The robot takeover of the restaurant industry has been delayed. Eatsa, the automated chain that emerged in 2015 and quickly expanded last year, has closed all but two of its seven locations, both in its home market of San Francisco. The company plans to work more with other chains to help them use its platform…. read more
Tabletop/Front Of House News
Dinners Blending Foodservice Purchases, Home Cooking Gain Traction
In the 1980s and ’90s, when Americans were struggling to get dinner on the table after work and shuttling kids between activities, microwaves, frozen dinners and fast-food restaurants were mainstays. Unlike recent generations, consumers today are shifting toward eating more dinners at home, including those purchased at restaurants, according to The NPD Group’s most recent… read more
Collaboration a Key Component of PepsiCo’s e-Commerce Strategy
Mention e-commerce and retail and two names immediately come to mind – Amazon and Alibaba. Yet similar to brick-and-mortar retail, the e-commerce market features a wide variety of competitors. For consumer packaged goods companies, opportunities exist in working with many of them. “ …We have a team of roughly 200 e-commerce professionals supporting our businesses… read more
The National Restaurant Association Ready to Summit in Austin, TX
Are you ready for a taste of tomorrow? That’s what we’re serving up at our Restaurant Innovation Summit in Austin, Texas. From Oct. 25 to 27, our Summit will bring industry leaders together to talk about technology and how it is changing the way we do business. Operators, futurists and innovators will share strategies on how… read more
Bite Squad Completes Acquisition and Integration of 17 Restaurant Delivery Services, Expanding National Footprint
Bite Squad, an online and mobile food ordering and delivery service, announced it has completed the acquisition and integration of 17 local restaurant delivery companies. These acquisitions represent Bite Squad’s strategy to consolidate the fragmented restaurant delivery service industry and expand the company’s national footprint to more than 30 metropolitan areas across the United States…. read more
Best Practices When Working with a Temporary Kitchen
Sometimes during a foodservice renovation project, a temporary kitchen becomes a necessity when an operator can’t suspend service entirely. Kip Serfozo, managing director of Camacho USA, an Atlanta-based foodservice design firm, has a few tips that can make any temporary structure work more efficiently. As a starting point, think about “the loading dock and how… read more
Restaurants Can’t Make Servers Share Tips with Kitchen Staff
As restaurants across the country debate whether to oust tipping, things are getting a little more complicated for restaurateurs in several U.S. states. Earlier this week, California’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous 2011 ruling that bans restaurants from making servers and bartenders share their tips with back of the house employees, reports… read more
Restaurant renovations??? – 9.1.17
Restaurant renovations: Does your facility need a facelift? ● Decide whether the time is right. When it comes to redesigns, stay ahead of the curve. “If you wait until it looks like it’s time to remodel, you’ve waited too long,” says restaurant consultant Aaron Allen, who recommends a facelift every five to seven years. Allen heads up… read more