It’s now or never. I strongly believe that 2019 is going to be the year when restaurants will really need to pick up their speed and think toward the future — or risk getting left in the dust.
FE&S’ Dealer of the Year and All Industry Awards Gala celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel-Chicago on May 18th is shaping up to be a special one. Of course, every year is special to us and made even more so as we reflect on the roster of past winners. This year will be extraordinary, because the 2019 DOY, TriMark USA, is made up of so many — five to be exact — past winners.
When we opened the first Doc B's in September 2013 in Chicago we started as a fast-casual concept with digital menu boards, GPS table trackers and a few servers to run the food to customers. By March 2014, we started to make the transition to full service. Not long after, we converted our second Chicago location to full service, and then went on to open six additional sites throughout Florida and Texas. Our newest location will open this summer in Aventura, Fla.
In today’s workplace, it seems everyone is dealing with a talent shortage. In August 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics noted there were more than 7 million job openings. Over the past year, there has been a net gain in the number of jobs available. The prospects for an infusion of new talent remain low since it is currently a job hunter’s market.
Well, I’m not sure that having fun was all that we wanted to do at The NAFEM Show 2019 in Orlando, Fla., but I can tell you that we certainly had some. (Yep — another reference to Sheryl Crow, who I would like to thank for tossing me her guitar pick.)
I hear the word holistic used a lot these days. Nutritionists and others in the health and wellness space use it to describe the way they approach consulting and care. Many executives latch onto the term to describe a next generation or new wave of thinking as businesses evolve. In this time-crunched, profit-pinched and super-competitive world, a holistic approach has become more important than perhaps ever before.
In today’s workplace, it seems everyone is dealing with a talent shortage. In August 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics noted there were more than 7 million job openings. Over the past year, there has been a net gain in the number of jobs available. The prospects for an infusion of new talent remain low since it is currently a job hunter’s market.
As CEO and president of Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) for the past five years, Hattie Hill makes it her mission to collect research, insights and best practice solutions in order to help close the workplace gender gap in the foodservice industry. The group’s annual conference, March 10 to 13 in Dallas, marks its 30th anniversary. Hattie is also the founder and CEO of Hattie Hill Enterprises (HHE), a management and human relations consultancy in Dallas.
Last fall Cris Gross assumed a new role at Stafford-Smith Inc. as VP sales and marketing. The new role comes with a renewed focus on street sales. After two decades as regional sales manager, the FE&S 2009 DSR of the Year says he is enthused about building even closer connections to customers and helping guide the slew of Stafford-Smith new hires into the industry.
Family, relationships, honoring teachers and celebrating tradition are all important. There should be no doubt the new ideas, energy and technological flexibility of youth is critical to the future success of the foodservice industry. Balancing the vim and vigor of newcomers — in my view anyone with less than 10 years in the biz — with the sacrifice and hard work of our founding mothers and fathers seems like the best formula for success.
Many brands have had to deal with how to evolve their customer base and maintain relevance. For us, it’s a tight QSR space. I’m sure those in other sectors feel the same way.
Tired of hearing about delivery this and that yet? Well, it’s only just begun according to Daniel Boutare, managing associate, and David Stone, managing partner and principal, both of The New England Consulting Group (NECG) in Westport, Conn.
Welcome to the first edition of FE&S for 2019 in what should prove to be an exciting and eventful year.
With a talent and an affinity for all things mechanical, Kevin Priest attended South Georgia Technical College in Cordele, where he studied both industrial electrical technologies and electrical construction and maintenance. This prepared him well for his current career.
Efficiency is a key part of the future for 1,000-plus-unit Firehouse Subs. The chain continues to focus on simplifying, both from the guest standpoint and for the crew. John Namey, vice president of real estate services for Firehouse Subs, says transforming guest engagement makes it a simpler process for franchisees to bring costs down and react — but not overreact — to changes in the industry. Off-premise dining and delivery rank among the biggest changes he sees.
At 87 years old, Hal Block, principal of YBR Marketing, is still going strong with more than five decades as a manufacturers’ rep.
So … you haven’t decided whether to be a nanoinfluencer or a macroinfluencer in the foodservice industry in 2019. No matter, either way the FE&S 2019 Equipment & Supplies Directory serves as a great place to start your foodservice equipment and supplies-related research.
In this digital day and age, foodservice operators have a lot on their plates when it comes to understanding and navigating new technologies flooding the market. They can simply choose to ignore these new platforms but by doing this, they risk getting left in the dust by their competitors. Not to mention, these platforms — many of which offer cloud-based data collection/mining and operations and customer service support — can and do help businesses become smarter and more efficient, which only helps to strengthen the bottom line.
It’s been said repeatedly that no industry combines work and pleasure quite like foodservice. And while that’s undoubtedly true, the foodservice industry stands out in another significant way as well: through its generosity.
