As I stand in my home office on March 18 (I have a standing desk), I look outside and see signs of spring which provides some hope. The last two weeks in the US, and the weeks before throughout the world have ushered in a pandemic with dire health and economic consequences unlike anything most […]
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The recent explosion of food halls across the United State is hard to miss. The number of food halls in the US is expected to triple to almost 300 by the end of 2020. Most major cities have a plethora of food halls, almost all of which have been developed in the last five to […]
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JGL manages 15-20 RFP processes every year and after more than 20 years of doing this I still find it fascinating. It is a lot like match making; sometimes it is all about the fit. Most of the time we are able to accurately predict who is the likely winner early on, but sometimes we […]
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I wrote an earlier blog about how I routinely dodge the question about “my favorite restaurant”. Add the word museum to that question and I will gladly give you a list. Going from West Coast to East Coast below are my recommendations for museum restaurants I love and those I still want to visit. I […]
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As a food service consultant, I cannot count the number of times someone has asked me “What is your favorite restaurant?” My colleagues know that is a question I struggle with and generally do not answer. In our foodie culture I feel like it is a loaded question; the person asking the question will undoubtedly […]
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Freshly back from an eight day tour of Ireland (too short), I found some of the food and beverage facilities and practices I encountered unique and worthy of comment. My family is accustomed to being dragged into every cultural institution we pass during our travels to check out the food services; this trip was no […]
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Most people who meet me and learn what I do for a living ask “how did you get into this”? My answer is in a very circular (yet organic) way. It all started with my dad James Gates Lawler (yes – JGL… I know – not very creative). Jim worked for two of the “big […]
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