Restaurant tech, written by people who’ve run restaurants
Operator playbooks, product deep-dives, and the data behind the shifts shaping how restaurants run today.
Visa says a deposit receipt must use the word 'Deposit'
A client can dispute a cancelled event deposit for 120 days after the event date, capped at 540 days. ACH has no dispute right for cancelled services.
The IRS uses your year-end count if your books do
The 2026 small-business threshold is $32 million in average receipts. Texas now exempts $125,000 of inventory and equipment per location on January 1.
McCormick Place can fine outside food sampling $1,500
Food samples are capped at 2 oz at McCormick and Javits but 1 oz at Moscone, which bans alcohol sampling. Older city contracts paid 18–49% of receipts.
A $108 Galveston meeting package costs $135 after service
IACC conference centers must include basic AV and Wi-Fi in the package. A 2023 Maggiano's packet charged $19.95 for Wi-Fi and $200 for a projector.
New York says Z-tapes aren't enough for a sales tax audit
Toast keeps your data accessible for 60 days after you close the account. Card data is the one record PCI DSS requires you to purge every quarter.
A hotel's sneeze guard put its breakfast buffet out of reach
ADA dining surfaces must be 28 to 34 inches high, and side reach over a counter stops at 24 inches deep. Buffet labels and menus need no Braille.
A blackout excused a wedding hall, not its $10,578 deposit
Markel's event policy excludes the ordinary thunderstorm. One Outer Banks venue refunds only on a county evacuation order in place that day, and only 80%.
Square's Tap to Pay can't work offline. Adyen's can.
Visa says nearly 70% of US in-person payments are tapped, so 30% still dip or swipe — which a phone can't take. Clover's Tap to Pay doesn't support PIN.
Agency staff bill four hours for a two-hour party
Qwick paid $2.1 million and must treat its California workers as employees. A banquet's mandatory 'gratuity' is wages, not tips, under federal rules.
Wholesale turkey bids hit 184 cents a pound in October
Wegmans sells Thanksgiving for eight at under $5 a person. Cracker Barrel's dinner for 4–6 is about $119.99, and one farm charges $25 more to cook it.
Restaurants can still deduct 100% of shift meals in 2026
The IRS calls a shift meal the employer's convenience; the Labor Department calls it the employee's benefit. California credits up to $11.28 for dinner.
Pre-dinner hors d'oeuvre guidelines differ by four times
Brown and Hershey plan 8–10 pieces per person per hour before dinner; a convention-center caterer plans 2–4. In lieu of dinner, sources agree on 12–15.
Offices hit 66% on Tuesday but averaged 56% for the week
ZeroCater charges headcount cuts on the same schedule as cancellations. On ezCater, 15% commission plus 2.99% processing is about 18% of an order.
A tip screen with no 'No Tip' button fails the IRS test
Visa lets restaurants add up to 20% after authorization. In a 2021 study, asking for a tip before service lowered tips and customers' plans to return.
New York's minimum wage won't rise on January 1, 2027
Michigan's tipped cash wage jumps to $6.30, and New Jersey's whole increase lands on the cash wage because its $9.87 tip credit is fixed.
19% of US adults report a food allergy; 10.8% have one
Shellfish is the most common adult food allergy, and nearly half of allergic adults developed theirs as adults. Last year's dietary list is already stale.
Donated catering labor carries no charitable deduction
A gala dinner fails the enhanced food-deduction test, but leftovers sent to a food bank can pass. The charity still owes guests the meal's value above $75.
Adding tent sidewalls for warmth can trigger a fire permit
Seattle bans mushroom heaters inside tents but allows heaters blowing in from outside. Denver doubles permit fees inside 14 days; Chicago triples them.
The 2027 ACA penalty rises 13%, to $3,780 per employee
Restaurants under common ownership are counted together for the 50-employee test, and the look-back method can't be used to decide whether you're covered.
One hotel contract priced the same shortfall three ways
Published catering policies overset 3–5% and bill the guarantee or the actual count, whichever is greater. A late increase can add up to 15% a head.
North Carolina waives box labels if your staff hand them out
New York's allergen-label law for prepackaged food takes effect in November. Time control allows four hours out of temperature, then the food is discarded.
New York taxes a 'service charge' but not a 'gratuity'
California, Washington and Georgia tax a mandatory gratuity even when staff get all of it. Texas taxes the whole charge once it passes 20%.
Ariba bills suppliers only past $50,000 with one buyer
A $10,000 catering invoice paid by virtual card carries $270 of interchange. Restaurants hold a median 16 days of cash; large companies pay in about 59.
Orlando prices conference breaks for 30 minutes, not 45
Convention centers that price 12-ounce cups get 10 to 12 per gallon, not the 16 to 20 most guides use. Attended stations bill a four-hour minimum.
NYC now says app-only ordering breaks its cash law
Maryland's new cash law, effective October 1, exempts sit-down restaurants. DC lets licensed bars and late-night spots refuse cash until about May 2027.
One NYC room charges $2,900 on Q4 weeknights, not $2,500
In 2023, 58% of companies held their holiday party during the workday. Fogo de Chão's holiday contracts had to be signed by October 30.
A hotel's banquet order said 'keep the glasses filled'
California shields hosts and licensees from overserving claims, yet employers still lose through their employees. In 2013 a court listed the fixes.
Cooks and dishwashers are on the IRS no-tax-on-tips list
2026 W-2s, due February 1, 2027, must show total reported tips under code TP plus a tipped-occupation code. An auto-gratuity guests can't remove isn't a tip.
A catered lunch costs a federal attendee $19, not your price
GSA's meal rates for FY2027, effective October 1, stay at $68 to $92 a day. The conference-planning rules most guides cite were deleted in December 2025.