We love blogging about healthy trends in restaurants like those that cook and serve locally grown foods and ones who center on vegetarian and organic options. More and more people are getting smart and choosing healthy meals when eating out. What fast-food restaurants come to your mind when you want a nutritious, figure-friendly meal? You’ll be surprised at some menu items at your favorite restaurant that you think are healthy.

Subway’s famous slogan is, “Eat Fresh,” with commercials featuring top athletes endorsing their favorite sandwiches. But did you know, in order to make the best healthy choice at this popular franchise, you have to do your research. A hot seller on the regular menu at Subway, the 6″ Spicy Italian sub actually has almost as much fat and calories (28 grams of fat, 520 calories) than a Big Mac at McDonald’s (30 grams of fat, 560 calories). And when comparing the two in terms of sodium — the sub contains way more sodium (1830 versus 1010 mg) than the latter!

Think a salad is the best option for watching your weight? Think again! Wendy’s BLT Cobb Salad has 47 grams of fat and 670 calories! Needless to say, looks can be deceiving.

If you’re unsure about what’s the best menu option for a healthy meal, consider the basics. Cheese, a common add-on to sandwiches and hamburgers, contains a lot of fat and unnecessary calories. The same goes with mayonnaise and many dressings. Instead of a breaded chicken wrap, which is often fried, go for the grilled option. Skip the salad dressing and request a side of lemon or ask for a low-fat alternative. And if you’re still not sure, ask a server for a nutrition menu or check out the restaurant’s website before ordering.

Need some more help? Here’s a list of the nation’s top 5 healthiest fast food restaurants according to a recent survey conducted.

1) Panera

2) Jason’s Deli

3)Au Bon Pain

4) Noodles and Company

5) Corner Bakery Café

Wouldn’t you like to see your restaurant listed here? If you need assistance developing healthy menu items, please contact Synergy today.

So you’ve passed the hardest part in the game and your restaurant is now in full swing. But you want to give your customers a better dining experience – namely, one that pairs delicious food with equally delicious wine and spirits. And the biggest benefit to you as an owner? Well, it’s statistically proven you can boost profits from serving alcohol! So what exactly are the steps involved in serving alcohol? You need to first acquire a liquor license from your state.

There are a few different licenses to apply for so you need to distinguish which type of food service establishment you are before proceeding further.

For example:

•  Restaurant wine: You are allowed to sell beer and wine but not liquor or distilled spirits.
•  Tavern wine: This applies if more than 50% of your sales are wine and beer.
•  On-premises (full-liquor license): You are allowed to sell beer, wine and liquor.
•  Club: Allows private clubs to serve alcohol to their members.
•  Brewpub: Restaurants or establishments that brew and serve their own beer.
•  Eating place beer: For restaurants where you can drink beer on the premises and can sell carry out beer.

The application process can seem very overwhelming and some choose to hire a specialized attorney and some choose reputable restaurant consultants since there are many detailed and legal aspects to be dealt with. To understand the full requirements, including the cost, you must contact the Alcohol Beverage Control agency in your state. In some states, there are a limited, fixed amount of licenses issued so you must purchase an existing one.

The time it takes to obtain a license from applying to issuance can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. And once you obtain one, you need to monitor your staff and management to ensure your establishment is in compliance with the rules set forth or else your license can be revoked. Synergy has helped many establishments with their liquor license. If you need assistance, please call our offices for a free initial consultation, 888-861-9212.

What Synergy has found as we conduct restaurant operations assessments is that where strong HR departments exist and are considered strategic partners with other senior management, there is also a highly developed employee culture and employee relations climate.

With budget cutbacks and staff downsizing even the best HR teams need help. Synergy can provide that help. We know that mature HR teams can also benefit from an outsider’s seasoned restaurant industry perspective. And, in newly developing restaurant concepts the entrepreneur gains an immediate advantage by having an experienced HR professional providing contract HR services well before the first restaurant opens.

Whether you have one restaurant or a thousand you can rely on Synergy’s Human Capital Solutions to help ensure your HR programs are strategic, practical and timely. Take a look at the full range of our human capital services and request a confidential, initial consultation.

I tend to write a lot of posts on pizza because we know and love pizza. We at Synergy have tenaciously studied the nuances of making a quality and delicious pies so that we can become the pizza experts. Just a few weeks ago, we wrote an article describing our pizza mission we took with our client, browsing some of the best concepts in California. I wanted to dedicate a single post just for one of my favorite pizza restaurants, Pizzeria Mozza brought to you by famed chefs, Mario Batali, Nancy Silverton, and Joseph Bastianich.

When we assess restaurants, what really stands out in our minds is that one thing that a restaurant excels in, or in other words, what a restaurant is known for. Whether it’s amazing marinara sauce or perfectly seasoned halibut, a restaurant must make a distinctive statement. At Mozza, I believe it’s all about their delicious crust—a crispy exterior and soft interior, the quality and flavor is superb, where many other restaurants simply leave the aspect of the pizza as an afterthought. What do you look for in a pizza?

Check out our photos from our visit to Mozza

for more information about some of the best Pizza in the country, call Synergy.

Have you heard of the type of restaurants that always on are-the-go? No, we’re not talking about the mobile food truck trend or even the “test kitchens.” Pop-up restaurants are literally popping up in classified locations, emerging as if out of nowhere and are attracting major hype from food blogger-foodies and critics alike.

The concept is ingenious and adventurous at the same time – set up a temporary restaurant with stellar food, create a buzz, fill up the scene to room capacity, and move on to the next location. Take for instance the famous, LudoBites, created by celebrity Chef Ludo Lefebvre. Lefebvre was very close to establishing his own traditional restaurant but was apprehensive on signing a long-term lease and making a huge commitment. So, he launched the newest dining phenomenon by setting up shop at a new restaurant (he would rent out the space from an existing restaurant) for only a few weeks, and then he’ll move on to the next location, wherever it may be. Wildly popular, each night at this “guerrilla style” restaurant has become sort of an event in and of itself. Even prominent food critic, Jonathan Gold, described LudoBites as one of his 99 Most Essential Restaurants in LA despite it having no permanent address.

Pop-up restaurants are also becoming popular overseas. In London, many rising chefs who just don’t have enough capital to open their own restaurants are choosing pop-ups to showcase their talents. Also known as supper clubs, these pop-ups provide the chefs a lot of creative control over menu and ambiance. And as for the diner, participating in the supper club is like a culinary adventure.

So how do you find a pop-up restaurant? Keep your eye on Twitter and the blogosphere in general for upcoming events. If you want to experience LudoBites, check out their website.

How has green found its way into restaurants? Just a few weeks ago, we wrote a post highlighting Forage in Los Angeles, a unique new concept based entirely on cooking and serving foods grown from local farmers and amateur green thumbs. This movement is better known as “growing local” and is beginning to become a popular choice for restaurants interested in promoting healthy eating, green environments and sustainable foods.

“Growing local” in the truest sense of the term is growing your own produce, and that’s exactly what many restaurants are doing today. In fact, in a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, one-third of the 2,000 chefs surveyed named restaurant gardening as the top trend. So what are the benefits?

In-house gardening benefits for restaurant owners:

–    Money-saving: it costs less to grown your own produce rather than buying and having it shipped.

–    Quality and freshness: gardens allow restaurants to control quality, plus it virtually eliminates the need for pesticides.

–    Cater to your clientele: you can have the ability to offer foods that people are looking for and also grow foods that are in season.

The Blue Water Grill in Grand Rapids, Michigan now boasts a 3,000 square foot garden that grows tomatoes, strawberries, squash, herbs, squash, sweet coarn and 12 fruit trees. Ken Vos, general manager, commented, “We just thought it was a great opportunity that supported doing what we wanted to do and that was to be a local restaurant.”

And the best benefit of all? Research has shown that restaurant customers are actually willing to pay more for local food – meals made with local ingredients. In fact this recent study “shows that restaurant patrons prefer meals made with local ingredients when they are priced slightly higher than meals made with non-local ingredients, said Amit Sharma, assistant professor, School of Hospitality Management, Penn State.” Interestingly, the higher prices given to locally grown menu items conveyed a sense of higher value. The study showed there was a limit, however, to how much restaurant diners were willing to pay, which showed 18 percent markup was acceptable but a 36 markup deemed too much. The full experiment detailed report will be printed in the fall/winter issue of the International Journal of Revenue Management.

Perhaps this project sounds like quite a lot to take on at once. If you want to start thinking green and taking advantage of the benefits of locally grown food, you can definitely start small with baby steps and begin growing from there. Think about the most commonly used herbs on your restaurant menu (basil, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, mint etc)– get input from your chefs as well. How about just growing a few these herbs outside your restaurant that would be strategically placed in view of your restaurant guests? Your guests will certainly appreciate the view as it depicts an atmosphere of freshness and healthiness. If you want to go all out but just don’t have the space, consider researching local public gardens that allot you your own space to grow produce. Follow this link to search for the closest garden in your area.

The bottom line is restaurant gardening is smart and environmentally friendly. Start small and slowly grow your vision and soon your restaurant will be reaping the rewards of the growing local movement.

As a restaurant owner, how important is it for you to be “green?” Some restaurants go green by using smart packaging, saving water, recycling, and even do in-house composting. Others think big and seek LEED certification for their entire location. But what exactly is LEED? This very trending topic speaks volumes to the green movement because LEED certified restaurant buildings undergo rigorous requirements to achieve this status.

LEED is the acronym that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – a project or building that uses environmentally friendly building practices like using recycled materials, sustainable green building material and reducing amount of waste. In short, the LEED certification system aims to encourage building projects that help our environment. There are four levels of LEED standards which are Certified, Gold, Silver and Platinum. We recently took a trip to Platinum LEED certified restaurant, Claire’s on Cedros in Solana Beach. They are without a doubt the standard for LEED certified restaurants. In the building process for Claire’s, careful enviromental strategies were taken place to implement energy and water efficiency.

A quick rundown of the just some of features of Claire’s green building:

– Parking: priority spaces are given to eco-friendly cars and carpoolers. – Green roof: their vegetated roofs, “have minimal irrigation needs. During rainstorms they absorb rain reducing the amount of stormwater running off the site.”

– Renewable energy: Claire’s boast 54 photovoltaic panels on site

– Appliances: only Energy Star efficient appliances are used – Interior: nearly all the interior finishes are made from reclaimed or recycled content

– Insulation: Creatively uses blue jeans in the walls and ceilings for insulation.

– Heating: hydronic floor heating is used to heat the commercial space

– And much more!

Although it is quite an undertaking to become a LEED certified restaurant, the environmental payoff is huge. Synergy’s expert design team can meet much of the challenge that comes with LEED certification. Our goal has always been not only to design amazing functional restaurants that are warm and comfortable but also design restaurants that are environmentally sound.