FESmag

I recently returned from spending a week in Moscow, as part of work that we are doing with Rosinter, a large multi-unit operator in Russia. Rosinter is collaborating with a multi-national restaurant brand, as well as developing some of their own concepts.

The majority of Moscow's restaurants are small mom-and-pop places, or restaurants that cater to the new super wealthy. However chains are discovering that there's a lot of pent-up demand for well-run operators offering consistently good food for a good price. McDonald's has been in Russia for quite a long time. KFC, Planet Sushi and Il Patio, a casual Italian concept, are very popular, and often have long lines to be seated. I have to believe that any well-managed, well-run concept will grow. The Russian economy has been growing at 8 percent and its middleclass continues to grow.

I noticed that people tend to stay much longer when they visit a restaurant. While in a U.S. casual-dining restaurant, you'll see a table turn every 55-to-70 minutes, I'd guess that it's more likely 90 minutes in Russia. I think this trend is traceable to two important factors: Smoking is common, and guests stay to have coffee and dessert.

Beyond the need for ventilation systems, when you look at restaurants in Moscow you see there's a big opportunity to introduce more power, and more efficient power. Most restaurant equipment is electric, but because the infrastructure isn't great, it's sometimes difficult to get all the power you might want.

Some restaurants use very basic equipment, such as electric burners, which are very inefficient. Introducing energy efficiency to Russian restaurants would be a big plus. Figuring out ways to operate with less equipment - maybe use induction, thermal finishers and/or microwave/convection ovens - would also be a benefit to these operators.

Also, Russian labor costs are low, at least for now. So, their issue for equipment and design is not so much to reduce labor usage, as it is to make sure that the work processes are as simplified as possible to ensure the quality of the finished product. They can't get enough skilled labor for restaurants. People in Russia just are not trained for this kind of work.

Beyond the opportunity to upgrade the quality and performance of equipment here, kitchen and workstation design, as well as the flow of the restaurant also have lots of room for improvement. Spaces are small and compact, with lots of two-top tables.

One final observation. Menus are quite similar to what you'd see here in the United States, and not surprisingly, soups are very popular. It's very cold in Moscow right now. I'm going back next week. Please send any questions you might have, and I will try to answer them.