Wow Bao, an Asian fast-casual brand created in 2003 by Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, has, over nearly two decades, done things differently.
There is a lot to be said for the concept of co-branding in the restaurant business. With little effort, it is easy to see how complementary operations can bolster one another and maximize the precious labor and real estate expenses that figure so heavily in the bottom-line success or failure of any venture.
If one theme emerges from the stories of FE&S 2022 award winners, it would have to be persistence in the face of challenge. Indeed, many of these award winners leveraged their resourceful nature to find ways to achieve when many companies were simply trying to survive.
I began my career as a professional investor studying hundreds of businesses in many different industries. My biggest takeaway from this experience was that all great companies had at least one thing in common: They were aggressive adopters of technology. Their counterparts — the companies that ignored technology — suffered the consequences regardless of their leadership position.
Labor is an issue that continues to confound the foodservice industry. Nobody has enough and few know where to go to source new talent. One way to rectify this situation is to change the way you think about attracting employees, specifically entry-level positions. That’s what we have done with our company, and the rewards have been amazing. Allow me to explain.
There’s been plenty of twists and turns since the COVID-19 pandemic first took the world by storm in early 2020, and few segments have felt the brunt of all this uncertainty more than foodservice.
The market-driven menu at Rich Table in San Francisco focuses on seasonal, readily available ingredients. Menu items feature seafood ingredients that range from sea urchin to cod tempura. This concept was created by chef couple Evan and Sarah Rich almost 10 years ago.
For multiconcept operator FAT Brands, 2021 was an active year, one in which the company diversified its restaurant portfolio and expanded its reach through a series of acquisitions.
The past two years have tested the foodservice industry in ways that were previously unimaginable.
It’s a challenge for a privately held business to pass from one generation to the next. Even more so to get to the third generation. But that’s exactly what happened with Ace Mart Restaurant Supply, a San Antonio-based foodservice equipment and supplies dealer.
The business environment of the past two years has challenged the creativity and resourcefulness of just about everyone in the foodservice industry. Kirby Mallon, owner and president of Elmer Schultz and president of the Commercial Food Equipment Service Association, talks about how service agents have adapted by leveraging technology, working together and more.
Here at Zoomba Group, we’ve taken a divide and conquer approach to our return to industry travel. Like all of you, we are trying to be mindful about where to go, who to see and for how long.
We are proud to extend our congratulations to the all-star roster of foodservice professionals who will be recognized at the FE&S 2022 Dealer of the Year & All-Industry Awards Gala, taking place the Saturday of the National Restaurant Association Show, which this year falls on May 21, 2022. As always, the event will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago.
If you take a moment to check out the table of contents page of this issue you may notice the postal marking at the top of the page that indicates that this is volume 74, number 12 for this publication. That means that in January of 2022 we will be entering our 75th year of continuous publication.
Some folks can spend entire lifetimes trying to find a career that suits them. Others are influenced by a random experience. Such is the case with Bill Risener, field technical service manager for ATECH, a Nashville-based service agent.
If you missed the first two installments of our FED Lunch & Learn series, you may want to circle back and catch up by listening to the archived one-hour presentations at FEDThoughtLeadership.com, before the third and final installment on Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. CST. For the investment of your time, what you will gain is valuable insight from a variety of viewpoints on some of the most important issues facing the foodservice industry today.
The concept of co-branding continues to gain traction among multiconcept operators. The idea is pretty simple: Take two brands with a common customer base and complementary menus and combine them under one roof. Having at least two different menus to choose from, so the thinking goes, will make visiting the location more appealing to customers on an ongoing basis.
I had the honor of serving our country for more than 32 years, including 4 years in active duty as a Marine and 28 years in the reserves as a Navy Seabee. During that time, I served multiple tours of duty, including my last one at Camp Fallujah in Iraq, back in 2008, where I turned 50 years old. My military experience definitely developed me into who I am today. It’s been the driving force for my life. It showed me who I was from the inside out. And that experience continues to profoundly influence my role as a foodservice designer and business owner.
Within the competitive climate at today’s colleges and universities, the quality of dining services can be a competitive advantage. Prospective students take food into consideration today when making college decisions. “For some prospective students, the dining experience can be a deal breaker when selecting an alma mater,” according to CollegeRank.
Labor, labor, labor. It’s all people seem to talk about lately as we move through the next stages of the pandemic and its aftermath. That’s certainly the case for Cini Little’s Kip Serfozo, FCSI, LEED AP, WELL AP, who says every one of his clients has brought up labor shortages as the No. 1 issue of concern.