tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19568670263605652252024-02-20T01:01:42.871-06:00Daniel P. Smith WritingThe Cyberspace dwelling for speaker, author, and nationally published, award-winning journalist Daniel P. Smith.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-66257743017850755462010-12-06T13:59:00.002-06:002010-12-06T14:04:50.842-06:00‘Travels with My Aunt’ Filled With Skilled Performances, Worldly Energy (Patch.com, 12/4/2010)This could not have been what British author Graham Greene envisioned when he penned Travels with My Aunt in 1969 — that a stage adaptation of his novel featuring four male actors portraying more than 25 characters would spiral toward the absurd at the risk of its charm.<br /><br />And yet, that's precisely what the Glencoe-based Writers' Theatre's has delivered with its own presentation of Travels with My Aunt. At times, silly; at times, outlandish; but always, dynamic and spirited and charismatic enough to maintain interest and intrigue, this Writers' Theatre production succeeds as much in its daring execution of a complex play as its embrace of Greene's captivating narrative.<br /><br />What actors LaShawn Banks, Sean Fortunato, John Hoogenakker, and Jeremy Sher pull off in Travels with My Aunt is nothing short of astounding. In the 140-minute comedic drama, the four actors shift character to character with veteran skill, alternating voices and mannerisms, posture and position to produce the engaging story of Henry Pulling.<br /><br />The mild-mannered Henry, a retired banker content to snatch his only entertainment from the blossoming dahlias in the garden of his Southwood, England, bachelor home, attends his mother's wake only to be reunited with his Aunt Augusta, an eccentric character who often leaves Henry "too surprised by her vulgarity to speak."<br /><br />His long-absent aunt's coaxing soon pulls Henry from the comforts of suburban life into shady international adventures that reveal plenty about the retired bachelor's character and even more about his own unsolved backstory. Though the play begins with death, it is Henry who finds life. His decision to live as a tourist in his 75-year-old aunt's world soon unpacks his life's mysteries.<br /><br />The performances at this Glencoe theatre — a 50-seat, wood-beamed space tucked into the rear of the <a href="http://winnetka.patch.com/listings/books-on-vernon" rel="nofollow">Books on Vernon</a> retail store — are what make the Giles Havergal stage adaptation work.<br /><br />In his Writers' Theatre directorial debut, Stuart Carden, the company's associate artistic director, asks much of his performance quartet. And each of them delivers, all of them playing the role of Henry at times and switching to other characters on call. In the hands of a less capable cast, the drama could dizzy into slapstick and caricatures. It never does.<br /><br />Banks, a Writers' Theatre veteran, excites as the charged Wordsworth, AuntAugusta's Sierra Leone boy toy, before transforming into a cop at one stop and an elusive international revolutionary at another. Hoogenakker navigates the tricky theatrical terrain of playing a teenage girl traveling the Orient Express, a Philadelphia-bred government agent, and a Paraguayan teen. Sher, frequently tucked on the side, serves as the utility man, filling in where necessary, shifting languages at will, and crafting some of the production's sound effects, including a train's lumbering movement with an umbrella. And as the lone Aunt Augusta, Fortunato dazzles with sharp wit and thespian commitment, arguably the production's most striking performance.<br /><br />Though certain dialogue falls into the trappings of British humor that makes Monty Python a comedic classic to some and dumbfounding to others, the four actors' performance generates enough goodwill and enthusiasm to bypass that modest shortcoming. Individually, the cast is focused and disciplined; collectively, they are a symphony of dramatic quality.<br /><br />This Writers' Theatre production is one grounded in energy and wit, always quickbut never in a hurry. In time, despite the story's mystery and rapid pace, the characters find their own slice of peace and the puzzle's picture emerges, thereby generating the performance's final, fitting line: "God's in His heaven; all is right in the world."<br /><br />Indeed, all is right, even if Greene, an adventurous traveler in his own right, could have never envisioned this journey from novel to stage.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-90608788488308872072010-11-19T14:47:00.005-06:002015-12-06T16:32:08.867-06:00From Ocean to Table: Sustainable seafood programs growing at QSRs (QSR, March 2010)<div align="center">
<strong><span style="color: #ff6600;">*2010 Eddie & Ozzie Award Winner*</span></strong></div>
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When Robert Klein opened Fish Grill in 1986, sourcing of his seafood products stood as a top priority—even if the “sustainable seafood” term had yet to wiggle into the quick-serve industry’s lexicon.<br />
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“To me, it was all about quality,” says Klein, who now directs four Fish Grill locations in Los Angeles.<br />
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A decade ago, Klein heightened his attention to sourcing and began an aggressive investigation into ways he could further enhance his restaurant’s sustainability efforts, just as the movement gained traction.<br />
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Klein first sought education, traveling more than 300 miles north to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the California-based aquarium among the first advocacy groups trumpeting the sustainable seafood message. He later dug into research from credible organizations, such as the Marine Stewardship Council, and began asking more direct questions of his buyers and sourcers. As a result, he outlawed serving blue fin tuna and Chilean sea bass, two dishes littered with sustainability warnings. Today, 80 percent of Fish Grill’s menu meets sustainable criteria.<br />
The move toward sustainable seafood, Klein says, made sense on a variety of levels.<br />
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“In the short term, I saw customers becoming more knowledgeable and seeking higher quality and health benefits on the table; I had to match those expectations,” he says. “Then, knowing that I’m in this for the long haul, I knew that if fish stocks were to decline, prices would only rise and put stress on the business.”<br />
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Klein’s fast-casual eateries are characteristic of a sweeping industry trend. Sustainable seafood is here to stay and, many experts and operators agree, it’s a positive endeavor for restaurant operators seeking to balance consumer expectations, environmental concerns, and sound business principles.<br />
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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sustainable seafood is “when the population of that species of fish is managed in a way that provides for today’s needs without damaging the ability of the species to reproduce and be available for future generations.”<br />
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No longer mired in obscurity, sustainable seafood emerged as a discussion point among scientists, government agencies, and restaurant industry insiders alike. Most telling of its validity is that the dialogue has morphed into action.<br />
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A widely cited 2006 study in the journal Science suggested that the loss of biodiversity was obstructing the ocean’s ability to produce healthy seafood, leading to projections that seafood could be absent from dinner tables by 2048. Though many charged the report with sparking unreasonable alarm, the study succeeded in highlighting the emerging environmental concern and, most importantly for quick service, its potential impact to business.<br />
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The following year, the NOAA told the United States Congress that 25 percent of U.S. marine fish are overfished or depleted. Similar estimates have prompted scientific concern about ocean health, particularly in the face of rising dinner table demand and record-level U.S. seafood imports. After all, Americans enjoy their seafood, consuming about 15 pounds of seafood annually, according to the National Fisheries Institute.<br />
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As seafood demand increases, so does the importance of sustainable practices. For restaurant operators focused on long-term business objectives, the use of certified products remains the best way to ensure a stable and consistent seafood supply.<br />
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“Many restaurant operators are realizing how important a healthy seafood population is to their business model,” says Megan Westmeyer, the sustainable seafood coordinator at the South Carolina Aquarium.<br />
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In recent years, industry reports have consistently named sustainable seafood a top trend, a movement chiefly driven by influential chefs and fine-dining trendsetters. Likewise, industry trade shows, workshops, and forums have all addressed the topic in rising numbers.<br />
“As a key talking point, sustainable seafood is beginning to sink in, especially on the heels of other food movements, such as organic, fair trade, and cage free,” says Sheila Bowman of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.<br />
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The Monterey Bay Aquarium developed its Seafood Watch program in 1997, among the nation’s first widespread efforts to broadcast the sustainable seafood message. From Chicago’s famed Shedd Aquarium to Good Catch, a London-based collaborative that promotes seafood sustainability in foodservice, several conservation groups and prominent aquariums in the U.S. and abroad have accelerated the discussion with their own education efforts and media coverage.<br />
In recent years, the movement has accelerated both in and out of restaurant industry circles.<br />
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Over the last decade, McDonald’s solidified its sustainable reputation with its Filet-O-Fish sandwich, primarily made from Alaskan Pollock, a species certified by the Marine Stewardship Council’s sustainability standards. In December 2008, Yum! Brands and Long John Silver’s, the industry’s largest quick-serve seafood establishment, released its first corporate responsibility report, highlighting the brand’s longstanding commitment to sustainable seafood.<br />
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In 2005, Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, required all of its shrimp suppliers to adhere to “best aquaculture practices.” The message also rushed into the collegiate ranks. Since 2006, the dining program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has only served sustainable seafood, such as wild salmon, Pacific cod, scallops, and halibut, at its campus outlets.<br />
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Just how far has the sustainable seafood message come in the last decade? The 2006 animated movie Happy Feet discussed the issue of overfishing and protecting the world’s oceans. The movie’s DVD also included a copy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s seafood watch guide.<br />
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“Sustainable seafood is on people’s radar,” Bowman says. “Companies want to have the right green initiatives to appease shareholders and customers. Restaurants might have already looked at waste, packaging, and energy; sustainable seafood arises as another business decision they can make to show environmental concern and improve their business model.”<br />
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The pervasive and diverse attention heaped upon the issue underscores the point that sustainability challenges freshness and quality as a vital priority. In the quick-serve arena, where fish sandwiches and platters account for a noteworthy chunk of sales, sustainable seafood cannot be ignored.<br />
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“Quick serves might have largely happened upon this movement by happenstance, but they’re increasingly looking at this commitment as something they cannot ignore,” Bowman says.<br />
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Around nine Gilligan’s Seafood Restaurant locations in South Carolina, a simple slogan reminds customers, ever so comically, of the precise origin of the restaurant’s celebrated dish: “Friends don’t let friends eat imported shrimp.”<br />
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The casual-dining establishment heightened its sustainability efforts in 2008 after partnering with the South Carolina Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative.<br />
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“Using sustainable products ensures we’re getting the best product available, which helps guarantee fresh food and promote a positive guest experience,” Gilligan’s marketing director, Sarah Beckner, says. “That quality and consistency benefits our reputation.”<br />
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Two questions, crucial for operators to ask, drive the sustainable seafood issue:<br />
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1.) Where does the fish come from?<br />
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2.) What was the capture or harvest method?<br />
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Traceability is central to any sustainable seafood practice. Restaurants often assume fish comes from one standard location, only to be surprised that the origin of a specific species can vary throughout the year. On invoices from his suppliers, Fish Grill’s Klein reviews the origin of products and demands suppliers notify him of any changes.<br />
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“It takes some monitoring, but everything has to hit the mark,” he says, adding that Fish Grill’s status as a kosher restaurant adds another layer of scrutiny to his efforts.<br />
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Once restaurants confirm the seafood’s origin, operators can then ask about stock status, fishery management, or the ecosystem’s impact on harvest.<br />
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“Restaurants must be diligent about the fish they’re serving and maintain consistent guidelines,” Bowman says.<br />
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Westmeyer points to fish from Alaska, a state with a long history and credible record of sustainable fishing practices, as one particularly positive—and easy—option for operators.<br />
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“Everything that comes from Alaska is sustainable,” Westmeyer says, “so there’s one quick way to know if you’re getting sustainable seafood.”<br />
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Operators can then dig even further. Gilligan’s leadership team, headed by owner Randy Marvin, routinely visits the boats of its local suppliers to get a firsthand look at operations. The staff also conducts regular in-house testing of its seafood, weighing, cooking, and assessing the freshness of items.<br />
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“We’re not just taking suppliers at their word; we’re seeing and learning about this with our own eyes. We don’t want them buying product from elsewhere and selling it to us,” Beckner says, alluding to a familiar practice in the seafood industry.<br />
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The Monterey Bay Aquarium reports that 67 percent of seafood by dollar value is sold through restaurants, an estimate that suggests quick serves hold valuable leverage to demand that seafood is caught or farmed in an environmentally responsible way.<br />
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Many restaurant operators looking to understand sustainability and its applications to their business first turn to a trustworthy advocacy group. Many of the nation’s aquariums host a sustainable seafood program that provides a shortcut for operators seeking helpful resources and personal attention.<br />
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“A lot of restaurants simply don’t have the time to get so involved in this issue, so partnering with the right agency will be a big help,” Monterey Bay’s Bowman says. “I would tell any operator to use the available resources and don’t make this issue any harder than it has to be. Identify who’s telling the straight story and work within those guidelines.”<br />
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The South Carolina Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative, for instance, has a distinct restaurateur focus, sparked by the recognition of just how much influence restaurants peddle over the nation’s $70 billion desire to enjoy seafood. Since 2002, the aquarium has worked directly with restaurants to help them improve their seafood sourcing. Operators determine their level of involvement and take small steps alongside the aquarium’s staff to produce a sustainability program that works.<br />
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“Restaurants are a control point in that they pick and choose what people will be eating,” Westmeyer says. “Our partnership program with restaurants helps arm operators with credible information, so that they can make the decisions best for their establishment and their customers.”<br />
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Gilligan’s Beckner says the experience the South Carolina Aquarium staff brought to the table was remarkable.<br />
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“They’re the pros at it, and they bring an amazing background to the relationship,” Beckner says of Westmeyer and her staff. “They helped us with the educational part, they reinforced why we should be doing this, and they helped us identify new options for our menu with sustainability in mind.”<br />
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Many operators with a sustainable mindset then pair the information of advocacy groups with information from other sources, including suppliers and government agencies. Noting the rise of sustainability as an important issue to restaurant operators, suppliers have increasingly made their sourcing information available and sought partnerships with advocacy groups.<br />
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“I don’t know of a supplier that’s gone as far as only serving sustainable seafood, but in most cases they’re making sales sheets and categorizing what they sell,” Bowman says. “Most realize that effective sustainable seafood practices are a win-win all around.”<br />
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Though discussion of sustainable seafood has multiplied, consumers have only sparingly heard the message. In the 1990s, McDonald’s developed a sustainable program for its Filet-O-Fish sandwich while Long John Silver’s pledged similar efforts. Although both industry giants initiated the programs—in part—to strengthen their supply chain, neither constructed a broad marketing campaign around the issue.<br />
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Experts suggest operators make customers aware, educate staff, and think outside of the tackle box.<br />
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“Restaurants are in the unique position to encourage new options and spread out consumption to different species and that’s something they can take advantage of,” Westmeyer says.<br />
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Restaurants can prepare different seafood in a delicious way and introduce fresh species to customers’ palettes. Common alternatives include tilapia, catfish, and striped bass, while more obscure options, such as sheepshead or amberjack, can draw consumer interest.<br />
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By preparing a new seafood dish with flair, Westmeyer says, restaurants can gain a following for their unusual menu options and build a special around the item. Additionally, operators can enjoy cost savings since underutilized species often have a lower wholesale cost given supply overruns.<br />
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“In the short term and long term, there’s much benefit to adopting a sustainable seafood program,” Westmeyer says.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-63322417734797622772010-11-05T14:55:00.002-06:002010-11-05T14:59:18.771-06:00Trading Up: Cash-strapped shop owners nab services--and new customers--through bartering (Fresh Cup, October 2010)When Mark Baryla purchased J Bean Coffee and Café, a six-year-old neighborhood coffee house on the outskirts of Chicago, he inherited a business active in bartering. Yet for Baryla, a CPA by day, the concept of bartering was as foreign as it was funny.<br /><br /> “I’ll admit some real hesitancy toward wanting to continue the store’s bartering ways,” says Baryla, who purchased the café in 2007. “I had a difficult time with the concept and thought it was funny money.”<br /><br /> J Bean’s previous owner participated in two barter exchanges — the International Monetary System (IMS), a publicly traded, Wisconsin-based barter company spanning 50 U.S. markets, and Art of Barter, a Chicago area exchange serving approximately 1,400 small business clients in and around the Windy City. When Baryla assumed ownership of the café, he investigated barter fully before determining J Bean’s continued participation.<br /><br /> “I thought it could be frustrating to work within this barter marketplace and also wondered if some of the other businesses would even be open down the road,” he says.<br /><br /> As his barter exploration unraveled, however, Baryla liked what he saw and continued J Bean’s bartering relationships. To date, he’s used barter for restaurant supplies, storage, and employee incentive gifts as well as personal trips to resort towns in Illinois and Wisconsin.<br /><br /> “Barter was not only worth keeping but expanding,” Baryla says.<br /><br /> For many of the nation’s café owners like Baryla, barter has emerged a compelling piece of the business environment. Given the U.S. economy’s tumult and a related decrease in consumer spending, barter has gained notoriety and favor among small business owners seeking to keep cash on hand, generate business, move inventory, and secure new customers.<br /><br />“If you have a business, you can barter and reap the benefits of trade,” IMS president Don Mardak says.<br /><br /><strong>Independent Bartering<br /></strong> From the Romans to the Greeks to the American farmer and the modern-day coffee shop owner, bartering spans generations and geography. Historically, barter took the form of direct trade — two people having a mutual need at a common time for products and services of related value.<br /><br />Though direct trade can be difficult to accomplish in today’s fast-paced world, many small businesses retain the practice, foregoing any membership in a third-party barter exchange to find their own trade partners.<br /><br />Amy Comerchero runs Amy’s Bakery Arts Café in Brattleboro, Vermont and has bartered with a number of local businesses over her café’s 10-year existence, including an electrician, a nearby clothing boutique, and her acupuncturist, a lunchtime regular.<br /><br />“I’ve found only good things through barter and enjoy doing exchange,” Comerchero says. “It’s about everyone sharing their gifts — I can do for you and you can do for me, which is so uplifting.”<br /><br />The direct trade challenge of finding a matching partner, she says, has been minimized by Brattleboro’s neighborly ways, the community’s barter openness, and a pinch of good fortune.<br /><br />“I’ve been lucky to have found services and goods that I want and that we have enough food here to meet [the trading partner’s] needs. For us, we’ve been blessed that it’s a workable system,” says Comerchero.<br /><br /> The same direct trade spirit resonates at ChocoLate Coffee, an eight-year-old shop in Atlanta.<br /><br />Owner Vera Bettin met Nick Villaume, a local Web site developer, when Villaume coached her son’s soccer team. The two soon learned they had professional experiences and services to offer one another. In return for Villaume performing regular Web site updates, ChocoLate provides space for Villaume to conduct business meetings, while offering free Internet time and drinks, a barter arrangement managed by the store’s POS-controlled loyalty card.<br /><br />Bettin has fashioned similar barter relationships with a range of businesses, including plumbing, signage, graphic design, and artists, whose personal work lines ChocoLate’s walls. When hiring a contractor, she’ll often ask if they’re open to barter.<br /><br />“I enjoy bartering because I don’t have cash leaving my account, which is so important as a small business owner, and because it fosters a collegial relationship with fellow business owners and service providers,” Bettin says.<br /><br /><strong>Bartering with a Third-Party Exchange<br /></strong>Yet for many small businesses, cafes included, direct trade fails to deliver on barter’s optimal benefits — never mind the concerns over drawing the ire of the IRS, navigating testy disputes when one side fails to deliver, and record keeping blunders that could allow product to walk out the door.<br /><br />For many, a third-party barter exchange is the only way to go in the barter game.<br /><br />Functioning on a model much like eBay, barter exchanges serve as a forum to sell goods and services, while also functioning as a clearinghouse for trades, processing transactions and maintaining records for each business. At year’s end, most exchanges distribute Form 1099-B, which lists a café’s total trades for the year and appeases the IRS’s desire for accountability.<br /><br /> The U.S. hosts approximately 200 trade exchanges, many confined to a local area. Services on the exchange can range from restaurants, often the most popular target of trade dollars, to printing and advertising, car washes and window washers, landscapers and tradesmen, HVAC and hotels.<br /><br /> “This secondary economy has almost all of the services the yellow pages has,” says Mardak, whose IMS claims 16,000 individual businesses across the nation.<br />Pete Berres of Berres Brothers Coffee, a Watertown, Wisconsin-based café shop and regional coffee roaster, joined IMS in the mid-1990s to introduce his product to new clientele. In subsequent years, he’s become a major barter proponent and user, utilizing his barter dollars for travel, promotional items, employee incentives, catering, and store supplies, including a cash register.<br /><br />“Our product is an easy one to barter — it’s in high demand and easy to ship — so we’re able to build up a strong account,” Berres says.<br /><br />For their part in providing barter partners and clearinghouse functions, exchanges amass some mix of a membership fee, monthly charge, and a percentage of the transaction’s value. The IMS, for instance, collects a one-time $695 membership fee, a monthly service fee that varies by market ($19.50 in the Chicago area, for example), and a 6 percent transaction fee. Berres estimates that he spends $200-1,000 each month on barter transactions.<br /><br />“You have to realize there’s an expense here and that you’re giving away product that could be sold for cash,” he says. “The key is in finding the right balance for your business between trade and real dollars and not letting those barter dollars grow indefinitely.”<br /><br />Before entering an exchange, Baryla urges his coffee shop colleagues to do their own investigation. Speak with participating businesses to assess their experience, make sure the exchange is legit with the Better Business Bureau, peruse its client list to ensure it has worthwhile trade partners, and request a trial period, an inquiry many exchanges will accommodate.<br /><br /> “If you don’t like it,” Baryla says, “you always have the opportunity to spend your trade dollars and bow out.”<br /><br /><strong>Barter Benefits<br /></strong>At J Bean, Baryla collects about $12,000 in barter dollars annually, a fraction of his café’s $360,000 income, but a viable and important slice of business. Many share Baryla’s sentiment, as barter allows an operation to keep cash on hand, differentiate itself from the competition, move excess product, fill down times, and gain valuable buying power.<br /><br /> Third-party exchanges, in particular, become marketing vehicles to publicize businesses. Individuals seeking to cash their barter dollars will often peruse available barter partners before utilizing cash.<br /><br /> “If I’m going to purchase something myself, I’m checking barter first,” Baryla confirms, a common response from barter participants that drives business at barter-practicing establishments throughout the country.<br /><br /> Yet, J Bean benefits on the reverse end as well.<br /><br /> “We get sales — transactions we never would have had — solely because we are involved with barter and the customer chooses to come to us instead of a place where he’d have to use cash,” Baryla says.<br /><br /> Barter participants also keep cash in house, an especially important feature as the business checkbook tightens. Rather than spending money to have the furnace cleaned or sale fliers printed, barter dollars can do the trick.<br /><br />“When cash flow gets tight, you can still use barter to act on something you need or want,” Berres says, noting that profitability rises with barter.<br /><br />In addition, cafes can take existing assets — inventory or space — and turn them into usable revenue on the barter system.<br /><br />“With barter, commodities don’t have to be wasted,” Mardak says.<br /><br /> Perhaps most interesting and beneficial stands the concept of barter leverage, which affords a business owner remarkable buying power. If a café owner uses his barter dollars for a $500 landscaping project, for instance, barter leverage holds that he has not spent $500 cash, but rather a fraction of that amount equal to $500 of the café’s product. As a result, operators are trading products at retail cost for their wholesale investment.<br /><br /> “If your markups are high enough, you can buy things at wholesale cost, which leads to cash savings and showcases the inherent advantage with barter,” Mardak says.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-25756936829983879882010-11-05T14:52:00.001-06:002010-11-05T14:54:34.893-06:00Wanjiru’s Final Blow Floors Kebede (Competitor, October 10, 2010)And then there were two.<br /><br />With the $500,000 World Marathon Majors prize on the line, in addition to the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon title, a pair of 23-year-olds, Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru and Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede, engaged in one of the most dramatic duels in marathon history on the streets of Chicago on Sunday morning.<br /><br />The tandem traded the lead throughout the final two miles, Kebede frequently trying to break the resilient Wanjiru with steady and consistent surges. With 600 meters to go, it was Wanjiru, whose own accelerations had repeatedly been matched by Kebede, who attempted one final push, reverting to his track-running roots with an arm-pumping, ground-eating assault that Kebede’s slight frame and tired body couldn’t match.<br /><br />“I don’t know where the power came from [for that final surge],” Wanjiru said, grateful that his ultimate attempt to break Kebede succeeded.<br /><br />Wanjiru’s finishing time of 2:06:24 bested Kebede by 19 seconds, a gap showcasing the definitive and powerful finishing kick Wanjiru displayed. Ethiopian youngster Feyisa Lilesa captured third in 2:08:10 with Kenyan Wesley Korir in fourth at 2:08:44.<br /><br />Wanjiru’s victory earned him the $75,000 championship prize and virtually assured him of the $500,000 World Marathon Majors title for 2009-2010. Kebede could run the New York City Marathon on November 7, the final event in the World Marathon Major series, to chase the 10-point gap created by Wanjiru’s Chicago victory, though such a feat would be unlikely given the punishing Chicago race and the four-week turnaround.<br /><br />“Today was a big day. If I lost here, I was finished for the year,” said Wanjiru, who has battled back and knee problems throughout 2010.<br /><br />Billed as the top field in the race’s 33-year history, the men’s elite field featured the reigning Chicago, London, and Boston champions in Wanjiru, Kebede, and Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, respectively–the first time that trio of reigning champions had assembled at a marathon starting line.<br /><br />“This was an excellent opportunity to put [a number of] champions together on the same course, all of them at the front end of their careers,” Chicago Marathon executive race director Carey Pinkowski said. “I felt that if we got these guys early, got them training and with their mindset on Chicago, then we’d have a shot at a magnificent race.”<br /><br />And Pinkowski’s hopes were realized.<br /><br />The $500,000 World Marathon Majors carrot most certainly impacted race tactics, as Wanjiru and Kebede maintained tabs on one another throughout the race, content to let the pace linger in the 4:50s from the halfway point to mile 19.<br /><br />Though a pack of nine was in place as the group approached mile 20, Kebede surged with Wanjiru and Lilesa in tow as the pace dropped into the 4:40s and the trio established a 30-second lead on its pursuers by the 35K mark. While Lilesa would drop back over the next 5K, Wanjiru and Kebede’s duel would continue over the final 2K.<br /><br />“I tried and tried to push several times and my feeling was to win,” Kebede said of his assertive tactics to break the defending Chicago champion. “[But Wanjiru] got recovery and he would come again.”<br /><br />Former University of Oregon standout Jason Hartmann was the top American, grabbing an eighth-place finish with his 2:11:06 personal best. Though 16th at the halfway point, Hartmann’s steady and conservative race plan, which included an even pace and regular hydration as the heat pushed into the upper 70s, fostered his 63-second improvement.<br /><br />“I stayed within myself, I never pressed, and I let the race unfold in front of me,” Hartmann said. “This was another opportunity and a good step forward.”<br /><br />38,132 runners crossed the Chicago Marathon starting line, the largest field in the race’s 33-year history.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-87803803820838168262010-11-05T14:48:00.002-06:002010-11-05T14:52:30.185-06:00'Spelling Bee' D-E-L-I-V-E-R-S at Metropolis (Patch.com, October 17, 2010)Few of us wish to relive adolescence. And yet, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee places adolescent turmoil at the center of its world, forging a relationship with the audience that sparks empathy and enjoyment at a uniquely adolescent setting—a spelling bee.<br /><br />Playing at the <a href="http://metropolisarts.com/">Metropolis Performing Arts Centre</a> in Arlington Heights, Spelling Bee features six spellers—and four quickly eliminated audience members—competing for a spot in the national spelling bee finals. High on energy and substance, the musical comedy's spelling bee environment--set in a middle school gym complete with Putnam Panther banners and basketball hoop--serves as the ideal meeting ground for the endearing sextet, each of whom possesses eccentricities that challenge even the most flexible of social norms.<br /><br />With the spelling bee allure heightened by ESPN and ABC broadcasts of the actual annual national competition as well as movies such as Akeelah and the Bee and Spellbound, Spelling Bee's basic premise—middle school students battling in this intellectual challenge—resonates with audiences increasingly seeking quirky, offbeat and hearty looks at the present-day world.<br />Yet, in a contrast to recent popular productions like Glee and High School Musical, flashy song-and-dance, teen-centric creations that suit today's audio-visual pulse, Spelling Bee's charm resides in its lovable characters.<br /><br />There is the guarded and stern William Barfee (James Nedrud), an intense, bespectacled lad whose mother tells him he'll be good looking someday and who uses his magic foot to spell words, as well as the lisp-troubled Logainne Schwartzandgrubiennaire (Justine Klein), whose two dads stress winning at all costs and have inspired the youngster to run her elementary school's gay-straight alliance.<br /><br />There is Marcy Park (Amy Malouf), whose intentional misspelling of camouflage showcases the fragility and sincerity of the bee's competitors, and Chip Tolentino (Ryan Hunt), the Boy Scout whose elimination coincides with the untimely arrival of a puberty-spurred condition.<br />Each speller comes to the bee with a back story and baggage as compelling and unique as the next, giving the show heart and depth beyond the methods each contestant employs to spell words.<br /><br />To the show's credit, director Robin Hughes' ensemble cast resists any shallow, stereotypical characterization of these quirky spellers, all of whom might politely be termed outcasts. Rather, each individual cast member creates a well-rounded, robust character grounded in sincerity and optimism, displayed in individual opening numbers that provide necessary background insight.<br /><br />Patrick Tierney could reduce Leaf Coneybear to an outlandish character plagued by hyperactivity and hypnotic trances, but there's a depth and lovingness to Tierney's portrayal that delivers spunk and makes Coneybear a favorite. Likewise, Kristine Burdi could sink into Olive Ostrovsky's role as a forgotten child, rejecting the optimism, hope and candor that turns the character from depressed to delightful. She does not, however, and Ostrovsky's character becomes heartfelt and honorable for Burdi's effort.<br /><br />The childish antics of the six spellers are complemented by three well-rounded adult characters: Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Michael Herschberg), the bee's judge, whose improvisational skills bring added laughter; moderator Rona Lisa Peretti (Stephanie Souza), a spelling bee winner turned realtor, who brings a soft voice and calming presence to an environment that risks falling into simple-minded slapstick; and criminal-turned-consoler, Mitch Mahoney (Bear Bellinger), whose community service duties have him handing out juice boxes to eliminated contestants.<br /><br />Yet, the spirited Spelling Bee experience travels beyond the characters. Celebrated songwriter William Finn's tunes, executed by energetic voices, provide added dimension to the two-hour show, offering balance to the fast-paced dialogue. Audience interaction and pop culture references ground the story in the present. And the Metropolis' cozy theater grants intimacy to a performance that relies on an involved, responsive audience.<br /><br />The collection of lovable characters, devoted performances, song and dance elevates Spelling Bee to the must-see level with a comedic yet still heartfelt production that makes one's two-hour return to adolescence well worth the investment.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-35382153759794020072010-11-05T14:45:00.002-06:002010-11-05T14:48:06.373-06:00At 30 years, Theology on Tap still going strong (Catholic New World, July 4, 2010)At a Champaign pizzeria in the spring of 1981, a youthful Tim Leeming pulled Father Jack Wall into a private conversation and offered an impromptu confession.<br /><br />“Father, I’m doing well here at school academically and socially, but I don’t know why I’m doing the things I’m doing and it seems to me that my faith should be a resource,” the University of Illinois student told the priest.<br /><br />That modest, innocent conversation set in motion a whirlwind of events that would spark a young adult ministry revolution — first in the Chicago area, then the nation and now the world.<br /><br />When Wall and his colleagues from St. James returned to the Arlington Heights parish from their campus visit, the group sat down to establish a forum for the deeprooted questions young adults like Leeming held. Wall’s team proposed a summer program — five evenings on five spiritual themes — hoping the series would help young adults draw closer to God.<br /><br />Someone casually tossed out the title “Theology on Tap,” a name that survives today as the program enters its 30th year in the Archdiocese of Chicago and introduces itself to the worldwide stage.<br /><br /><strong>Immediate results<br /></strong>When Theology on Tap hosted its first event at St. James Parish in June 1981, 200 college-aged guests attended. Immediately, the organizers noted the series’ promise and, even more, the introspective, spiritual elements it inspired.<br /><br />“We could see right away that this was touching a need. The room was filled with an amazing balance of social energy and theological input,” Wall said.<br /><br />Early momentum established, Theology on Tap surged forward in the summer of 1981. On the program’s second night, more than 400 attended.<br /><br />The question then became: Now what?<br /><br />In the summer of 1982, Wall and his colleagues asked the series’ original five speakers to present at five new archdiocesan locations, thereby sending Theology on Tap’s first ripple in the young adult stream. St. James, meanwhile, hosted five new speakers in its second run. The following summer, Theology on Tap expanded to a dozen Chicago- area sites.<br /><br />“The best ideas have a simplicity to them and Theology on Tap is like that. It was adaptable and readily replicable and people jumped on board,” Wall said.<br /><br /><strong>Broad vision<br /></strong>Father John Cusick, one of Theology on Tap’s original five speakers, noted the program’s energetic response and impact with an oft-overlooked group. Heading the archdiocese’s young-adult ministry office, Cusick envisioned dioceses across the country holding similar programs and began planting seeds for that transformation. Cusick and his staff, including longtime associate Kate DeVries, began crafting a more formal program and inviting other dioceses to replicate the series.<br /><br />In 1994, the Diocese of Joliet ran Theology on Tap. Later, the dioceses of Rockford, Gary (Ind.), Milwaukee and Madison (Wis.) adopted the program. Cusick’s office, meanwhile, assembled a manual detailing best practices and presented a program to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002. Regularly, the Chicago office was answering calls from other dioceses eager to establish Theology on Tap.<br /><br />“When something is good, its momentum grows,” DeVries said. “The young adults responded, the parishes and dioceses responded, and Theology on Tap took off well beyond Chicago.”<br /><br />By late 2003, Theology on Tap had outgrown its modest Chicago office and its even more ambitious vision. Cusick met with RENEW International, an established faithformation organization based in New Jersey, to discuss folding Theology on Tap into their expansive outreach efforts, a partnership realized on Jan. 1, 2007.<br /><br />Despite the program’s expansion into 48 states and seven countries, however, Theology on Tap remains a staple of Chicago’s young-adult office. Heading into its 30th year, 215 area sites have hosted nearly 4,200 programs. “We love it and want it to go on forever,” DeVries said.<br /><br /><strong>Answering a need<br /></strong>While Theology on Tap has adopted a post-collegiate focus, it has not veered from its focus on young-adult concerns, chiefly vocational and relational issues. Using faith as the tool, the annual four-week summertime program offers an experience that invites individual introspection in an atmosphere of others exploring the same personal issues of career, love and a meaningful life. It’s offered in a casual environment with promises of food, drinks and socializing.<br /><br />“The program keeps growing precisely because there is a spiritual hunger in our young adults and an absence of places to feed that hunger in today’s world. Theology on Tap is the answer to this,” DeVries said.<br /><br />Involved in ministry work during her high school and college years, Cynthia Kogol felt a faith void when she graduated from Loyola University. Struggling to find any spiritually rooted program that addressed her concerns as she entered a new phase in life, her parish priest directed her to Theology on Tap in 2009.<br /><br />“It’s rewarding to be able to share my faith with others and gain a different perspective on issues, such as Mass and prayer,” the 27-year-old LaGrange resident said.<br /><br />Now entering its 30th year, Theology on Tap celebrates three decades of fostering personal friendships as well as individual bonds with the church and one’s faith, something that astonishes Wall. “I’m touched that it continues to speak to peoples’ hunger for a spiritual life and reminds us all just how informative faith can be,” Wall said.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-56614936209095571632010-11-05T14:39:00.002-06:002010-11-05T14:45:08.516-06:00The Ultimate Food Fight (October 2010)Matt Loney isn’t taking anything for granted or ignoring any competitor. He insists he knows better, a product of an early professional education on the restaurant industry’s ebbs and flows.<br /><br />The youthful president of Stevi B’s, an Atlanta-based pizza-buffet franchise that has earned acclaim for its specialty pizzas, Loney has witnessed grocery stores gain a larger slice of the restaurant pizzeria world’s business.<br /><br />“Our data shows that people eat pizza six times a month and, on average, they’re getting that pizza from a grocery store well over two of those times, a full point rise from just three years ago,” Loney says. “The grocery store is now almost accounting for half of all pizza consumption.”<br /><br />Such a reality compelled Loney and his Stevi B’s team to fashion a response that includes highlighting the brand’s specialty pizzas and rethinking the restaurant’s to-go business. At pizzeria offices throughout the nation, similar conversations are occurring as operators seek to regain fleeing business.<br /><br />“In the last two years, we’ve seen an entire night of pizza consumption shift to the grocery store category,” Loney says. “That alone is reason to be aware and cognizant of the retail sector.”<br />Yet, this is not pizza’s battle alone.<br /><br />In grocery stores across America, prepared and ready-to-eat meals are gobbling up share—not at a breakneck pace, but at enough of a clip to spark trepidation. From chicken to Chinese egg rolls, macaroni and cheese to meat loaf, pasta to pot roast, America’s grocery stores are expanding their culinary horizons, directly pursuing the foodservice dollar while touting the convenience of retail for other personal purchases.<br /><br />A recent report from market research firm Packaged Facts titled “Prepared Foods and Ready-to-Eat Foods at Retail: The New Competition to Foodservice” noted grocery’s gain amid the restaurant industry’s recessionary struggles. As consumers shifted from spending at restaurants to saving dollars and dining at home, supermarkets pounced with more diverse ready-to-eat offerings, competitive prices, and one-stop-shop positioning.<br /><br />Half of the report’s nearly 1,900 U.S. respondents said they were more likely to eat dinner at home today than three months ago—with nearly one-third doing so “a lot more.” Meanwhile, 64 percent said they purchased a prepared meal from a grocery store within the last month.<br /><br />“Prepared foods are a retail offering that’s come into its own,” says David Morris, the report’s chief analyst. “It’s definitely entered the mainstream from the foodservice perspective and achieved great strides in terms of quality, breadth of offerings, and major players to make it more competitive.”<br /><br />The study’s findings highlight the grocery channel’s direct assault on quick service, an onslaught that’s gaining momentum. Projections are that prepared meal sales will reach $14 billion in 2011, a 7 percent jump over 2010.<br /><br />“I don’t think there’s reason to panic, because to some extent we’ve always competed with grocery for a share of the stomach,” Loney says. “At the same time, we can’t deny that the grocery stores are competition and the quick-service segment has to be willing to evolve. If quick-service leaders aren’t aware of grocery stores’ efforts, they certainly should be.”<br /><br />The intensifying competition has inspired confidence in grocery channels, many of whom tout the segment’s vast potential and continue to experiment in the relatively young field. Although not a new battle, it’s surely an escalating one.<br /><br />“Retail should definitely be on the radar of any restaurant operator,” Morris says. “It’s a competitor that can, will, and is stealing share, as consumers use prepared food as a substitute for the restaurant meal.”<br /><br /><strong>Competition Heats Up<br /></strong>Although grocery stores began flirting with prepared meals as early as the 1970s, the last decade witnessed the most intense and rapid growth. Well before the recent economic shift, grocers activated more robust and attractive prepared meal programs to lure in consumers craving convenience, value, variety, and healthier choices. In many cases, grocers altered their deli service models and renovated stores to reflect their new focus on consumers claiming neither the time nor interest to cook.<br /><br />“The grocers saw restaurants taking more market share and people turning away from their retail stores, so they made an aggressive play to get back in the game by championing convenience, which is what these prepared meals are all about,” says Suzanne Long, a retail practice leader with New York–based SSA & Company.<br /><br />Publix, a grocery chain based in the South, is one such player. Focusing on two-career families and time-starved customers, the supermarket upped its investment in ready-to-eat meals a decade ago, creating a variety of prepared food offerings, such as steaks, seafood, chicken, and sandwiches.<br /><br />“Over time, we grew the category based on trends and diversified our offerings to meet consumer desires,” Publix spokeswoman Dwaine Stevens says.<br /><br />With positive consumer response, the movement accelerated at grocery stores—big and small, private and public—across the country. Even amid recessionary pressures, the play has been a positive one for the grocery segment. From February 2009 to February 2010, grocery stores, long mired in decline, welcomed 4 percent sales growth.<br /><br />“Today, the grocery channel embraces the prepared meals idea precisely because it has driven sales in a positive direction,” says Steve Johnson, the head of Foodservice Solutions in Tacoma, Washington. “Even more, they’ve realized that they can build consumer loyalty by serving fresh food.”<br /><br />Johnson, who blogs about the so-called “grocerant” segment and serves as an industry consultant, says grocery stores have done a strong job of positioning their ready-to-eat products as healthier alternatives to restaurant fare.<br /><br />“Many options are fresh, sustainable, and local, all of which creates a perception of healthy,” he says.<br /><br />Indeed, prepared grocery store offerings have evolved from their primitive roots with rotisserie chicken and potato salad. Today’s leading grocery stores, and even a few local players, have created a litany of ready-to-eat options well beyond the norm.<br /><br />Market District offers a line of smoothies. Buehler’s Fresh Food features crab cakes and beef burgundy on its rotating “Dinner for 2” menu. Dean & DeLuca provides a salmon chowder, while Metropolitan Market sells homemade comfort foods like turkey pot pie. Safeway’s Lifestyle stores host sandwich and sushi stations. Publix offers ready-to-eat kids meals and, in one newer Florida location, a 4,500-square-foot culinary-prepared food experience with more than 80 entrées, including kung pao scallops and cedar-plank salmon.<br /><br />“There are more choices than ever and that’s real empowerment,” Johnson says. “Overall, the restaurants overlooked the reality of this momentum and how it allowed households to bundle. The grocery channel can offer something compelling and powerful to consumers.”<br /><br />Perhaps no chain, however, has better characterized the grocerant growth than Whole Foods, the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods. Whole Foods positions meal stations throughout its stores, many of which capitalize on the company’s fresh image by offering regional fare.<br /><br />“You might walk into a Whole Foods at dinner time and the aisles might be empty, but there will be a crowd at those meal stations,” Johnson says.<br /><br />This is not a passing trend, Johnson says, but rather a swelling competitive reality. He points to a number of supermarket brands creating private-label items to jolt their prepared-meal offerings, as well as convenience stores, which are joining the prepared meals game as well. Later this year, Walgreens will trial individual prepared meals, such as wraps and soups, at many of its outlets.<br /><br />For Publix and many of its supermarket brethren, the year-over-year growth has spurred continued investment and experimentation.<br /><br />“There’s customer demand and popularity here,” Stevens says. “Consumers are flocking to these venues to take care of their household’s needs, and we want to fulfill their expectations.”<br /><br />All of this attention to foodservice comes at a fortuitous time for grocery stores.<br /><br />“Grocery stores provide supplementary food products and that can keep the customer in-house even as the recession wanes,” Morris says. “That’s an important consideration here as we move forward.”<br /><br /><strong>Defense to Offense<br /></strong>In late July, the NPD Group, which has been tracking in-home eating habits and foodservice trends over the last 30 years, projected that the need for prepared meals would continue to grow over the next decade. Driven largely by convenience, the report surmised, restaurants and supermarkets both have opportunity to claim the consumer’s dollar.<br /><br />Generating restaurant business, however, will not happen by accident.<br /><br />Morris says restaurants must enhance their value proposition with price and quality messaging, customer-service initiatives, and convenience to maintain their relevance with consumers. Fundamentally, quick serves must ensure that their menus can compete on value and quality, the two most prevalent factors in consumer eating decisions. For $10 at a grocery store, a customer can purchase a rotisserie chicken, two side dishes, bread, and a drink. Quick serves will need to match that value proposition to ward off this challenge.<br /><br />“As an operator, you have to recognize that people can and will go elsewhere,” Morris says.<br /><br />To defend their quick-service brands, operators will have to migrate with a customer that is dynamic, not static. Stevi B’s Loney and his team have investigated building a separate to-go window, simplifying online ordering, and launching aggressive marketing initiatives, such as bounce-back offers to spur to-go sales, all efforts to counter grocery’s competitive momentum.<br />Additional quick-service solutions include selling at various distribution points, creating smaller units, and licensing. Take-and-bake options, which allow consumers to enjoy a restaurant-quality meal in minutes at home, also offer opportunity.<br /><br />“In today’s crazy world, dinner doesn’t happen when everyone expects it to,” Long says. “The question becomes: What can restaurants do to appease consumer lifestyles?”<br /><br />An additional key, Morris says, resides in restaurants offering items that consumers are drawn to and which cannot be easily replicated. That’s why Loney feels confident that Stevi B’s can withstand the supermarket assault in the short and long term.<br /><br />“We have pizzas you can’t get anywhere else, so that’s a real advantage,” he says, pointing to his specialty offerings like the Macaroni and Cheese Pizza and Loaded Baked Potato Pizza as prime examples. “By better informing our customers, we can make a dent in the business we’re losing to grocery stores.”<br /><br />One unusual solution Long sees is the opportunity for collaboration, specifically to make restaurant-branded products available in supermarkets. Publix recently opened a Carrabba’s Italian Market in its Sarasota, Florida, outlet—a relationship filled with optimism for both the grocer and the casual-dining chain.<br /><br />“This is an underutilized spot with plenty of opportunity,” Long says. “Why can’t there be the Taco Bell taco bar, KFC-branded chicken and cole slaw, or branded barbecue ribs in the service delis? There’s an opportunity here to leverage the restaurant brand in the grocery store to draw more customers in.”<br /><br />Such partnerships are something Stevi B’s pursued, but ultimately rejected. Loney cited the supermarkets’ cash-for-product-placement initiatives and fears about cannibalizing the product and sparking tension with franchisees as pressing concerns he could not overcome.<br /><br />“You weigh all of this out and you see that it’s just not a viable option, and our energy is better placed elsewhere to grow the top line,” Loney says.<br /><br />Amid the intensifying competition, quick-service restaurants can take solace in one reality: This is no slam dunk for the grocery stores. The customer coming in solely for a prepared meal is far from the norm, as supermarket visits are still driven by the need to shop for a variety of items.<br />More importantly, supermarkets have struggled with supply chain issues, portion size, and shelf life, trailing well behind restaurants in operational efficiency and the ability to collectively leverage convenience, location, quality, and value. Many supermarkets are looking at brand advantage and are often unwilling to pursue the operational advantages that could propel them to new heights, Long says.<br /><br />“And ultimately, this could be their downfall and lead to many struggles,” she says.<br />But for Loney, and many other quick-service operators, the battle rages on. Solutions are sought, new avenues pursued, and counterattacks launched. Nothing can be taken for granted.<br /><br /><strong>Sidebar: </strong><strong>Now even Walgreens is competition?<br /></strong>In August, Walgreens unveiled its new expanded food selection in 10 Chicago communities identified as food deserts, or areas that lack access to basic foods necessary to maintain a healthy diet. The company redesigned the stores, located on Chicago’s South and West Sides, to include more than 750 new food items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meats and fish, pasta, rice, beans, eggs, whole grain cereals, and other meal components.<br /><br />“We immediately made a commitment to seek solutions for offering these communities more fresh and healthy food options,” says Mark Wagner, Walgreens executive vice president of operations and community management.<br /><br />Walgreens is also reviewing opportunities to bring its expanded food selection to other food deserts across the country.<br /><br />“We know this issue is not exclusive to Chicago,” Wagner says. “We have more locations in America’s underserved communities than any other retailer. That makes us well positioned to play a role in addressing this important need beyond Chicago.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-86947830435657912262010-11-05T14:34:00.003-06:002010-11-05T14:38:32.127-06:00From the grounds up: The future of fair trade (U.S. Catholic, November 2010)Sunday Mass has ended at St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church in Fairfax, Virginia, and parishioners are filing out. Deb Caskey stands in waiting, a smile on her face, a mission in her soul, and a table filled with coffee and chocolate at her side.<br /><br />It's "Fair Trade Sunday" at St. Mary's, and Caskey is in overdrive.<br /><br />There's a ripple effect to the day's purchases, Caskey explains. The coffee comes from farmer cooperatives in Africa and Latin America, while the chocolate comes from Ghana. The purchase of a fair trade product today, Caskey reminds her fellow parishioners, helps create life-changing opportunities for poor producers and their communities in these nations. Fair trade allows front-line workers to earn a "fair" wage by cutting out the usual mechanisms of trade that divert income from the producers.<br /><br />"The Holy Spirit churned in me to get more connected," Caskey says of the fair trade sales she runs at St. Mary's at least six times each year. "You feel your work helps build better lives."<br />Caskey's journey into the fair trade world has been one of reflection and purpose.<br /><br />In November 2008 she and her husband traveled to Costa Rica, one of Central America's purported "wealthier" nations. "But I only saw extreme poverty over and over," she says. "That trip opened my eyes and made me even more committed to fair trade."<br /><br />Seeing poverty firsthand, she says, opened her eyes to ways in which she could be a more responsible consumer at home. She soon began evangelizing as a Catholic Relief Services fair trade ambassador for the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia as well.<br /><br />"Catholic social teaching tells us the life and dignity of the human being is foremost. We are all called to serve and help, and fair trade is one way to make that happen," Caskey says.<br /><br />Though few question the goal of fair trade--lifting people out of poverty--the movement's long-term viability stands on wobbly legs even amidst year-over-year growth. As the fair trade movement seeks mainstream acceptance and broader social and economic justice, many wonder if it can become anything more than a niche market.<br /><br /><strong>Economics with altruism<br /></strong>Thanks to fair trade, Fredis Paez, a worker on the El Antojo banana farm in Colombia, and his wife were able to open a local store. This once-unimaginable act for the laborer was made possible by an 80 percent rise in income along with a microloan. Paez's story is typical of fair trade programs, which traditionally have involved agricultural products.<br /><br />Fair trade organizations approach development as a holistic process, not just a pricing mechanism. They cultivate direct relationships with workers in developing countries, shortening a product's journey from the producer's hands to the store shelf--or church sale--and eliminating the various "middlemen" found in conventional trading. More of a product's purchase price reaches front-line workers, allowing people like Paez to see their incomes rise.<br /><br />Often, but not always, fair trade products carry an above-market price. Consumers are willing to pay more for the knowledge that proceeds are channeled back into the farmers' hands and communities, creating broader social change.<br /><br />As core principles of fair trade, worker cooperatives receive a guaranteed floor price for their products, enjoy safe working conditions and living wages, and negotiate direct, long-term contracts with international buyers.<br /><br />Cooperatives also democratically decide how to invest the trade premiums--a sum of money paid on top of the agreed-upon fair trade price to fund academic, social, or health development projects. At El Antojo banana farm, for instance, the premiums funded the microloan program that helped Paez start his own store. Increased income allows families to meet basic needs, keep children in school, and remain on their land, thereby improving quality of life and allowing them to take greater control of their futures.<br /><br />The fair trade movement was largely driven by the Mennonite Central Committee in the United States after World War II, but 15 years ago Catholic Relief Services (CRS), noting fair trade's alignment with Catholic social teaching, created an office dedicated to the issue. "Fair trade [is] one avenue to help Catholics live their lives in solidarity and continue the drive for the common good and human dignity," says Jackie DeCarlo, CRS's senior program advisor for economic justice.<br /><br /><strong>Not just church sales<br /></strong>Church folks aren't the only ones in the fair trade marketplace these days. In recent years, fair trade momentum has accelerated. Fair trade-certified coffee constituted little more than 2 million pounds of U.S. imports in 1999; a decade later the United States imported nearly 110 million pounds.<br /><br />Fair trade has expanded from its coffee origins to include other goods as well: fruit, tea, cocoa, sugar, cotton, jewelry, sports balls, wine, and flowers. In late 2010, TransFair USA, the nation's leading independent, third-party certifier of fair trade products, welcomed fair trade apparel. The garments, made with Indian and Peruvian cotton, extend fair trade's agricultural objectives into the manufacturing world, a significant milestone for the movement.<br /><br />Thanks to emerging relationships with leading retailers such as Whole Foods, Costco, Walmart, and a host of socially responsible small businesses, U.S. consumers today can choose from more than 6,000 products sourced from 58 nations. In 2009 alone, TransFair USA-certified goods generated $1.2 billion in U.S. sales, a 7 percent rise over 2008, distributing more than $14 million to 865 worker organizations to fund various community development projects, including schools and hospitals.<br /><br />"When people know the back story, fair trade becomes far more intriguing," TransFair USA spokesperson Stacy Wagner says.<br /><br />The movement's momentum shows no signs of slowing, particularly as socially conscious consumers surface as a growing and vocal contingent and businesses jump on board.<br /><br />In 2009 Starbucks purchased 39 million pounds of fair trade coffee, doubled from 2008. Dunkin' Donuts, which had long been using fair trade espresso beans but not marketing its alliance, began sharing its fair trade story on cups, igniting consumer awareness. Ice cream giant Ben and Jerry's, an enthusiastic fair trade advocate, recently announced that 100 percent of its products, from its Cherry Garcia dark chocolate to its Chunky Monkey walnuts, would be certified fair trade by 2013, a decision that will drive conversions with its producers and suppliers.<br /><br />Despite positive growth, fair trade products still only represent a fraction of available offerings to U.S. consumers. Experts say that fair trade must maintain its push into the mainstream market, collecting ethical consumers and working with brands to educate consumers. "But this all takes time, innovative brands, and retailers," Wagner says. The certification of fair trade coffee has only been aound for 11 years, tea for seven years. "The longer these categories are in existence, the better."<br /><br /><strong>Small is beautiful<br /></strong>In south Florida Jorge Malo runs Fasanis, an upstart Internet business selling handmade soaps. In early 2009 Malo began seeking a way to further distinguish his products and landed upon a fair trade cooperative in Zimbabwe that created handmade paper. Their products, Malo thought, could serve as the packaging for Fasanis' soaps, sharing both the story of his company and fair trade, a movement in which Malo saw virtuous, worthy components.<br /><br />"My wife and I went on our honeymoon to Zimbabwe, so we've seen the struggles of these people," Malo says. "We thought this partnership could be a win-win for everyone."<br />The entrepreneurial Malo quickly learned that fair trade had its limits. First, a lack of financing in fair trade communities limited their growth in an independent, sustainable manner. Second, the communities had little practical knowledge of the Western marketing and business process.<br />And finally, communities struggled to increase their productivity to a level at which greater volume could create a more competitive price.<br /><br />"The community on one side and the buyers on the other don't necessarily work together," Malo says. "It's difficult for us to continue paying for this premium product and then expect the end consumers to absorb the costs as well. We'll keep trying, but I'm seeing some real limitations."<br /><br />Furthermore, Malo and many others contend, a compelling story alone is not enough in the American "bang-for-the-buck" marketplace, which resists the higher cost for an unseen benefit half a world away.<br /><br />Then, of course, there is the argument from free trade proponents that fair trade disrupts the very economies it vies to assist. Some critics forecast that fair trade's ignorance of market rates could ratchet up the price of the world's food supply, thereby demanding a larger portion of household income from the workers the movement aims to support. Detractors say free, open trade will better translate into increased national welfare, along with better prices for consumers.<br /><br />"The fair trade movement has hung its marketing plan on the stories of the people that fair trade helps, but price and quality concerns generally win out in the end," says Christopher Kent, a futurist with Foresight Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm specializing in global consumer issues.<br /><br />In the midst of a recession, economic pressures threaten to further thwart fair trade's growth, particularly among lower and middle-class consumers, who are unlikely to embrace fair trade's premium prices. TransFair USA acknowledges that ethical buying rises in proportion to discretionary income. As a result, fair trade's momentum relies on those with the means to be premium buyers, a minority of the American population.<br /><br />"As a culture, we're very interested in getting the best deal, and that's a hurdle for fair trade to climb in any economic climate," DeCarlo says. Still, DeCarlo sees an opportunity with the recession for reflection to prompt solidarity, spurring individuals and families to assess their budgets. "Consumers can consider consumption and how they can be more conscious," she says. "How can we use our income well and form the right relationships so that our dollar has more impact?"<br /><br /><strong>Brand confusion<br /></strong>Working with TransFair USA, San Francisco-based marketer Mortar Agency took a group of self-identified ethical consumers to Whole Foods and asked the shoppers to pull fair trade products. The result: confusion.<br /><br />"There's been a lot of time devoted to talking about the farmers who are thousands of miles away, but there was really no push to connect directly with the consumer, and that's been a limiting factor," Mortar's Mark Williams says. If fair trade is to accomplish its ambitious objectives, Williams argues, the fair trade community at large needs to concentrate on the consumer experience.<br /><br />"These are the people who will spread the word about fair trade, but even they were a bit in the dark. This has to change, allowing the consumer to discern what's real and what's marketing jargon," Williams says.<br /><br />Recognition of the fair trade label in the United States hovers near 30 percent. Even fair trade ambassador Caskey, however, worries that fair trade might become more slogan than substance as it goes mainstream."The more I learn the more I want to question: Are the farmers getting the money? Are they being treated fairly?" Caskey says. "Hopefully we're helping farmers stay afloat and providing the dignity of work that is so central to the human existence. That's the root of fair trade and, hopefully where it will remain."<br /><br />While aggressive efforts from TransFair USA and other credible organizations are being made to unify fair trade messaging, the term's adoption by corporate marketing mavens threatens to derail the progress. "In trying to enter the mainstream," DeCarlo contends, "companies that have embraced the certification might not always embrace fair trade standards, while consumers have likewise struggled to understand the standards reflected through the label."<br /><br />With ethical consumerism on the rise, fair trade can be seen as a corporate ploy into one's wallet. In 2009 a study commissioned by TransFair USA found that 93 percent of so-called ethical consumers reported a positive perception of the host brand when the fair trade-certified label was present. Such a high number offers fuel to corporations seeking inroads to a growing demographic willing to pay above-market prices for the promises-albeit unseen, in the vast majority of cases-of fair trade.<br /><br />As an example, Wagner of TransFair USA cites Starbucks, which only reluctantly entered the fair trade movement in 2000. Though the Seattle-based coffee giant now purchases more fair trade coffee than anyone, fair trade-certified blends represent a fraction of the company's total volume. Most of its coffee--81 percent in 2009--is certified by another process called C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices. Even so, Starbucks enjoys the benefit from aligning itself with the fair trade movement.<br /><br />"In this way, perception becomes reality," DeCarlo says. She believes the large-scale corporate outlook runs counter to fair trade's small-scale production model.<br /><br />Insincerity from retailers, if even in perception alone, could sidetrack the movement.<br /><br /><strong>Fast forwarding fair trade<br /></strong>With room to grow in both market penetration and products, the fair trade system can benefit from consistent scrutiny and a holistic outlook.<br /><br />"Catholic Relief Services is clear that fair trade is but one part of people leading more fair and full lives, but we shouldn't overstate it," DeCarlo says. "Sound governance and infrastructure are of central importance."<br /><br />In a decade, fair trade skeptic Kent believes, fair trade will have increased its market share a few points but will flatline thereafter.<br /><br />"In spite of the evangelicalism of the fair trade movement, there's nothing to indicate it will ever be more than a niche market," Kent says. "It's not for lack of effort, but simply that the entire Western mercantile system works against it."<br /><br />Fair trade products, as Malo's story shows, are limited to a specific scale simply by the way cooperatives produce their goods. "There's only so much these workers can produce in a year," Kent says.<br /><br />Ultimately, fair trade's mainstream success resides in a balance between capitalist business objectives and activist outreach tied to the ethical concerns that inspired its creation. Such is the only way, its loudest proponents argue, that fair trade can ensure a better, more ethical, and human future.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-38899376471316253782010-11-05T14:23:00.002-06:002010-11-05T14:33:18.325-06:00Design for the Big Time: Latest Stadiums Mix History, Technology and Intimate Fan Experience (Recreation Management, July 2010)Watching the game is no longer enough.<br /><br />Today's homes for professional sports and big-time college teams have dropped cookie-cutter expectations and reached for sharp, innovative features that bring fans closer to the game, embrace history and tradition, and inject 21st-century marvels into the design. From field suites and interactive spaces to skyline views, party decks and team museums, recent stadiums increasingly have moved the needle from a place to merely watch a game to a cozy space delivering an experience.<br /><br />These are not your grandfather's—or even your father's—stadiums. The latest sports and entertainment venues to grace the American landscape are packed with flair and punch, style and substance.<br /><br /><strong>TCF Bank Stadium</strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Location: Minneapolis</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Home Team: University of Minnesota football </span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Opened: August 2009</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Seating: 50,000, including 36 suites, 55 to 60 loge boxes, 1,150 outdoor club seats and 300 indoor club seats<br /></span></strong><br />Football returned to the University of Minnesota campus after a nearly 30-year hiatus when TCF Bank Stadium debuted last season. Upon opening, the stadium was registered to become the nation's first LEED Certified collegiate football stadium.<br /><br />TCF Bank Stadium's brick facade perimeter wall with arched portals reflects the team's former home—the on-campus Memorial Stadium. The horseshoe-shaped bowl is oriented to the west, allowing fans to enjoy scenic views of the campus and downtown Minneapolis, while information about both the university and the state is showcased throughout the facility.<br /><br />Year-round functionality drove the design. The open end zone features the "Tribal Nations Plaza," a gathering place to celebrate the state of Minnesota and the Golden Gophers' program throughout the year. A 25,000-square-foot stadium club, meanwhile, also is available for year-round use as is the walkway created by a 360-degree colonnade.<br /><br />"Collegiate football is game day; it's the traditions and the band, the cheerleaders and the school colors and the pride," said Scott Radecic, senior principal with Populous, a global design practice. "Our task was to collect all that emotion and design a building that could hold it all."<br /><br /><strong>Target Field</strong><br /><strong>Location: Minneapolis</strong><br /><strong>Home Team: Minnesota Twins</strong><br /><strong>Opened: April 2010</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 40,000, including 60 suites<br /></strong><br />After 28 years in the sterile Metrodome, Target Field, spotted just north of downtown Minneapolis, represents the Twins first modern baseball home. Reflecting Minnesota's dynamic blend of urban sophistication and rugged outdoor vitality, the new $550 million ballpark's design uses materials drawn from the state's granite and limestone cliffs, incorporates Minnesota fir trees, and uses regional workers and resources.<br /><br />Covering 1 million square feet, Target Field affords views of the Minneapolis skyline throughout the entire main grandstand. "Knotholes" along the side of the ballpark allow fans to peek in on the game's action from outside the park. A 101-foot-by-57-foot HD screen, among the largest in Major League Baseball, offers an undeniable 21st-century vibe.<br /><br />While some have derided the decision to build an outdoor stadium in Minneapolis without a retractable roof to handle the area's volatile weather, many others have praised the stadium's embrace of baseball's natural setting. Though the city's northern cold will likely infiltrate some games, the design includes heated concessions, restrooms and lounge areas on each level, as well as an upper-deck canopy that provides added protection from the elements.<br /><br />"Target Field is baseball's most urban ballpark, and we had to create the ballpark to make the city," said Earl Santee, senior principal and board member for Populous. "Target Field was the bridge builder—bridges that connect the ballpark to downtown and to the west side, and that's the only way we could make the site work…. It's that seamless connection between ballpark and city that made this project a success."<br /><br /><strong>Yankee Stadium</strong><br /><strong>Location: New York</strong><br /><strong>Home Team: New York Yankees</strong><br /><strong>Opened: April 2009</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 52,325, including 56 luxury suites and 410 party suites<br /></strong><br />In replacing the original Yankee Stadium, a shrine to baseball lore, the pressure was on Kansas City-based Populous to create a facility that mixed the club's storied history with modern amenities.<br /><br />To duplicate and even extend the charm of "The House That Ruth Built," the design of the new Yankee Stadium included trademark elements from the original 1923 ballpark, such as the limestone exterior, the manually operated auxiliary scoreboard, and the signature frieze that crowned the upper deck.<br /><br />The stadium also integrates high-tech features, including: a distributed antenna system, which provides increased wireless reception; 1,400 video monitors placed throughout the stadium with the Yankees able to deliver exclusive content; a 59-foot-by-100-foot HD video board in center field; and luxury suites equipped with touch screens allowing fans to order anything from a hot dog to a Derek Jeter jersey.<br /><br />After its opening in April 2009, the $1.5 billion stadium, which covers more than 1.4 million square feet, was commended for its spirited combination of old-world charm and modern-day flair.<br /><br />"Yankee Stadium is a ballpark for the future with a soul of the past," Santee said. "Monument Park, the outfield bleachers, a new Great Hall—these are all special places where fans can gather and share the experience of what it means to be a Yankee fan."<br /><br /><strong>Citi Field</strong><br /><strong>Location: New York</strong><br /><strong>Home Team: New York Mets </strong><br /><strong>Opened: April 2009</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 42,000, including 54 suites<br /></strong><br />With the opening of Citi Field for the 2009 baseball season, the Mets, long the second team in a two-team town, once again battled the Yankees for headlines. Citi Field, however, earned plenty of its own acclaim.<br /><br />A blend of modern-day comforts and historic charm, including the Mets' legendary Home Run Apple, the Queens-based Citi Field mixes brick, limestone, granite and cast stone to create a dramatic design. The stadium's main entry is highlighted by the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, a space reminiscent of historic Ebbets Field, the beloved former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.<br /><br />Most notably, the stadium brings new life to game day for fans and players alike. Contoured seating brings spectators closer to the action with nearly half of the stadium's 42,000 seats (15,000 less than the Mets' former Shea Stadium home) in the lower concourse. The Fan Fest family entertainment area, an outfield picnic area, multiple party decks and an interactive Mets museum all invite family-friendly entertainment. Citi Field also hosts five clubs and restaurants.<br /><br />"Citi Field is a direct reflection of Mets fans," said Ben Barnert, senior principal with Populous. "It's a warm ballpark, an intimate ballpark full of references to what makes New York such a grand city that creates an energy that will draw Mets fans back time and again."<br /><br /><strong>Cowboys Stadium</strong><br /><strong>Location: Arlington, Texas</strong><br /><strong>Home Team: Dallas Cowboys</strong><br /><strong>Opened: June 2009</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 80,000 for football with potential to hold more than 100,000; includes 300 suites, 48 at field level</strong><br /><br />For the design of the new Cowboys Stadium, arguably the most anticipated and hyped stadium in years, Dallas-based HKS Inc. combined modern, progressive architecture alongside elements of the old Texas Stadium's heritage, such as the shape of the roof's opening and the Ring of Honor.<br /><br />The $1.1 billion Cowboys Stadium hosts a range of innovative design features, including: a 660,800-square-foot retractable roof supported by two monumental metallic arches; the world's largest retractable end zone doors; an 86-foot-high canted glass exterior wall; a pair of end zone plazas that serve as year-round gathering spaces; and sideline field suites. The highlight of Cowboys Stadium, however, is the much-discussed center-hung, four-sided HD video board, which covers 160 feet and extends between the two 20-yard lines.<br /><br />Covering 73 acres and 3 million square feet, the expansiveness of the stadium is countered by a fan-friendly viewing environment. From the HD video board and open end zone viewing platforms to suites that are closer to the field than any other NFL venue, the new Cowboys Stadium was designed with the fan in mind.<br /><br />"The Cowboys are one of the most recognized sports brands in the world, and the challenge was to replicate that popularity," said Mark Williams, principal with HKS. "We worked to understand the DNA of the Cowboys and to create a unique venue that replicated the Cowboys spirit, which has been an innovative team of firsts."<br /><br /><strong>New Meadowlands Stadium</strong><br /><strong>Location: East Rutherford, N.J.</strong><br /><strong>Home Teams: New York Giants, New York Jets </strong><br /><strong>Opening: April 2010</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 82,500<br /></strong><br />When plans for a new football stadium in Manhattan for the Jets faltered, the franchise and its architect, Kansas City-based 360 Architecture, paired with its New York competitor, the Giants and Philadelphia's EwingCole, to build a modern stadium for the city's two NFL teams—a challenging venture in that the design had to appease two distinct ownership groups and fan bases.<br /><br />The New Meadowlands Stadium claims a "neutral" design that can easily adapt to each team's needs and identity. The stadium pioneers the "cornerstone" concept, in which the four corners of the stadium have been sold to sponsors who have been given the leeway to create environments and experiences aligned with their own image and business objectives.<br /><br />Above all, however, the design focused on creating a fan-centric facility, a reality accomplished with clear and direct sightlines, a tight seating bowl to foster an intense and intimate connection with the on-field action, and an array of premium seating options. The stadium also features state-of-the-art technology highlighted by four 128-foot-by-30-foot LED corner scoreboards.<br /><br />"Above all, this stadium had to be about football—the Giants and the Jets and the creation of an intimidating venue," said George Heinlein, senior principal with 360 Architecture. "Hosting two NFL teams, the building had to have a neutral color scheme and exterior design so that the teams could customize the stadium on game days."<br /><br /><strong>Louisville Arena</strong><br /><strong>Location: Louisville, Ky.</strong><br /><strong>Home Team: University of Louisville basketball</strong><br /><strong>Opening: November 2010</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 22,000 (basketball) and 16,000 (hockey), including 72 suites and four party suites<br /></strong><br />The Louisville Arena Authority sought a flexible, dynamic and contemporary facility to serve as the home court of the University of Louisville's basketball team as well as to preserve the ability to host to a plethora of other athletic and entertainment events. The development of the 7.5-acre downtown site characterizes Louisville's continued urban renaissance.<br /><br />The Louisville Arena stands as an ode to sturdy design and contemporary flair. Limestone panels clad the lower portion of the exterior walls, a tactile connection to the carved bridge pylons flanking the entry to the Clark Memorial Bridge, while a more contemporary materiality of glass curtainwall and taut aluminum skin lightens the appearance. A dramatic wing-like roof caps the composition, contributing to Louisville's emerging skyline.<br /><br />The waterfront project also features a number of sustainable elements, including: preservation of green space; use of existing infrastructure, utilities and roads; high-efficiency mechanical systems; and the use of low-emitting and renewable materials.<br /><br />"Louisville Arena was designed as a centerpiece of downtown Louisville's renaissance," said Brad Clark, senior designer with Populous. "Its exterior represents movement and motion, much like a Cardinal in flight. The arena's roof is a sweeping form, and an expansive glass feature symbolizes the falls of Ohio. Inside, the building honors the Kentucky heritage of bluegrass, bourbon and basketball."<br /><br /><strong>Consol Energy Center</strong><br /><strong>Location: Pittsburgh</strong><br /><strong>Home Team: Pittsburgh Penguins</strong><br /><strong>Opening: August 2010</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 18,374 for hockey, including 65 suites, four party suites and 1,962 club seats<br /></strong><br />The new Pittsburgh Penguins arena uses exterior materials distinct to the Pennsylvania region yet consciously different from those of the adjacent Epiphany Church, an iconic piece of the Steel City's landscape.<br /><br />Dramatic architecture is central to the design. A glazed circulation spine creates a striking architectural element that celebrates movement while simultaneously injecting a vivid marker into the night skyline. From inside, the spine affords guests dramatic views of the adjacent church and downtown skyline.<br /><br />The Consol Energy Center, which will open as the first LEED-Certified NHL arena, claims a flexible seating bowl that will allow it to accommodate a wide range of sports and entertainment events. In addition, the arena will include two restaurants and a 3,400-square-foot team store.<br />Of additional note, plans remain in the works for the new arena's outdoor plaza to continue the team's tradition of showing playoff and other special games on a big screen outdoors, yet another opportunity for the stadium to boost the economic viability of the local area and respect the Penguins' history.<br /><br />"Consol Energy Center is shaped by its site," said Rick Martin, managing senior principal for Populous. "We worked with the significant grade change of the site to create a remarkable glazed circulation spine that gives the building movement from the outside and offers spectacular views to downtown from within."<br /><br /><strong>Amway Center</strong><br /><strong>Location: Orlando, Fla.</strong><br /><strong>Home Team: Orlando Magic</strong><br /><strong>Opening: October 2010</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 18,000, including 1,400 club seats, 58 suites, 60 loge boxes and four bunker suites<br /></strong><br />Looking to bring a counterpoint to the "Disney-fication" of Orlando, the Amway Center sits on an 8-acre site adjacent to the downtown Orlando Business District and looks to spark the city's revitalization.<br /><br />A mix of metal and glass exterior materials will provide a distinctly modern look, while a 120-foot glass tower, which will host a Tower Club and observation deck, will welcome guests to Orlando's downtown with a wide range of colors. The Amway Center also will capitalize on Florida's moderate climate, boasting a variety of indoor-outdoor spaces. Upon entering the main lobby, for instance, guests will be able to venture outside and overlook the downtown area via a spacious balcony.<br /><br />At 800,000 square feet, the multipurpose arena, which is also slated to host arena football, lacrosse, ice skating, hockey and concerts, features an array of premium and general seating options, a restaurant, a sports bar with outdoor terrace, a courtside club, a fan zone and an interactive kids area. The Amway Center seeks to be the first NBA arena to gain LEED certification.<br /><br />"We took a hard and long look at the essence of Orlando before coming up with a design that we believe reflects the best and most distinctive aspects of this community," Clark said. "And just as importantly, the building will set a new standard in sustainable design as one of the greenest professional sports facilities in the country."<br /><br /><strong>TD Ameritrade Park</strong><br /><strong>Location: Omaha, Neb.</strong><br /><strong>Home Team: NCAA Men's College World Series</strong><br /><strong>Opening: April 2011</strong><br /><strong>Seating: 24,000, including 26 luxury suites and 1,000 club seats<br /></strong><br />The new home of the College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park sits in the heart of downtown Omaha. The ballpark blends the traditions of college baseball and Omaha alongside more modern features.<br /><br />Offering a more intimate fan experience, with fans sitting closer to the playing field than they did at the former Rosenblatt Stadium, TD Ameritrade Park will claim an open, 360-degree walkaround concourse, an expansive Fanfest area, and a retail area with views into the bullpen and onto the field.<br /><br />The park, which also will play home to Creighton University's baseball team, is slated to host the NCAA Men's College World Series through 2035.<br /><br />"Getting to Omaha is such a thrill for collegiate baseball players and fans, and that drove us to create an image of success," said designer Martin DiNitto. "The ballpark's modern expression, coupled with a ballpark experience bar none, will continue to make Omaha a memorable destination."Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-20180203934012267622010-11-05T14:20:00.001-06:002010-11-05T14:23:39.058-06:00All About the iPad (QSR, August 2010)When the iPad was introduced in late January, the tech world buzzed about the gadget’s possibilities and visionary applications. Two of Apple’s other signature products, the iPod and iPhone, sparked such revolutionary momentum that creative minds swirled with ideas on how the iPad, a larger, more comprehensive touch-screen device, might function in a world increasingly clamoring for portable and wireless.<br /><br />Restaurant-industry types are beginning to let their imaginations wander as well. Many are eager to investigate how the iPad, one of the most anticipated devices in years and leader of the impending tablet rush, could improve restaurant systems, operations, margins, or efficiencies in the back or front of the house.<br /><br />“The iPad is incredibly new, but there’s no question it’s going to help,” says Patrick Eldon, CEO of orderTalk Inc., a Texas-based provider of online ordering for quick-service chains like Jason’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s. “The technology is present and consumers are increasingly expecting these types of opportunities.”<br /><br />Certainly, the iPad possesses some restaurant-friendly features. The touch-screen device runs more than 140,000 apps and has a washable screen, stand-up dock, and built-in WiFi connection. In addition, the iPad’s $499 starting price is competitive with many handheld POS units, and it boasts strong ease of use; a 9.7-inch, LED-backlit display; up to 10 hours of battery life; and the immeasurable yet unquestionable “It” factor. Launched in the U.S. on April 3, the iPad sold 300,000 units on its first day and more than 2 million in its first 60 days.<br /><br />Cupertino, California–based Apple leans heavily on app developers across the country to enhance its device with an inventive energy that thrusts the product down new paths and into a vast array of industries, including the restaurant sector. In only a matter of years, the iPhone integrated a host of ordering and marketing capabilities and credit card payment apps. Many hold out similar—if not even more ambitious—hope for the iPad.<br /><br />Most see the iPad’s greatest potential as a portable POS device. One national quick-service chain is testing the iPad as an order-taking device, thereby offering the possibility of tableside ordering and payment service to the quick-serve arena, a rare but customer-friendly feature. A smaller concept, 4food, included iPads as an order-taking device when it opened its first of 11 locations in New York in August.<br /><br />“Customers and even staff are no longer limited to having to walk to a mounted system to get things done,” says Steven Wei of ChompStack, a Los Angeles company that builds software for restaurants. “Having the freedom to move around opens up a range of opportunities.”<br /><br />Servers can walk around the dining room, input orders, and collect payment from individual customers. The food can be delivered directly to the table much as it is in many fast-casual establishments already.<br /><br />“If you want to take this mobile solution and maximize its effectiveness, then you may need to change the way you do business,” says Sly Glass, director of sales for POS provider Hospitality Solutions International, which showcased its iPad POS system at May’s National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago.<br /><br />“But at the minimum,” Glass says, “restaurants can easily use the iPad as a line-busting tool to create efficiencies between ordering and payment during high traffic.”<br /><br />Others see promise in the iPad as an interactive, paperless menu. Though the up-front menuboard style of quick service makes many question the industry’s ability to integrate the iPad as a menu, fine-dining establishments are already beginning to incorporate it.<br /><br />Mundo Global Tapas, a posh eatery in Sydney, Australia, introduced its iPad menu to customers in June. A custom-made app allows diners to browse the virtual pages of the restaurant’s menu, peruse dish images, read tasting notes, and then send their order into the kitchen. The iPad menu also suggests wine pairings for dishes and maintains stock levels, eliminating sold-out items from the on-screen menu.<br /><br />“It is unlikely the iPad will gain traction as a menu ordering system in [quick service],” says restaurant consultant Aaron Allen, who says the concept of iPad kiosks for quick serves is more reasonable. “Kiosks are great tools for providing menu information, such as nutrition, serving as a portal for submitting applications electronically at the unit level, and also a wide range of other creative in-store marketing uses.”<br /><br />Indeed, many tout the iPad’s potential as a marketing tool, specifically in tandem with mobile ordering. Customers placing an order become registered users, giving operators a valuable data-mining tool. By gathering personal info on customers, restaurants can produce more targeted marketing messages. The same device can then offer guest surveys as well.<br /><br />“At the moment, restaurants largely operate in the dark,” orderTalk’s Eldon says. “As you get to know customers, you’ll not only understand your own business better, but be able to better produce products to their liking.”<br /><br />Others see promise for the iPad as a portable inventory device. Instead of restaurant staffers having to manually record product levels or scan bar codes, the iPad’s portability allows team members to directly record inventory data into a restaurant’s tracking system.<br /><br />One South Carolina–based company is even testing an iPad hiring system for employees. The new PeopleMatter technology allows potential crew members to input their employment history, available work schedule, and even past military experience so chains can take advantage of the Worker’s Opportunity Tax Credit. All the information is securely stored, saving companies the headache of keeping track of archived I-9 forms.<br /><br />But the question remains whether or not the iPad is realistic for the quick-service industry.<br /><br />Unlike many retail-hardened POS terminals, an over-the-counter consumer device such as the iPad has not been tested to withstand a restaurant’s frenzied atmosphere, which will most certainly include drops and spills.<br /><br />Furthermore, the iPad’s wireless signal can easily get tossed off track given the range of frequency waves that can infiltrate an establishment. Dropped connectivity can delay order taking and credit-card processing, two issues that tend to irk customers.<br /><br />“I don’t know if the iPad specifically is the solution, but I do think the device opens the door for all different types of tablets that might better integrate into the restaurant setting,” ChompStack’s Wei says. “Even if the iPad won’t be used, others will.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-7674108174869363972009-09-11T10:00:00.002-06:002009-09-11T10:17:31.350-06:00Couple turned disaster into distinctive rebuild (Chicago Sun-Times, August 16, 2009)Chicago homeowners Andy and Tammy Sullivan sat amid the rubble of their 90-year-old Ravenswood Manor bungalow and were forced to reconsider their present as much as their future.<br /><br />The couple had begun an extensive renovation, and by a mix of Mother Nature and human folly the house tumbled to the ground two months into the project. They could have seen defeat as much as the opportunity to build something more grand and distinctive.<br /><br />Instead, they looked back, and decided to recreate their Chicago bungalow from the ground up, a rare turn in an evolving city where gentrification and progress too often means wrecking balls and a break from the past.<br /><br /><strong>A purchase and plans<br /></strong>The historic Chicago bungalow remains the city's most iconic residential home style. Both sturdy with its brick construction and elaborate with its cathedral-style elements, the bungalow is a splendid mix of history and character, simplicity and stability.<br /><br />Andy Sullivan, born and bred in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood, understood the bungalow's revered place in Chicago architecture, its reputation as a muscular, middle-class home. His wife, Tammy, a native Texan, wasn't sold.<br /><br />"The whole idea of having a home just like thousands of others in Chicago didn't really appeal to me," Tammy said. "But once I got inside and saw how much room they had and the sense of history, I was hooked."<br /><br />After six months of searching, the couple spotted a 2-bedroom, red-brick bungalow in Ravenswood Manor. The 1919 home held much charm typical of most bungalows, including stained glass windows and intricate woodwork. Care and updates were needed, but the home held promise.<br /><br />The sale completed in February 2007, and the Sullivans turned their attention to an expansive remodeling project to put a fresh spin on their early 20th century structure. Plans included modernizing and expanding the living space, including a second-story addition, while restoring the bungalow's intricate detail and warm feel from years of inattention.<br /><br />In March 2008, work began on gutting the home to its brick walls. On target for an October completion, the Sullivans -- their weariness high, their hopes even higher -- treasured the project and its potential.<br /><br /><strong>Demolition day<br /></strong>On May 2, 2008, nearly two inches of rain and hail hammered the city in one hour. Wind gusts approached 60 mph and Mother Nature turned a subcontractor mistake into disaster. The construction team, directed to do the basement underpinning in four-foot sections, elected to do 10-foot sections. Unable to endure the vicious storm, the home toppled to the ground.<br /><br />The foundation compromised, the Sullivans would have to tear the home down, thereby stifling any plans the couple had for an October move-in date.<br /><br />"Here was this home we thought was being built and now it's done," Andy said of the wreckage. "Truthfully, I don't think we knew what we were going to do."<br /><br /><strong>Recover and rebuild<br /></strong>Chicagoans have a long history of rebuilding, a track record of endurance and perseverance. The Sullivans summoned every bit of that spirit to battle the months ahead.<br /><br />After consulting with attorneys, contractors and other trusted advisers, they elected to move forward with new construction -- and to recreate, as best they could, the same historic Chicago bungalow they had purchased just months prior.<br /><br />The truth: the Sullivans could have built any home -- a modern Georgian, a contemporary Cape Cod, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired three-story monstrosity. They could have scoured the streets of Chicago's gentrifying neighborhoods to find a home that caught their eye, something fashionable, innovative and distinct. They had the blank canvas to make such a choice, the freedom to build any home they desired.<br /><br />And yet, they choose the bungalow, the historic Chicago variety, something that would both blend into the neighborhood as well as honor the city's spirit.<br /><br />"Chicago's a unique city for its architecture and the bungalow is a significant part of that style, class and character," Andy said. "We deeply wanted to be a part of that nostalgia, even as we had the opportunity to build anything else.<br /><br />"I understand others who take a different route, who build a home that fits whatever vision they have, and they have that right. But for us, that wasn't what we wanted. We wanted a bungalow and something that blended into the neighborhood."<br /><br />Though brick bungalows consume the Chicago area landscape -- estimates say the city hosts as many as 80,000 bungalows in areas north, south, and west -- it is a home design that has largely disappeared from modern residential construction. Expensive to build with brick and rarely maximizing a home's available land space, bungalows do not mesh with today's new home trends.<br /><br />The Sullivans' project would be a new venture for many involved, calling for fresh designs on a century-old home style.<br /><br />"We are always cognizant of wanting to fit in with the surroundings, and stress that with our clients, but we had never attempted to recreate a turn-of-the-century bungalow before," said Chad Halverson of Vertex Properties, the Sullivans' general contractor.<br /><br /><strong>Reinvented and resurrected<br /></strong>Along with Halvorson, Ron Meadows, the head of Vertex, and architect Mark Michonski of Chicago-based Jonathan Splitt Architects, the Sullivans reviewed their initial plans for the once-standing bungalow and elected to stay consistent with those elements -- expanding the living space and modernizing the floor plan.<br /><br />"We treated this like rebuilding the home that was there before and then adding a second story," Michonski said.<br /><br />Obeying the footprint of the original home, the Sullivans relocated key functions, creating a more usable kitchen and family room while working to retain the bungalow's long-admired characteristics, such as a formal living room and dining room. The couple even included some of the bungalow's most intricate details, including the red-brick exterior patterns, stained-glass windows and stone planters.<br /><br />Creating a historic Chicago bungalow in the 21st century, the Sullivans also added a number of eco-friendly features as a member of Chicago's Green Home program, including a geothermal heating system, expanding foam insulation made from soybean oil, and a tankless water heater.<br /><br />This past June, the Sullivans moved into their completed bungalow. Boxes filled rooms and work remained, but the finish line emerged within view. As the Fourth of July approached, the couple embarked upon one of their final tasks: adding grass to their city lot, one that had been littered with dirt and debris for over a year.<br /><br />"It was all such an emotional roller coaster, so it was a huge relief to know that we were nearing the end and had accomplished our goal," Tammy said.<br /><br />Today, the couple's home blends into a block filled with historic Chicago bungalows, looking as much the 90-year old home as their neighbors'. Yes, it looks fresh and new, but also in place, a replica of Chicago's past in a hard-charging present.<br /><br />"People ask me, 'Where does the addition start?' and that's a compliment to the work done here," Andy said.<br /><br />From disaster, the Sullivans found comfort in the past and a plan for the future. In the historic brick bungalow, as much a piece of the Chicago scene as hot dog stands and church steeples, they found home.<br /><br />"We never plan on moving," Andy said. "For us, this is it."Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-40785787490893896362009-06-01T09:46:00.005-06:002009-06-01T10:02:04.887-06:00The New Cost of Doing Business (QSR Magazine, January 2009)Tucked quietly between Chicago and St. Louis, the town of Shelbyville bills itself as Illinois’ best kept secret. Hosting some of America’s richest farmland, the town’s agricultural roots reach into the 1820s and include the invention of the first commercial pick-up bailer, a marvel of agricultural engineering.<br /><br />For Dale Short—and indeed many in this central Illinois town—farming runs in the blood. One of the town’s agricultural leaders and a third-generation farmer in Shelbyville, Short oversees 2,000 acres of farmland. Throughout the last 36 years, Short adhered to a standard practice of crop rotation—half his farmland received beans, the other half corn.<br /><br />When the ethanol boom hit a few years back, Short, as sharp a businessman as he is diligent a laborer, immediately noted the crossroads he faced. He contemplated planting more corn to take advantage of the rising prices he could get for the crop, debating the merits as well as the economic potential. While Short debated his decision, other farmers—big and small—had made theirs and worked to produce more corn. It was, after all, the logical, practical, economical choice.<br />Across America’s heartland, these individual decisions played a small but symbolic step in the dramatic theater that now has food costs throughout the world rising to unfamiliar heights. Simple economic needs encouraged the nation’s farmers to follow the demand and the money, turning from food to fuel. Sprouting out corn at record levels, other crops were shortchanged; supply shortages led to higher prices in crops such as grain and beans.<br /><br />Though America’s small-town farmers remain small players in this big-stakes game, they stand as the most compelling dominoes to fall in a perfect storm of swelling global demand, increased energy needs, and a weakening U.S. dollar that have merged to intensify food prices. Indeed, the era of cheap food has reached its end and given rise to a new age, one dominated by trepidation.<br /><br /><strong>The End of the Cheap Food Era</strong><br />Before World War II, many American families spent approximately one-third of their income on food. Following the war, however, a series of dramatic changes, including a rise in agricultural productivity and a significant post-war economic punch, produced a long, powerful decline in the price of food. Instead of spending one-third of their income on food, Americans’ investment at the dinner table fell to 10 percent.<br /><br />With the exception of a price upswing in the 1970s, Americans enjoyed much of their food at modest costs throughout the final decades of the 20th century and into the millennium’s opening years. In fact, global food prices, adjusted for inflation, fell by 75 percent between 1974-2005, which delivered smiles to the faces of American households and industry insiders alike.<br />Still, all fine days must end.<br /><br />The door on cheap food has now closed. When The Economist declared “The End of Cheap Food” as the title of a December 2007 story, it cited a startling figure: food prices had increased 75 percent since 2005, representing a complete reversal from the favorable times of yesteryear.<br />But it wasn’t only Uncle Sam’s homeland feeling the pinch; the rising cost of food stretches into all corners of the globe. In January 2007, riots erupted on Mexican streets after the price of corn flour increased fourfold while Argentina has suffered from a series of strikes. Recent floods in England and India as well as a drought in Australia destroyed crops and led to price increases. In Ethiopia, ten pounds of corn flour costs five times as much as it did in 2005. Many wondered how; others questioned now what?<br /><br />“We’ve had the challenge of rising commodity prices before, but it has been a long time since we’ve had this level of a sustained increase in prices,” says Bill Lapp, an agricultural economist with Omaha-based Advanced Economic Solutions. “The difference today is that these rising prices have been dramatic, sustained, and across the board. We’re not going through one year in which some key commodities are up and others are down.”<br /><br />Behind the rising costs, economists and analysts cite both controllable and uncontrollable factors, many which began creeping in as early as 2005.<br /><br />While most of the nation’s corn crop is fed to livestock to produce meat, dairy, and eggs, the amount being marked for energy usage is climbing each year, a fact many analysts trace directly to the U.S. government’s ethanol subsidies. In 2006, for instance, 14 percent of the nation’s corn crop was turned into ethanol; in 2007, that number rose to 24 percent (though an ascent is certain, some claim 2007’s figure sits closer to 33 percent). The decision to put food in gas tanks, a decision many argue was both reckless and politically charged, has led farmers to dedicate increasing tracts of their farmland to biofuels. Meanwhile, the productivity of other crops, namely grain and beans, has fallen and sparked new challenges, including rising prices in those commodities.<br /><br />“When corn sneezes, other commodities catch a cold,” Lapp reminds.<br /><br />The financial boom in China and India, the world’s two most populous nations and together claiming one-third of the global population, have also placed a strain on food prices. Throughout history, a rise in personal income has led to a corresponding upswing in meat consumption—termed the “nutrition transition.” The United Nations’ annual assessment of farming trends in 2007 predicts that people in developing countries will be eating 30 percent more beef, 50 percent more pig meat, and 25 percent more poultry within the next decade.<br /><br />“We have a growing world demand for food and with 30 percent of our pork, cheese, and flour exported, we all end up paying more for the world demand,” says Don Vlcek, vice president of purchasing for Marco’s Pizza. “[The United States is the] prime source to fill the inventory gaps throughout the world.”<br /><br />As global demand for meat increases, the need for grain follows. It takes 8kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef and 4kg of pork. The increased demand for meat and grain extends elsewhere, including amplified demands on water and oil. Furthermore, grain-designated land risks the transition from human to animal consumption.<br /><br />“We’re dealing with the realities of becoming wealthier as a planet…and the technologies haven’t caught up to the increasing demand,” says Adam Mussomeli, who heads Deloitte Consulting’s consumer products supply chain analysis.<br /><br />The weakening of the U.S. dollar has done little to insulate the nation. A potent mix of trade and account deficits, falling Federal Reserve interest rates, a loss of confidence in the U.S. economy, and competition from other monetary markets—the euro, for instance, wasn’t even around one decade ago—have all combined to send the dollar into a downward spiral completely independent of the supply-demand issue.<br /><br />Other notable factors include the escalating price of crude oil and the wrath of Mother Nature. Oil prices, which hit $147 a barrel in July before the recent nosedive, also contribute to higher commodity prices. Greater oil prices, meanwhile, translate into higher costs to plant, irrigate, harvest, and transport product. Mother Nature shares some of the blame as well. Drought, hurricanes, and floods have all pelted the world in recent years, dealing a devastating blow to crops from Australia to Iowa.<br /><br />“A lot of factors started this bonfire and now some extra gasoline’s been tossed on it,” Lapp says.<br /><br /><strong>The Impact, Inherent Challenge, and Potential Solutions </strong><br />While some view the current rise in food prices as little more than the natural order of things, arguing that commodity prices have traditionally taken a quantum leap every 30 years or so, such a realization does little to lessen concern across the restaurant industry. The steep, global increase in commodity prices is expected to persist for years. Two elements analysts agree on: we’re closer to the beginning than the end and demand isn’t likely to diminish.<br /><br />“Food is still cheap today, but we’re at a period of time where that is becoming less and less of a true statement,” Lapp says. “We need to know there are cycles; now it’s a matter of surviving this one.”<br /><br />To combat rising food costs, restaurants will have to be aggressive, analytical, innovative, and decisive. Waiting for improvement is not a strategy as restaurants everywhere face this central question: margins or market share? A successful answer will likely mean survival; the wrong answer, closing. Restaurants must be honest about why customers enter their doors and, above all, look beyond the next 12 months and 2-3 years into the future to seek answers.<br /><br />Restaurants must understand that volatility will be an ever-present antagonist to an operation’s efficiency. As commodity prices proved favorable throughout the last 15 years, inefficiencies weaved into businesses because—to put it bluntly—they could. Winning overshadowed flaws and all seemed well—that is until the pendulum swung back.<br /><br />“As prices have risen in recent years, it has forced efficiencies and a focus on brand and product that will have to continue,” Informa Economics CEO Bruce Scherr says.<br /><br />Rather than reacting to the market’s uppercuts, restaurants will have to examine their purchasing habits more aggressively, more strategically. Pull out the spreadsheet, input the numbers, and assess where, when, and how items can be purchased at more reasonable costs. At Marco’s, Vlcek led the company’s savings of nearly $2.4 million in 2008 by competitive bidding, locking in prices, quantity orders, and utilizing local sources.<br /><br />“It’s at times like these, that purchasing people really have to fill their role,” says Vlcek, who penned a letter to his vendors saying that escalating prices compelled him to investigate competitors and yet simultaneously urged their help to maintain the relationship.<br /><br />Jack Graves, Chief Cultural Officer at Burgerville, says working with local vendors has helped to diffuse swelling costs at his Pacific Northwest spots. Burgerville’s focus on purchasing locally has proven to be a successful antidote to rising commodity prices. Transportation costs are kept down and the local community benefits from the company’s investment.<br /><br />“We are aiding in the prosperity of the local region and we believe that others can do the same by following our lead,” Graves says.<br /><br />Restaurants might also turn to reformulation and substitution, seeking ways to recreate the menu mix without sacrificing quality, perhaps highlighting dishes with products that aren’t as price volatile and can deliver greater margins. For example, at its Consumer 360 Conference in June, the Nielsen Company reported that seafood, dry pasta, and candy are among the products most immune to a recession. Such information allows retailers to better focus on the right categories and brands for success.<br /><br />While retailers themselves might have initially absorbed the brunt of rising commodity prices, national media is now communicating the changes to consumers, including higher menu prices. Citing a rise in the cost of key commodities, the Wall Street Journal named in September a number of high-profile companies set to raise menu prices, including Olive Garden (owned by Darden Restaurants Inc.) and Yum Brands Inc., parent of Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell among others. Such debates rage on elsewhere in the industry, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, where rising input costs, mostly attributed to corn, slower sales, and higher transportation costs have put the issue of raising prices in front of the Mexican chain’s leaders.<br /><br />Lapp believes that consumers can and will pay more if requested. Though challenging to increase price points in tough economic times, he says most customers understand that higher costs get passed onto the consumer.<br /><br />“The thing to do isn’t to make portions smaller or to dumb down the food, but to increase prices in a well-conceived, managed, and tactful way,” Lapp says.<br /><br />What restaurants must not do, however, is panic and alter their product for a short-term solution. A focus on the basics must be maintained and executed.<br /><br />“To make it through this current challenge and to be successful after this, restaurants will have to maintain their principles, including standards of labor and operational execution, as well as the quality of the product that got them customers in the first place,” he says. “There can be no departure from those core components.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-84684582905327712272009-01-20T20:52:00.003-06:002009-01-20T20:55:56.052-06:00Writing Sample: Repositioning is key to faster home sales (Chicago Sun Times, January 16, 2009)Dr. Roger Kula had to temper his expectations. He had no other choice.<br /><br /><br />A Chicago native now living in New York, Kula and his younger sister, also a New York resident, welcomed their aging mother to the Big Apple in 2005. A permanent move, the siblings debated what they would do with their mother's Downers Grove home, a residence that held fond childhood memories for both. Initially, they elected to keep the property, using it as a Chicago area retreat and gradually clearing the space for a future sale.<br /><br />In May 2008, against the threat of capital gains taxes, Kula listed the home with Downers Grove-based agent Jill Luckett of Coldwell Banker. While aware of the real estate market's downward trend, Kula and his sister still anticipated a $300,000-plus sale for the 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom brick ranch in one of the suburb's stable residential communities.<br /><br /><br />"Jill told us off the bat that we were probably too high given the area's inventory levels, but we gave it a shot at $289,000 to start," Kula said. "In retrospect we probably hit on the worst of the wave because the market has only gone further south."<br /><br />With few lookers and even fewer offers, Luckett and Kula sat down to re-examine their price as summer approached, a challenging feat given that the area held few comparable sales. In a scene repeated throughout the Chicagoland real estate market, Kula was forced to face a sobering, unkind reality: he wasn't going to get the dollar figure he desired. To sell his boyhood home, Kula would have to confront the most recent data, measure his motivation to sell, and "reposition" the home.<br /><br /><br />A term once used sparingly by real estate insiders, repositioning has increasingly entered the American lexicon as the housing market captures headlines. No longer can Chicagoland sellers ignore the market's tumult. To secure a deal, today's home sellers must be realistic, responsive and open to repositioning.<br /><br />"When a seller puts their home on the market on day one, they very well could be the best priced home in the best condition," said Tricia McEneaney of Coldwell Banker's Gold Coast office. "But if over the next 30 days 10 more competitively priced homes come on the market, then the seller's home may no longer be in a position to sell."<br /><br /><br />Today's real estate market is more fluid than in any recent era and tough love -- a k a repositioning -- awaits many sellers.<br /><br />"The market doesn't come to you any more; it's going the other way right now and that's a reality throughout Chicagoland," said David Hanna, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors and owner of Prudential SourceOne Realty in Chicago and Hinsdale.<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>What is it? How's it done?<br /></strong>In its simplest form, repositioning consists of accessing current data, noting the market's movement, and reassessing a given home's price, condition and promotion. Some Realtors sit with sellers and interpret the latest info as often as every two to three weeks, specifically with the most motivated sellers; others, particularly in a community frigid on sales numbers, might analyze the info every 60-90 days. Either way, such conversations have emerged a common slice of the Realtor-seller relationship.<br /><br />"We're repositioning now more than ever before," said Dean Rouso, owner of Prime Property Partners in La Grange. "We're meeting with sellers, gauging their motivation, and providing the most recent data to help hit the right price point."<br /><br /><br />Repositioning shines a consistent light on a specific area's real estate market. Rouso, who spoke about pricing at November's National Association of Realtors convention in Orlando, advises his staff to look at contracts generated in the last 90 days -- first in the neighborhood, then in the greater community. Such data shows the demand surrounding a community, even if the deals never closed.<br /><br />"If we have a home that's been successful and similar to ours, then we need to take a strong look at that sale as well as the homes priced lower," Rouso said, adding that the Realtor's task is to interpret the information for sellers rather than simply handing them printouts.<br /><br /><br />For repositioning to be most effective, data must be collected in as narrow and near a time frame as possible. The real estate market's longtime adversary has been its inability to foresee the future; Realtors have access only to historical data. Packing that data into the latest window soothes the market's evolving wrath and provides a more insightful portrait of housing trends. It's a reactive treatment, the industry pros admit, but it remains the best tool available.<br /><br />With timely data in hand, sellers encounter their options, frequently choosing between a lower price or patience. Some sellers might also decide to offer incentives, make repairs or even pull the home off the market. Most Realtors agree that the current housing market is not a dangle-your-toes-in-the-water time. Today's housing world is only for the most motivated, reasonable sellers and repositioning forces many sellers to reconsider.<br /><br /><br />"If you're not motivated to sell, then it's best to wait; you'll only frustrate yourself," Rouso said. "There are enough 'have-to-sell folks' out there that they'll keep dropping their prices to the detriment of your bottom line."<br /><br /><strong>We've repositioned. Now what?</strong><br />After the initial repositioning and its most frequent outcome -- a price drop -- sellers do the one thing they're learning to do best in these challenging real estate times: wait. In some instances, a Realtor will lower the price incrementally over a period of time (say, $1,000 a day for five days) to get the property on hot sheets, a list of homes that have entered the market or changed price in a given day.<br /><br /><br />"The idea is to maximize the presentation of that price reduction," Hanna said. "It's about getting the maximum amount of exposure to the maximum amount of people."<br /><br />Then, return the home to the prospective buyers' attention. Have a new open house. Record the number of showings and hits on the Web site to assess if interest in the property has surged. If progress doesn't arrive in 30 days, it could be time for more tough love. Sadly but realistically over the last year, the market likely took another dive in that time.<br /><br /><br />"Property values are declining, yet too many sellers think their property is the exception," Hanna said. "Hope is not a business plan. When we see prices move in either direction, we need to adjust."<br /><br />But sellers and their Realtors should also re-examine other parts of the home's public face because price isn't always the culprit. A home sells thanks to the convergence of three points -- price, condition, and promotion. If the home isn't marketed well with expanded information, vibrant photos, and accurate information, then change must occur. Sellers should also take a close look at the home's condition, making sure that cleanliness and clutter-free characterize the space. Such tasks are as much a part of repositioning as slashing prices.<br /><br /><br />"In today's market we're in a price war and a beauty contest. The home must win both to sell," said Coldwell Banker's McEneaney.<br /><br /><strong>A happy ending?</strong><br />Pre-AIG, government bailouts, and daily foreclosure reports, Kula might have hoped for a $300,000 sales price on his boyhood home. As autumn unraveled, however, he understood that the market had him cornered. Realities had shifted and he needed to counter the momentum.<br />He sat with Luckett and discovered the grim truth. If he wanted to move the house, he would need to lower the price.<br /><br /><br />"The year was closing and it was a rush to the finish line," he said.<br /><br />He joined Coldwell Banker's nationwide October promotion. For 10 days, he lowered his price 10 percent to $252,000. Multiple offers arrived, including an as-is purchase for $235,000, which he and his sister accepted.<br /><br /><br />"We could see what was going on," Kula said. "You think you should be getting more, but you also know it could be worse. At some point, we had to face the realization that this was the going rate."Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-77524228525641000152008-11-10T22:40:00.003-06:002008-11-10T22:46:11.336-06:00Writing Sample #15: November Cheat Sheet (QSR, November 2008)Oh, how the times have changed.<br /><br />Last January, QSR took a closer look at the presidential frontrunners and their thoughts on key restaurant industry issues. At the time, Senator Barack Obama was largely seen as a longshot while Senator John McCain’s candidacy appeared in ruin.<br /><br />But the winds of change swirled and tossed around one of the most anticipated presidential elections in decades. Beginning with the Iowa caucuses, Obama surged and held off a Hillary Clinton charge while McCain resurrected his campaign and locked up the Republican nod in quick time.<br /><br />With the rookie Senator from Illinois and the veteran legislator from Arizona earning their respective parties’ presidential nominations, a heated contest commands the nation’s attention. As the race for the White House intensifies and voting day nears, we revisit Senator Obama and Senator McCain, taking a closer look at each man’s views on critical industry issues.<br /><br /><strong>American with Disabilities Amendments Act and Notification Act<br /></strong>The ADA Amendments Act, a compromise reached following on the heels of the more drastic Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act, maintains the previous definition of a disability as well as the requirement that an individual must demonstrate that he or she is qualified for the job. After passing the House in June, the ADA Amendments Act now sits in the Senate.<br /><br />Both Obama and McCain, a co-sponsor of the ADA in 1990, have voiced support for expanding the landmark legislation and strengthening its implementation. While McCain has cited a more thorough, specific definition of “disability,” Obama favors the aforementioned ADA Restoration Act, which seeks to redefine what constitutes a protected impairment under the ADA—a redefinition many employers feel is far too loose as it could apply to employees with neck strains, eyeglasses, or even tennis elbow.<br /><br />The ADA Notification Act, meanwhile, would provide restaurants up to 90 days to review and repair alleged accessibility issues while helping to protect restaurants from frivolous ADA violation lawsuits. McCain has maintained his support for the cause, which would allow business owners the opportunity to become ADA compliant without the threat of costly legal tussles. While Obama, a former civil rights lawyer, has not spoken exclusively on the ADA Notification Act, he has repeatedly indicated his desire to appoint judges and justices who uphold the “essential message of liberty and inclusion.”<br /><br /><strong>Biofuels<br /></strong>Since his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Obama trumpeted his support for biofuels, citing Brazil as a nation that has quickly escaped its complete reliance on crude oil from outside nations. Obama has been consistent in his message to find new energy sources and weaken the dependence on foreign oil. Even prior to the start of the primary season, Obama proposed a $150 billion fund to finance new biorefineries and stated his desire to see all new cars run on E85.<br /><br />Today, Obama’s campaign site hosts this message: “Advances in biofuels…and other new technologies that produce synthetic petroleum from sustainable feedstocks offer tremendous potential to break our addiction to oil. Barack Obama will work to ensure that these clean alternative fuels are developed and incorporated into our national supply as soon as possible.”<br /><br />While McCain, once a critic of ethanol, supports wider use of biofuels, he rejects any mention of subsidies or mandates for ethanol production; instead, McCain favors such money traveling to increased research and development of renewable energies. In particular, McCain worried that biofuel mandates would challenge the simple economic rules of supply-and-demand. When the 2007 Senate energy bill called for a five-fold increase in ethanol production by 2022, McCain shot back that ethanol was on its way to divulging one-third of the nation’s corn crop in 2008.<br />“This subsidized (ethanol) program—paid for by taxpayer dollars—has contributed to pain at the cash register, at the dining room table, and a devastating food crisis throughout the world,” he said.<br /><br /><strong>Food Safety<br /></strong>In February 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture led a recall of 143 million pounds of frozen beef, a move that prompted Obama to release this statement: “When I am President, it will not be business as usual when it comes to food safety. I will provide additional resources to hire more federal food inspectors. I will also call on the Department of Agriculture to examine whether federal food safety laws need to be strengthened, in particular to provide greater protections against tainted food being used in the National School Lunch Program.”<br /><br />Obama soon followed with the introduction of a Senate bill in July aimed at further addressing food safety. While he did not suggest any changes at the procedural level of food processing, he did propose a $25 million grant for state and local food safety agencies to boost capacity in order to improve detection, outbreak communication and coordination, and surveillance.<br /><br />McCain, who spoke at this year’s NRA convention in May, has not addressed the food safety issue and his campaign office did not offer comment on the issue.<br /><br /><strong>Health Care<br /></strong>Obama has pledged to create a national health care plan, one which includes: guaranteed eligibility; comprehensive benefits; affordable premiums, co-pays, and deductibles; and the creation of a National Health Insurance Exchange to help those individuals who wish to purchase a private insurance plan. He has also discussed expanding Medicaid and creating a Small Business Health Tax Credit to provide, his campaign says, “small businesses with a refundable tax credit of up to 50 percent on premiums paid by small businesses on behalf of their employees.” The new credit, he feels, “will provide a strong incentive to small businesses to offer high quality health care to their workers and help improve the competitiveness of America’s small businesses.” He has said he would demand employers make a meaningful contribution to their employees’ health care needs.<br /><br />In contrast, McCain has repeatedly insisted that Americans themselves should be in charge of their health care needs, believing that competition would restore control to the patients and allow them to select the plan that best fills their needs. Striking against universal health care plans, McCain charged, “We will replace the inefficiency, irrationality, and uncontrolled costs of the current system with the inefficiency, irrationality, and uncontrolled costs of a government monopoly.”<br /><br />McCain has also championed portability in health care, plans that would move with the individual from job to job. He has also trumpeted the benefits of Health Savings Accounts, tax-preferred accounts used to pay insurance premiums and other health costs. He believes affordable health care is possible without a federal mandate and has indicated his wish to provide $2,500 refundable tax credits for individuals and $5,000 for families.<br /><br /><strong>Immigration Reform</strong><br />Few issues evoke as much debate and chatter among industry insiders than immigration, given that immigrants—both legal and illegal—constitute a healthy chunk of the restaurant industry’s workforce. That reality has continually pushed immigration to the front of the 2008 presidential election, leading both McCain and Obama to articulate clear positions on the issue.<br /><br />McCain, no stranger to the issue as his home state of Arizona borders Mexico, sponsored the bi-partisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, one that promised to increase security along the U.S.-Mexican border, allow long-time, law abiding illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, and increase the number of guest workers. Obama, in fact, voted in favor of that bill.<br /><br />Today, McCain sings a similar tune, though he insists amnesty has never been a part of the discussion. At a Republican debate in January, McCain outlined his priorities.<br /><br />“We will secure the borders first when I am president,” he said. “Then we will move onto the other aspects of this issue, as importantly as tamper-proof biometric documents, which then, unless an employer hires someone with those documents, that employer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”<br /><br />Obama has vowed to “fix the system” in such a way that it eliminates the need to address the immigration problem again in the near future. He has proposed tougher policies on employers who hire illegal immigrants. During a Democratic primary radio debate on NPR, Obama summarized his overall position, noting specifically his belief that immigrants—illegal or not—should have a pathway to citizenship and share in basic American rights.<br /><br />“I think that if [the immigrants] are illegal, then they should not be able to work in this country. That is part of the principle of comprehensive reform, which we're going to crack down on employers who are hiring them and taking advantage of them,” he said. “But I also want to give them a pathway, so that they can earn citizenship, earn a legal status, start learning English, pay a significant fine, and go to the back of the line. But they can then stay here and they can have the ability to enforce a minimum wage that they're paid, make sure the worker safety laws are available, make sure that they can join a union.”<br /><br /><strong>Minimum Wage Increase<br /></strong>If elected president, Obama has said he will raise the minimum wage, something he often prefers to call a “living wage,” to $9.50 an hour by 2011 and index it to inflation. He has repeatedly championed minimum wage increases.<br /><br />“We shouldn't raise the minimum wage every 10 years,” Obama told a Wisconsin crowd during the primary season. “We should raise it every year to keep up with inflation. If you work in this country, you should not be poor.”<br /><br />In his August speech at the Democratic National Convention, vice presidential nominee Joe Biden chided McCain, his longtime Senate colleague, for voting against Democratic-led minimum wage hikes a total of 19 times. In truth, McCain’s Senatorial career is peppered with various positive votes in favor of a minimum wage increase, including one that would lift the figure to $7.25 per hour. As is common on Capitol Hill, some of his votes for or against the minimum wage were tucked inside other bills, such as a 2007 one on war funding.<br /><br />In general, McCain has supported minimum wage hikes, just at a more modest rate than his colleagues to the left. In 2007, he joined 27 other Republicans in voting—unsuccessfully—to allow individual States the rights and flexibility to determine minimum wage. The Arizona Senator has frequently said his rejection to a more robust minimum wage increase arrives from his concern that it would boost employers’ labor costs and thereby limit the creation of new jobs.<br /><br /><strong>Paid Sick Leave<br /></strong>While up to 46 million American workers do not receive paid sick days, legislators in a dozen states have proposed laws requiring employers to provide them. Current federal legislation, called the Healthy Families Acts, remains on the table that would require businesses to provide seven paid sick days each year to employees who work at least 30 hours a week. Obama has touted his support for such legislation while McCain, true to his form of opposing federal mandates, has said such rules further stifle employers, particularly during challenging economic times.<br /><br /><strong>Restaurant Depreciation<br /></strong>While depreciation schedules for restaurants have remained rather consistent over recent years, the NRA continues to work for a depreciation schedule that would fall to 15 years from the current 39 ½ year threshold. In April, Maryland restaurant owner and NRA member Fred Rosenthal told a Congressional hearing that “shortening the write-off of restaurant buildings and improvements to 15 years would create immediate economic activity within the industry, which in turn would reverberate throughout the economy.”<br /><br />Neither McCain nor Obama have clarified their positions on restaurant depreciation. Yet, McCain has said he would allow businesses to immediately expense the full cost of three- and five-year business equipment purchased between 2009 and 2013. After 2013, businesses would again have to depreciate equipment over time. His campaign, however, offered no further comment on the matter. Obama’s camp did not respond to QSR’s request for the Democratic nominee’s stance on the issue.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-20509752181341547402008-11-10T22:32:00.004-06:002008-11-10T22:39:55.512-06:00Writing Sample #14: Hopes on hold one year after I-355 extended (Southtown Star and Sun Times News Group, Nov 10, 2008)Last Nov. 11 was seen as a day that would forever alter the Southland landscape, one celebrated with parades, community events, civic speeches, and a horde of bikers and runners commanding a roadway then-untouched by commuters.<br /><br />Optimism ruled the day. However, that optimism quickly acquiesced to reality and a focus on patience.<br /><br />When the I-355 extension opened last year, many thought it would jumpstart a then-sagging real estate market. Towns long limited by few major access routes and blanketed by two-lane roads, particularly the four communities with exits - Lemont, Lockport, Homer Glen, and New Lenox - welcomed the roadway with open arms, championing its future prospects.<br /><br /><br />The immediate thought was that the 12.5-mile toll road, which runs south from Interstate 55 to Interstate 80, would help the four towns emerge from Chicagoland's shadows and offer a hearty boost to the local housing market. Well, the unveiling has been anticlimactic to say the least.<br /><br />"Sometimes the anticipation gets ahead of itself," said Lockport Mayor Tim Murphy, himself a former real estate broker. "Realistically, the development is probably where it should be, but those grander thoughts will come with time, population and as land becomes scarce."<br /><br /><br />When work began on the extension in 2004, the Southland market saw an upswing in interest that persisted for years. Land prices increased, business entered, and a wider ranging tax base established roots.<br /><br />In Lockport, for instance, a $100 million commercial development project anchored by Home Depot and Target and two medical facilities offered widespread hope. Conventional thought held that the momentum would continue and that the new roadway would help the four communities - as well as their immediate neighbors - avoid the sluggish real estate numbers that handcuffed other towns.<br /><br />"The common thinking was that when the roadway was completed it would 'superspark' the area, but much of the massive growth has slowed," said veteran real estate agent Dan Hardy of Re/Max All Properties in New Lenox.<br /><br />While the Veterans Memorial Tollway's presence has earned high marks for its ease of travel and its ability to connect the Southland to the greater Chicagoland region, it has failed to deliver the housing boom many anticipated. There's been an impact, both real estate agents and builders insist, just not the one many had foreseen, though some contend that the roadway has helped insulate the area from even greater depths.<br /><br />"It hasn't been the big immediate boom so many thought it would be, but it's coming in dribs and drabs," said Lockport-based real estate agent Sue Dufault of Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell. "But we would certainly be worse off if we didn't have this connection; [the presence of I-355 has] helped absorb some of the hit."<br /><br />To be fair, I-355's immediate inability to lure a strong number of homebuyers to the Southland is just that: an immediate struggle and one significantly impacted by a greater housing market in turmoil and financial fear. Long-term prospects are far more positive.<br /><br /><br />"The impact will come and the market will turn itself around," Hardy said."People are spreading the word about these communities and whenever you have easier access to a community, it's going to spur the growth rate."<br /><br />In fact, Lemont, Lockport, Homer Glen, and New Lenox boast many of the same features that make for an attractive housing destination: homes giving more bang-for-the-buck value than in other Chicagoland towns, highly rated schools, and increased shopping, dining and recreational amenities.<br /><br /><br />In spite of the rapid growth that characterized the tail end of the 1990s and the opening years of the millennium, many prospective homebuyers rejected the idea of settling in one of the communities, often citing transportation access as one of their chief concerns. With the extension of I-355, however, that lingering objection has wilted.<br /><br />The issue now, one year after I-355's celebrated opening, is when will the roadway deliver on its potential as it relates to a recovering real estate market? One year ago the talk was "Once I-355 is here ..." Today, the talk is "Once this market gets going again ..." After all, it's always something; it's never nothing. Some industry folks see a rebound coming within a year; others suggest the housing crunch could continue for another three to five years.<br /><br /><br />Whenever the real estate renaissance begins, local agents all agree that Lemont, Lockport, Homer Glen and New Lenox will inherit a unique ability to capitalize on better economic times and witness the roadway deliver on its still-mounting potential.<br /><br />"We'll see a major influx of people when they're not afraid to move and believe they can sell their home," Dufault said.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-45108039567662606282007-10-26T16:28:00.001-06:002007-10-26T16:40:18.789-06:00Writing Sample #13: The Orland Park boom and a return to yesteryear (ELITE, October 2007)For the last 27 years, Joan Curto has inhabited an antique shop in the Old Orland Historic District, a modest spot on a modest street in a once-modest town. Despite it being 2007, there are no street lights or nightlife—just a two-block strip blanketed by antique shops and one 40-plus year old general store inviting all to step back in time.<br /><br />Sometimes, admits Curto, she catches a glimpse of a passing Metra train, the modern-day horse and carriage riding on the lumber and iron of yesteryear, and envisions the town’s earliest residents stepping off the train, dropping their bags, inhaling the air, and welcoming themselves to their new home—Orland Park.<br /><br />“Maybe that’s a little too dramatic,” acknowledges Curto, the owner of Cracker Barrel Antiques, “but it’s the picture I have in my mind.’<br /><br />Marty Sherlock was but a teenager when his father, Joseph Sherlock, stumbled upon an abandoned boat store on 157th Street and figured the vacant spot would serve the ideal location for his carpet business showroom.<br /><br />“It was nothing but cornfields and open land,” says Marty Sherlock of his first impressions of 1980’s Orland Park. “But my dad saw something when he moved here—a potential for growth.”<br /><br />And grow Orland Park did.<br /><br />Incorporated in 1892, Orland Park maintained its small town reality well into the 1960s when population remained under 3,000. In the second half of the century, however, Orland Park boomed, characterizing the late 20th century’s influx of automobile-based suburbs. Awaking from a decades-long slumber, the village stood, spread its arms, and began welcoming residential subdivisions, retail strips, and playgrounds for the young and old.<br /><br />By 2000, the village’s population had topped 50,000 and Orland Park was well on its way to becoming one of the Chicago most robust communities. Today, Orland Park claims nearly 60,000 residents and survives as the Southland’s primary retail center and one of its most popular destinations for dining, shopping, and recreation.<br /><br />As Marty Sherlock can attest, this is not your father’s Orland Park.<br /><br />“This town,” he says, “wasn’t anything that it is now. The area’s just boomed.”<br /><br />Taking pause, Sherlock, who today runs the Sherlock Carpet and Tile business his father started in 1974, adds: “You know, there are places here that we never would’ve thought could’ve made it out here. The town’s evolved and we’ve evolved right alongside it.”<br /><br />Dan McLaughlin, now in his 15th year as Orland Park Mayor, says a longstanding joke among residents arrived in discussion of local dining spots.<br /><br />“The joke used to be that this town only had fast food, but one of the most noticeable things in Orland Park these days is the amount of nice restaurants in town,” he says, highlighting the fact that Orland Park now includes such notable establishments as 94 West, Harrison’s, Fox’s Pizza, and, the community’s latest gem, Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, which opened in late 2005.<br /><br />McLaughlin admits the evolution of Orland Park took time, but has nevertheless arrived.<br /><br />“In the 1980s and ‘90s, this community was so fast growing with residential that it took some time for the commercial to catch up,” says McLaughlin, who moved to Orland Park in 1979 and immediately became involved in village matters. “Any town that grows up with the older style grid system and strip centers slowly transforms itself with better layout and planning.”<br /><br />The village’s attention to detail and growth, meanwhile, catapulted it into recognition as one of the nation’s top flight communities. In 2006, Money Magazine placed Orland Park among America’s top 50 places to live, praising the Southland community specifically for its arts, leisure, and education. The honor, says McLaughlin, demonstrates the village’s longstanding plan to elevate Orland Park into an elite destination.<br /><br />When you get a national honor you’re happy for the entire village. It’s a recognition that takes into consideration a lot of individual and collective effort. I just hope the community feels as proud about it as I do because it’s a wonderful honor,” he says.<br /><br />With over 20 area golf courses and a hoist of recreation opportunities, Orland Park established itself as one of the area’s most attractive spots for play. In 2002, the Village of Orland Park Sportsplex opened on 159th Street near Wolf Road. The 90,000 square foot facility, which now claims over 3600 members in addition to a plethora of walk-in clients, holds a 10,000 square feet fitness center, three gymnasiums, an indoor soccer field, an aerobics studio for yoga and Pilates, a 35-foot climbing wall, indoor running track, and child care facilities. <br /><br />“The village officials saw a need for a facility like this, particularly as the community continued to expand,” says Ray Piattoni, facility administrator at the Sportsplex. “The first mission is toward the needs of residents here and improving their quality of life.”<br /><br />As a retail destination, meanwhile, Orland Park is among the Southland’s most active areas, anchored in large part by a flurry of activity on LaGrange Road. The 30-year-old Orland Square mall at 151st Street stands as the village’s most noteworthy shopping hotspot. Renovated and expanded in 1996, Orland Square boasts 1.2 million square feet of retail space and resides as the Southland’s largest, most upscale retail location.<br /><br />Indeed, Orland Park’s status as a host to elegant specialty retailers has emerged alongside its increasing rank as a vibrant dining destination.<br /><br />Most retailers were attracted to Orland Park by one word—potential.<br /><br />“It was obvious that Orland Park was going to be a huge growth center. It already had a major mall and a number of people migrating to the area,” recalls Jim Morrison, owner of Morrison’s Ethan Allen, an interior design center breaking from its reputation as a furniture store alone.<br /><br />Morrison opened his Ethan Allen store at 155th Street and Harlem Ave 19 years ago at the urging of the company’s Danbury, Connecticut-based corporate headquarters.<br /><br />“The corporate office saw value and potential in this area, the same thing so many of us saw. Everything was in place for it to be a vibrant, active community, which it has certainly turned out to be” says Morrison.<br /><br />Corrine Casto-Coventry shares a similar story. Her father, Frank Casto, opened an outpost for his six-decades old Roseland Draperies in the mid-1990s and the custom drapery shop’s showroom has called 147th Street home since.<br /><br />“My father saw so much development in the area and a spot that could be accessed by so many other neighboring communities,” says Casto-Coventry. “And we’ve certainly benefited from all that potential being recognized.”<br /><br />Little by little, says McLaughlin, the community showed its demographics could support high-end retailers. So much had Orland Park’s reputation as a retail destination sprouted, in fact, that Evanston-based Davis Street Land Company, a respected national developer of upscale properties and Main Street-styled communities approached the village with plans for such a development.<br /><br />In late 2005, Davis Street Land launched Orland Park Crossings at 143rd Street and LaGrange Road. Buoyed by the presence of national names, such as Coldwater Creek, Talbots, Chico’s, and Ann Taylor, as well as boutique retailers, including Black Tie Draperies, Francesca’s Collection, and Eden Aveda Salon and Spa, Orland Park Crossings has emerged a new gem in the village’s retail landscape—not to mention its dining status with P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and the fall debut of Granite City Food and Brewery. Future plans for the area include the continued mix of national and local specialty retailers coupled with a mix of office and residential developments.<br /><br />“Obviously, there’s a lot of growth in Orland Park and we see Orland Park Crossings as a property designed specifically to provide upscale retail and dining options for residents,” says Davis Street Land Company’s Scott McClure.<br /><br />But more, Orland Park Crossings shows the village’s emerging focus on pedestrian-friendly developments, a change from decades past. Today, says McLaughlin, considerable thought by village planners and their partners results in better-schemed developments.<br /><br />“For many years it was a battled between developers and the municipal planners. After years of doing the little things and analyzing how things should be laid out, we’ve settled on developments that are attractive and pedestrian-friendly. You’re now seeing it in new developments such as Orland Crossings and you’re going to continue seeing it in what’s to come,” promises McLaughlin.<br /><br />Much work remains on an ambitious village slate, contends McLaughlin, but few are gaining as much attention as he village’s redevelopment plans for the Old Orland Historic District, the village’s former central gathering place at 143rd Street just west of LaGrange Road.<br /><br />“We’ve been working with a development team to get this going for years, but in the last year-and-a-half those plans have started to move quicker,” tells McLaughlin. “Within a year or two, people should begin to see the development take shape.”<br /><br />Central to the community’s redevelopment of its former downtown area stands a Metra station. As other Chicagoland communities have done, including Orland’s neighbor to the east, Tinley Park, the hope remains that a transportation post will anchor a mixed-use area featuring shopping, dining, and residential units. A pedestrian bridge at 143rd Street, meanwhile, will connect the Old Orland Historic District with the aforementioned Orland Park Crossings.<br /><br />“This is the real Orland Park, exactly what was there 100 years ago. It’s a unique area,” says McLaughlin, “and we’re anxious to get things moving. The entire area will be something attractive.”<br /><br />For Joan Curto and her fellow antique dealers in the Old Orland section, the mayor’s words sing a beautiful tune.<br /><br />“Our little sleepy hollow over here,” she says, “was a nice place for our business, but had been forgotten for some time. With these redevelopment plans, the town will get a unique ambiance it hasn’t had for some time. It will create an entire different look and feel for Orland Park and will become just one more place to entice people.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-53773757604125360612007-10-26T16:00:00.000-06:002007-10-26T16:08:55.366-06:00Writing Sample #12: Location, location, location: Finding the best spot for your pizzeria requires research before rewards (Pizza Today, October 2007)Location, location, location has long been the guiding axiom of real estate, a mantra surviving in the residential world as well as the commercial arena. Pick the wrong spot for your location and doom could follow; select the right home and you’ll be baking pies for years.<br /><br />“It’s important for a pizzeria to identify its key demographics and then strategically position itself to capitalize on that location,” says Russell Barnett, head of the restaurant specialty group for CB Richard Ellis, one of the nation’s leading real estate services firms.<br /><br />While perhaps easier to execute in theory than reality, an operator’s research skills must take flight if the right location is to be found. From population growth to underserved communities and from tax legislation to competitive environments, the finished product provides success, but a well-scouted location surely doesn’t hurt.<br /><br /><strong>Emerging Communities <br /></strong>On May 15, Steve Cornelius opened his Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza outpost in Elk Grove, California, a booming community near Sacramento. An Elk Grove resident, Cornelius said he was motivated by the sprouting population—Elk Grove had doubled in size since 2000—and presence of few established pizzerias.<br /><br />“It was a growing area, so we knew that we could grow right alongside it,” Cornelius says, noting the advantage of opening in a spot where loyalties are scarce given such a fresh populace.<br /><br />It comes as no surprise that four of the top 10 fastest growing cities according to U.S. Census data maintain a California address: Elk Grove, Moreno Valley, Rancho Cucamonga, and Irvine leading the Golden State’s population surge. Florida boasts three emerging cities in Port St. Lucie, Cape Coral, and Miramar while Arizona, with Gilbert and Chandler, has also inherited thousands of new residents. North Las Vegas, adjacent to Sin City, has proven that real estate can rival blackjack as the biggest game in town.<br /><br /><strong>Pizza-Starved States<br /></strong>Ever wonder about the most underserved pizza communities? New Jersey-based investment management firm W.R. Huff did and proceeded to analyze all 50 states to discover the nation’s most pizza-starved constituency.<br /><br />The states warmest on weather are some of the coldest on pizza. With Mississippi claiming but one pizzeria for every 8643 residents, the potential market share is immense for those who get the All-American food just right, guys like Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal, owners of Sal and Mookie’s New York Pizza and Ice Cream Joint in Jackson.<br /><br />“It’s fascinating that the metro Jackson area has few ‘home grown’ or upscale pizzerias,” says Good. “Certainly, [we] took that into account when we created [our] concept. In the first five months, the feedback and rabid repeat customer business…has positioned Sal & Mookie’s as the place to get pizza in Jackson.”<br /><br />Other pizza-starved states include Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Hawaii, Georgia, Tennessee, and California.<br /><br /><strong>The Government: Your Small Business Friend<br /></strong>Taxes. Rarely a word that sparks any positive reaction from an American small business owner. While some states are heavy on taxation—New Jersey, California, Rhode Island, Maine, and Minnesota among the chief culprits—others do a noble job avoiding the business owners’ pockets.<br /><br />The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, a Washington D.C.-based small business advocate, reports that South Dakota, Nevada, and Wyoming all avoid personal income tax, capital gains, and corporate income tax. Other states, meanwhile, such as Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Washington, and Colorado keep taxation to a minimum, offering an undeniable boost to the pizzeria’s bottom line.<br /><br /><strong>Some Competition and the Golden Rule<br /></strong>Though the northeast remains the most pizza-filled region of the country, an immortal industry truth emerges: product remains king.<br /><br />Despite boasting a pizzeria for every 2300 residents, the nation’s most competitive marketplace as sheer numbers go, Maine hosts several operations that merge a track record with a unique experience. Portland Pie, for instance, applied the micro-brew concept to pizza dough and claims not only a plethora of flavored pizza crusts—basil, garlic, and beer among them—but also a loyal customer base.<br /><br />“We came out of the gates [in 1997] with a different concept…and there’s no question we’ve grown over the last ten years because we’ve differentiated ourselves from the competition, created our niche, and established a name for ourselves,” says Steve Freese, co-owner of the three Portland Pie locations.<br /><br />Barnett says a competitive environment can often be a plus given the herd mentality of American society, a fact evident in cities across the country where rivals share street corners.<br /><br />“People tend to congregate in the same place,” Barnett says, “and if one place is full, they’ll often move on to the next.”<br /><br />Freese reminds that he and partner Nat Getchell opened their first shop next to an established local chain.<br /><br />“People thought we were crazy,” he says, “but we believed in our concept and our product.”<br /><br /><br /><strong>(Sidebar)<br />Hungry for Pizza: Some of the Nation’s Top Spots for a Pizzeria<br /></strong> These American cities possess some of the key ingredients to hosting a successful pizzeria:<br /><br /><strong>North Las Vegas, Nevada<br /></strong>Population: 198,000<br />Pizzeria to Resident Ratio: 1:4923 (Nevada)<br />Why North Las Vegas?: One of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, North Las Vegas claims a friendly small business climate with low taxes, high disposable income, and, more applicable to the pizzeria operator, the nation’s top projected restaurant sales growth according to the National Restaurant Association.<br /><br /><strong>Gilbert, Arizona<br /></strong>Population: 192,000<br />Pizzeria to Resident Ratio: 1:5296 (Arizona)<br />Why Gilbert?: Despite a surging population, Arizona claims less than 1,000 pizzerias and resides among the nation’s most pizza-starved states. Gilbert, meanwhile, stands atop the state’s population push while offering a family-centered demographic with disposable income and favorable taxation policy.<br /><br /><strong>Port St. Lucie, Florida<br /></strong>Population: 145,000<br />Pizzeria to Resident Ratio: 1:5066 (Florida)<br />Why Port St. Lucie?: Tabbed “A City for All Ages,” Port St. Lucie, which has seen its population triple in the last 15 years, promises extensive growth opportunities, residents with disposable income, and low taxes. Each year, meanwhile, the town entertains the New York Mets and their fan base, many of them pizza-eating Yankees, for spring training.<br /><br /><strong>Denton, Texas </strong><br />Population: 110,000<br />Pizzeria to Resident Ratio: 1:7727 (Texas)<br />Why Denton?: A music and art hotbed north of Dallas, Denton boasts an intellectual flair and two state universities with a combined enrollment of 45,000. Despite high property taxes and a corporate income tax, Denton avoids personal income, capital gains, and estate taxes as well as a saturated pizzeria market.<br /><br /><strong>Raleigh, North Carolina<br /></strong>Population: 367,000<br />Pizzeria to Resident Ratio: 1:5218 (North Carolina)<br />Why Raleigh?: With steady population growth in recent years, an abundance of industry and commerce, and the presence of North Carolina State University, the state’s capital city boasts some key indicators for success. One negative: tax rates are among the nation’s highest.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-15491064798141515162007-06-02T15:56:00.000-06:002007-06-02T15:59:05.967-06:00Writing Sample #11: Reverse Gear: community colleges find university students filling their summer classrooms (Daily Southtown, May 6, 2007)Russ Riberto considered it as wise a move as any he’s ever made. While pursuing his business administration degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Oak Lawn resident returned home each summer to make some money and, in a break from the academic calendar he enjoyed from the previous twelve years, take summer school courses.<br /><br /> “I took a few math classes in two consecutive summers,” said Riberto. “It was strange doing schoolwork in July, but I knew it was a good move and one that would help me get ahead.”<br /><br /> Now working with the federal government’s General Services Administration as a senior project manager, Riberto admits that his decision to take summer courses at Moraine Valley Community College remains one of his wisest academic decisions.<br /><br /> “I was able to stay on track and make sure I graduated from UIC on time,” the 2002 UIC alum said. “Plus, when I got back to UIC I was able to focus on my major classes in business and make sure they were getting the attention they deserved.”<br /><br /> Although students at four-year universities such as Riberto have long utilized their home community colleges to support or advance their studies over the summer months, local colleges have heightened efforts in recent years to promote such opportunities, particularly given the skyrocketing costs of tuition at both public and private four-year institutions across the nation.<br /><br /> “The primary advantage is that [the students] can get the classes they need at a much lower cost with the added convenience of being in their home area over the summer,” said Patrick Rush, director of public relations at South Suburban College. “This may allow them to take a smaller course load as a full-time student or to get their degree faster.”<br /><br /> Students, meanwhile, have increasingly taken advantage of the opportunities available at local community colleges, particularly as tuition at the colleges ranges anywhere from $60-90 per credit hour, an affordable respite from universities’ hefty costs. While some students return home during the summer for full or part-time work, others return expressly for summer school.<br /> In 2006, South Suburban College claimed nearly 500 reverse transfer students, as they are often called, a number accounting for approximately 15 percent of its summer enrollment. Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills counts upwards of 20 percent of its summer enrollment as reverse transfer students, a number that has sprouted alongside overall campus enrollment. Oftentimes, university students flock to the community colleges to fulfill general education requirements, such as math, English, science, communications, and history.<br /><br /> “There are a variety of reasons why [general education courses] are popular: students couldn’t get into such a course at their school or they have to make it up or want to get these courses completed less expensively so they can concentrate on courses specific to their major [once they return to their school in the fall],” said Mark Horstmeyer, Director of College Relations at Moraine Valley Community College, who adds that students might also elect to take a course in which they feel they might need extra help.<br /><br /> Students at Illinois universities, meanwhile, can take assurance that their summer work will carry over to their four-year institution with the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), a statewide agreement among participating Illinois colleges and universities with clear guidelines identifying the transferability of courses.<br /><br /> “With the Illinois colleges, at least, transferring credits has become more seamless with the IAI,” said Cathy Robinson, Dean of Academic Services and Counseling at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights. “For those not at an Illinois four-year institution, I would suggest checking with the registrar’s office at the home institution. If the course transfers, then it’s really a win-win.”<br /><br /> Like the aforementioned Riberto, students who take summer courses at their local college rarely regret the edge it lends and the savings it provides. Yet more, such students even impress college administrators with their willingness to stay academically sharp in spite of summer’s tempting sunshine and students’ long-standing avoidance of schoolwork throughout June, July, and August.<br /><br /> “I’m impressed with the students who see that they can compete even better when they stay on their academic toes. They’ve thought it through and realized the benefits are well worth the investment,” said Robinson.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-82120114381017795882007-06-02T15:49:00.001-06:002007-06-02T15:51:51.577-06:00Writing Sample #10: Taking a sip of liquor license know-how (Pizza Today, June 2007)Casey Harris can tell you a thing or two about the difficulty of obtaining a liquor license. So, too, can Bob Callaway.<br /><br /> Though separated by time zones and some 1700 miles—Harris calling Port Huron, MI home and Callaway residing in Smithfield, UT—the two have traveled a similar path in pursuing their respective liquor licenses, one littered with frustration, disappointment, and bureaucratic noise.<br /><br /> Open since February 2006, Harris and his Casey’s Pizza and Sub Shop, a 100-seat establishment along the lake town’s evolving business district, have yet to pour a pint of ale or drop of wine. Though Harris called to get his liquor license the day after purchasing the former office building in late 2005, his journey to serving a pitcher of Budweiser has been anything but smooth.<br /><br /> “It’s taken two years to get my liquor license and I’m just now getting close,” says Harris, a retired hockey player who spent much of his youth in his parent’s Carmel, IN pizzeria. “I’ve been writing letters, making calls, and am constantly going to meetings. It’s disheartening how long it’s taken—not to mention the costs.”<br /><br /> For Callaway, who ran a catering service in southern California, his move to Smithfield, a modest spot of 7,500 inhabitants hugging the college town of Logan, and subsequent quest for a restaurant liquor license was similarly one of difficulty and distress.<br /><br /> Accustomed to California’s application process, Callaway encountered a different set of rules in Smithfield, a town with liquor regulations well beyond the state’s strict code. He could not purchase another’s vacated license, as one could in California, and was forced to petition the Smithfield City Council for a variance, a series of public hearings and forums to determine if Callaway’s Bistro faced “difficulties or hardships” given its inability to serve alcohol.<br /><br /> “I was going after the first restaurant liquor license in this conservative town,” says Callaway, “and I had to send letters out to everyone within an eight block radius. One dissenting council member said he’d be appalled to have his children walk home from school and pass a place serving alcohol. Such was the battle I faced.”<br /><br /> As it turns out, Harris’ and Callaway’s experiences are not uncommon. Operators across the country often find obtaining a liquor license to be a more challenging feat than anticipated. While liquor licenses once ran exclusively through the state, local municipalities sought increased say in the licenses granted within their communities. Zoning, as Jon Mejia of the California-based American Liquor License Exchange explains, has now lengthened, complicated, and overpriced the process.<br /><br /> “The local guys wanted their say and that’s placed an increased burden on the independent operator,” says Mejia, who notes Los Angeles where operators face a $6,000 price tag just to have their day in front of the zoning department—a first-step plea for a subsequent chance to deliver more paperwork, more cash, and more appeals.<br /><br /> While each state and municipality maintains its own set of regulations, Mejia, a two-decades long veteran of liquor licensing issues, offers a few general principles to move the process forward as efficiently as possible.<br /><br /> Two of the most overlooked items in applying for a license are parking, particularly in cities, and handicap accessibility, both of which demand an operator’s attention to detail and local code.<br /><br /> “These are true almost across the country,” Mejia says, “and are perhaps the critical items which most trip up operators. Don’t have them and you’ll likely run into a problem trying to get the liquor license.”<br /><br /> In an ideal world, says Mejia, the pizzeria would stand far away from residential units and so-called sensitive use facilities, such as churches, schools, parks, and hospitals. But since that leaves little else, Mejia urges operators with a choice to select a spot judiciously.<br /><br /> “If anybody’s going to throw up a real strong protest, it’s probably going to be residents so you’re sharp to avoid them,” he says, adding that community protests frequently delay license applications.<br /><br /> Most importantly, Mejia advises operators to learn the rules ahead of time, particularly those individuals opening a new spot. He relays horror stories of operators signing a lease, but failing to open their restaurant given code violations.<br /><br /> “Do your homework before you sign the lease,” he says. “Check with the appropriate agencies, both local and state, to make sure the business meets all the requirements.”<br /><br /> For operators opening a second pizzeria, Frank Fox of Chicago-based Fox’s Pizza says reputation goes a long way toward a more efficient process. Fox recently opened a new location in Chicago’s southwest suburbs, a 20-minute drive from his current spot, and says that although he got grilled by local leaders and had some moments of “hot seat wondering,” he understood that years of reputation, maintenance, presentation, and stability carried his application.<br /><br /> “[The council] knew who I was and knew I watched minors and consumption,” says Fox. “That’s the best advice I can offer to anyone, existing or new—have a clean record and they’ll respect how you conduct yourself with the product.”<br /><br /> Mejia reports that obtaining a license generally requires 90 days with costs falling anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to six figures. In Washington state, for instance, a hard liquor license might cost anywhere from $2,000-5,000; two New Jersey hard liquor licenses recently sold on the open market for $1.5 million, a nod to the speculative nature that has become more prevalent as zoning has emerged a more challenging hurdle.<br /><br /> For Casey Harris, who once thought he secured a Michigan liquor license for little more than the application fees only to watch new laws change the ballgame, a $20,000 charge is the present price tag. In an attempt to spur downtown development across the state, Michigan passed legislation in 2006 allowing business owners to purchase a liquor license for $20,000—a third of the open market’s going rate—if they could show a $75,000 investment in their downtown property coupled with a $200,000 town investment in redevelopment. Though a hefty cost, it’s a price Harris is willing to pay.<br /><br /> “It’s worth the $20,000 even if it takes a lot of pizzas to make up for it,” says Harris, who hopes to have the license in time for the summer’s active tourist season.<br /><br /> Callaway, meanwhile, now reaps the benefits of the license he obtained in 2003 following a four-year struggle. The frustrations behind him, he’s moving forward.<br /><br /> “It took an election shift on the city council to bring things around, but we finally got it done,” says Callaway. “We’ve been successful with a unique menu catering to different tastes, but now that we’re serving wine we’re no doubt getting customers that we didn’t have before.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-15503180955122784322006-12-06T14:14:00.000-06:002006-12-07T21:52:03.458-06:00Writing Sample #9: Winter Selling Season Heating up (Daily Southtown, December 1, 2006)The spring season is no longer king of the hill.<br /><br />Spring’s stranglehold on the real estate market has loosened in recent years, a result of diverse factors ranging from the Internet to industry-savvy buyers. Where people once delayed a for sale sign on the lawn until March or April, the quiet of a frosty home sales season has since subsided in favor of a more active real estate market; with snow on the ground, Christmas carols ringing, and temperatures dropping, this winter selling season looks to heat up further.<br /><br />“This winter may be one of the most active in years given that buyers have been sitting around waiting for something to happen,” said Linda Dore, a veteran agent with Orland Park’s ReMax Team 2000. “All indications are that the wild market we’ve been having for a while is slowing and that all the things buyers wanted to see happening—a settling of the market and mortgage rates—are happening.”<br /><br />For some homeowners, winter presents an ideal selling opportunity—despite an upswing of homes on the winter market supply nevertheless remains at endurable levels while the colder months also allow sellers to concentrate almost exclusively on the home’s interior. For other homeowners, however, perhaps those with a thriving landscape or dimly lit streets, winter offers some less than enticing potential. As common in the industry, homeowners must accentuate strengths and downplay weaknesses lest they risk a lingering home sale.<br /><br />Indeed, the winter real estate market is one littered with positives for some homeowners and negatives for others. Will buyers be able to enjoy the spacious patio deck and envision a summer party as they shiver in the Chicago twilight? Yet, won’t those inviting holiday decorations, fresh cookie scents, and candles provide a touch of warmth and comfort?<br /><br />The answer: well, yes and yes. With the winter season in tow, homeowners can capitalize on the cozy feelings of the holiday season as well as a decreased supply of homes while simultaneously battling weather and a withering outdoor life. Sellers have taken increased notice of winter’s potential in the sales market and erased the need to wait for the warmer months ahead. With a few wise steps, winter can deliver a winner.<br /><br />“Sometimes we pick the time to sell our home and sometimes the time picks us. If you have the flexibility to make the call as to when the home will hit the market, then consider what aspects of the home you want to highlight,” said Barb Thouvenell, managing broker and owner of PRS Associates Realtors in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.<br /><br />“We’ve seen less of a seasonal market in recent years. Sellers used to think only about spring given the opportunity to spruce up the home, but in winter people can do some simple things they can’t do in the summer to make the home more inviting such as lighting the fireplace or candles. These are easy things that can make a home feel more like a home.”<br /><br />While a well-priced, quality home prepared to sell will likely garner serious offers regardless of the season, the winter seller often needs to consider some aspects of staging that a summer seller might be able to overlook, including a seat inside the door for people to take off their shoes and accessible parking on snowy days.<br /><br />“The winter seller has to be much more prepared for bad weather and scrupulous about shoveling and making a path to the door,” Thouvenell said. “The seller simply needs to take more care and cater to buyers while realizing that something like the open house requires a little luck of the draw.”<br /><br />There are some uncomplicated ways, however, in which sellers can counter the ill effects of Chicagoland’s sometimes brutish winter months and make the most out of winter’s opportunities. Thouvenell advises clients to have summer, spring, and fall photos of the home’s exterior on display for potential buyers, a move she says “will help showcase the house in every season.” Dore, meanwhile, urges sellers to enter the market with realistic expectations and a positive attitude.<br /><br />“The number one item to know is that you’re going to get fewer showings, so staging the home properly and making the house as attractive as possible takes on added importance,” she said.<br /><br />Despite the movement toward an increasingly heated winter market, Dore cautions that the overall guiding principle of real estate holds regardless of weather and the winter season’s supply of homes.<br /><br />“If you’re going to sell your home, then you get it ready in an attractive condition,” she said. “The buyer’s expectations remain high and on an attractive product no matter the weather outside.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-23208179270669320942006-12-06T14:08:00.000-06:002006-12-07T21:57:24.325-06:00Writing Sample #8: Sizing Issues: The Snazziest and Wildest Tech Gadgets of the Season in the Palm of Your Hand (ELITE, December 2006)Bigger isn’t always better.<br /><br />In fact, in today’s tech-frenzied world, in which the complete Rolling Stones song catalog can fit into one’s palm, iPods play feature length films, and GPS systems no bigger than a pocket-sized atlas direct us where to turn, the “bigger is better” mantra continues falling victim to a revolution of pint-sized gadgets keeping us updated, connected, informed, entertained, and easily accessed. To be certain, small is the new big.<br /><br />“Everything is moving toward a smaller, more portable item,” reports Karrie Ann Peters, a digital entertainment architect at Oak Brook-based Tweeter. “People want the convenience of portability these days so they’re not lugging large items around.”<br /><br />Tech companies, meanwhile, have responded to consumer demands for portable, lightweight items. From the Apple’s iconic iPod to the Blackberry PDA units, Silicon Valley and its global cohorts have moved toward rewarding consumers with their every imaginable desire—music, video, e-mail, photos, Internet access—and doing it in a package smaller than a juice box.<br /><br />Such is the wave of the present and the future, one in which college student Nathan Kennedy slides his iPod into his left hip pocket and a cell phone into his right as he steps into class. Yet, dismiss the idea that the high-tech buzz has only affected teens and young adults, fittingly labeled iGen; indeed, technology has captured baby boomers in its web of wonderment as well, aided in large part by the industry’s renewed focus on consumer ease-of-use and technological marvel.<br /><br />As the holiday season rolls around and tech-heavy conversations take the stage, a few pocket-sized items demand immediate attention for their innovation and ability.<br /><br /><strong>iPod: Apple Video iPod<br /></strong>The iPod has achieved an envious status among corporate America—instant brand recognition and adoption into the American lexicon. Since its 2000 release, the iPod has revolutionized our listening habits—on the go, in the car, or on the run (see sidebar). With its hip marketing, portable style, and dazzling capabilities, the iPod has found its way into the hands of over 60 million Americans.<br /><br />In its latest incarnation, the Video iPod, released in late-October, Apple delivers much the same features consumers have come to expect from the chic digital media player. The 30 gig memory Video iPod ($249) can hold 7,500 songs and 2-3 feature length films; its 80 gig sibling ($349), meanwhile, boasts the ability to store 20,000 songs, 100 hours of video, and 25,000 photos.<br /><br />While many will continue to enjoy the portability of the Video iPod much the same as its predecessors, Apple’s continued focus on accessories lends the Video an even greater degree of versatility: speaker ports to play music at home; a firewire cable to transport video from the unit onto a bigger screen; and a car port to stream the variety of iPod programs into the car.<br /><br /><strong>M3 Players: Creative Zen Microphoto<br /></strong>With the market dominance of the iPod, MP3 players, once the promise-holders of the tech world, have been relegated to near second-class status. MP3 manufacturers, fighting to break through the iPod hold, are making headway by offering much the same features as their popular brethren, but arriving on store shelves at a more competitive price point.<br /><br />Among MP3 players reaching to secure a slice of praise stands the Creative Zen Microphoto. Though holding less memory than the iPod series, the 8 Gig Microphoto still possesses the ability to store as many as 4,000 songs and 1,000 photos and does so under $200. The Microphoto also boasts the ability to record meetings, memos and notes as well as work alongside Microsoft Works programs to organize a calendar and tasks.<br /><br />Says Tweeter’s Karrie Peters, “Everybody has a choice: it’s either the iPod or an MP3 player. The MP3 players are a great option for those people who don’t want to go full out, but still want to tap into the technology that’s out there.”<br /><br /><strong>Personal Digital Assistants (PDA): Blackberry 7130e<br /></strong>A one-stop shop for e-mail, phone, Internet access, and networking, PDAs have emerged among the most popular items for those seeking one high-tech item integrating a wide range of features.<br /><br />The new Blackberry 7130e provides high-speed data in the palm of your hand. With the ability to access e-mail, make phone calls, browse the web, and organize the day’s agenda, the Blackberry 7130e meets much of the day’s expectations in a PDA device—doing so in a pocket-sized, elegant unit. Other features include Bluetooth technology (the cordless ear piece), a wide color display panel, speakerphone, and laptop compatibility with the use of a single USB cable. To be used, however, the 7130e must be paired with a plan from a registered local provider such as Verizon or Sprint.<br /><br /><strong>Satellite Radio: Pioneer INNO<br /></strong>The FCC has issued but two licenses to deliver satellite radio programming—one to Sirius and the other to XM Radio. The continuing battle between the two heavyweights shapes up much the same as a championship boxing match: Sirius hits with an all Elvis station followed by the landing of shock jock Howard Stern while XM counters as the exclusive station for Major League Baseball and a partnership with Napster to cultivate digital music downloading.<br /><br />The reality: the two providers share much the same promises, including commercial free programming and top-notch clarity, features that have enticed the American public and brought millions of users on board. While each provider requires a monthly subscription fee ranging from $10-14, one must first select a compatible radio unit amid the myriad of choices.<br /><br />The Pioneer INNO, weighing in at less than 5 ounces, is one of two portable receivers available from XM Radio. An easy-to-use unit, the INNO allows users to record songs and create play lists within its 1GB of storage and arrives with a home docking station to connect with your home radio. This, of course, all pales to its primary function: clear sound and exclusive programming free of commercials.<br /><br /><strong>Navigation Systems: Alpine PMDB100 Blackbird GPS System<br /></strong>The days of poster-sized fold-up maps have disappeared in the wake of Internet mapping programs and, now, GPS systems guided by space-hosted satellites. North America’s streets are, in fact, contained in GPS units little bigger than a deck of cards.<br /><br />But sometimes the GPS system alone isn’t enough.<br /><br />Ringing in at $600, the Alpine Blackbird merges GPS navigation technology with a dash of entertainment allure. The Blackbird’s hard drive includes a music player, FM modulator, and traffic receiver. The 8-ounce system claims the preloaded maps typical of GPS systems combined with over 6 million points of interest from golf courses to hospitals. A short battery life, however, means you’ll want to keep that trusty paper map in the car.<br /><br /><strong>Technology on the Run: Nike+</strong><br />In July, Nike and Apple merged a pair of American passions—athletics and music. The debut of the Nike+ system, a collaborative venture between the two corporate giants, created a whirlwind of chatter upon its release and the buzz has yet to settle.<br /><br />A nickel-sized sensor ($30) placed under the insole of the designated Nike shoe allows the individual to track the distance walked or ran and thereafter communicate such information through the iPod Nano in a wireless-frenzied awe. During Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” for instance, the Nano will interject to inform that you’ve just completed one mile while providing your time for that distance. Athletic greats such as Lance Armstrong may later congratulate you on completing your longest run to date. Users can also create custom play lists and workouts as well as record and track their progress.<br /><br />Though Nike’s shoe selection for the Nike+ system is currently limited to a handful of models ($85-130), the company has plans to extend its use to the bulk of its running shoe line. All signs indicate, however, that the Nano will continue to be the only compatible iPod unit for the Nike+ system.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-36293325815404218622006-12-06T14:03:00.000-06:002006-12-07T22:00:47.121-06:00Writing Sample #7: Win or Die Trying while Feeling the Fire (Southland Business, July 2005)Despite street addresses that define them as teams of Chicago’s south side and current first-place records, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Fire have little else in common. The White Sox, players of America’s grandest pastime, are a century old franchise with a long line of loyal followers. The Fire, meanwhile, an eight-year-old club in Major League Soccer, represent the upstart kids—a young program with immediate success and desires for stability and growth.<br /><br />And from those differences emerge drastically variant marketing schemes. While the White Sox maintain a steady fan base in the hundreds of thousands and refine the franchise’s yearly marketing plan to bring more people into the ballpark, the Fire aggressively market their product in a different direction, simply urging people to give their game a try. With the Fire, a significant let-up can mean dangerous trouble. It’s a classic tale of keeping what you have versus earning what you want.<br /><br />In the early to mid-1990’s, when the Chicago White Sox were perennial division contenders and a uniform redesign spurred new directions, the ball club ingrained the slogan “Good Guys Wear Black” in the minds of Chicago baseball fans.<br /><br />Years later, with a slew of young talent and a quasi-rebuilding phase underway, the Sox looked at the character of their team and chimed, “The Kids Can Play.” Truth be told, some of the kids could play while others struggled to find success at the Major League level. Now, under the enterprising styles of both manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Kenny Williams, the 2005 edition of the White Sox adopted the mantra “Win or Die Trying.” In a near perfect merger of sports marketing and sports reality, the slogan has matched the team on the field as the White Sox currently boast baseball’s best record.<br /><br />“You never want to make promises with your slogans,” said Brooks Boyer, Vice President of Marketing for the Chicago White Sox. “People wanted us to play hard, smart, and win—that’s what it all comes down to. The guys on the field have taken care of what’s needed to be done.”<br /><br />Yet even before the 2005 season’s first pitch, the team’s marketing staff consistently searched for ways to better the fan experience at U.S. Cellular Field. More than ever before in American sports history, the fan’s lofty expectations have moved from the product on the field to the entire entertainment experience. Everything from music to parking and cuisine achieving an elevated level of attention in the 21st century sports world.<br /><br />“The number one priority is to make the experience great for the fan,” said Boyer. “All of the money that came from the park’s naming rights went back into the ballpark and breaking the stigma that [the new Comiskey] lacked character. We put things like a cover on the upper deck to make it more intimate and the Pontiac Fundamentals Deck so kids could have something. People are coming out and realizing that U.S. Cellular Field is a convenient, friendly place. The result is that we’ve created a fun experience for a wide range of people.”<br /><br />Couple an improved fan experience at the stadium with the tremendous success of the 2005 White Sox and new marketing ideas develop to capitalize on all the good will.<br /><br />“We got a Chevy Avalanche from a local dealer and we’ve created the White Sox bandwagon,” Boyer said. “Now, we’re taking it around and inviting people to jump on.”<br /><br />And while the bandwagon approach is a relatively new one for the White Sox, it’s old hat to the Chicago Fire. Starting from scratch in 1997, the expansion Fire had to get riders on the bandwagon immediately. And while winning traditionally breeds success at the gates, the impermanent home of Soldier Field coupled with a temporary residence at Naperville’s North Central College for two seasons, dealt the Fire some unnecessary blows in building a steady customer base despite numerous on-field successes.<br /><br />The club’s move into a new 20,000-seat stadium in Bridgeview, slated for opening in 2006, should provide the stability and continuity the Fire has long sought. With that, however, comes a new marketing focus.<br /><br />“Moving to our own home in Bridgeview, one that better suits our needs, allows us to better control the presentation of the event,” said Fire President and CEO John Guppy. “Now, we’ll reach to create a more intimate atmosphere within the stadium that’s driven by the hard-core fan. We’ll try to create something different for the live event experience. The best selling tool is always word of mouth and we’ll want people to leave talking about us.”<br /><br />While the White Sox have the benefit of season ticket holders and a steady stream of individual ticket sales, the Fire turn aggressively to group sales to spur the club’s financial fortunes. Working closely with Chicago area soccer leagues and teams, especially on the youth level, the Fire pursue group attendance at home games with a furor unlike their baseball counterparts.<br /><br />“We’re more aggressive with group sales than any other sports team in Chicago,” Guppy said. “And that’s because we have to be. To build that strong foundation, you start with people who have a connection and support for soccer.”<br /><br />And that aggressiveness extends beyond group sales, eventually reaching the average Chicago sports fan.<br /><br />“The White Sox have decades of history and awareness. Everybody knows when their seasons starts and where they are,” Guppy said. “People are not programmed in such a way with the Fire. People are aware of us, but it’s not top of the mind. That’s why it’s even more important that we’re aggressive getting in front to people and educating them on why they should come to a Fire game. Our marketing strategy is akin to a political campaign. Get in front of them and tell them why you’re a good choice.”<br /><br />Guppy also acknowledges the shift in the sporting fan’s expectations when coming to a game. Just as the White Sox aimed to create a more intimate, fan-friendly experience, the Fire seek to achieve a similar feel in their new Bridgeview stadium.<br /><br />“There are more entertainment options available for people each day and so it’s become more incumbent on sports teams to create a positive experience for the people,” said Guppy, echoing the thoughts of Boyer. “Once it was purely about what happened on the field of play. Now, it’s entirely about the experience and the entertainment value. Fifteen years ago, sports was sports. Now, more than ever before, sports is entertainment.”<br /><br />Given the realization that sports has matured into a viable entertainment option, both of Chicago’s south side teams have committed themselves to the entertainment experience first and foremost, adding another similarity to a growing list.<br /><br />“You want to make the experience as good as it can possibly be for everybody who walks in—from the diehard fan to the novice guest,” said Boyer. “You want the fans to be participants in the action, not sitting on their hands.”<br /><br />And though Boyer speaks specifically of the White Sox and U.S. Cellular one can’t help but think similar thoughts are being expressed among Guppy and his front office colleagues with the Chicago Fire.<br /><br />“The interesting thing about sports,” said Boyer, “is that the more things change, the more they actually stay the same.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-58580706005531943392006-12-06T14:00:00.000-06:002006-12-07T22:22:21.662-06:00Writing Sample #6: Inner Journey: Wayne Rutledge on Fate, Fear, and One Sure Thing--Life (USA Cycling, January 2003)His dreams of Olympic glory have faded. An existence once defined by sporting magnificence reduced to constant battles played out in the mind and in life.<br /><br />Fate, it is said, has an odd way of intervening in life’s drama. What once may have seemed certain and right may be challenged and thrown in the most tragic and unexpected of directions. Such is the case with the tale that follows.<br /><br />While the story’s primary action may have taken place on May 25, 2002 at the Encino (California) Velodrome, the script’s pen is still to the page months later—and it’s unlikely to be lifted anytime soon. For in the life of 20-year-old Wayne Rutledge, nothing is certain and everything is taken one day at a time.<br /><br /><strong>A fantastic specimen</strong><br />By all accounts, Wayne Rutledge was well on his way to an athletic career filled with success. An accomplished speedskater, an in fact an Olympic hopeful in that sport as well, the Buena Park, California teen took up cycling in 1997 as a cross-training activity only to soon discover that he was a natural fit for the bike, his 6-4, 210-pound frame making him a Goliath in the saddle and a powerful rider with intense, untapped ability.<br /><br />His prowess was evident, even to the likes of U.S. National Track Coach Des Dickie.<br /><br />“I told the kid he was a fantastic specimen for sprinting,” said Dickie. “He had the potential, but he needed to be in a structured program. It would have taken time, but the talent was there for a coach to work with.”<br /><br />So impressed was Dickie with Rutledge that he attempted to earn the youngster acceptance into the resident athlete program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where training would become Rutledge’s sole focus. With no results nationally, however, his application was denied. Nevertheless, Dickie invited Rutledge to participate in various USA Cycling elite training camps in Chula Vista, California. There, Rutledge, still a relative novice on the track, continued to impress.<br /><br />It was widely agreed upon, the future of Wayne Rutledge was colored in bright lights.<br /><br /><strong>"I’m grateful I have life"</strong><br />In southern California, on a traditional May evening in 2002, 19-year-old Wayne Rutledge’s life was threatened in an untraditional way.<br /><br />Riding in a kierin qualifying heat at the Encino Velodrome’s racing series, Rutledge made a move for the second position coming out of the fourth turn. His wheel tangled with another rider seeking the same spot and, at nearly 40 miles per hour, Rutledge went down, his head taking the brunt of the fall.<br /><br />Within seconds, the 19-year-old Rutledge went from a youthful existence as an Olympic hopeful to battling for his life.<br /><br />Rushed to a nearby hospital, an unconscious Rutledge had the first of two brain surgeries within one hour of the crash, his second brain surgery came the following morning. Doctors reasoned that he could be in a coma for up to one year. There was also the possibility that he would never awake.<br /><br />In a week, however, Rutledge was out of his coma. Two weeks later, he walked out of the hospital.<br /><br />“I look over the 600 pages of medical records and I’m grateful for everything I have now,” said Rutledge. “I was supposed to be in a wheel chair not able to read or write or have any motor function. It’s hard for me to think about, but I’m grateful I have life.”<br /><br />Following Rutledge’s crash, an outpouring of support arrived from those near and far. Hundreds of comments poured onto a message board set up at fixedgearfever.com while family, friends, concern, and prayer blanketed the hospital waiting room.<br /><br />“There was an outpouring of support from the cycling community that truly touched us,” said Don Somerville, Rutledge’s brother. “A tremendous amount of people, maybe too many, came to the hospital and shared their blessings and hopes with our family. It was so difficult because we went from one end of the spectrum to the other so quickly.”<br /><br />And some individuals outside of Rutledge’s immediate family went above and beyond. Ashley Knight, Rutledge’s girlfriend, took the 60-mile drive to the hospital each day. Rutledge training partners Jay Brown and Dave Hansen lent consistent support while Mark Perez, a Los Angeles County Firefighter and cycling father, took responsible control of the accident scene to care for Rutledge’s safety. Scott Patton, director of fixedgearfever.com, offered his website to allow others the opportunity to share their thoughts and well wishes with the Rutledge family.<br /><br />“Laying in a hospital bed not know what happened is a scary thing,” said Patton, himself speaking from experience. “Being unable to get to see Wayne, [putting up a message board on the website] was something I could do to let he and his family know that friends were behind them. The Internet has a way of letting people know. Cyclists, in general, are good-hearted people. We all risk our lives on bikes every day and when we hear of a ‘brother’ going down, we want to reach out . . . . I think it was really quite therapeutic for everybody to post and read.”<br /><br />The story of Wayne Rutledge touched and affected many outside of his immediate circle, a sign of the cycling community’s tight-knit ways and ability to see beyond the differences to discover the overall shared community that exists.<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>It’s a daily struggle</strong><br />Months after his accident, there is little to indicate that Wayne Rutledge touched death’s hand only to slap it away for a second chance at living. With long hair, a baseball cap, and a button-up shirt, the visible scars of Rutledge’s near fatal encounter are well concealed. The interior scars, however, run deeper.<br /><br />The injuries incurred in the fall have affected the right frontal lobe of Rutledge’s brain, where planning and future goals are practiced, as well as the left rear, where language and long-term memory processes occur.<br /><br />“Emotionally and mentally, it’s a daily struggle,” said Somerville, one of Rutledge’s closest confidants.<br /><br />Rutledge is currently enrolled in a two-year academic program at Coastline Community College in Costa Mesa, California. Designed for individuals who have suffered a diverse variety of brain injuries, the Acquired Brain Injury program focuses on all aspects of critical thinking and reestablishing a new thought process with particular attention paid to future possibilities. Brain injuries, however, are a curious thing. Oftentimes, remarkable strides occur immediately before the progress flatlines; yet, for every individual the process differs. Where the path of Wayne Rutledge’s future leads is a tremendous question mark.<br /><br />“Getting through the situation I’m in right now is first and foremost,” said Rutledge. “I want to get a better education. I have things I would’ve liked to have done, but now I don’t know what the future holds.”<br /><br />Others maintain added hopes for Rutledge and his uncertain future.<br /><br />“I hope [Wayne] eventually makes a significant recovery and finds something in his life that will define him and give meaning to him,” said Somerville. “His identity was so tied to his success on the bike and now, with that removed, I want him to find something that gives him a solid sense of identity.”<br /><br />One thing not in Rutledge’s future is a trip around the velodrome. Another fall could prove fatal.<br /><br />“Deep inside, I can’t put myself back on the bike because I have the fear of dying,” he said. “I thought about being in the hospital as nationals came along and I had the idea I’d be fine, but logically I wasn’t going to be fine.<br /><br />“I totally loved cycling, so much so that I put speedskating on the backburner. I could ride anytime and I love being outdoors. On the bike, I could go-go-go and never have to worry. It’s hard for me to find an activity now that I can do that can take the place of cycling. I hope there is something that can fill that void, but I don’t know when, where, or if ever that will come.”<br /><br /><strong>"I’m just moving on"</strong><br />While May 25, 2002 may be the day that forever altered the course of Wayne Rutledge’s life, it is not the day that will define him, he says.<br /><br />“I have a [resilient] attitude. I’m in bad shape, I’m not going to lie. Things happen each day when I question why this happened to me—and I hope no other cyclist ever has to go through what I went through—but daily I just thank God that I’m alive.<br /><br />“I’m just going on with my life. There were things I may have taken for granted before, like reading or writing, but now I have a whole new look on life. It’s a day-to-day thing. Today, I did this. Tomorrow, I’ll do that and a little extra. Things happen for a reason and I just have to believe and trust that.”<br /><br />Indeed, fate has an odd way of intervening in life’s drama and, to Wayne Rutledge, live dealt a crushing hand. Yet, life is not over. It has been altered drastically, yes, but it is far from over.<br /><br />“I’m just moving on,” said Rutledge, “thankful that I have life.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-58451079963062280932006-12-06T13:56:00.000-06:002006-12-07T22:19:28.668-06:00Writing Sample #5: Maintaing Values Will Remain Reagan's True Legacy (Chicago Sun-Times, June 23, 2004)Ronald Reagan has been laid to rest, but a legacy stands.<br /><br />In the past days, the nation has been inundated with recollections of America’s 40th president. People have spoke of Reagan’s success in bringing the Cold War to a close; his impact on today’s political structure; and his lasting legacy as a President and man. We have also been deluged by video and audio clips detailing Reagan’s life, including perhaps his most famous words at a 1987 Berlin Wall speech in which the President said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”<br /><br />A line that changed history. A line that almost didn’t happen.<br /><br />Presidential speechwriter Peter Robinson drafted the now famous speech and was met with immediate resistance from both his superiors and other government agencies, including the State Department and the National Security Council. The point of contention centered on Robinson’s—and ultimately Reagan’s—direct language in addressing Gorbachev and the Berlin Wall.<br /><br />Despite concerns, Reagan said he didn’t want to drift around the topic. No, the President wanted to make it clear to Gorbachev and others that the wall must vanish if peace was to prevail.<br /><br />Up until the final day, NSC and State Department officials submitted alternative drafts, most deleting the wall reference or at best relying on vague, pretentious language. Reagan, however, remained committed to the truthful and sincere diction.<br /><br />“The boys at the State are going to kill me, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said.<br /><br />We can speak of Reagan’s leading role in ending Cold War hostilities or his action in the oval office. Yet, what we must always remember about Reagan is not his foreign policy or legislation, but rather a man who acted on deeply rooted principles. True, we cannot all change history as Reagan did, but we can lead our lives based on values and truths we hold dear.<br /><br />And that should be Reagan’s enduring legacy.Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956867026360565225.post-90520278325556384462006-12-06T13:52:00.000-06:002006-12-07T22:08:24.266-06:00Writing Sample #4: Singles Increasingly Navigating the Real Estate Road Alone (Daily Southtown, August 15, 2004)Maybe Dave Cahill wasn’t like so many others, but purchasing the first home—and doing so alone—has a way of placing us all on the same plateau.<br /><br />When Cahill, a 28-year-old native Southsider and area manager for Chicago Beer/Budweiser, made the decision to purchase his first home he was armed with a wealth of patience and a positive outlook.<br /><br />“I guess my situation was a little unique,” says Cahill, “because I wasn’t opposed to living at home and saving my money. There was no rush for me.”<br /><br />Still Cahill, like so many other singles, trod a path traditionally tread arm and arm with another. But with a hot housing market and “a loan for everybody” reality, 21st century singles are waving good-bye to rent checks or the parents’ abode and greeting mortgage payments. Now, more than ever in the nation’s history—and certainly the Chicago area—singles are signing on the dotted mortgage line and taking the keys to their new home.<br /><br />“The 100 percent loans and other beneficial programs like that have allowed single people and younger people to get in the market earlier,” said Pam Patterson, a managing broker with Re/Max All Properties based in New Lenox. “I’m selling more and more to singles and I’d have to say that’s a trend across the board as well.”<br /><br />About ten years ago, Patterson recalls selling a home to a single woman who was called a spinster on the title.<br /><br />“Imagine that—a spinster,” she says. “Times have changed haven’t they?”<br /><br />Indeed they have. Double-digit loan rates of the past have been replaced with slim rates in the six percent range, adjustable rate mortgages, and a general view that the home is a safe investment.<br /><br />“Singles—and everybody in general really—have so many more options available to them. There are adjustable rates, interest only loans, and just about anything for somebody to get their foot in the door,” said Jim DeSantis, a 25-year real estate veteran with Oak Lawn-based Century 21 Accent-Homefinders who has also observed a spike in single homebuyers over recent years. “Everybody knows how the market’s been accelerating and people are eager to get into it.”<br /><br />Outside of less stringent mortgage plans, a plethora of other factors have led to an increased amount of single homebuyers. Most notably, a stronger condominium market than ever before has invited singles to enjoy the benefits of homeownership without much of the maintenance. An altered view of homeownership, meanwhile, has singles seeking the home as a singular step to another phase of life. Whereas it was once marriage and then the home, the home is increasingly entering the equation ahead of the nuptials.<br /><br />“I think singles are looking at the home as a stepping stone,” said DeSantis. “They have an idea of the type of property they may want to be in somewhere down the road and if they choose to get married, then they have a property that functions as that stepping stone. It’s better than renting; you can build equity and look at the home as an investment. People are saying this more and more.”<br /><br />But purchasing a home as a single does not come without its trepidations. The aforementioned Cahill had his concerns about forging ahead on his own.<br /><br />“I thought back and forth about staying at home and saving more money because money was the major concern,” he said. “You keep asking yourself if you’ll have enough for everything. And I definitely didn’t know anything going in—about taxes, mortgages, the loan process.”<br /><br />Both DeSantis and Patterson say such concerns arrive with credibility. Both veteran real estate agents merely encourage single buyers to investigate the entire scope of their situation.<br /><br />“You have to be cautious not to overextend yourself,” says DeSantis, “because there’s not another person to share that burden with you. Yes, you may be approved for a $300,000 home, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend that much. You have to be more specific and positive about your income.”<br /><br />Patterson offers similar guidance.<br /><br />“Have extra money in reserve in case something comes up—that’s the reality,” she said. “There are also home warranties that can protect you from the unexpected; you can know that things will be taken care of.”<br /><br />After enlisting the help of Coldwell Banker’s Kristin Vanoni, herself a single first-time homebuyer, Cahill has settled nicely into his two-bedroom, two-bath Chicago Ridge condo. Though concerns have not vanished, Cahill has nonetheless found the positive in his bold decision.<br /><br />“I was never intimidated to ask questions and having an agent not far removed from the process herself helped that,” Cahill said. “I’m seeing that I need to manage my money better and having the home has helped me with that. I still don’t understand half the technical jargon, but at least now I know the steps to take and the timetable to get things rolling.”Daniel P. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12979181762118993860noreply@blogger.com