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Men build too many walls and not enough bridges.
I look to the north and east and I see Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley working to expand the state’s hospitality, tourism and agricultural (both sea and land) industries. I look to the south and west and I see Governor Bob McDonnell working to expand the state’s hospitality, tourism and agricultural (both sea and land) industries. I look to the center in the nation’s capital and I see a confused body of lost political leaders rife with corruption and weakness. Perhaps you say it’s not fair to compare the District of Columbia with a state, but this is the same group who wasted taxpayer dollars to go to New Hampshire to argue before an uninterested state legislation on the virtues of DC statehood.
Recently the Council of the District of Columbia councilmembers repealed a law that included the approval of iGaming when they claimed they didn’t know they had actually voted its authorization as part of the Lottery Modernization Amendment Act of 2010, which was a part of the “Fiscal Year 2011 Supplemental Budget Support Act of 2010.” I knew about it, but then I live in Maryland and am not an elected official. Several councilmembers said they didn’t know what they were voting for.
Leadership … Food Trucks … Politics
With corruption investigation and resignations, where are we going to find the leadership to build the bridges and not the walls that the quote from Isaac Newton refers to in the column head. We need to build some bridges to open the food truck discussion. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) is issuing guidelines that are contributing to building walls of rhetoric and partisan posturing on all sides.
Inside you can see the position of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW). Restaurateurs of the brick and mortar establishments are up in arms over parking, congestion, competition, trash, fees, taxes, health codes … and more. The Association however has a position of “fair” for all, but it’s hard to find where there’s any room for discussion of all sides. An open conversation and examination of the issues is not going to come from the DCRA or the council – see above, they have their own agendas and problems that keep them from bridge building.
The website that asks for dialogue looks like a vehicle for a one-sided conversation.
I’m looking for RAMW to take the lead, but the fair website isn’t going to make that happen. It will take people sitting around a table (those vested in a fair outcome) with the good, the bad, the fair … all on the table. Jessica Sidman reported recently in her online Dining Bisnow (www.bisnow.com) column that four restaurants were adding food trucks: Lima, Barcode, Amorini Panini, and Kababji Grill. She added that Jose Andres has a food truck planned. Already you can find restaurants including Sweetgreen, Dangerously Delicious Pies, and Surfside on the street with their mobile models.
The food trucks have an association and they could bring their members to the table with the restaurant-only RAMW members as well as those with both who can share their dual perspectives. We can’t wait for the city to screw it up any more than they have … broker a reasonable and “fair” solution and go to the council and DCRA with a plan that can be crafted into a fair document.
Why can’t we build the bridge? And let’s build it without speed cameras.
OCHMRA Spring Trade Expo 2012
Speaking of building bridges, Ocean City is the home for its 38th Annual Spring Trade Expo at the convention center. As we go to press, it looks like Susan Jones and the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association will sell the show out once again. It really is a time when buyers and sellers can get together and it’s one I look forward to each year. With winter coming to an end and spring just around the corner, there is a peaceful energy that I find invigorating. It’s a great time for fun and work.
The Acronym Game: VPSi, VHTA, MPSI, RAMEF, NPI, NRAEF
It’s all good. Yes, it’s the start of the annual ProStart Invitational season where high school culinary and management teams compete for major college scholarships and school pride. As chairman of the Restaurant Association of Maryland’s Education Foundation, it’s my favorite time of the year … teachers, students, industry mentors, foodservice professionals, chefs all come together for the benefit of the kids and their continuing education.
It starts March 9 and 10 when Rebecca Reamer of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association gathers her schools at the University of Mary Washington for her two-day Virginia ProStart Student Invitational. I’ll be there. On March 13 at the Baltimore Convention Center, the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational will take place. I’ll be there. Then on April 27-29 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, the National ProStart Invitational will bring together the winning teams in culinary and management from 30-plus states for an incredible weekend of competition, camaraderie and celebration. I’ll be there.
The Ask
We need your help … RAMEF is the host state for the nationals for the next two years in Baltimore. There are many extra costs that come with this event that go beyond our normal fundraising. We need folks that can … to make a donation to our ProStart effort, go to our website at www.ramef.org and you’ll see the donation button on the right side. Five dollars is good, twenty is better and with $100 you’re a hero. If you’re interested in attending any of the competitions, contact me at michael@foodservicemonthly.com – I promise you’ll be blown away.
That’s the ask – now you can build the bridge with a donation.
