Restaurant patrons these days seem to play a never-ending game of “Beat the Clock.” In today’s constantly connected, always on-the-go world, there’s less and less time for people to sit down and enjoy what used to be termed a “relaxed” meal. As a result, restaurants continue to reexamine their workflows and preparation methods with an eye toward speeding things up.
Eleven years ago, it was mainly Ohioans that were familiar with Marco's Pizza. Today, with some 630 restaurants from coast to coast, the chain continues to deliver on CEO and owner Jack Butorac's goal of nationalizing the brand and growing the concept.
In our August issue, FE&S published "Comprehensive Commercial Kitchen Equipment Retrofit," the first article in a series about the cookline project taking place at Werewolf Bar & Grill in San Diego and at other foodservice operations on the West Coast. Earlier this year, the PG&E Food Service Technology Center (FSTC) in San Ramon, Calif., teamed up with SoCalGas and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) for a grant project awarded by the California Energy Commission to study kitchen system optimization in commercial foodservice and the use of high-efficiency commercial cooking equipment in various foodservice operations.
Let’s face it: Operators’ number one goal is getting quality food out to customers in a timely manner. Overseeing kitchen equipment repair is closer to a necessary evil. But unless they’re fine with spending good money on a soon-to-be-dead unit, operators need to do their homework when it comes time to make a repair/replace decision.
As menus become more streamlined yet creative, the tabletops that foodservice operators use to showcase their culinary creations continue to follow suit. From bare tabletops to egg cups to rustic dinnerware to classy cocktail glasses, the list of items operators use to create their tabletops is bound only by their imaginations.
Consumers' appetite for pizza is seemingly insatiable. To help meet customer demand, operators continue to increase the quality of the ingredients while embracing special ovens and other technologies that accelerate speed of service.
Dealing with customers’ food preferences and special dietary requirements is tough enough for a single-site operation, but can be particularly challenging for one with hundreds of locations.
Realizing there was an opportunity to capitalize on traditional recipes from Naples, Italy, Michele Scotto brought his family to the U.S. in 1964 and proceeded to build a legacy for his sons, Anthony and Ben.
As senior living foodservice programs adapt to meet the needs of more discerning residents, a variety of equipment items help to expand and diversify menus.
We've all been there. You think you know everything there is to know about food safety. But with restaurants ordering higher volumes of fresh produce and specialty proteins, a lot of which come from smaller, local purveyors, operators should employ a few extra steps to maintain a clean and food-safe operation.
Mountainside Café introduces a unique spark of sophistication to culinary creations at this Intermountain Healthcare facility.
Rebates for energy-saving commercial foodservice equipment can be an incredible resource. This becomes especially relevant when the cost of this equipment teeters on the high range and operators continue to look for ways to prove ROI. Offered by the EPA’s Energy Star program as well as utility companies around the country, rebates can save foodservice operators up to thousands of dollars on equipment. For some operators, a $500 rebate can mean the difference between buying or not buying a specific piece of foodservice equipment.
Senior Living Q&A with David E. Henke, Franciscan–University Place executive director; Kevin Finnegan, Unidine general manager of dining services; and Tonya Hendricks, Unidine district manager for Franciscan–University Place, West Lafayette, Ind.
There can be benefits for a senior living community that is affiliated with a major university.
Fresh. Healthy. Scratch cooking. These buzz words dominate today’s school foodservice industry. But what impact can these trends have on operations that were doing little more than heating and serving meals until now? Read on to find out.
Catering sales at restaurants are way up, according to a just-released study by Technomic. Sales for both consumer social and business catering — meaning drop-off catering platters at office buildings and other business-related locations — has increased 20 percent to a whopping $52.3 billion since 2012.
"Total cost of ownership" represents one of the foodservice equipment industry's most ubiquitous and misunderstood terms.