June 2020 - Total Food Service

NEWS

TAKEOUT & DELIVERY

INDUSTRY WINS ESSENTIAL BATTLE AS NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL TAKES GRUBHUB TO MAT OVER FEES

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ayor Bill DeBlasio and the City Council of New York signed legislation last month to cap delivery fees. Under the bill passed by the New York City Council, thirdparty food delivery services in New York, like Grubhub, DoorDash and Postmates, wouldn’t be allowed to charge restaurants more than a 20 percent commission on orders during states of emergency like the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, the apps can charge restaurants fees of more than 30 percent per order, cutting into profits at a time when COVID-19 has shut the doors of eating places except for takeout and delivery orders.

The legislation would restrict fees charged by third-party food delivery services during states of emergency when restaurants are prohibited from serving customers in-house, and for 90 days afterward.

During these periods, the services could charge only up to 15% per order for providing delivery services, and no more than a 5% fee per order for other types of charges, like credit card processing and marketing.

Violations of the law could mean fines of up to $1,000 per restaurant per day for the delivery services.

“This is one where we want to make sure people are treated fairly,” de Blasio said. “And they saw something that wasn’t fair to everyday people going through so much, and I think it’s smart legislation, so I will support it.”

Grubhub spokesman John Collins said the laws would not withstand the company’s legal challenge. “Any arbitrary cap - regardless of the duration - will lower order volume to locally-owned restaurants, increase

“You get nervous when you potentially have a provider that’s going to be over 50 percent of the market,” — Robert Guarino costs for small business owners, and raise costs on customers,” he said. “Delivery workers would have fewer work opportunities and lower earnings.”

The proverbial “elephant in the room” is the possibility that Uber Technologies Inc which runs Uber Eats, could acquire Grubhub Inc. That is reigniting some restaurants’ worries over the commissions charged to eateries by the thirdparty delivery companies. Uber is in negotiations to buy Grubhub Inc in an all-stock deal.

Some small eateries have been vocal about their distaste for the services, which sometimes charge

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mom and pop restaurants - already operating on thin margins - as much as 15% to 30% commissions on each order while giving discount breaks to marquee chains like McDonald’s Corp.

In March and April, as the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, Grubhub added as many new partner restaurants to its platform as it did during the entire second half of 2019, Chief Executive Officer Matt Maloney said. It now has about 300,000 U.S. restaurants on its app, while Uber eats has more than 100,000 in the United States and Canada. Their merger would create the nation’s largest restaurant deliv-

ery company.

“In April, daily average orders via Grubhub were 20% higher than the same month last year,” Maloney said.

Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, a trade association, said consolidation among third-party delivery firms “poses significant concerns.”

“You get nervous when you potentially have a provider that’s going to be over 50 percent of the market,” said Robert Guarino, chief executive officer of 5 Napkin Burger, which has four sit-down locations in Manhattan. Most of his delivery orders come through Grubhub. “The big question is, what happens as all these companies are trying to reach profitability, where does it come from,” he said.

“During this unprecedented public health crisis, many restaurants are struggling just to stay afloat,” said Councilman Mark Gjonaj, the bills’ sponsor. “These bills could mean the difference between remaining open or closing their doors and laying off their employees.”

In New York, at least a dozen food delivery services compete for customers who are increasingly ordering from multiple platforms. Outside of New York, other city and state regulators have been scrutinizing delivery companies, with concerns about high delivery fees, tipping policies and the way they classify their workers. Grubhub sales have been hurt by the increased competition and the closing of restaurants in New York City.

Other cities, including Jersey City, Washington, DC, Seattle and San Francisco have also capped thirdparty delivery service fees as a result of the pandemic.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 3

NEWS

DELIVERY

BOULUD IS LATEST TO JUMP INTO DELIVERY FRAY IN NYC

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hef Daniel Boulud has launched a new delivery concept called Daniel Boulud Kitchen to home deliver food from his Daniel restaurant in New York, US. Customers can order food through the new website or Tock To Go delivery platform.

Specializing in French cuisine, the restaurant will also provide curbside pick-up services.

According to the company, food will be prepared in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to ensure the safety of its staff and every order.

The staff has also been trained to maintain social distancing and wear masks and gloves at all times.

Approximately 5% of the sales gen-

“This is an entirely new brand that will allow us to expand first into markets where some of our restaurants already exist and then elsewhere.” — Sebastien Silvestri erated through the delivery concept will be donated to Hand in Hand, a Daniel Boulud Foundation. In addition, the funding will be used to support employees who lost their jobs due to the impact of Covid-19 outbreak and related restaurant closures.

Boulud said: “This has been the most difficult and challenging time I have ever faced as a chef and restaurateur. “I miss being in the kitchen, but I also miss my guests and I miss my staff, many of whom have been

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by my side for years. With Daniel Boulud Kitchen, we have the ability to bring back some additional members and as we grow, we can bring back even more.”

The Dinex Group, Boulud’s restaurant arm, now plans to expand the delivery kitchen concept to support growth. Dinex CEO Sebastien Silvestri said: “This is an entirely new brand that will allow us to expand first into markets where some of our restaurants already exist and then elsewhere.

We know people want to experience the cuisine of Daniel Boulud in the safety of their own home.

Originally from Lyon, Chef Daniel Boulud is widely celebrated as one of America’s leading culinary authorities.

Since arriving in New York City in 1982, he has continually evolved his cuisine and expanded his reach to properties across the U.S., as well as London, Toronto, Montreal and Singapore.

His culinary empire has brought him many accolades, yet his inspiration remains grounded in the rhythm of the seasons. From his Michelinstarred flagship, Daniel, to his properties across the globe, Boulud’s signature remains the contemporary appeal he brings to soulful dishes rooted in the French tradition.

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 5

NEWS

RE-OPENING SANITATION STRATEGIES

MORFOGEN’S BROOKLYN CHOP HOUSE UNVEILS VISION FOR SAFE DINING ROOM

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nce again one of the industry’s most innovative restaurateurs has brought his out of the box thinking to a challenge that it is on the minds of every restaurateur. Stratis Morfogen, who has led the way through the pandemic in feeding front line responders has outlined his vision for dining rooms when customers are given the green light to return.

As shut-in Americans long for the days when they can once again enjoy simple pleasures like dining out, one New York City steakhouse has provided a possible glimpse of how reopened restaurants might look in the post-coronavirus age.

When the Brooklyn Chop House

“We don’t want you to feel like you’re eating in a hospital or prison,” — Stratis Morfogen reopens in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District this summer, diners will encounter temperature checks at the door, plastic dividers between tables, sanitizer-infused towels, and wait staff wearing restaurantbranded fishing caps with plastic face shields.

“We created a fishing cap to make it a little fun, because I’ve got to convince my staff to wear it, and it’s actually very comfortable,” said Stratis Morfogen, the restaurant’s director of operations, as he donned a face shield.

The menu at Brooklyn Chop House includes Philly Cheesesteak dumplings (Photo by Daniel Kwak)

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As the Covid-19 pandemic swept the United States, restaurants closed their doors, with 5.5 million restaurant industry workers losing their jobs in April alone, according to the National Restaurant Association.

The virus hit New York establishments especially hard, where, the industry group says, restaurants accounted for 9 per cent of employment in the state in 2019 and brought in US$51.6 billion (RM224.4 billion) in sales in 2018.

The Brooklyn Chop House, known for its fusion of American steakhouse and Asian food, is working hard to prepare for reopening and Morfogen estimates the changes will cost US$15,000.

Tables will be separated by plastic partitions, and plates and glasses will be wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination. The restaurant will also use small paper strips to measure the level of disinfectant on surfaces. In addition, the restaurant’s former 200-seat capacity will be 30 per cent lower, to satisfy social-distancing criteria.

“We don’t want you to feel like you’re eating in a hospital or prison,” Morfogen said. “But we have to respect the healthcare workers” and prevent people from becoming infected. “We want your comfort level to be high, where you come in here and enjoy yourself,” he said. “We’re

Main Office 282 Railroad Ave. Greenwich, CT 06830 Publishers Leslie & Fred Klashman Advertising Director Michael Scinto Art Director Mark Sahm Director of Public Relations and Special Events Joyce Appelman Contributing Writers Warren Bobrow Morgan Tucker Fred Sampson Joyce Appelman Phone: 203.661.9090 Fax: 203.661.9325 Email: tfs@totalfood.com Web: www.totalfood.com

Cover photo courtesy of Connecticut Restaurant Association

continued on page 102is published Total Food Service ISSN No. 1060-8966 monthly by IDA Publishing, Inc., 282 Railroad Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. Phone: 203.661.9090. This issue copyright 2020 by IDA Publishing Inc. Contents in full or part may not be reproduced without permission. Not responsible for advertisers claims or statements.

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all going to need it after this.”

This type of innovative thinking has become a hallmark of the Morfogen. Last summer he was among the first to reconstruct a weather-related lease for a restaurant property in the Hamptons. Earlier this year, he announced plans for a dumpling line to be sold in Wal-Marts across the country and most recently and automated dining concept for dumplings: Brooklyn Dumpling House.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 7

NEWS

MENU SOLUTIONS

BARBECUE MASTERS HEAT UP TYSON FRESH MEATS FOODSERVICE

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yson Fresh Meats is entering the world of competitive barbecue. The company is excited to announce its partnership with an elite team of Barbecue Masters who will compete in signature events including the Memphis in May International Festival and the American Royal World Series of Barbecue® using products from the Tyson Fresh Meats portfolio of brands.

Barbecue is seeing tremendous growth as its popularity continues to rise – both on the barbecue circuit, on menus and in backyards across America. Tyson Fresh Meats hopes to capitalize on the category’s popularity through this partnership, ultimately driving barbecue sales across retail and foodservice.

“Barbecue has long been one of America’s favorite pastimes because it is uniquely universally loved,” says Ozlem Worpel, senior brand manager for Tyson Fresh Meats.

“We’re thrilled to partner with these talented pitmasters who can draw on their deep expertise to showcase our breadth of high-quality products paired with America’s favorite flavors.”

Barbecue-loving fans who follow the competition circuit will recognize the Barbecue Masters comprising the Tyson Fresh Meats brand ambassador team, including Tuffy Stone, Sterling “Big Poppa” Ball, Fred Robles, Tim Scheer and Justin McGlaun.

“Whether I’m cooking for friends and family, competition, or culinary development, I can count on Tyson Fresh Meats for great ribs, pork, chicken or beautiful prime beef,” says pitmaster Ball of Big

Poppa Smokers. “Tyson is my absolute go-to for any protein I might want to cook. They are the only protein company that can cover all my bases.”

“We’re confident that the Tyson Fresh Meats portfolio of brands offers barbecue enthusiasts highquality beef and pork products they can count on,” adds Worpel. “For example, Chairman’s Reserve Meats is well-known to deliver a consistently exceptional eating experience and we’re thrilled to bring it to the competitive barbecue circuit this year.”

The complete Tyson Fresh Meats competitive barbecue team is as follows: • Tuffy Stone: Tuffy Stone is a sixtime world champion pitmaster most recently winning at the 2019 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Festival. He’s also a former Marine, a French-trained chef, author of Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue, and an acclaimed restaurant owner. His legendary precision and “smoke science” obsession make him one of the most influential icons on the barbecue circuit. In fact, in 2016, Stone and his Cool Smoke BBQ Team made history at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational, becoming the only team to ever win the contest three times. Stone was inducted into the BBQ Hall of Fame in 2018.

• Sterling Ball: With more than 30 years of cooking experience, Sterling “Big Poppa” Ball’s passion

continued on page 86

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 9

NEWS

SANITIZATION SOLUTIONS

3 TIPS TO HELP KEEP RESTAURANTS PEST- AND PATHOGEN-FREE Article by Judy Black, BCE, VP Quality Assurance and Technical Services, Orkin, LLC

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s “business as usual” takes on a whole new meaning, restaurateurs are adjusting how they approach the fundamental focus of keeping their restaurant clean and safe. With concerns over the transmission of pathogens now top of mind, many business owners are keenly aware of how their operations handle cleanliness. And while recent headlines have focused on the ways in which employees conduct themselves, drawing attention to the value of wearing masks, it’s important to be equally diligent about foodservice facilities. Clean operations start with a clean restaurant.

Whether COVID-19 caused your restaurant to close or operate in a limited capacity, it’s still critical to keep your

space free of pests, as well as pathogens. Just because a restaurant was closed, doesn’t mean it’s still vacant.

In fact, it may have been more susceptible to pest infestations as decreased traffic allows pest hot spots to go undisturbed and unmonitored. This also holds true with restaurants focusing on curbside and delivery, since their dining areas have remained empty.

Operational disruptions allow rats, mice, cockroaches and other pests to go undetected. Thankfully, there are steps restaurateurs can take to help mitigate pest and pathogen problems, during and after quarantine.

1.

Follow sanitation best practices.

Since quarantine regulations were implemented abruptly, many businesses didn’t have the opportunity to take proper precautions before closing. With that, staff may have been

While recent headlines have focused on the ways in which employees conduct themselves, drawing attention to the value of wearing masks, it’s important to be equally diligent about foodservice facilities. Clean operations start with a clean restaurant. pressed for time when considering important cleaning and sanitation steps that help deter pests.

As your restaurant reopens, prioritize taking out the trash, as buildup not only creates a health hazard but also attracts pests. If your restaurant is still closed, make sure all food is stored and sealed, and floors and surfaces are cleaned and sanitized, so pests don’t settle in the grime.

2. Continue preventive efforts.

For good reason, pest control providers have been deemed essential by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and are allowed to operate during this time. Pest control is essential, especially in light of COVID-19, because pests harbor health risks for both employees and customers.

That said, now is an opportune time for an inspection by your pest control provider, who can conduct a service while practicing safety guidelines to help stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2, such as following social distancing and proper hygiene outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

3. Regularly disinfect surfaces.

Disinfect high-touch areas regularly because surfaces can be re-contaminated after using a disinfectant treatment. For foodservice facilities, dis-

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infectants rated “no rinse required on food contact surfaces” category D2 by NSF International are ideal, since food can safely contact the surface shortly after treatment.

The new Orkin® VitalClean™ service uses an EPA-registered disinfectant labeled for use against a wide variety of pathogens, and it is on EPA’s “List N” of products that meet their criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. When applied at full strength in accordance with the product label, this powerful disinfectant will kill 100% of bacteria and viruses on hard, non-porous surfaces and will also sanitize soft, porous surfaces, making it a premier option to effectively disinfect your restaurant.

While we’ll likely feel the effects of this pandemic for the foreseeable future, following these guidelines will help minimize its impact on restaurants in the days and months to come.

Judy Black is the Vice President of Quality Assurance and Technical Services for Rollins, Inc. A board-certified entomologist and PMP Hall of Fame recipient, she has more than 30 years of experience in the pest management field and is an acknowledged leader in the industry. For more information, email JBlack@rollins.com or visit www.orkincommercial.com.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 11

RESTAURANT FINANCE

WITH DAVID SEDERHOLT

FACTS AND FEARS: THE FINANCIAL STORM AHEAD

“The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make important battle decisions. That’s the time to listen to every fear you can imagine. When you have collected all the facts and made your decisions, turn off your fears and move ahead.”

– General George Patton.

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have made some pretty bold predictions in earlier columns which were based on indications and signs within our economy and political environment that made me very nervous. In spite of the claims of the strongest economy in years, I couldn’t help but feel that this seemingly strong castle was built on a mountain of sand. I didn’t have a crystal ball but the indicators were right there in front of our faces. As a business owner I wanted to warn others of the potential danger while preaching caution and cash retention. Experience through numerous

downturns taught me the bottom would fall out of the economy because I believed the claims of a solid economy were being hyped up. Well the storm came, and the sand started to wash away. In less than 60 days the economy was crushed.

My mantra is - Pay attention, even if it is very uncomfortable to do so.

In an eerie coincidence, a brilliant novel written by award winning author Lawrence Wright entitled The End of October tells the story of a highly contagious pandemic which kills thousands, forces citizens to self-isolate and completely tanks the economy. Sound familiar? The strange part is that he finished writing the book last year and started it 10 years ago. After reporting on earlier epidemics like Legionnaires and swine flu he talked to many public health experts who were certain a real global pandemic was coming

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and Wright wrote the scenario as the plot of his novel.

Holy crap! He denies having any prophetic powers, but as an investigative journalist he learned to pay attention and knows how to collect data and evidence. He knew how important it was to ask the right questions and that question is – What could happen?

How long will this last? Will the virus recede as the summer comes on? Will it return in the fall?

Will we have a vaccine or new therapeutic drugs before it does? Will I be able to keep my business alive until that happens? The crushing problem is – no one knows for sure.

Most small businesses are in flat out survival mode. The best we can all do is collect as much information as possible and consider all options as we move ahead in these dangerous and uncharted waters. Unfortunately, you’d have to be totally delusional to believe a “V” shaped rebound in the economy as predicted by the White House is likely. There are too many negative indicators working against that happening. If you want to survive, you need to be realistic and face the brutal truth. This will either be a long and slow recession or, depending if there is a re-emergence of infections – an outright depression that will take a few years to fully recover from. Why do I say this?

Before the pandemic America had the highest levels of corporate, gov-

David Sederholt is a multi-discipline entrepreneur who has launched and built numerous companies in specialty finance, foodservice and commercial real estate over 40 years. After owning, financing and operating over a dozen restaurants in his career he found a niche in serving small businesses seeking financing and strategic advice. For 10 years he served as Chief Operating Officer of Strategic Funding Source, Inc., (now called Kapitus). David has also been a Managing Partner at a boutique investment bank and a specialty commercial real estate firm. He is a regular guest lecturer and contributor to business and industry publications as well as serving as a Board member and advisor to numerous companies and non-profit organizations. He is currently owner of Ragnar Partners, LLC, a private investment and advisory firm. If you have any questions that I might help with, please email me at dsederholt@ ragnarpartners.com

ernmental and personal debt in history. The US National Debt was $24 T before COVID – it will approach $30T by years end. With the Trump tax cuts to larger corporations and the wealthy – we added over $2 Trillion to the deficit and there can be no reasonable expectation of servicing that much debt in a down economy.

On top of that hot mess we just added TRILLIONS of dollars of national, state, local debt, which accrued as a cost of the pandemic. The Feds are printing trillions of dollars, states have multibillion-dollar holes blown

continued on page 88

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 13

NEWS

TAKEOUT & DELIVERY SOLUTIONS

HOW TO THRIVE IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’: WHAT WILL CONSUMERS DEMAND?

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elivery and curbside pickup recently became mandatory for both operators and consumers as a result of COVID-19. But as the country begins the slow process of reopening, it will be critical for restaurants to recognize changes that will linger long after. Consumers who never used restaurant or grocery delivery have tried it during their shelter-in-place time. And many consumers will continue this behavior even after restaurants open for dine-in business.

Operators should reevaluate the menu and reinforce their takeout and delivery strategy because it’s now likely a vital component of their business. During the crisis, social media posts proved that packaging plays a significant role in how consumers rate their off-premise experience. While many consumers posted pictures and positive comments about establishments that provided a well-packaged meal that looked and tasted good, plenty of others took to social media to complain about poor experiences. In a time when diners were looking for information for excellent food delivery, online reviews and social media posts became even more critical than ever before. That won’t likely change in a post-COVID-19 world, so restaurants need to make sure they’re doing everything they can to provide a top-quality takeout and delivery experience.

With a robust off-premise program, restaurants can significantly expand traffic and demand. Using the right package will ensure an excellent experience for the customer, which will, in turn, generate repeat orders and can even garner social

media praise and recommendations that far outperform any paid advertising expenditure.

Critical features of packaging designed for hot to-go food should include: • Leak-resistant, tight closures to avoid messy spills en route.

• Special features to keep fried foods, both hot and crisp.

• Reclosable bases and lids made with dishwasher-safe, reusable materials.

• The ability to withstand temperatures to 230 degrees Fahrenheit under a heat lamp or in the microwave.

• Capable of consumer reuse and recycled after multiple uses.

Foam and paper packages can rarely handle these critical characteristics. Rigid, polypropylene plastic containers, with hinged or separate bases and lids, provide the

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performance and protection needed to deliver excellent meals. Entrees and sides in rigid plastic packages will arrive with taste profiles comparable to what consumers enjoy in the restaurant.

What about fried foods?

Even though consumers can get just about any cuisine delivered to their homes, the classic french fry remains at the top of the list for the most ordered side item. Anchor Packaging, based in St. Louis, has embraced the challenge of preventing fries from becoming soggy and cold by the time they reach the consumer.

French fries are just one of the many fried foods that Anchor’s Crisp Food Technologies® containers keep hot and crispy. These containers, available in hinged and separate lid-base options, maintain the taste of fried entrees and sides for up to 30 minutes using a patented convection cross-flow design that relieves mois-

ture and condensation while maintaining food temperature.

More than 16,000 locations have tried these products and, having found them to be more effective than any other package, continue to use them to grow their businesses today.

The launch of the new, clear Fry Baby™ hinged container in early 2020 is specifically intended to hold an order of fries, chicken strips, egg rolls, and other fried side items. It is the lowest-priced item within Anchor Packaging’s Crisp Food Technologies® product line, costing less than some paper containers—making it a cost-effective solution for restaurants.

Making the right packaging solutions part of the takeout and delivery strategy enables restaurants to confidently offer more of the foods consumers crave while delivering on their expectations. A great meal will lead to repeat orders, customer loyalty, and raves on social media about where to get great food.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 15

CHEFCETERA

DAVID BURKE, DAVID BURKE RESTAURANTS, NYC B

lurring the lines between chef, artist, entrepreneur and inventor, world-renowned chef David Burke is one of the leading pioneers in American cooking today. His fascination with ingredients and the art of the meal has fueled a thirty-year career marked by creativity, critical acclaim and the introduction of revolutionary products and cooking techniques.

From his support of New Jersey’s Table to Table to feeding US Open Tennis patrons, Burke seems to be everywhere. We wanted to get his thoughts on surviving the pandemic and getting ready to reopen and once again serve his dining patrons.

We interrupted him while he was working with his team to create a signature takeout offering that included a raft of vegetables with watercress asparagus, a slice of mushroom and cherry tomatoes.

How did you pick a Sunday to reopen?

We’ve always had a big following on Mother’s Day. There’s Mom’s out there that would appreciate what we’ve offered over the years, we’ve been in that neighborhood since 1992. So my thought was why don’t we offer some of our Mother’s Day stuff to launch it off? It’s a day that people are certainly not going to cook.

What are your thoughts on how this industry has rallied around the communities it serves?

They have always supported us, so we need to support them in a time of need. We just started feeding 500 homeless people in need, a day. We started on a Tuesday this week, and will continue Monday through Fri-

as $120 per person. Think about it, if I am at home splurging on a date and I want a great steak, do I really want to cook it? New York will always have that sector of the community that has money. In fact, I wonder if you can write off takeout meal for a business dinner, even if you’re eating it over Skype or Zoom?

Chef and Restaurateur David Burke

day. It always comes back.

We’ve never seen anything like this, with an industry that continues to get kicked when it’s down. Yet, instead of turning around and running away, there are so many stories of restaurateurs like you that are giving of their time and money to help other people. Why is this?

I think for some of us, not all of us, it’s a built-in reaction. It’s an automatic, it’s like a natural instinct. You know what I mean? It’s a hospitality gene. Most restaurant people are not lazy. In addition, they are nurturing by nature.

What’s your read on what it takes for a restaurant that may not have the expertise to build a successful Takeout & Delivery operation?

There are several things that we have to consider. The first is what are

16 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

people expecting when they order.

For instance, with our David Burke at Bloomingdales, we knew that a killer burger needed to be our niche. At David Burke Tavern, a higher-end place, we needed something more whimsical. Secondly, you need to understand that certain items like prawns simply don’t travel well but a lobster cobb salad does. Finally, you have to pay attention to packaging. We are going to compare our competition by what the package is like, what it tastes like, of course and that first impression when I open the box.

What about price points for takeout and delivery?

Keep in mind that takeout & delivery are here to stay. In many cases it is what you are going to be “Yelped” and judged on. With that, I expect that Takeout & Delivery could begin to field orders that run as high

When do you anticipate the city coming back to work?

I think the middle of June. There’s enough pressure going on Cuomo and Murphy because of what’s happening in Florida and some of the other states that the natives are going to get really restless. I think honestly, it’s time to get back to work. Yes, people will die. Yes, people will get sick.

But you know what, you’re going to die and get sick if we don’t get back to work too.

What is your approach to packaging?

Our Bloomingdales experience has given us an understanding of takeout and delivery packaging. I can also see where we can actually factor in a little more on the packaging. We tie the bag with a little ribbon and make sure we have a thank you/business card attached with a VIP invite when you call again or come in. We’ve got a couple of vendors in I. Halper and US Magic Box who “get” what we are trying to accomplish.

We also heard that you have a rather unique solution for weddings that solves the social distancing challenge?

We have three large restaurants in Jersey with outdoor facilities and

continued on page 89

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 17

NEWS

LEGISLATION

NYC MAYOR AND COUNCIL PASS KEY LEGISLATION TO PROTECT BESIEGED RESTAURATEURS

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ew York city restaurateurs returned from the holiday weekend to receive a somewhat unexpected gift. Earlier this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a package of Covid-19 relief bills, including one that temporarily bars landlords from going after restaurant and store owners’ personal assets.

The law suspends the enforcement of personal liability provisions in commercial leases or rental agreements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attempting to enforce such provisions constitutes harassment under the measure.

“With the signing of my bill, any small business owner with a personal liability clause in their lease will see that provision temporarily suspended, and they will no longer have to fear their landlord going after their personal life savings and

assets because of a disaster no one saw coming,” Council member Carlina Rivera, the bill’s sponsor, said.

Opponents and some council members had raised legal concerns about the bill, saying the city was overstepping its authority by interfering with private contracts.

Attorneys also pointed to the fact that personal liability provisions are often part of separate guaranties signed by the tenant, not baked into lease agreements as the council bill implies.

In addition to the personal liability measure, the mayor signed a bill that expands the definition of residential and commercial tenant harassment to include threats based on the tenant’s status as a Covid-19 affected person, essential employee or recipient of a rental concession or forbearance.

The Mayor’s signing came on the

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio

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“They will no longer have to fear their landlord going after their personal life savings and assets because of a disaster no one saw coming.” — Carlina Rivera heels of The New York City Council approving the measure a week earlier that would protect restaurants and retailers from certain legal action if they violate their leases.

The measure, introduced by the Manhattan Democrat Rivera, bars the enforcement of personal liability provisions in commercial leases or rental agreements. Under the bill, attempting to enforce such provisions — which allows landlords to go after tenants’ personal assets in the event of a lease default — would be considered harassment. The council approved the bill 44 to 6.

“Losing your business is hard enough, but imagine someone coming after your home as well,” Speaker Corey Johnson said ahead of the vote.

This will enable struggling business owners not to have to worry about their life savings and assets “because of a disaster that no one saw coming.”

The latest version of the bill specifically singles out restaurants, bars and non-essential retailers and businesses (including gyms and movie theaters) that were forced to close due to Covid-19 and sets a clearer timeline for the suspension of personal liability provisions.

While the initial bill barred enforcement of such provisions through at least September 2020, the approved measure applies to defaults that occurred between March 7, 2020, and

September 30, 2020.

During a hearing held last month, real estate groups and even some officials questioned the legality of the measure. The Real Estate Board of New York testified at the time that the bill calls for a “seemingly impermissible unilateral amendment of existing valid contracts.”

Before voting in favor of the measure, Council member Justin Brennan said he still had concerns that the measure helps “Louis Vuitton as much as it helps Louie’s pizza.”

Council member Kalman Yeger voted against the bill, reiterating his stance that the measure was an unconstitutional intrusion on existing contracts.

The council also approved a measure that would expand the definition of residential and commercial tenant harassment to include threats based on the tenant’s status as a Covid-19 impacted person, essential employee or recipient of a rental concession or forbearance.

“Many large national and international tenants have the means to pay their rent and are shamefully using this crisis not to,” REBNY President James Whelan said. “Our members continue to work with small businesses who genuinely need help to weather this crisis, but the bill as drafted will provide an excuse for credit-worthy tenants to evade their financial obligations to our City.”

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 19

FIORITO ON INSURANCE

NAVIGATING THE COVID-19 CLAIMS MANAGEMENT PROCESS

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he evolution of the Coronavirus has led to more complex questions than answers and every day brings new developments on how to handle related losses. And while all industries have been impacted by the pandemic, perhaps no industry has been hit as hard as hospitality.

With the steady rise in claims, coverage for risks related to the coronavirus are cautiously and thoroughly being analyzed on the basis and extent of the policy language. However, the carriers are increasingly adding broad exclusions for the coronavirus to their policies.

Nonetheless, policyholders should report claims relating to the coronavirus to their carriers immediately. Time is of the essence. Exposure and potential claims need to be submitted as early as possible, given the rapid changes in the pandemic and responses to it.

Many factors are involved in coverage analysis discussions, including the type of loss, the type of coverage and the terms and conditions of specific policies. Every case is being treated on its own merit and coverage decisions ultimately lie with the carrier. Alternatively, businesses may be able to pursue government relief programs as they become available.

Here are items to consider from a select group of policies: Workers’ Compensation Workers’ Compensation (WC) coverage is specifically aligned with state and jurisdictional guidelines.

Was the disease contracted during course of employment and/or was

With the steady rise in claims, coverage for risks related to the coronavirus are cautiously and thoroughly being analyzed on the basis and extent of the policy language. it contracted due to conditions peculiar to the work? Employers need to address their respective state WC laws as this is interpreted. Claims arising from employees going to work are to be documented and reported to your carrier immediately for their review.

WC laws will not address COVID-19 directly, unless a state has taken specific steps to address the question of coverage for employees unable to work due to the virus. In general, the state laws do not address the question of employees exposed due to the nature of their employment and/or traveling overseas. Each state will have their own response to the crisis.

Business Interruption / Property Business interruption (BI) coverage historically requires a degree of damage to the insured’s property. At this time, the carriers have not recognized that contamination constitutes damage to the insured’s covered property. As BI coverage requires some damage to the insured’s property, supply chain and similar business losses are not likely to be covered. The closure of restaurants per state will continue to be monitored for carrier responses to coverage. Federal programs are also under consideration and may provide some relief, once a state has been declared a disaster area. This could

20 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

include the availability of small business loans.

Steps taken to continue in business despite the lack of supplies should also be recorded, for submissions to the carrier or government agency. This includes additional costs of using substitute supplier or a cost of changing operations to continue in business, including modifications in process or materials used or change in business plan.

Documentation is paramount in the process.

Liability Claims Third-party liability claims for bodily injury are being filed against policyholders for failure to mitigate or warn others of risk of contamination. These claims should also be submitted to the insurance carrier, even though many general liability policies have an exclusion for bacteria, viruses or the coronavirus.

Shareholders may sue corporate officers for economic loss resulting from inadequate response to coronavirus. Most Directors’ & Officers’ (D&O) policies exclude bodily injury and may also exclude virus related claims. Check these policies for pollution, bacteria or virus exclusions.

Cyber Individuals are strongly urged to be extra cautious when opening emails as phishing scams may de-

Robert Fiorito serves as Vice President with HUB International Northeast, a leading global insurance brokerage, where he specializes in providing insurance services to the restaurant industry. As a 25+ year veteran and former restaurateur himself, Bob has worked with a wide array of restaurant and food service businesses, ranging from fast-food chains to upscale, “white tablecloth” dining establishments. Robert can be reached at 212-338-2324 or by email at robert.fiorito@ hubinternational.com.

velop because of the Coronavirus.

There is a need to be cyber vigilante at these times as cyber criminals’ prey on opportunities and general public fear.

Event Cancellations The cancellation of large events due to the coronavirus have caused large losses under event policies.

An event policy allowing coverage due to the cancellation of a large event is being reviewed by carriers in connection with these claims. If the event was due to take place in a country subject to travel bans or limits on public gatherings timely filing with the carrier is essential.

However, carriers are excluding the coronavirus from several of these policies.

Speak to your insurance broker about your insurance coverage to minimize the potential negative impact of COVID-19 on your business.

Stay safe and we will get through these times together.

For the latest information, guidance and resources on COVID-19 to help you protect what matters most, please visit www.hubinternational. com/coronavirus.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 21

NEWS

FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS

COLDTAINERUSA’S CUSTOMIZABLE TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED STORAGE RISES TO MEET DEMAND FOR INCREASED FOOD SAFETY

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emperature regulation is a vital aspect of the food delivery supply chain, and in the wake of COVID-19, with restaurants relying on increasing delivery orders, concerns surrounding food safety will only increase. Coldtainer portable containers are the perfect solution for any business looking to deliver or transport food with precise temperature control while meeting stringent safety standards.

ColdtainerUSA’s temperature transport units ensure food is maintained at a specific temperature throughout the entire food delivery process, from point of origin to the last mile.

ColdtainerUSA’s high-end polyurethane insulated rotomolded boxes cater to the needs of all sized businesses: from individual food delivery drivers that require small, portable solutions to logistic companies with a fleet of trucks, ColdtainerUSA has a unit for any temperature and any sized vehicle operation. The company’s smallest

model, which General Manager Terry Koerner referred to as a “Yeti on steroids,” is a mere single cubic foot and can be powered with a cigarette lighter, while their largest models are up to 58 cubic feet and can add temperature control to 53 foot trailers. Coldtainers fit into the back of a vehicle and have little to no cost after purchase because of their low cost of repairs and power requirements compared to other products on the market.

The Coldtainer technology and manufacturing process was first cre-

ated in 1993 by Euroengel, an Italian temperature-controlled transport company. It quickly became apparent that many industries had a need for the cost-savings that these new boxes provided. For more than 25 years now, Coldtainer has been Europe’s most trusted and reliable producer of easyto-use, flexible, and eco-friendly refrigerated and heated delivery units.

Recently brought to the United States by a group of refrigerated transportation experts with decades of industry and dealership experience, Coldtainer

“I think over time, you’ll see that temperature regulations are going to get more strenuous.

The Food Safety & Modernization Act is a step in this direction. Moving forward, you’ll see crowd sourcing companies like Uber Eats where drivers will need to prove regulated temperature and will need to use something of higher quality than [insulated] bags.” — Terry Koerner

is now poised to transform the U.S. temperature-controlled delivery market.

Koerner, whose position gives him the opportunity to observe temperature regulations globally, believes that the United States will follow the lead of Europe with ramping up US regulations for last mile delivery. “Europe requires regulation of temperature all the way to the end customer. We have an option where you can actually record temps throughout transit and share that data with customers.

Most receivers are going to ask you how you’ve maintained temperature.

I think over time, you’ll see that temperature regulations are going to get more strenuous. The Food Safety & Modernization Act is a step in this direction. Moving forward, you’ll see crowd sourcing companies like Uber Eats where drivers will need to prove regulated temperature and will need

continued on page 92

Every aspect of the Coldtainer product line has been specifically designed to make it easier and more cost-effective for businesses such as restaurants, caterers, bakeries, wineries, breweries, grocers, and other operations that need to safely store and transport product at a precise temperature.

22 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 23

NEWS

By Francine Cohen

FOOD SOURCING SOLUTIONS

TO GO COCKTAILS: A LOOK INTO BARS’ ‘PLAN B’

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he old proverb “necessity is the mother of invention” has perhaps never rung truer in the bar industry than it does during these pandemic times.

With bars and restaurants swiftly and temporarily shuttered around the globe as COVID-19 touched every continent but Antarctica, suddenly each one needed to reimagine their operating model and develop a “plan b” if they wanted their business to survive.

Survival planning mode began without any clarity on when it would end, or what reopening would look like when it did, and so, just shortly after closure regulations fell into place across the country, municipal governments and state liquor authorities generously relaxed liquor laws that, had they remained in place, would have spelled certain death for a high number of bars nationwide.

Relaxing these laws, or at least not enforcing them, gave bars freedom to break out of the three-tier model. It also meant that in many cities where, since Prohibition, drinking happened only inside the four walls of a bar or restaurant, bars were suddenly allowed to provide to-go and/or delivery cocktails for their customers.

Swiftly embraced as an opportunity to keep doors open and keep at least a skeleton crew of staff employed, these new relaxed measures provided a safety net for bar owners who could not expect financial relief from their landlords or the government. It also provided minimal job security for a handful of the 700,000 American bartenders who found themselves out of work.

Guests were pleased too. This new cottage industry of to-go cocktails

meant that drinking by themselves at home was guaranteed to be as delicious as at the watering hole that had come to them. Being allowed to pivot like this will, for many bars, be the difference between keeping doors open and getting back on their feet after all is said and done, versus shutting entirely like the 21year old West Village neighborhood bar Daddy-O just did.

And now, even more than ever as people do not stray far from home, knowing your neighborhood is crucial. Bars like The Snug in Sacramento have dug in deep to satisfy every customer desire. Owner Trevor Easter shared that the bar invested in four different sizes of bottles in order to package up drinks as everything from single serve cocktails to larger format bottles providing both good value and a longer time to savor a new or beloved beverage.

Drink size selection is also an option at Gardiner Liquid Merchants in Gardiner, New York where their signature brandy bottles are being repurposed for 350 ml and 750ml cocktail sizes, offering their takeaway (and delivery) customers a 4-8 drink option.

Downstate in NYC at the highly regarded bakery and bar Butter &

24 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Scotch owner Alison Kave has her to-go counter open while offering online ordering and delivery of the newly sourced 187 ml glass bottles for 2+serving cocktails. State rules mandate food purchase must accompany liquor sales and she finds delivery slightly more profitable as she explains, “Generally when people order through the site they’re order larger volumes than someone who just stops by the to go window and grabs a cocktail and a slice of cake.”

“Grabbing a cocktail at Maydan in Washington, DC is about keeping business afloat while supporting the neighbors too,” Jessi Weinstein, Director of Bar Concepts, shares, “We are serving our cocktails in empty glass 750ml bottles we are purchasing from a local distiller.”

Considering the planet in the process of offering drinks in singles and 10-cocktail kits, is at the heart of how Karen Hoskin of Montanya Rum runs her distillery and tasting room in good times, and the pandemic couldn’t shake her commitment to the planet. Their limited takeout food and cocktail menu, available in Crested Butte, Colorado offers cocktails in mason jars and glass bottles. Hoskin notes, “We are also accepting returns of the mason jars. We run them through our high heat commercial dishwasher

continued on page 92

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anchorpac.com June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 25

TREND TALK

WITH JOYCE APPELMAN

AF&CO UPDATES 2020 TREND REPORT WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE: WHY THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY WILL COME BACK BETTER THAN EVER

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n light of the new normal, af&co. and Carbonate have revisited the 2020 trend report We’re Not In Kansas Anymore: Why the Restaurant Industry Will Come Back Better than Ever. They looked back expecting a completely irrelevant report. What they noticed, however, was that for many of their observations and predictions, quite the opposite was true.

The biggest shifts they had observed at the end of 2019 seem to be even more prevalent. Andrew Freeman and the Carbonate team have updated the report with new insights and recovery ideas for the road ahead. We are sharing their predictions on restaurant concepts, food and drink.

RESTAURANT CONCEPTS Restaurants Get Creative with Delivery and Carryout Most restaurant kitchens aren’t built for the operational needs of delivery, the fees charged by delivery com-

Savvy operators are not asking “How can we do delivery and carryout?” Rather, they are asking, “How can we make it possible for guests to experience what we offer at home?” panies don’t match up with current margins and most restaurant food doesn’t travel well. The idea of transporting a carefully curated in-person experience in a delivery box is at best uninspiring to most chefs and restaurateurs. * Stay-in-place has forced operators to reconsider these feelings and take a fresh look at how to tackle the only revenue streams that are available -carryout and delivery. While many are doing it as a stop-gap measure, they are starting to see a few emerge with more profitable models. More operators will reevaluate their approach and find ways to make these profit centers work for their particular brand.

Savvy operators are not asking “How

can we do delivery and carryout?”

Rather, they are asking, “How can we make it possible for guests to experience what we offer at home?”

Re-framing the question opens a world of possibilities. * Many restaurants are exploring with family meals, meal kits, house made signature products, retail general stores, and more. Good examples of this range from family sized, make your own taco or pizza kits, take-andbake lasagna, bottling your restaurant’s signature salad dressing, selling house-made bread retail (custom bags of flour!), etc. Identify what your restaurant is known for, and examine how to recreate some of that experience at home.

Joyce Appelman is the Director of Public Relations and Special Events for Total Food Service and previously the National Communications Director for C-CAP, Careers through Culinary Arts Program. An industry leader supporting education and scholarships, she has been instrumental in opening career opportunities for many young people in the foodservice industry. Email her at joyceappelman@gmail.com

Restaurant Brands Examine Their Online Experience An April 1 brief from Bain & Company, How to Come Out Stronger from the Covid-19 Crisis: Accelerate Simple and Digital, identified several key areas where the COVID-19 crisis is accelerating our digital future. One of those accelerations related to movement patterns: “Movement patterns have flipped. Previously, customers were on the go and enterprises stayed still. Now, customers are housebound and enterprises must find ways to reach them.” This is true more than ever for restaurants. * This marks a necessary shift in thinking for restaurants from an in-

(L to R) Palette at Home Memorial Day Grilling Meal Kit Box from Palette Restaurant, SF (Photo: Peter J Hemsley); Carbs! Square Pie Guys Detroit Style Pizza (Photo: Flee Kieselhorst); and Canned Cocktails from Ohza (Photo courtesy of Ohza)

26 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

person experience to begin to view their website and social media channels not only as their most important marketing tool, but as the first point of guest contact. It is no longer the person greeting guests at the door that sets the tone for the experience, rather it is their first online interaction.

Multiple Concepts for Multiple Revenue Streams For a number of years restaurants have been exploring alternate uses of space during the day, particularly in markets where lunch business has declined, such as operating as co-working spaces or converting from grab and go during the day to full service at night. When virus-induced panic buying began, restaurants realized they could support their community and attract revenue by selling items they had access to that regular consumers didn’t, including specialty pantry items, unique bottles of wine, eggs, meats, seafood, flour/yeast, farm boxes, specialty goods, flowers, and even

tionally, outdoor seating, while always appealing, may become even more coveted. Cities may allow restaurants to expand onto sidewalks, which could be a major help to smaller urban restaurants following what is already being explored in European cities. Bar layouts in particular will also be impacted by this, perhaps with more groups of soft seating and different logistics for ordering.

toilet paper. * This trend will be pushed forward as restaurateurs look to understand, explore and maximize these multiple revenue streams and uses for their restaurant space.

Give Me Some Space (and a Seat Outside) Updated operational and sanitation guidelines have started to be released and will vary from state to state. While some of these measures will be more prevalent in the short term, temporary

precautions have a way of becoming part of our lives. It’s very difficult to back out of cautious behavior. The evolution of airport security over the past 20 years is a good example of this.

Technology, convenience and a perception of less risk have very slowly impacted the changes in travel. * It is fair to assume “temporary” measures that will be enforced while risk remains. More space between tables, contactless payment, plexiglass barriers and even masks may be a part of our lives for quite some time. Addi-

Taking Better Care of the Essential COVID-19 has now shined a spotlight for the broader public on the challenges that our industry has faced relating to providing sick leave and health insurance to employees. * As operators essentially build business models from scratch, we’ll see these issues addressed as a priority -and even more importantly, hope that we’ll also see support and understanding from guests as to how these things impact the cost of a meal.

continued on page 90

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 27

RESTAURANT SUCCESS

WITH WILSON K LEE

HOW TO ASSESS YOUR RESTAURANT’S BUSINESS HEALTH AND AVOID BANKRUPTCY

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inety-five percent of restaurants are vulnerable.

Vulnerable to bankruptcy.

Vulnerable to gross inefficiencies. Why? Because so many owners continue to wake up each day without knowing the actual health of their business.

This pandemic has become a rude awakening for millions of business owners.

When you’re a little bit older, it’s recommended to get a health check-up each year just to make sure nothing is wrong. God forbid - imagine avoiding that suggestion and carrying on your day, only to find out too late that you have a fatal disease one day...

A fatal disease that could have been cured if you did your regular check-up and went through treatment.

The same thing goes for your business. You don’t want to be blindsided and find out you’re just about to slip into bankruptcy at the very last moment. Your restaurant is your life’s work and it could disappear just like that.

That is why assessing your business health is critical. That way, you are aware of your financial situation and can make adjustments to prevent being in a MASSIVE hole.

Trust me when I say that: not being on top of your finances is a major killer of small businesses.

So how exactly do you assess your business’ health? Here are 10 components to assess your restaurant’s business health:

It’s important to know how much cash is in the bank. Your current cash balance is where you deploy all your resources. Whether that be buying inventory, paying staff or paying rent. As basic and simple as it is... a lot of people don’t know how much they have in their bank and that’s dangerous.

2. Track Your Account Receivables Does someone still owe you money?

With how turbulent restaurant businesses are, it’s easy to lose track and rack up a large pending account receivables. You’d want to go out and start knocking on people’s doors who owe you money. It could be vendors, suppliers, or partners that owe you a ton of money. It’s the low hanging fruit that we can up our cash balances.

I get that you may have a tight relationship with them or you’re okay with them taking their time with paying you back, but do not be too relaxed with it. I’m sure you’ve heard of many horror stories about people running away with the money that I don’t need

1. Your Current Cash Balances 28 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

to throw at you.

3. Calculating Your Cash Flow What is your cash flow looking like, if you’re keeping everything as is on a normal day?

Now let’s rewind back to the beginning of February 2020. The pandemic hits and say it sticks around for 3 months. 3 months where you’re forced to close dine-in part of your business.

How much would you need to budget and save up to survive those 3 months?

4. Knowing Your Cash Burn Rate Cash burn rate is your total expenses on a monthly basis.

Even if you’re not in operations, you still need to pay for rent and you still need to pay for your accountant. All these things still needs to come into play to keep your business running.

That’s your burn rate and minimum break even point.

Understanding your cash burn rate is super important because that becomes a huge milestone for you and your team.

5. Identify Your Variable and Fixed Expenses For each business, there are expenses that you have control over and some that you don’t. That’s the case with variable and fixed expenses.

Fixed expenses are those that occur regardless of what happens. For instance, you need to pay for rent (the same amount

Wilson K Lee is an awardwinning Top 30 Under 30 business strategist who has built multi-million dollar businesses like an international Dessert Chain with locations from North America to Asia and event business.

He is a Brick and Mortar development expert helping business owners and entrepreneurs create explosive Food and Beverage businesses on wilsonklee.com

each time) according to your contractual agreement. Whereas, with the cost of goods sold (COGS), the more meals you serve at your restaurant, the more ingredients you need to order for inventory.

Identifying your fixed and variable expenses lets you know what levers you can pull in your business and make improvements. Although you can’t make any adjustments to your fixed expense like rent, you can to the fixed monthly tech subscription software you’re signed up for. Or you can shave off labour costs by better management of staff scheduling.

6. Payment Deferrals & Terms Since the restaurant business is run by insanely tight margins, understanding deferral programs and negotiating terms is key.

Deferrals are essentially payments that can be postponed for 30 days or even 90 days. These could be payments to your landlord, to your vendors or suppliers.

Without having these terms, without understanding the different payments

continued on page 94

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 29

NEWS

MENU SOLUTIONS

GRAY GROWTH OFFERS INNOVATIVE FROZEN FOOD PROGRAM TO BRING TASTY PRODUCT OFFERINGS DIRECT TO CONSUMERS

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n light of COVID-19, frozen food has experienced a renaissance, emerging as an eCommerce staple and representing the pinnacle of food safety. Manufacturers and processors of foods such as fish, proteins, soups, and even dog food, have turned to Direct to Consumer marketing in order to get their products in their customer’s hands.

However, including the high costs of transport arise when transitioning a company into the Direct to Consumer space. Thankfully, Gray Growth Strategies, a New York based food & beverage consultancy, can help food service companies of all sizes to align their supply chain with the rapid shift in consumer demand.

Richard Gray, founder of Gray Growth, believes that Direct to Consumer channels are the next great opportunity for brands to grow.

He explained, “Large manufacturers, processors and growers want to connect directly with the people that buy their products. Small companies have little chance of obtaining freezer space in a supermarket.

Direct to Consumer is the only scalable channel.” But moving into Direct to Consumer is easier said than done, especially for a frozen food company. Gray founded his company when he realized that companies expanding into temperature controlled Direct to Consumer didn’t understand the economics of the supply chain enough to manage it efficiently. For over 35 years, Gray Growth has provided the leadership and contracting expertise necessary

“Frozen offers both safety and a delectable taste profile in fish, fruits, and high-end meals.” — Richard Gray to help these companies build their business digitally.

Gray Growth recently published a whitepaper which describes why now is the perfect opportunity for Frozen Foods. The report found that frozen foods are a Top 10 item to purchase when buying groceries online due to their ease to prepare and safely sealed packaging.

As Gray noted, “Frozen offers both safety and a delectable taste profile in fish, fruits, and high-end meals.

Consumers also like frozen because it can move straight from farm to

table. Direct to Consumer firms can provide both traceability and tamper-proof packaging to ensure safety.” Gray’s strong regard in frozen extends to the biggest players in the food industry, such as Nestle, Kellogg’s, and General Mills. All of which have recently acquired frozen food companies with their venture divisions.

There is no one-size-fits all solution when it comes to building fullscale Direct to Consumer businesses. For this reason, Gray Growth has cultivated a diverse set of partners

Hand cut salmon steaks are flash frozen and vacuum sealed in thick poly plastic

30 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

that it can call upon to optimize an online strategy while staying mindful of any potential cost barriers.

It may seem like all Direct to Consumer roads lead through Amazon, brands actually have two options when turning to online retail. For many companies, Gray suggests driving growth through Google SEO and creating a strong website and a proprietary marketplace to avoid Amazon’s high overhead fees when possible. Alternatively, if a company is going the Amazon route, it must be able to lower costs through subscription models, recurring purchases, and the right packaging in order to become an Amazon Prime seller and maximize profits.

Surprisingly, Gray does not believe that Direct to Consumer is for everyone; a company must be willing to invest heavily in their online business and must be prepared to manage this vertical beyond COVID. That said, a strong online presence and website can also serve as an advertisement for a brand’s retail business.

Gray Growth’s strategy is to assist its client base in building a website that is your “storefront to the world”.

Moving into the Direct to Consumer space can be a great opportunity, but it also requires the right expertise. If you are interested in learning about how Gray Growth can work with you to build your online business, you can visit https://www. graygrowth.com/food-and-beverage-consultant/ to request a free consultation.

FREE WHITE PAPER DOWNLOAD OPPORTUNITIES IN DIRECT TO CONSUMER FROZEN FOODS There is a significant opportunity to capitalize on an emerging consumer trend. Direct to Consumer (DTC) frozen food purchases online, are now higher than in brick and mortar stores. Online grocery sales include frozen foods as one of the top 10 items consumers are purchasing today. In this special report, find out: How the growing popularity of eCommerce has changed the distribution landscape.

What was the catalyst that fueled the frozen foods online delivery movement.

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How you too can position yourself to cash in on this mega trend in eCommerce and home delivery Why this trend is just getting started and where it’s going in the coming years and much more…

Studies have shown that frozen foods are likely to see a significant fraction of food ordered online for home delivery. DTC is quickly becoming a preferred means of distribution for many smaller companies. Download this report to find out why the frozen food DTC business model may be right for your frozen food product!

VISIT DTC.GRAYGROWTH.COM TO GET YOUR COPY TODAY! GRAY GROWTH STRATEGIES 150 Central Park South Suite 3210 New York, NY 10019-1566 Phone: 888.998.8762 rfgray@graygrowth.com

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 31

Q&A

EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEW

SCOTT DOLCH

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n 2018, Scott Dolch was recruited by the Nutmeg State’s restaurant trade association as its new executive director. This was in light that he brought absolutely no direct experience in the foodservice industry to the table. In a state that knows all about gambling, the bet that the Connecticut Restaurant Association board made on an untested executive has yielded a big payout.

Under Dolch’s leadership, the CRA has forged relationships over the past two years with Connecticut’s Governor Ned Lamont and state legislators. That has enabled Dolch and the CRA Board to move mountains and facilitate the opening of the State’s restaurants for outdoor dining in May and in dining rooms later this month.

Amidst his busy agenda, Total Food Service was able to speak with Scott Dolch about how he and his team were able to orchestrate the re-opening of Connecticut’s restaurants.

You are about to celebrate your second anniversary as head of the CRA. I suspect it was a pretty good bet that when you were looking at this position, they never talked about managing during a pandemic. Would that be accurate?

It would be one hundred percent accurate. I try to give credit where credit is due with what the Governor and our members are having to deal with every day. I don’t think anyone

Executive Director, Connecticut Restaurant Association

could have prepared for what we are going through right now.

When the apocalypse struck in midMarch, what were your thoughts and how did that lead to what this vision has become that you’ve been able to execute?

To be honest, it started a little bit before that. I was in Washington, DC for meetings March 3rd to the 5th. I’ll probably never forget that because the 5th was my birthday and I was flying back.

We were with the National Restaurant Association and meeting with one-on-one interviews with Senators Blumenthal and Murphy, and all of our reps for our annual visit.

I had several board members with me, and it really was interesting because as we went into it, they were hearing about this virus we’re hearing about on the West Coast and how it was impacting.

I was having drinks with the head of the Washington State Restaurant Association Anthony Anton, the first night I was there. That really gave us a sense of it, so that kind of really opened my eyes quickly to say this has a very strong potential of getting here. What does that mean?

What is the impact?” I’ve gotten to know him in the last couple of years he’s someone that I started calling right away through the process who was saying, “What did you guys do first? How did you deal with this?

What about your Stay at Home order? You still can’t prepare for March 16th when our members were told

32 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

SCOTT DOLCH, Executive Director, Connecticut Restaurant Association

to shutdown restaurants. It wasn’t an ask, it was an executive order.

It was tough to see but my vision started well before that moment. I always use the analogy of building the plane as you fly it because no one has gone through it before. I’ve tried to take to heart my experiences in other roles that I’ve had and when you do something for the first time you don’t really have a playbook to look at. I remember when I worked in the golf industry at the Travelers Championship, we never had a crisis communication plan.

In my second year there, we built a plan for a natural disaster or terrorists attack. I was able to take that experience and add it to my process. You realize that it is all about communication.

Growing this association really comes down to the ability to get the right message out to membership. The immediacy and importance of the message over the last eight weeks has been vital. I have

“I say it all the time to our restaurant owners/operators: I don’t look at right or left or Republican or Democrat. At the end of the day you have to be willing and able to have a conversation with everybody.” also been able to lean on my 51 colleagues across the country that run the restaurant association in other states. Many of them have been doing this a lot longer than me. I view them as mentors and can’t begin to tell you how valuable it has been to be able to call them late at night on a cell phone. They’re all dealing with the same thing maybe in different stages.

Your two years have been marked by significant changes in how our

industry lobbies in Hartford. Can you take us inside the Capital?

I don’t think it’s just me, it takes a lot of teamwork. I give a lot of credit to Nicole Griffin our contract lobbyist who used to be CRA’s executive director when she was trying to juggle a lot on her plate. That being said, I brought my leadership style into play. It starts with meeting with anybody whether, they agree with me or not. I want to have that conversation. I say it all the time to our restaurant owners/operator I

don’t look at right or left or republican or democrat. At the end of the day you have to be willing and able to have a conversation with everybody. Not everyone is going to agree some people are coming to the table with some other view points but my job is to at least express in a professional way ours, and why we view it some way and not everyone is going to agree and I think a lot of that has helped us. The work Nicole did and with Lamont taking office has had a tremendous impact on our seat at the table. His team has worked closely with us through this Pandemic. We trust each other and seem to have the best interests at heart of our restaurants and our employees and even our customers.

One of the challenges, we spoke about early on was the importance of building a CRA voice in Fairfield County.

continued on page 34

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 33

Q&A

SCOTT DOLCH, from page 33

We’ve been successful there recently. I’ve had a couple of board members that have said, “Thank God, we have the association where it is compared to where it could have been two years ago with this” but it’s still a conversation I had earlier this morning with someone in Fairfield County and they want to get more involved and they didn’t realize all we were doing, but there’s still many more people that we need to reach.

This Pandemic is obviously showing up more than ever how important our industry is to the state, and we need to always be thinking about the impact any decisions that are made can have on the restaurants.

You have a unique advantage of having restaurateurs who are both members of CRA serving as State Senators and reps.

It’s been a tremendous advantage as we try to educate. We have Senator Christine Cohen who owns

a bagel shop in Madison and Senator Kevin Witkos that has a family owned restaurant in Canton. Paul Formica is a senator representing the 20th District who has owned the Flanders Fish market for years.

It makes a big difference when you need to get a point across to the rest of the house. When Senator Cohen explained the stress over social distancing, it clicked with him. Many of the legislators have never owned a small business or restaurant to know what the impact is of Covid. I know Paul did it yesterday when he was talking about how restaurants approach safety and sanitation.

What is your read being on the ability of takeout and delivery to sustain the industry?

Let’s start by assuming that takeout and curbside on an average prior to this Pandemic was about 10%

continued on page 36

Scott Dolch (2nd-Right) at this past year’s CRAzies Awards Gala, with (L-R) Dan Spears, Vice President, Industry Relations, BMI; Artist Spencer Ludwig; and Brandon Haas, BMI. Dolch said of the event, “Our second annual CRAzies Awards Gala was another huge success for our association, as we were able to showcase the exceptional talents that our industry has to offer in Connecticut.”

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34 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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Q&A

SCOTT DOLCH, from page 34

to 15% of a restaurant’s revenue.

First and foremost is takeout and curbside has allowed restaurants to stay open and support the community and keep a couple of people on staff and pay some bills. It’s not a business model that’s going to work long-term, but it is in a sense this new reality that we are getting into with restaurant life during Covid. Certainly takeout, and curbside needs to be a big part of the conversation moving forward.

Many of my board members pushed back initially saying “Hey, takeout and curbside is a model that doesn’t work for my business”. I’ve had to have some tough conversations to say ‘Listen it can’t be all of your business, I get that. But you are foolish to not try to make it work for you in a larger way for an extended period of time. You are not going to be able to have 100% capacity in your dining room, so why not look at it as part of the normal of a restaurant routine?’

As an association, we want to be there guiding you and put you in touch with some of these restaurants that are using takeout and curbside to their advantage.

We are hearing the word pivot everywhere. What does it mean to you?

Here’s a perfect example. Jeff Lizotte earned our 2019 CRAzies Chef of the Year Award. He owns Present Company right up the road from me. It’s a high-end fine dining establishment that only seats about 40 people with a lot of overhead, but it only had about a 25 person staff that he had to unfortunately let go.

Jeff could have shut his doors, but he didn’t want to do that. But his menu doesn’t carry for people going home who are going to get this highend food. Instead, he’s making fried chicken, salad, lasagna, high-end meat loaf and he made a great point to me a couple of weeks ago: “Scott, you have to realize with takeout and curbside you’re not only cooking for those couples that would have come out and had that romantic dinner or anniversary, but you’re now hav-

ing to cook for their kids at home.

So, your menu has to be creative for that family of 4 meal-side and people are tired of going to the grocery store. I am a chef and I have a quality that most people don’t have, and if I can make it easier for them at a similar price point to the supermarket then we have a win-win.”

Another great example of pivoting is Phil Barnett at Wooden Tap. He opened four of his restaurants for delivery that had been fully shuttered. He told me: “Scott, last night was a cluster! Our phone was ringing off the hook to order, so we need to rethink this.” This pivoting is going to give our restaurants new revenue sources that they never thought were possible.

Our industry was pushed to the brink. Rather than running to the hills, they took the approach of how we help others. Did that surprise you?

No, it didn’t surprise me one bit.

I know our industry and that is why I’ve loved this job for two years. I knew in the face of the toughest day you know people always said to me Scott you’re working so hard how do you do it? I get up every day and I know I’m fortunate to have a job and fortunate to fight for an amazing industry. When March 16th hit, I dealt with phone calls for over a week with restaurateurs who were crying to me on the phone saying, “I’ve been in business 30 years, and I had to let 85 people go.”

Somehow in those same conversations, at the same time, they’re worried about their own future.

They were telling me that they were going to cook for their employees.

On top of that, they were going to give them and their families food so they can survive this. Even that wasn’t enough, they started cooking for front line workers. They might not be able to pay their own bills, but they are more worried about their own staff and feeding them and these front-line workers.

Some of these chefs are now work-

36 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

continued on page 38

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 37

Q&A

SCOTT DOLCH, from page 36

ing sixteen/eighteen-hour days and they’re not making anywhere the kind of money that they might have been making before COVID. But they are doing it because they know that they are trying to make a difference in the community, and they know their community needs them to stay open. Our association has also been able to create a fund for restaurant employees that just hit a 100K last week.

One of the key moves to getting reopened was CRA’s reopening manifesto. What impact did it have in getting the go-ahead from the Governor?

Our industry promise showed that our restaurants care deeply about their employees, customers, and the communities they serve. It evolved from an outline for the new norm to a real pledge. We have 400 restaurants that have signed on to provide everything from extra training to special signage. What started as a discussion about decals which you will see in our restaurants evolved into a true Best Practices manifesto.

The next issue on the table is getting the governor to sign off on re-opening dining rooms. Can you take us behind the scenes?

Restaurants across Connecticut began outdoor service, and they’re doing it safely for both customers and employees. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo announced that restaurants in our neighboring state will begin restricted indoor service on June 1. Governor Lamont has repeatedly stressed the importance of coordinating our reopening effort with neighboring states, and this move is a clear sign that Connecticut can and should allow similar indoor dining beginning June 3. This date would be two full weeks after many other Connecticut businesses were allowed to begin operating indoors, and two days after Rhode Island. This won’t be a return to normal -- like Rhode Island, Connecticut can take this next step with many added safety precautions, such as limiting overall capacity to 50 percent, no standing room or bar seating, added use of gloves and masks, and much more.

Moving restaurants to restricted, safe indoor dining on June 3 will be a critical point in Connecticut’s recovery, and a great thing for our state economy. After all, Connecticut’s restaurant industry employed more than 160,000 people before this pandemic hit, and we need to get all those people back to work if

Scott Dolch (R) welcomed a large contingent from New Haven’s Union League club at a CRA function in Stamford, CT.

38 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

we want to restart our economy. We look forward to continued productive and cooperative work with Governor Lamont, Commissioner David Lehman, and others in the administration to ensure that Connecticut remains competitive as we reopen.

Our industry is so much more than just restaurants.

I had a call last week with the 15 top lead caterers in our state on Zoom and it wasn’t a fun call. They want to know what the Governor is saying and I kind of had to bring them back to reality and say listen there isn’t a state across the country that has been comfortable with the speed of reopening. Rather than just venting, let’s see what we can create? Maybe weddings aren’t a realistic possibility in the short-term, but can you do a farm dinner? Can you do a graduation? Things people need now and the whole fact that people aren’t in school. Can you do

a baby shower? Our goal is to help negotiate the differences between a social public gathering and a private event.

Our perspective from down here is what you’ve done is amazing because New York and New Jersey are weeks/months away from anything close to this. I look at it as the CRA for the first time taking a true leadership role.

Thanks, but It’s always about moving on to the next thing never getting too high or too low. I think it’s my sports background as a Quarterback with a short memory. If you throw an interception or pass for a touchdown, you have to let it go and move on to the next challenge.

We are appreciative of the Governor working with us but at the same time we still need to continue to work through what the logistics are.

All images courtesy of CRA

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 39

PROVISIONS PREVIEWED

WITH LMT PROVISIONS

SERVICE: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED SAFELY

H

ow do you create an experience that’s clean, but not sterile? A meal that’s cozy, but not confined by the limits of its journey from the kitchen (in the hotel basement) to the bedside table (on the 24th floor)?

The answer lies in the vessels and culinary canvases we source for in-room dining and— now more than ever—outdoor seating. We’ve done our homework, and let’s face it: these spaces have longed for a renaissance for quite some time.

RAK’s Nordic range is perfectly designed to carry your room service menu from morning until the munching hour, with ultra-stackable bowls and plates that double as lids. It’s paired here with Walco’s new Bellwether flatware

The HEII range by Serax has a signature fitted lid, ultra-stylish square vessels, and smoked glass accent pieces.

Arc Cardinal has revived a true classic, an instantly recognizable, 10-sided glass tumbler with white plastic lids that seal tightly!

40 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

RAK’s Nordic range bowls and plates with Walco’s new Bellwether flatware are tailor-made for room service

Sarah Bulmer works on the LMT team at Singer Equipment Company. Ms. Bulmer specifies tabletop products that tell distinct stories and speak to a myriad of unique operational needs.

She studied Journalism & Mass Communications with a focus in food writing at the University of Iowa. Sarah is based in Brooklyn, New York and can be reached at sbulmer@mtucker.com.

range—a collection engineered with an antimicrobial stainless steel. These are the workhorse ranges around which you can complement with playful (and safe!) statement pieces.

In foodservice, lids are the new normal. We’ve already seen an influx of tabletop product launches paired with snug caps for safer transport. In the glassware category, our friends at Arc Cardinal have revived a true classic, bringing the Working Glass collection over to the commercial side from its traditional retail offering.

This longtime fixture in French kitchens is an instantly recognizable, 10-sided glass tumbler with white plastic lids that seal tightly!

Serax has long been a leader in design-driven solutions for hospitality, and room service is no exception. The HEII range—created by the Wolterinck Design Studio in The Netherlands— has a signature fitted lid, ultra-stylish square vessels, and smoked glass accent pieces. Complemented by the PassesPartout range by Vincent Van Duysen, as well as Anita Le Grelle’s newest lidded extensions, Serax’s in-room offerings are clean, modern, and approachable.

Meanwhile, hope grows in Brooklyn, New York. Where I live, people are beginning to adapt. This season calls for outdoor dining—not just because the weather is beautiful and it’s getting difficult to stay indoors, but because it is actually safer to be outside. The CDC is now encouraging us to enjoy the sunshine, doctor’s orders!

continued on page 87

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 41

NEWS

EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLY

JADE/BEECH AND PECINKA FERRI TEAM TO BRING FULL PORTFOLIO OF COOKING SOLUTIONS TO TRI-STATE FOODSERVICE COMMUNITY

F

or the past 15 years, Lex Poulos has managed to do something many have tried but few have been able to accomplish.

Somehow despite being based on the West Coast, Poulos who serves as Jade Range’s Director of Marketing and Sales has become a well know figure in the Metro New York restaurant and food service community.

Many of the Tri-State’s leading kitchen consultants, dealers and chefs have the affable executive’s cell phone on their speed dial. Because, he has always been available to listen to and respond to their kitchen design needs.

Among the top restaurants that use Jade and have relied on Poulos through the years include Le Bernadin, Cafe Boulud, Morimoto, Eataly, and Momofuku among others.

“Our goal is to stick to a very simple analogy,” Poulos explained. “We look at our equipment in much the same way that a consumer looks at a car. You want to be able to go to the garage, grab the keys and hear that car start and then perform consistently. We want the chef to be able to do the same thing every time they walk into that kitchen and turn on their Jade. We describe it simply as reliability and durability.”

Over the past couple of years, Jade’s parent company Middleby Corp, has been committed to bring the firms comprehensive portfolio under a single rep umbrella in each of the nation’s major marketplaces. So, with that has come news that the Jade cooking line will now be represented in Metro New York by highly respected Pecinka Ferri.

“Operators are looking for ideas and solutions that will allow them to be on the forefront of the wave of providing diners a safe and comfortable experience and Jade fits that profile perfectly.” — Ed Pecinka Founded in 1972, Pecinka Ferri Associates is a leading manufacturers’ agent to the foodservice industry in Metro New York. The Fairfield, NJ based company is guided by industry veterans Ed Pecinka and Joe Ferri.

“We represent internationally recognized brands by providing knowledge and solutions to our end users, support for our dealers and consultants, and innovative marketing services for our factories,” noted Ferri. “The Pecinka Ferri team is proud to accept the opportunity to now represent Jade Range and Beech Ovens in Metro NY. We have a long tradition of marketing premier brands and welcome Jade and Beech to our family of best-in-class cooking appliances.”

“Our rep firm is grateful to the Middleby Corporation for trusting us with their full portfolio of foodservice equipment and are excited to have added both Jade Range and Beech Ovens to our offering,” added Ed Pecinka.

As the industry prepares to reopen and welcome back guests, there will be new protocols for the cleaning of commercial ranges. Often chefs will shut off their range at the end of a night’s service only to come back the next day and find that it doesn’t work prop-

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erly. In many cases a commercial range simply can’t stand up to cleaning that combines aggressive water and caustic cleaning chemicals. “We have always built our burner boxes so that an open burner can be protected against water and chemicals getting into the body of the range,” Poulos said New disinfectants being introduced to secure Post-Pandemic safety, are fully compatible with the Jade line. The #304 stainless steel ranges contain a higher nickel content than most others. The more nickel, the stronger the stainless steel, and the more able to withstand extreme pressure and harsh cleaning agents.

The key to Jade’s success has been its ability to combine durability and a knack for listening and responding to the needs of its consultant, dealer and chef/end-user customer base. “It’s simply amazing to me how goal of reliability and durability has stood the test of time,” Poulos continued. “We have ovens that were installed in the Bellagio in Las Vegas that are still in use 20 years later.”

The addition of the Jade cooking line fits perfectly with Pecinka Ferri’s approach to the reopening of the foodservice marketplace. “Operators are

Metro New York’s top chefs have been longtime supporters of the reliability and durability that Jade brings to their kitchens

looking for ideas and solutions that will allow them to be on the forefront of the wave of providing diners a safe and comfortable experience and Jade fits that profile perfectly,” Pecinka added.

“It has become very evident that product availability is trumping price as the ‘time is now’ with many of our regions opening in phases as we speak.

Most of our manufacturers including Jade and Beech have taken this time to increase inventory levels on popular products to free up build slots for new and existing solutions that are going to be asked for, and some have put together special pricing along with financing programs,” Pecinka concluded.

Jade’s DNA has always been distinguished by innovation it has brought to the marketplace. Every NAFEM and trade show has been a flock of industry professionals anxious to test drive Jade’s latest. From step-up ranges to planchas, Jade has consistently been an innovator.

This new affiliation clearly has all the ingredients to create a recipe for success. Jade brings a commitment to setting the industry engineering standard for cooking equipment. That combined with Pecinka Ferri’s team of creative culinary professionals and a state of the industry test kitchen has created a unique resource for the TriState foodservice community.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 43

MEET THE NEWSMAKER NEWSMAKER: Equipment & Supplies

ERIC WASSERSTROM, PRESIDENT,

WASSERSTROM RESTAURANT SUPPLY, COLUMBUS, OH

T

he nation’s equipment and supply dealer community find themselves with a unique set of challenges as their restaurant and food service operator customers face the COVID-19 pandemic. They are faced with finding new ways to support operators trying to survive with creative Takeout & Delivery strategies and setting approaches for what is certain to be a new normal.

Total Food Service met Eric Wasserstrom last month while working on a Q&A feature that brought our readers inside the new phenomenon of “ghost kitchens”. Our goal was to get an update on the challenges and, more importantly, the opportunities that Wasserstrom and his team see on the horizon as the industry prepares to welcome the return of its dining patrons.

Eric Wasserstrom, President, Wasserstrom Restaurant Supply, Columbus, OH

Can you share with our readers what got you interested in this industry?

Right from the beginning, I loved the opportunity to work with our customers and help them fulfill their dream of opening a restaurant. In many cases these folks are investing their entire life savings in their business. That’s evolved into today of getting them to hold tight to that dream.

How has your career evolved?

My focus today is on supporting, training and leading our team. In some cases, it’s teaching how to do a better job of servicing our customers. The goal is always to help our customers get the most out of their businesses.

Have we ever faced a bigger challenge than we are today with COVID-19?

Our business has been around since 1906. I actually went back through our history books in search of stories and advice. We’ve pivoted through the Great Depression, Prohibition, World Wars, and Recessions.

For instance, prior to Prohibition, we actually were in the business of selling beer and hops to bars. You realize as you look at the common denominator, in each case we had great people working in the business.

How do you define “great’ people?

I define it as having a really positive view of the future. Our management team’s job is then to communicate that with our associates and, at the same time, to let our customers know that we are here for them today and will be there for them tomorrow.

We also need to tap into everybody’s

44 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

It’s really about the conversations that you are having beyond the transaction.

We bring added value in our role as a manufacturer who can create solutions for custom fab and millwork as well as equipment and small wares. creative juices to make them better.

We heard about you as a result of the work that you are doing with Jim Collins and his Kitchen United rollout. What attracted you to the Ghost Kitchen concept?

We were introduced to them three years ago at NRA. Even then, you could see that customers were looking for convenience. Consumers wanted availability and flexibility in how they were going to get their food.

Jim and his team had a model; to drive the expansion of the Kitchen United concept that didn’t require the major Cap-X. In addition, it had the flexibility to control overhead by going into geographical areas that traditional operators shied away from. We saw it as a really unique way to connect our restaurant/operator customers with their dining patrons.

Kitchen United and Jim gave us the perfect opportunity to help them build a brand and interact with their customers, which is what we are all about. We work with everybody from the local Italian restaurant down the street to major national chains. We loved the way the concept enabled our customer to get closer more quickly to their target.

It dawned on me in talking to Jim Collins that an innovative concept like that requires more than just a dealer fulfilling an equipment and supply spec?

We are willing to invest in our customers and they are willing to invest in the partnership. It’s really about the conversations that you are having beyond the transaction. We bring added value in our role as a manufacturer who can create solutions for custom fab and millwork as well as equipment and small wares.

With an eye towards a new focus on sanitation in the kitchen, what do you expect to see as we get ready to return?

Of course, they are going to be looking for a safe environment first and foremost. We know that many of these consumers are going to be returning after cooking at home for months. I suspect that will be where different flavor profiles comes into play. The bigger question is, will going out become a special event? Or will we return to life three months ago, where it was part of our everyday routine?

continued on page 82

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 45

RESTAURANT MARKETING

HOW TO MAKE YOUR RESTAURANT A CHAT MARKETING CHAMPION

C

reating relationships with your customers is one of the underlying, long-term goals of marketing. By creating connections with your customers, rather than just serving them food, you will increase their customer lifetime value (CLV). Customer lifetime value is the total revenue each customer brings to your restaurant from their first visit to their last. Loyalty programs, where customers track their subsequent transactions through a unique identifier--email, phone number, customer loyalty number, etc.-are a great way to track your CLV. On average, it is much cheaper to bring an existing customer back into your restaurant compared to finding a brand new customer. That’s why creating relationships with your customers is so beneficial.

Just like in any relationship, com-

Chat marketing is an excellent way to foster this relationship with your customers. It combines content creation, chat bots, and an active database to make a bulletproof restaurant marketing strategy. munication is absolutely key. You want to make sure that you can effectively get your message across to your customers. While posting to social media is a good way to build your brand image, it isn’t the most effective way to communicate with your customers. In fact, businesses who post on Facebook and Instagram often reach less than 2% of their followers with each post.

If you are looking for an inexpensive, guaranteed way to reach your customers directly, chat marketing is exactly what you are looking for.

46 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Chat marketing is an excellent way to foster this relationship with your customers. It combines content creation, chat bots, and an active database to make a bulletproof restaurant marketing strategy. With organic (non-paid) social media posting, your reach is severely limited. Chat marketing utilizes email (open rate of ~25%), Facebook Messenger (open rate of ~80%) and SMS/text message (open rate of ~98%!). Imagine if every time you advertised for your restaurant-be it your happy hour or a new menu item--nearly 100% of your intended audience saw it. That level of exposure was unprecedented until chat marketing came along.

OK. So how can you use chat marketing to drive customers to your restaurant, whether that be dine-in, take-out, or delivery? The first step is finding a chat marketing software that fits your restaurant’s needs, like MobileMonkey or ManyChat--we use ManyChat for all of our clients. These platforms will give you the power to find

Brett Linkletter is the CEO & CoFounder of Misfit Media. He has an aggressive willingness to take on new challenges and a strong understanding of scaling a business from scratch. His vision is to disrupt the restaurant marketing space by empowering business owners with predictable, scalable marketing strategies so they can grow their business based on insights and data, versus guesswork and course correction.

Brett’s specialty lies in creative content creation, brand messaging, social media growth hacking, and business development. His biggest role model and lifetime hero is his great grandfather, Art Linkletter, who was a famous TV personality and businessman.

Ariana Brajkovich is Misfit Media’s inhouse media buyer. She is a data-driven individual who loves to take the creative route to achieve results.

Ariana studied business and marketing at the University of Southern California and has found her niche in the restaurant world. She thrives in competition and is inspired by Misfit’s drive to take restaurants across the world to the next level.

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new customers through Facebook and Instagram ads and then stay in touch with them through email and text messages.

The next step is to map or build out how your chat bot will interact with your customers. Customers will initially come in contact with your bot through a social media “send message” advertisement. To increase your engagement rates on your ads, entice customers to try your restaurant by giving them a special offer, like a buyone-get-one deal or a free dessert with purchase. These users are new additions to your database, so it’s best to treat them as new customers. The “conversation” they have with your bot will collect their contact data and

continued on page 94

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 47

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LEGAL INSIDER

WITH VALERIE J. BLUTH, ESQ., ELLENOFF GROSSMAN & SCHOLE LLP

SOME CONSIDERATIONS AS THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY HOBBLES BACK TOWARDS “NORMAL”

L

ast month, I discussed the state of the restaurant industry and how to navigate the road back to “normal.” While we’re still not there, I’m happy to report there is light end of the tunnel, albeit faint. Restaurants in numerous states have been permitted to reopen for on-premises dining, whether outdoor only or indoor, with numerous anticipated restrictions. Restrictions presently in place include reduced customer capacity, prohibition on bar seating, requirements for employees - and in some cases patrons - to wear masks, and mandatory implementation of strict sanitation standards.

Given the expected on-premises dining landscape, there are a host of employee-related considerations to which employers should pay close attention. Putting aside the practical implications of these restrictions, restaurant employers should be focused on ensuring the health and safety of employees and customers, as well as compliance with applicable wage and hour laws.

Given the expected on-premises dining landscape, there are a host of employeerelated considerations to which employers should pay close attention.

First, employers would be prudent to institute new and expanded health and safety policies pertaining to employees. For example, even if not required by federal, state or local regulations, employers should consider requiring employees to wear masks when interacting with others, and to ensure that employees engaged in food preparation are wearing – and regularly changing – gloves.

Further, while there not be an actual requirement that employees be screened for COVID-19 symptoms, or contact with those who have symptoms of or have been exposed to COVID-19, the EEOC has said that employers may conduct health screening, including body temperature checks, on its employees without

50 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

running afoul of discrimination laws.

Employers are encouraged to do so, but must conduct health screenings and temperature checks uniformly.

That is, all employees should be screened before every shift, as opposed to singling out any particular employee or subset of employees.

Further, employers that maintain records of these health screenings must keep employee medical and health information confidential.

These health screenings should include verbal questions regarding the presence of COVID-19 symptoms as set out by the CDC and, if the employee does not have any symptoms, a body temperature check. Employees who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or have a fever (which the CDC defines as 100.4 degrees or greater) should be sent home. Perhaps more importantly, employees should be advised to stay home if they are sick, or might be sick. In that regard, employers are encouraged to have flexible time off policies for COVID-19 absences, and most restaurant employees are likely entitled to emergency paid sick leave provided for under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act. They may also be state and or local paid leave available to employees who cannot work once the restaurant has reopened because they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, have been diagnosed with COVID-19, or caring for a family member who is ill, or may be ill, with COVID-19.

Valerie Bluth is a Partner in the Labor & Employment Group at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP. For more than ten years, Ms. Bluth has exclusively represented and advised clients in employment-related matters, with a particular focus in the hospitality industry. Above all, Ms. Bluth works tirelessly to ensure clients are in compliance with an ever-changing landscape of federal, state and local employment laws, especially with respect to pay practices and employment policies, and to devise practical solutions for any employment problems that might arise. Ms. Bluth can be reached at (212) 370-1300 or vbluth@egsllp.com.

For employers with open restaurants, it is now more than ever important to stay vigilant about compensation issues. First, if an employer is requiring an employee to wear a mask and/or gloves, the employer either needs to provide that personal protective equipment, or otherwise reimburse employees for providing their own.

As to whether the time undergoing health screenings is compensable, the issue is most closely analogous to compensability of required security or bag checks. Federal courts have held that time spent undergoing these types of checks is not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act,

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 51

NEWS

FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS

UNDERSTANDING THE REALITIES OF TODAY’S DISPOSABLE GLOVE MARKETPLACE With Elara Brands’ Founder & CEO Dan Grinberg

T

he impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of restaurants and food service. From the short term fight for survival with Takeout & Delivery initiatives to plans on the horizon to welcome back patrons to dining rooms, the industry is dealing with a new normal.

The centerpiece of that is food safety and the safety of patrons and staff. A priority to accomplishing this goal are disposable gloves. Every segment of the industry is giving us the same input. The current situation is plagued with sporadic shortages of vinyl, nitrile and latex gloves. With those shortages prices are increasing.

We searched out one of the glove industry’s leading experts, Dan Grinberg, to shed light on how we got here, and what the glove marketplace projects to look like as our industry returns to work.

Dan Grinberg, Founder and CEO, Elara Brands

With 30 years of glove industry experience, Grinberg is the founder and CEO of Elara Brands, one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of gloves used by restaurants to safely handle food. Elara’s range of gloves, aprons and food storage bags gives operators a variety of options to meet their food safety and budget needs. In addition, through Elara’s One Case One Meal program, the company donates a meal for a person struggling with hunger in our area for each case its customer buys.

TFS had the opportunity to visit with Dan and to get his thoughts on the devastating impact of the COVID-19 and how restaurant and foodservice operators can create a strategy.

We are hearing about shortages of vinyl, nitrile and latex gloves along with price increases. Meanwhile, glove use is more important now than ever. How did we get here?

It began when the coronavirus (COVID-19) was first identified in China. To curb its spread, lockdowns started in February. China produces virtually all of the world’s vinyl gloves, which are widely used in foodservice. With factories shut for an extended period, the production of vinyl gloves virtually stopped. While factories are coming back on line, the ramp-up has been slow, and a lot of those vinyl gloves are now being sold within China, limiting exports.

Aren’t there alternatives to gloves from China?

There are, but these are also af-

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fected. When the coronavirus became a pandemic, the global need for gloves skyrocketed. At the very same time, the world’s major nitrile and latex glove producing nations – Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia - were hit with the virus. Lockdowns and movement restrictions in these countries resulted in capacity reductions, by as much as 50% at some factories. Surging demand coupled with production cuts is the perfect recipe for shortages. And with shortages come rising prices.

How long do you expect these glove shortages to last?

We do not expect the glove market to return to normal in 2020, or should I say a “new normal?” The reopening of the U.S. and other economies could make shortages worse since that will create more demand due to heightened concerns about hygiene and safety and increased glove use in healthcare and foodservice. We are also seeing a lot of gloves being used by consumers,

which is new. Gloves are becoming a bigger part of our everyday lives.

At some point you would expect usages to decline and supply to come back into balance with demand. But this depends on a number of hard to answer questions.

How soon will economies reopen?

Will there be a second coronavirus wave? Will there be a vaccine and effective new treatments? How quickly can manufacturers increase capacity?

Can you give us your read on the vinyl glove marketplace?

Keep in mind that about 95% of global vinyl gloves are produced in China and the supply was drastically impacted by China lockdowns.

Most manufacturing shut for at least 60 days, in some cases more.

Factories are also grappling with upstream shortages and delays of raw materials and packaging. On top of that, the Chinese government

continued on page 86

Your customers’ trust is in your hands So put your hands in Elara brand gloves Show guests you care about their health. Protection you can count on, from the brand you trust.

elarabrands.com Sold through authorized distributors

For each case purchased, Elara donates a meal for a person struggling with hunger in America

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 53

54 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 55

SCOOP

INSIDER NEWS FROM METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE SCENE

Do you have the SCOOP on any Metro New York City foodservice and hospitality news?

Send items to SCOOP Editor Joyce Appelman at tfs@totalfood.com

LA PALAPA FINDS WAYS TO GIVE BACK TO HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND OTHER ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES

Barbara Sibley loading up a vehicle with meals for healthcare workers and the food insecure.

SCOOP learned that during the Covid-19 crisis, Barbara Sibley of East Village La Palapa and La Palapa Tacos at Gotham West Market has been delivering meals to healthcare workers and foodinsecure New Yorkers. In one week, her team served 2,000 meals. She’s had the support of her team, World Central Kitchen, Gotham West Market and Hospitality Workers United to make it all possible. She also partnered with Dr. Meryl Rosofsky for a weekly donation to three departments at Mt. Sinai Hospital. She’s launched https://www. gofundme.com/f/la-palapa-meals-for-hospitals and the food insecure.

GOLF KITCHEN MAGAZINE SWINGS INTO ACTION IN 56 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

SUPPORT OF THE CHEF’S GARDEN SCOOP learned that in May, Golf Kitchen Magazine launched its Private Golf and Country Club initiative, Swing into Action, to support one of America’s greatest farms, The Chef’s Garden, through these challenging times.

The exclusive Golf Kitchen family of Private Golf and Country Clubs and their Executive Chefs collaborated to support The Chef’s Garden by bringing their superior product—used by the finest restaurants and Michelin Star chefs—to the tables of your members, residents, and guests.

“During these challenging times,” said Golf Kitchen Producer Diana DeLucia, “the club’s members, residents, guests, staff and their families need the highest possible nutrition to help boost immunity. With my background in both the fine dining industry and the finest of Private Golf and Country Club culinary teams, I know all too well how important nutrition is in this current climate.”

Each week a different private country club chef in the Golf Kitchen family will curate a one-of-akind recipe. The renowned Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey led the charge with talented Executive Chef Shaun Christopher Lewis creating the first Golf Kitchen Chef’s Garden plant-based dinner box, complete with recipe and fine plating instructions for you to create that magical fine dining in-home experience.

Although each recipe is deliciously unique, they all have one thing in common: they’ve been inspired by The Chef’s Garden vegetables that have been regeneratively farmed in harmony with Mother Nature for the maximum in nutrient-rich flavor.

The farm’s vegetables are hand harvested, picked to order, and shipped overnight to ensure that you receive the freshest, most vibrant and flavorful produce available. This is the farm’s efficiently shipped Earth to Table® promise that ensures ultimate freshness, incredible flavor and prolonged shelf-life.

These recipes will be paired with a carefully selected wine by Domaine de la Rivière. “I am pleased to announce this partnership with Do-

maine de la Rivière in Sonoma County in this collaboration,” DeLucia adds. “Marla Bedrosian has personally prepared some wine selections that will pair well with our Chef’s recipes for your further enjoyment.”

“From our farm to your table,” says Lee Jones of The Chef’s Garden. “We are all in this together.”

Jones greatly appreciates Golf Kitchen and Domaine de la Rivière Wines, adding that “This collaboration shows how connected we all are to one another and how, together, we can use our talents to make a difference in the world as we navigate challenging times.”

Farmer Lee Jones, The Chef’s Garden

Domaine de la Rivière Wines is a limited production winery from the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County. When approached with this collaboration, Vintner Marla Bedrosian never hesitated. “One of our goals,” she said, “has been to have our wines connect the dots between family and friends. When Diana DeLucia with Golf Kitchen approached us about partnering to help The Chef’s Garden during this unprecedented time, we immediately joined her team. The opportunity to connect golf club members to their own community by sharing our handcrafted wines paired with their own Chef’s recipes spoke to us in volumes. We are thrilled to work with the team at Golf Kitchen, The Chef’s Garden, and the individual Golf Club Chefs in creating a sense of community at a moment in time where we are all separated.”

continued on page 58

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 57

SCOOP

METRO NY INSIDER NEWS, from page 56

SPECIALTY FOOD ASSOCIATION NAMES BILL LYNCH INTERIM PRESIDENT SCOOP hears that Bill Lynch has been appointed the interim president of the Specialty Food Association by the SFA’s Board of Directors. Lynch, who has 20 years of experience with the Association, will take over the leadership position as the contract expires for the current president, Phil Kafarakis.

“The Specialty Food Association and its members have held a special place in my heart for the last 20-plus years. I am passionate about this organization and its members and am honored for the opportunity to lead this talented staff while working alongside a dedicated Board to help our members build their businesses and prosper,” said Lynch in a statement. “The SFA has a solid foundation from which to grow and a loyal community where we see many opportunities that play to our strengths in delivering more value to our members.”

Lynch joined the SFA in 1999 as operations manager for the Fancy Food Shows. Since then, he held several roles before being named vice president of engagement & experience. He is wellrecognized in the specialty food and trade show industries and currently serves on several boards and committees in New York and San Francisco.

“We have great confidence in Bill’s leadership and expect to benefit from his decades of experience in senior leadership roles across multiple areas of the business including membership, trade shows and events, customer service and office operations. We again thank Phil for his numerous contributions to SFA, and wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” said Charlie Apt, SFA board vice chair & chair elect.

FOOD EDUCATION FUND PARTNERS WITH ACE ENDICO TO DISTRIBUTE OVER 280,000 MEALS SCOOP learned that with the support from Ace Endico, Colavita, Goya, Just, HelloFresh, and Catalyst Kitchens, Food Education Fund distributed over 280,000 meals to 800 Food and Finance High School students’ and their families.

58 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

As each family was receiving about a months’ worth of food, they made sure to call every single family to make sure they were ready for the truck’s arrival.

They spoke with parents who hadn’t been able to leave their house because of a sick family member, with students whose parents were in the hospital and were taking care of their younger siblings. They heard the stories of parents who were recent cancer survivors and couldn’t take the risk of leaving the house to get food, of parents with a severely disabled child who weren’t able to leave their houses for more than a few minutes.

Their board member Questlove started raising funds to feed their families and give emergency grants to their alumni, and more than 2,000 supporters stepped up to contribute nearly $200,000.

A family showing the month’s worth of food they received via the Food Education Fund and partners.

They partnered with Ace Endico to distribute food directly to the families’ doors.

Ace Endico redirected a huge portion of their team to make this happen, and matched their funds to give each family $200 credit to choose groceries from their site. Colavita participated by sending a case of pasta and a case of tomato sauce. Goya, coming just days after another huge distribution with them to 2,400 families, stepped up yet again, providing each family with 5lb of rice and 6 cans of beans. JUST not only gave each family 2lb of their plant-based product, but set up a live demo to teach their students how to use it. HelloFresh, without missing a beat, delivered meal kits to all 800 families, not only providing them with food but with a new recipe to cook for their families. Catalyst Kitchens, gave out over $70,000 in emergency grants directly to their alumni.

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to support the Food Education Fund and would like to, visit their website to make a contribution.

YOLELE LAUNCHES FONIO FLOUR AND NEW LINE FONIO PILAF BLENDS: EXPLORE THE FLAVORS & FOODS OF WEST AFRICA SCOOP hears that Yolélé, producer of the West African ancient grain fonio, is introducing a gluten-free Fonio Flour available exclusively to the foodservice industries for the time being. This fine-milled flour possesses the same unique health benefits and sustainability of the fonio grain. With a light, slightly nutty quality and neutral flavor, fonio flour can be used as a key ingredient in anything from breads and cakes to cookies and pastas, as breading or thickener in gravies and more. Fonio flour is an ideal one ingredient flour for professional chefs to use in a variety of baking and cooking scenarios.

In addition, they launched a new line of Fonio Pilaf blends, ideal for exploring the captivating flavors of West Africa. Inspired by the flavors of popular West African dishes and available in six varieties – Jollof, Yassa!, Suya Spice, Dakar Curry, Afro-Funk, and Greens! – each carries the ample health properties of pure fonio, introduces West African cuisine to home cooks, and is ready in five minutes.

Yolélé co-founders, Philip Teverow and Pierre Thiam, have a purpose-driven model that goes beyond delicious food to investing in thousands of rural West African smallholder farmers. They have partnered with NGO’s on the ground in the Sahel region to establish a sustainable growth model for the tiny, ancient grain that has been cultivated in West Africa for more than 5,000 years. Experts celebrate fonio as a climate-smart crop that thrives even in poor soil with little water, and Yolélé recognizes its untapped potential to re-green a region suffering from desertification and climate change. For more information visit Yolélé and follow them on Instagram.

BOCA OYSTER BAR OPENS WITH SPACIOUS OUTDOOR DINING AND STRICT SANITIZATION PRACTICES SCOOP hears that Boca Oyster Bar, located in the newly developed coastal neighborhood at

continued on page 60

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 59

SCOOP

METRO NY INSIDER NEWS, from page 58

Bridgeport’s Steelpointe Harbor, has reopened their spirited seafood inspired restaurant since closing their doors in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Home to one of Fairfield County’s largest outdoor dining spaces, Boca is excited to offer guests some quarantine relief in the form of beautiful outdoor dining with great food and drink, in a safe and comfortable environment.

“We take this very seriously and have been hard at work ensuring that all safety protocols outlined by the CDC and the state are strictly adhered to,” says Boca Restaurant Group Partner, Yanni Taxiltaridis, “We are fortunate to have such a large space to open up to people, but with that comes a great responsibility to our customers and our staff in creating a safe environment where the enjoyment factor also stems from feeling taken care of.”

Boca is going to great lengths to provide their guests with the best experience possible. These practices include: Strict mask and glove usage for staff, as well as monitored health conditions; Contactless payment method, tablet ordering, paperless menus; Tables are being spaced out beyond the 6 ft mandated distancing; Designated time between table seating for proper sanitization; 4 people to a table; 2-hour maximum dining time; Proper sanitizing practices enforced with customers too; Dining only (food must be ordered with drinks); Offering lunch, professional lunch, Sunday brunch, dinner, and take-out; and Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant or through Open Table.

FOH HEALTH ESSENTIALS HELPING RESTAURANTS TO ESTABLISH GREATER SAFETY SCOOP learned that innovative hospitality powerhouse FOH has continued providing their partners with personal protective products to ensure they can continue serving their communities

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SL GREEN LAUNCHES “FOOD1ST” CHARITY TO PROVIDE FOOD ASSISTANCE

PPE Items available from FOH Health Essentials

safely via their newest division, FOH Health Essentials. Three examples within their collection include: • Disposable Nitrile Gloves by FOH® Health Essentials are a latex-free option that protects the skin against germs, chemicals, liquids, and oils. The disposables Nitrile Gloves eliminate the contamination of food by food handlers and foodborne illness outbreaks. Available in 4 sizes: Small; Medium; Large; X-Large.

• 3-Ply Ear-Loop Face Masks by FOH® Health Essentials provides optimal filtration and protection to the airways by filtering out most airborne germs. The 3-Ply Ear-Loop Face Masks have an expandable design that fits most faces eliminating the inhalation of germs while working closely in a kitchen setting.

• Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer by FOH® Health Essentials is an infrared, no-contact forehead reading instant-read digital thermometer.

This device displays temperature readings °F and °C. The Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer provides an extra step in guaranteeing the health and safety of your staff, guests and your kitchen.

SCOOP notes that Chef Daniel Boulud is the inaugural partner for the program that will deliver meals to first responders, the elderly and food-insecure families. SL Green Realty Corp.

(NYSE:SLG), Manhattan’s largest office landlord, recently announced the formation and launch of “Food1st”, a non-profit foundation to be organized as a 501(c)(3), to deliver thousands of meals daily to front-line, first responders and medical personnel, elderly New Yorkers and food-insecure families. In addition to addressing the increasing demand for food assistance across New York City, Food1st will also help revitalize New York City’s food and beverage industry by re-activating restaurant kitchens, to serve the City and bring restaurant staff safely back to work. SL Green has contributed $1 million as a down-payment to the independent organization in the hope that other companies, organizations and individuals will join the effort to address this crisis.

“The vision for Food1st is to partner with our tenants -- beginning with the great, Chef Daniel Boulud -- to provide meals to those who need them, safely bring food workers a paycheck and restore vitality and energy to the City we love,” said Marc Holliday, SL Green Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “By establishing and seeding the Food1st non-profit, we hope others will join us in the fight to alleviate the food shortage in New York City caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The initiative will work in partnership with Chef Boulud, who will open a new restaurant at SL Green’s One Vanderbilt later this year, and add other restaurants and non-profit organizations to ensure the widest possible preparation and distribution of food.

continued on page 90

THE SUM IS GREATER THAN THE PARTS. In corporate cafeterias, hotels, casinos, mixed-use buildings, solid fuel cooking in restaurants. Big or small, smoke, odor, and grease don’t stand a chance.

From design to sale to service, we have it covered.

Listen to what our customers have to say about the SmogHog experts.

Clean Air. It’s What We Do.®

www.parker.com/kitchenventilation June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 61

NEWS

By Miriam Rubin, Food Columnist and Cookbook Author

FOOD SOURCING SOLUTIONS

WHERE IS THE BEEF? IT’S IN THE AUTOMAT AND AVAILABLE 24/7

(L to R) The Applestone Meat Co. Automat; Joshua Applestone in the dry aging room. (Photos by Jennifer May)

I

n New York State’s Hudson Valley, north of New York City, local businesses are working to shorten the supply chain between producer/grower and the dinner table. Just as gardening is having a big moment due to COVID-19, local meat and poultry are hot. In lieu of venturing to the supermarket, there are different, and maybe better ways to get your beef.

One could go to a folksy driveup farm store, place an order from a bucolic farm or do contactless shopping at the meat automat. The what?

For those who are too young to remember, the automat, run by Horn & Hardart, was a food vending machine. New York City’s first one opened in 1912, in Times Square.

Coffee was brewed fresh every twen-

ty minutes and the mac and cheese was said to be memorable. You put your coin in the slot, you took out your food. The last one closed in 1991.

Childhood memories of the automat were the inspiration behind CEO and Founder Joshua Applestone’s latest company. Except because he’s a whole-animal butcher, his vending machines sell local, farm-raised, ethically-produced meat and poultry. Formerly, he owned Fleisher’s Grass-fed and Organic Meats, started in Kingston, NY. He sold it in 2013.

The new venture, Applestone Meat Company, has stores in Hudson and Stone Ridge, with expansion plans that include New York City and Westchester County, New York.

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Walk into a gleaming store; it’s lined with vending machines resembling old-fashioned revolving pie cases. Peer into the plexiglass drawer to view your whole chicken, shoulder lamb chops or Korean short ribs. Slide the drawer a bit to make the selection, then dip your credit card. Pull the drawer, grab the product and off you go. All done but the cooking -- they can help with that too, providing on-line techniques and recipes. And, should you need a pork loin at 3 AM, they’re open then, too.

Seamless and contact-free. Behind the scenes, the drawers are stocked by unseen workers. A customer service window, once staffed, is now closed shut. Tape lines on the floor urge safe social distancing.

Could there be a more appropriate

store in COVID-time?

Applestone Meat Company began life as a processing facility to serve local Hudson Valley farmers.

Because of growing demand, he pivoted to retail, then -- it seems prescient -- he changed the model to self-service. “It just clicked, he said, “the idea of a self-service shopping area… it would be a huge convenience to people.”

Now, with the Pandemic, the concept is genius: “We want our stores to be a safe space,” Applestone said.

“Initially that meant building trust with our customers so that they know the meat we stock is sourced from animals raised without added hormones or antibiotics by farmers who are committed to their well-

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 63

SCHOOL FOODSERVICE INSIDER

WITH BRIGITTE ROUNDS

PRESENTED BY

COVID-19 MAKES TRI-STATE SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE DIRECTORS LOCAL HEROES IN QUEST TO FEED COMMUNITIES

S

chool foodservice directors find themselves with a unique set of challenges as their communities face the COVID-19 challenge. They are faced with being able to pivot and feed entire families with curbside and delivery food programs.

Thus, Total Food Service sought out one of Metro New York’s and the nation’s leading experts on school nutrition and food service: Brigitte Rounds from Long Island based Advantage Food Marketing. Our goal was to get an update on the challenges facing the K-12 foodservice community.

freezers and storeroom.

Although we have not seen this on Long Island, I hear other school districts across the country are offering family-style meals. Most of our schools are offering cold freshly prepped sandwiches and thaw and serve food items – very little hot food is being served.

What are some of the pressures that come with rolling out this type of program?

This requires the ability to turn on a dime and offer breakfast and lunch meals to feed students in a manner that has been a challenge to every director. They are trying to fulfill the Have our foodservice directors seen required USDA and State paperwork this before with events like Hurricane while providing meals with limited Sandy? staff, in limited settings, following You can’t compare Hurricane social distancing and at the same Sandy to the emergency feedtime try to guess on the numing programs schools ber of meals needed are faced with today as each day and how to a result of COVID-19. get the meals to the During the aftermath students safely. There of Hurricane Sandy, are waivers and papermost communities work that school food were only shut down service operators need for a week with the to submit to operate Brigitte Rounds is the Vice exception of the coman emergency feeding President at Advantage Marketing, one of the oldest and munities all along the program. For instance, most seasoned food service south shore of Long if you don’t have a regbrokerage firms in Metro Island and the Jerular breakfast program New York/New Jersey marketing area and the nation. sey Shore areas. Our but now are trying to Navigating the food brokerSchool Foodservice feed hungry students age landscape in a world in Directors have never breakfast in addition which most independent brokers have been acquired experienced anything to lunch, a school disby large national firms is trulike COVID-19. trict may need to apply ly a unique accomplishment. for a special waiver to Advantage Marketing opened its doors in 1974 as How does this impact now serve breakfast. the first independent foodthe type of meal that is There’s also concern service brokerage firm in the being offered? by school districts on Metro area. Up until then, the foodservice brokerage inMost school Foodhow they are going dustry was generally a small Service directors apto get reimbursed for division and afterthought of pear to be utilizing adding these addigrocery and supermarket retail brokers. what they have curtional services to their rently in refrigerators, programs.

64 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

“I’m a great believer that if you find something that saves time, purchasing more portion control items for example even if it costs a few cents more, it will enable directors to utilize their manpower on other things that have become a priority as a result of COVID-19, like adapting to new sanitization regulations and creating responsible social distancing cafeterias and workplaces.”

So, without additional funding to purchase food, how do school districts make this happen?

Most independent school districts are not buying additional food. They are trying to utilize what they have on hand. Where we are seeing orders are from various school foodservice management companies that handle multiple districts that are feeding thousands of people. They are now purchasing products that are selfcontained meal kits and/or thaw and serve individually wrapped sandwiches and other prewrapped items to easily place in a grab and go lunch bag.

What changes are you seeing in the types of products that your distributor customers are purchasing?

Anything that is shelf stable and prewrapped is in high demand. We are seeing major increases in the purchase of items such as UHT shelf stable milk, Sun Cup 100% Juice boxes, ES Foods breakfast and meal kits, Knouse Foods 4.5 oz apple sauce as well as J&J Whole Grain crackers. It is interesting that some districts buy a pre-assembled meal kit and others put them together themselves.

Can you share an example of a school district that is making this work?

Brentwood UFSD is the largest district in Long Island with 19 schools.

Carol Ann Grodski and her team are working hard to prepare over 4000 emergency meals per day. They have culled the food from their schools to offer 2 days of grab and go meals available at 6 different pick-up sites within the districts Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This enables the district to limit the staffing needed to make this work. The need to feed the students is very real with the numbers growing every day.

What are the changes in nutritional requirements as a school district moves from normal to emergency operations?

Keep in mind that even while serving emergency meals during the COVID-19, school districts are still required to fulfill a meal that meets the Child Nutrition Meal Standard requirements. When school is in session, in an offer vs serve program, a student may select three of five CN meal components, however, a bagged lunch, where there is no selection offered, requires that all five components be served to meet requirements. The challenge is providing all the components required: Meat/Meat Alternate, Whole Grains, Fruit, Vegetable and

Milk, all that are shelf stable or thaw & serve. At this time, most districts are not serving hot food. USDA has relaxed temporarily some nutritional requirements; however, waivers may still be needed for any change to meal patterns or nutritional requirements.

What has the impact been on your distributor partners?

The Foodservice Distributors have been hit hard in the supply chain. Distributors are loaded with products for which the demand abruptly stopped.

With all foodservice operations closed indefinitely, they have no outlet to sell the products they have. They are requesting our help to reallocate what has already been purchased for normal school food operations to emergency feeding programs. They are doing whatever they can do to support changing demand but the volume of customers is simply no longer there.

Some have opened their cash and carry business to the public and I read that a few have gone into the home food delivery business.

Will this new normal change school

foodservice requirements?

We do not know what the future will hold with regard to fulfilling requirements and providing the necessary documentation to pass state audits and receive USDA reimbursements. I expect the USDA Child Nutrition Meal patterns to stay the same, but perhaps more flexibly as we enter into a post COVID-19 environment.

How has staffing been impacted in school foodservice operations?

I understand that in some schools there is staff that share shifts. This enables both social distancing and the ability for people to still work. Brentwood staff comes in three days a week and preps meals for two days at a time.

Some districts are open daily as the parents pick up meals curb site, other districts are using school busses to drop off meals as the students’ regular bus stop.

What’s your read on the New York City Schools involvement with feeding their neighborhoods?

New York City DOE is faced with

monumental challenge to feed the volume needed for the most densely populated city in the USA, and the city most severely impacted by COVID-19. The challenge is similar to those in other districts but at a much larger scale. Currently New York City has committed to feeding all people in need, children and adults alike.

Through the tremendous team effort at NYC DOE, they are now successfully serving the 5 boroughs of New York in excess of 500,000 meals a day and growing. They have changed from providing a wide selection of hot meals and sandwiches every day to grab and go cold and shelf stable meals. This is one amazing accomplishment on their part. As almost every school district in the nation faces similar challenges to obtain and provide meals that are easy to serve with limited staff and prep time, the supply chain is stressed. We are working hard with our manufacturers to keep NYC in supply of the needed food products and are fortunate to have major food manufacturers like Jennie-O Turkey Store, Gregory Packaging, ES Foods,

Knouse Foods, J&J Snack Foods, MJM, increasing production to support NYC’s need.

What impact will COVID-19 have on school foodservice going forward?

I think it will have a significant impact on how food service directors allocate their labor for meal production and general operational needs.

I’m hoping that experience will make directors realize that they don’t need to apply valuable time and manpower on certain things that no longer make sense. I’m a great believer that if you find something that saves time, purchasing more portion control items for example even if it costs a few cents more, it will enable directors to utilize their manpower on other things that have become a priority as a result of COVID-19, like adapting to new sanitization regulations and creating responsible social distancing cafeterias and workplaces. Pizza and hamburgers are not going anywhere, but there will probably be a push towards more convenience food products in order to adapt to a new post COVID-19 world.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 65

NEWS

CHAIN EXPANSION

NEW JERSEY UNIT SET TO KICKOFF GERMAN DONER KEBAB EXPANSION WITH BELTON AT HELM

G

erman Doner Kebab (GDK), a fast-casual restaurant chain, plans to open 350 restaurants in the United States over the next seven years. The first location will be within American Dream in East Rutherford.

GDK is part of the fast-casual Hero Brands portfolio, based in Glasgow, Scotland. The company specializes in doner kebab, which is a slowcooked meat often served on a flatbread. GDK operates more than 70 locations in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Dubai, Abu-Dhabi, Oman, and Bahrain. GDK also plans to open locations in Ireland and Saudi Arabia.

In addition, to growth in New York over the next two years, Texas-based Yum franchisee Tanweer Ahmed has committed to developing 12 of the kebab locations in Houston, Dallas and Las Vegas. The GDK locations will grow Ahmed’s portfolio, which now includes 153 KFC outlets, 58 Pizza Huts and 24 Taco Bells. The brand is also looking to expand in Saudi Arabia, where a master franchisee is planning the development of 100 stores over the next decade, the company said.

New York City-based JAACRES is representing GDK in finding American locations. Joseph Aquino of JAACRES said the company is seek-

“GDK is a game changer within the Mediterranean restaurant sector and I have no doubt that consumers in North America will love the experience and food.”

— Nigel Belton ing locations in malls, strip centers and central business districts.

GDK plans to open later this year as part of the American Dream’s grand opening. A typical GDK unit runs 1,300 – 1,500 sq. ft with a 400 sq ft kitchen. The stores have seating for 40 plus guests.

“Doner Kebab” is a fast food retailer that has created a healthy and nutritionally balanced approach

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to traditional kebabs. GDK opened our first store in Berlin in 1989 and spent the next decade perfecting its policies and procedures, its unique blend of traditional spices and exclusive products, as well as refining and improving our innovative cooking processes.

Their kebabs are made from quality ingredients that are exclusive to Doner Kebab Restaurants. The

great taste comes from the SECRET SAUCES. GDK uses succulent beef and pure chicken fillets. These meats are imported directly from Germany to maintain quality and consistency. The company uses fresh, locally produced vegetables that are delivered and prepared daily along with its special “Doner Kebab” bread.

To drive the growth GDK has hired industry veteran Nigel Belton to lead guide it’s U.S. vision. The Former Yum Brands executive has been named managing director for the North American operation of German Doner Kebab, or GDK, a U.K.based fast-casual brand that has plans for expansion in the U.S. For the past two years, Belton has been working with German Doner Kebab in a consulting position, Prior to that, Belton has held senior executive positions with both KFC and Pizza Hut in South Africa and the Middle East. Before emigrating to the U.S. in 2015, he was CEO for KFC Pakistan.

“GDK is a game changer within the Mediterranean restaurant sector and I have no doubt that consumers in North America will love the experience and food,” Belton said. “We have plenty of work to do as we build the local team and are fortunate to have a strong support base out of the U.K.”

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 67

NEWS

CORPORATE DINING

NYC BASED RESTAURANT ASSOCIATES NAMES CAPOZZOLI INDUSTRY’S FIRST EVER SAFETY CZAR

R

estaurant Associates announced last month that Anthony Capozzoli, a 13year veteran of the restaurant management firm, will be its first RA COVID-19 safety czar, a new role for the company.

“The position ascertains a laser freshes as well as coordinating qualfocus from the company on COity assurance and workplace safety VID-19 related safety measures enprograms with a series of commusuring the health and wellbeing of nications, awareness programs, team members and guests,” noted specification of protective gear, Michael Gallagher, President, Resand consistent follow-up, Gallagher taurant Associates continued.

Additionally, the company anGallagher and CEO Dick Cattani nounced it has appointed an advihave provided Capozzoli with RA sory board to support Capozzoli in COVID-19 Advisory Board to suphis role, which will “function as a port the Safety Czar role. The board think tank examining information reads like a who’s-who of industry and guidelines to form protocols, insiders. It includes Beth Torin, who counsel operators and clients, guide was executive director for the New internal and external communications, as well as share best practices from across business sectors and industries,” the company said.

“We believe this is a critical time to make expert resources available for our clients and operators to ensure everyone’s safety and well-being,” Gallagher continued. . “I cannot think of a better person than Anthony to lead this effort.

Capozzoli, a graduate of Johnson and Wales University, was most recently senior director of strategic projects, directing all Anthony Capozzoli new unit openings and re-

“My two main goals are to nurture a culture of enhanced safety and to foster a sense of guest confidence.” — Anthony Capozzoli

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York City Department of Health Office of Food Safety for the past 14 years, responsible for over 25,000 food service establishment inspections per year. Beth has experience in food service operations, design and assessment, and food safety.

Joining Torin is Dr. David Buckley, director of retail food safety for Diversey and a classically trained virologist with a focus on a variety of environmental and foodborne pathogens, such as noroviruses, Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes.

In addition, the board includes: Ted Diskin. He is the President of Health and Sanitation Systems since its inception in 1986. After receiving a Master’s degree in operations research from NYU and a Master’s degree in environmental health sciences from the City University of New York, Diskin became a member of its graduate faculty.

Lena Darrell, MPH, REHS/ RS, RD, CDN, who has managed quality assurance for Compass Group for the last 6 years, after 9 years industry experience. Darrell holds an M.S. in public health and

a B.S. in food science and nutrition from Hunter College. She is REHS/ RS (registered sanitarian from NEHA) as well as a registered dietitian.

Also serving on the board is: Amanda King. As workplace safety manager for Compass Group for the last 10 years, King focuses on preventing workplace accidents and promoting health and safety awareness and education. Rounding out the board is Aaron Salsbury, vice president of data analytics with more than nine years of experience building strategy for foodservice.

Salsbury is a senior leader dedicated to RA from E15 Group, Compass Group’s data services and consumer insights arm.

“I am extremely excited to kick off this effort to translate guidelines into action plans and bring innovative solutions to our clients while supporting our managers and associates,” said Capozzoli. “My two main goals are to nurture a culture of enhanced safety and to foster a sense of guest confidence.”

Restaurant Associates (RA), a member of Compass Group, is recognized as the nation’s premier onsite dining management company.

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 69

NEWS

RESTAURANT OPERATIONS

BOUNCING BACK WITH VENTLESS KITCHEN SOLUTIONS

T

he comeback is always better than the set back. That popular phrase could not be more important than right now. The last few months have not been easy. We had to give up going out, dining in restaurants, and seeing our friends and family. We took to take out and curbside pickups to ensure the companies that have become a part of our communities stay afloat.

Today, businesses across our country are slowly beginning to reopen, and patrons will be returning.

So, what does that mean for the future? Well, things will be different, that much we know. Owners and operators will have a lot on their plates as they adhere to the “New Normal”. Business plans and models will change. From reduced staff, to limited supplies, it will be imperative for them to find what works for their establishment both financially and operationally.

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 71

RESTAURANT STRATEGIES

WITH RYAN GROMFIN

HOW TO INCREASE RESTAURANT SALES WITH THIRD-PARTY DELIVERY SERVICES

A

couple of years ago I wasn’t the biggest fan of third-party delivery.

Last year, I kind of teetered in the middle. These days, it’s just a part of the business. Whether you’re a fan or not, I suggest you grasp onto third-party delivery services and run! But before you start, you need to know a few proven tricks that will help you land at the top of their search results.

Before we get started, these tips are not for those of you still fighting the 25-30% commission rates and wondering if third-party delivery services are worth the price. These tips are for restaurants who want to adopt these services, or are currently using them, and want to ensure your restaurant is a top result when people are searching in third-party apps.

HOW TO INCREASE SALES WITH THIRD-PARTY DELIVERY APPS Over the last six months, I have developed this method from working with my restaurant clients to get the best possible results with their third-party apps. These strategies were used to get more orders, get to the top of searches, and make sure you’re getting the most out of these apps that you can!

1. Categories. This sounds pretty obvious but your restaurant must be set up with the correct categories. It’s a balance between being too specific but also not too broad. For example, if you operate a pizza restaurant, pizza should be your number one category. You could also have categories for Italian, Pasta, American or Italian American; it depends on what you offer. I work with a client who operates an Egyptian restaurant. In

These tips are for restaurants who want to adopt these services, or are currently using them, and want to ensure your restaurant is a top result when people are searching in third-party apps. the United States, however, very few people are searching for Egyptian food. Instead, they’re searching for Middle-Eastern or Mediterranean food. When we changed his main category from Egyptian to MiddleEastern and Mediterranean, we instantly saw an uptick in the number of orders he was getting. Don’t get too carried away though...your categories should accurately represent your restaurant. Your meal periods also need to be accurate: breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night, etc. Every third-party delivery app/website is slightly different, but we have found this is the absolute most important thing that you can do to increase your orders.

2. Pay-for-Play works. If you pay for advertising, offer coupons for free delivery or any sort of Pay-for-Play treatment, you will move up closer to the top.

3. Reviews matter. Nothing will move the needle more than the first two than reviews – lots and lots of reviews. Because of this you need to create a process for getting reviews.

Some delivery companies give you customer information and allow you to follow up with them, but most of them don’t so it’s up to you to do something. Follow the KISS principles (Keep It Short and Simple) to increase the likelihood of a customer filling out a review. We have found

72 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

that postcards work well by providing a QR code that leads back to the review site.

4. Names are important. I coach a breakfast restaurant that has 10 different omelets all with different names on his menu. On the thirdparty app he had them listed by name, Denver, California, etc. When we changed the name of each item to Denver Omelet, California Omelet, etc. his orders increased. This same principle applies to sandwiches, wraps, bowls, pasta, pizza, etc. It is imperative to make sure that the major category is listed in the description of each item.

5. Get on the phone. It’s important to establish a great relationship with your vendors. This doesn’t mean getting on the phone and yelling at them about the 30% commission rate – they hear that all day long. Instead, say something like, “Hey, I’ve done a lot to make my listings better: fixed the SEO, put better pictures on, etc.

I am loving the relationship that we have created and I want to do more business with you. I believe that you’re the future! I’m redesigning my restaurant to be more efficient for deliveries and take out orders. I’ve updated my menu and the menu on your site...how can we do more work together?” You will be SHOCKED at some of the responses and deals they are willing to make when you show

Ryan Gromfin is an author, speaker, chef, restauranteur, and founder of therestaurantboss.com, clickbacon. com, and scalemyrestaurant. com. He is the most followed restaurant coach in the world helping Restaurant Owners and Operators increase profits, improve operations, and scale and grow their businesses.

them you are on their team and excited about your future relationship.

When you approach your relationship with third-party delivery companies from that standpoint, it’s amazing the information they will share with you. They might not be able to give you free advertising, but they might have a discount they can extend. Sometimes, they can offer a one-week trial with free delivery and then provide metrics from the trial. These companies have an enormous amount of data and know what people are searching for and what words they’re using to search. Maybe they’re searching for spaghetti instead of pasta, by making that change on your website/menu you will see a huge impact on sales.

The key to increasing your ranking on third-party apps is understanding what language your customers are using to find you and then speaking their language. When you do that, your third-party delivery sales will soar!

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 73

DINING PERSPECTIVES

WHY RESTAURANTS WILL NOT JUST SURVIVE BUT THRIVE AFTER THE PANDEMIC This article was originally published on Forbes.com

F

ood critics are not prone to being Pollyannas, but in the face of so much gloom and doom about the future of the world’s restaurant industry during the current pandemic, as a culinary historian I remain very optimistic.

The California Restaurant Association contends that as many as 30,000 of the state’s 90,000 restaurants might close for good. “I expect 70% of restaurants will close as a result of this,” said Tom Colicchio, host of Bravo’s Top Chef. He may well be right, but there will be another 70% to replace them. For more than most industries providing a social need restaurants have a long history of adapting to boom and bust times, not least because of the kind of people who go into a business that is very difficult even good times. To open and run a restaurant takes not just a commitment of time and effort — as it would be for, say, a dry cleaners, an auto body shop or hair salon, whose owners are likely drawn to the business for the chance to make a living for their families.

Opening a restaurant demands a fervent love of the business, from the owners to the chefs and often the waiters and busboys who fantasize about someday owning their own place. Even restaurateurs who beg their sons and daughters not

to follow them in the rough-tough business find their children often leave other, more secure professions to come back to work in the family’s restaurants. And because of that love restaurants have historically proven far more resilient than many other small businesses, not least after wars and pandemics have utterly destroyed them.

One can not go back to Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages or even the 18th century to demonstrate restaurants’ survival abilities, simply because, before the 19th century, the only eating places open to the public were just roadside taverns and cafés. Restaurants as we know them—where you can sit at a table,

74 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

choose from a menu, order wine and get good service—are really a phenomenon of the era following the bloodiest days of French Revolution, when the former cooks for the aristocracy opened bistros and fullfledged restaurants to appeal to the burgeoning bourgeoisie. (Some believe the word “bistro” comes from the days when, after the Napoleonic Wars, Russian troops streamed into Paris shouting “bistra, bistra!”— “quick, quick!”—to get a meal.)

Even during the Prussian siege of Paris in 1871 during the FrancoPrussian War, with many people starving and butchers selling cats and dog meat, the bistros and fine dining restaurants stayed open.

John Mariani is an author and journalist of 40 years standing, and an author of 15 books. He has been called by the Philadelphia Inquirer, “the most influential foodwine critic in the popular press” and is a three-time nominee for the James Beard Journalism Award.

For 35 years he was Esquire Magazine’s food & travel correspondent and wine columnist for Bloomberg News for ten. His Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink was hailed as the “American Larousse Gastronomique” His next book, “America Eats Out” won the International Association of Cooking Professionals Award for Best Food Reference Book.

Running low on basic ingredients, cooks began serving elephant steak and stewed beaver from zoos. In fact, one journalist wrote, “We will end up going through the whole of Noah’s Ark.” After the war, the Golden Age of Paris restaurants began with the establishment of grand brasseries on Montparnasse, which became the epicenter of artistic social life, and the opening of the vast Les Halles market, where every conceivable food from all over Europe was brought in by rail and sold.

Through World War I Paris’s restaurants stayed open and they thrived through the Jazz Age. Not even the so-called Spanish Flu of 1918-1919, which killed upwards of 250,000 French people, nor the global Depression of the 1930s, much affected them, as chronicled by habitués like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, who made names like La Rotonde, La Coupole and Cloiserie des Lilas famous. Even during the German occupation of the city early in World War II, restaurants stayed open, working off

continued on page 82

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June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 75

NEWS

TECHNOLOGY

KRONOS ADDS CONTACT TRACING TO PORTFOLIO OF WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT TOOLS WITHIN RESTAURANT PORTFOLIO

W

hat began with a simple re-invention of the time-clock for business has evolved over the past 40 plus years into a new way for thinking. Lowell, MA based Kronos has built a workforce management platform in which the punching of a clock represents a small piece of a crucial puzzle that needs to be solved to forge business success.

Kronos is a global provider of workforce management and human capital management (HCM) cloud software solutions. Kronos’ cloudbased applications are specialized for the restaurant industry and integrate with countless other HR solutions to cater to each restaurant’s needs. Some of Kronos’ standout integrations include SYRG, which helps employers quickly find ondemand workers in a time of need, and Axonify, a tool for quick training

Amanda Nichols

“That is, the agility to navigate an unpredictable regulatory environment; the transparency to explain both to customers and employees how the restaurant is ensuring safety; and the flexibility required to respond to the changing needs of employees.” — Amanda Nichols with an effective logging feature.

“Restaurants are facing a digital disruption, similar in scale to that which drove the evolution of retail in the past decade,” noted Amanda Nichols, senior manager of Kronos’ retail, hospitality, and food service practice group. “A strong digital presence is more important than ever in the social distancing era, and to move to online-ordering or a takeout-only labor model, a restaurant must have the right tools at hand. Restaurants who are trying to adapt too quickly tend to find shortterm solutions, and that can lead to long-term problems where data is siloed and platforms can’t communicate. Kronos solves this problem by serving as a central location for all kinds of data and processes related to the workforce – schedules, time and attendance, tasks, trainings, payroll, HR, performance, financial wellness, and more – ensuring that all data is properly synced and allowing restaurant managers to move quickly.”

Nichols, a University of Massachu-

76 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

setts Amherst graduate, identified three key qualities for restaurant managers during a time of crisis: agility, transparency, and flexibility.

“That is, the agility to navigate an unpredictable regulatory environment; the transparency to explain both to customers and employees how the restaurant is ensuring safety; and the flexibility required to respond to the changing needs of employees.

This is no easy task, but having the right digital tools at hand certainly makes it more manageable.”

Kronos has recently launched an automated reporting capability that will allow essential businesses such as restaurants to agilely identify which employees have come into contact with an employee that has contracted COVID-19.

With the advent of their new contact tracing tool, Kronos has ensured that its food service customers can move with the agility they need to properly adhere to the strict regulations placed upon them. If an employee has contracted COVID-19, the restaurant’s HR or payroll team

can input the employee’s ID number and immediately see which other employees worked shifts at the same time as the infected employee within a two to three week period. They’ll be able to rapidly notify potentially exposed employees and remove them from the schedule to protect others. This functionality is immediately available for all Kronos customers at no additional charge.

“We have never been more devoted to the success of our customers, who are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of their people while providing essential services that benefit so many of us,” explained Gregg Gordon, Kronos’ Vice-President of Industries. “Recognizing that contact tracing is key to reducing further spread of COVID-19 and ensuring appropriate care for anyone exposed, we have greatly simplified this complex process in the workplace for our customers so they can take rapid action to communicate to essential workers if notified of a presumed-positive case at their facility.”

“Doing so may support critical efforts to minimize future spikes of the virus while helping organizations develop plans and protocols for their reopening,” Gordon concluded.

For more information, you can visit kronos.com/foodservice, or for practical guidance supporting employee well-being and workforce productivity, visit: kronos.com/managing-throughtimes-of-uncertainty.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 77

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

WITH FRED SAMPSON

THE FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY: WHAT IF …? A FANTASY Author’s note: It is 40 years since I found myself sitting in front of a computer to write my first column.

The number of columns has grown to a total of 400. A friend recently asked me which one was my favorite. I answered, “What If ...? A Fantasy.” First published in 1984, I wrote it because at that time I felt our industry was not receiving the attention it should by various forms of the media.

Current events confirm how important the existence of the foodservice industry was to America’s economy and well-being then and, most assuredly, how it is now.

I

f you have driven on an interstate highway, you have probably seen the bumper sticker on most tractor trailers that reads “Without Trucks – America Stops.”

There is no question that these four words make a compelling argument for the trucking industry.

Over the years I have heard many foodservice operators state that our industry’s value and contribution to the country’s overall economy have never been fully appreciated, and that motivated me to write the following “What if …?” fantasy.

“Good evening, America. This is Walter Rather. Let’s go right to the news for June 16. The nation’s foodservice industry shutdown continues. You will recall that 10 days ago, the federal government announced that, in trying to balance its fiscal woes, it would slap a 20% tax on all meals eaten away from the home.

After much lobbying by the foodservice industry in opposition to this tax, the government went ahead anyway. The industry said enough is enough and within days it was al-

Over the years I have heard many foodservice operators state that our industry’s value and contribution to the country’s overall economy have never been fully appreciated, and that motivated me to write the following “What if …?” fantasy. most completely shut down. For an in-depth look at what this has meant to our economy, let’s go to our various reporters around the country.

First, Tom Kuralt in Kansas City.”

“Walter, the shutdown certainly has had an impact on the stockyards. Without all fast-food hamburger operations and family steakhouses—to say nothing of the atmosphere operations that are closed—the American cattle industry is feeling the pinch. As one longtime observer said, ‘I guess no one ever realized what foodservice meant to our industry.’ A few years ago there was a popular television commercial where a little old lady asked: ‘Where’s the beef?’ Well, Walter, if she were to ask that today, the answer would be, ‘Here in Kansas City.’ ” “Now, to Ted Jennings in Madison, Wisconsin.”

“Walter, the state of Wisconsin is full of it! Dairy products, that is.

Cheeseburgers, milk shakes, ice cream, coffee cream, milk, and dozens of other dairy products that daily find their way to thousands of foodservice operations, are not moving. The governor here has said that because dairy products are so perishable, if this shutdown is not over soon it could become an economic nightmare for the state. It

78 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

certainly drives home how important the foodservice industry is.

Walter, the cows in Wisconsin may be contented, but the farmers are not.”

“Now, to Peter Koppel in San Diego.”

“Thank you, Walter. California is about to become the world’s largest fruit and vegetable bin. Many farmers are starting to lay off workers.

Thousands of trucks and their drivers are idle, and refrigerated cars by the hundreds sit motionless on rail sidings. One longtime resident told me: ‘We have had floods, mudslides, tremors, and blinding smog, but I can’t remember anything affecting the entire state the way this shutdown has.’ Hard to believe that all those mom-and-pop places could have this kind of impact, Walter.

In a state where earthquakes are a way of life, the foodservice industry shutdown has registered an eight on the economic scale. Back to you.”

“What you have heard is only the tip of the iceberg. Millions of people are out of work as a direct effect of the shutdown, and millions more will soon be laid off. Federal, state, and local governments are concerned about the dramatic decline in tax receipts. Maine and Idaho report large drops in potato consumption. Florida is worried about a large surplus of citrus products, and the

Fred G. Sampson is the retired President Emeritus of the New York State Restaurant Association. He began working with NYSRA in 1961. Within the next four years the NYSRA more than tripled its membership and expanded from one regional chapter to eight. Sampson played roles in representing restaurants on issues including paid sick leave, minimum wage, liquor laws, a statewide alcohol training program and insurance plans.

Comments may be sent to fredgsampson@juno.com

Maryland, Louisiana, and Texas seafood industries are operating with skeleton crews.

“The Great White Way is not so bright, due to the thousands of New York City foodservice operations that are closed. Countless numbers of people who depend solely on foodservice operations for their meals are going to governmentsponsored ration centers. Hundreds of weddings, retirement parties, dinner dances, business luncheons, and other special functions that take place around a meal have been postponed. Much of the nation’s social life has come to a standstill. …

“I have just been handed this special bulletin. The federal government’s special tax on meals will expire at midnight. In a few hours, you will be able to be served at your favorite eating place.

“To sum it up, I think we all have a better understanding of how important the foodservice industry is to our everyday social, economic, and nutritional lives. It is unfortunate that it took a nationwide shutdown to make that point.

“In New York, this is Walter Rather, saying good night.”

Pretty amazing that 40 years later, fantasy has become today’s reality.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 79

RESTAURANT EXPERT

WITH DAVID SCOTT PETERS

3 THINGS TO DO NOW TO RECOVER STRONGER

R

estaurant operators are a resilient group, and I have a lot of hope for you and faith in your ability to get through this pandemic. However, it will take some adjustments because you can’t go back to the way you were doing things because costs will go up and the margins will get even tighter.

The first three things to work on right now to make sure you never go back are Restaurant 101, checklists and having a system for everything.

Continue reading to learn more about how to do each of these.

Restaurant 101 is solid Restaurant 101 is the very first thing that must happen your business. Before put together the checklists and cash controls, before you get into the myriad of systems I teach to help you get your life back and make the money you deserve. Because ultimately, if you don’t do Restaurant 101 right, your restaurant sucks.

Do I have your attention? OK, let’s break it down. Restaurant 101 is simply great hospitality.

• It’s hot food hot.

• Cold food cold.

• A clean safe work environment for guests and employees.

• It’s WOW customer service and an incredible product.

Checklists in place To start, if you’re running a great restaurant, putting out great product, and you’ve got great service, checklists are the key critical system you’re going to put in place if you want to make money.

Why? If you can’t get your managers to use a checklist on a daily basis, what makes you think they’re going to take

inventory Sunday, on time and accurately. If you can’t get them to do the simple stuff, what makes you think it’s going to change? The key to checklists is using them to create a culture where the details matter.

You need to make sure you have a checklist for opening and closing side work for every position that is so detailed that anybody could pick it up and do it. It’s not just “clean the bathroom,” but, “Make sure the bathroom is clean: the mirrors have no water spots, there’s no standing water on the counter, wipe down the counter and throw away the paper towel, if the garbage pail is 50% filled, take it out and replace the liner.” It is step-by-step instructions how you want it done, how well you want it done and by when.

Now is the time to create the checklists. Walk around your building with a yellow pad of paper, write down everything that pisses you off, grab any old checklists, grab this new checklist and put it all together. From that point forward, when you reopen, you will have checklists that set expectations.

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Checklists are also essential for cash controls. Make sure every penny makes it in your bank account. Using the daily sales report from your point of sale system, track how the money came in. Then every day you put in your actual deposits, track your over/ short and make sure it’s within whatever you allow for servers and bartenders. Take the time to put your procedures in place for that.

A system for everything You must have systems for everything in your restaurant. Systems are a process, a way of doing anything and everything in your business. Period.

Whether it’s count out a bar drawer the same way, or dollars per labor hour worked and anything and everything in between.

You need to embrace what the chains do well, which are making it through the pandemic easier than we are because they have systems, processes, ways of doing everything they do. They don’t have owners in their business. They’re able to cut.

David Scott Peters is an author, restaurant coach and speaker who teaches restaurant operators how to use his trademark Restaurant Prosperity Formula to cut costs and increase profits. His first book, Restaurant Prosperity Formula: What Successful Restaurateurs Do, teaches the systems and traits to develop to run a profitable restaurant. Known as THE expert in the restaurant industry, he uses a no-BS style to teach and motivate restaurant owners to take control of their businesses and finally realize their full potential. Thousands of restaurants have used his formula to transform their businesses.

To learn more about David Scott Peters, his formula for restaurant success, his book, or his coaching program, visit davidscottpeters.com.

What systems? There’s a whole list.

In fact, there’s a book that I wrote, many of you should know now, called Restaurant Prosperity Formula: What Successful Restaurateurs Do. It’s an easy read, available on Amazon, and will set you up with everything you need to have in place to start to create your plan for success.

You’ve made it this far with COVID-19 restrictions and money is starting to hit the bank. Do not blow this opportunity. Do not spend that money without having a plan.

Your plan: • Restaurant 101 • Checklists and cash controls for everything you do • Get your systems in place Our industry has just gone through something it’s never gone through.

You have opportunity. Yes, your sales may not be as strong because we have all these people out of work and people are uncertain about how to proceed, but there will be less competition, which means it’s an opportunity to be great.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 81

WASSERSTROM

from page 44

As with many industries, restaurant equipment and supplies are challenged with the growth of e-commerce. How has this changed the role of the local dealer and can you be in both businesses?

Yes, we offer both platforms and it really comes down to what level of service a customer wants when they buy something. We believe that our customer wants to talk to the person when they want to talk to a person.

That’s why there is a phone number

LEGAL INSIDER

on our website. We think of it as being available when they want, in the way they want.

How do you see the role of the dealer changing going forward?

The type of products and services we offer will be dictated by our customers. At the end of the day, it is all about being able to solve the customers’ problems. They will provide insight into our future mix of products and services.

from page 50

but depending on where the employer operates, there may be a state-specific requirement to compensate the employee for that time. For example, time spent undergoing health screenings would likely not be compensable in New York or Florida, but would likely be compensable in Nevada and Washington D.C. There is also the issue of compensating an employee if they show up to work and are sent home because the restaurant is not busy. This is a stateby-state issue, but numerous states require an employee to be paid for a certain amount of time just for showing up. For example, in New York, employees who report to work but are sent home early must be paid for at least three hours or the length of the scheduled shift if shorter, employees in Washington D.C. must be paid for at least four hours each day they report to work unless the employee is regularly scheduled to work for less than four hours a day, and in New Jersey must be paid for at least one hour on a day they report to work. By contrast, there is no such minimum pay requirement in Florida and Nevada.

The new on-premises dining landscape may also pose challenges with respect to the compensation of tipped employees. Last month we advised that employers who take a tip credit from the wages of tipped employees must ensure that the tipped employee is earning enough tips to make up for the tip credit, or must be compen-

sated for the difference. Another potential pitfall for tipped employees is ensuring the tipped employee is not performing too much “side work.” In a world where constant sanitization is going to be the norm, it would be very tempting to have, for example, a server sanitize their assigned tables after a customer leaves, or to assign a busser to roll clean silverware into napkins or wipe down the restrooms. However, in places like New York where an employer can lose the tip credit if the employee performs side work for more than 2 hours or 20% of their shift, this could be problematic. Not only is it practically impossible to track the amount of time a tipped employee spends performing these types of inbetween-service side work duties, but perhaps more importantly it is very difficult to defend against a claim that the employee performed too much side work. The best practice is assign a dedicated individual (or individuals), who are paid at the full minimum wage, to be primarily responsible for sanitization measures.

Unfortunately, there are innumerable, ever-changing issues employers need to be paying attention to right now. Nonetheless, one thing is for certain: plaintiff attorneys have been sitting around for months waiting for you to reopen; employers should take steps wherever they can to gain compliance with existing workplace laws as they continue to navigate their way back to “normal.”

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DINING PERSPECTIVES rationing, while the grandest dining rooms, especially in the hotels, became the exclusive haunts of German officers. (The scene in the movie “Inglorious Basterds,” wherein a Nazi officer dines sumptuously with a woman he is interrogating is both chilling and sickening.)

In other European countries whose cities were bombed into rubble, as in Italy, Belgium, England and, especially, Germany, the first small businesses to open after the war were eating places. By the mid1950s Italy was enjoying “Il Boom,” with restaurants central to a new vitality in cities like Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples. One has only to read of the gourmet meals James “007” Bond enjoyed throughout Europe in Ian Fleming’s novels of the 1950s to sense how quickly the continent went from starvation to abundance.

America had had a lively restaurant industry since the 1840s, largely unaffected by wars and recessions, and it was increased enormously by the arrival of millions of immigrants in the late 19th century who opened trattorias, chop suey shops, chili parlors, diners, rathskellers and delicatessens. The industry did live under rationing during World War II, but the restaurants of major cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with huge influxes of servicemen coming and going, did very well. After the war, with the permanent return of those servicemen and women, America boomed, the Interstate Highway system was built and the industry responded with the creation of fast food eateries, chain restaurants, theme restaurants and high-end ethnic restaurants everywhere.

After Sept. 11, 2001, the same dire predictions about New York’s restaurant industry never recovering proved to be extremely short-sighted. At the time New York had about 20,000 restaurants; today the city is home to 26,000.

When Hurricane Katrina in 2005 destroyed New Orleans’s restaurant sector, sending employees flowing out of town, it was predicted they

from page 74 would never return to a city so damaged and without any tourism. Yet the lights were back on within weeks in the city. Indeed, in the aftermath of Katrina New Orleans gained restaurants. Where there had been 984 restaurants in the city before the hurricane, there are now more than 1,300, an increase of about 30%.

Because of this history of resilience I am convinced that America’s restaurant industry will not just survive but thrive, and, once the All Clear signal is sounded, it will happen rapidly. To be sure, no one knows what seismic changes may occur, how fine dining versus storefront eateries will be affected, how much more take-out and delivery will be available. But, unlike the devastation of wars and hurricanes, in America food service spaces are still intact. Certainly many operators will never re-open their restaurants, but others will take their place—real estate, like Nature, abhors a vacuum—modify their expectations and be more responsive to the public’s wants and needs.

More than with most leisure time endeavors, people want desperately to eat out again, and restaurants will respond to that enormous appetite.

I am reminded of a scene in The Diary of Anne Frank, in which the family members, isolated for months in an attic, but still believing they would soon be out, fantasize about the first thing they’ll do when they return to the world outside. Anne says she yearns to go to a dance. Her teenage brother wants to go to a movie, a western movie!

And the adults all start remembering and dreaming of a wonderful pastry shop, a good stew, a romantic restaurant with thick linen and fine wines.

So, when we all finally emerge from our homes, we’ll all want to go to a restaurant for a good stew and fine wine, for it is the surest sign that all is well again. And the people who run our restaurants will respond as they always have, because they would love nothing more than to feed us all.

MEAT AUTOMAT

from page 62

being. Now, that also means working to create a space where both our customers and staff feel protected.”

At their processing plant in Stone Ridge, they work with the whole animal, not primal cuts. Animals are broken down and fabricated into familiar cuts, some further processed into sausages and meatballs. Unlike much of the available local meat, it’s sold fresh, unless requested otherwise. And it all sells out, every week.

Applestone works to keep prices reasonable. He noted that “entry point items,” like chicken thighs and ground beef are priced to get people interested in using local meat.

Even higher-end cuts such as ribeye steak run just about $19 per pound — we’re trying to have options for everyone, he said. But prices may have to rise. “The increased costs haven’t hit our supply lines, yet.”

Is there enough beef? Can Applestone Meat Company keep up with demand? Applestone feels they can meet expectations. “Our supply lines (aka farms) can scale up with proper notice,” he said. “They [the farmers] can actually feed all of the population in its surrounding area.”

Looking for a more pastoral experience, place an on-line order at Kinderhook Farm, where they raise high-end grass-fed beef, grazed lamb and pastured pork and poultry on a fairy-tale beautiful 1,000acre farm. Before the Pandemic, on a sleepy Sunday, you could drop

by, wander the grounds and choose your bacon or short ribs from stocked freezers. Farm tours were popular, especially for city dwellers who’d check out the multi-colored tufted chickens and the geese.

Kinderhook Farm once serviced some of the top restaurants and butcher shops in New York City, including Eataly. Now sales are only on-line. Orders are boxed up and set outside on specified days for contactless customer pick-up. The meat raised on the farm is processed in

a small plant, packed in cryovac and sold frozen. But there’s a limit on what they can produce due to the configuration of the property, among other things.

“We are selling more to consumers these days,” said Lee Ranney a farm manager. “Big surge when people first started noticing shortages and reading about the meat plants, but a steady, more modest uptick lately.”

Another truly low-key version of contactless selling is the tiny, hon-

or-system farm stores tucked about the rural countryside. Drive up a rutted road to the farm store, don mask and gloves and pick up a package or two of ground beef, a steak or some sausage and farm eggs. Note what you bought on the sheet and put cash or check in the till.

Consumers want and need food choices. And it seems clear, if the demand for local, ethically produced meat is there, at least in the Hudson Valley, the product will follow.

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Kinderhook Farm June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 83

NEWS

TAKEOUT SOLUTIONS

NJ BLOGGER LAUNCHES RESTAURANT TAKEOUT FINDER

N

ew Jersey food blogger and cookbook author, Deborah Smith, has created a searchable database for restaurant takeout and delivery on her blog JerseyBites.com.

When we asked what inspired her to launch the Takeout Finder, she replied “For 13 years we have been writing about the food industry and restaurants in New Jersey. I wanted to find a way to show our support, help them get exposure and at the end of the day make money during quarantine.”

Normally, Smith’s blog would be publishing restaurant reviews, chef interviews and promoting food events in New Jersey. However, since the closing of dine-in service in New Jersey and mandated self-distancing, the publication pivoted to sharing

more timely articles aimed at the issues residents of New Jersey were concerned about in the moment like finding supplies and food while staying safe.

“When we decided to reopen our 3 New Jersey locations, we were thrilled to find a free resource to help us get the word out.” B2 Bistro + Bar’s Managing Partner Stephen Valentine commented. “Every little bit helps.

Deborah has been very generous in offering her website and social media reach to help our industry during this trying time.”

Restaurants, coffee shops even breweries and gourmet stores can add their takeout and delivery information to the free Takeout Finder by following this link. https://jerseybites.com/support-local/ Customers can also use the link to search for

84 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

takeout in their county, town or distance from their home.

Many restaurants quickly put together an online ordering system when they discovered that this would be the only way they could ramp up takeout business. The takeout finder provides a direct link to the restaurant’s online order page for seamless transactions. If the business does not offer online ordering, they can provide a link to their menu and phone number for quick reference.

“Even after reopening, restaurants and breweries will be restricted by capacity. I think we are going to be depending on takeout for quite a while.”

Smith commented. “I hope they take advantage of this free platform and I hope customers start to rely on it for the latest news on restaurants who are open for business.”

Ms. Smith is asking everyone to share this tool with their favorite restaurants doing takeout and urge them to submit their information and include links to online ordering and hours of operation. “Our Takeout Finder will become more and more valuable to consumers as it grows.

Restaurants should encourage other food and beverage establishments in their town to take part. This is one of those instances where bigger is definitely better.”

Follow Jersey Bites on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to their newsletter for the latest food related stories and events (when allowed) in New Jersey. Deborah Smith is the author of The Jersey Shore Cookbook, a collection of 50 recipes from 50 restaurants from Keyport to Cape May, New Jersey.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 85

BBQ MASTERS

from page 8

for cooking has led him to have his hand in almost every aspect of the barbecue world. He has a combined 77 Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion titles. In addition to those awards, Big Poppa Smokers has also won the American Royal (2012), been named the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) National Pork Champion (2015), Tri-State Champion (2016), CA Team of the Year (2016, 2017, 2018), has been inducted into the CA BBQ Hall of Fame, and has consistently ranked in the top 20 in KCBS since 2012.

cooking philosophy. In 2012, inspired by a perfect rack of St. Louis spareribs cooked for a mere two hours, Scheer designed the Gateway Drum Smoker. Scheer has won 36 Grand and 45 Reserve Grand Championship titles including Pork, Ribs and Brisket Grand Champion as well as Reserve Grand at the American Royal World Series of BBQ. Shake ‘n Bake BBQ has not only been named KCBS Pork and KCBS Ribs Team of the Year, but also KCBS Overall Team of the Year Reserve Grand Champion.

• Fred Robles: From the great state of Texas comes Rio Valley Meat BBQ pitmaster Fred Robles. Robles has won accolades including 95 Grand and Reserve Grand Championships, 2019 American Royal World Champion, 2019 National BBQ Grand Championship, IBCA Team of the Year in 2017, Pitmasters of Texas Top Cook in 2017 & 2018, and the 2017 World Food BBQ Champion.

Robles says that barbecue has become a way of life, allowing him to meet friends that have become like family.

• Justin McGlaun: Justin McGlaun of Lucky’s Q started competing in 2010, when he made a smoker out of an old air compressor tank and he and his wife Kate hit the barbecue circuit. For the McGlauns, barbecue is a family affair: Their 8-year-old son Gavin competes in kids’ competitions and recently won first place at the 2019 American Royal in Kansas City. To date, they have cooked in almost 190 contests with 24 Grand Championships and 22 Reserve Grand Championships. Some of their bigger wins are the Sam’s Club National Championship and the 2018 King of the Smoker.

• Tim Scheer: Tim Scheer, Pitmaster of Shake ‘n Bake BBQ, has been cranking out competition-winning barbecue since 2009. He is perhaps most well-known for his “hot & fast”

ELARA BRANDS

To get the fire started for your restaurant, visit: TysonFreshMeats.com/Foodservice.

from page 52

has been purchasing vinyl gloves for domestic use, which is reducing the amount of gloves available for exports. Expect sporadic shortages near term.

What do you see in the Nitrile and Latex Glove markets?

It’s a similar dynamic as with vinyl gloves. Most nitrile and latex gloves are produced in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. As demand surged, lockdowns cut production and glove factories are also dealing with raw material and packaging delays.

Some governments are requiring

that gloves go for domestic use before exports are allowed. You can also expect intermittent shortages.

So what are the implications for our industry with these challenges?

Operators need to be flexible.

If you’ve been using vinyl gloves, there may be times where you have to switch to a different type of glove.

Same with nitrile and latex. I know that distributors are working very, very hard to source gloves and give their customers options. Higher prices are going to be with us for the foreseeable future as well.

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PROVISIONS PREVIEWED I’d like to highlight MealPlak nacryl resinware here as tabletop’s most misunderstood material. As part of the Revol family of companies, MealPlak creates a sustainable and shatter-resistant alternative to melamine that leaves a lasting impression with your guests. Their catalog offers bright statement colors, as well as more neutral options in white, grey, taupe, and black. For an elegant post-pandemic approved tableside reveal—or a safer, chicer transport—try one of their fitted polycarbonate or glass cloches available in numerous sizes.

We highlighted some of MealPlak’s more poppy colorways during our photoshoot this month (which took place in a backyard Brooklyn patio that longs for its customers to return).

You’ll see them here, paired with Drinique’s latest collection of colorful tumblers. Drinique’s first product offered covered comfort with a tumbler lid that doubled as a coaster. Sunnier days are surely ahead in the world

from page 40 of outdoor dining with sustainable, microwavable dinnerware launching soon.

But, before we get there, we’ll need to adjust. At LMTprovisions, we understand our customers’ priorities are evolving. Every day, we try to bring something new to the table— products that will help you and your guests stay safe. Today, we encourage you to take the time to learn about MyDrap: a major disruptor in the linen market as we know it today. Their 100% cotton single-use napkins and table coverings offer a sustainable, single-use solution in an age when reusable fabrics can call cleanliness into question. Rest assured, you’ll be seeing more of MyDrap. Beyond the world of napkins, they’ve created face masks, available in any stocked pattern.

To learn more about fashionforward personal protective equipment—or any of the products featured here—please send us a note!

We’re here to help you navigate this uncharted time in hospitality procurement.

Our team can be reached at lmt@ singerequipment.com or online at singerequipment.com/store/lmt.

MealPlak nacryl resinware plates paired with Drinique tumblers make for a colorful warm weather meal.

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 87

RESTAURANT FINANCE in their budgets – tax income has reduced because of the tax cut, record unemployment, business closures and everyone is looking for governments to bail them out. Where do we go when the well runs dry? Because of this enormous amount of Federal, State and local debt from costs and lack of tax revenues, the inevitable result will be tax increases and the stimulus will probably result in inflation. Double whammy.

Small and midsized businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, yet relief funds went mostly to larger businesses. Many of the smaller businesses waiting for Payroll Protection loans are throwing themselves deeper in debt floating their businesses until the federal money hits their accounts.

Then if they have not continued to employ 75% of their employees, they will be required to repay the loan… yep, more debt.

To this we have to add business and personal rent or mortgage arrearages, late payments on utilities, suppliers, insurance, auto loans / leases. Most landlords have been forced to allow forbearance on payments, but they will be looking to be made whole once your doors are open. Some will be more aggressive than others, but most will look to come whole in reasonably short order. Malls are in deeper trouble now that big retailers are filing for Bankruptcy and larger restaurant chains like Cheesecake Factory are considering closing a number of stores due to COVID and their projections for the post-pandemic recovery. How can restaurants and other businesses make up the short fall when they are limited to 50% occupancy and have a customer base that may not be eager to venture out and return?

With all the claims and stress on insurance carriers we should expect a meaningful increase in premiums on our business lines and health insurance for sure. At press time there have been approximately 1.75 Million known cases with about 100,000 deaths. All of those people have medical bills that insurance carriers and their customers will need to shoulder.

from page 12 Medical bills were already the #1 reason for personal bankruptcy in the U.S. – what do you think this will do to the economy now? The Kaiser Health Foundation also announced that approximately 27 million Americans lost their health coverage because of unemployment. Let’s let the implications of that sink in for a minute.

Unemployment claims have been filed by approximately 40 million workers. The reality is that a major chunk of those jobs may not come back. That leaves a huge hole in the tax base as well as a continuing drain on state and federal unemployment funds and ancillary social services such as Medicaid. The unintended Catch 22 in the additional $600 per week unemployment grant has added to the problem in many ways and is costing government a fortune. This too will dry up and with 40% unemployment among workers earning $40,000 and under. This only amplifies income and wealth inequality while putting more strain on the safety nets and eroding the tax base. It’s a sh#t storm!

To counter my position, I have had friends try to point out that the stock markets are at record highs in support of the delusion that the US economy is strong. Even the Fed chairman agreed with me that the only reason stocks stayed high is that the Fed flooded the market with a “tsunami of cash”. The Wall Street Journal, in an opinion piece said the Fed has established a floor for stocks and bond prices and is floating them.

At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Warren Buffet declared that he had been pulling out of the stock market and accumulating cash as he saw no values for them to buy – unlike the recession of 2008-2009 when they went on a buying spree. Other realistic investors like David Tice who is a specialist in Bear (down) markets, says that the current stock market is far too dangerous to invest in and he believes that we are in the earliest stages of a full-blown depression.

This is not an exchange or marketplace right now – it’s a freakin’ casino.

For business growth and recovery

88 • June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

to happen, liquidity is required. After the stimulus packages stop flying around, access to working capital will slow for smaller businesses. Banks will return to earlier risk underwriting and fewer alternative lenders will survive. Those that do are adopting higher credit policies for lower risk businesses. They will be saying no more frequently.

So, in looking over the horizon to see what’s coming, I see no “V” shaped bounce back, or even a “W” as some have described. I really think that the damage is too large, the wounds too deep, the response too small and too misdirected to permit of a rapid recovery. The trailing domino effect will continue for years and I am fearful the recovery will be too slow for many businesses to survive and frankly they can’t afford to wait. When asked about the next round of stimulus, the President said… “we’re in no hurry” – but I guess since his livelihood isn’t in jeopardy, nor is any member of his

family hungry or broke – he doesn’t need to rush. Sorry, but I don’t see it that way.

The big catch phrase I see thrown around is “We are all in this together”. The reality is you are very much on your own to make decisions that will help yourself and your family.

Everyone needs to evaluate their own situation and business to determine the best course of action. I still recommend holding onto as much cash as possible and not waiting too long to make difficult decisions like closing for good or declaring bankruptcy. If you feel you are in a stronger position and you can sustain the business, you will emerge much stronger than you would imagine if you have a solid plan. Collect all the facts, address your fears and as General Patton said – move ahead.

I do believe in the resilience of America and we will recover but it will take a long time. Good luck and keep a clear head as the challenges are enormous.

DAVID BURKE

from page 16

enough space to do a party on a Saturday night or Sunday. What’s happening is the weekend wedding business is backlogged now because of the last three months.

Bride and grooms don’t want to get married on Monday or Tuesday. So, you know what? If you had a wedding booked that such and such Chateau and they’re saying you’ve got to wait till October for a weekend or you’re going to wait until December for a weekend, we’ll do your wedding and we won’t charge you like they will. It will be a beautiful event with flowers and music and a great photographer.

comeback, that will take off when we get a cure or vaccine or a medication you can take. Full speed ahead.

A year from now, dining rooms without masks and gloves. I’ll tell you what annoys me is that this didn’t come from a restaurant. Not from a dirty table, a dirty floor or undercooked chicken and I would love for people to stop treating restaurants as if this thing started in the restaurant.

There’s more crowded places than restaurants. I don’t hear that talking about wiping down the subway seats and the poles and the elevators and all that, but it’s always all about the restaurants.

What’s your vision for catering and special events moving forward?

We are preparing to be really busy with divorce parties after all those quarantines, and about eight months from now a ton of baby showers.

What’s the takeaway going to be?

I think it’s going to be a quick

June 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 89

AF&CO TREND REPORT FOOD Carbo Comeback Shelf stable products like rice and pasta have been flying off the shelves.

Plus, extra time at home means ambitious cooking projects become a way to take an adventure, with edible rewards. People are tackling sourdough bread, handmade pasta, and all sorts of baked goods. * Prior to the outbreak, sourdough bread and Detroit style pizza were forecast to be popular this year. Expect those to carry forward - along with a renewed dedication to other fermented breads and artisanal pasta as chefs play and perfect recipes at home.

Cross Cultural Comfort Foods In times of distress, people generally seek out comfort foods. Historically in the US, this would have meant a return to meatloaf, mashed potatoes, stews, braises, fried or roasted chicken, oozy cheeseburgers, and grilled cheese sandwiches, which they fully expect to see.

Over the past few years, however, they have seen cross-cultural cuisine taking new form as Americans adopt flavors from immigrant communities and as chefs pay tribute to their mixed-race upbringings. * The idea of “authentic cuisine” has lost its traditional meaning, so it’s reasonable that we will also see a lot more comforting dishes with now familiar flavors. Pre-COVID-19, they saw a rise in Italian-Japanese pasta and ramen (itameshi), porridge (from Chinese congee to nordic savory grain bowls),

SCOOP

from page 27 and American BBQ interwoven with Asian dumplings, tacos and Vietnamese sandwiches.

Superfoods Expand with Super Speed They saw a strong focus on “wellness” impacting a number of aspects of the industry. * We’ll see this expanding even more with people looking to foods with immunity and other health benefits. In 2019, attention shifted from pure nutritional benefits (vitamins) to functional foods that supposedly enhance performance. Products across the spectrum from breakfast foods to snack bars to cocktails are enhanced with prebiotics (digestive aids) and adaptogens (stress reducers: ex. ayurvedic herbs, medicinal mushrooms).

Sharing Is No Longer Caring As concerns about the spread of germs are likely to continue, they anticipate that restaurants will rethink share plates. *Small individual plates or items available “by the piece” will replace most of the communal experience of share plates. Dips and appetizer platters will be served individually, or perhaps not at all. While ever-popular fries and chicken wings may be served in individual fryer baskets, served by the portion.

Can’t Forget Cannabis It’s not just Cooked with Cannabis on Netflix that’s trending. With dispensary and delivery services being

classified as essential in medical and recreational markets, cannabis has become a central part of many consumers’ quarantine while they shelter in place.

They are seeing experiential cannabis event chefs pivoting to at-home meal kits that even replicate the infused dishes seen on the Netflix show’s menu. Eaze, a cannabis delivery company that operates in California, reports a 30% increase in edible sales during the pandemic. As more consumers partake and their consumption comfort increases, we should make way for collaborations, experiential events, and maybe even integrated dining experiences throughout restaurants. *Even with attitude shifts, there’s still the major hurdle of dining legalization as it applies to cuisine and beverages, but they’re predicting more will be rallying around this approach as an additional opportunity to jumpstart the economy.

DRINKS Cans Continue their “Can-Do” Attitude Cans provide convenience and true potential as the virus has forced us all to pack our pantries. Canned cocktails were already on the rise prior to stayat-home regulations, and sheltering in place only increased the demand for ready-made-drinks at hand. * Even when we can venture out again, these convenient cocktails will have entered into our routines.

Cocktail Delivery Will Stay...At Least For Now The team is mixed on when, where, and how lawmakers will reverse back on alcohol delivery laws, but there is already precedent and process in many states with grocery delivery allowing the verification of age at the door. * Now, as we have proven successful methods of delivery and provided an important financial opportunity for restaurants, regulations will be put in place allowing for smart ways of delivering.

High Proof, Please One of their favorite trends of 2020 was Non-Alcoholic and Low Proof cocktails. While we love all of the new and interesting NA Cocktails and Low ABV products, American’s purchase of alcohol increased as they prepared to stay-at-home, drink at the ready. * It’s possible that renewed tastes for strong drinks may lead to higher-proof consumption post sheltering. We may also see a resurgence of simple, spirit forward drinks with less mixology required. The sober curious trend will be back, but may take a little break. af&co concludes that many business models have to be altered fundamentally to be able to succeed in this new landscape. We will see further disruption as new successful models emerge and old ones die, but this also brings new opportunities for reinvention and acceleration of forces already in motion.

METRO NY INSIDER NEWS, from page 60

The effort launched from Boulud’s downtown prep kitchen and initially provided up to 1,600 meals per day to New York City’s frontline medical workers as the City continues to battle COVID-19. A second phase will include additional SL Green tenants and partners to reach New York’s most food insecure populations. In turn, this will re-activate the kitchens of some of SL Green’s food and beverage tenants,

with the goal of preparing and delivering more than 150,000 meals funded

by SL Green’s initial grant. Heightened safety precautions and protocols will be in place at all participating kitchens to ensure the health of all involved.

“COVID-19 is a challenge unlike anything we’ve ever faced,” said Chef Daniel Boulud. “The restaurant industry has been hit particularly hard, but we still have the facilities, ability and

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desire to safely provide quality, nourishing meals to essential workers and those most in need. We’re looking forward to making a positive contribution and we appreciate having the opportunity to partner with SL Green to make this program possible.”

Outreach is underway to additional SL Green tenants, non-profit partners and neighbors to quickly expand the program, reach more New Yorkers and

support some of the thousands of food and beverage workers currently without work. The restaurants will provide fully-packaged, healthy meals, with volunteers helping to load and deliver meals. Anyone interested in supporting or partnering with Food1st can reach SL Green Senior Vice President Laura Vulaj at laura.vulaj@slgreen. com.

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TO GO COCKTAILS

from page 24

and reuse.” In New York City Sother Teague of Amor Y Amargo, Honeybees, and Mother of Pearl notes that patrons enjoying the bars’ cocktails recycle their cocktail vessels by returning them too.

Jacob Halls, co-founder of Craft Beverage Consultants, hopes that once all movement and business operations restrictions are lifted these lenient policies will remain in place. He says, “I feel like if we come out of this and there’s no proof anyone sending out 24 Rumrunners is spreading anything and nobody gets hurt by us delivering alcohol - we don’t need to change back to the old ways. Think about it, you could also interchange the word alcohol with pizza – it is the same thing. Alcohol is just being regulated more strictly.

Delivering pizza is normal, delivering alcohol isn’t.”

He continues, “The adaption based on necessity has really shown the legal regulators (aka state alcohol control boards) and the government, as well as consumers, that these restrictions weren’t productive. It was a rule to control something that didn’t need to be controlled. If you can pick up a 6-pack at the grocery store and bring it home, why can’t they deliver it?”

Delivery adds a meaningful way for bars to keep in touch with guests, build loyalty and create new experiences outside the bar. In the case of Jason Corey, owner of The Immigrant wine bar in New York’s East Village, the pandemic offered him an opportunity to expand his business and renovate a ten-year old space. He explains, “I always wanted to do delivery here, but we were so busy it was impossible. Now we can. I didn’t start right away because I have been working on enhancing my marketing collateral.

That was important to do as I see this as a great time to diversify product offerings, and improve websites, offerings, packaging, etc. The Immigrant is a big date spot and I want someone to go online and get at home what they’d get at The Immigrant. I even brought the prices

down a little bit to encourage sales.”

Non-alcoholic beverage sales provide a nice assist at Southern Belle which, since it opened in November in Atlanta, has never offered takeout at all. The pandemic changed all that. Partnering with their shopping center’s anchor theatre, which has been around since the 1930s and is now doing drive in movies in their parking lot, is one way Southern Belle serves and supports the community while maintaining their business and a safe workplace.

AGM, Kevin Bragg, explains, “We’re still not fully open. We are allowed to open, but a lot of the restaurants in town agreed we are going to wait until the scientists say it is clear.

Our chef owner decided he wanted to try something to generate some revenue in a responsible way and it has really been like opening an entire new concept in a few weeks. We were committed to packaging everything in a nice way so that guests could still experience our attention to detail when they take a drink with them to the movies.”

The drink labels reflect the same intrinsically southern expression, “Bless Your Heart” which hangs in neon over the bar of the restaurant.

The hope is that guests will both be reminded of their welcome at Southern Belle and repost on social media.

That connection and reinforcement through a smartly executed to-go program may be the difference between remaining open or finding a new career when people can move freely once again. Rick Laxague, a partner at Craft Beverage Consultants concludes, “Success depends on the management team.

Are they just putting a drink in a Styrofoam cup, or investing to do it right? What does the to-go drink say about the bar? You do not want to be struggling to execute an awesome opportunity. If you are going to do it, do it right. Spend time marketing it and recreating the bar experience so people can enjoy it at home.

This could be a lasting and on-going introduction to people.”

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COLDTAINER USA

from page 22

to use something of higher quality than [insulated] bags.”

Unlike their name may suggest, ColdtainerUSA offers products for nearly all storage temperatures, hot or cold. In addition to storage for lower temperatures, the company has products with temperature-controlled storage capabilities for temperatures between 149 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit. These products stand above the competition in that they can actually hold a specific temperature for an extended period of time. The standard base unit plugs into the vehicle power supply, but Coldtainer also offers battery powered units as well as a shore power option. Some of the larger, custom models can stay powered for 2436 hours.

Overall, there are a wide number of reasons to invest in a Coldtainer unit: • Designed to meet all safety and transport requirements for foodstuff delivery.

• Efficient power options allow you

to just plug into the wall and charge.

• Easily swap units between vehicles.

• Mobile app allows for precise realtime temperature monitoring • Multiple sizes and loading options to fit in any vehicle size.

• Hot, refrigerated, and frozen units.

• No internal joints or edges makes cleaning simple and easy.

• No expensive van conversions or liners required.

• Single body construction allows for thicker, more robust insulation for precise temperature control.

There is a Coldtainer model for nearly any food service company looking for temperature-controlled storage solutions. If you are interested in learning if Coldtainer is for you, visit their website www.coldtainerusa.com and explore their product configurator to find the right product for your vehicle. You can also fill out a form on their website or call 877-757-5974 to learn more.

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RESTAURANT SUCCESS that you can defer, it becomes very difficult for you to operate or grow. That’s because it allows you to take the extra cash flow to reinvest into your business. Or if you’re looking into trying to survive a recession, you can pinpoint which payments that you can pay later on and not have to stress right now.

7. Additional Funding The number one thing that drives businesses to the ground and into bankruptcy is cashflow. Without cashflow and without that extra $10,000 that they need to stay afloat for just that extra month, all their life’s work goes down the drain.

So where can we get additional money from?

This could be from: • your line of credit, • from your existing bank, • your personal funding, • your friends and family • government grants and programs Aside from knowing where we can get extra money, we want to know how much we can get. That way we understand the amount of cushion that we have if we are successful in obtaining the injection of funds.

8. Inefficient Assets Some people love hoarding things.

Some don’t. Regardless which camp you sit in, I bet there are assets and equipment in your restaurant that you can liquidate for cash. Assets that are not making you any money whatso-

RESTAURANT MARKETING tell them how they can use the offer they saw in the advertisement.

This style of marketing not only finds new customers, but it also enters them into your customer database and sets the foundation for that essential customer relationship. Similarly to how you built out the conversation your chat bot had with new customers, you can do the same through text and email to reach your existing customers. That means whenever you want to send a blast to your custom-

from page 28 ever.

For example, you might have a food truck just sitting in the back of your restaurant and you haven’t touched it for a year. Maybe it’s because it wasn’t as successful as you thought it would be or the extra cramped environment wasn’t your thing. Regardless, it is just sitting out there and can be liquidated so you can get your money to work for you.

Identify all the inefficiencies from your business, so then that way you can run a lean and machine that’s going to generate you cash all the time.

9. Personal Burn Rate This is something that rarely anyone talks about. It is something business owners sort of just ignore because we try to separate our personal expenditures from the business as much as possible. But it isn’t that simple.

For most owners, their restaurant and food business is their whole livelihood. It helps put food on the table. So you’d want your “cash cow” to do the best right? It naturally is connected to your standard of living.

So when you identify your own monthly spending, you can assess where you could shave off and possibly funnel that extra money into your business when push comes to shove.

Yes we still need a place to live. Yes we may still need a car to drive to work.

Yes we still need to have our own luxury here and there. But certain decisions you make in your personal life could be put aside for your business

and save in case for rainy times and develop a larger cushion.

•

10. Have An Ongoing Action Plan At the end of every financial planner’s session - after taking stock of your situation - it’s then time to put things into action. Similarly, you’ve now taken stock of your current business health. You can imagine whether your business is in a dire situation (bankruptcy is just around the corner) or you’re in a spectacular place (you have a good cushion and can be out of business for 3 months). You’ve taken stock of your situation.

If you sit in the former camp, this is the time to build an action plan so you can step into that spectacular place.

Project in the next three months with all the vital signs that you have, how are you going to be able to come out above all this craziness?

• What is your current cash balances?

• How much cushion do you have?

• Who still owes you money?

• How much does it amount to?

• What is your cash flow right now?

• What is your cash burn rate?

• How much time left do you have if you do nothing?

• Identify all your variable and fixed expenses.

• What are the low hanging fruits you can change right now?

What deferral programs are there?

• What can you defer right now?

• What additional funding sources are out there for you?

• How much can you get?

• List all the inefficient assets you have.

• What’s your personal burn rate?

This becomes your action plan to transform your business’ poor health.

And in times of a global pandemic, assessing your business’ health is super important for you to be able to communicate with your partners, with your vendors, with your lenders, and most importantly, with the team that you have.

Whether they were laid off or whether the fact that you are going to hire them again, this gives them confidence and this becomes part of the transparent culture that you want to create.

When times are better, you need your core staff and you need that culture to be in place. And this, if done right and when executed right, gives them so much more confidence in your ability to lead them out of any darkness.

Assessing your business’ health isn’t a one time thing. Older folks do it once a year. I would recommend you do the same.

For more small business and restaurant tips & strategies to help you grow, check out Wilson’s webiste at https:// wilsonklee.com/

to higher unsubscription rates and lead to overall desensitization to your announcements.

Chat bots can also be used for much more than direct message marketing!

As you get more familiar with your chat software, you can use it to create a chat assistant for your restaurant’s website. It can help answer customer questions about the menu and your restaurant’s locations. Chat bots can even assist you with online ordering.

While this may sound intimidating,

chat marketing is one of the most effective ways to market your restaurant. When done properly, it is sure to pay off. There are also plenty of free online resources available to help you through building your chat marketing foundation.

Now more than ever, it’s imperative to create and maintain your restaurant’s relationships with your customers. COVID-19 may be keeping people further apart, but that doesn’t mean we have to lose our connections.

from page 46 ers about a special event or a deal that your restaurant is having, you have a direct line of communication to them.

When it comes to how frequently you are messaging your subscriber list, be realistic about how often your customers would want to hear from you. If you have big news or a special offer that you think they would love, by all means send a blast. But don’t get carried away with texts every week or every couple days. Messaging your customers too often can lead

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NEWS

EVENT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

“TASTINGS 2.0” VIRTUAL CATERING & EVENTS UNITES MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

L

et’s reinvent for the time being our personal celebrations and important business dinners, our intimate conversations and family reunions in times of social distancing and stay-at-home policies. The bespoke New York based caterer Tastings has developed Tastings 2.0, a service to organize tailored, small or large virtual cocktails and meals, which could happen simultaneously in New York City, the Hamptons and Miami.

“We needed to imagine the way people and businesses could entertain now that they cannot gather anymore,” explains the founder and owner of Tastings Alexandra Morris. “If someone wants to invite to his or her virtual home colleagues, friends or family members for a special dinner or a birthday—and wants to delegate the care of every little detail—we can make it possible by delivering every invitee in the privacy of their homes the same food, already plated, as if they were attending a white-glove event or sitting at nice restaurant,”.

Tastings 2.0 Virtual Catering & Events offers an extensive menu of healthy, packaged meals tailored to each of our clients’ personalities and entertaining styles and prepared by our chefs with all necessary healthy safeties. Tastings’ experienced and safe waiting staff delivers to each guest’s residence the same experience, food and beverage with an eclectic plate-ware for their home to create a collection with each dinner party they participate in. These are protectively packaged and accompanied by a signature note of gratitude.

“To complement the savory and sweet dishes, we have decided to partner with Vranken Pommery America to offer a large selection of French wines, American sparkling, and champagne, including Pommery Apanage, Diamant, and the high end Cuvée Louise,” Morris adds.

“I am a New Yorker,” Morris says, “and in New York, people show resilience, creativity and solidarity.” The owner of two restaurants in Manhattan and the organizer of some of the largest cocktails and dinner parties in Miami, the Hamptons and New York City, Tastings had to reinvent itself. “There is no secret that the impact of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the hospitality and the restaurant industries, and we have no visibility on when this sector will be able to resume its activities,”

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Morris says. “By proposing a service adapted to our new—and hopefully temporary—way of life we can accomplish two things: we can make it easier and more fun for our loyal clients to entertain while creating new work opportunities for chefs, cooks, and waiters whose professional future remains otherwise uncertain.”

Tastings 2.0 Virtual Catering & Events can expand to: Virtual Corporate Conferences, Public speaking opportunities, Wine + Champagne conversation dinners gatherings, Weddings and Social gathering.

“We want our Tastings NYC | Hamptons | SoFlo, friends, and family to continue dreaming about happy moments shared with their loved ones and colleagues. Today, we are discussing the future. A future that will in many ways be different than our past, but a future that will make us appreciate everything so much”

Morris adds. #StrongerTogether Tastings 2.0 will donate 20% of its virtual dinners to City Harvest SKIP LUNCH FIGHT HUNGER. Tastings partnership with City Harvest ‘Skip Lunch Fight Hunger’ initiative provides meals for kids on school breaks that would not have school provided meals. It has been expanded during the Coronavirus Pandemic to provide daily nourishing and balanced meals to children around NYC. About “TASTINGS NYC + SoFLO since its inception has evolved into a premier specialist in the art of entertaining within the hospitality industry. We specialize in fine dining, food beverage and service to fit the style of your entertaining needs.

Together with a modern twist on French-American and re-invented Classic cuisines of the world.

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DELIVERING

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integrity The ibp Trusted Excellence® brand delivers more than just beef and pork.

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