Fall In Love With UK Restaurant Trends

Restaurant Tech Editors
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Fall In Love With UK Restaurant Trends

Since the start of 2019 consumers have seen a number of growing restaurant trends in the UK, with vegan and vegetarian meals being one of the most popular among diners. CBD-infused foods are also seeing an increase in demand in restaurants. The country is ever more aware of the amount of food that is wasted and the effect food and packaging has on the planet, and more people dining at home instead of eating out at restaurants.

Since the start of 2019 consumers have seen a number of growing restaurant trends in the UK, with vegan and vegetarian meals being one of the most popular among diners. CBD-infused foods are also seeing an increase in demand in restaurants. The country is ever more aware of the amount of food that is wasted and the effect food and packaging has on the planet, and more people dining at home instead of eating out at restaurants.

Verdict Foodservice looks at some of the fastest-growing restaurant trends hitting UK restaurants.

Plant-based dining

There has been a growing demand for plant-based foods in restaurants in the UK, with a quarter of UK diners eating no meat or fish in their meals as more people associate a vegetarian diet with health, fitness and well-being.

Many restaurants and fast-food chains are jumping on the plant-based wave and offering customers meat-free alternatives, for example, fast food chain Burger King brought the Impossible Whopper in the UK earlier this year.

American-themed restaurant TGI Fridays added the ‘bleeding’ vegan burger in January of this year, and as By Chloe is using crispy tofu as a fish alternative.

Tackling food waste

More than 500,000 tonnes of food is wasted in restaurants, pubs hotels and quick service restaurants in the UK, the equivalent of almost one billion average plates of food. More restaurants across the UK are taking on initiatives to crack down on food waste to reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030.

Some of the establishments doing this are Greene King, the first pub company to pledge to send zero waste to landfill by 2020; removing 30 million plastic straws from use each year as well as reducing food waste from carvery meals across the country.

CBD-infused foods

Research by The Grocer reveals that a third of consumers in the UK would buy CBD-infused food and drink, and the Cannabis Trades Association UK found that the number of cannabidiol consumers doubled from 125,000 in 2017 to 250,000 in 2018.

International frozen dessert chain Yogoland serves a hemp matcha frozen yoghurt made from hemp plant containing 40% CBD oil. London-based Plant Hub has many items on its menu that contain CBD-infused food, including granola energy bars, salted peanuts, banana bread and coconut-flavoured biscuits.

Online delivery

According to market research organisation NPD, consumer spend on restaurant food delivery could grow by 10% in 2019 to reach £5bn.

More people are now eating at home and online delivery services such as Deliveroo are extending their delivery services to a wider range of foodservice establishments. The UK-based online food delivery service is giving consumers more of an excuse to stay indoors to enjoy their favourite meals instead of going out to eat.

More restaurants and fast-food chains are becoming aware of the increase for home delivery, with establishments such as Nando’s and Zizzi offering customers food prepared in their restaurants that can be eaten at home.

Blue Planet effect

BBC One’s Blue Planet showed consumers the effect plastic is having on the environment, with Waitrose & Partner’s research suggesting that 88% of people who watched the documentary changed their behaviour towards single-use plastic consumption.

Restaurants across the UK are now becoming more environmentally aware with many of them stopping the use of plastic straws in their restaurants. Fast food chain McDonald’s wants to reduce the amount of single-use plastics in the UK, and global coffeehouse chain Starbucks has committed to eliminating single-use plastic straws by introducing straw-less lids globally by 2020.

How To Turn VOICE ORDERING Into Success: Which You’re Not Quite Using Yet!

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How To Turn VOICE ORDERING Into Success: Which You’re Not Quite Using Yet!

“Hey Alexa – I want to order a pizza.” 

Restaurant voice ordering is the newest customer engagement channel available to restaurants. If you thought online ordering was big, voice ordering will rock your world. Though still in its infancy, voice ordering via at-home smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home has introduced restaurant patrons with an even more convenient, on-demand ordering experience than we previously thought possible.  

Once the technology has reached its full potential, voice ordering will bring convenience to a whole new level: Diners will have the ability to see (and hear) menu items through Google Home or Alexa. 

While personal assistant voice shopping is starting to take off, restaurant voice ordering is still a relatively untapped technology. Right now, only the country’s biggest chains, such as Domino’s, Denny’s, Dunkin’, and Pizza Hut, are taking advantage of this technology. While 74.2 million Americans use smart speakers every month and 62% of speaker owners have bought items through voice commerce, only 7.9% of people use smart speakers for food and beverage shopping, according to Mastercard’s presentation at the 2019 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. 

Voice Ordering: The Next Frontier in Restaurant Ordering Technology

Voice ordering has great potential within the restaurant industry, even though some of the kinks are still being worked out. 

The Obstacles of Voice Ordering: Discoverability and Retention

Sean Johnson is an adjunct Lecturer of Marketing at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and VC at Chicago Consulting Company Digital Intent. He has some thoughts on the drawbacks of voice ordering. According to Johnson, two reasons more diners are not using restaurant voice ordering is the retention and discoverability of the technology itself. 

Johnson says voice ordering has less discoverability than traditional phone apps because a habit loop of advertisements is missing. Since Alexa is unable to constantly ping you with ads, it’s difficult to generate repeat users. 

“If you think about the user experience of voice,” Johnson says, “it doesn’t lend itself to ordering from a typical menu, which has 50-100 items on it. Listing all of those items would be incredibly tedious, and memorizing the menu isn’t an option.” 

It’s still easier for consumers to place an order from a Facebook messenger app while looking at a menu. And until digital consumer behavior changes, the restaurant industry will not change, explains Li-ran Navon, founder and CEO of Say2eat, a restaurant delivery service leading the convenience revolution (and they’re a Toast partner).

The company knows quite a bit about the future of online ordering, as their product allows restaurants to use social media, messaging, and voice to communicate directly with guests, collect data, and make the experience easy and fun for all. The company’s mission is to deliver the ultimate restaurant guest experience for the digital era. 

“Say2eat started from my own problem,” says Navon. “I called a restaurant during rush hour and waited for five minutes on the line. To place my order, I had to give them all my credit card information, my phone number, and my address for just one item. It took so much time to say what I need, so I thought, why not just ‘Say2Eat.’ To be able to say what you want to eat and just get it instantly.”

“For a personal assistant like Amazon’s Alexa, the problem is not the restaurant industry; the problem is the digital consumer behavior. People are using it for very simple things currently. So until the digital consumer behavior changes, the restaurant industry will not change. Reordering will be first as opposed to complete orders,” Navon says. 

Some companies, such as Domino’s, have overcome this obstacle by implementing the reordering option. The pizza chain currently has a feature that can save a default order from your existing account, where users can simply say, “Alexa, order a pizza from Dominos,” and have their favorite dish delivered. 

For restaurant voice ordering to secure its spot in the future, two things need to happen. First, restaurant technology will need to connect with the reordering capabilities that lend themselves to the voice order to implement a change in consumer behavior. Then, once you can examine how many people are using voice for their orders, you will be able to enhance the discoverability of voice products. 

The Benefits of Voice Ordering for Diners: Convenience and Option Value

In the United States, consumers check their phones 200 times a day, on average. Mobile users spend 90% of their time on messaging and social media. Turning these users into voice ordering customers would make it possible to begin the voice reordering process for independent restaurants. 

“If you think about voice, the input and the output is equal. The amount of words you say is the exact same amount of words you can listen to,” Navon says. “If we use voice orders in combination with pictures and text, the experience is going to be convenient, fast, and easy.”

Despite the obstacles, voice shopping via at-home smart speakers is projected to reach $40 million in revenue by 2022. Even five years from now, digital consumer behavior is likely to change along with the restaurant industry. The ability of digital personal assistants to process language and understand a faster dialogue will advance, as well as combining voice ordering with a screen. 

“We believe that once we’re able to convert these users to reordering with voice, it will create an omnichannel experience that will drive more business for the restaurants. The most important people are the end users because they are the ones placing the orders. If the channel makes sense for the end user, the technology will drive more business for individual restaurants,” Navon says.

Voice ordering is also likely to gather more users through drive-through ordering and phone reservations, which already has what Navon described as an already “captive audience.” The idea of searching for and ordering food through Google Home or Alexa is exciting, but to implement these changes, restaurants will first have to develop and build out alternate channels to accommodate the expensive and more advanced technology. 

Voice Ordering for the Independent Restaurant: Possibilities to Consider

As the voice ordering technology advances, independent restaurants have an opportunity to increase their revenue through the addition of text and pictures. Photos of food naturally entice a consumer more than words alone, so the addition of pictures on a Google Home or an Alexa is more likely to hook a first time user. 

Although many of the companies currently using voice ordering have not released their metrics for the emerging technology, Forbes reported in September that mobile ordering now accounts for 13% of Starbucks’ total transactions. With reordering capabilities through major chains beginning to launch, and mobile ordering becoming commonplace, voice ordering in the independent restaurant industry can’t be far behind. 

“I think voice ordering is going to evolve cross-industry, not just for the restaurant industry, but the restaurant industry is likely going to be one of the leaders,” Navon says. 

Although the technology is still evolving, voice ordering through Alexa and Google Home is unlikely to be a passing fad for consumers, and the restaurant industry is beginning to pay attention to the possibilities. 

GEN Z : High-touch Preferences of Digital Natives, Almost Instantly!

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GEN Z : High-touch Preferences of Digital Natives, Almost Instantly!

Why is it, that members of Gen Z seem to want to party like it’s 1999? After all, they’re the tech-savvy digital natives who’ve never seen a payphone. They’re the generational cohort born between 1997 and 2012 that the Pew Research Center has dubbed “Post MILLENNIAL,” which makes me wonder how to account for the following:

  • The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Gen Z still prefers shopping in stores vs. using their laptops. It states that 55% of Gen Z women and 40% of Gen Z men like shopping the old-fashioned way, and two-thirds of them do so for fun at least once a month.
  • An app called Huji Cam, which makes photographic images look old-school and grainy, as if they’d been shot by a disposable camera, has been downloaded more than 16 million times by teens who want their photos to look less staged and more authentic. New York magazine tut-tutted about its fake vintage imagery and noted that the time stamp in the bottom right can be set to today’s date in 1998. Which, by my reckoning, is before most of its users were born.
  • Last December the Chicago Tribune asked the rhetorical question “Why are Christmas cards still a thing?”— opining that the reason sales of greeting cards have remained fairly stable at around 6.5 billion per year is that they offer users a “tactile connection.” 

And speaking of tactile, there’s Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer. Printed on newspaper stock and using goofy-cute retro images to promote specials like the current Coconut Cold Brew Concentrate, it is described by company execs as a cross between Consumer Reports and Mad Magazine. I grab my copy in store, but many enthusiasts receive it by mail; and I’m talking about the U.S. Postal Service here, Bret, not a digital mailbox. 

  • Then there’s the study cited recently in Specialty Food News that says traditional television continues to exert the strongest influence on purchasing behavior, with 56% of consumers noting TV as their key source of awareness about goods and services. This data exists cheek by jowl with reams of research testifying to the enduring popularity of paper coupons and catalogs. 

We probably shouldn’t be surprised by this back-to-the-future behavior, since we’ve been talking for some time about the necessity of high-touch initiatives to offset restaurateurs’high-tech experiments. This is what all of the factoids above have in common, I believe: They represent a familiar, hands-on connection between buyer and seller in reaction to encroaching digitization. 

Isn’t this the true driving force behind the continued growth of fast-casual operations? Their make-to-order-in-front-of-the-customer model is precisely in tune with connection-craving customers. It’s the coffee-making baristas, ice-cream-shop scoopers and pizza-dough spinners who create a tangible bond between brand and patron. 

These transactions are happening even as invading hordes of robotic pizzamakers and burger flippers are advancing upon us, and it raises some obvious questions.  When and under what circumstances will patrons find them acceptable, and what will the operator need to do to make them so? And I wonder, Bret, if you’ve seen any outstanding examples of the touchy-feely, throwback marketing ploys that consumers, especially younger ones, seem to desire? 

Not sure that young people go to fast-casual restaurants for a tactile, personal experience. Think the rise of that segment — which is exaggerated, anyway, as it only accounted for around 19% of sales among the 200 largest chains in 2018, according to Nation’s Restaurant News’ Top 200 data (12% if you don’t include Starbucks) — has more to do with the growing desire of consumers to customize everything in their lives. Think they line up, or, increasingly, place online orders, for those malleable meals because of the ever-changing dietary restrictions they place on themselves.

Many fast-casual chains evolved in the current environment of allergy-prone, gluten-avoiding flexitarian diners and are programmed to respond to their requests. Their customers want what they want when they want it, but I don’t think they’re expecting a bonding experience with the salad maker at Sweetgreen, the bean scooper at Qdoba or the pizzaiolo at MOD Pizza.

For that you have restaurants that offer more than food and drinks. That includes “eatertainment” concepts such as Dave & Buster’s and Punch Bowl Social, as well as the growing number of craft brewery tap rooms that lure customers with the romance of eating and drinking where their beer is made. 

Those restaurants provide space for youngsters to spend time with their friends, or for them to identify with a restaurant’s personality, giving them “high-touch” experiences, to borrow from your terminology.

As an aside, despise the term Gen Z. It makes them sound like the last generation we’ll ever have, or possibly zombies.

As you know, they got the name because they’re two generations behind my own demographic, Gen X, a generation that was given such short shrift that we were never even given a proper name. The Baby Boomers just put an X over us, declared us an irrelevant mystery and went on to their own children, the Millennials.

Members of Gen Z — prefer iGen, because they don’t remember a world before the iPod, or Digital Native which is less brand-specific — seem to be markedly different from Millennials. I Have to admit I have a bias in favor of them, because, although I don’t have children of my own, they’re my nieces and nephew and the offspring of my friends. Unlike Baby Boomers and Millennials, we were never the dominant force in contemporary culture and we acquired a certain humility, or at the very least a bit less narcissism, than our elders and youngsters. I think maybe we passed that on to our kids.

“Millennials are about the selfie; Gen Z is about the story.”  

That has to do in part with how social media has evolved in recent years, from quick bursts of microblogging on Twitter and Facebook to the more involved video and graphic montages that migrated from Snapchat to Instagram (and thence I believe to Tik Tok, although I’m too old to know for sure), but it also has to do with a more pronounced communal engagement. 

Maybe because they’ve had all human knowledge at their fingertips since practically the day they were born — one of my Digital Native niece’s first words was “pooter,” for “computer” — they’ve taken the time to dig deeper and understand things better. 

There’s no novelty in electronics for them, but IRL (“in real life”) shopping, hand-written cards and tactile things like knitting, which is increasingly popular, or those fidget spinners from a couple of years ago, seem to really strike a chord, just like they do for you and me (Okay, I never really got fidget spinners).

That means for restaurateurs is that they should avoid thinking of Digital Natives, or Millennials for that matter, as a different and inscrutable life form, and instead follow the Golden Rule and treat them as they’d like to be treated. The digital bells and whistles are now just a part of doing business, but I’m thankful that it looks like the human touch will never go out of style.

Turn your QSR Managers Satisfied with Order Ahead from Zero to Hero

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Turn your QSR Managers Satisfied with Order Ahead from Zero to Hero

As Small Business (SMB) Week kicks off, small business owners are generally optimistic about the future. A majority (54.0 percent) expect revenue increases, a slightly higher number than felt the same enthusiasm this time last year.

How does this translate to the restaurant industry?

Though big names make the headlines, not all QSRs are McDonald’s or Taco Bell. PYMNTS Restaurant Readiness Index has took a look at innovation adoption among QSRs, by business size, in the, a Bypass and Bank of America Merchant Services collaboration.

From drive-ins to drive-thrus to behind-the-scenes streamlining, QSRs have always embraced innovation. However, in the Restaurant Readiness Index, the average restaurant score was 38.7 on a scale of zero to 100.

Speed is the leading reason that QSRs innovate (77.4 percent), while 62.4 percent cited convenience. Both of these factors play into improving the customer experience, which was the motivation for innovation among three-fourths (74.4 percent) of operators.

QSR managers and customers had different opinions on the importance of select features, though. For future success, customers say features that ensure the accuracy of orders are the most important (88.1 percent), while managers (80.3 percent) mostly agreed. The biggest gap (44.4 percent) concerned the importance of self-serve kiosks. Nearly three-fourths of QSR customers thought they were important compared to only 29.5 percent of managers. Online or app ordering also had more enthusiasm from customers than managers.

Managers and customers also didn’t see eye-to-eye about ordering methods. Managers put more faith in traditional ordering methods, like at the counter in-store and at a drive-thru, while customers are more satisfied ordering through apps, either branded or third-party.

QSRs’ offering of ordering and payment methods depends on the size of the chain. Small QSRs were far less likely to have a mobile app for ordering (30.7 percent) compared to medium or large QSRs. Counterintuitively, small QSRs were more likely to offer ordering via third-party apps (31.7 percent) than medium or large QSRs. The higher tendency to partner with a third party is likely because of the lack of their own apps.

For instance, Auntie Anne’s doesn’t enable mobile ordering on its own app, but does through DoorDash. Shake Shack has its own sales-boosting mobile app, but still partners with DoorDash. Even niche players like food trucks, the ultimate small business, have options like QuickByte to offer mobile ordering to customers.

Large chains are also far more likely to accept mobile wallet payments like Apple Pay or Google Pay as compared to smaller chains. Nearly half (49 percent) of large QSRs allow payment within their app, while 31.2 percent of medium chains and only 21.8 percent of small chains do.

Small chains have the highest number of customers ordering and picking up in the same location (66.3 percent), while drive-thrus are the most commonly used at large QSRs (40.3 percent), which are also more likely to offer them.

Satisfaction was high among managers and customers at small QSRs for in-store ordering and pickup. Small QSR managers were very satisfied with in-store fast pick up where customers might order ahead and skip the line: 91.4 percent cited satisfaction, higher than the satisfaction levels among large QSR managers (85.1 percent), as well as customers of small QSRs (46.2 percent). This is a reflection of long lines being a pain point particular to small QSRs.

Innovations like mobile ordering and payment apps have tangible benefits for customers, but not all innovations are readily apparent. Kitchen automation systems (KAS) facilitate the order fulfillment process so workers can readily see orders on a tablet or mobile device.

Over one-third (36.0 percent) of QSRs in the study had already implemented such a system, with small QSRs having a lower rate of implementation (33.7 percent). Reducing order time was the leading reason that small QSRs (41.7 percent) implemented a KAS. But more than half (51.9 percent) cited satisfaction with their current system as to why they hadn’t implemented a KAS. Larger chains were more likely to cite expense as a barrier.

In the study, even large national QSRs had varying levels of KAS implementation. Burger King had the highest adoption rate (64 percent), while Subway had the lowest (10 percent).

Just 4.2 percent of small QSRs considered lower costs as a benefit for adopting KAS technology. Despite positive outlook among small businesses, generally, small QSRs are still hesitant to invest in technology with an uncertain return on investment.

UBER Is Bound To Make Starbucks delivery an Impact Across US

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UBER Is Bound To Make Starbucks delivery an Impact Across US

Up until now, the Starbucks Delivers program had only been in a test phase, available in 11 select markets including Miami, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Houston and Dallas.

Starbucks has announced plans to make Starbucks Delivers available throughout the U.S. in early 2020.

The coffee giant is continuing its partnership with Uber Eats to expand after launching an 11-market rollout last year.

“We are driven to create new and unique digital experiences that are meaningful, valuable and convenient for our customers,” Roz Brewer, group president and chief operating officer for Starbucks, said in a press release. “Partnering with Uber Eats helps us take another step towards bringing Starbucks to customers wherever they are.”

Through its agreement with Uber Eats, the companies will work on innovation and technology integration while continuing to focus on delivery packaging, in-store operations, and a quick order-to-door delivery window.

About 95% of the Starbucks menu will be available through the mobile delivery app, excluding items with foam like macchiatos and cappuccinos, which the company said don’t hold up well during the delivery process.

Along with being the preferred delivery partner, Uber Eats will also collaborate with Starbucks on delivery technology and innovation, the company said.

“Our customers are huge Starbucks fans and love being able to get their favorite items delivered with Uber Eats speed,” said Jason Droege, vice president of Uber Everything. “We’re excited to expand our partnership across the United States to make ordering their favorite coffee and breakfast sandwich as easy as requesting a ride.”

Customers can place their Starbucks order via the Uber Eats mobile app on iOS and Android devices, and even follow their order’s progress within the app. Starbucks has also developed packaging to help ensure the quality of hot and cold menu items.

The service was first tested out in Miami, and although not all drinks are available for delivery, Starbucks noticed that customers make larger orders when they get their drinks delivered. “We’re seeing an expanded ticket. And that average ticket is what we need to see happen as we approach delivery,” said CEO Kevin Johnson at the time.

Starbucks already has a successful delivery service in China, delivering in 17 cities in the country in 1,100 stores after launching in September in Shanghai and Beijing. With more than 3,000 stores already in operation in the country, another 2,000 are slated to open by 2021.

What Is Restaurant Table Turn Over and How Does It Work?

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What Is Restaurant Table Turn Over and How Does It Work?
formal table setting

In the eatery business, table turnover rate is precarious to ace: you need to situate however many gatherings per feast administration as could be allowed, yet you would prefer not to make your clients feel surged or overlooked. Most easygoing eateries intend to turn each table multiple times all through a supper administration, or once consistently and a half. While this sounds basic enough, it tends to be hard to accomplish when no doubt about it “campers,” or burger joints who keep on remaining situated at their tables long after they’ve paid their checks. This kind of client can contrarily affect a café’s course through rate, which at last brings down benefit. To help expand table turnover in your café without appearing to be unwelcoming, make certain to pursue a portion of our tips beneath.

Fine Dining Vs. Casual Dining

Perhaps the greatest factor to consider before putting any of the tips beneath without hesitation is whether you claim an easygoing or high end foundation. While most easygoing eateries center around higher course through rates, white tablecloth organizations are increasingly worried about client experience. If it’s not too much trouble note that the majority of these tips apply for the most part to easygoing eating foundations, however they can in any case be adjusted and utilized in your high end café to expand table turnover rates.

1. Have an Organized Seating System

One approach to amplify table turnover is to have a sorted out seating and reservation framework. With the end goal for this to occur, there must be extraordinary correspondence among servers and hosts. When a server gathers the check and flag the busser to begin tidying up tables, they should caution the hosts that their table will open up in all respects in no time. This will enable the host to assemble the following party in line and have them prepared to be situated very quickly. The sooner has can get clients to their tables, the less time those tables will sit void. To help improve your seating framework and get clients situated all the more rapidly, pursue a portion of the tips underneath:

  • Pre-dole out tables to visitors holding up in line, so when they open up, visitors can be situated.
  • Have a holding up region close to the host or leader stand, so has can without much of a stretch discover clients when they’re prepared to be situated.
  • There’s nothing more regrettable than considering a gathering’s name on various occasions, just to discover they’re holding up outside.
  • Acknowledge just stroll in clients, so you don’t host to manage no-show gatherings who reserved a spot.

2. Keep Your Serving Staff On Schedule

fine dining server

Another way to keep each party’s dining experience around the one and a half hour mark is to keep your serving staff on schedule. If a server doesn’t show up to a table right away, they’ve already added time to that table’s occupancy. Even worse, nothing’s more aggravating for hungry customers than waiting a long time for their server to come over and introduce themselves, let alone take their orders. We’ve provided some tips below that will help keep your staff on schedule throughout the entire meal:

  • Take drink orders immediately, and bring out water promptly.
  • Ask guests if they’ve dined at the restaurant before. If not, go over some menu highlights. Then, you can simply go over the specials.
  • If a large party is seated, consider having more than one server assigned to the table.
  • Clear off plates as guests finish their meals rather than waiting until they’ve left.
  • Assign more than one busser per table to get the remaining dishes cleared quickly.
  • Keep pre-rolled silverware and clean dishes ready, so tables can be reset quickly.
  • Drop the check off before customers have to ask for it. By placing the check on the table as guests are finishing up their dessert, they won’t have to wait and flag you down when they’re ready.
  • If customers continue to stick around long after their check has been paid, and there’s a long line of waiting customers, it is okay to politely ask them to continue their conversations at the bar, so you can seat another party with reservations.

3. Use Technology to Your Advantage

Although paying the check signals the end of a meal, it’s oftentimes a lengthy task. Servers have to collect credit cards, run them back to the register, print out receipts, and deliver them back to the table. This doesn’t even include the time-consuming tasks of splitting the check at the last minute or using gift cards. Even after you’ve delivered the receipts to the tables, customers still tend to take their time writing out their tips and chitchatting. To help expedite this process, consider investing in a mobile POS system, like Ziosk or Square, if it’s within your business’s budget. By using upgraded technology devices, servers can run credit cards and complete checks right at the table in front of their customers or let customers pay when they’re ready to leave.

4. Update Your Dining Room

restaurant patio seating

If your restaurant is really struggling with turning tables, then consider rearranging your restaurant. Placing tables and chairs in the center of the dining room, away from corners and walls, will encourage customers to eat more quickly. Since the middle of the room is often the busiest and most hectic spot in the restaurant, guests will naturally eat faster. Additionally, patrons tend to linger for a longer period of time if they’re seated on furniture that’s anchored to the ground, like booths. It could be beneficial to seat small parties at smaller tables and chairs rather than in booths. It’s important to note that this is most common in casual restaurants where people are paying for quick service and convenience.

Another update you can make to your dining room is changing its interior color scheme. Bright colors, like red, yellow, orange, and green, raise an individual’s heart rate and blood pressure. This excites them and subconsciously encourages them to eat faster, which results in quicker turnover rates. To adjust your establishment’s color scheme, consider painting the walls a vibrant shade, using bold upholstery, adding pictures and accent pieces, or serving meals on brightly-colored dinnerware.

5. Make Your Menu More Compact

While many restaurant owners believe that offering a larger menu will make customers’ decisions easier, it actually makes them more difficult. When individuals are given an overload of choices, it stresses them out and takes them longer to find something they like. Instead, offer a smaller menu that includes only your most popular options. Feel free to switch up the menu with the seasons or offer three unique specials every week. The point is, the quicker your guests decide what they want, the faster their orders will be put in. This leads to shorter dining times and higher flow-through rates.

By making simple changes to the routines of your servers and hosts, or by updating your dining room layout or menu, you’ll be able to get customers in out and the door in a timely fashion without making them feel rushed or unwanted.

Restaurant News: STARBUCKS FIRST EXPRESS Store in China

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Restaurant News: STARBUCKS FIRST EXPRESS Store in China

Starbucks Corp. continues to push its coffee delivery and retail presence in China with the opening of the company’s first express café — known as Starbucks Now — in Beijing, China that focuses on Starbucks mobile order and pay and delivery customers.

The express café format will also act as a dispatch center for nearby delivery orders, while all Starbucks Now and Starbucks Delivers orders will be placed in secure “pickup portals” along the wall so that customers and couriers can more easily find and pick up their orders.

this new retail format and design approach provides us with a platform to offer customers a fast and convenient retail experience to suit their on-the-go lifestyle.

Beijing-Express-Store_1.png
Image Courtesy : NRN

As Starbucks continues to focus its international efforts on the China markets, the Seattle-based company has been struggling to capture consistent traffic and reported a 1% decline in same-store transactions in China in the second quarter ended March 31.

In order to keep up with quickly growing mobile and delivery-forward competitors in China like Luckin Coffee, which filed in April for a U.S. initial public offering, Starbucks has launched several initiative, including delivery in partnership with Alibaba, which was announced in 2018, and the use of ghost or cloud kitchens — delivery-only kitchens that are not attached to a restaurant — a collaboration with Alibaba and Hema supermarkets.

The minimalist store design of the mobile-forward Starbucks Now locations allows for one or two baristas to monitor both walk-in and order-ahead orders, with only a few stools for seating and little of the hustle and bustle of the typical Starbucks store format. A central kitchen will handle all beverage and food orders during peak hours.

Launch of the first Starbucks Now-store marks the latest milestone in the company’s continued efforts to bring its digital experiences for customers in China through unique and convenient store formats. The company plans to open new Starbucks Now-stores across high-traffic areas including business and transportation hubs as well as to new cities in China.

Toronto owner of Jack’s Family Restaurants sells chain

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Toronto owner of Jack’s Family Restaurants sells chain

Toronto-based Onex Corp. said it was selling its stake in Jack’s Family Restaurants Inc. to an undisclosed buyer in a deal that will close at the end of the third quarter. 

Onex bought the Birmingham, Ala.-based quick-service hamburger chain in 2015 for $234 million. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Onex said it is more than tripling its investment in the Southeastern chain founded in 1960.

“Over the course of our investment, Jack’s significantly accelerated its growth and brought its differentiated concept, high-quality food and exceptional customer service to new communities across the southern U.S.,” said Matt Ross, a managing director of Onex, in a statement. 

Ross thanked Jack’s CEO Todd Bartmess and his management team for being great partners to Onex.  “We wish them continued growth and success in the future,” Ross said.

Bartmess said Onex has given the regional chain the support to “invest in our people, technology and the growth of our brand.”

“They were steadfast in their commitment to the Jack’s family and the high standards we set.  We’re grateful for Onex’ partnership over the years,” the CEO said in a statement.

Jack’s ranked No. 111 in the most recent Nation’s Restaurant News Top 200 census with an estimated $402.8 million in U.S. systemwide sales for this fiscal year ended December 2018, up 7.7% from $374.1 million in 2017. It ended 2018 with 162 units, up from 147 in 2017.  The company’s restaurants are in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia.  

NRN research suggested that Jack’s restaurants have average annual sales per unit of about $2.6 million.

A Battersby Chef Is Back With Lamb Ribs and Roasted Lobster

Restaurant Tech Editors
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A Battersby Chef Is Back With Lamb Ribs and Roasted Lobster

Dover and Battersby, opened in 2011 and 2013 respectively, were two spots that you’d point to as models for the style of new Brooklyn neighborhood restaurants that’s since become almost standard. Run by the chefs Joe Ogrodnek and Walker Stern, they were ambitious but (especially Battersby) small places. After Dover closed in 2017, Ogrodnek skipped town (remaining an owner of Battersby until it, too, closed) and, he says, took a bunch of time off and traveled. He stayed off the kitchen grid until September of last year, when it was announced that he’d taken his career in a new but not uncommon direction: as the chef-partner in a new hotel’s all-day café. Called Floret and located in Atelier Ace’s Sister City on the Bowery, it opened in June for breakfast and lunch and tomorrow will expand to dinner, completing the all-day circle.

“I didn’t really see myself working for, doing a restaurant in hotel,” Ogrodnek says. “It was something I never imagined doing. With Battersby and Dover, I kind of fell in love with the small neighborhood restaurant.”

At Floret, he’s serving a different kind of clientele — people who live on and around the Bowery, sure, but also those visiting for business, family, and fun — and working with a new partner. He serves as the culinary partner — “I’m kind of culinary development lead, I suppose you would call it,” he says — working with the executive chef Andrew Whitcomb on developing dishes, putting the menu together, and training staff. Whitcomb is a less familiar name to New Yorkers, but he has worked for some of the country’s best chefs: He was the chef de cuisine of Dominique Crenn’s Petit Crenn, cooked at Ken Oringer’s Earth at Hidden Pond, and was the executive chef at Claus Meyer and Fredrik Berselius’s now-closed Norman.

The date, pistachio, and almond cigars with honey whipped cream. Photo: Grub Street

Their menu takes an agnostic approach to ingredients and cuisines, serving hamachi crudo with cucumber-melon gazpacho alongside Japanese eggplant with crispy shallots and palm sugar for appetizers. You’ll find some starches like heirloom beans with garlic pistou, and the entrées run the gamut from roasted lobster with ginger, chili, and lime to veal breast with morels and vin jaune to lamb ribs with cucumber-yogurt and mint. There are only three desserts, but the approach is still applied: You can order your chocolate budino with coffee ice cream and have your date, pistachio, and almond cigars, too.

“The menu is definitely international. It’s a question I get asked a lot, and I think is a valid question. ‘What kind of cuisine would you say this is?’ I don’t really know how to answer that question,” Ogrodnek says. “I just think it’s modern. Everything is so easily accessible that we just have the options to do so many different types of cuisines.”

The restaurant has a full bar, including a nice selection of beer (Cigar City, Radeberger, KCBC) and cocktails like the Roman Highball, made with amaro, ginger, and lime. It’s also significantly larger than any restaurant that Ogrodnek has run before. There are 186 seats total, with most of them in the dining room that, with its mix dark wood tables, tile floor, and scattered plants, blend old and new nicely. An outdoor space looks and like it could lead to a garden just around the corner, and there’s a private dining room for ten, should you have reason to celebrate.

The Japanese eggplant with crispy shallots, peanuts, palm sugar, and mint. Photo: Grub Street

A crispy whole dorade with grilled summer beans, sesame, sambal, and lime that’s meant for two or one very hungry person. Photo: Grub Street

Chilled peekytoe crab with avocado, scallion, green apple, and lemon. Photo: Grub Street

The Rolls Royce cocktail with gin, sweet and dry vermouth, and Benedictine. Photo: Grub Street

Inside! Photo: Grub Street

And out! Photo: Grub Street

Del Taco Makes Summer a Bit Sweeter With Introduction of $1 Mini Floats

Restaurant Tech Editors
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Del Taco Makes Summer a Bit Sweeter With Introduction of $1 Mini Floats

Company Celebrates National Drive-Thru Day on July 24 with FREE Mini Floats for Guests Through the Del Taco App

Del Taco Makes Summer a Bit Sweeter With Introduction of $1 Mini Floats

Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: TACO), the nation’s second leading Mexican quick service restaurant,* today announced a sweet product introduction to help guests beat the summer heat. Only a buck each, Del Taco’s Mini Floats will launch nationwide on July 24, National Drive-Thru Day. To celebrate the fun holiday, guests can get a FREE Mini Float all day with any purchase when presenting the coupon in their Del Taco app at check-out.**

Crafted with a combination of Del Taco’s premium Vanilla Shake and a choice of Cherry Coke®, Barq’s® Root Beer, Hi-C® Flashin’ Fruit Punch, Coca-Cola® or Fanta® Orange, Mini Floats are an indulgent treat at a price that only Del Taco can offer.

“With Mini Floats, we’re thrilled to give our guests another uniquely Del Taco way to beat the heat this summer,” said Barry Westrum, Del Taco’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Classic floats are synonymous with summertime, and we’re thrilled to now offer 12 different dollar beverages, including these new, fun and timely drinks.”

Along with Mini Floats, Del Taco’s dollar drink menu is full of guest-favorite offerings, including Real Strawberry Lemonade, Prima Java Iced Coffee (Value Size), 30-Ounce Gold Peak® Brewed Iced Tea and Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry Mini Shakes.**

Guests who crave even more value can download The Del App, available on the App (iOS) and Google Play (Android) stores, and will receive a coupon for any taco free,*** as well as other special offers delivered to their mobile device every week.

*By number of units

**Price and participation may vary by location. 
***Limit one sign-up offer per device. Registration required to access deals. Price and participation may vary.

About Del Taco Restaurants, Inc.

Del Taco (NASDAQ: TACO) offers a unique variety of both Mexican and American favorites such as burritos and fries, prepared fresh in every restaurant’s working kitchen with the value and convenience of a drive-thru. Del Taco’s menu items taste better because they are made with quality ingredients like fresh grilled chicken and carne asada steak, hand-sliced avocado, hand-grated cheddar cheese, slow-cooked beans made from scratch, and creamy Queso Blanco.

The brand’s campaign, Celebrating the Hardest Working Hands in Fast Food, further communicates Del Taco’s commitment to restaurant-level team members that provide guests with the best quality and value for their money through cooking, chopping, shredding and grilling menu items from scratch. Founded in 1964, today Del Taco serves more than three million guests each week at its more than 580 restaurants across 14 states. For more information, visit www.deltaco.com.

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