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Vine News, February 2010
Vine Restaurant Spotlight;A "Street" worth Stopping
 
Los Angeles has long since been renowned as a Mecca for wonderfully creative and award-winning restaurants. However, the challenge for creating a dynamically different eatery, one in which transports the true flavors of worldly street food and combines them with environmentally sustainable practices, is sure to gain attention. This month we wanted to delve deeper into this newly opened restaurant worthy of its' new found praise.
 
Through her travels around the world, chef and entrepreneur Susan Feniger along with chef Kajsa Alger, founded Street Restaurant in Los Angeles. Susan's goal was to take the heart and soul of generational cooking among the vast cultures of Latin America and the Unites States and offer the wonderful array of flavors all in one restaurant. As Susan herself describes it, "It's like a trip around the food stands of the world under one roof."  
 
For Susan, this was the restaurant she'd always dreamt of opening. Her true passion for culinary exploration and overwhelming influence from street chefs prompted the discovery of Street. A comfortable atmosphere and setting where one can sit outside and socialize with friends, meanwhile experience a journey of gourmet  flavors and cultures.
 
For more information and location for Street, Click here
Numbers to Notice 
 
With the New Year gaining fast momentum, many restaurateurs are utilizing 2010 to implement significant changes to soften their bottom line.  In years prior, restaurant owners may have been more inclined to purchase without searching for savings; vendors, food choices, equipment purchases, and even things such as rent. However, with the impact of the economic downturn, such modifications are being made by small and large companies alike. 
 
In the January issue of Restaurants and Institutions Magazine, the article published,"Buying In" discusses in detail such topics. In it, they reported 68% of restaurateurs prolonging the purchase of necessary equipment due primarily because of the influence the economy has had on their business. However, as with any situation, there are positives with which one can derive. 
 
Using the current status of the economy as a time to re-think the way money is spent in the business, could result in a potential benefit to the company as a whole. Re-negotiating a lower rent per month for your business, for instance, is a way to help minimize costs.  In addition, researching alternative options for equipment and products is also another viable option, suggests Allison Perlik, Senior Editor with Restaurants and Institutions Magazine. Searching sites such as eBay and Craigslist.org may result in the same quality products for less. 
 
In this time when the economy is forcing many to make drastic business changes, the goal is to continue to seek out positive alternatives in any way to boost company morale and keep your head above water. For More solutions on how to manage your company's expenses and to stay better connected to the options available, contact your Client Manager at Vine Solutions.
Going Against the Grain; The Main ingredient to Restaurant Preservation?
 
Imagine a dining experience with the absence of defined appetizers and entrees.  One where the restaurant's signatures' consist primarily of Spanish tapas creations and hand-dipped liquid nitrogen cocktails.  Sound crazy? So said the skeptics of the newly opened restaurant, The Bazaar, located within the SLS hotel in Beverly Hills, Ca. However, the trendy spot for locals and celebrities alike, has shown it's resilience by grossing 13 million within it's first year of conception.  Their small plate and cocktail-centic menu has proven many restauraters' theories that abandoning the traditional dining experience can have it's perks. 
 
With the desire to place more emphasis into the bar, creator Jose Andres of The Bazaar restauraunt, deliberately designed the dining room around the bar itself, allowing for it's primary focus to circulate around the appeal for chic cocktails and small, but beautiful food. This trend toward smaller plates has grown increasingly popular in the food movement over the last several years, and has shown to be a successful solution in offering smaller portions without the appearance of neglecting those taste buds of their loyal customers.
 
Whether you still crave the large, traditional meals or enjoy the uniquness of small, tapas-style dining, one cannot deny that the economic status for most American's these days has shown to directly affect the way in which they dine.  When smaller, more affordable options are offered, reasearch has shown that patrons will likely choose several smaller dishes over one larger, more expensive selection.
 
To read more from the Wall Street Journal about this restaurant, click here
Protect Yourself; Beware of existing scams
 
Unfortunately, with the technical age growing increasingly savvy, so do the scammers who pray on companies and individuals in an effort to sabotage them.  It is our goal at Vine Solutions to create awareness of those scams in an effort to help protect our clients' important assets. To read more about the latest scam from the Corporate Compliance Center, Click here
Vine Solutions News
 
In Honor of President's Day, Vine Solutions will be closed on Monday, February 15th.  We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, February 16th.
In This Issue
"Street" Restaurant
"The Bazarr" Restaurant in Los Angeles

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