Regardless of the story your friend told you about his cousin’s nephew’s friend’s uncle, restaurant servers do not spit in guests’ food. Also men with hooks for a hand do not prowl lookout point and if you say “Bloody Mary†three times she will not appear. Although the latter would explain why servers, in […]
Why We Should Not Ban Tipping In Restaurants
It seems like articles regarding the notion of banning tipping in restaurants have become all the rage. From restaurant owners to food critics, people seem to be lined up to question the value of tipping. It strikes me as odd that no one has sought the input of the people on the front line of […]
Why Restaurants Have Bad Nights
Let’s face it, sometimes restaurants have a bad night. Maybe the food takes too long or your table is not ready when you arrive. It is frustrating. A restaurant that has impressed you so many times before just doesn’t live up to your past experiences. It is easy to be upset. It is also important to remember […]
How To Propose At A Restaurant
Over my years in the restaurant industry, I have witnessed a number of wedding proposals occur during my shift. With Valentine’s Day approaching, and my bachelor status allowing this post not to create the most awkward Valentine’s Day date ever, I decided to spend a few moments to write about some of the best and […]
Do I Have To Tip At Restaurants?
In nearly every radio interview I have ever done someone will call in to ask, “Why do I have to tip?â€Â They feel it would be easier to simply add the price of service into the cost of the meal. It is an interesting question and one that I love to answer. Hidden in the […]
The Reason Most Restaurant Servers Are Uninsured
In a recent post I criticized Darden for attempting to avoid paying for health insurance for restaurant servers. In a politically charged time like the one we are in, this could have been seen as a blatantly political statement. While this is a fair criticism, I think it fails to take into account the unique […]
Is Darden Risking Guest Safety For Higher Profits?
A few weeks ago, I did an interview with a producer for a national news program. The purpose of the interview was to address some of the lingering myths concerning restaurants. After assuring the interviewer that line cooks do not perform foul acts with guests’ meals and we do not reuse the bread, I was […]
Why Do I Have To Wait For A Table At A Restaurant?
If you have found this article, you can probably relate to having to wait for a table at a restaurant. You arrive at a restaurant, you see open tables, but you are told that you will have to wait to be seated. This is incredibly frustrating. If the table is open, why wouldn’t a restaurant […]
Foodie Trivia Game
With all of the foodie information available on this blog, I decided to post a quick foodie trivia game for you all to enjoy.  All of the answers to the questions in this game can be found in one of the posts on this blog. If you enjoy it, I will certainly create more trivia games like this to boost your foodie cred. […]
Building A Better Restaurant Website
I was recently approached about building a website for a landmark Kansas City Steakhouse. This is an interesting dilemma for a restaurant industry blogger to face. I have written numerous times about how awful most restaurant websites are. I am not alone in this belief. Any number of articles can be found online about how […]
Why Restaurants Are Expensive: Labor
In the previous post of this series, I discussed why food is increasingly more expensive for restaurants. This was a good first step in explaining why the price of food is higher at restaurants than it is in grocery stores and, it is just one of the factors at play. Another reason why it is […]
About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.