Vine Solutions, Inc.
June 2010 Newsletter 
In This Issue
Restaurant Comps
Adriano Paganini
Vine Clinet Survey
Quick Links
FeaturedArticle: 
Opening a Restaurant in Los Angeles
 
"Building a restaurant involves almost all the building trades-Mechanical, architectural,  health, grease control, electrical-and each one requires a different set of inspections"- Raymond Chan, Executive Officer of The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety as quoted in The New York TImes
 
Excise Tax on Restaurant Comps

It has come to our attention at Vine Solutions that many restaurant owners and operators are not aware that when you comp liquor, beer, or wine for your guests that tax is owed to the Franchise Tax Board on that comp at cost.  An example would be a $10.00 glass of wine comped for a guest; that comp would be reduced to its cost (let's say 30% for this example) of $3.00 and then taxed at the local sales tax rate.  If the local sales tax is 9.25%, then the tax due on the example comp would be $0.28.  This expense would then be allocated directly to your liquor, beer or wine cost quarterly when the return is filed. 

The tax expense for comps will show up in your General Ledger report under liquor, wine, or beer expense as "excise tax"; that is the tax expense for your comps for a quarter.  For most restaurants, the total expense won't be more than $150 per quarter with the average for Vine Solutions clients running $50 to $100 per quarter. 

If you have any questions about excise tax, don't hesitate to ask your Vine Solutions Client Manager or GL Accountant.

Sincerely,
 
John Priest
Vine Restaurant Spotlight
These days, the level of difficulty surrounding the conception of a single successful restaurant remains insurmountable, and often times, a rarity. Imagine then, the accuracy and forward thinking required to open your forth highly successful and well-respected venue. This month, Vine Solutions would like to focus on an individual who has done just that; with the opening of Super Duper in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, Adriano Paganini has added his forth uniquely distinctive restaurant concept to his already stellar list of eateries.
 
As founder and creator of Pasta Pomodoro, Paganini knows a thing or two about what it takes to make it in the dining world. His vision is simple; create several distinctly diverse cuisine concepts within hip urban locations which allow for high volume selling, offering smaller portions at moderate price points. As one of our Client Managers, David Gray appropriately proported, " His restaurants are fully realized; meaning the designs are always tight, the brand is fully fleshed out, and you truly feel as though the concept was completely thought out. Everything was done appropriate to it's design- from sinage to smallwares."
 
Super Duper which just recently opened in April of 2010, materialized when Adriano, along with his two business partners, Edmondo Sarti and Deborah Blum, felt San Francisco needed a "Kick-ass" burger concept offering fast food with slow food values. All of their ingredients are derived from local, organic farms producing the freshest and most environmentally-friendly meals possible.
Starbelly,which is also located in the same neighborhood, is cut from the same block of sustainable values while offering California comfort food at its finest.
 
Restaurants, Beretta and Delarosa were the first to be conceived with Adriano and Chef Ruggero Gadaldi (as well as Deborah Blum of Super Duper, Starbelly) and set the momentum for the high standard of varied restaurant concepts. Beretta, which is located in the Mission district of San Francisco, offers diners contemporary Italian food, honing in on the fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced options. They are always known for their creative and masterful cocktails. Delarosa, situated in the Marina, offers a wide selection of antipastas, salads, Roman-style pizzas, pastas and artisanal beer.  
 
So, whether you fancy a portobella burger from Super Duper or are craving a Roman-style pizza from Beretta, one common denominator remains; you will receive a meal with the freshest ingredients that support local farmers steeped in sustainable practices.  
 
 Super Duper     DelarosaBerettaStarbellyDelarosa
Just a Reminder... 
 
The deadline for completion of the Client Survey from Vine Solutions is June 20th.
 
For those of you who have already taken the survey, we'd like to thank you for your invaluable contribution. For those clients who've yet to take our 2010 Client Survey, we'd like to reinforce the importance of collecting your responses. The purpose of this survey is to consistently monitor whether Vine Solutions services are meeting the needs of our clients.

The Survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete in full. The answers will provide us with your comments and opinions which are crucial to the Vine Solutions goal of providing you with the best possible service. 
Please click on the link below to start the survey. 
Opening Restaurants in LA just got a bit Easier
 
With a notably notoriously failing system of prolonged processes and a contradictory sets of rules, the City of Los Angeles has set out to streamline the development of the food business procedures, ultimately, making it easier for new venue start-ups. 
 
The decision to restructure the permitting process came after Carol Schatz, President of the Central City Association, grew tired of being inundated with numerous complaints regarding the inconsistent nature of permits. Restaurant owners would continually describe their poor experiences associated with every step of the process, giving credence to the fact that a lot needed to change to make the system more efficient and effective. In some cases it was reported to take up to two years to have fully satisfied the necessary bureaucratic requirements to obtain permits.
 
As Schatz explains in The New York Times, ..."The rise in Downtown's restaurant and bar business has been key to the area's revitalization. It has provided approximately 17,000 jobs, half in construction and the other half for waiters, bartenders, and other food service workers" making the need for a streamlined system that actually supports the opening of new restaurants a vital necessity. 
 
City Officials are working diligently to cut the permit process in half; what used to take a restaurant 12 to 18 months to complete, will now take 6-9 months under the new procedure. In an effort to help enact such steps, many agencies are stepping up to provide assistance to restaurant owners and developers. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety has started assigning case managers to each new restaurant developer to expedite the permit process.  The City of Los Angeles with the help of the County Department of Public Health, has worked together to eliminate the inconsistencies associated with all agencies' rules and inspection policies. This will hopefully provide a more regulated governing process.
 
     Karsson Hevia
     Vine Solutions, Inc.