Restaurant Group Headed By Phantom Gourmet CEO At Odds With Industry Association
Matt Pilon
Dave Andelman, former CEO of the Phantom Gourmet
As the state Legislature neared the end of its session last week, the Senate unexpectedly passed an expanded bottle bill by a voice vote, surprising advocates and opponents alike, both of whom thought the bill was dead.
David Andelman, a well-known restaurant reviewer and television and radio personality, was furious.
"I think that's outrageous and I'm probably going to start talking on the air that in this day and age, the voice vote should be over," Andelman said during a recent interview at Mezcal in Worcester.
To the relief of opponents, the bill never made it through the House, where it was opposed by Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop). But one might wonder why a media personality like Andelman, son of legendary Boston sports radio personality Eddie Andelman and CEO of the Phantom Gourmet, cares about legislation that affects package store owners.
It's because Andelman, who has deep connections in the food and beverage industry, has formed his own lobbying group.
The Restaurant and Business Alliance, which, unlike most industry associations, is a private company, has attracted a handful of Central Massachusetts business owners as members, including the Niche Restaurant Group, which owns Mezcal.
The alliance's first victory was the passage of the Restaurant Rejuvenation Act in 2010, which allowed restaurants to serve alcohol before noon at Sunday brunches.
More recently, the alliance has lobbied against a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour; in favor of a bill that would deny unemployment benefits to workers caught intoxicated or stealing on the job; in favor of repealing a ban on pharmaceutical companies taking doctors out to dinner; and against expanding the state's bottle deposit law, which the alliance argues would be ineffectual and would represent a tax on businesses that sell beverages.
Those positions certainly seem to make sense for a group representing restaurant owners.
Groups With Similar Messages
But there's one thing unusual about the alliance: It operates alongside the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA), a Southborough-based group that has represented the industry for decades.
And for two groups fighting for largely the same things, they don't exactly like each other.
Once a member of the MRA himself, Andelman is now critical of the group, saying it hasn't been aggressive enough in opposing tax increases and other legislation restaurateurs view as harmful.
"Under their watch, the meals tax went from 5 to 7 percent in a recession, Massachusetts became the only state to ban drug companies from taking doctors to dinner, and it remained that way for five years," Andelman said. "They didn't make a peep when we have a sales tax holiday but not (a) meals tax holiday."
Andelman also said the MRA's lobbyists are not as present at as many State House votes as his lobbyist and executive director, Vincent Errichetti.
Peter Christie, executive director of the MRA for more than two decades, called Andelman's criticisms inaccurate and unfair and said the alliance may be claiming more credit than it's due for legislative victories.
The MRA lobbied against both the meals tax increase and has voiced support for a meals tax holiday, he said.
In Defense Of MRA Actions
It was the MRA's lobbying efforts that held off the meals tax increase for years, Christie said. And the doctor meals ban had heavy support in the Legislature due to perceived misbehavior by pharmaceutical companies. Though it tried, the MRA could not derail the bill.
But as soon as it passed, Christie said the organization began tracking sales receipts at a group of restaurants to calculate how much revenue they were losing in their banquet rooms — reductions that could be directly attributed to the loss of pharmaceutical company events. Six restaurants lost nearly $1.5 million, according to the MRA's calculations.
The MRA then met with legislators to present the evidence, building the case that he said led to the partial repeal of the ban earlier this year.
"The bottom line is that this year, the hard work and effort paid off," Christie said.
The MRA also successfully lobbied for a bill that allows caterers to purchase alcohol from wholesalers and sell and serve it at private functions.
As for Andelman's criticism, Christie said the MRA is well respected on Beacon Hill and that it's easy for a newcomer to complain.
He said the alliance's "claim to fame" was the rejuvenation act in 2010, which allowed alcohol to be served from 10 a.m. to noon on Sundays.
"By the way, we were the ones who got it from 1 [p.m.] to 11 [p.m.]," he said.
Christie noted that Andelman's alliance is set up as a for-profit company and appears to serve a marketing function for Phantom Gourmet, in addition to its lobbying efforts on behalf of alliance members.
Though he does not have to disclose his group's financial information, Andelman said he has funded the alliance with his own funds and doesn't expect it to make much money if and when it becomes profitable.
Two Better Than One?
Though the two groups have their differences, Christie said it's not a bad thing to have another group representing business owners.
"On areas where we agree, it's good to have more advocacy," he said.
Some of the alliance's area members agree with that sentiment.
Ryan Maloney, owner of Julio's Liquors in Westborough and a longtime friend of Andelman's, said that despite any tension arising from the competition between the two groups, businesses are better off as a result.
"Many are quick to point that competition is good," Maloney said. "Now we have associations and lobbyists in competition. Doesn't that make the industry stronger?"
Maloney said he has no real beef with any other industry lobbyists, but he appreciates the aggressive style of Andelman and Errichetti.
He admits that it likely helps that Andelman is a bit of a celebrity. That might make it a bit tougher for politicians to ignore him.
"Absolutely, there's a face out there and it's in the media," he said. "That definitely does help."
Lawmaker: Work Together
Rep. Ryan Fattman, R-Sutton, has met with Errichetti and supported some of the measures the alliance has pushed. Elected in 2010, Fattman said he doesn't have much experience working with the MRA yet, but said the alliance has accomplished a lot in a short time.
He said he couldn't think of two other competing associations who fight for some of the very same things, and encouraged the two groups to work together.
"It's incumbent on both groups to find where they can find common ground and approaches and tackle them," Fattman said.
For Robert Branca, a Dunkin Donuts franchisee who owns dozens of restaurants in four states, joining the alliance was a good way to fight what some see as an overabundance of class-action lawsuits against restaurants over tipping laws. State law says managers can't share in employee tip pools, but there is confusion over what that means for "quick- serve" restaurants like Dunkin Donuts, where a shift leader could have similar pay and duties to those of other employees, but is considered a manager and forbidden from taking tips.
Branca has prohibited shift managers from taking tips to be safe, and some have quit because of it. Dunkin franchisees have since started sharing strategies with Starbucks, which has faced class-action suits over employee tips.
Branca was already politically active with the Dunkin Donuts Franchise Owners' Massachusetts political action committee before he joined Andelman's alliance.
"They're very passionate," Branca said. "Not every issue they have affects us, but the ones that do are of prime importance to us."
Branca was once a member of the MRA but isn't any longer. He was miffed that, before the meals tax increase passed in 2008, no one from the MRA approached him to ask how it would impact his business.
"We're Dunkin Donuts and this is Massachusetts," he said. "You would think they would think to ask how this would affect us."
But Branca does have an ally in the MRA on the tipping issue. The group helped draft legislation that it hopes will pass during the next legislative session. It would allow any employee for whom a tip is intended to keep it.
If that doesn't pass, Andelman said the alliance, which has voiced support for it, will become more outspoken. n
Read more
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments