When compared to other restaurant segments, sandwich shops don't always get the respect they deserve. Although the menus may be less extensive and elaborate than those at other types of eateries, plenty of innovation goes into creating these simple dishes that most people regularly consume.
Operators from all foodservice segments now use expo kitchens — once the exclusive domain of fine-dining restaurants — to add some zest to customers' experience. Here we explore the evolution of this foodservice phenomenon and offer a few tips on how to make your expo kitchen a functional element of design.
The creators of Newk's Eatery are no strangers to successful fast-casual concepts. Back in 1989, Don and Chris Newcomb and Debra Bryson founded McAlister's Deli, which now has 324 locations.
Currently the largest signature brand within Sodexo's extensive portfolio, Jazzman's Café & Bakery has also secured its spot as one of the foodservice management firm's highest-grossing concepts.
For a restaurant that's a part of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, known for its higher-end, innovative restaurant concepts, Community Canteen is surprisingly sedate. In fact, the concept stems from simplicity. "Our goal is to offer fast-casual, simple and good food," says Susan Weaver, chef/partner.
The fourth of chef-owner Bryan Voltaggio's portfolio of D.C.-area concepts, Range anchors 14,000 square feet in the recently renovated mixed-use Chevy Chase Pavilion building.
Sometimes it pays to invest in green. Take, for example, Reed College, which received a gold certificate in the City of Portland's Sustainability at Work program. Reed received the program's highest honor, in recognition of the college's energy-saving, waste-saving and local food-sourcing initiatives.
Purchasing energy-efficient equipment is a significant investment. Equipment maintenance along with operator training to avoid misuse and mistakes are two key steps operators must take to protect upfront costs and maximize return on investment.
While many foodservice consultants specify pieces of equipment, few actually have the opportunity to aid in designing equipment. One foodservice consultant who often assists manufacturers in developing equipment items shares the lessons she's learned over the years that can help designers make informed specifications.
When the Culinary Institute of America expanded its San Antonio, Texas, campus in 2010 to establish an associate degree program there, part of the vision was to include a venue that would serve as both an instructional lab and a full-service, commercial-style restaurant. The result is Nao, a 4,400-square-foot restaurant that gives students in their last 12 weeks of the program "real world" experience in both the front and back of the house.
After more than two decades at one of Dallas' most renowned hotel restaurants, the Mansion on Turtle Creek, celebrity chef Dean Fearing went solo in 2007, opening Fearing's, a 12,000-square-foot, 320-seat restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Designed as seven distinct dining environments — from elegant to casual to garden pavilion — the hottest spot in the house is themed "Dean's Kitchen."
The show-stopping main kitchen at Restaurant R'evolution is something of an expo kitchen — all diners are invited to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the gleaming 2,500-square-foot space. But it's R'evoution's second, smaller kitchen that co-chefs John Folse and Rick Tramanto had designed to deliver a uniquely interactive dining experience.
Sales in this segment are piping hot as consumers remain hungry for freshly made menu items across all
dayparts.
Despite a tight budget, this new design will become a model other schools in the district follow as they look to enhance the quality of food and service they offer students and faculty.
After 30 years in business, Bruegger's Bagels is poised to shake things up at its approximately 300 locations. A cobranding agreement with Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee for its Minneapolis and Raleigh, N.C., sites was a natural evolution for two brands that were operating side by side in these markets.
Driven in part by the food truck boom, central and shared kitchens continue to grow in popularity. Here the owner of a Chicago area shared kitchen shares with us the key foodservice equipment and design implications for this type of foodservice operation.
