Steve Brooks

Moms and dads have always been core customers for restaurants. But today, say market researchers, their roles are changing. A quiet demographic revolution is reshaping the American family, with big implications for marketing.

Christopher Schroebel was not your typical junkie. While he lived with his dad in Keedysville, Maryland, the 20-year-old supported his heroin addiction by stealing $120,000 over the space of four months.

Every business person knows you can’t fight City Hall. But what if you no longer needed to? What if city officials, instead of piling up obstacles between a restaurant and its opening day, tried to bulldoze them out of the way?

The last thing a four-star restaurant wants to see is a picket line outside its door – especially when it’s walked by some of its employees. That was one of the tactics of Restaurant Opportunity Centers United, whose New York affiliate was suing Italian eatery Del Posto, over issues like unpaid tips and overtime.

By the numbers, for restaurants looking for affordable real estate, 2012 ought to be the best of times. In the retail sector, vacancy rates are still high, by historical standards, and rents are still low.

If you haven't started preparing for Obamacare, you're not alone. A July poll of 4,000 employers, by human relations consulting firm Mercer, found 56 percent had been waiting for a Supreme Court decision before planning.