Restaurant Association of Maryland Blog

Restaurant Association of Maryland Invites Restaurant Operators to Participate in Foodservice Industry Survey!

 

The Restaurant Association of Maryland salutes the “Stars of the Industry” with the 2011 award winners!

The Restaurant Association of Maryland is excited to announce the winners of the awards bestowed at the 57th Annual McCormick & Company Stars of the Industry Awards Gala. The Gala Celebration and Awards presentation took place on Monday, May 16 at 6pm at Martin’s West in Baltimore, MD.  This Annual Awards Gala is a spectacular event of industry recognition that brings together over 600 of hospitality’s best and brightest to spotlight the industry’s influence as a part of the nation’s foundation of opportunity.  The public voting was intense with thousands of votes collected. Congratulations to all of our nominees, honorees and award winners!

Award Winners and Honorees

Restaurateur of the Year- Billy Carder, BJ’s on the Water (Ocean City)
2011 Chef of the Year- Chef Brian Boston, The Milton Inn (Sparks)
2011 Favorite Bar or Tavern- Fish Tales (Ocean City)
2011 Pastry Chef of the Year- Chef Isaiah Billington (Baltimore)
2011 Wine and Beverage Program of the Year- Victoria Gastro Pub (Columbia)
Maryland’s Favorite New Restaurant 2011- B&O American Brasserie (Baltimore)
Maryland’s Favorite Restaurant 2011- Sunset Grille (Ocean City)
2011 Green Restaurant of the Year- The Crab Shanty Restaurant (Ellicott City)
Allied Member of the Year- Payce Payroll represented by Brian Pfeifer
The Brice & Shirley Phillips Lifetime Industry Achievement Award- Lawrence Wilhelm (Friendly Farm Family Style Restaurant)
The Schellhase Award- William King III of The Crab Shanty Restaurant
The McCormick Cornerstone Award- Galaxy 66 Bar & Grille (Ocean City); Glory Days Grill (Gaithersburg); The Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Grille (Edgewater); Graul’s Market & Café (Lutherville); Moxie Bakery & Café (Frederick); Phillips Seafood (Baltimore); Rí Rá Irish Pub (Bethesda)
Maryland Hall of Honor Inductees– Brewer’s Alley Restaurant & Brewery (Frederick); Double T Diner (Statewide); The Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Grille (Statewide); The Grille at Harryman House (Reisterstown); Schmankerl Stube Bavarian Restaurant (Hagerstown)
Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation ProStart Teacher of the Year- Laura Safrit (Rising Sun High School)
Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation ProStart Student of the Year- Elinn Hesse (Howard County ARL)

A special thank you to everyone that participated and helped make this event possible! Thank you to all guests and we hope to see you all again next year!

Restaurant Association of Maryland: Legislative Update

With about two weeks remaining before the 2011 Maryland General Assembly legislative session adjourns on April 11^th, the pace in Annapolis has picked up considerably.  RAM maintains a daily presence at the State House to protect the interests of our members and provide a united industry voice against legislation that would further burden restaurants and foodservice operators during this period of economic recovery.  The following update summarizes a few of the key bills that we are tracking on behalf of the industry.  If you have questions regarding these issues, call Melvin Thompson in the RAM office at 410-290-6800.  To get more detailed information about these bills or the Maryland General Assembly legislative session, visit http://mlis.state.md.us.

ALCOHOL TAX INCREASE – HOUSE BILL 121/SENATE BILL 168 & SENATE BILL 994:

When the legislative session began in January, it seemed likely that lawmakers would approve a significant increase in the alcohol excise tax.  This tax is paid by alcohol distributors and is reflected in the wholesale price paid by restaurants and retailers.  Pending legislation, sponsored by Delegate James Hubbard (D-23A, Prince George’s) and Senator Verna Jones-Rodwell (D-44, Baltimore City), would increase this excise tax by an average of 800 percent, which would force restaurants and retailers to increase their sale prices to maintain acceptable profit margins.  RAM strongly opposes this legislation.  Thanks to the feverish backlash from restaurants, retailers and our customers, the proposed excise tax increase is unlikely.  Instead, legislators are now considering an alternative revenue-generating proposal that would establish a new 9 percent sales tax rate for alcohol only.  The sales tax rate for food would remain at 6 percent.  Under the alternative proposal, the sales tax rate on alcohol would increase by one percent each year (beginning July 1, 2011) to reach the maximum sales tax rate of 9 percent by July 1, 2013.  This new sales tax would be in lieu of increasing the alcohol excise tax.  Obviously, such a difference in sales tax rates will require point-of-sale (POS) systems to be reprogrammed.  As lawmakers consider this alternative bill, RAM will continue to monitor the debate and lobby legislators in an effort to mitigate the impact on our industry.

Hearings have been held for both HB 121 and SB 168 but there has been no further action on these bills.  SB 994 passed the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee on 3/24/11 by a vote of 9 to 4.   For more information about bill status, visit http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/sb0994.htm

WINE CORKAGE (BYOB) – HOUSE BILL 114/SENATE BILL 614, SENATE BILL 276, HOUSE BILL 1098, HOUSE BILL 544 AND HOUSE BILL 150/SENATE BILL 166:

Legislators from Baltimore City (Delegate Shawn Tarrant, D-40 & Senator Verna Jones-Rodwell, D-44), Baltimore County (Senator Bobby Zirkin, D-11), Prince George’s (Delegate Jolene Ivey, D-47), Montgomery (Delegate Brian Feldman, D-15) and the entire Frederick County Delegation introduced legislation this year to allow restaurants in their respective jurisdictions to permit customers to bring their own bottles of wine into licensed restaurants and clubs.  This legislation gives restaurants the option to establish their own wine corkage policy and to charge associated corkage fees.  After soliciting feedback from our members with liquor licenses, RAM strongly opposes this legislation.

All of these bills were soundly rejected by the House Alcoholic Beverages Subcommittee (Economic Matters Committee) on 3/7/11.

EMPLOYEE CREDIT REPORTS – HOUSE BILL 87/SENATE BILL 132:

This legislation, sponsored by Delegate Kirill Reznik (D-39, Montgomery) and Senator Catherine Pugh (D-40, Baltimore City), prohibits employers from using credit reports in hiring decisions, even when doing so in a manner consistent with existing federal law.  RAM strongly opposed this legislation during the bill hearing because many restaurant operators use credit reports to help make hiring decisions for employees in supervisory, managerial or financial positions.  We have since worked very closely with the sponsors and proponents of this legislation to amend the bill to allow credit reports to be used in hiring decisions for these specific types of positions.  In this compromise, we were also successful in removing language from the bill that would have allowed potential employees to sue employers who violate the law.  Instead, the amended version of the bill allows employees to file a complaint with the Maryland Labor Commissioner against employers who violate the law.

HB 87 passed the House on 3/25/11 by a vote of 92 to 46.  SB 132 passed the Senate on 3/18/11 by a vote of 32 to 14.  For more information about bill status, visit http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/hb0087.htm

BEVERAGE CONTAINER RECYCLING FOR RESTAURANTS & BARS – HOUSE BILL 389:

This bill, sponsored by Delegate Doyle Niemann (D-47, Prince George’s), requires restaurants and bars located in counties with a population greater than 150,000 to separate and recycle beverage containers (glass, aluminum and plastic).  RAM strongly opposes this bill because such a mandate places an unfair and expensive burden on restaurants, bars and our suppliers.  This bill requires restaurants and bars to work with beverage distributors to facilitate the collection of used beverage containers, or arrange for collection and recycling through contract haulers. In addition to the costly mandate created by this legislation, it seems senseless to require additional separation of beverage containers at establishments that may already utilize single-stream recycling collection.  If local municipalities and counties were required to incorporate bar and restaurant recycling into their existing residential collection programs (underwritten by the property taxes that businesses already pay), we would reconsider our position on this issue.

 HB 389 was withdrawn by the sponsor on 3/24/11.

PAYMENT CARD NUMBERS ON MERCHANT COPY OF TRANSACTION RECEIPTS – HOUSE BILL 482

This legislation, sponsored by Delegate Bill Frick (D-16, Montgomery), prohibits merchants from displaying the expiration date or more than 5 digits of a customer’s account number on the merchant’s copy of payment card receipts.  Federal law already prohibits more than 5 digits from appearing on the customer’s copy of payment card receipts.  Because credit card companies are now requiring merchants to comply with strict Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCIDSS) that will ultimately prohibit the display of expiration dates and restrict all but 4 digits from appearing on both copies of payment card receipts, we view this legislation as largely unnecessary.  However, we supported this bill only after the sponsor agreed to amend the legislation to change the compliance date to January 1, 2013.  By this date, most merchants will have already made the necessary hardware/software upgrades to come into compliance with both PCIDSS and this legislation.

 HB 482 passed the House on 3/18/11 by a vote of 139 to 0.  The legislation is currently awaiting a hearing in the Senate.  For more information about bill status, visit http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/hb0482.htm

 MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE – HOUSE BILL 988/SENATE BILL 716:

This legislation, sponsored by Delegate Aisha Braveboy (D-25, Prince George’s) and Senator Rob Garagiola (D-15, Montgomery), would increase Maryland’s minimum wage to $9.75 by 2013, tie future increases to the Consumer Price Index and require that the cash wage for tipped employees be at least 75 percent of minimum wage.  RAM strongly opposes this bill because of the significant increase in labor costs such legislation would cause for our industry.

Hearings have been held for both HB 988 and SB 716 but there has been no further action on these bills.  For more information about bill status, visit http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/hb0988.htm

Restaurant Association of Maryland Announces 2011 Stars of the Industry Awards Nominees

The Restaurant Association of Maryland is excited to announce the finalists for the highly anticipated 2011 “Stars of the Industry” Awards sponsored by McCormick and Company  The awards honor the Maryland hospitality industry’s best in nine different categories. Winners of these prestigious awards will be revealed at the 57^th annual “Stars of the Industry” Awards Gala on Monday, May 16, 2011 from 6pm to midnight at Martin’s West in Baltimore.   

Members of the dining public are strongly encouraged to visit www.marylandrestaurants.com/gala to cast their votes for their favorite nominees in each category. Voting will continue until April 8, 2011.

2011 Award Nominees:

Voted on by the Dining Public:

Maryland’s Favorite New Restaurant (open 2 years or less)

• The Grille at Peerce’s, Phoenix
• Bridge’s Restaurant, Grasonville
• Langermann’s, Baltimore
• B&O American Brasserie, Baltimore
• Againn Tavern, Rockville

Chef of the Year

• Ian Campbell, Bistro Poplar
• Patrick Morrow, Bluegrass Tavern
• Quanta Robinson, Black’s Bar & Kitchen
• Tim Mullen, Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel
• Brian Boston, Milton Inn

Pastry Chef of the Year

• Susan Limb, Praline Bakery & Bistro
• Isaiah Billington, Woodberry Kitchen
• Rita Garruda, 8407 Kitchen Bar
• Bettina Clair, Blue Hill Tavern

Favorite Restaurant

• Lewne’s Steakhouse, Annapolis
• Casey Jones, Waldorf
• Ryleigh’s Oyster Bar, Baltimore
• Sunset Grille, Ocean City
• Dutch’s Daughter, Frederick

 Favorite Bar and/or Tavern

• Harborside Bar & Grill, Ocean City
• MaGerks Pub & Grill, Baltimore
• Looney’s Pub, Maplelawn
• Fish Tales, Ocean City
• Pickles Pub, Baltimore
• Tark’s Grill, Lutherville

 Wine and Beverage Program of the Year

• Mrs. K’s Tollhouse, Silver Spring
• Galaxy 66 Bar and Grille, Ocean City
• Victoria Gastro Pub, Columbia
• Redwood Restaurant & Bar, Bethesda
• 13.5% Wine Bar, Baltimore

 Green Restaurant of the Year

• The Crab Shanty, Ellicott City
• Brick Ridge Restaurant, Mount Airy
• The Rockfish, Annapolis
• Ricciuti’s, Olney

Voted on by Restaurant Association of Maryland Members Only:

Allied Member of the Year – Nominations

• Total Image Graphics, Jeff McCabe
• Coastal Sunbelt Produce, John Corso
• Payce Payroll, Brian Pfeifer
• Electronic Systems Services (ESS), Michael Tash
• Business & Commercial Ventures, Jerry Blumenthal

Restaurateur of the Year - Nominations

• Joe Barbera, AIDA Bistro
• Billy Carder, BJ’s on the Water
• Qayum Karzai, The Helmand
• Jeff Heineman, Grapeseed Bistro
• Karen Murray, TJ’s of Calverton

Be among the first to know the 2011 Stars of the Industry award winners and celebrate the Maryland restaurant industry by attending the Awards Gala in May.  Tickets are $175 per person and include a spectacular cocktail hour featuring food from Restaurant Association of Maryland member restaurants, an extravagant sit down dinner and dancing, all in addition to the awards ceremony.

To purchase tickets, or for more information on becoming a sponsor of this event, please contact Jennie Silver at 410-290-6800.

2011 Maryland ProStart Student Invitational Winners Announced!

Washington County & Baltimore County Students to Represent Maryland in National Competition

1st Place Winners in the Culinary Competition Program: North Hagerstown High School 

 Maryland’s top culinary and hospitality management students from 22 high schools across the state competed yesterday in the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational (MPSI), hosted by the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation. Students competed for over $1,400,000 in college and continuing education scholarships and the opportunity to represent the State of Maryland at the National ProStart Invitational in Overland, KS in April 2011.

“Each of the students that competed in yesterday’s competition is to be commended for their commitment to their craft. The culinary arts and hospitality management are intense and highly skilled professions and these students took another step forward into a successful and rewarding career in the restaurant and hospitality industry,” said Marshall Weston Jr., President & CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland and Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation.

A panel of 40 national and local foodservice professionals judged the students in both culinary and management competitions. Students trained for months to practice the preparation and execution of an appetizer, entrée and dessert, which they created from scratch in only one hour. All food was cooked with only two butane burners as heat sources, with no electricity or battery operated equipment allowed.

Judges scored participants on proper food safety and sanitation procedures, cooking methods, food taste, teamwork and menu difficulty. In the management competition, student teams presented judges with a business proposal for a new restaurant concept, developed prior to the event. Teams prepared a comprehensive written proposal, visual display and presented their concept to a panel of judges, who acted as potential investors in their new concept.

The winners of the 7th Annual Maryland ProStart Student Invitational:

Culinary Competition Winners   
1st Place:  North Hagerstown High School (Washington County)
2nd Place:  Reservoir High School (Howard County)
3rd Place: Glenelg High School (Howard County)

Management Competition Winners
1st Place:  Carver Center for the Arts (Baltimore County)
2nd Place:  Western School of Technology (Baltimore County)
3rd Place: Howard County Applications and Research Laboratory (ARL) (Howard County)

“Thanks to the generosity of our industry and its supporters, these students will have the opportunity of a lifetime at their fingertips,” said Michael Birchenall, chairman of the RAMEF board of directors.  “This was truly a statewide competition and I couldn’t be more proud of North Hagerstown High School and the Carver Center for the Arts for coming out on top.”

Also honored at last evening’s awards dinner at the Baltimore Convention Center, was the ProStart Teacher of the Year for the State of Maryland.  Laura Safrit, Culinary Arts Teacher at the Rising Sun High School will be honored by the National Restaurant Association at their annual trade show in Chicago, IL this upcoming May in addition to being recognized at the 2011 Stars of the Industry Awards hosted by the Restaurant Association of Maryland at Martin’s West on May 16^th. 

The Maryland ProStart Student Invitational is made possible by Platinum Scholarship Sponsor: McCormick and Company, Inc., Awards Dinner Sponsor: Centerplate, Culinary Competition Sponsor: Saval Foodservice, Management Competition Sponsor: Anne Arundel Community College, Scholarship and Official Seafood Sponsor: Whole Foods Market.  Baltimore International College is the National Team Sponsor and will help pay the expenses necessary to send both teams to the National ProStart Invitational.

Restaurant Industry in Maryland Expected to Experience Strong Growth in 2011

Yesterday, the National Restaurant Association announced it's 2011 Restaurant Industry sales Forecast for 2011 revealing that restaurant industry sales are expected to reach a record $604 billion after three years of a negative outlook.

Maryland is expected to see some of the strongest growth, with a projected growth of 3.9%, totaling in at $9.4 billion. Right now, the Maryland restaurant industry employs 226,900 people. The Baltimore Business Journal  states that by 2020, the State's restaurant industry is expected to grow 8.3% and created over 18,000 new jobs.

With the release of the National Restaurant Association's forecast, we have something great to look forward to in 2011!

 

Nominations Now Being Taken for 2011 Stars of the Industry Awards Gala!

The Restaurant Association of Maryland will host the 57th annual Stars of the Industry Awards Gala on May 16th at Martin's West. The Stars of the Inudstry Awards Gala recognizes excellence in the restaurant and fooservice industry, and commitment to the community. Tell us who you think should win by nominating an outstanding industry professional online today!

Nominations are being taken in the following categories:

• Restaurateur of the Year (Voted by Membership)
• Allied Member of the Year (Voted by Membership)
• Chef of the Year
• Pastry Chef of the Year
• Favorite Restaurant
• Wine & Beverage Program of the Year
• Favorite Bar & Tavern
• Favorite Caterer
• Maryland Favorite New Restaurant
• Maryland Green Restaurant

Please submit your nominations by Friday, February 11, 2011 at the latest. Only one nomination is needed to place the organization or person as a nominee. The nominee finalists will be slected by a committee of distinguished hospitality industry leaders. The final ballot will be available for online voting in March 2011 at www.marylandrestaurants.com/gala.

For event and ticket information, please contact Jennie at 410.290.6800 or email jsilver@marylandrestaurants.com.

Restaurant Association of Maryland Names Marshall Weston Jr. President & CEO

The Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM) announced during its Winter Board Meeting on January 17th that Marshall Weston, Jr. has been named the Association’s President & CEO.  Weston has been serving as Interim President & CEO after Paul Hartgen resigned in October 2010.

"The Board of Directors is confident that Marshall will continue helping Maryland restaurants succeed, “ said Board Chairman Jeff Owens, Chief Financial Officer of the Clyde’s Restaurant Group. “Marshall’s expertise in the industry and enthusiastic leadership is a great asset to the Restaurant Association of Maryland.”

Mr. Weston has been promoted from Executive Vice President of the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation, where he was responsible for overseeing the educational programs, workforce development, corporate sponsorship and scholarship programs run through the Foundation.  As Executive Vice President, Mr. Weston developed and implemented the Foundation’s budgets, programs and fundraising while reporting to the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Weston added, "I am very excited about leading RAM into the future.  We will be focused on fulfilling our members’ needs and ensuring that we are always enhancing the value of our membership."

Mr. Weston received his BS in Public Policy from Pennsylvania State University and worked in the restaurant industry in Pennsylvania and Maryland for 11 years. From 2000 to 2002, he was a legislative fellow in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and also worked for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation Announces 2011 Car Raffle Winners

 Restaurant Association of Maryland President & CEO, Marshall Weston Jr. handing over the keys for a new Audi to 2011 Car Raffle Winner, Raj Vora outside of the Restaurant Association of Maryland Headquarters. 

The Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation announced their 11th annual car raffle fundraiser winners on January 11, 2011. The top prize, an Audi A3 from Valley Motors or $25,000 cash, went to Raj Vora of Ijamsville, who chose the car, which he upgraded to an Audi A4. The second prize of $10,000 went to Bob Garner of Pasadena, and third prize of $5,000 was awarded to Mark Nusinov from Baltimore.

“My wife bought her first car after college with her own money, which was a great Mazda. That Mazda has unfortunately been confined to our garage after all these years because of sentimental value,” Raj said. “When I won the raffle, I asked her if I bring an Audi home, can we please get rid of the Mazda. She happily agreed of course!”

Twelve restaurants teamed up with the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation to make this raffle worth every penny. The purchase of one car raffle ticket not only came with the chance to win big, but also with a $25 dining gift certificate to each of the 12 participating restaurants.

The Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation Chairman, Michael Birchenall of Foodservice Monthly, said, “It’s not your normal raffle, its even better! You see the value of your purchase immediately when you receive all 12 gift certificates. It’s great that Raj is already using some of his gift certificates, and trying new restaurants in the process. That’s what this is all about.”

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s car raffle. If you are interested in being added to the mailing list for next year’s raffle, please email Mary at mary@ramef.org.

Thank you to all who participated in the 21st Annual Taste of Maryland!

The 21st Annual Taste of Maryland Legislative Reception was held on Monday, January 17th 2011 at the Loews Hotel Annapolis. The event featured 24 member restaurants sampling their signature menu items for all attendees to enjoy! Both legislators and Restaurant Association of Maryland members enjoyed great company and delicious food!

Thank you to the following restaurants for participating in this year's Taste of Maryland Legislative Reception! We hope to see you back again next year!

• Breeze Restaurant
• Carrol's Creek Cafe
• Clarence's Taste of New Orleans
• Edible Arrangements
• Galaxy 66 Bar & Grill
• Galway Bay/Killarney House
• Harris Crab House
• Hollywood Casino Perryville, Epic Buffet
• Isaac's
• L'Academie de Cuisine
• Langermann's
• Ledo Pizza
• Maria's Sicilian Ristorante
• Melting Pot
• Middleton Tavern
• Molly Mason's
• Real Seafood Company
• Restaurant Sabor
• Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
• Saval Foodservice
• Second Chance Saloon
• SoBo's Wine Beerstro
• The Rumor Mill Bar & Restaurant

A special thanks goes to all of our sponsors of the event including, the Maryland Tourism Council, Maryland Hotel & Lodging Association, Maryland Association of Destination Marketing Organizations, MillerCoors, and the Maryland Wineries Association.