Hi Everyone,

We thought that we'd send out a few notes to let everyone know what's happening with you and your fellow ORA colleagues.

We'll send these notes out periodically.  We'll share information, ask questions, suggest possible opportunities and provide whatever we can to help your business reach your goals. 

It's our collective organization.  So we can make it work however we want.

Hopefully these occasional notes will keep you in the loop if you miss out on some of the actions your colleagues are taking.

We hope that everyone is having a good year,

   

ORA restaurants dominate Oakland Magazine's Best Of...

Let me give a "shout out" to all of the winners of Oakland's Magazine's Best of:

 

For that special night you might want to drop by A Cote, voted the Most Romantic. If you are just chilling and taking in the view...how about Lake Chalet. For breakfast, try Chop Bar's "Baconized" Bloody Mary, voted the Best Meal in a Glass. And if you just want a dynamite experience you have to stop by Pican. Voted Best Overall ( shameless plug).

 

Oakland Food scene continues to generate positive image ...Forbes Magazine selected Oakland as the 16th best city to visit...again the food scene...yeah us!! ...this on the heels of the NY Times 5th 2012 Must Visit City.

 

President Obama in Oakland ---Hey did anyone cash in on President Barrack Obama's visit to Oakland---Flora? Can't Fail Caf�?

 

Special nights generate revenue & excitement...

First Friday's continues to be the buzz in Uptown. Jack London has launched Jack's Night Market And Temescal is always hopping. Glenview, the Lake Area---y'all out there?

 

Did I hear y'all say Food trucks? ---Mark is representing ORA at a meeting with the Food Truck Task Force on Monday August 27. Drop him a note with any insight as to how the new FT ordinance has effected your business since it went into effect earlier this year. Good vibes? Bad experience? Mark's email is meverton@jdvhotels.com

 

A plea---I could use some help---linens and music licensing companies---let me know if I can chat with you about these.

 

And BTW, what are y'all doing about the drought--- raising prices; adjusting portions; nothing yet? The combination of an ever increasing amount of feed corn being diverted to ethanol production and the Midwest drought have pushed corn prices up 60% this year to record high levels. This translates into higher beef, pork and poultry prices. Many ranchers are reducing their herds as they cannot feed them this summer. Record high prices for protein based staples are expected to skyrocket this fall and into 2014

 

Twenty of us have banded together and are launching The Oakland Card---more information can be found at www.marqeta.com/oaklandcard. There is a listing of restaurants on board and how you can sign up.

 

 

Chis Pastena, of Chop Bar (left), has home grown guests like Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown stopping in---must be for the Chop Bar Burger.

 

Kevin Best of The B Restaurant & ERA Art Bar & Lounge has a softball squad that he claims will take on any ORA teams---please kick his North Carolina Tar Heel butt for this Duke Blue Devil.

 

If you've done a promotion with Living Social, Yelp, GroupOn or one of the coupon programs, let's discuss---Speaking of Yelp, Jack London Square is hosting Yelp's Summer Beerwalk Empire on September 8. Yelp opened RSVP's for the event at noon on Wednesday and by 12:04 over 500 Yelpers had already signed up.

 

Also, is anyone out there interested in joining forces to buy tickets to events, getting hotel accommodations (that's a hint Mark) here as a reward for employees?

 

That's it for now...drop me a line and let me know what you'd like to see included.

 

Until the next time, make sure you check out what's Under The Table.

 

  

October 2012: BMI/ASCAP Licensing & Fees - DATE TBD

Any establishment, including a restaurant, that wants to play music that will be heard by the general public needs to purchase public performance rights-- the right to play music that the general public will hear in one way or another. Public performance rights licensing is now handled by two very large companies named ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) that simplify the process. Each one handles a catalog of about 4,000,000 songs.

 

If you do not pay and you get caught, you can be sued. Beware, the fines are pretty steep -- sometimes thousands of dollars. Join us to learn how to best respond to this issue, it promises to be a frank and entertaining conversation!

 

November 2012: Chef's Roundtable

First of its kind for chefs only! Limited to 6 chefs to get together to discuss:

Back-of-the house issues; the latest trends in food; sourcing product here in the East Bay; vendors & purveyors; owners; wages; stagiers; California labor laws; meal periods in Oakland; ways to band together for better pricing, lower costs...Chefs determine the topics. 

 

December 2012: Online Reputation Management