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Now that health care reform has passed in Washington, despite opposition from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and other business interests, quick-service operators across the country are trying to figure out how the bill will impact them.

But after a year of hyper-partisan legislative combat, many are confused about what is in the 1,990-page bill President Obama signed on March 23, and anxiety is running high.

“There’s an underlying fear about the unknown in the bill and how it’s going to affect us,” says Mike Stimola, CEO of Sandella’s Flatbread Café.

Stimola joins a throng of operators with lingering questions about the business ramifications of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“What exactly is the burden to the business owners out there?” says Paul Mangiamele, CEO of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina. “Will they be able to survive through the continued pressures on margins, sales, and retaining employees?”

Until these questions are answered, Mangiamele says, expect restaurants to buckle down, particularly in their hiring.

“People that would have been hired to start impacting the unemployment number now won’t be hired,” he says. “So they won’t get health care anyway because they won’t have a job.”

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Last week’s decision by the New York City Board of Health to give restaurants sanitation grades and require them to publicly display their “report cards” garnered mixed reactions from operators.

“Like everything else, it’s change and it’s something you worry about,” says Mike Savini, director of operations for Hale and Hearty Soups, which has more than 20 locations in the city. “But as much as I hate to admit it, I can’t say it’s a bad thing.”

Savini’s wary trust of city restaurant policy comes after decisions to implement smoking bans and require some chains to post calorie counts have not come back to bite Big Apple eateries.

“Honestly, from an operator’s standpoint, the grading system is probably a good thing,” he says. “It will probably force some subpar operators to step up their game.”

Inspection reports today are pass/fail and posted on the health department’s Web site. Under the new system, which is set to take effect in July, restaurants can receive an A, B, or C based on the number of demerits they receive during a sanitation inspection, and they are required to display their grades near their front doors.

Restaurants receiving a B or C do not have to post their grades for 30 days, following a second inspection. A-graded restaurants can display their mark immediately and are subject to less-frequent follow-up inspections than their lower-scoring peers.

Alan Dell, owner of Katz Deli, calls the grading measure a “super important” step in boosting customer peace of mind.

“I’m happy about it,” Dell says. “Now you’ll feel comfortable and safe when you go out to eat.”

But not everyone shares Dell’s enthusiasm.

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As mobile quick serves grow in popularity across the country, operators should be prepared for a host of challenges when running one.

Alternatively known as lunch trucks or food wagons, these horse-powered kitchens might seem like the cure to the common restaurant operator’s daily headache, but nothing could be further from the truth.

“Imagine the workload and times it by 100,” says Molly Taylor, who drives her Sweets Truck around Los Angeles.

Lower start-up costs notwithstanding, the burgeoning mobile food business has its fair share of stressors. Permits can be hard to come by—especially in New York’s lottery system—and, with long heating and cooling periods for ovens, opening for business every day is anything but a turnkey operation.

“Don’t be fooled,” says Joe Jiannetto, a 12-year veteran on the Manhattan circuit with three pizza trucks. “It’s a 16- to 18-hour day. It’s definitely not easier than running a restaurant.”

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Next month, hundreds of restaurants across the country will ask their patrons to pay for their tap water to quench the thirst of people they have likely never met.

That’s because March 21 marks the beginning of World Water Week and the start of the fourth annual UNICEF Tap Project. Launched in 2007, the Tap Project has restaurants ask their customers to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy free of charge. All donations help UNICEF bring clean, accessible water to the nearly 450 million children worldwide who lack access to safe water.

The Tap Project is the brainchild of advertising creative director David Droga. Since its New York City kickoff four years ago, the project has spread to almost all 50 states and raised $1.5 million, according to tapproject.org.

The initiative focuses on restaurants because of their readymade ability to make a significant impact, says Richard Alleyne with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

“We like the idea of the restaurant involvement because it’s so turnkey and the dining community has really picked up on it in the last two years,” Alleyne says.

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