Liquor – Restaurants. The top three most Googled restaurants in 2011 were all pizza chains - Pizza Hut, Domino's and Papa John's . LiquorWise picked up on this on Google’s 11th annual Zeitgeist list. This list ranks the most popular and the fastest-rising search terms.

As part of the broader lifestyle category, the top 10 restaurants searched in the U.S. this year were:

1. Pizza Hut
2. Domino's
3. Papa John's
4. Starbucks
5. McDonald's
6. Olive Garden
7. Subway
8. Applebee's
9. Jimmy John's
10. Buffalo Wild Wings

Up and comers

Globally, a couple of quick-service and fast casual brands were listed among the fastest-rising food and drink terms searched. Wendy's topped the list, Little Caesars is No. 3, followed by Chick-fil-A. At No. 7 is Jimmy John's, followed by Buffalo Wild Wings (No. and Popeyes' Louisiana Kitchen (No. 9).

The global search included countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).

Search results of note

Pizza, in general, was the top searched food and drink item in Singapore, Germany and Mexico. This is likely good news for California Pizza Kitchen andChuck E. Cheese's, both of which have expanded their footprints in Mexico in the past few months.

The top searched item in the food category in New Zealand was the "Double Down Burger”, a KFC bun-less burger, which has become the most successful sandwich launch in KFC history. More than 10 million Double Downs were sold in the U.S. in the first month alone.

(Article from www.fastcasual.com, edited by LiquorWise)

Gambling market - LiquorWise has noted that South Africa is the world's third-largest casino market and it was also the fastest-growing casino market in 2010 with a 3.5% increase, according to a new PwC report. the National Gambling Act permits 40 licensed casinos. Currently, there are 37 operating casinos, which leaves little room for expansion. It is expected that casino upgrades and a new casino licence will enhance the South African casino market. There will be relatively little growth from new casinos to 2015. A new 15% tax on winnings of R25000 or higher, provisionally scheduled to go into effect in 2012, is expected to have an adverse impact on the market. However, there is currently no detail available on how the proposed tax is to be calculated or collected, it said. It was reported that France had the largest casino market in 2010 at $3.8-billion, followed by Germany's $2-billion and South Africa's $1.8-billion. However, France has declined during the past year, and a further drop is expected this year. The Limpopo Gambling Board awarded a casino licence to Peermont Global. Peermont also upgraded the Umfolozi Hotel and Convention Resort. Sun International plans to upgrade the Boardwalk Casino in Port Elizabeth. Tsogo Sun Gaming plans to upgrade the Hemingways Casino in East London, having been awarded a new 15-year licence by the Eastern Cape Gambling Board in exchange for a R20m payment for exclusive rights to a large area surrounding East London. GamblingWise advises and assists owners of liquor licensed businesses to obtain gambling licences for limited payout machines. Contact GambleWise for more information! (Article by I-Net Bridge, edited by LiquorWise)

The forth Hooters restaurant in SA will open its doors in December 2011. It will be the first such franchise restaurant fully operated and owned by Chanticleer Holdings Inc., a Charlotte(USA) company. It will be featured in the Emperor’s Palace, close to the OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. The other restaurants are in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The company plans to open three more Hooters Restaurants within the next 5 years in SA. Chanticleer secured credit for an amount of $2milliom with Paragon Commercial Bank of Charlotte to finance growth of the Hooters chain. Chanticleer owns more than 450 restaurants in 44 states and 28 foreign countries. (Article in Charlotte Business Journal, edited by LiquorWise)

STARTING UP When Mike Russell put together a business plan for his westside restaurant, the Cowboy's Bar-B-Que and Country Club, he knew nothing would wash down a smoky rack of ribs like an ice-cold brew."Barbecue and beer is just like a national pastime -- the way football and beer go together," he said with his long, Texas drawl. "It's like peanut butter and jelly." And so, Russell turned to his Realtor for help. A restaurant beer and wine license used by a restaurant that recently shut down was available. Russell was in luck. That was more than a month ago. Originally thinking he would own a license in 90 days, Russell knows it will be at least three months before he can begin serving alcohol in his new restaurant, which has yet to open. As many would-be restaurant owners across Montana have discovered, navigating the state's process for obtaining an alcohol license is a rigorous, confusing test. The process, which often hinges on a decades-old quota system, is driving away new restaurants in Helena and in other cities, some say. "To get a beer and wine license, it's hard," Russell said. "It's like pulling a tooth out of an elephant's mouth." SIZING UP THE SYSTEM In 1947, the state passed a law that provides for a population-based quota system that plays a large role in deciding how many alcohol licenses are available across Montana. "In Helena, our quota is full, but in Lewis and Clark County, there are several licenses available," said Shauna Helfert, administrator for liquor control division of the Montana Department of Revenue. There are several kinds of licenses. There are the off-premises licenses, used by businesses like grocery stores that sell alcohol, but don't allow a person to consume on the property. Then there are the on-premises licenses, which restaurants, casinos and bars vie for. ON CONSUMPTION LICENCES – 3 MAIN GROUPS: A Restaurant beer and wine license -- commonly referred to as a "cabaret license" -- where the business must serve food to the patron who orders a drink. Hours of operation are limited from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and a majority of the restaurant's income must come from food sales. A Beer license (with a $200 fee, wine can be added) allows an establishment to serve beer and wine. It must serve food if it has opted for the wine amendment (a basket of popcorn would qualify) but the person served doesn't have to eat and can simply be sitting at a bar. An All-beverage license allow all types of liquor are allowed to be served, without a food requirement. Allowable hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. It is the most common license in place at casinos and bars. There are liquor licenses that allow gambling and those that don't; and, any establishment that does allow gambling must have at least a beer-wine license. Gambling is not allowed with a cabaret license. That's just the start. DIFFERENT LICENCES FOR DIFFERENT PREMISES AND USES – A TANGLED WEB! Some off-premise licenses only allow for beer and wine, others for hard liquor. There are also catering and concessions stipulations. Meanwhile, brewery taprooms do not have to hold an alcohol license and are regulated under completely different rules. On-premises licenses used by restaurants, bars and casinos are often the misunderstood, expensive and contentious. Among those, there are licenses to be used in the city (in this case, Helena and East Helena are combined) and a five-mile bubble around it, and those that are used in the county. For the Helena licenses, 23 all-beverage licenses are allocated and 42 are issued (those extra licenses were grandfathered in during the 1947 legislation). There are 19 beer licenses allocated and 20 issued, and 19 cabaret licenses, which are all that can be issued. For Lewis and Clark County, 44 all-beverage licenses are allocated with 34 issued. Meanwhile, there are no quotas on beer and wine licenses in the county, outside the five-mile bubble. To make it a little more confusing, the number of licenses available is often in flux. Since the quotas are based on population, cities like Butte, which has shrunk over time, have lost available licenses. Those taken away are often redistributed around the state, which means areas of growth, like Billings, Bozeman, Missoula and the Flathead Valley, have been getting them. A lottery system is used to determine who is awarded the available license. Those that are transferred from one area of the state to another are not allowed to offer gambling. Each license is treated as personal property and supply and demand determines the market price. Still, any deal involving an alcohol license transfer must be approved by the Department of Revenue, and a license cannot sit idle for more than a year. No individual can own more than one all-beverage license, by far the most valuable of them all. "I can only guess that they didn't want just one person to gobble up all the licenses in the city," Helfert said. LICENSES AREN'T CHEAP – A LIMITED QUOTA ONLY The quota system is sore spot for some folks, Russell among them. "That's why your big national restaurant chains do not come to Helena, (it) is because you cannot get a license," he said. Cathy Burwell, the president of the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce, tends to agree. "We have a lot of the chain restaurants that want to come into Helena," she said. "Helena is an eat-out town with higher income levels." But, many turn away because of either a lack of licenses, or the cost, she says. While an increase in licenses would certainly help businesses looking to start a new restaurant, the problem is that a sudden increase in availability would hurt the value of existing licenses, an asset that in which many current holders have a substantial investment. "We want growth and we want new businesses to come to Helena, but at the same time, we don't want our current businesses to lose their asset," Burwell said. "It's their retirement fund for a lot of bars." JUST HOW MUCH IS A LIQUOR LICENSE WORTH? According to the Department of Revenue's website, the Red Garter Casino on Prospect Avenue purchased its all-beverage license for $650,000 in August. Drae's Station Casino on Custer Avenue bought one about a year earlier for $400,000. The most recent beer and wine license transaction in June was for $107,000. The more-restrictive cabaret licenses are far less pricey. Russell is paying roughly $28,000 for his carbaret license. He sees it as a worthwhile investment considering the price of other types of licenses. But he knows that there are other states, like his native Texas, where there is no quota system, only yearly license renewal fees. Selling alcohol is far less expensive there. Just to get around the problem, some Helena businesses are going in on a liquor license together. Chili's and Macaroni Grill, which have a common owner, share a building and an alcohol license. The same goes for Lucca's restaurant and the neighboring Rialto Bar downtown. "In Montana, I think that's become a common way to do business," said Joe Hrella, co-owner of Cafe Organica, for which he bought a cabaret license for $20,000 in February. "There are several of them in Bozeman that do it that way." A BETTER WAY? The process for purchasing a license can be lengthy. Cafe Organica, on Park Avenue, received its license nearly nine months after beginning the process. Hrella thought it would be easier since he had previously held a license. "You would think it would be able to happen relatively fast and it should be a pretty streamlined system," he said. He was happy to pay the cost for his license, feeling it adds to his cafe. However, Hrella would like to see something done to address the high cost and limited availability of licenses. But he also understands the complexity of equitably unwinding the quota system. "For those with the more expensive licenses, I would have to take their side, even though we would like to see more variety of restaurants across the state," he said. He suggests a buy-out program that would compensate some license holders and allow for less costly licenses to be made available. Though it has its problems -- licenses in different areas are certainly worth more than others, likely leading to an appraisal system -- Hrella says revamping the quota system would eventually mean more revenue for the state, and more establishments competing with each other. "More competition is better," he said. Dax Cetraro, who owns numerous bars and restaurants, including the Rialto Bar in Helena and Grand Plaza Casino in Butte, doesn't mind the competition. But, he sees the definite benefits of a quota system beyond just personal gain for his family, which has been in the bar and restaurant industry since the 1960s. "There's a big push out there to control drunk driving, serving of minors, responsible drinking, etcetera," he said. "If there wasn't a quota system, then everybody would be able to sell liquor or beer. It makes it a potential problem because you don't have the control." Establishments with liquor licenses require their staff to go through training and take steps to make sure they are serving alcohol responsibly. If the state wanted to open up and increase the amount of licenses, it had better make sure it increases those serving programs and law enforcement as well, Cetraro said. "We're under their guidelines, we're monitored, and that, to me, is responsible," he said. (Article by Independent Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX - Edited by LiquorWise)

A liquor licence is arguably the most important asset of a restauranteur’s business and one which impacts directly on the profitabilty of the business. They therefore have to be vigilant and careful in dealing with it. A restaurant owner needs to be kept up to date with all issues affecting its liquor licence, the trends in liquor licensed businesses and the changing views of liquor boards. It isn’t practical to employ a full-time, in-house liquor licence expert. But, there will always be questions concerning the liquor licence, whether from the local police officer/inspector, staff, the public or liquor board. LiquorWise has qualified and experienced staff to assist restaurant licence holders to: • Establish the current status of the liquor licence. Often a licence is renewed annually, without having been properly transferred. • Answer any day-to-day queries – such as the value which can be added to the business with a liquor licence, even for small establishments • Change the licensed premises (extend, add or increase floor area). • Transfer the liquor licence to another premises or person (when moving or selling). • Draft liquor licence clauses for use in agreements of sale (attorneys seldom specialise in liquor licensing – our qualified legal advisors assist with drafting of liquor licence clauses in sale agreements). Do not leave something as important as the legality of your liquor licence to chance. Employ a qualified and experienced licensing consultant - It’s a gamble you don’t want to lose! Contact LiquorWise on 0861059473 or email to admin@liquorwise.net - to assist restaurant owners/managers in a professional and reliable way.