Gem Reopens Flynn McGarry’s Emphasizing on simplicity

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Gem Reopens Flynn McGarry’s Emphasizing on simplicity

Americans talk about work-life balance in Europe the way some people talk about what it would be like to win the lottery. It would be nice to have 35-hour workweeks like the French, August vacation like the British and the Italians, and real quality of life as in most parts of Scandinavia, but that could never happen. Not here.

When chef Flynn McGarry temporarily closed his restaurant, Gem, in June he felt similarly. “I hadn’t left New York for more than two days in almost three years,” says the 20-year-old chef. “And I had reached this point where I was having the equivalent of writer’s block.” McGarry and the restaurant’s staff had fallen into something of a routine, which is good for business, but, McGarry thinks, bad for creative growth.

“The best way to push the restaurant forward and adapt was to actually take some time off and be able to get some perspective and think about what I want out of the restaurant,” McGarry explains. “It’s very hard to implement change when you have service five nights a week.”

So on June 26, McGarry closed the tasting-menu restaurant and set off on a journey that reads like a Travel & Leisure feature. New York to Los Angeles to Barcelona to Belgium to Copenhagen to Paris to London to Copenhagen to Martha’s Vineyard and back to New York, with stints cooking at Carousel and Geranium along the way.

McGarry outside Gem (right) and a new Spanish prawn-and-ham dish inspired by simple meals the chef enjoyed in Barcelona. Christian Rodriguez.

It was a vacation, yes, but it also fundamentally changed parts of how McGarry plans to run Gem from now on. For one, the restaurant will only be open four days a week (Wednesday through Saturday), a move inspired by Denmark’s Geranium. (Accordingly, the price of dinner is now $200, up from $155.) The chef is also leaning more heavily on what’s simple and comforting as opposed to the “technique heavy” fare that led so many publications to call Gem “ambitious,” “nuanced,” and “lyrical.” A dish featuring Spanish prawns and ham and another with pickled mackerel, fresh cheese, and pickled young ginger were inspired by the unfussy meals he had in Barcelona between siestas.

McGarry will also lean more heavily on seafood, which he believes is one of the Northeast’s greatest assets. “We’re getting fish coming in that still haven’t gone into rigor mortis,” he says, referencing a new grilled albacore dish featuring a tomatillo-spiced bagna càuda and clam tartare with three types of clams and five different toppings presented in shell halves. Overall, McGarry says he will stick to putting out 12 to 13 dishes per tasting versus the backbreaking 16 dishes he was serving before.

But more than anything, McGarry believes this version of Gem will represent how restaurants should be run. “I think when you come and eat now versus before, the experience will be more genuine,” he says, adding that for the first time he’ll actually be able to tell guests where the inspiration for each dish came from. “There won’t be any clouds of what I think people want from me or what I think New York wants. It’s now just what we want to do, what I want to do.”

Are You Asking For Location Permissions? Your Users Expect Something In Return

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Are You Asking For Location Permissions? Your Users Expect Something In Return

In today’s profoundly connected world, mobile app users have become increasingly sophisticated. Digital integration has resulted in higher levels of consumer expectation, and customers expect more from brands than ever before. 

One of the major challenges brands face is increasing customer aversion to one-size-fits-all digital marketing outreach. There’s building resistance towards generic marketing campaigns: 76% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations, especially when it comes to digital advertising. If consumers allow brands access to their personal data, they demand a personalized app experience in return.

Here’s a basic scenario we see all too often: a media app notifies all users at 7PM local time that their new favorite series is available to stream. For some users, that’s a good time to receive the alert. They have a predictable routine, and the reminder is timely and useful. But for others, their schedule, like their consumer viewing habits, is not as predictable. Some users may still be at work or at an after-work commitment. For these users, receiving the alert at the same time each and every day feels spammy at best; irritating at worse. Once users reach the stage of annoyance, they’re likely to disable push notifications altogether, eliminating the brand’s ability to engage with them. 

According to a joint study by Goldsmiths University and Adobe, 75% of marketing leaders admit to not understanding changing consumer behavior – inevitably impacting their business performance. Location context analytics may be the piece these marketing leaders are missing. 

Source

Beyond right time, right place messaging

If you’re that media streaming company, conventional wisdom suggests your audience is most likely to watch your content when they get home. Tailoring the timing of your messaging using location data is an added bonus. But what else can location-based marketing do?

In this day and age, brands must begin to understand how users are seeking to experience their product or service in order to effectively communicate with them and drive sales. Where are customers when they open your app? Where is a customer when they place an order? Which brick-and-mortar locations do your customers frequent? How do a customer’s habits change in ways that impact push notifications and other communications? 

When a consumer has opted to provide their data and real-time location information, brands need to think about all the ways they can use this data to make the customer experience more personalized and relevant. 

Delivering contextually-relevant communication

Let’s say you’re an online retailer, and you’d like to learn where users are when they place an order. Are they home, are they at work, or are they at a brick-and-mortar store? Using location context, you’re able to recognize that a significant portion of customers place orders for your product when they’re inside big-box stores. That means a customer is likely to be using your app to price compare and complete the purchase on your app when they see your price is lower than the big-box store. That’s an incredibly valuable insight.  

Armed with that data, you have a competitive edge and can send push notifications when users are actually inside big-box stores. This allows you to get in front of a customer’s decision-making process, reminding them to check their app and price-compare.  

But even that ability is just scratching the surface. What if you took it a step further and offered an in-store barcode scanner to help users price compare even more readily? Combining geo-information with analytics and other customer data has opened the door to completely personalize a user’s in-app experience in a way that wasn’t possible before. All of these contextually-relevant micro-moments fundamentally transform the customer experience.  Today, this might surprise and delight customers, but tomorrow, it will be the expected norm.  

Location data as currency

Everything a brand does has the potential to impact its reputation and customer loyalty. A great customer experience is key to every company’s success. Brands that don’t adapt to providing tailored, relevant experiences will see a drop in customer engagement and satisfaction. 

Location data is a currency, and to get users to trust your app and share their location, you have to earn it. At the end of the day, it’s about delivering value. What purpose does your location-specific feature serve? What does the customer gain by sharing their location with your company? Nobody declines a ride-sharing app permission to access their location, because only with location are they able to deliver an optimized user experience. Now more than ever before, it’s critical for modern brands to start thinking this way.

This article is contributed by Radar.

Del Taco promotes Chad Gretzema to become head of operations

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Del Taco promotes Chad Gretzema to become head of operations
Del Taco COO Chad Gretzema 2019Sept.jpg

Del Taco Restaurants Inc. has promoted Chad Gretzema, right, to the new role of chief operating officer, the company said Monday.

The Lake Forest, Calif-based quick-service Mexican brand said Gretzema has been with Del Taco for seven years, most recently serving as senior vice president for strategic planning and innovation.

“Chad has been a key architect of many of our strategic combined solutions operational improvement efforts and is a trusted partner within the organization who knows how to help teams deliver superior results,” said John Cappasola, Jr., Del Taco’s president and CEO, in a statement.

“He has also been a passionate voice, ensuring strong cross-functional franchise support and enabling our franchise partners to successfully grow their businesses,” Cappasola said. The new COO role “will further our focus on great four-wall operations,” he said.

In the most recent Nation’s Restaurant News Top 200 census, Del Taco ranked No. 67 among brands in U.S. systemwide sales, with $817.8 million for the fiscal year ended in December.

Gretzema joined Del Taco in 2012. Previously, he worked in various positions in operations, training and marketing at Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Phoenix Children’s Academy, Noodles & Company and Oscar Mayer Foods.

Del Taco, founded in 1964, has more than 580 restaurants in 14 states.

Hospitality C-Suite Strategist Reveals ‘Internet of Things’ Insights for the Food Service Space

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Hospitality C-Suite Strategist Reveals ‘Internet of Things’ Insights for the Food Service Space

By Merilee Kern, MBA

When British technologist Kevin Ashton coined the term “Internet of Things” in 1999, referring to a network connecting not just people but the everyday objects around them, it was a concept both fantastical and futuristic. Now nearly two decades later, the IoT is poised for global dominance. A mere four years ago, the global IoT market reached an already staggering $485.6 billion. This year that number is projected to pass the one trillion dollar mark and, by 2019, is expected to grow to over $1.7 trillion to encompass a network of over 42 billion connected devices worldwide.

While the consumer electronics industry naturally boasts the largest share of the IoT market, food service and agriculture aren’t that far behind. With a new emphasis on food safety engendered by the sweeping reforms of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), it certainly behooves the food service industry to utilize the IoT to help ensure compliance. However, food safety is just the beginning.     

With more than 25 years of senior leadership experience, including an executive role at GE and as current CEO of Restaurant Technologies, Inc., Jeff Kiesel knows a thing or two about the IoT within the food service and hospitality space. Indeed, his own innovation-driven company’s IoT-related tech solutions are making the restaurant and hospitality trade safer and smarter and, in doing so, more efficient and profitable. So keen is Kiesel’s knowledge of how to leverage the IoT for maximum operational benefit, his company has curated a roster of multi-billion dollar customers that includes some of the nation’s leading brands, including McDonald’s, KFC and Marriott Hotels.

I connected with Kiesel to for his take on the IoT’s place in food service, with his commentary and anecdotes making clear the importance of IoT-driven inter-connectivity for multiple facets of the restaurant trade. With the aim of helping other success-minded industry professionals best capitalize on this pervasive inter-connectivity paradigm, here’s what Kiesel had to say regarding the IoT:

1. What are some key ways restaurants can apply the internet of things?

For one, restaurants can use the IoT to monitor the equipment that cooks, cleans or stores food. Currently, there is smart kitchen equipment that measures cooking equipment such as fryers, grills, ovens, etc., whereby circuit boards provide prompts to take action (e.g., filter cooking oil) or to closely monitor temperature. IoT becomes important if restaurant owners or managers wish to see “above the store” or, in other words, export data outside the restaurant to monitor remotely or to compare one restaurant to another.

Operationally, by utilizing technologies like routing software and IoT sensors, food service businesses can enable dynamic scheduling of deliveries that boost the bottom line. For example, receiving deliveries only when needed, which eliminates administrative costs and management concerns while helping drive efficiencies for all involved.  Simplicity for food delivery drivers in their route can be in effect from the moment they arrive to work through even something as easily deployable as a smart phone app. This can allow your operations management team to check on each driver’s progress and proactively contact that person when needed.

The same principle can be applied to service technicians, human resources or whatever department is applicable for your restaurant business. 

2. What type of data is collected/exported and why?

In addition to sales revenue and equipment performance data, above-the-store data collection allows the combination of several pieces of information to reveal trends—both positive and negative. For example, our company collects data about cooking oil usage to drive our dynamic distribution of oil, as we deliver cooking oil only when our customers need it. This data collection also provides information to our customers which helps them analyze usage and even alerts them via text if they use too much cooking oil.

Some customers supply us with data on how much food goes into the fryer, enabling us to calculate a food-to-oil ratio, which is a good efficiency and food quality metric. We also have an IoT service which monitors fryer filtration events, giving our customers real-time information so they can know if their restaurant staff is adhering to their fryer management standard operating procedures (SOP). This comprehensive data collection helps restaurants be more efficient, have less food waste, produce more consistent food, enforce standard operating procedures and simplifying the jobs of management personnel.

Of course, the type of data collected will vary depending on the specifics of a restaurant’s individual needs. For instance, a vegan restaurant might not utilize a deep fryer but they can certainly collect and utilize data from refrigerators and ovens to ensure adherence to food safety standards.

3. Are restaurant-specific IoT devices readily available?

Absolutely. Our own company utilizes the same cellular device transmission units that are standard in other industries but applies them in a way that’s optimized for the food service industry. The real value comes not from the devices themselves, but rather in the transformation of data into useful information. In the food service industry, back-of-the-house (BOH) technology is focused on reducing costs, improving operational efficiency, improving food quality and helping managers to govern more efficiently. IoT is evolving at a rapid pace but it must meet several standards in order to be relevant, including having an articulated return on investment thesis, as well as being easy to use, durable, reliable and scalable.  

4. Is an IoT system financially within reach for most restaurant owners?

There really is no financial benchmark here, as the types of F&B IoT solutions and applicable price points can vary widely. That said, it certainly need not be expensive to set up an IoT system, and any amount strategically spent is a worthwhile expenditure as compared to the value derived. Cost savings, improved management practices, consistent food, better equipment utilization, reduced energy costs, and increased employee engagement and morale are some of the benefits an IoT user can enjoy—sometimes by deploying even just a relatively budget-friendly smartphone app. More sophisticated and, thus, costly, IoT measurement tools that provide drill down analytics to food service tradesmen can be worthwhile, proffering  a very fast return on investment.

5. What is on the horizon for IoT in food service?

The future of IoT in the very competitive food service space relies on the innovations of applications coming to market, with those demonstrating clear ROI or with a strong business case perhaps making the difference between realizing profit or loss in a given year. Food service is a “pennies business” and each IoT application will need to stand on its own merits. But, there will be no shortage of options from which to choose given how ripe this industry is for interconnectivity-driven innovation.

When it comes to assessing long-term gains and challenges that such technological advancements can address, scalable solutions need to perform past tasks more simply and efficiently, provide greater insight or provide a combination of all. Tasks performed must take less time, labor and resources to achieve the same or better quality while also requiring less supervision. Insights provided should include data on job performance in a binary manner, such as either done or not done; if the job was completed within an applicable time or resource constraint; and if safety protocols were adhered to (according to SOP). Ultimately, data collected should reveal how these and other activities could be improved over time.

With the proliferation of IoT technology in the food service industry and the benefits related solutions afford, the question is rapidly becoming not if a restaurant owner should implement an IoT system but when and to what extent. Looming issues, including environmental and corporate responsibility as well as ever-present goals relating to safety and profits make investing in IoT a no-brainer. Those who don’t make the leap to IoT risk being left behind in a tumultuous industry, suffering higher costs, reduced efficiencies and far greater opportunity loss than their competitors.


Sources:
https://www.statista.com/topics/2637/internet-of-things/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/485136/global-internet-of-things-market-size/
https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/
http://www.avanti.com/blog/connected-tech-internet-things-restaurant-industry/
http://machinedesign.com/iot/rfid-makes-internet-things-come-life
http://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/RFID-radio-frequency-identification http://www.avanti.com/blog/connected-tech-internet-things-restaurant-industry/ (see Panera’s Table Tracker)

Tomatoes aren’t only anymore for dinner. Eat Dessert Tomatoes!

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Tomatoes aren’t only anymore for dinner. Eat Dessert Tomatoes!

Move over chocolate, there’s a new sweet contender seducing our taste buds! When we think of preserved tomatoes, images of pasta sauce, soups, chile and salsas come to mind. Now, fancy Tomatoes for Dessert, yes, tomatoes! They make for fantastic sweet delicacies from Tomato Sorbetto and Jams to a fantastic Tomato Cheesecake. Below you’ll find a scrumptious recipe to sink your teeth into provided by ANICAV – the Italian Association of Canned Tomatoes Producers – representing the world’s finest European preserved (canned) tomatoes grown under the Mediterranean sun and produced in Italy by time-honored methods.

The Greatest Tomatoes from Europe are not a specific BRAND but European and Italian canned tomatoes in general. Specifically, EU canned tomatoes 100% Made in Europe – 100% Made in Italy and they’re as versatile as the savory dishes we enjoy them in such as pizza, sloppy joes and enchiladas. Now, you can create sweet new dessert favorites with The Greatest Tomatoes from Europe!

Recipe:
Tomato cheesecake
Time 1h30m Difficulty Medium Serves 6
The biscuit (base):
* 5 oz biscuits
* 1 stick butter
* 2 cups fresh basil
* For the filling:
* 5 oz sugar
* 4 egg yolks
* 1 lb buffalo ricotta
* Peel of 1 lemon
* A pinch of salt
Extra virgin olive oil
*

For the topping:
* 6 oz tomato passata (pureed tomatoes)
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 tablespoon of sugar
* 1 stalk of celery
* 1 teaspoon salt
* Gelatin

For the biscuit base, blend the butter with the basil. Then crumble the biscuits and add them to the butter and spread the mixture into a cake tin and leave to solidify.

For the filling, whip the egg yolks with the sugar and a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Whisk the ricotta and add it to the yolks. Place the filling on the base and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes. Once cooked, leave to cool and proceed with the tomato topping. For the topping, finely dice the celery and add the tomato passata, cook for 8 minutes. Strain and add water, sugar, salt, and gelatin. Boil for a few minutes and then sieve the topping onto the cheesecake and let it cool. For the jam: put all the ingredients in a baking dish, cover with greaseproof paper and cook at 210°F for at least 10 hours, thus obtaining tomato jam.

European tomatoes! The Real Art of Europe! Culinary Masterpieces for You to Try.

Innovative Concept, Taffer’s Tavern by Jon Taffer

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Innovative Concept, Taffer’s Tavern by Jon Taffer

Taffer’s Tavern, the innovative restaurant concept created by award-winning hospitality expert and world-renowned business consultant Jon Taffer, signed its first multi-unit franchise agreement to bring five locations to Georgia. Featuring a high-volume, hoodless/ventless restaurant format with a small footprint, Taffer’s Tavern disrupts the casual dining segment by leveraging the latest technology to produce high-quality food and beverage offerings without the need for a commercial kitchen. The first franchise location is anticipated to open in Atlanta by next summer.

The concept’s Georgia franchise partner, Five Guys Taverns, LLC, signed a multi-unit deal to bring to life a concept that builds on Taffer’s decades of hands-on consulting experience and offers a best-in-class beverage program coupled with the most interesting, delicious bar fare. With a streamlined kitchen design and advanced food preparation methods, Taffer’s Tavern requires less space and fewer employees than traditional casual dining restaurants.

“We were immediately drawn to the idea of ‘tavern dining’ and creating a gathering place for people that provides unique, superior menu items at an affordable price,” said Hemant Suri, new Taffer’s Tavern franchisee and member of Five Guys Taverns, LLC. “Jon has managed to engineer a restaurant concept that streamlines operations without compromising the food quality, and we are thrilled to be the first franchisees for this break-out brand.”

Leveraging his extensive industry knowledge and business acumen, Taffer has defined a “new casual” dining experience and franchise offering with Taffer’s Tavern. To facilitate growth for the emerging brand, Taffer has partnered with Fransmart, the industry-leading franchise development company behind the explosive growth of brands like Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and Qdoba Mexican Grill, as the exclusive franchise development partner for Taffer’s Tavern.

“Taffer’s Tavern is my solution to the inefficiencies and pain points associated with the restaurant industry that I have witnessed over the years,” said Taffer. “By reimagining traditional operations and eliminating the need for costly hood and ventilation systems, Taffer’s Tavern will disrupt the industry, enable franchisees to maximize their investment and deliver a first-rate dining experience. Georgia is a prime market for the first Taffer’s Tavern concept and I look forward to working with Five Guys Taverns, LLC to bring my vision to Atlanta — and beyond.”

Together with Fransmart, Taffer is currently seeking experienced franchisees to continue bringing the Taffer’s Tavern concept to the 50 largest media markets throughout North America. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit www.fransmart.com/Taffers-Tavern.

About Jon Taffer:
Jon Taffer is a highly-reputed Entertainer, Entrepreneur, Consultant, and Thought Leader with more than 35 years of success in the entertainment, hospitality, and nightlife industries. Leveraging extensive global experience with powerhouse brands and award-winning ventures, Jon is a valuable asset for companies seeking guidance on transformation, training programs, and “reaction management strategy.” His broad areas of expertise include product and brand recognition, merchandising promotions, customer acquisition, product marketing, go-to-market strategy, television, and public speaking. Starring as the host and Executive Producer of Bar Rescue on Paramount Network, the high rated show is currently in its seventh season. Bar Rescue is a non-scripted reality show that spotlights Jon as he saves failing bars from looming closure, utilizing his four decades of unprecedented industry experience and trademarked Reaction Management strategy to consult on everything from menu design to cost management; the show is on track to exceed 170 episodes in 2018. Concurrently, Jon runs Taffer Virtual Teaching, his digital teaching platform, and Taffer Dynamics, his business consulting firm. Over the years, he has consulted for a range of well-known brands, including the NFL Network, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Holiday Inn Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels, Peninsula Hotels, TGI Fridays, Buffalo Wild Wings, Famous Dave’s Barbecue, Wolfgang Puck Express, Anheuser-Bush and the N9NE Steakhouse at Palms Casino Resort. Jon has been featured in numerous international publications such as Forbes Magazine, Entrepreneur, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, among other prominent media outlets. He has appeared as a guest on shows ranging from Rachael Ray to Jimmy Kimmel Live to Good Morning America and continues regular appearances on Varney & Co. on the Fox Business News, and as a guest on many other major news networks. For more information, visit www.jontaffer.com.

About Fransmart:
As the leading franchise development firm in the country, Fransmart turns emerging restaurant concepts into successful national and global brands. Founded by Dan Rowe, the man who identified and grew brands such as Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Qdoba Mexican Grill from single unit businesses to the powerhouse chains they are today, Fransmart’s formula for success is finding emerging brands ripe for expansion and building successful multi-unit franchise businesses across the U.S. and globally. Fransmart’s current and past franchise development portfolio brands have opened more than 5,000 restaurants worldwide, and facilitated franchise investments that have cumulatively generated 1-billion in revenues to date. For more information, visit www.fransmart.com.

Perkins purchase gets confirmed by Huddle House

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Perkins purchase gets confirmed by Huddle House

Huddle House Inc. agreed to buy 342 Perkins Restaurant & Bakery locations, the company said Thursday.

The Atlanta-based family-dining brand said it expected the deal to close on Oct. 21. Terms were not disclosed.

In early August, Perkins & Marie Callender’s Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection and closed 29 Perkins Restaurant & Bakery and Marie Callender’s restaurants.

The company said Huddle House executives will manage the Perkins units out of the company’s Atlanta headquarters. “There are no plans to convert any existing units to Huddle House restaurants or vice versa,” the company said in a statement.

“Strategically, this is a very good fit,” said Michael Abt, Huddle House CEO, in the statement. “Both Huddle House and Perkins are breakfast-first concepts, and we pride ourselves on our ability to bring families together through remarkable food and homestyle meals.”

Abt added that “we believe that we can further utilize Huddle House’s existing platforms and financial backing to strengthen the growth of the Perkins brand.” Sentinel Capital Partners sold Huddle House in February 2018.

Abt added that “this acquisition is by careful design and calculation, as the brands fit well together serving complementary markets but supported by similar resources.”

Combined, Huddle House, which had 344 units at the end of its fiscal year in April, and the Memphis, Tenn.-based Perkins restaurants would total nearly 700 locations. Huddle House said the two brands would generate more than $800 million in sales.

For Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual Top 200 census, Huddle House executives projected U.S.-systemwide sales of $245 million from a year-end 344 restaurants, including 42 company-operated units, for the fiscal year ended in April, while Perkins reported U.S.-systemwide sales of $592.6 million from a year-end 356 locations, including 117 company sites, for fiscal 2018 ended in December. Perkins repored U.S. average unit volume was essentially flat for the past four completed fiscal year, fluctuating up and down between $1.67 million and $1.68 million, as its U.S. store base declined by 7.7% across that period.

The Perkins system has 342 restaurants in 32 states and Canada, of which about 100 are company-owned.

Qu Launches New Enterprise POS Platform to Solve Menu Mayhem and Data Fragmentation for Restaurant Operators

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Qu Launches New Enterprise POS Platform to Solve Menu Mayhem and Data Fragmentation for Restaurant Operators

Qu, a rapidly growing tech company creating omni-channel POS for enterprise restaurants, just announced the launch of its new data-centric platform. The company is pioneering a concept hailed as unified food experiences to solve the fragmented ordering, production, and brand management chaos experienced by restaurateurs.

This is poised to be a game-changer for enterprise restaurant operators. 

Qu believes restaurant chains should be able to manage changes, when, where, and how they need—instead of based on arbitrary templates created by vendors. Which is why their new POS platform aims to give operators limitless control of configurations through a revolutionary enterprise management hub. Central to this hub are the industry-first features of Dynamic Stores and Dynamic Items. These features deliver increased levels of flexibility and customization operators desperately need to efficiently manage their business and accelerate revenue generation through data-driven intelligence and reporting.

“We’re on a mission to end the menu management madness that’s causing massive amounts of fragmentation and inefficiency and holding back enterprise operators today. Fast-casual and quick service restaurants have been constrained for too long by POS solutions that fail to offer the flexibility, control, and dynamic features they desperately need to create brand and revenue-boosting guest experiences.” Amir Hudda, CEO Qu POS

The platform redefines expectations for “next-gen POS” by providing one consistent and open API structure, supported by a centralized core processing engine irrespective of whether the order originated in the store, through the operator’s website or third-party delivery services. This data-driven foundation enables operating teams to manage all menu and item changes in one place, customizing them based on context and attributes. 

Qu’s enterprise POS now features:

  • Qu-1MENU Management System, a unified menu system that allows users to holistically manage cross-channel menus through one centralized dashboard, supported by one master menu and dynamic items.
  • Direct Third-Party Delivery Integrations processed through the 1-MENU management system alleviate the business and operational challenges introduced by third-party delivery services.
  • Enterprise Management Hub: 
    • Dynamic Stores provide more granular control and data governance. Operators get endless flexibility, with six ways to configure store groups: by menu, store location, employees, tax, discounts, and service charges. Especially useful for large brands with franchisees as the dynamic groups enable inheritance and tagging across categories.
    • Dynamic Items give operators the freedom to customize items, layer multiple dimensions and add attributes based on context—all without ever changing the master item. Operators can configure every item to have unlimited dynamic contexts including dayparts, order channels, pricing, promotions, imagery and much more.
  • Integrated Digital Suite delivers a consistent brand experience across online, kiosk, and mobile channels with rich, branded templates, improving the overall guest experience. 
  • Flexible Hardware Options include everything from terminals, tablets, and kiosks to self-order screens and hand-held devices.

All of these features together deliver a unified food experience. With the industry’s first connected POS platform backed by a single database and a single set of APIs; consistently processing everything from food ordering and production to brand experience. 

In the fast-moving digital economy, it’s undeniable that multi-unit operators will continue to grapple with technology complexity and revenue challenges until they’re able to consolidate menu systems onto a data-centric, open API platform with one unified codebase. Qu’s agile POS platform was designed specifically to solve the omnichannel chaos. With intelligent menu design, guest personalization, and strategic pricing and promotions in real-time enterprise operators can more confidently improve order accuracy and speed, consistent experiences and ultimately stronger profit margins.

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About Qu

Qu is transforming restaurant POS beyond its current fragmented state into a manageable, unified experience for enterprise operators and guests alike. Our platform works at the critical intersections of order experience, production experience, and brand experience to deliver a unified food experience that helps solve the technology crisis operators are in today.

Laser-focused on quick service and fast-casual restaurant success, we constantly apply speed, flexibility, and innovative thinking to deliver solutions that drive healthier bottom lines.

We’re delivering the industry’s first truly connected in-store and digital ordering platforms, powered by one common core, making tangible those lofty ambitions for data-driven guest experiences. Based in Bethesda, MD, Qu is backed by leading restaurant entrepreneurs as well as Silicon Valley investors that have also backed Google, Salesforce, Uber, and Dropbox.

Wendy’s to add 20,000 workers to fire up the breakfast grills again in 2020

Restaurant Tech Editors
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Wendy’s to add 20,000 workers to fire up the breakfast grills again in 2020

Wendy’s said this year it will infuse $20 million and hire 20,000 workers to open its doors for breakfast system-wide next year in a bid to grow sales and unit volume. Currently, the burger chain offers breakfast at 300 of its audience-appropriate locations, like airports, but next year that will extend to all of the brand’s 6,700-plus stores system-wide, a news release said.

Though the chain has previously tried to get the first daypart meal off the ground in previous decades, this time the brand said it will build a menu of items around the biggest hits from other times of the day, including a breakfast “Baconator,” Frosty-fied Frosty-ccino and a honey butter chicken biscuit, since any QSR player today has to have a chicken in the ring. 

“Launching breakfast in our U.S. restaurants nationwide provides incredible growth opportunities,” Wendy’s President and CEO Todd Penegor, said in a release about the daypart addition. “We are well-positioned to pursue it. We believe we have the right team and structure in place, and we put Wendy’s fan favorites on our breakfast menu to set us apart from the competition.”

And the chain will beef up the team that they do have in place, saying that the company and its franchisees expect to hire 20,000 more crew members nationwide to support its launch of “the most important meal of the day.” 

This all takes a lot of cash, of course, and Wendy’s anticipates that the breakfast launch will require it to invest $20 million this year to make the plan come to fruition next year. As a result, Wendy’s updated its 2019 outlook to allow for that, but said all other elements of the company’s 2019 outlook remain unchanged. 

However, the company is updating its 2020 goals and long-term guidance at its Investor Day on Oct. 11, 2019, including additional details regarding the expected financial impact of entering the breakfast daypart. The company said this year it now expects: 

  • Adjusted EBITDA to be flat to down 2%.
  • Adjusted EPS down 3.5% to 6.5%.
  • Cash flows from operations of $290 million-$305 million.
  • Free cash flow down 2.5% to 7% to $215 to $225 million.

The Future of Food: How Location-Aware Dining Apps Are Changing the Industry

Restaurant Tech Editors
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The Future of Food: How Location-Aware Dining Apps Are Changing the Industry

From impossible meat to CBD in everything, there are some new and intriguing trends taking the restaurant industry by storm in 2019. Sustainability and conscious eating continue to loom large in the minds of consumers; but as far as the customer experience goes, geo-fencing is dominating the dining world. 

Restaurant delivery is a growing facet of the dining industry driven by the increase in mobile ordering and the needs of the on-the-go customer. According to forecasts by Investment Bank UBS, restaurant delivery sales are expected to rise more than 20% annually and reach $365B in 2035, up from $35 billion in 2018. Critical to this growth is the increased adoption of geofencing marketing within the in-app experience. Here’s how geofencing is revolutionizing the future of the restaurant industry.

Geofencing and the contextual experience

Despite the increasing popularity of restaurant delivery, some food merchants have a hard time mitigating the impact of delivery on their bottom line. Delivering a $10 meal with a $3 delivery fee isn’t sustainable in the long-run. Between high gas prices, wages, other vehicle costs, and the expense of packaging delivery, many restaurants will be hard-pressed to absorb the high operational costs.

Carryout seems like the best possible alternative, where “last-mile delivery” is outsourced to the customer. The primary motivation for diners to prefer delivery and carryout is convenience: delivery is more often the first choice for customers who don’t want to arrive at a restaurant only to find that their order isn’t ready and waiting for them. This is where geofencing can streamline the takeaway experience to be fast and efficient for the customer, and more cost-effective for the restaurant. Geofencing tracking within the restaurant app can help the restaurant understand location data to trigger alerts to the back-of-house, telling the kitchen when to fire up the order or when the customer is stuck in traffic. For the customer, contextually-relevant messages can be sent to remind them to start traveling to the restaurant at the optimum time, depending on how far they are.  

Companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks have begun testing in-app software that lets a customer order ahead and uses geofencing to predict when the customer will arrive. This ensures the customer receives a freshly-made order that’s ready when they arrive. As HBR describes,“on-site carry-out creates value because it outsources last-mile delivery to the consumer, who is often able to perform this task at a lower cost than the delivery company.” 

How are brands using geofencing in their in-app experience? 

The possibilities presented by geofencing are clearly powerful. Here’s how some QSRs have started experimenting with geofencing to improve the customer carryout experience. 


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McDonald’s tests order-ahead 

In 2017, McDonald’s began to experiment with geofencing built into its app to allow customers to create an order anywhere and pay for it through the app upon arrival. The goal of the test was to reduce wait lines, cold food, and customer congestion at McDonald’s locations across California and Washington state. With the initial success, McDonald’s has since rolled out order-ahead to locations worldwide. The app doesn’t allow customers to order outside a certain geofence, ensuring the carryout order will be hot and ready by the time the customer arrives. 

Burger King’s real-time geofencing campaign

Not one to sit out on a new technology, Burger King responded to McDonald’s use of geofencing with a campaign of their own. The Whopper Detour campaign of 2018 made use of in-app geofencing to lure customers away from a McDonald’s. When the customer’s mobile app was within 600 feet of a McDonald’s location, geofencing would trigger the delivery of a digital coupon offering the Burger King Whopper for just 1 cent. This campaign had the double benefit of increasing foot traffic to Burger King locations while also increasing app downloads, helping Burger King continuously reach customers after the campaign ended. 

Grubhub and Dunkin’ Donuts improve delivery data

Geofencing isn’t just for optimizing carryout. Dunkin’ Donuts partnered with food delivery service Grubhub to leverage geofencing for better data and customer insight. Grubhub placed geofences around the 400 New York City Dunkin’ locations to measure traffic and delivery times. According to industry analysts, Dunkin’ Donuts plans to use geofencing analytics to “optimize efficiencies, as well as order accuracy and consistency.” Geofencing can provide the detail brands need to constantly tailor and improve the customer experience no matter how the customer chooses to dine in (or out). 

Best practices for geofencing in the dining industry 

QSR brands have only begun to scratch the surface of geofencing. Beyond providing better delivery analytics and clever marketing campaigns, location context can help restaurants understand customer loyalty, impact customer engagement, and help them save on operational and delivery costs.

This article is contributed by Radar.

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