July 01, 2020
Written by Dana Tanyeri
A sometimes overlooked subset of college and university dining, two-year community colleges and technical schools are experiencing the same uncertainty right now as their four-year counterparts. But with COVID-19 fears and safety protocols dashing students’ hopes for a traditional residential campus experience, and with community colleges offering affordability, the ability to transfer credits, and the option of living at home until the dust settles, the segment could be a bright spot.
June 30, 2020
Written by The Editors
Bump in the road or a sign of things to come, only time will tell which is true but as the number of COVID-19 cases increased over the past week, transactions at restaurants and bars dipped slightly.
June 22, 2020
Written by The Editors
If the mandated stay at home orders that permeated the country starting in mid-March ravaged restaurants sales, it was safe to assume the same would apply to sales of foodservice equipment and supplies.
June 17, 2020
Written by The Editors
Like just about every other restaurant operator out there, Crushed Red has had to adapt its approach and remain flexible to overcome the countless challenges brought forth by COVID-19.
June 15, 2020
Written by The Editors
Restaurant industry performance continues to show steady, incremental progress from one week to the next.
June 09, 2020
Written by Jerry Stiegler
June 09, 2020
Written by The Editors
While it did not take long for most states and municipalities to mandate restaurant restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus, reopening is another story, for various reasons.
June 02, 2020
Written by Jerry Stiegler
June 02, 2020
Written by The Editors
On May 15 restaurants and bars in Ohio received the green light to welcome patrons back for outdoor dining and then, just six days later, they were able to reopen their dining rooms to customers who wished to dine on-premises. Despite this all clear, at least one operator continues to take a more deliberate approach to bringing his business back up to full speed.
June 02, 2020
Written by The Editors
As restaurants chart their path to recovery, many experts have predicted that digital platforms would play a critical role in the industry’s comeback efforts. And according to data from the NPD Group, these predictions are starting to prove true.
June 01, 2020
Written by Toby Weber
While some restaurants and foodservice operators shifted to an exclusively off-premises model due to state and local closures to stop the spread of COVID-19, others chose to temporarily shutter their businesses entirely.
June 01, 2020
Written by Joseph M. Carbonara
While much has been made about the way mandated closures to thwart the spread of COVID-19 have decimated restaurants and other foodservice operators, the fallout from this pandemic continues to impact individual members of the supply chain in different ways. Take, for example, Brad Pierce, president of Restaurant Equipment World , an Orlando, Fla.-based foodservice equipment and supplies dealer. Pierce’s multifaceted business and role as an AEROBridge Disaster Response volunteer give him a unique perspective on the pandemic’s impact on foodservice and beyond.
June 01, 2020
Written by Joseph M. Carbonara
In March, when states and local governments began handing down stay-at-home edicts to curb the spread of the coronavirus and subsequently closed restaurant dining rooms, a very common line of thought was things would get back to normal sooner than later. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. According to the National Restaurant Association, more than 5.5 million restaurant workers had lost their jobs through mid-May. And as I write this, many dining rooms across the country remain dark as some states cautiously start to develop plans to reopen their economies.
June 01, 2020
Written by Toby Weber
Even a pandemic such as COVID-19 can’t completely take away emerging chains’ appetite for growth. Moving forward, though, these multiunit operators will continue to adjust their designs and equipment packages to deliver brand-defining experiences for customers, whether they choose to dine on- or off-premises.
May 26, 2020
Written by The Editors
With states and municipalities continuing to slowly lift restrictions on restaurants, foodservice operators and, for that matter, other businesses, consumer confidence continues to creep back. As a result, sales at restaurants show small but positive improvements.
May 20, 2020
Written by Joseph M. Carbonara
One presumed outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic is the demise of self-service options like buffets and salad bars. Through thoughtful hard work and collaboration, though, one restaurant chain is doing what it can to ensure its self-serve options continue to thrive once guests return for on-premises dining.
May 20, 2020
Written by Juan Martinez
Let’s face it: we really do not know how this crisis will play out, and therefore the implications to restaurant design remain just as uncertain. As such, the impact on restaurant design will remain a moving target for the foreseeable future.
May 19, 2020
Written by The Editors
Not surprisingly, transactions at U.S. chain restaurants continued to show improvement for the week ending May 10.
May 12, 2020
Written by Jerry Stiegler
The concept of meal kits is not a new one. Yet this segment is enjoying something of a rebirth thanks to coronavirus.
May 12, 2020
Written by The Editors
The list of industry events rescheduled or outright cancelled due to COVID-19 got a little longer when the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers pushed its biennial trade show to August 26-28 from the original date of February 4-6. In addition to shifting to an August timeframe, the show will move to Orlando from New Orleans.
May 11, 2020
Written by The Editors
For the third consecutive week, restaurant industry transactions continued to show signs of life.
May 06, 2020
Written by The Editors
Much has been made about how stay-at-home orders continue to impact restaurants and other foodservice operators, and rightfully so. But foodservice operators are not the only ones trying to come to grips with what the new normal will mean for the industry.
May 05, 2020
Written by Joseph M. Carbonara
As the conversation gradually shifts toward reentry and what that could potentially look like, the foodservice industry may have gotten a glimpse of what’s to come last week when Georgia allowed restaurants to open their dining rooms.
May 05, 2020
Written by Joseph M. Carbonara
For the second consecutive week the restaurant industry has some positive news on which to chew.
May 01, 2020
Written by Joseph M. Carbonara
If there’s any one heartwarming aspect to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the way operators, consultants and other members of the industry continue to come together in support of one another.
May 01, 2020
Written by Chistopher East and Meredith Mulliken
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, it sent many of us into shelter-at-home mode, separated from our workplaces. Here at Chrane , our immediate focus was the safety of our team. That focus quickly shifted to the sustainability of our local restaurants, bars, breweries and the many small (and large) businesses in foodservice.
May 01, 2020
Written by Warren Solochek, Principal Insights to Opportunities Inc., Chicago
When the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is finally behind us and surviving restaurants are able to offer a full array of food options again, the industry’s operating environment will be very different than it was before. It’s likely a sizable number of units will permanently shutter because owners did not have the financial resources to hang on while any number of local, state and federal restrictions were placed on their everyday operations.
May 01, 2020
Written by Dana Tanyeri
The speed, scope and ramifications of coronavirus-driven societal and industry changes are stunning. Unlike during the economic recession of 2008, when the fast-casual segment rose to prominence and QSRs upped their game as budget-conscious customers traded down, this global health pandemic leaves few seats for winners at the table.
April 30, 2020
Written by Donna Boss
A frontline look as one hospital foodservice team adapts to service during a pandemic.
April 28, 2020
Written by The Editors
Despite still operating at historic lows compared to one year ago, the restaurant industry is slowly starting to claw its way back.