RAMW Annual Meeting Highlights Achievements, Adds New Board Members, Hosts Speaker Dr. Steven Fuller

RAMW Annual MeetingHighlights Achievements, Adds New BoardMembers, Hosts Speaker Dr. Steven Fuller

Washington DC -March 30, 2012 – The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW)  held their annual meeting this week whichhighlighted the association’s achievements of the past year (April 1, 2011 –March 31, 2012), and included the announcement of new board members. Guestspeaker, Dr. Steven Fuller, George Mason University Professor of Public Policyand Regional Development and Director of the Center for Regional Analysis,spoke to an audience of RAMW members on the regional economic climate, with afocus on the restaurant industry.

RAMW membership grewin the last year to over 720 members in the District, Northern Virginia andMaryland and serves as the voice of establishments ranging from casual eateriesto internationally acclaimed fine dining restaurants as well as the regional food-serviceindustry.

Among RAMWmembership services and promotions highlighted were:

• RAMMY Awards Gala and fundraiser honoring and promoting growth and success of the exceptional ability and accomplishments of the Washington, DC area restaurant industry.
• Bi-annual Restaurant Week promotions
• “Ask Me About DC” Capitol Hill Staffer event: RAMW distributed hundreds of restaurant member directories sorted by neighborhoods to Capitol Hill staffers who appreciate the use of the searchable restaurant guide for their own needs and that of their visiting state constituents.
• “Cherry Picks” promotion: In conjunction with the National Cherry Blossom Festival, this promotion, with over 100 participating restaurants, features cherry-inspired cuisine and cocktails celebrating the Centennial of the gift of trees.
• Seminars in sustainability as well as quarterly NoVa seminars to identify local opportunities, challenges, and issues facing restaurateurs.
• Training courses by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) for food safety and Training for Intervention ProcedureS (TiPS) for alcohol manager courses.
• Stepped up media relations, social media and participation in regional events to bring awareness to RAMW member promotions, accomplishments and legislative issues.

RAMW staff, boardmembers and legislative representatives were extremely busy throughout the lastyear with legislative and regulatory meetings, battles and victories:

• Heading off initiatives ranging from burdensome taxation to legislation including health inspection letter grading.
• With direct prompting from RAMW, alcohol service hours have been extended on Sundays to begin at 8:00 am (formerly, 10:00 am).
• RAMW testified multiple times over the past year in support of significant reforms of the taxi industry including: credit cards, upgrading maintenance and cleanliness standards, intensifying training for drivers and inspectors, and enforcing regulations.
• RAMW actively engaged DCRA and the Mayor’s office concerning the proposed mobile vending regulations, which included regulations governing food trucks. RAMW worked to assure that final regulations strike a fair balance between the public space needs of restaurants and those of food trucks.
• The Corkage Bill that passed the Virginia General Assembly last February went into effect on July 1, 2011, largely due to RAMW’s support.
• In addition, RAMW was active in Virginia legislative activities regarding licensing, fees and taxation, and signage issues in Arlington and the Alexandria waterfront revitalization project.

RAMW welcomed newboard members Elaine Boyle, American Express; Pat Minter, KnightsbridgeRestaurant Group; Adam Shapiro, The Capital Grille Washington, DC; HollisSilverman, THINKfoodGROUP and Javier Velazquez, Taberna del Alabardero.

“We are thrilled tohave Elaine, Pat, Adam, Hollis and Javier on our board. They each bring to theBoard a wealth of knowledge of the restaurant industry adding to an alreadyimpressive roster of respected industry professionals,” said RAMW President, LynneBreaux.

RAMW was delightedto host speaker Dr. Steven Fuller, an expert in the field of urban and regionaleconomic development and fiscal impact analysis. Fuller spoke about the goodfortune of the DC metropolitan region as not having suffered the effects of therecent economic downturn as severely as the rest of the country. Heacknowledged that trends show the economy is in fact recovering nationally andregionally. Dr. Fuller also noted that there is an influx of the “Millennial,”20 – 30 year-olds to the region and they are a significant portion of thecustomer base frequenting restaurants in the burgeoning neighborhoodsthroughout the region.

Moving forward, RAMWwill continue its mission to represent and promote the foodservice industry inthe Washington Metropolitan area through education, government relations, andsocio-professional activities.