Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association - Main Ingredient

Main Ingredient - November 2011

Coffee Capital

A grinder whirs in the background of Portland Roasting’s enchantingly aromatic tasting room as the discussion effortlessly jumps from best practices to trends. Soon, two glasses appear on the table. All conversation ceases for a few seconds while the exotic flavors soak in and everyone watches the lone visitor’s face for a sign. It registers pure satisfaction.

Roasting Great Coffee

Coffee is many things to many people. For some it’s simply a signal to wake up and start the day. For others, coffee is an exploration of far off places. Coffee farmers spend all year ensuring that their crops are the best they can be and that all comes to fruition when a Master Roaster brings together the magic of fire and the wisdom gleaned from years of experience.

The New Silhouette of Cocktails

Contrary to what the name implies, “skinny” is not a term to be taken lightly these days. With the rise of diet culture and the impacts of menu labeling, the creation and marketing of low-calorie cocktails is impossible to ignore. From the grocery shelves to your everyday happy hour, the search for a tastier, lighter cocktail is on the minds of consumers everywhere.

Living in a Time of Beverage Innovation

There was a time when beverages lacked excitement on a restaurant menu: coffee, tea, soft drinks were generally found on the back page. Your choices at one restaurant were almost exactly the same at another. Those days are over (for good). Now, differentiation and variety in specialty coffees, teas, juices and smoothies has become a potent competitive tool to drive traffic and sales.

Privatizing Liquor Sales in Washington

The latest shake-up to the way liquor is distributed and taxed could be coming down from our NW partner, the state of Washington. If in November the “liquor privatization” ballot initiative passes, it will completely change the way liquor is managed in Washington. You can bet Oregonians will be looking to them as an example of how to change OLCC’s regulation over the current three tier system.

Minimum Wage Hike

Oregon’s minimum wage will raise to $8.80 per hour beginning next year. The 30-cent increase mirrors a 3.77 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index since August 2010. Oregon’s minimum wage is second highest in the country behind Washington. The Governor and the Oregon Legislature should consider ways to address the problems that continue to put our state at the bottom of the nation in job growth, in an effort to get more people working and receiving a paycheck.