Despite what is often described as a booming economy, the news in the independent restaurant world across the country has been a bit grim in recent weeks. In cities like Seattle, Pasadena, Calif., and even Birmingham, Ala., restaurateurs are raising the alarm, saying rising costs are taking a toll on the restaurant communities, resulting in a higher rate of closures. San Francisco, long one of the nation’s top dining towns, has become somewhat of a poster child for the argument that restaurant operators are running out of options, as labor and real estate costs continue to climb — not to mention permitting delays and the burden of mandates like health care and sick leave. Stacy Jed, co-owner of Bluestem Brasserie and president of board for the Golden Gate Restaurant Association in San Francisco, said it has felt as if a tide had turned over the past two years, with restaurant closures outpacing openings. She cited data from Yelp indicating that 325 restaurants closed in the city in 2018, compared with 298 that opened. Jed blamed the steady increase in the minimum wage over the past five years, as well rising rents and a retail slowdown that has hurt foot traffic to restaurants. The lack of affordable housing has made it more difficult to recruit workers. “It’s not any one thing,” she said. “But the volume of traffic is not in step or in keeping with rising costs.” While the lament is familiar across the country, a bigger picture look indicates the restaurant industry is continuing to grow, not shrink. When asked to look at the restaurant openings versus closures in four major metro areas this year, for example, Yelp data indicates more restaurants are opening. From January through Sept. 30, for example, more restaurants opened than closed in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.

In addition, those numbers only reflect brick-and-mortar locations. A growing number of restaurant operators are building new virtual brands for delivery only, without any physical location. Advocates for a higher minimum wage continue to offer evidence that the restaurant industry is thriving not dying. In New York, for example, both restaurant revenue and employment were up in the period between 2013 and 2018, when the minimum wage grew in phases from $7.25 per hour to $13.50, according to a report supported by the National Employment Law Project, which has backed a move to eliminate the tip credit there. Still, some data indicates a slight decline in unit count. The NPD Group’s twice-annual ReCount restaurant census, for example, showed a slight contraction. As of March 2019, there were 364,468 independent restaurants across the U.S., which was down nearly 1%, or 2,065 locations, from a year prior. Tim Powell, managing principal with management consulting firm Foodservice IP, based in Chicago, said such numbers may simply reflect the way consumers are dining out differently. “I think it’s overblown, the shuttering of units,” Powell said. “While new unit openings and closures has typically been a reference point, we’re under a completely different foodservice paradigm.” He added that the growth in off-premise transactions has given independent restaurant operators more options for growing their businesses. “I don’t think we can look at things like openings because we’re seeing instead independents getting more creative,” he said. Smart restaurant operators are looking for ways to boost consumer engagement and build new business within their four walls, he said. That’s not to say there aren’t storms ahead. The restaurant industry is 15% of the global economy and remains vulnerable to recession fears, not only in the U.S. but around the world. Powell predicted signs of recession will begin to appear in the next quarter, starting in December. “The foodservice industry is a leading indicator and we’re already seeing consumers tightening their belts,” he said. Now is a good time to “hold tight and make sure your formula works,” said Powell, including investing in things like service, cleanliness and staff friendliness. “This is the time to up your guest satisfaction,” he said. — Source: Restaurant Hospitality.

Chicken in Bamboo Buckets

KFC Canada wants to serve up chicken in bamboo buckets eventually, but the fast food chain will start next year with poutine after it finds the right product for its pilot. “We want our customers to feel that KFC is dedicated to, not only providing finger lickin’ good chicken in every bucket, but also delivering it in a way that our guests can feel good about,” said Armando Carrillo, KFC Canada’s innovation manager, in a statement. The company’s sustainability commitment, which includes sourcing all of its fiber-based packaging from certified or recycled sources by next year, will see it testing new, innovative materials, it said in a statement.

KFC Canada says bamboo buckets will be available at some of the company’s more than 600 Canadian restaurants starting in early 2020. Just how early is still up in the air. “It will depend on how quickly we can work with suppliers to find a bamboo bucket option that maintains the integrity (of) the product while also achieving our sustainable goals,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions. The restaurant chain said it will strive to have buckets that are compostable but will at the very least ensure they are recyclable or reusable. Since different Canadian jurisdictions have different recycling and composting rules, it can be difficult for companies to make sure their products are recyclable or compostable across the country. Whether the bamboo bucket will meet those requirements Canada-wide “is something we will need to investigate as we move forward with viable prototypes, but it will be recyclable where facilities permit,” it said. The move would replace its polypropylene poutine packages with bamboo ones. “I think they’re doing a great thing,” said Chunping Dai, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia’s department of wood science. He noted many companies are starting to look at using bamboo and not just for takeout food containers. Companies are testing or already using the material in beauty products, furniture, sleep sets and other goods. “Bamboo is very sustainable,” he said. It grows very quickly, reaching its mature size in about three or four years, he said. The plant also sequesters about 40 per cent more carbon than trees given the same amount of land, Dai said.

One strike against it, though, could be cost, he added – as plastic products are notoriously cheap. That may come down to a demand issue. As more companies want to use bamboo, the material can be mass-produced and its cost could become more comparable to plastic, he said. KFC Canada plans to expand the initiative to all of its buckets -not just poutine – once it is successful at finding the right packaging. In this pilot, which will last for a yet undetermined amount of time, it is looking at consumer feedback and operational ease, among other things, to gauge success. The company has also promised to remove all plastic straws and bags from its restaurants before the end of this year. Many other chains are making similar moves when it comes to single-use plastics and have started to test or implement packaging made from alternative materials. McDonald’s Canada announced in June that two of its restaurants – one in Vancouver and one in London, Ont. – would become test beds for its greener packaging initiatives. The two locations would trial wooden cutlery and paper straws, among other alternatives. A&W Canada stopped serving plastic straws recently. It unveiled a public art installation in Toronto in January that spelled out the phrase “change is good” with the last of the company’s plastic straw reserves. Coffee chains in the country have been keen to create more sustainable packaging as well. Tim Hortons recently introduced a recyclable lid, while Starbucks says it is working to eliminate plastic straws globally by 2020. Consumers pushed the movement against plastic straws. Awareness seemed to reach a tipping point in 2018 after a video showing a turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose went viral. – Source: The Canadian Press/BNN Bloomberg.