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National Restaurant Association

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National Restaurant Association logo

The National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations.[1] It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.[1] The association was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1]

The National Restaurant Association/NRAEF mission is: "We will lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve." The National Restaurant Association's mission is: "We exist to help our members - the cornerstone of their communities - build customer loyalty, rewarding careers and financial success." [2]

Dawn Sweeney is president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.[3] The 2012 Chair of the Board is Roz Mallet of PhaseNext Hospitality.[4] Recent association chairs included Sally J. Smith of Buffalo Wild Wings, and Edward R. Tinsley of New Mexico, the franchiser of K-Bob's Steakhouse restaurant chain, who served from 2006-2007.[1]

Activities

Lobbying

The National Restaurant Association, widely referred to as "the other NRA" (to distinguish itself from National Rifle Association, which shares the initialism), is a powerful lobbying force in Washington and state capitals. It is very active in fighting efforts to raise the minimum wage, as well as laws requiring paid sick leave. In July 2013, it boasted that it had successfully lobbied against raises in the minimum wage in 27 out of 29 states, and blocked paid sick leave legislation in 12 states.[5] It also takes credit for halting any increase in the federal minimum wage for tipped employees, which has remained at $2.13 per hour since 1991.[6][7]

The NRA supported the Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2014 (H.R. 4719; 113th Congress), a bill that would amend the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend and expand certain expired provisions that provided an enhanced tax deduction for businesses that donated their food inventory to charitable organizations.[8] The NRA argued that "the deduction for charitable donation of food inventory is a critical tool in alleviating hunger" because it "encourages donating the food to charity, by helping to offset the costs associated with preserving, storing and transporting the extra food."[9]

Other programs

The National Restaurant Association develops food safety training and certification program for restaurant employees.[10] It also offers scholarships to foodservice and hospitality management and culinary students through NRAEF, and runs a national program for high school students.[11] The NRA also presents a series of awards, including the Faces of Diversity; American Dream Awards, and the Restaurant Neighbor Award [12]

It runs an annual restaurant and hospitality industry trade show in the U.S. in Chicago and conducts research about the restaurant industry in the U.S.[13] For instance, it states that the restaurant industry in the United States is growing rapidly and now employs 12.9 million Americans in 970,000 locations—with sales in 2012 expected to reach $632 billion.[1]

The National Restaurant Association also helps restaurant owners increase their environmental sustainability efforts.[14]

In addition, the National Restaurant Association teamed up with Healthy Dining to launch Kids LiveWell, a program that helps restaurants increase healthful options on kids' menus - and makes it easy for parents to find those options when dining out.[15]

The association works closely with its state restaurant and hospitality association partners and provides its members with tools and solutions to improve their business.[16] It also organizes conferences and networking events for its members. There are six membership categories: Restaurant, Allied, Faculty, Student, Nonprofit and International.[17]

The association lobbies for the restaurant and foodservice industry and represents the industry on Capitol Hill.[18] It was the largest food and beverage political action committee contributor to both the U.S. Democratic and Republican Parties in the 2004 election cycle.[19]

The association is actively opposing the lowering of the federal blood alcohol content limit from .08% to .05% [20]

Noted people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e About the National Restaurant Association National Restaurant Association
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ National Restaurant Association President and CEO Dawn Sweeney, President & CEO bio
  4. ^ National Restaurant Association Chair 2012
  5. ^ Rosenfeld, Steven (August 28, 2013). "The other NRA: How the National Restaurant Association ensures poverty wages". salon.com. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
  6. ^ Jamieson, Dave (June 2, 2012). "Minimum Wage For Restaurant Servers Remains Stagnant For 20 Years Under Industry Lobbying". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
  7. ^ Mark Fiore (May 14, 2014). “Hard to Stomach”. Moyers & Company. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  8. ^ "CBO - H.R. 4719". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  9. ^ DeFife, Scott. "Letter to Congressman Reed". National Restaurant Association. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  10. ^ ServSafe Food Safety ServSafe Food Safety website.
  11. ^ ProStart ProStart website.
  12. ^ [2] Industry Awards Website.
  13. ^ NRA Show NRA Show website
  14. ^ Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability website.
  15. ^ Kids LiveWell Kids LiveWell website.
  16. ^ State restaurant associations.
  17. ^ State restaurant associations State restaurant associations.
  18. ^ National Restaurant Association Advocacy & Representation
  19. ^ "Food & Beverage PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates, 2003-2004". The Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  20. ^ Frumkin, Paul (May 14, 2013). "NTSB proposes lowering legal blood alcohol limit for driving; Restaurant industry associations oppose the proposed reduction from 0.08 to 0.05". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
  21. ^ Cain, Herman. This Is Herman Cain!: My Journey to the White House, Appendix B (2011)
  22. ^ (22 July 2007). NRA names Sweeney president, CEO, Nation's Restaurant News
  23. ^ Ko, Michael (11 January 2003). "Seattle restaurant legend Victor Rosellini dies at 87". Seattle Times. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  24. ^ [3] National Restaurant Association
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