Trends

Keeping the foodservice equipment marketplace up to date with the latest menu and concept trends.

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B&I Case Study: Adobe Lehi City, Utah

Adobe's newest architecturally and artistically forward location amidst the scenic Rocky Mountains brought in Bon Appetit Management Company to manage the day to day operations of its new servery and nearly 10,000-square-foot atrium that offers dining and comingling for the software giant's nearly 2,000 employees. 

For more on the business and industry segment check out: Growth in the B&I Segment and Action Cooking. And for a second case study see V.F. Outdoor Inc.

The fully visible, open servery setup features a salad bar set against windows overlooking mountains, back-ended by a prep table where staff can work and help serve as customers move through the line.

The main cooking areas consist of three custom-designed, flexible/convertible action stations that alternate between Mongolian-style grill and a Tandoori oven set on castors for easy swapping; a four-foot griddle top interchangeable with an induction burner top over a refrigerated base, and a smoker/rotisserie oven station. Nahum Goldberg, LEED AP, senior associate with Cini-Little International in San Pablo, Calif., and his team worked with the fire marshal to create a full-flush system such that the hood and fire suppression system wouldn't need to be adjusted or switched every time the equipment switched out.

Adobe's new servery also features two soda stations with 150 feet of piping traveling to a lower level for fuller access to ventilation, along with a chewable ice machine for cult Sonic ice. Waste oil from the fryers is pumped straight down a level to the back dock with a tank where trucks pickup the oil for conversion to biodiesel, no employee handling required.

The dishroom sits directly above the dock with a pulper/extractor pip that transfers scraps directly downward to composting pickup bins. A rotating setup taking 100 or so trays at a time prevents staff from having to move more than a few feet to load and unload the washer. In addition to a heat recovery system, the energy-efficient warewasher also reuses final rinse water to preheat incoming water. Any extra overrun goes down a drain to the scrapping trough.

With a farm-to-table dining approach, the servery has a complete produce washing area set just off the dock so no boxes ever enter the kitchen.

This area includes veggie washing sinks and a dryer. Bon Appetit and Adobe are also planning an on-site garden, with vegetables coming through this washing phase as well.