Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

 Fantastic dessert that can make an excellent addition to a brunch or you can enjoy on a late afternoon.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup cold butter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoons almond extract
• FILLING:
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Remove 1 cup and set aside. To the remaining crumbs, add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the sour cream, egg and almond extract; mix well. Spread in the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of a greased 10-in. spring form pan.
2. For the filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg in a small bowl until blended. Pour over batter; spoon raspberry jam on top. Sprinkle with almonds and reserved crumbs.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; remove sides from pan.               

Enjoy!

Courtesy of Susan Litwiller

How to WOW your customers after they leave your restaurant

  With competition growing quite rapidly in the restaurant business, it is important for restaurants to turn one-time customers into lifetime customers. Here, we have included four ways to guide every restaurant owner of how to wow their customers after they leave the restaurant.
1. Call and thank them- you can do this personally, train your stuff or hire outside help to assist you. It is important to show your customers that you are willing to go above and beyond the regular restaurant duties and show them they matter.
2. Include free sample with their to go or take home orders- this is a great way to introduce new and exciting menu item such as mini dessert or small salad. This is a method that can not only grab your customer attention, but also increase your sales.
3. Include hand written thank you note with their orders- this is quite an important step and what a fantastic way to show your customers you care. You can do the notes in advance and include a picture of your entire stuff to display who is taking care of your customers.
4. Include coupon printed on their receipt- this is a nice touch and a very simple way to assure you'll get a repeat business. This method can be extremely helpful for any restaurant owner especially if they allow their customers to take a picture of the coupon with their smart phones and show it next time they visit. In this way you'll multiply your chances of them sharing the coupon with their own family and friends especially if you tell them to keep this deep discounted coupon to themselves (it's a human nature to do the opposite of something we are told not to do).

  Know, the more your customers love and trust you, the more advantage you'll have over your competition. You don't have to use all of the four methods, but you should at least pick one and be consistent in your efforts.

How can restaurants use text-messaging coupons to their advantage

Text-messaging coupons are becoming more popular each day, but there are still some restaurant owners who are still skeptical of how they can implement this to their advantage. Below we have listed seven ways how restaurant owners can use this tool in their marketing strategy.

1. Slow nights- offer 2 for 1 specials.
2. Lunch crowd
3. Happy hour.
4. Any other drink or food specials.
5. Special occasions- birthdays, anniversaries, etc
6. Holidays- Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, etc.
7. Special holidays- Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Administrative Professionals Day, etc.

There are many other ways you can use this tool to your advantage. Be creative and remember there are a lot of customers out there who will prefer text-messaging coupons to any other form of communication.

Six tips on working with family in the restaurant business

Working with family can be challenging, and the problems that arise in a family run businesses usually don't occur anywhere else, or are just more intense. There are couple of things you can do that can ease this complex situation and place you and you family in a better position.

1. Be courteous to your family as you are to your customers.
2. Establish boundaries- separate family problems from business problems.
3. Don't gossip about your family members personal lives.
4. Respect each others' decisions and authority- set expectations and policies for appropriate behavior to avoid conflicts.
5. Be professional- avoid personal expressions of affection at the restaurant.
6. Establish  an exit plan- be prepared to separate your family members from the business if your relationship is suffering.

Keep in mind that a special understanding is required when working together with family members in the restaurant industry. This is why you should always stay optimistic, follow this guidelines, and remember at the end there is nothing more important than family.

Powerful Smoothie with anti aging qualities

This powerful smoothie with anti aging qualities will give your system a boost on the path of looking younger. Try it for yourself!


Ingredients:

• 1 cup(s) acai berry or pomegranate juice
• 3/4 small blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 2 tablespoon(s) whey protein
• 2 tablespoon(s) flax seeds, freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon(s) chia seeds, freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon(s) wheat germ
• 3 200-milligram fish oil capsules (break and squeeze out oil)
• 1 tablespoon(s) agave nectar (optional)

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Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.
2. Taste. Add ice cubes to change thickness or temperature if desired. If you want it sweeter, add a tablespoon of agave nectar; it's easier on your blood sugar levels than many other sweeteners.
3. Enjoy!

Courtesy of yahoo.com

Eight easy ways to advertise your restaurant

Marketing your new restaurant can be quite expensive, so we have compiled a list of eight savvy strategies that can not only save you money but also be quite effective.

1. E-mail marketing- is quite easy to implement. All you need is a list of your customers with their e-mails, and you can easily updated  them of what's going on in your restaurant.
2. Newsletter- this great tool you can use on monthly basis to announce new trends in your restaurant, publish recipes, or offer Eco-friendly ideas for your customers.
3. Foursquare- many restaurants have used this location based mobile platform successfully to give out discounts on customers who check in at their restaurants via smart phone application or a sms.
4. Groupon- most everyone today is familiar with this company which works with restaurants and other businesses by providing a certain discount to your targeted audience.
5. Facebook- this is the most popular social media website today which creates a one of a kind opportunity for restaurants by providing a direct contacts with your customers.
6. Twitter- is another social networking site which also provides micro blogging services and can easily be used by any restaurant to update their customers of new offers.
7. Text-messaging coupons- are becoming also quite popular these days especially if a restaurant is trying to bring in a quick lunch or dinner crowd. Mobile coupons are easy and can definitely save your customers money, since all they have to do to redeem their coupon is to show the text message when they are paying the bill.
8. Vehicle based advertising- this method can be a little more expensive than the rest but is also quite effective especially if you can convince some of your own employees to participate as well by advertising your restaurant on their own vehicles.

At the end whatever you do remember, customers will not start pouring in without you first taking some action.