25th anniversary header
June 1, 2010

  We're Having A Party!
Come Celebrate With Us, Thursday, June 3rd at 5pm.
Special Appearance by Steve Sharp


steve sharpLoyal customers, employees past and present, friends and family you are all invited to our open house this Thursday from 5pm till ????

We will have appetizers, drinks, and plenty of memories to share.

Steve Sharp will play at 5:30. We really hope to see you there.

Sincerely,
Ray and Rita





With all we had to prepare for last weeks newsletter we were a day or two late. This week with our planned open house for Thursday we wanted to get it out early. Here are links to all four chapters of our story.


Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four
Around the Industry
2010 National Restaurant Show Report
By Ray

nra show

I am a 30 plus year veteran of the National Restaurant Show. It is one of the largest "conventions" in the world. I find it really interesting to observe the changes over the course of all these years. The reason being is that our industry is a microcosm of our society and our economy. The restaurant industry has it's fingers into almost every segment of American life. We also employee more people than any other industry. I am sure there will be other numbers claimed that might not match my observations, but I found the attendance and exhibitors down again this year. I would have to guess it is about half of what it was 2 or 3 years ago. Most of the old standard, large companies that have been exhibiting for years were still there. I found a very noticeable lack of start up companies and small businesses with fresh ideas. It could be because of a lack of small business capital, the cost of exhibiting or just the fragility of our economy.

NRA ShowEvery year the "hot dog wars" are getting more fierce. In the past you might have had one or two booths giving out quartered hot dogs. Now there are about ten major producer giving out full size puppies complete with every topping you can think of. Nathans, Vienna, Dietz and Watson,Eisenburg and Bobaks just to name a few.





I went to my first seminar on the health care reform and how it will effect businesses like mine. The National Restaurant Association claims they just tried to limit the exposure to its members versus actually fighting it. They claim to have had a hand in setting the 50 employee threshold for applying some of the rules. I was amazed at how much of the legislation is still unwritten and find it very scary that it will probably be some bureaucrat that will be writing the fine print. They have a complicated formula for calculating part time employees into full time employees. From the sounds of it if you are close to that 50 employee threshold you will not want to go over it.  In the end, it might mean that it would be less expensive to close the last couple days of the month rather than cross that threshold. Either way if you are close to the threshold you will certainly think twice before you grow your business and hire more people. The bookkeeping is going to be a major, major burden. They are using a monthly cycle just like your health insurance bill. So if you pay weekly or biweekly you will have to find some way to provide the data monthly. They also talked about some of the reasons that we are where we are today, one of them being our nations obesity and the effect on all of our health care.

Coincidentally, shortly after writing this I read this article from The Business Journal of Milwaukee. It gives several examples of how this is going to effect the restaurant industry. Including several examples of how operators are planning to downsize and even sell off some of their operations to fall below the the threshold. I have a feeling this is not the last time I will be writing about this.
Health Care Article


Yelp LogoAnother seminar that interested me was on the web service called Yelp. Yelp is to business and consumer networking what Facebook and Myspace are to social networking. At Yelp, businesses and consumers network mainly through reviews. They claim 85% of all the reviews are positive. It also makes it easy to gauge for yourself if the review is truly a negative review or just a negative reviewer. It can also help you as business owner to improve your weaker points. If get one review that says your bread is stale it could be a bad reviewer. If you get several that your bread is stale, well then your bread is probably stale. They even have an I-phone app where you can point your phone down a street and your phone will show what is on that street complete with reviews.

Click here for a sample of Yelp!


Purple Pig LogoOn to the dining scene, one of the fringe benefits of going to the show is you get see new dining trends i.e. eating out. I am still not sure what to call this type of restaurant. Lets call it "communal". They are very heavy on charcuterie, meat, game, small plates and sharing not just plates but long tables with other groups of diners. In the last couple of years it was Publican and Bristol that opened in the outlying areas as well as Rootstock this year. It must be a real trend now because one has just opened on Michigan Avenue called The Purple Pig.

Purple Pig



Is the show moving? It sounds like a new contract is in negotiation and a decision might be near. There has been a lot of press in the last year about how much more expensive McCormick Place is than any other major convection center in the US. What is funny is when you talk to a bartender, server, or taxi driver it is their favorite week of the year. They say things like "you restaurant people tip, you are easy to wait on and are appreciative". When you ask which one is the worst, it is medical related conventions. It would be a major loss if it leaves Chicago

From Farm to Restaurant
Epiphany Farm
by Ryan

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune (see link below) recognized a young man that had spent a few years working as a chef in the Las Vegas restaurant scene. He had a few years of culinary school under his belt and a few years of working under famous chefs, most notably Thomas Keller.
Epiphany Farms
It took only a few years for the Las Vegas scene to wear him out. He came up with this idea to grow his own food, feed his own livestock and then take that food and serve it at his restaurant. The reason I mention this article is because the restaurant is going to be located in Bloomington, Illinois. Just an hour from here, this idea is something to keep our eyes on.


Ken Myska left Las Vegas and moved to Downs, Illinois. With the help of his wife and a couple of recruits he has already completed research and built his farm (Epiphany Farm), he is currently in the growing process and next year is the planned opening of his restaurant.

The restaurant is not yet named and it will be an upscale, fine dining restaurant which begs the question of survival, especially in this economy, in a rural area. The idea behind replacing food cost with farming and labor costs is an idea that has not yet been proven to work, but it is a very intriguing idea to know that everything you serve is only what you've handled, grown and harvested. Truly an organic restaurant, it will be interesting to find out if Ken Myska makes it. He's only an hour away and this was a story we thought you might be interested in following.

Chicago Tribune Article
New Way to Find Us
Honey Let's Eat
by Ryan


Honey Let's EatHere is a new way to find us over the web.  honeyletseat.com This website provides monthly deals where the site visitor has a chance to win $25 gift cards to area restaurants. They also offer sweet deals of the day that might be as simple as a free appetizer. You can sign up and have these "sweet deals" emailed to you weekly. It doesn't cost you anything.

The website contains menus of all LaSalle county restaurants that have signed up with the site and also directs you to the restaurants website, if they have one. How many times do you thumb through the phone book looking for menus or how often do you surf the web trying to find an online menu? Well, now you have this one simple location to help you place that carry-out order that much faster.

Honey is also linked with facebook and twitter.

Honey Let's Eat
Not Your "Everyday" Specials

seafood trio newFriday Nights, Seafood Mixed Grill
It includes a  4 oz lobster tail with drawn butter, 4 oz salmon filet with basil cream and 4 oz whitefish parmesan with lemon caper butter.  All for only $19.75








steak diane
Monday Nights, Steak Diane
Every Monday after 4 pm, we will be serving Steak Diane for $13.75.  This will be just like the Red Door Inn.  With Victor's stamp of approval.









fajitasSunday, All Day, 
Sizzling Sunday Fajita and Margaritas

You get a chicken fajita for two with a 64 ounce pitcher of margaritas for only $20! Imagine this on a Sunday afternoon on the patio or at a sidewalk table with the sunshine and a nice breeze!  No, your not in Cabo, but it sure feels like it! 



On Our Special
Blackberry Point Oysters on the Half Shell
Blackened Duck Breast
Tomatillo Chicken Nachos
Panini Sandwich with Manchego Cheese and  Roasted Vegetables Including Yellow   Squash, Zucchini, Red Peppers and Portobello Mushrooms.
Jumbo Soft Shell Crabs   
Lemon Sole Bonne Femme
Steamed Mussels and Lemongrass Over Linguini
Balsamic Mint Glazed Sugar Snap Peas
Win a Free Lunch


Foodie Fight Free Lunch Contest
by Kris

foodie fightEach week in the newsletter we will ask 3 questions from the Foodie Fight cards.  The first person to email us (see link below) the correct answers to all three questions will receive a complimentary free lunch.  The winner has to have the correct answer for all three questions, no exceptions.  The following week we will publish the correct answers and the winner from the previous week.  So come on in and have a drink, study the cards, test each other and have fun.    Good Luck!




1. What crop is grown in the United States only on one single plantation?
 
2. Who is credited with developing the methods for making champagne?
 
3. What is the general term for cheeses made with milk from animals that live on the farm where the cheese is made?
 
[email protected]

Fine Print...
You must be the first person to respond with all three correct answers.
The response must go to the email address in the above link.
You must reply within 24 hours from the time the newsletter is published.
Participants are eligible to win a limit of 3 times a year.

Last Week questions and answers....

1. What is the Spanish toast to health?   Salud
 
2. Who was the first president to hire a French chef for the White House? Thomas Jefferson
 
3. How many large whole eggs yields 1 cup?     Five

Last weeks winner of the free lunch ... Mary Kramer
Playlist Theater
 Tickets on sale now.            

Upcoming Shows    


griffin house 1Griffin House
Friday
June 4th
SOLD OUT









roy davisRoy Davis

Friday
August 13th
Tickets on sale now



Uptown Grill
601 First St.
La Salle, Il 61301
815-224-4545
Mon - Thur 11 am to 10pm  - Fri & Sat 11 am to 11 pm
Sun Noon to 10 pm
 
Uptowngrill.com
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