24 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

WABE 90.1 FM
BY MICHELLE WIRTH

A bipartisan U.S. House Bill would eliminate the corn ethanol mandate under the renewable fuel standard. Members of Georgia’s restaurant industry this week lobbied members of Georgia’s congressional delegation on the measure.

Georgia Restaurant Association Executive Director Karen Bremer says a federal mandate requiring the blending of increasingly large amounts of corn ethanol with transportation fuel has led to rising corn costs.

Bremer says that’s dramatically increased the amount restaurants pay for meat because corn is used as feed for many animals.

“It’s been a very tough five years with trying to maintain food costs and also trying to keep food affordable for dining out."

Bremer says the rising meat costs have forced restaurants to get creative.

“People are going to things like skirt steaks, tri-tip steaks, which is a cut of sirloin which has always been a west coast thing, a northern California thing, and now it’s spread across the country. People are constantly finding different cuts that have not always been the superior cut of meat.

The National Restaurant Association says last year 40 percent of U.S. corn crops were devoted to fuel production rather than fuel or feed.

Georgia Restaurant Association Calls for Immigration Reform

22 Apr 2013 9:17 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

WABE 90.1 FM
By MICHELLE WIRTH

Leaders in Georgia’s restaurant industry were in Washington D.C. this week to lobby the state’s congressional delegation on immigration and other matters. The meetings come as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators release a long awaited bill on immigration.

The legislation would allow millions of undocumented immigrants to apply for U.S. citizenship and tighten border security.

Representatives from large restaurant chains, small restaurant chains, suppliers and members of the Georgia Restaurant Association plan to meet with both of Georgia’s U.S. Senators and several representatives. Georgia Restaurant Association Executive Director Karen Bremer says in those meetings industry leaders will express support for immigration reform.

“We are expected to grow by another 15 percent in the state of Georgia by 2020 and we are constantly looking at who’s going to fill that labor pool. We don’t see a solution with declining birth populations and with the increase of the baby boomers going into retirement. There has to be some sort of solution.”

Bremer says it hopes a final immigration reform plan will include a system to verify those it hires are legal to work in the U.S. and will create a worker visa program that will provide the industry with more employees. She also says industry leaders support securing the nation’s borders.

In the News

17 Jun 2013 11:19 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

17 Jun 2013 10:35 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

13 Jun 2013 4:04 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

12 Jun 2013 11:56 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

28 May 2013 11:54 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

15 May 2013 2:25 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

14 May 2013 2:27 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

09 May 2013 12:11 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

22 Apr 2013 9:24 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

22 Apr 2013 9:17 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)