Want to run a successful, profitable restaurant? We hope you have a strong stomach. Like many other new businesses, the failure rate is exceptionally high. According to CNBC, “Around 60 percent of new restaurants fail within the first year, and nearly 80 percent shutter before their fifth anniversary.

Even if your restaurant has a safety program in place and makes every effort to prevent the most common employee injuries, sometimes accidents still happen. The pressure of the weekend dinner rush can cause even the best-trained kitchen staff to cut corners, or potentially, their fingertips.

Who doesn’t find inspiration in the story of the teenager from Connecticut who borrows a grand from family and friends to start his own restaurant? As the business begins to take off, he starts to sell franchises, eventually opening over 10,000 locations in 64 countries around the world.

It is rare that I don’t spend an evening holed up at a wine bar exploring (mostly for the better, sometimes for the worse) bold whites, rosés, and reds from small, family-owned vineyards I never heard of, or relishing a bartender-made tipple—whether crowned with an egg white pre-dinner, or unapologetically dark and boozy just before bed.

The fast-casual restaurant industry has redefined restaurants as we know them, forcing traditional quick-service operators to enhance their experience and full-service restaurants to pay more attention to speed and convenience.

Upton 43Opened: December 2015Location: Minneapolis, MinnesotaOwner: Chef Erick HarceyAverage Check: $90Description: Upgraded Swedish staples guided by traditions, not trends.If celebrity chefs are the new iteration of movie stars, then Chef Erick Harcey is the under-the-radar method actor.

Jackfruit, sustainability, global flavors—these are just a few of the food trends reported for 2017. The hot topic of food trend forecasts for the new year began in the fall, and to date, a myriad of reports have been published, all with varying results.

Fast-casual and hybrid restaurants have become undeniably attractive to chefs who are looking to expand their portfolios or establish a business venture with legs to grow. But the leap into a counter-service format isn’t so simple as nixing a waitstaff.