November 2020 - Total Food Service

NEWS

LEGISLATION

NJ RESTAURANTS IN MIDDLE OF SEMANTICS SPAT OVER $35 MILLION AID PACKAGE

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bill that would reimburse restaurants for the indoor dining false start in July has been vetoed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

The reason the bill was vetoed, said Murphy in a statement to the Senate, is because $35 million of CARES Act funding — which helps residents and businesses struggling because of the pandemic — had recently been allocated to resuscitate the foundering restaurant industry.

The New Jersey bill would have allowed $30 million from federal block grants given to the state from

“It’s unbelievable that Governor Murphy would veto targeted relief funds to cover losses that restaurants incurred to comply with his changing executive orders. It’s a slap in the face to an industry that’s struggling to survive.”— Anthony Bucco, R-Boonton, the CARES Act to be allocated to the Economic Development Authority (EDA). The EDA would then dole out money to restaurants through loans or grants.

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The bill was introduced to the Senate to reimburse restaurants for some of the money spent on food and supplies in the days before restaurants were supposed to be able

to open for indoor dining in July.

Restaurant owners were told by Murphy they would be allowed to begin serving customers indoors at 25% capacity on July 2.

In preparation for indoor service, many restaurant owners rushed to buy food, protective gear for employees, plexiglass barriers and cleaning supplies.

On June 29, three days before indoor dining was set to open, Murphy announced it would be postponed indefinitely. He cited overcrowding at outdoor dining areas and patrons

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

NEWS

MARKETING STRATEGIES

RESTAURANTS ARE FOCUS AS NYC & CO UNVEILS ROADMAP FOR TOURISM RECOVERY

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new initiative is seeking to help revitalize New York City’s tourism scene as the city continues to slowly reopen.

In an effort to help New Yorkers reconnect with the city, the Coalition for NYC Hospitality & Tourism Recovery, an initiative of NYC & Company, recently unveiled its roadmap for tourism reimagining and recovery, a Stay Well NYC Pledge and new revitalization campaign, All In NYC. These new initiatives aim to remind people that New York City is now one of the safest cities from a pub-

“Created by New Yorkers for New Yorkers, All In NYC is a rallying cry and campaign platform designed to help unite New Yorkers around the immutable spirit that they share and the infinite experiences this city offers them.” — Fred Dixon lic health perspective, and help the City’s more than 403,000 tourism and hospitality employees return to work.

“The challenge of rebuilding tourism cannot be underestimated,”

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said NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon. “This roadmap and revitalization campaign are a significant first step to rally New Yorkers to safely explore their city once again and energize the busi-

ness community as NYC comes back to life. Tourism recovery will be gradual but certain, and NYC & Company is All In on NYC.” The All In NYC: The Roadmap for Tourism’s Reimagining and Recovery outlines three stages: Rise, Renew and Recover. Across these three stages, there will be messaging and tourism-friendly programs that will first target towards metro residents, then as conditions allow, will expand to regional, domestic and, ultimately, to international travel-

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

NEWS

STATE FUNDING

CT RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AND GOVERNOR LAMONT AT ODDS OVER FUNDING

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onnecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has announced he is creating a pandemic stimulus program that will grant small businesses $5,000, But the state restaurant association says that’s not enough.

Late last month, the governor said he was committing $50 million from the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund, which utilizes federal CARES Act funding, to create the Connecticut CARES Small Business Grant Program. The program will provide businesses and nonprofits in Connecticut that have fewer than twenty employees or a 2019 payroll of less than $1.5 million with a one-time grant of $5,000.

“When it comes to the economic impact of this ongoing, global pan-

Scott Dolch, Executive Director, CT Restaurant Association

“How can it make sense for Connecticut to put a maximum of $5,000 on its small business grants when Maine is allowing up to $100K, New Hampshire up to $300K, and Vermont up to $350K?” — Scott Dolch demic, the smallest businesses have been hit the hardest, and I’ve spoken with so many owners who are doing their best to keep their workers employed and their businesses active during this incredibly challenging time,” Governor Lamont said.

The CT Restaurant Association Executive Director Scott Dolch noted that the $5K, while appreciated, falls short of what those businesses need.

“Just looking at the rest of New England draws a stark comparison,” Dolch said. “How can it make sense for Connecticut to put a maximum of $5,000 on its small business grants when Maine is allowing up to $100K, New Hampshire up to $300K, and Vermont up to $350K? Not only that, but each of these states, while smaller in population, has a program that is larger in total dollars than Connecticut’s at $50 million.”

“This grant program will help provide some relief to these small businesses that are working each day to get through this,” according to a statement from Lamont. “However, there is only so much that we have available for this program, and I urge Congress to reach a deal and adopt a much-needed relief package that will

6 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

help give our economy a boost and speed up the recovery.”

The program is being administered by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. The grants can be used for payroll, rent, utilities, inventory, purchase of machinery or equipment, or costs associated with compliance of the ongoing Reopen Connecticut Business Sector Rules.

Dolch said that by limiting the program to businesses with 20 full-time employees or less, “Connecticut will leave thousands of small businesses ineligible, which is why most states are using a 50 full-time employee limit or higher.”

The governor is directing DECD to commit half of the funds to small businesses and nonprofits that are located in towns and cities designated as distressed municipalities.

The state’s previous program to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Connecticut Recovery Bridge Loan program, provided $41.8 million in loans to 2,122 companies across Connecticut.

The Hartford based the CRA is a full service, nonprofit trade association dedicated to support every type

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

Follow @TotalFoodService

continued on page 102

Cover photo courtesy of Happy Cooking Hospitality Total Food Service ISSN No. 1060-8966 is published 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.

Periodicals Postage paid at the post office, Greenwich, CT and additional mailing offices. Additional entry at the post office in Pittsburgh, PA. Subscription rate in USA is $36 per year; single copy, $3.00. Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Food Service, P.O. Box 2507, Greenwich, CT 06836

and size of restaurant. Under Dolch they advocate for the Connecticut restaurant industry and serve as a hub for information and a platform for networking. The group has been integral in working close with Lamont and the Connecticut legisalture to get the state’s restaurant reopened.

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

NEWS

TAKEOUT & DELIVERY

HUMM TAKES PLUNGE WITH ELEVEN MADISON PARK TAKEOUT DEBUT

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ichelin three-star restaurant Eleven Madison Park has joined a growing list of high-end establishments in New York to offer takeout and delivery services for the first time, as the hospitality industry as a whole continues to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The restaurant’s “EMP To Go,” a dinner kit that consists of a ready-tocook Green Circle chicken with sides, and a dessert prepared by chef Daniel Humm , is now available for pickup at six locations throughout the New York metro area. Consumers can order in advance at Tock for pickup or home delivery.

“We have been open for delivery, and we look forward to expanding our horizons with home gourmet offerings

in a complete meal kit,” Humm said.

Packaged to feed two, the Eleven Madison Park comes with a brioche, foie gras, and black truffle stuffed chicken, that is paired with their signature granola, baked butternut squash, bitter greens salad, potato gratin, and an apple tart for dessert.

In addition to the flagship restaurant at 11 Madison Avenue, the other five locations for pickup include Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza; Montclair, N.J.; Bedford , Westchester; Greenwich, Conn.; and East Hampton, N.Y. The kit costs $275. With each order, Eleven Madison Park will provide 10 meals for the needy through Rethink, a food charity Humm helped found.

The pick-up offerings are an ongoing initiative leading up to the res-

The lavish interior at Eleven Madison Park has been closed since March

8 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

“We have been open for delivery, and we look forward to expanding our horizons with home gourmet offerings in a complete meal kit.” — Chef Daniel Humm taurant’s reopening. It will also offer special holiday-themed dinner sets for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the restaurant tells Penta.

Although New York City has the Open Restaurants Program, which allows restaurants in the city to extend seating onto streets, sidewalks, and public spaces, and indoor dining is permitted as long as it’s within 25% of capacity, challenges remain, with some patrons hesitant to dine inside even as cold weather looms.

Eleven Madison Park, famous for its multiplecourse tasting menus, remains shuttered, and it has yet to announce when it will once again take reservations for dining.

Eleven Madison Park is an American restaurant located inside the Metropolitan Life North Building at 11 Madison Avenue in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. It ranked third among The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2016, and topped the list in 2017.

The restaurant, designed by Bentel & Bentel, is located in the Metropolitan Life North Building, facing Madison Square, at the in-

tersection of Madison Avenue and 24th Street. The restaurant originally opened in 1998 and was owned by restaurateur Danny Meyer. In 2006, Chef Humm and Will Guidara began working at Eleven Madison Park and in 2011 they purchased it from Meyer. Guidara has since moved on to new ventures.

Since the pandemic hit, a growing list of more than 30 Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City and Westchester County, which tend to have long waiting lists, have offered takeout services for the first time, according to the Michelin Guide.

Other Michelin three-star restaurants offering takeout services include Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, and Masa , both of which are in Manhattan’s Midtown West.

At Masa, the most expensive sushi restaurant in the U.S., chef Masa Takayama is selling 20 boxes of sushi or sashimi each priced at $800 every Friday. Each box is meant to feed up to four people. The box is less expensive than a typical omakase at Masa, which runs $595 per person.

The takeout fare at Chef’s Table features a three-course a la carte menu, which has included Alaskan King crab salad, Norwegian langoustine with garlic, braised beef cheeks, and green tea tiramisu. Entrees are priced at $38 and above. A two-day advanced order through Caviar is required.

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

NEWS

SAEFTY PROTOCOLS

Article By Francine L. Shaw, President of Savvy Food Safety, Inc. (savvyfs.com)

COVID-19 HAS FOREVER CHANGED THE FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY

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OVID-19 has completely disrupted the foodservice industry. Because of stay-at-home orders, restaurants have been unable to serve guests onsite for months. In certain jurisdictions when restaurants could reopen, they had to follow new regulations to restrict crowds and limit onsite capacity.

CDC protocols mean restaurants and other food businesses must elevate cleaning and disinfecting, implement social distancing, wear personal protective equipment (PPE), etc. These new COVID-19 protocols are in addition to the food safety procedures all foodservice professionals must continue to follow, such as avoiding crosscontamination, storing foods properly, cooking to proper temperatures, accommodating food allergies correctly, etc.

In addition to making major business changes and implementing additional COVID-19 protocols, food businesses must also deal with supply chain disruptions.

There have been – and continue to be – product shortages, and food businesses may not be able to consistently secure necessary items.

The COVID-19 crisis has been unexpected, frightening, frustrating, and overwhelming. Now, seven+ months into the

crisis, basic COVID-19 protocols have become our “new normal.”

For the most part, washing hands, frequent disinfecting, practicing social distancing, wearing face masks, and following other CDC guidelines have become standard operating procedure for food businesses.

Unfortunately, COVID-related changes will likely be long-term and could even have permanent impacts on our industry. In addition to the basic COVID-19 protocols and practices listed above, also implement the following to manage safety, mitigate risks, and make employees

10 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

The COVID-19 crisis has been unexpected, frightening, frustrating, and overwhelming. Now, seven+ months into the crisis, basic COVID-19 protocols have become our “new normal.” and guests feel more comfortable: • Demonstrate that you’re taking every safety precaution. Many consumers remain wary about dining out, traveling, shopping, and partaking in other activities, due to the ongoing fear of contracting COVID-19. Adding to consumers’ concerns, recent reports link eating in restaurants with an increased risk of contracting coronavirus. Demonstrate – through words and actions – that you’re taking every precaution to prevent COVID-19, norovirus, Hep A, and other contagious illnesses – as well as foodborne illnesses. Communicate – in person, through social media, via signage and media interviews – that you’re taking every precaution to keep employees, guests, and your community safe. Then walk the walk. Customers should see employees cleaning and disinfecting regularly, keeping proper social distance from others, wearing PPE, and fol-

lowing other guidelines dictated by the CDC and your local jurisdiction.

Customers need constant reassurance that you’re prioritizing safety.

Otherwise, they won’t give you their business.

• Update your crisis plan. In our wildest dreams, we could have never envisioned a global health crisis like what we’re experiencing this year.

The initial days, weeks, and months of the pandemic were chaotic, as we all grappled with what to do and how to stay safe. COVID-19 reinforced the need for clear, concise crisis management plans to guide us, regardless of the crisis situation.

While the specific messaging will depend on the particulars of the incident, keep your plan updated and readily available. Ideally, your plan should identify the crisis team (person in charge, spokesperson, legal representative, etc.) and emergency personnel (e.g., police, fire, ambulance, local health department, poison control, etc.) with all contact information compiled.

• Prioritize training. Food safety training is more essential than ever before, as employees work to incor-

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1-800-MTUCKER November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 11

NEWS

LEGISLATION

PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR AND RESTAURANT COMMUNITY DIFFER ON FUNDING THRESHOLD FOR SURVIVAL

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ennsylvania plans to offer $20 million in relief to the state’s beleaguered hospitality industry, Gov. Tom Wolf, announced late last month.

The State’s trade group called the offer woefully inadequate for helping bars and restaurants survive the pandemic.

The state intends to waive liquor license fees in 2021 for more than 16,000 restaurants and bars, clubs, caterers and hotels, said Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who recently vetoed Republican legislation that would have loosened pandemic restrictions on the food and beverage sector.

“COVID continues to hurt this industry in a particularly awful way.

They need our help now,” Wolf said at a news conference at the upscale Pittsburgh restaurant LeMont. The plan requires approval by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

Industry groups reacted coolly to Wolf’s proposal, saying it will barely make a dent in their members’ staggering financial losses.

John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, called Wolf’s offer an “olive branch” that won’t do much to help. “If the restaurant industry is the backbone of Pennsylvania’s economy,” Longstreet said, “then our governor needs to understand our backs are broken.”

Bars and restaurants have been reeling from the pandemic and the

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen that even when owners, employees and patrons do everything right, the very nature of COVID continues to make gathering in restaurants at full capacity really dangerous. But that’s not the fault of the restaurant owners... and therefore they should not be forced to bear the financial burden of this alone.” — Governor Tom Wolf state’s efforts to contain it. The Wolf administration has imposed occupancy limits and other rules, including a prohibition on bar seating and a requirement that alcohol be served with food, that state health officials say are necessary to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Pennsylvania, like many other states, is dealing with a fall resurgence of COVID-19.

Bar and restaurant owners have been fighting the restrictions for months, saying the Wolf administration has no evidence they’re responsible for rising case numbers.

Industry officials have warned that thousands of establishments are in danger of closing permanently without relief from the state.

Chuck Moran, executive director of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association, noted: that “while licensing fee help is part of the solution, much more needs to be done” to help bars and restaurants stay afloat.

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Last week, Wolf vetoed a Republican-sponsored bill that would have let restaurants and bars reopen at up to full capacity, saying it would have increased the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks. Wolf has vetoed a series of GOP bills designed to eliminate or water down his pandemic restrictions.

Wolf said the virus forced his hand, but he stressed he remains committed to supporting bars and restaurants financially during the pandemic. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen that even when owners, employees and patrons do everything right, the very nature of COVID continues to make gathering in restaurants at full capacity really dangerous,” he said.

“But that’s not the fault of the restaurant owners ... and therefore they should not be forced to bear the financial burden of this alone.”

Wolf has been pressing the General Assembly to approve a $100 million aid package for the hospitality industry, including restaurants and

bars, and take other steps to provide relief. The money would come from Pennsylvania’s share of the federal coronavirus relief law, of which about $1 billion remains unspent.

House Republican spokesperson Jason Gottesman said legislative Republicans will be “examining the best uses of that money given our $4 billion budget deficit and the many areas of state and local government impacted by COVID-19.” Gottesman called Wolf’s liquor fee plan a “half measure of help,” saying the state’s hospitality industry is threatened by the governor’s “overbroad and onerous restrictions that are backed neither by science nor common sense.”

Republicans also circulated a June letter from Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board officials that said the board lacks authority to reduce statutory license fees and surcharges without legislative action.

Liquor board spokesperson Shawn Kelly said the board is “evaluating its authority to waive various categories of fees” and will address Wolf’s proposal at its meeting next week after completing a fiscal and legal review.

“Pennsylvania regulations empower the liquor board to charge fees, and, by implication, to refrain from charging them,” said Wolf spokesperson Elizabeth Rementer.

She added the Republican-led General Assembly “has failed to provide meaningful relief for these licensees despite having every opportunity to do so.”

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

NEWS

TAX SOLUTIONS

Article by David Joseph, Co-founder of DAVO Sales Tax (www.davosalestax.com)

IS NOW THE TIME TO MOVE TO A CLOUD POS?

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here is one thing that none of us can buy – more time No matter how limitless your resources are, there will always be 24 hours in a day and for most business owners this is never enough. Now more than ever, it is imperative that owners find every time and money saving efficiency possible to get through COVID. The old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” has been a restaurant industry mantra forever. But we now live in a tech driven world and it’s time to change if your business is going to survive and grow. You need to do more with less, which means streamlining tedious tasks.

The best way to do more with less is to use technology - and that starts with a cloud POS For restaurants, the technology upgrade starts with the POS. Upgrading to a cloud POS will get you more than a fancy looking new cash register. Cloud POS systems enable you to leverage technology that can streamline scheduling, inventory, payroll, bookkeeping, online orders, loyalty, gift programs, sales tax management, and more.

Face it, you didn’t open a restaurant to spend your time in the back office, so why not automate these tasks?

Here’s an example of what cloud POS can do for you. Many cloud POS systems offer applications such as Homebase (joinhomebase.com) for quickly creating and managing employee schedules. Scheduling apps

on a cloud POS not only allow you to create schedules, but you can also efficiently make adjustments, communicate with your employees at the touch of a button, and better manage labor costs. The POS even functions as the time clock your employees will use to clock in and out. Then, when it is time to run payroll, the combined schedule and time clock app communicate directly with your payroll provider, enabling a quick download directly to your payroll company.

Another repetitive task you must regularly manage is sales tax, which contributes absolutely zero dollars to your bottom line. From making sure you have enough money set aside to remembering to file and pay each month or quarter, sales tax can create untold risks and expense if mismanaged. As a former restaurant owner myself, I hated managing sales tax so much that I started DAVO Sales Tax (davosalestax.com).

We’re able to use the technology behind cloud POS to fully take sales

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tax management off your hands.

It’s not difficult to adopt cloud POS and the benefits kick in on Day 1 You have tons of options when it comes to cloud POS, from Clover, Square, Toast, Lightspeed Restaurant, Upserve, Heartland Restaurant, Poynt, Revel, and others. Feel free to reach out to me directly at david@davosalestax.com, tell me about your business and which back office tasks you’d like to stop doing, and I’ll help point you in the right direction to begin your cloud POS journey.

If you want to do more with less and stretch every hard earned dollar

to the max, you need to adopt cloud POS technology and the best place to start is in the back office. Get rid of tedious jobs that take time and resources yet contribute very little to your business.

David Joseph is the co-founder of DAVO Sales Tax (davosalestax. com) and a former restaurant owner.

DAVO Automated Sales Tax integrates with many popular POS systems to set aside sales tax daily and file and pay it when it’s due, on-time, and in-full. Put your sales tax on autopilot and never worry about it again.

David can be reached at david@ davosalestax.com or (888) 659-8432.

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

FIORITO ON INSURANCE

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ‘WILLFUL MISCONDUCT’ CLAIMS IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Authored by HUB International

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class action lawsuit against several hospitality concerns on the Las Vegas Strip is one of three recently filed alleging employer willful misconduct in allowing unsafe work conditions related to COVID-19.

In normal times, claims under Part B, or the employers’ liability section of workers’ compensation policies, are unusual as it’s difficult and complex to adjudicate “serious and willful” employer misconduct.

The pandemic, however, has led to numerous such claims across various industries including hospitality – and the workers’ compensation insurance marketplace has gotten more volatile in their wake. Although typically a rare claim – and award, it has been the basis of a growing number of lawsuits against employers in the restaurant and food service industry related to their COVID-19 safety measures.

The upshot is a red flag of warning to the hospitality industry to be prepared on two fronts moving forward:

In normal times, claims under Part B, or the employers’ liability section of workers’ compensation policies, are unusual as it’s difficult and complex to adjudicate “serious and willful” employer misconduct.

The pandemic, however, has led to numerous such claims across various industries including hospitality. ket hardened. But today, COVID-19 and related issues like high unemployment have pushed it to the head of the pack over concerns around rising rates and escalating claim

1. Take a hard look at your workers’ compensation strategy.

At the start of 2020, workers’ compensation was a positive light in a dim environment for most insurance lines as the mar16 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

frequency. And employers’ liability is the critical emerging risk for the times. Consult with your broker about adding it as an underlying policy to your umbrella/excess in-

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, Robert 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.

surance at limits that are appropriate for the circumstances.

2. Employing the best practices will offer the best protection.

Hospitality employers will reduce their liability for COVID-19 related employer willful misconduct under their workers’ compensation policies if they have done the job of pandemic planning. That starts with following basic OSHA guidelines for ensuring a safe workplace, and then adding the CDC guidelines for COVID-19. It means implementing safe work practices, posting the right notices, making sure people are trained in safety measures, following through on policies and procedures, and documenting every action in support of a safe workplace. Start with worker safety, but the bigger need for the times is to refocus more broadly on strategic risk management for the enterprise.

Please contact me directly if this is something you might be interested in learning more about. Leading global insurance brokerage, HUB International, has dedicated experts who can answer any of your questions.

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

NEWS

PACKAGING TRENDS

TECHNOMIC COMPLETES NEW RESEARCH REFLECTING PACKAGING’S IMPACT ON TAKEOUT & DELIVERY SUCCESS

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mong the pandemic’s most significant impact over the past six months has been a change in the importance of Takeout & Delivery for Metro New York and the nation’s restaurateurs.

“What at one time was simply a supplement to many foodservice operators has evolved into a crucial revenue stream,” noted industry professor Steve Zagor who teaches at both Columbia University and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Supporting the veteran educator’s comments is new research from Technomic.

Technomic sought to understand the impact of different packaging choices on the consumer-perceived quality of a delivered meal. Is there a packaging solution available to protect the temperature, texture, and taste of the meal? The answer is yes, Crisp Food Technologies® containers from Anchor Packaging. These containers protected fried food’s temperature and texture, after a simulated 30-minute delivery period, better than any other packages tested.

Notably, consumer participants also reported the food delivered in these packages tasted best.

For 50 plus years, the restaurant and foodservice industry has looked to Technomic to help make sense of the marketplace changes.

Technomic, Inc., was

“The right packaging speaks volumes to your customer about the commitment you have to doing it right,” — Professor Steve Zagor founded as a management consulting firm in 1966.

The new report notes that although takeout and home delivery of food has existed in some form for decades, the most significant growth has come in the last five years. It identifies millennials, and later Gen Z’s as the driving force behind this disruptive change in how consumers preferred to receive their food to maximize lifestyle convenience.

Even before the events associated

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with Covid-19, analysts and industry experts predicted exponential growth of takeout & delivery to $88 Billion by 2023. The report outlines how the pandemic brought legislative dictates, including associated shelter-in-place laws and restaurant indoor dining facilities’ mandated closures. These factors were the catalyst behind how home delivery and takeout quickly became the predominant means for American consumers to obtain prepared food.

Most importantly, the experts cited uniformly agree that the long-term impact of takeout & delivery growth is here to stay.

Even when the virus is no longer a threat, offpremise dining will remain at elevated rates and increase further, as consumers have been exposed to a new level of convenience and their behavior irrevocably changed.

“Convenience can only drive that marketplace if the quality of the food enables the consumer to replicate their restaurant experience,” added Professor Zagor of Columbia and ICE. Off-premise dining inherently comes with the significant challenge of delivering a restaurant-quality

food experience after an average of 30 minutes of transit time. This challenge is incredibly daunting for fried foods, where taste satisfaction is almost entirely dependent on maintaining both texture and temperature. Technomic’s research outlined that non-fried foods adversely affected by excess moisture pose a similar obstacle to maintaining quality.

Many restaurants and foodservice operators were not prepared for the challenges that came with growth in an area where they had little or no expertise. As foodservice operators began to respond to the increase in online ordering and delivery, they initially approached the opportunity only as an increase in business-asusual.

However, many quickly realized the difficulties presented by technology, including limited or non-existent ordering platforms. As they scrambled to find efficient hardware and software to support the increasing demand, operators also found that to-go packaging, which had previously approached with a “doggy bag” mentality, had significantly grown in importance.

“The right packaging speaks volumes to your customer about the commitment you have to doing it right,” Zagor added. Technomic’s report found that traditional food packaging may no longer be adequate when there is a significant time lapse between prep and consumption. This lapse is primarily due to food having to travel further to serve consumers off-premise. The average 30 minutes added for delivered meals can negatively impact food temperature and taste, presenting a challenge, and in many cases an obstacle, to meeting

continued on page 89

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

NEWS

By Wyatt Semenuk

EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

HOSHIZAKI SETS NEW COURSE WITH EXPANDED OFFERINGS AND NEW NJ DISTRIBUTION HUB

I

f a business can not only survive, but flourish in the age we are living in, it is truly a testament to that business’ strength and quality. This is exactly what Hoshizaki, one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of food service equipment, has done. With an ever-expanding line of ice makers and other equipment, as well as a brand new distribution hub opening in New Jersey, Hoshizaki once again proves its illustrious reputation is well earned.

Hoshizaki is well-known in part due to the sheer quality of the equipment they produce. “One of the reasons customers love Hoshizaki is because of the quality of our equipment,” said Jon O’Hern, VP of Sales. “When customers order our products, they know that the products they’ll receive are of the highest quality and utmost durability. The quality allows them to provide the best dining experiences possible while the durability allows them to do so consistently and costeffectively. Because Hoshizaki has fostered this reputation, we are the first choice for many who find themselves in need of the highest quality ice making and refrigeration.”

“We have also found as we continue to grow that factory-direct representation and the right selection of an independent rep has become a key to us maximizing our commitment to service,” added Brian Rakers, Northeast Regional Sales Director. “We pride ourselves on how easy it is to do business with Hoshizaki. Although we occasionally utilize independent distributors, nearly 50 to 60 percent of our business is conducted by our own area sales managers, and goes through our company-owned distribution centers, such as our latest in New Jersey. This allows Hoshizaki to

“We pride ourselves on how easy it is to do business with Hoshizaki.” — Brian Rakers provide an elevated level of service and knowledge to its customers.”

Covid has made this aspect particularly important. Many restaurants and dealers simply cannot afford to spend resources navigating overly complex processes to procure the equipment they need to operate.

“An intimate knowledge of our products allows us to instruct our dealer base and allows them to then convey that knowledge to the end-user,” said O’Hern.

Hoshizaki has also expanded its field representation in Metro New York. In 2018, it appointed Westchester based Tri-State Marketing to support its efforts in the five boroughs of New York City. Last month, it expanded the reach of the rep firm, led

by Lynne Schultz and Bart Gobioff, to work with the dealer and consultant

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

community in the Garden State.

With the widest array of icemakers on the market, Hoshizaki can meet nearly any demand. Among their latest offerings are machines capable of producing chewable ice. “Chewable ice is a form of ice that is softer and lighter than the traditional cubes most people are used to. This variety goes particularly well with products such as soft drinks. Many of the largest chains such as 7-11, Chick-fil-A and Sonic have begun transitioning to this,” noted the VP of Sales.

With an eye towards growth in cocktail sales, Hoshizaki has even begun to produce their own unique varieties of ice. “Brand new to the marketplace is our new sphere ice,” O’Hern informed us. “Sphere ice is essentially an extremely solid, perfectly spherical piece of ice designed

Hoshizaki’s sphere shaped specialty ice is solid, clear and designed for high-end cocktails and spirits

for high-end cocktails and spirits.

This is yet another example of how Hoshizaki listens to the needs of the customer base and responds with new solutions. We knew that the craft beverage market and high-end bars were rising in popularity leading up to Covid, so we worked with our parent company in Japan to bring over some of the technology they were using, and incorporated it into our own products,” added the VP of Sales.

In an age where health and safety are the top priority for every establishment, Hoshizaki is constantly innovating and updating their products to meet the new standards that have been set for the industry. “Safety has always been extremely important to us,” said O’Hern. “All of our icemakers come standard with stainless-steel evaporators, which allow for the use of harsher cleaning agents without any detriment to the machine. Our latest ice machine products include CleanAssist which reduces cleaning time by 65%. This allows operators to simply pour cleaning chemicals into the water reservoir, flip a switch, and watch the machine clean itself.”

In addition, some of Hoshizaki’s products feature touchless dispensing, as well as antimicrobial materials which inhibit the growth of harmful pathogens on exposed surfaces of the machine. The Hoshizaki name has been synonymous with quality, innovation and reliability for over 70 years, and it continues to push for maximum customer satisfaction to this day.

Now more than ever, With the debut of Hoshizaki’s Rahway, New Jersey distribution facility, the company is poised to respond to each and every need of its dealer, consultant and end-user operator base.

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NEWS

DESIGN SOLUTIONS

WOBBLY TABLE ISSUE ELIMINATED AS OUTDOOR AND INDOOR DINING RETURNS

T

his is the story of a successful plumbing professional having dinner several years ago in Sydney, Australia. As the server presented his coffee the wobbly table that he was sat at led to the coffee being spilled much to the frustration of the owner. The owner lamented: “whoever fixes the problem of wobbly tables will be a billionaire!” and with that, a business was born.

For the first time, rather than coming at the age-old problem with a Band-Aid and hardware solution, Tony Pike took a very different approach. His experience in plumbing had him look for a fix using hydraulics, fluids, valves, and pipes.

The dreaded wobbly table has led to spilled drinks, sullied napkins, lawsuits, or just the sheer frustration of having to hold the table down for an entire meal; wobbly

“Our products eliminate age-old problems, save operators time, money and custom.” — Andy O’Donnell tables have soured many experiences.

After years of attempting to fix the issue with everything from folded cardboard to sugar packets, the industry has finally taken notice. “I think the dependence on outdoor dining resulting from COVID-19 has finally made operators look to the more permanent solution that our line offers,” noted FLAT® Tech Director of Marketing Andy O’Donnell.

“What was often overlooked is just how sidewalks, streets, and parking lots that became extensions of dining rooms were never surfaced to place tables on them.”

“I’m also convinced that, with the Pandemic, many operators now look at outdoor dining areas as ‘necessary’ extensions of their businesses. Every customer and every cover has become more important to the restaurant operation,” added O’Donnell. Maximizing the customer experience is key and customers simply won’t tolerate a waiter on their hands and knees going under the table to twist dirty glides and level a table. Compounding the issue now is

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

the hyper-focus on hygiene issues that come with an employee being on the floor. Operators need repeat business in the coming months and the details matter – wobbly tables are not acceptable, nor are they ineffective, temporary solutions that litter dining room floors.”

FLAT® Tech has brought a generation of design innovation to their portfolio of wobbly table solutions which has evolved into a line of some 40 different self-stabilizing table base styles – and more recently a range of height-adjustable bases. Their FLAT Table Bases line features a vast array of base sizes, of different shapes and construction materials depending on the table’s indoor or outdoor purpose. All FLAT table bases have FLAT® Tech’s patented technology integrated into the base for automatic stabilization and alignment with adjoining tabletops.

FLAT® Tech also offers retrofit table stabilizers for existing (wobbly) tables that are easily installed onto each foot of a table. FLAT

Equalizers are reinforced plastic feet each contain a steel, threaded piston that activates FLAT® Tech’s technology when compressed, allowing for perfect stabilization and table alignment.

“What really makes us different is how our tables provide operators with a permanent solution to wobbly and misaligned tables. We take a problem entirely off the table for

continued on page 83

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(201) 437-7440 | ImperialDade.com November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 23

TREND TALK

WITH JOYCE APPELMAN

THE NEXT BIG BITE’S WHAT’S NEXT FOR RESTAURANTS?

T

he Next Big Bite’s What’s Next for Restaurants? A Digital Conversation with Women Culinary Leaders, organized

by Les Dames d’Escoffier NY gave a candid, insightful and hopeful look at the state of the industry.

Moderator Dame Barbara Sibley (Chef/Owner, La Palapa Cocina Mexicana) and panelists Yvette Leeper-Bueno (Proprietor, Vinatería), Angie Mar, (Owner/ Executive Chef, The Beatrice Inn) and Ruth Reichl (Award-Winning Author and Food Journalist) discussed the effects of the COVID crisis on the restaurant business and what they anticipate going Barbara Sibley forward. Panelists shared personal stories as to how they innovated to stay open. Adapting quickly— whether by pivoting from indoor to outdoor dining, partnering with a charity or increasing takeout —was the key to survival.

“For our sixth annual The Next Big Bite, we felt it was important to focus on the Angie Mar

restaurant business. In addition to restaurateurs, food service workers from chefs to dishwashers, suppliers, and communities have all been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Les Dames d’Escoffier NY invited our panelists to give a realistic look at the situation and offer their vision for the future to motivate our audience to get

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

Yvette Leeper-Bueno

Ruth Reichl

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

involved and provide support,” said Sharon Franke, President Les Dames d’Escoffier NY. The Next Big Bite is dedicated to uncovering emerging trends in food, beverage and hospitality, featuring notable food and beverage experts in panel discussions.

Among the takeaways: • By remaining open, restaurants offered a sense of normalcy to the community.

• With national estimates that 35-40% of restaurant workers are undocumented who can’t apply for unemployment, taking care of their staff was paramount.

• Restaurant closures adversely affect suppliers including farmers, fish and meat purveyors and bakeries. With 85% of all fish sold eaten at restaurants and farm operating loans coming due in November, there’s a real concern about the ripple effect.

• Financial assistance from the government and angel investors is critical for local businesses, especially those owned by women and people of color.

• The politicization of COVID intersected with xenophobia, turning many Chinatowns— including New York— into ghost towns. It will

•

take full community support to help them survive.

The incredible outpouring of generosity from organizations like Off Their Plate and World Central Kitchen partnered with restaurants to feed essential workers, eradicate hunger and provide jobs for food service workers.

Good things to expect going forward: • Restaurants will continue to help feed the food insecure.

• More bistro-style, neighborhood restaurants.

• Menus that reflect customer wants and needs.

• More turnover as patrons spend less time at tables, allowing for lower prices.

• Reduced real estate prices, creating opportunities for young chefs and artists.

• A breakdown of kitchen hierarchies and the lines between the front and back of the house.

A portion of proceeds from The Next Big Bite will benefit the LDNY Scholarship Fund.

Les Dames d’Escoffier is the preeminent organization of women who are leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality. For more information, contact info@ldny.org

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PROVISIONS PREVIEWED

WITH LMT PROVISIONS

NEW TRADITIONS: REDEFINING THE HOLIDAY MENU

O

ne thing is for sure: our holiday tables will look different this year.

As the season approaches, let’s not forget the importance of presentation. Whether on a tabletop or packed for takeout or delivery, presentation offers a unique opportunity to elevate food and drink. A true strength of our industry is knowing just how to leverage that. We know what our customers want before they want it. We package, bottle, or batch it appropriately, so it feels wholesome, safe, new and exciting.

At Singer, we know that navigating this adaptation is challenging, and so is finding safe, sustainable and serviceable solutions. We built our holiday look book with takeout top of mind. In this digital sourcing guide, you’ll find some of our favorite tools to help usher in a seasonal holiday menu,

whether your guests are indoors, outdoors or taking preorders now.

We’re featuring packaging that is sustainable and design-forward. You can feel good about the decisions you’re making for your business, your customers, and the planet. Some of our favorite highlights are featured here.

The makers at VerTerra have been longtime friends and partners – Singer is one of the largest stocking foodservice dealers of their repurposed plantbased plateware and containers. We’ve seen the cool factor in their dinnerware (which is made from fallen palm leaves) for years. We’re thrilled to see that a product that is as responsibly produced as it is chic has entered mainstream foodservice channels. Expect more exciting product developments to come from VerTerra this year.

When it comes to tying the final bow

Pictured here: PacknWood’s kraft bucket and lid. Mashed potatoes by the team at the Culinary Vegetable Institute. (Photography: Michelle Demuth-Bibb)

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

around your holiday takeout menu, may we suggest PacknWood? Their extensive range of kraft containers are accented by creative boxing solutions and adorable accessories. Their prefilled renewable Bamboo mini salt and pepper shakers are a charming way to elevate any delivery order or offer a COVID-safe alternative to dine-in tabletop seasoning.

Cutlery also makes a comeback, as restaurants focus their attention toward sustainable and safe solutions.

A few of our favorites include World Centric’s compostable set, EcoProducts Vine cutlery wraps and Hoffmaster’s kraft pouch that can be easily customized.

On the cover of Total Food Service

Sarah Bulmer is the Marketing Manager for Singer Equipment Company, supporting strategic communication with Singer’s diverse range of hospitality clients and manufacturer partners. 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@singerequipment. com.

this month, you’ll also find some of Libbey’s latest solutions for secure and swift takeout service. The Aspire cutlery range features a tamper evident pouch, disposable napkin and lightweight flatware that can be reused or repurposed. Libbey has been the cornerstone of American beverage service for generations, and so it makes sense that their collection of lidded bottles is perfect for batching brews and cocktails alike.

If you’re looking for inspiration on how to utilize these sustainable packaging products in your program, look no further than Executive Chef Jamie Simpson’s team at the Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan, Ohio. This year, their team does what they do best: elevating the vegetable to bring their “Everything But The Turkey” box to your home.

We’ll be featuring these products and images on our Instagram (@singerequipmentco) throughout the month of November and we hope you’ll join us from your tablet to our table. From our famPictured here: VerTerra plate made from fallen palm ily to yours, we wish you leaves, World Centric cutlery, MyDrap cotton napkins, a happy, healthy and safe PackNWood salt and pepper shakers. Photography: holiday season.

Michelle Demuth-Bibb

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

CHEFCETERA

CHEF EDUARDO PEREZ MATTEO’S RISTORANTE ITALIANO, VENETIAN HOTEL, LAS VEGAS, NV

A

s the baseball playoffs and World Series took center stage last month, one of the commercials caught our eye. We kept seeing a happy chef working with customers and staff and wondered who he was. It turned out that the star of that Modelo beer ad is one Eduardo Pérez. When we reached out to him as the star of a national ad, we were expecting layers of publicists.

What we got was a rather shocking email saying hi and asking waht time would be good to chat directly from Chef Perez. His story.

Pérez’s life story caught the eye of Modelo Especial, the Mexican beer, which now features the chef in its latest Fighting Spirit commercial.

No matter how many times you hear stories like Eduardo’s, you can’t help but think just how many times a dishwasher with the goal can become one of the nation’s leading chef. TFS couldn’t wait to share Chef Eduardo’s amazing story with our readers.

How did a kid from Guatemala find fame and fortune in the US? I was 18 years old and like many kids looking for a better life. I was going to school and had a job as well but I wasn’t making any progress. My parents had already moved to Los Angeles and I was living with extended family and bouncing around from City to family in the county every weekend.

Everybody in Guatemala kept talking about all of the great opportunity in the US. So it began with paying a “Coyote” to get me through Mexico and into the US. But it’s funny in our case the Border Patrol agent woke us up at 5 am to welcome us the country.

We are used to hearing stories about kids graduating from the CIA or Johnson and Wales and then apprenticing in France. Not exactly your story?

When I got to LA, I started as a gardener at Spago. Then after six months, a dishwasher was off for vacation and I got my chance to fill in.

It went from there and every time someone was on vacation, I stepped in. Whenever I had a break during a shift, I would make my way over to a station in the kitchen and learn how to butcher beef, make chicken or sausage.

How did that evolve into an opportunity to cook on the line?

“I didn’t want to be a dishwasher forever and they gave me the opportunity. Slowly, I got to meet the chefs, the prep cooks at night, and I learned a lot from them. So basically Spago was my school, and all the chefs that worked at Spago were my teachers. I learned so much from them. I was prepping vegetables, then handling pastry prep.

From there, it was onto making pizzas for two years. I thought they were joking and literally I made pizzas for two years until he left.

What led to leaving Los Angeles to move to Las Vegas?

I was going to go work with a friend from California. Wolfgang found out and sold me on taking my knowledge of how he operates to work with him to open a restaurant in Las Vegas. So I did it and right in the middle of it, he asked me to go to Mexico City and help them open there.

Who were the mentors that showed you the way?

28 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Chef Eduardo Perez adds sauce to an entree, and greets customers at Matteo’s Ristorante Italiano, Venetian Hotel, in Las Vegas, NV

When I returned to Spago two months later, Joseph Manzare had taken over as chef. I was joking around and I said, ‘Joseph, how about if today, you work the pasta station and I work

the grill.’ Working the grill at Spago was like, you were the man. You were running the show. And he says, ‘Sure,

continued on page 80

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COCKTAILS TO-GO FOR THE WIN

WITH FRANCINE COHEN

TECHNOLOGY SAVES THE DAY (PART 1) The Beverage Business Gets A Boost From Embracing New Technology Opportunities

In Jackson Heights, NY, two and a half year old Queensboro quickly reopened by utilizing QR Codes via their POS system Toast to reimagine the business of serving their regulars’ favorite beverages. (Bottom right) QR Codes used at a self serve wine tasting event.

I

f the past eight months spent slogging through the COVID-19 pandemic has taught the beverage business anything, it is that technology is the partner it needs to succeed.

March saw on-premise consumption – from coffee to cocktails – grind to a screeching halt. And even

with a slow reopening nationwide beverage sales numbers remain depressed. Early on a craft distiller study revealed that the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States estimated 41% of craft distillery sales would disappear; creating a loss of $700 million and 31% of distillery employees laid off.

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

Very quickly every aspect of the beverage business recognized that for business to continue they must rethink customer engagement and find new tools to connect customers they’d normally see face to face.

Enter technology to save the day.

Classic cocktail delivery service Sourced Craft Cocktails quickly

Francine Cohen is an awardwinning journalist covering the business of the f&b/hospitality industry, and a proud native Washingtonian (DC). In addition to her work as a journalist she keeps busy fundraising for Citymeals on Wheels, Les Dames d’Escoffier, NY Women’s Culinary Alliance, and the USBG Foundation and serves as chief storyteller and brand steward for clients in the food and beverage sector by providing them with strategic marketing and business growth guidance.

She has never met a cheese or beverage she does not like, and lives with her husband in New York; leaving him behind to visit New Orleans every summer.

(Except this one. Darn pandemic.) You can reach her at francinecohen@mindspring.com

embraced technology as back end support in revamping its business model from B2B to homebound consumers.

Doing so resulted in a 792% increase in business.

Sourced founder Tim Angelillo reflects how his new technology partnerships made this possible while maintaining quality standards and staffing levels, “We are still delivering a proper craft cocktail experience, but now we are delivering it to the non-premise…your front door.

Without the tech stack this pivot would not be scalable. No amount of hard work alone could allow us to grow at almost 800%.”

He continues, “We built a completely new ecommerce platform on Shopify and new ERP to manage inventory on Katana. The difference maker that allowed us to grow seven times faster was Onfleet. Without them we couldn’t route that many deliveries and enable customers to know when drinks would arrive.

They make a really good experience for the consumer and our back of-

continued on page 88

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Q&A

EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEW

Gabriel Stulman G

abriel Stulman has been instrumental in redefining the concept of a neighborhood restaurant. With the growth of his New York City footprint, many look at him as the Mayor of the West Village.

Stulman first developed his passion for the hospitality industry while attending the University of WisconsinMadison and working in local restaurants. In 2009, after several years spent working in celebrated restaurants in New York, Gabriel and his wife Gina opened Joseph Leonard in the West Village, which became the foundation of their powerhouse restaurant group, Happy Cooking Hospitality.

In the years since, Happy Cooking added five more West Village restaurants to the family: Jeffrey’s Grocery, Fedora, bar Sardine, Fairfax, and The Jones.

In 2018, Gabriel officially extended his empire to Manhattan’s Flatiron district with two new restaurants and a bar in the Freehand New York hotel: Studio, Simon & The Whale, and George Washington Bar. Gabriel has been featured in Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40” and was named the 2012 “Restaurateur of the Year” by Esquire magazine.

Total Food Service wanted to get his thoughts on how he built his empire and how he has navigated through the pandemic to build his vision for the future.

What spurred your interest in cooking in the culinary world?

Well, I think it’s important for you to know I’m not a chef. So, I don’t want

Restaurateur and Founder/CEO, Happy Cooking Hospitality

to be misleading anyone. I loom in the business with a front of the house perspective.

What did get you interested in the restaurant business then?

Like a lot of people before me and many students after, I found my way into a restaurant, as a first necessity. I was attending the University of Wisconsin Madison, and as a student, you need money and you need a night job. If you’re 18 years old, there are not a lot of nice employment opportunities, so restaurants are a great fit.

But beyond income, I found that it brought me a sense of community. I made very dear friends with the people that I worked with at the restaurant.

From there, I became a part of a larger restaurant community that evolved where I befriended cooks, waiters and bartenders from other places.

The bartenders that worked down the street would visit our place on their day off, and then on my day off, I’d go see them. Same thing with the chef from around the corner.

That turned into a second layer of community that I became a part of and brought me even more friends. My path was a little different in that I didn’t work at a typical college bar. I worked at a place with a more adult crowd and it was a little bit more where the profes-

continued on page 34

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

Gabriel Stulman, Restaurateur and Founder/CEO, Happy Cooking Hospitality

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

Q&A

GABRIEL STULMAN, from page 32

Opened by Gabriel Stulman, Chef James McDuffee and team in 2009, Joseph Leonard is a casual West Village neighborhood spot with heart and soul, serving seasonal American food in a welcoming, relaxed setting.

sors hung out. But I fell in love with hospitality and realized that it was in fact a profession.

I found myself to be drawn to learning about food, ingredients and wine that took me far beyond the kosher home that I grew up in Virginia. I was having fun and making money and was truly inspired. It dawned on me that I could really enjoy doing this for a living.

Were there mentors that you took away from your experience in Madison?

No, because I think a mentor is too strong of a word. To me, a mentor is reserved for somebody who I spent a lot of time with, took me under their wing and taught me things. I have worked at many places and while I have learned and taken things from those experiences, I don’t think I’ve ever had a mentor in my life. But keep in mind that I was 24 when I went off on my own. By the time we opened The Little Owl, I was 25.

When did you launch your entrepreneurial career?

I was 11 years old when I turned my backpack, in junior high, into a vending machine. My goal was to undercut

the pricing in my school’s vending machine. Before too long, I had turned my locker into a larger version of a vending machine. I would have my parents take me to Sam’s Club to buy Snickers, Butterfingers, Kit Kats and Roll-Ups in bulk. Then I sold everything for 25 cents less than the vending machine and understood early on about making a profit.

I also grew up in a home with very encouraging parents. Along with my brother and sister, there were a lot of mandatory chores, and there was an allowance that you would earn. If you didn’t fulfill all of your chores, your allowance would be deducted proportionately based upon what chore you didn’t complete. They taught us that if we wanted things in life, we needed to earn the money to buy them. So if it wasn’t Hanukkah, I wasn’t getting it unless I bought it.

My parents would encourage me to sell candy, mow lawns, rake leaves or shovel driveways, so that I could make money to go buy the things that I wanted to buy. That mentality grew from wanting a Nintendo game to being a 23 year old wanting to backpack in Europe, and to go to South America.

What led to the opening of the Little

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

Owl at age 25?

I moved to New York City and was working at a restaurant called Pace. It was in Tribeca and lasted for a year. It was the fourth or fifth restaurant collaboration for business partners Jimmy Bradley and Danny Abrams. They had the Red Cat, The Harrison and Mermaid Inn and Pace where I was a bartender.

When Pace went out of business, I ran a supper club out of my apartment in the Lower East Side. I befriended the chef from Pace, and called him for connections to buy wholesale ingredients. Finally, he wanted to know why I needed massive quantities of fish or soft-shell crab. We decided that rather than him going to cook for someone else and me bartending elsewhere that we should join forces and open our own place.

I was living on the Lower East Side and rode my bicycle by a place that said store for rent by owner. I was young, naive, ambitious and bold. We found a place that was a restaurant previously with a kitchen. We signed a lease and then found out after we signed the lease that we’d never have a full liquor license because it’s across the street from the school. We didn’t realize that, so we ended up just being

able to offer beer and wine. I said f--k it, we’ll roll with that. It was all of 600 square feet and we did what I would call a frugal Ikea build-out. Forget pewter or marble, we did it with plywood and hand-me-downs.

What did you learn from that first experience?

I learned early on the difference between a neighborhood restaurant and a restaurant in a neighborhood.

It started with the lesson learned with taking reservations on all of the seats. What appeared to be very exciting about being booked a month in advance means that you’ll never be a neighborhood restaurant. Because the person who lives across the street from your restaurant isn’t going to make the decision to eat at your place three weeks from now. They want to come off their elevator and roll in or stop on the way home from work. For instance, Le Bernardin is in a neighborhood but not a neighborhood restaurant.

I was super grateful and loved all the success and how busy we were and being booked a month out in advance, it’s really exhilarating for your first

continued on page 36

November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 35

Q&A

GABRIEL STULMAN, from page 34

restaurant. But I realized what I really wanted was what I learned in Wisconsin and I wanted to be more immersed in the neighborhood. I wanted to have regulars that just popped in all the time for in breakfast, lunch or dinner. I learned the only way to achieve that is to not take reservations on every table.

I wanted the kind of place that I wanted to go to. Where I can just walk in off the street. I want somebody to make room for me at the bar, because I come all the time. Think of it as a place I can hang out, that’s casual enough that it doesn’t require making plans.

Put your entrepreneur hat back on.

Which model is more lucrative?

You can make money either way.

It’s not the policy that makes you financially successful. It is your execution and how people relate and like what you’re doing. You need to decide who you are because you need to live it every day.

What was your experience with

“I’m not interested in takeout and delivery, because that’s not what I fell in love with. I didn’t get into the restaurant industry to put food in boxes and have it go out the door on a bicycle. I got into the restaurant business because I like hearing glasses clinked together.

I like the sound of laughter, I like smiling faces, I like the smell of food. I like making a place where people celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and cry. I like camaraderie, I like the energy of a restaurant.” — Gabriel Stulman having a partner?

I learned that I’ll never be a 50/50 business partner. I was 24 at the time.

It’s not to say that partnership cannot succeed. Look at Jean George (Vongerichten) and Phil Suarez, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, or Andrew Carmellini with Josh Pickard and Luke Ostrom. They have all had long successful runs.

What was the key to growing Little Owl into the amazing portfolio of

businesses that you have built?

It started with closing the chapter on the partnership with Joe. We parted as friends and it gave me the opportunity to start over on my own. Look, none of us really ever does anything by ourselves. But you do get to call the shots. I restarted with Joseph Leonard and we’ve never looked back. The key has been to combine insane ambition, intense work ethic and creating a team of the very best talent under one roof.

For all intent and purpose, we built

the culinary equivalent of two Chicago Bulls 1993 squads in one restaurant.

At one point, we had three executive chefs working as line cooks and three directors of operations serving lunch as waiters.

Was the thought as you built these teams that you would open a new restaurant opportunity to accommodate them?

continued on page 38

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

Q&A

GABRIEL STULMAN, from page 36

Fairfax is an all-day neighborhood cafe and wine bar from Gabriel Stulman’s Happy Cooking Hospitality team. Fairfax is open early for coffee and pastries to stay or go, and customers can settle in for a light lunch and the newspaper, or swing through at night with friends for a bottle of wine and a full-on dinner.

Never! It has always been about making this a f-----g great restaurant.

Fast forward and a year later, I saw a place across the street with a sign in the window after a bad storm. It’s funny, the location was a couple stores down from where we would send customers to have a drink when they were waiting for a table at our place.

So, it made sense for us to grab that opportunity.

But guess what, we already knew who’s going to be the Executive Chef: the guy who’s the sous chef right now.

I know who’s going to be the GM: our head bartender. With the team we had built, I had a line cook who was ready to go step up to sous chef and a bartender who’s ready to step up and be the next head bartender.

I took my lead dishwasher who’s been amazing and moved him across the street as a prep cook. In baseball terms, we basically had our farm system.

What is the thought behind multiple properties in the same neighborhood?

It made it really easy to grow with all of this talent working in our restaurants in the same neighborhood. We knew as new opportunities presented themselves in our neighborhood that we had the talent ready to go. If

we didn’t have the talent, I probably would have said no to more things.

From a management standpoint, it’s a dream. If we had problem at Joseph Leonard or something broken at Jeffrey, I could easily walk over to help get it fixed. I can bounce around and literally go say hello to guests at all three restaurants within 30 minutes. Smile, connect and get back to the first one before you’ve got your entrees.

How long did this neighborhood plan for expansion run?

Until about March 15th, 2020 when COVID-19 closed New York City. Guess what, it’s probably been a blessing in disguise. I think we’ve been on a treadmill cranked to maximum levels for a decade, and never really got off to evaluate or consider any of it.

Perspective and introspection, what gives?

I realized that more is not more.

I want to spend more time with my family. I’ve got two young sons and the oldest one is eight. I sadly missed the first four years of his life while I was working, and the other one just turned two. For the last seven months, I’ve seen a lot of them. And I think my life is a lot richer because of it Whatever I gained from building another

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

restaurant, I’ve gained way more from seeing them laugh and giggle and have a relationship with me.

Let’s be honest, it’s great to be an impactful restaurateur in New York City.

But in the grand scheme of things, Des Moines has a restaurateur that’s important to them as well as San Francisco, LA and every other city. Bottom line, we all get too carried away with the importance of our businesses in the communities we serve at the expense of what’s really important. Once you get rid of ego, you realize that nobody gives a f--k how many Michelin stars you have or James Beard awards or New York Times stars.

The reality is that in 80 years, nobody’s going to talk about Keith McNally, Daniel Boulud, Jean Georges or Eric Ripert. If that’s the case, then what chance do I have? Because those guys are all a hundred times more successful than I am. What is going to last is my kids knowing me and loving me.

You are one of the few restaurant owners that have ever been asked to give a TED talk. Tell us about it.

The TED talk was about employee engagement and collaboration. It’s interesting, even with COVID, the points I made still ring true. I focused on how you make a culture that people want

to stay a part of that and how do you appreciate your team. My perspective was that the less qualified internal candidate is a better choice than the more qualified external candidate. I explained how important it is that your work to create a culture that provides for internal promotion and with that comes loyalty. On top of that, intentional collaboration will make people voice their opinions more and contribute more. If you solicit their collaboration, it will make them feel valued.

Walk us through what that looks like at Happy Cooking Hospitality?

It starts with things like coming up with new cocktails and having the whole bar staff work on it. When you’re coming up with new dishes for the menu, you don’t just have the chef, you have the whole kitchen staff involved. Then when you get recognition, you share the credit. Every interview I’ve ever done: that was Brian’s cocktail, that was Matty’s dish. Share the spotlight.

Did you ever have a contingency plan in place before March?

(Sarcastically) Of course, everybody

continued on page 40

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

Q&A

GABRIEL STULMAN, from page 38

was prepared for a virus!

Seriously, the only comparable experience we had was a fire at one of our restaurants. We didn’t have a plan for the fire, and you deal with catastrophe. We have a daily closing checklist to make sure that you’re checking all the wires that are plugged in, that you have double-checked the pilot light.

We looked at March as an expanded fire drill. We shut down all spending and contacted all vendors and landlords. Our goal was to immediately secure all liquid cash that we had. The next step was to call our lawyer to find out about all the labor laws, how to handle a catastrophe like this.

We needed the guidance to understand the procedures, you need to follow to avoid the WARN Act. This included, unemployment and health care benefits and how everything gets handled with a communication and strategy plan to disseminate info to our 300 people. Keep in mind, we let go everybody except for five people. It bugged me that we couldn’t pay people and I was determined to find a way we could make a difference. We had access to food, so my goal was to keep our people fed. We turned our restaurants into a food bank for our staff.

Every week, we would set up a whole digital system, where emails, go out to all 300 former employees. Everybody could sign up, and you could tell us if you or your spouse or children had dietary restrictions. We were providing a week’s worth of groceries every Thursday to our entire company, and their dependents. We then expanded that program to feed first responders.

Can we get your thoughts on the role of outdoor dining and takeout and delivery for restaurants trying to survive?

I’m going to dissect them into two different topics. Outdoor dining is a restaurant’s right and that I think is great. Fortunately, the ‘City has relaxed its’ zoning laws and regulations and stringent ways to facilitate outdoor dining. I like it because with tables outside, you’re still greeting and serving people. It’s limited seating though so the potential for revenue

has a ceiling.

Takeout and delivery is a totally different conversation. Can a restaurant sustain on it? Absolutely, some people are thriving with it. But I’m not interested in it because that’s not what I fell in love with. Look, this is going to sound arrogant, but generating revenue from delivery is not that difficult.

That’s not what I give a s--t about. I didn’t get into the restaurant industry to put food in boxes and have it go out the door on a bicycle. I got into the restaurant business because I like hearing glasses clinked together. I like the sound of laughter, I like smiling faces, I like the smell of food. I like the pots and pans. I like strangers meeting at the bar and f-----g later that night.

I like making a place where people celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and cry. I like camaraderie, I like the energy of a restaurant.

Delivery has no culture to me. If delivery is all there is, then I should stop.

I could be so much wealthier going to work for Goldman Sachs where I’ll be rich. I don’t need to waste my time on delivery. I do restaurants, because it’s about so much more than food.

It’s so much more than business. And so I’m not interested in figuring out how to make money during delivery and takeout. I’m not interested in it because I don’t want to run a delivery and takeout operation, if that’s what we are reduced to. I’ll go into real estate development instead.

Between this month’s election cycle and the role of government in the daily operation of restaurants, what are the lessons learned?

They have failed to support us because they’re incompetent and unintelligent. Harsh words but I think they’re actually appropriate. I don’t think they understand business and I think that they would like to think that they do. I think they think that they understand restaurants, and it is clear that they do not. I think that you cannot—as a country, as a state, as a city— on one hand tell us to close and then on the other hand say that we

continued on page 42

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

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Q&A

GABRIEL STULMAN, from page 40

need to pay our rent.

They try to justify on half-assed explanations. You need to not look further than Canada. To find out how government can address this situation. My peers that own restaurants in Montreal, were protected by the government that stepped in and said the cap on rent was 25%, the government would pay the other 50% and the landlord was on the hook for 25%.What happened here is that the government let the PPP program get hijacked as rent subsidy. It stands for Payroll Protection Program which meant it was there to give me two and a half months’ worth of my average payroll not to pay rent. The reality is that the government gave all of the money to the banks and told the banks to take 5% off the top. The bank’s 5% was essentially a $33 billion commission to move money from the government managed by Steve Mnuchin. So he gave all of his bank buddies cash. They took 330 billion, and then gave it to me and everyone else. We then took this

money, and we were told to pay your landlord with it. My landlord has all of the rent that they lost. It means that they’re profitable because they don’t charge me less than their mortgage, they charge me more than their mortgage so now my landlords are made whole and makes a profit. On top of that, although there was a moratorium on eviction, the landlord could still terminate my lease.

Semantics because when he terminates my lease, now I owe him double the rent. Now you are threatening to sue me personally because I didn’t pay rent during a pandemic because the government couldn’t protect me.

Deplorable!

The government tells us everything is great, to look at the stock market.

But the stock markets are not a f----g indicator of the economy. I used to have 300 employees; I have 100 now: that’s an indicator of the economy.

The NASDAQ is up, please kiss my ass.

You’ve worked with the New York City

Hospitality Alliance to trade groups that can advocate for the industry.

Are they helpful?

They’re very helpful. Andrew (Rigie of the Alliance) is fantastic. God bless that guy. Yeah, they’re out there fighting tooth and nail for us.

What do you think it’s going to take to bring back the confidence of consumers and your team to make restaurants work again?

A great question and I think that the answer is super complicated. I think there’s plenty of people that are comfortable with it now. There’s a lot of people that are coming back and still there are a lot of people that are not comfortable with it as well. Many people are going to eat at a restaurant tonight, and some simply won’t comeback until there is a vaccine.

We cannot make restaurants work at 25% indoor occupancy throughout the winter, when it’s 20 degrees outside. I don’t give a s--t how many heat lamps you have. I’m going to

bring your chicken out and it will stay hot for three seconds, and then your chicken’s cold.

We need a minimum of 75% occupancy to have a chance at self-sustaining. Anything less than that will require financial stimulus. I believe that the first responsibility and priority we have as a business is to the greater society. We need to beat this virus, protect individuals’ health and save lives. And if that means reduced capacity — then that has my support — we just need our government to recognize that with reduced capacity for public safety we need financial grants.

I don’t want to hear about bailing out cruise ships or airlines. Our industry is far more important to the country. We need the Restaurant Act that had already been passed by the House to give the restaurant industry its’ first targeted bailout.

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MEDIA CORNER

WHAT WE’RE READING, WATCHING, AND LISTENING TO

WHAT WE’RE READING: Matt Sartwell, Managing Partner, Kitchen Arts & Letters Bookstore in New York City shares his review of the newly published...

The French Laundry, Per Se by Thomas Keller Thomas Keller is the only American chef running two Michelin 3-star restaurants—and one of only four such chefs in the world. Now, in his first book since 2012, Keller addresses the remarkable synergy between those restaurants, The French Laundry in Yountville, CA and per se in New York City. Their kitchens are linked by video feed and inspiration, sharing ideas and insight in an exceptional way.

But it’s Keller’s example that sets the tone for those amazing interactions. The French Laundry, Per Se reflects the unique nature of this kinship as it offers more than 100 precise and painstaking recipes for dishes that have gained world-renown. At 400 pages, The French Laundry, Per Se is beautifully illustrated with dramatic photographs of the finished dishes. The chef also reveals his approaches to sourcing ingredients, encouraging talent, and his philosophy of professional hospitality. Professional cooks will be fascinated by this frank look at one of the most important restaurant relationships in modern times. Home cooks who seek a challenge—or the incentive to challenge themselves—

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:

will be inspired to push themselves as they have perhaps never done so before.

Enjoy a brand-new series premiering exclusively on Hulu this November:

Flavorbomb by Bob Blumer: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Better Bob Blumer channels his globetrotting culinary adventures into practical tips and recipes that harness ingredients in ways that build compounding layers of flavors and textures. The first half of the book is full of tips, strategies, ingredients, techniques, and gear. The second half consists of 75 step-by-step recipes that use all the tricks in your arsenal to deliver the addictive, life-affirming dishes we all crave. Blumer is best known as the creator and host of Food Network’s award-winning shows Surreal Gourmet and Glutton for Punishment and is the author of six cookbooks. He’s broken eight food-related Guinness World Records, competed in some of the most outrageous food competitions on the planet, cooked alongside countless amazing chefs, and sampled every local street food imaginable at ramshackle carts, hawker stalls, and night markets from Italy to India. These collective experiences have formed the backbone of Bob’s cooking in ways that culinary school can’t begin to teach.

“Flavorbomb is aimed at home cooks. But during these times when so many restaurant meals are being packaged and eaten at home, it also serves as a good reminder for professional chefs that the attention to detail and final flourishes are what will determine if a dish is the bomb—or one that bombs.” --Bob Blumer

Eater’s Guide to the World.

Join Eater and narrator Maya Rudolph as they show you the most delicious ways to eat off the hood of your car in LA, explore the jungle through your stomach in Costa Rica, stay up (and eat nonstop) literally all night in New York, taste the cultural crossroads of Casablanca, and so much more. A travel and food show like none other, each episode will showcase a whole new side of the cities and places you think you know, and a few you may have never experienced before.

Watch the trailer, https://youtu.be/wilH_YSreyw, and get your knife and fork ready when we’ll take a big, fat, juicy bite of planet Earth together.

Crazy Delicious on Netflix The newest cooking show aiming to break the food show mold on Netflix, Crazy Delicious, follows three home cooks battling it out to create the best feast that tempts the Food Gods, all hoping to win the ultimate golden apple prize.

The set is entirely edible and contains edible blossom, chocolate soil, and a drinkable babbling brook. The UK’s most talented food lovers are challenged to produce meals that must impress with originality, visuals and extraordinary flavors. The first round is based on a hero ingredient like a strawberry or tomato, the second is a reinvention of a classic, and the third is a showstopper, with inspiration ranging from brunch to barbecue. Dressed in pristine white costumes and accompanied by ominous music, the panel of judges includes Heston Blumenthal, Top Chef legend Carla Hall, and “Michelin-starred chef” Niklas Ekstedt.

continued on page 46 44 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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MEDIA CORNER

from page 44

PODCASTS WE’RE LISTENING TO: Just Forking Around With Debi Saltzberg Every week they raise a glass and toast to the beautifully insane, sexy world of food adventures. Expect a variety pack of guests who have the most compelling stories. For they are the Brewers, the Distillers, Authors, Winemakers, Farmers, Vegan Product

Makers, Restaurateurs, Top Chefs, Entrepreneurs - truly inspirational, motivational, this is ear ball riveting! Explore and discover with them as they navigate around the globe to reveal and share these remarkable stories. https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/just-forking-around-with-debisaltzberg/id1223841473 Restaurant Rockstars Podcast With Roger Beaudoin Tips, tools & resources to help restaurant owners and managers Rock Their Restaurant! Engaging conversations with industry leaders and fellow restaurateurs. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/ podcast/restaurant-rockstars-podcast/id1035152031?mt=2

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

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Discover what's next in Draft Systems at lancerworldwide.com/kold-draw November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 47

48 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 49

NEWS

REOPENING SOLUTIONS

HMG PLUS SETS SIGHTS ON SAFE INDUSTRY REOPENING WITH COVID-19 GUIDE AND TRAINING

M

etro New York and national restaurant and foodservice operators have experienced a surge of challenges due to the impact of COVID-19. Staff furloughs topped the list in March and April of 2020 and now businesses are faced with the task of safely onboarding team members, old and new.

A major setback is the moving target of COVID-19 government protocols alongside CDC, city, county and state policies, especially as it relates to seating capacity and other service implications.

For Karen and Michael DiPeri of HMG Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic put into sharp focus the need for industry guidance and a framework to ensure the safety of their staff, clients and partners. As hospitality leaders for more than 20 years, the duo has innovated and pivoted their business over the years to deliver exceptional guest experiences through diverse service offerings.

The DiPeri’s background in the catering, restaurant, club and bar business has fostered a tradition of building community among team members, which makes the impact of the pandemic very personal.

Business as usual is stacked against new normals like virtual schooling and strictly adhering to evolving safety protocols - all while working to stay afloat. No matter the demand, the DiPeri’s continue to put their team, clients and partners first.

With New York City’s return to 25% of indoor dining capacity and companies welcoming

“When you come to work to serve others, you have to be in that moment, and the only thing you should focus on is providing great service.” — Michael DiPeri back employees to their corporate dining facilities, a new phase in the COVID-19 pandemic is once again upon us. This latest phase is accompanied by hope balanced with caution. On the horizon is a second wave that could come with a change in the weather and what many are calling pandemic-fatigue.

Against a backdrop of uncertainty, one point remains clear: reopening of businesses must include specific guidance and protocols to protect staff and customers.

“Companies will need to take a holistic approach to reopening,” noted

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

Michael DiPeri. The HMG Plus cofounder and CEO brings extensive career experience, including managing hospitality and foodservice operations.

Building on its legacy of service excellence, HMG Plus elevated their commitment to the proper educational training of foodservice and hospitality professionals with the launch of the Academy for Hospitality Arts (AHA). AHA reflects the intersection of professional development with holistic hospitality. One of the course offerings is for a Covid Hospitality Compliance Officer (CHCO). The CHCO course merges guidance from the CDC and WHO, with deeprooted industry experience and knowledge of the DiPeri’s and their industry colleagues.

When asking Mr. DiPeri about this newly developed course he told us, “people have to have confidence in the hospitality industry and know that there is a standard of safety, that’s why we came out with CHCO.” When asked the secret to success in the hospitality business, Michael responded: you must be client-focused. “We’ve always taught that the most important thing is to leave everything at the front door.

When you come to work to serve others, you have to be in that moment, and the only thing you should focus on is

providing an exceptional guest experience. You have to make sure that all the guests in your station are enjoying themselves and it’s a must to be naturally hospitable.”

The HMG Plus approach to service is also based on a platform of consistency.

DiPeri continued: “You can pretty much standardize any aspect of a restaurant and when you find a recipe that works, you instill the process and duplicate it.” He obtained this theory from after working for more than 38 years in the hospitality industry and navigating various challenges along the way.

HMG Plus has built its reputation for giving back to the industry they serve including their long-time involvement with Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM). With the goals of solidarity, innovation and resilience in mind, HMG Plus has taken a step to support the community it serves. The DiPeri’s and their team have created a COVID-19 Readiness Guide for hospitality professionals to implement.

“Our COVID-19 Readiness Guide provides industry leaders with detailed holistic guidance to ensure the safety of our employees, clients and partners” Karen DiPeri said. “The guide includes best practices like guest arrival, registration, food & beverage service, and much more.” The COVID-19 Readiness Guide can be downloaded at hmgplus.com.

The DiPeris and HMG Plus have an eye toward the next chapters that will be written post-pandemic as they help the industry battle to get reopened. “How we deal with this challenge defines how we move forward as an industry, together,” Michael DiPeri concluded.

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

NEWS

MENU SOLUTIONS

HISTORIC LOCAL RESTAURANT GETS CREATIVE DURING THE PANDEMIC WHILE STAYING TRUE TO ITS SOUTHERN ROOTS

D

ining out provides a sense of community for many restaurant-goers and the COVID-19 pandemic has halted a lot of that within the restaurant industry. With many restaurants only open at a fraction of their capacity and restaurant patrons opting for carry-out or delivery, restaurant managers are forced to come up with creative ways to stay connected with customers.

The Southern Inn is a charming 90-year old mainstay for fine southern dining based in Lexington, Virginia. Decades of satisfied customers far and near have enjoyed their contemporary menu of New American fare and southern comfort food.

Co-owners and husband and wife team, George and Sue-Ann Huger, took over the restaurant in 1998. The restaurant is a rich tapestry of community, history, and perseverance in the face of unimaginable challenges.

For years, guests at The Southern Inn have been delighted to find menu options that range from casual to fine dining. “Comfort foods have always been our most popular items,” says George. “We also wanted to be sophisticated enough that...the

local business community could feel good about bringing clients in from out of town.” The menu features popular southern comfort items such as meatloaf and fried chicken, alongside more elevated dishes such as roasted duck and ribeye steak.

The decor at Southern Inn is peppered with an eclectic collection of art displayed throughout the restaurant. “We enjoy art and being part of the local art community,” says George. The art and warm lighting create a charming ambiance that draws university students, tourists, and dedicated patrons alike.

Adding to the character of the restaurant is its nearly 90-year history in the community. George explains, “The history of the establishment makes it memorable. We have gotten so much community support over the years. It has really kept us in business.”

This year, The Southern Inn, like many restaurants across the country, have found themselves facing the unprecedented challenge of serving customers during a global pandemic. George and Sue-Ann turned

continued on page 80

“I think that [Sysco] solidly nailed it,” George says when describing the Holiday Toolkit. “I think for us as operators to be successful and really make the most out of this holiday season, we need to be presenting ideas to offices and groups of people that typically get together.”

52 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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

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

WHOLE FOODS’ TREND PREDICTIONS INCLUDE UPCYCLED FOODS, PRODUCTBASED JERKY

rience and expertise in product sourcing, studying consumer preferences, and being on the frontlines with emerging and existing brands. Significantly influenced by the state of the food industry, the 2021 trends report reveals some of the early ways the food

industry is adapting and innovating in response to COVID-19 for a post-pandemic food world.

“There have been radical shifts in consumer habits in 2020. For example, shoppers have found new passions for cooking, they’ve purchased more items related to health and wellness, and more are eating breakfast at home every day compared to pre-COVID,” said Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, chief marketing officer at Whole Foods Market, in a statement. “Food trends are a sign of the times, and our 2021 trends are no exception.”

OAT MILK BECOMES SECOND MOST PURCHASED PLANTBASED MILK

SCOOP hears that hard kombucha, upcycled foods, leveled-up breakfasts, and produce-based jerky are among Whole Foods Market’s top food trend predictions for 2021. Rounding out the top 10 are functional foods, new takes on pantry staples, coffee beyond the mug, culinary-inspired baby food, alternative oils, and chickpea-based products.

Each year, a Trends Council of more than 50 Whole Foods Market team members, including local foragers, regional, and global buyers and culinary experts, compile trend predictions based on decades of expe-

SCOOP learned that Oat milk has replaced soy milk as the second most purchased plant-based milk in the year leading up to September 6, 2020, according to new data from SPINS, reports Food Navigator USA. The top spot still belongs to almond milk, which has

continued on page 56

Scotsman’s Prodigy Plus ice machine features make having a safe and healthy environment effortless AUTOALERT INDICATOR LIGHTS Easily visible LED lights provide key information without the need to touch / remove panels.

ANTIMICROBIAL PROTECTION Built-in AgION® components help inhibit the growth of microbes, bacteria, mold and algae.

For unit specifications and other brand information, scan the QR code to visit the Scotsman website.

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

ONE-TOUCH CLEANING Our Prodigy Plus Cuber one-touch cleaning system makes preventative maintenance simple and efficient.

XSAFE™ SANITATION SYSTEM An optional sanitation system that circulates cold oxygen plasma inside of the machine to help sanitize the air and surrounding surfaces.

Scotsman is represented in NYC Metro by: PBAC & Associates LTD 914-793-9000 Financing Options Available

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

SCOOP

METRO NY INSIDER NEWS, from page 54

a 63 percent share in the market, but oat milk sales have surged over 303 percent to $213.35 million over the 52-week period.

Soy milk sales declined 4.5 percent to $202.25 million in sales during a time where most CPG categories are experiencing growth as the pandemic has shifted food consumption towards the home.

However, this data does not include sales from ecommerce, convenience stores, or some key retailers like Aldi, Costco, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s, so actual numbers are likely to be higher.

BLUE SMOKE INVESTOR BOB GIBSON, HALL OF FAME PITCHER, DIES AT 84 SCOOP heard from Danny Meyer that Bob Gibson, who won two Cy Young Awards and threw 56 career shutouts, and was one of baseball’s most dominating and intimidating pitchers, had passed away. Gibson was an original investor in Union Square Hospitality’s Blue Smoke restaurant.

According to Meyer, “Gibby was a gift. Knowing him was a thrill of my life.”

56 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

VETERAN SAUCE EXECUTIVE DILISIO SET TO WRITE NEXT CHAPTER Consistency and uncompromising quality.

Those are terms that are often used to describe a product. But in this case not only are they appropriate for a product but for one of the guiding forces behind that product.

SCOOP learned that Linda DiLisio, who for 38 years worked side by side with her Mom and Dad to build the Casa DiLisio sauce brand, has announced her retirement. Linda was a direct disciple of her iconic Linda DiLisio

Dad Lou, who passed earlier this year. Her passion and commitment to her craft was seen every day at the family’s manufacturing facility in Mt. Kisco, NY, and in distributor boardrooms throughout the nation. There has always been a truly special passion with her for giving back to so many. This included everything from a cookie drive to keep our troops well fed to numerous local causes. We wish Linda years of retirement bliss and thank her for her decades of support and friendship to the TFS team. Somehow, we get the feeling that with her expertise and love of the industry, that her infectious smile will be seen again soon.

THE FIRST ANNUAL SAUCE KING NYC AWARDS SCOOP learned that via the virtual event Sauce King NYC announced its winners, which included well-known names in barbecue and several newcomers. More than 100 sauces from around the world were submitted for the competition.

The Sauce King NYC Champion Grand Prize was awarded to the Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce from Ray

continued on page 58

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

SCOOP

METRO NY INSIDER NEWS, from page 56

•

•

•

• • • The Sauce King NYC Champion Grand Prize was awarded to the Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce from Ray Sheehan aka BBQ Buddha

Sheehan aka BBQ Buddha. “It’s a well- made and balanced sauce and the judges felt overall that this best represented Sauce King NYC,” Jimmy Carbone, head of Food Karma Events.

Other major Sauce King NYC awards included: • Most Inventive BBQ Sauce: Somethin’ Some-

• •

•

thin’ Sauce, B.T. Leigh’s Sauces and Rubs — Bowling Green, KY Best Flavor Enhancer (Barbecue Sauce): Belizean Season-All, Marie Sharp’s — WinstonSalem, NC The Holy Trinity (Sweet, Spicy and Savory Barbecue Sauce): Touch O’ Heat, Rufus Teague — Lenexa, KS Best Hot Sauce: Serrano & Chipotle Pepper Smoky Hot, Silly Chilly Hot Sauce — Hoboken, NJ Best Wing Sauce: Mild Wing Sauce, Rippin Red Sauce Company — Abingdon, MD Best Verde Sauce: Juju Guru Tropic Jalapeño, Bayou Gotham Hot Sauce — Manhattan, NY When You Want Hot: Dead Red, Rocket Fuel Foods — Manhattan, NY Most Versatile Sauce: The Original Smoked Maple Syrup, Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind — VT Best Barbecue Marinade: Japanese Miso BBQ , Just Add Beer Sauce & Marinade Mix — Queens, NY Best Hot Ketchup: Granny Smith Apple Ketchup, Rocket Fuel Foods — Manhattan, NY

HMG+ DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES SELECTED AS JULIE FLIK RISING STAR The Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM) recently announced its inaugural class of the Julie Flik Rising Star Continuation Program. Created in honor of Julie Flik, past president of SHFM and an industry leader, the new program recognizes five young professionals 39 and under who have been Amanda Beni part of the Rising

continued on page 84

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

LEGAL INSIDER

FROM ELLENOFF GROSSMAN & SCHOLE LLP

LEAVE YOUR POLITICS AT THE DOOR (AND OFF FACEBOOK) WHEN WORKING FOR MY RESTAURANT

F

reedom of speech is firmly in the spotlight as the country wraps up what has arguably been the most hotlycontested election season in our history. It seems as if Americans, perhaps more than ever before, are saying whatever they feel, whenever they feel like it, regardless of the consequences. Despite this cultural phenomenon, hospitality employers can in fact limit certain political speech of their employees because not all speech is protected in the context of employment. In other words, “there’s a time and a place” for certain speech, and with strong and carefully-drafted company policies, your business may legally limit

your employees’ political speech while they are working for you.

An employee’s right to engage in certain political speech may extend to both their on-duty and off-duty conduct. This is particularly important, not only because some of your employees are still quarantining in their homes, but rather because a significant amount of political speech now takes place online.

Regardless of whether or not the speech occurs at the restaurant itself, it is protected only if there is a direct nexus between employmentrelated concerns and the specific issue that is the subject of the employee’s political speech. For example, your employees may be dis-

cussing who they voted for and why, touching on subjects such as which candidate is more likely to expand the protections of the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or extend unemployment insurance benefits. Such conversations would likely be protected whether they occurred in your restaurant’s kitchen or on Facebook.

Conversely, where no nexus between the political speech and the employee’s working conditions exists, an employer may be able to take adverse action against that employee for that political speech, particularly where it might be distracting or disruptive, or conflicts with the employer’s brand or business.

For example, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently held that an employer legally terminated an employee who provided testimony before a local county council supporting police reform, because the employee’s political advocacy had no relation to the terms of his employment and thus he was not engaged in concerted activity protected under the National Labor Relations Act. Importantly, your employees cannot say anything they wish simply because their speech is related to their employment. Employee speech that is otherwise protected may become “unprotected” and subject to employer-discipline if it includes “abusive, harassing, or offensive statements.” General Mo-

continued on page 82 60 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Ilan Weiser is a Partner in the Labor & Employment practice group at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP in New York City. Mr. Weiser exclusively represents businesses of all sizes and sectors on how best to comply with the federal, state and local labor laws that govern their operations.

Mr. Weiser’s principal area of expertise is employment law litigation and has vigorously defended hundreds of his clients in federal and state court and before various governmental agencies against claims of employment discrimination and unfair pay practices. Mr. Weiser has particularly indepth knowledge of wage and hour law and regularly defends and counsels his clients in class and collective lawsuits concerning claims for unpaid wages.

Nicole M. Vescova is an Associate in the Labor & Employment practice group at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP in New York City.

Ms. Vescova represents and advises businesses across all industries in a variety of labor and employment matters, including proper pay practice, employee classification, termination, and leave. Ms. Vescova drafts employment policies and agreements such as employee handbooks, separation agreements and restrictive covenant agreements. She also defends employers against claims brought by employees in federal and state court, and before administrative agencies, such as the EEOC and NLRB. Ilan Weiser (iweiser@egsllp.com) and Nicole Vescova (nvescova@egsllp.com) can be reached via phone at 212-3701300.

November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 61

NEWS

ONLINE SOLUTIONS

UNIVEX TAKES NEW WEBSITE TO NEXT LEVEL

L

eading foodservice manufacturer Univex Corporation has just launched their new website. Univex – known for their high-quality bakery, pizza and food prep equipment launched their new website to pair with their continued excellence and innovation in the foodservice industry. The website is sleek, modern, and functional. “We created this website with our customers in mind,” stated Marketing and Sales Director, Evan Priesel.

Univex’ goal with this new design was to make it as easy as possible for their customers, reps and equipment dealers to obtain information, as well as showcase their equipment. The new website showcases each product and category in a very thorough yet easy to navigate environment.

“Understanding every functionality, purpose, application and aspect of each piece of equipment plus being able to watch both operation and showcase videos, gives our customers comfort that when they purchase Univex, you can expect the highest level of quality and performance,” Priesel mentioned.

The home page goes over some of the hottest and quick selling items Univex has to offer, while also going over new and “just released” models. As you scroll down, a customer will understand the Univex story and how Univex became to be. Backed by over 70 years of quality manufacturing, this made in the USA company is here to stay!

For their customers, Univex broke down the four categories they serve for quick access to specific equipment, made for specific applications such as bakery, pizza, food prep or dough processing.

Even further, Univex also categorizes their equipment by product type, so you can search various ways.

One of Univex’s favorite parts about this website is that it allows end users to contact their local sales representative and/or equipment distributor with ease.

“Our goal is to streamline the buying process and make it as easy as possible for customers to obtain information and purchase as needed,” Priesel mentioned.

This new launch also features a new blog that will be updated constantly with content to help Univex’s customer gain knowledge in various types of industries.

These blogs will help grow and expand their customers knowledge and continue to solidify Univex as experts in their selected industries. Their new blog is also key for social media, and SEO purposes, stated Evan. “The more content we can get out there, the more informed our customers and potential customer are, the easier the buying process will be.”

Check out Univex’s new website at univexcorp.com for all your bakery, pizza and food prep equipment and don’t forget to follow their blog, and social media accounts!

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“Understanding every functionality, purpose, application and aspect of each piece of equipment plus being able to watch both operation and showcase videos, gives our customers comfort that when they purchase Univex, you can expect the highest level of quality and performance.” — Evan Priesel, Univex Marketing and Sales Director

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

NEWS

REOPENING STRATEGIES

NEW YORK CITY’S RESTAURANTS BUILD CUSTOMER CONFIDENCE WITH NEW PROTOCOLS

A

fter six months of dependence on Takeout and Delivery and a Spring and Summer season of outdoor dining, New York City’s restaurants have something to celebrate.

They have begun doing what they do best and what is near and dear to their hearts: welcoming back customers in their dining rooms.

In order to accomplish that goal after a long wait that many felt was just the result of bad timing, New York City’s restaurants moved quickly to ensure a safe opening of those dining rooms. The delays came from spikes in COVID-19 cases in other cities around the country. Many felt that it forced the hand of Governor Andrew

Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio to delay what was supposed to be an early July return to indoor dining.

With the go-ahead to reopen dining rooms, it was clear that a new protocol relative to air quality and disinfecting was going to be mandatory moving forward. In addition, this new layer of safety needed to be coordinated with many of the changes that restaurant operators made to accommodate outdoor dining and takeout & delivery.

“We moved away from our all a carte operation to a prix fixed menu to streamline, how we operate noted,” Jeff Katz of the Financial District’s Crown Shy restaurant. “Our next step as we looked at coming back

Sous chef Al Nebiar and executive chef James Kent prepare dishes in the kitchen at Crown Shy. The team installed even more advanced air purification technology from Atmos Air.

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“If I could have one wish right now, it would be to let me reopen my bar. We are still giving people a great dining experience, but the bar is the center of the energy of our restaurant.”

— Jeff Katz, Crown Shy NYC inside was to make a commitment to the air circulating in the restaurant,” Katz continued. “We wanted to make a statement to our customers and our team, so we did our research and found Atmos Air. As we did our homework, we learned that the use of MERV-11 filters would enable us to ensure the air quality in both the kitchen and dining area.”

More efficient and higher rated MERV filters have emerged as the industry standard for coronavirus prevention. They are installed in a restaurant’s HVAC system to capture airborne viruses and bacteria from coughs and sneezes. The goal is to provide clean air that maximizes the strength of the immune system.

“Needless to say, our very first step has been to embrace the masks, gloves, and spacing, Katz continued. What used to be a family meal for our team has evolved into spacing so that you are eating by yourself with six feet of spacing.

We take everybody’s temperature on the way in and ask all of the COVID-19 related questions.

Katz, as with many members of New York City restaurant community, are struggling with the economics of a 25% cap on restaurant

capacity. “It’s a challenge on the weekends unless you want to come in early or late which is now 9pm. It’s with this issue that the challenges that restauranteur are dealing with comes to the forefront. We need to be able to close so that our team who are dependent on the MTA to get to and from work can catch the last subway at 9:30 pm.

So keep in mind that Pre-COVID, we are used to serving until 11 pm.”

“If I could have one wish right now, it would be to let me reopen my bar.

We are still giving people a great dining experience but the bar is the center of the energy of our restaurant. We have high ceilings and we made the commitment to the very best air filtration solution, so it really does feel safe. People want to sit at the bar and I don’t care if I have to put a huge acrylic screen in. Keep in mind that 98% of the people that sit at my bar also eat there.”

Katz continues to be concerned with return of consumer confidence.

“To be honest, the traditional food media that consumers look to has not been particularly supportive. They seem to be constantly asking why are you opening and putting your team in harms’ way? Please understand, no-

continued on page 85

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

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

NEWS

FRANCHISE SOLUTIONS

Article contributed by Franchise Marketing Systems

HOW COVID-19 BROUGHT INNOVATION TO THE RESTAURANT FRANCHISE MARKETPLACE

C

OVID-19. It hit us all like a ton of bricks — dealing a heavy blow to brick-andmortar dining establishments along with it. The now infamous 2020 pandemic pushed the restaurant industry to the limits, breaking momand-pops down — and some of them out for good. As we grieved the loss of many, the few and mighty remained, stretching concepts beyond normalcy and ushering in a new era of innovation by way of necessity. We are seeing the brand who weathered the storm stealthily take over empty real estate and revitalize downtown areas through their franchise expansion.

What does this mean for the restaurant industry? It means new streams of revenue that boost franchise value and newfound convenience for the consumer. Let’s take a look at just a few ways that the restaurant industry has adapted to this unprecedented situation in these unchartered times.

of “first ghost kitchen franchise”. This particular brand has over 50 brands and two models to choose from— add-on to an existing restaurant to boost revenue or start from scratch.

This leads nicely into our next point of discussion.

Take-Out Takes the Crown Since restaurants took the heaviest blow at the beginning of COVID-19, brands had to quickly adapt or die.

Restraunteurs have expanded beyond the boundaries of the norm, tapping into unexpected ways of takeout experiences. Franchises like Zaxby’s and Chick-fil-A are offering full size family meals. We are seeing GrubHub, DoorDash, and UberEats boom, streamlining their usability and giving the ever-popular gig economy a boost.

The operational processes within these companies — and remember, franchises LOVE process — have been forced to become more efficient for their take out offerings, essentially

Virtual Restaurants on the Rise One franchise adaptation we’ve seen is the rise of the virtual restaurant. This is by no means a new concept but we are seeing the first of its kind move into the franchise space, offering an attractive value and delivery-only model to franchisees. Within a shared kitchen space or existing restaurant, franchisees are saying goodbye to decor expense, atmosphere woes, and the headaches of customerfriendly hires. The innovation moves to touch screens from which orders are received from 3rd party delivery platforms. The Local Culinary, one of our newest Franchisors that our Franchise Marketing Systems team has worked with, is boasting the title 66 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

We are seeing the brands who weathered the storm stealthily take over empty real estate and revitalize downtown areas through their franchise expansion. trimming the fat that was there all along. Invention is the mother of necessity, my friends. In some cases, established food service operators have transitioned entirely to the food service delivery model in the case of LoCo which is a food service delivery service franchise which aims to compete with the established brands in the space like UberEats and GrubHub. Their angle, support the restaurants with lower commissions and a business that aims to serve the restaurant and food service providers.

Drive Up and Dine Out Who doesn’t love a good food truck?

Especially with limited seating at dine-in establishment causing crowd-

ing, food trucks have kept their charm through intrinsic value at outdoor events, private parties, essential workplaces, and the like. Even the obstacle of site selection is thrown out the door as more and more food truck companies innovate and expand through franchising. Food trucks have made their way in the franchise marketplace during 2020 through creativity and affordability. Brands like Beneventi’s understood the opportunity that social distancing brought to the restaurant industry and adapted their model to be affordable for entrepreneurs seeking to exit their dying businesses and into the thriving ones.

Each of these brands have chosen to scale into new markets with franchise growth, largely because of the pandemic creating favorable market circumstances for growth. The cost of real estate and the availability of human capital that has been displaced due to COVID has driven many new buyers into the franchise category.

With ghost kitchens, new takeout models, and food trucks as the face of this restaurant revolution, the everchanging restaurant franchise sector is ready to take on the new frontier of post-pandemic lifestyle.

For more information on how to scale your business during the Pandemic, visit the Franchise Marketing Systems website: www.FMSFranchise. com

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

PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS

WITH DAY & NITE/ALL SERVICE’S MIKE BERMAN

PRESENTED BY

PROACTIVE VS. REACTIVE: PREVENTING YOUR WALLS FROM TUMBLING DOWN

W

ith renewed b u t fading optimism, the federal government will agree on the HEROES Act, the steady march of unsettling news coming faster and more furiously heightens every management team’s urgency for taking appropriate measures to protect and grow their businesses.

Within a compressed 24-hour timeframe, cornerstone Fortune 500 companies, Disney, Royal Dutch Shell, Raytheon, Dow Chemical, Allstate, Marathon Oil, United, and American Airlines announced combined planned layoffs directly impacting approximately 100,000 employees. Without exception, the common root cause is a reaction to deeply unfavorable to declining business conditions.

This follows news that a whopping 610 New York City businesses have filed for bankruptcy between midMarch and late-September 2020, a 40% increase; more are expected by year’s end. Faced with a $1 billion 2020-21 school year deficit, New York crown jewel, 64 campus state university system is subject to another 25% cut in critical funding. Perhaps putting it mildly, last Tuesday’s presidential debate did little to instill confidence that any elected official will calmly and swiftly restore order anytime soon.

And now that COVID-19 has reached high, wide, and deep across the federal government, the uncertainties and risks only compound. Taken together

and projecting ahead, this confluence of events brings us back to a recurring theme of these weekly crisis management columns, now in our sixth month.

Regular readers can offer legitimate criticism; these weekly columns routinely reinforce several key crisis management strategies and tactic–proven fundamentals–rather than offering particularly new and interesting ideas every week. Either as an observation or as criticism, it’s entirely accurate because fundamentals always rule, and in volatile conditions, adherence to proven business fundamentals is vital. To qualify as a fundamental, something must be universally applicable at all times across all things; by definition, there can only be a small number of fundamentals.

As a matter of business fundamentals the difference between mass layoff measures those major US corporations had to take and companies more successfully navigating through these unprecedented times starts with the

68 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

most fundamental of all: reactive vs. proactive. In each case, these leading companies drastically reducing payrolls are reacting to business conditions, attempts to catch up.

This is not to say proactive companies will never reduce the size of their workforce, far from it. Proactive companies always seek greater operating efficiencies, adopt useful technologies reducing the reliance on labor, and maintain appropriate size, skill, and staff shape. Utilizing advanced scenario planning, proactive companies amass all the horrifying late September 2020 news to avoid events beyond direct control to allow more business walls to come tumbling around them.

Proactive companies indeed find value in and appreciate much-needed government aid while recognizing that stimulus or rescue packages do not make for a sustainable enterprise. Hospitality leaders who are consistently employing the proven fundamentals emphasized each week in Total Food Service instantly recognize the welcome news of easing COVID-19 restrictions. However, it is also at odds with rising volumes of positive tests in more than half the United States requiring even greater scenario planning vigilance. Most importantly, proven fundamentals must be converted into swift and appropriate action so that you can best control your destiny.

Highlighted in a recent CBS News piece offering the best advice for in-

Mike Berman is the Chief Operating Officer of New Hyde Park, NY based Day & Nite/All Service. The veteran executive joined the service leader in 2016. He has held leadership positions in his career across a range of business-to-business service sector. Prior to joining Day & Nite he served as Chief Operating Officer of Outside Ventures, LLC, the parent company for several B2B service businesses with a particular concentration in merchant services. As Director and Chief Operating Officer of Meridian Capital Group LLC, he overhauled the corporate structure and enabled the company to achieve a 2006 run rate in excess of $30 billion.

door protection against COVID-19 from notable scientists, “Learn how to clean the air effectively with methods such as filtration.” Day & Nite Performance Solutions comprehensive, highly engineered suite of services and products not only provides the means and methods for most effectively safeguarding indoor environmental, workplace, guest, and food hygiene, the company’s unrivaled depth of research and knowledge will also provide you with the necessary depth of practical understanding to ensure maximum, most cost-effective control for your business destiny.

Expertise and willing collaboration, cornerstones of crisis management fundamentals, are simply one call or email away!

To learn more about how you can best control your destiny by most effectively cleaning indoor air, email clientconcierge@wearetheone.com.

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

NEWS

RESTAURANT OPERATIONS

VENTLESS BASICS: STEPS TO ADDING A FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM

A

dding a food service program can seem overwhelming, but it really does not have to be.

Whether you are looking to expand your existing business, or designing your own enterprise, Motion Technology, Inc. is here to help. Our ventless kitchen equipment makes the addition of a food service program quick and simple. From affordability to functionality and everything in between, both the AutoFry® and MultiChef XL® do not disappoint.

Now, you may be wondering exactly what needs to be on your radar when adding a food service program. Well, wonder no more! We put together the business basics that should be considered when you start your planning.

Budget To many, this is the most important aspect of adding a food service program. By understanding and setting your budget, you will be able to make more informed decisions on all of your purchases. For instance, when it comes to deciding on your kitchen equipment, you will find that

hood systems can cost a pretty penny.

In fact, some businesses spend up to $30,000.00! In comparison a ventless deep fryer like the AutoFry, can cost less than half of that. Knowing your options is a vital part of getting the most out of your budget.

Staff The amount of staff you need can be affected by different variables. Budget, being one of them. You can only hire as many people as your financial plan allows for. The size and style of your establishment will also come into play. There needs to be enough staff to cover essential positions like food prep, wait staff, cook/chef, host/hostess and delivery drivers. By purchasing easy to use, automated kitchen equipment you can operate with a limited staff and avoid hiring a professional chef or cook to prepare food. For instance, any employee can prepare freshly baked salmon and steamed veggies in the MultiChef XL without ever taking a cooking class.

to mirror the theme of your business.

The food you serve has to meet not only your expectations as the owner, but the expectations of your customers. Whether you chose to do a limited menu, or endless options, you will need to be consistent in your quality. If you are serving fried food, it better be crispy, and if your pumping out pizzas that cheese better be melty! The best way to ensure perfection for your patrons is with kitchen equipment you can rely on.

Space Making the most out of your square

footage is essential. Especially if you are leasing your space. Every penny counts, and you will want to get your money’s worth. With compact, ventless equipment, businesses can operate like a large commercial kitchen with a limited area. For example, ventless equipment that is portable and easy to move, gives owners and operators the ability to change their layout which can provide more pace for other necessities like storage.

Furthermore, if you ever need to relocate or expand your business, you can take your equipment to the next endeavor.

Menu When deciding on a menu you want

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LOCAL HEROES

RECOGNIZING THE FOODSERVICE PROFESSIONALS WHO KNOW THEIR COMMUNITIES COME FIRST

PRESENTED BY

BROOKLYN BASED COLLECTIVE FARE AND BCCC COME TO AID OF LOCAL FIRST RESPONDERS

A

non-profit based in Brownsville, Brooklyn has been feeding first responders and those most vulnerable in their community since March 15. Collective Fare, located at the Brownsville Community Culinary Center (BCCC), was launched in August 2019 as a full-service catering company.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit New York, Collective Fare immediately lost their corporate clients and lost about $150,000 in sales. That’s when Executive Chef Olufemi Rodney Frazer and Director of Operations LaToya Meaders knew they needed to come up with a new plan.

“What do you do for a community that was already in crisis?” asked Meaders. “Neighborhoods like Brownsville were already food deserts. And when COVID-19 hit, it exacerbated the situation that’s already happening here.”

Meaders and Frazer jumped into action and came up with a plan to get food to the community. “We started processing that food and preparing these healthy, delicious meals,” said Meaders. “We started providing sustenance and resources to the people in the community... and it just scaled.”

Collective Fare started with preparing 200 meals a day and quickly scaled to 2,000 meals a day. Now affiliated with World Central Kitchen, Collective Fare quickly hired many alumni - who had been laid off from restaurant industry jobs - to cook fully prepared meals for those in need.

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit non-governmental

organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Founded in 2010 by celebrity chef José Andrés, the organization prepared food in Haiti following its devastating earthquake. Its method of operations is to be a first responder and then to collaborate and galvanize solutions with local chefs to solve the problem of hunger, immediately following a disaster.

“It was tough in the beginning because it was fewer people and so much,” said alumni Edgar Phillips, now Kitchen Manager. “Until we got the system going - we got a rhythm and now it is what you see right now.”

Collective Fare is receiving donations of food that they prepare and donate - free-of-charge - to homebound seniors, elder care facilities, dialysis centers, and family shelters.

Meaders and Frazer came up with a comprehensive menu of healthy meals and diets because they realized

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“And the vision that we had to provide services to people, made all the difference in the world.” — Daniel Goodine the community they were in would not have the resources or time to prepare meals with just hand-outs of vegetables and meats.

“If they don’t know how to prepare these fresh fruits and vegetables, then the nutritious value in those fruits and vegetables - they go to waste,” said Meaders Chef Frazer developed the recipes himself using input from alumni and the communities they live in.

“So what do you like? What is healthy for your family?” asked Chef Frazer to his alumni. “And we incorporate that into our day-to-day.”

“The pandemic magnified some of the challenges that this neighborhood already had,” said Lucas

Denton, founder of the BCCC. “And it’s just been incredibly beautiful to see all of the partners in the neighborhood step up and really address this crisis.”

Another community liaison Men Elevating Leadership (MEL) assists with food deliveries and community engagement to encourage social distancing between pantry clients. “If there’s no vision, there’s no hope,” said Daniel Goodine, Community Partner and co-founder of MEL. “And the vision that we had to provide services to people, made all the difference in the world.”

For those who can afford it, there are several low-cost meal plans that feed individuals and families of up to 4 members for a day up to a week. For those who are especially fortunate, by visiting Collective Fare’s website, to donate the prepared meals to families in need.

“Being able to provide food for people, it fills me with a sense of hope that we’re going to be able to get past anything, if we all just band together,” said Meaders. “Especially as New Yorkers - we always find a way.”

Collective Fare has now fed over 100 thousand people since the pandemic began and continue to serve a community that was already dealing with food insecurity and diet-related illness of epidemic proportions. Learn more at https://www.collectivefare. com/donate-to-meals-for-all

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

MY TWO CENTS

WITH JOSEPH LEHR OF GLISSEN

OLD SCHOOL SELLING NEVER LOSES ITS LUSTER

P

eople have said to me forever: so Joe how do you find business? My answer was always: by looking for it.

Sure today there’s all kinds of computers and technology but the reality is nothing has changed. It still means that whatever it takes to make contact with a person that wants to listen to you. The goal hasn’t changed because its our job as sales professionals to figure out what the best approach is to reach that target customer. I don’t need LinkedIn or Facebook to accomplish the goal of building a profile of my target. What position does the decision maker for my product line have in a company.

The next step is to build the words

I’m not going to start singing that “good old days” tune. But what I am going to say is that in many cases the priority of today’s newer buyer has become money and margins with quality second.

I need to sell my products. My goals for creating my pitch is to mold the words I am going to need to get him/ her to listen to me for just one minute.

It’s funny, the game hasn’t changed.

When I started years ago, the first question was hey kid let me see your catalog. Well, we had one product and I would pull out a single sheet. I can’t tell you how many times they would tell me to come back when I had a full catalog to show them. We buy from

XYZ Chemical, here’s their 125 page catalog. Nothing has changed because today the same thing happens with a website and in many cases the buyer won’t even talk to you. It is all email or text.

I learned very quickly that I wasn’t selling chemicals. The product I had was a specialty product for the foodservice industry. I would ask Mr. Dealer, do you sell glasses, dishes and pot and pans? Great how do they get

For 70 plus years, Joseph “Joe” Lehr has been a pillar of the Metro New York restaurant and foodservice industry. At the helm of Glissen Chemical, Lehr has built the Brooklyn, NY based company into a national manufacturer of the industry’s highest quality detergents. He can be reached via email at rich@ glissenchemical.com or via phone at (718)436-4200.

cleaned? I have a product that can do a is far superior for washing bar glass ware than any product in the United States of America. I don’t need a catalog, I only need one sheet because my product which you might call chemicals, but I call a specialty product is simply the best. This is about where your customers come both the glass and a specialty foodservice solution to remove lipstick and grease and fat.

I want them to come to you Mr. Dealer to buy the glass from you and then figure out how to clean a glass so that the beer they are pouring doesn’t go flat. Before too long, he’s asking me about is it a powder or a liquid. He no longer looking at me as a chemical salesman.

What has changed in foodservice is who is ultimately selling the glass and cleaning solution to the end-user restaurant/foodservice professional. For years, we had the traditional equipment and supply dealer who I looked at as the “hardware store” of the foodservice industry. That owner was responsible for selling glasses, dishes and pots and pans to restaurants in his local community. In most cases these were family businesses with somebody that wanted to listen. I’m not going to start singing that “good old days” tune. But what I am going to say is that in many cases the priority of to-

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

RE-OPENING STRATEGIES

WITH GERRY MURPHY

WARM BLANKETS AND COLD SHOULDERS

W

ith the election just hours away, there have been so many lessons learned. After a very aggressive approach towards aid last Spring, “Washington” turned its back on both the restaurant industry and the general population.

The fallout off this government shutdown is still very much in affect with no sign of Federal, relief on the way.

Like the song says, “It’s up to you New York”. Our local restauranteurs are going to have to make your own rain. I would start with the purchase of Mylar Blankets. I can hear it already: Chef Murphy have you finally lost it?

No, this is a great first step . Greet

Be a source of motivation and calm, just imagine how much stress your staff has before they get to work. your guest and let them know there is no space in the dining room at this moment. May I offer you a Mylar Blanket we have Heated Outdoor Space available. Additionally, pay attention to those customers who dine outside make sure that their shoes are not on a cold outside surface. Once a customer gets cold feet, they will have cold feet for your establishment for a long time.

One of the keys to understanding outdoor dining is that you can’t offer the same menu outdoor as you

do indoors. On top of your to-do list is warm spirited Cocktails & Wines.

Your outdoor menu needs to be like that of Alpine ski resorts. Handheld appetizers, warm salads and entrees that do not require a lot of cutting.

If the Alpine Resort thyme does not work for you how about “Bento Boxes” Basically, your outdoor menu needs to be easy to eat. Don’t be afraid to try something new. At the same time your indoor menu should be limited to only your best-selling items Pre-Covid. Your kitchen team

Gerry Murphy is a culinary consultant, inventor, and accomplished professional leader offering 35 years’ experience in Culinary Consulting with expertise inRestaurant Operations, Live Cooking Competitions, Certification Consultations, Budget & Finance Administration, Personnel Management, and Project Management. He can be reached at chefgerard@aol.com.

will not have much trouble putting this menu together successfully. If you had thirty items on your menu, now offer only fifteen. Remember you are asking the kitchen to produce two different menus, Indoor and outdoor. Sadly, with things being the way they are you will still do less covers than you did last year at this time. The good news is you have kept your head above water you are still in business.

2020 will forever be known as the year of Takeout. How about continuing to be creative in growing your to go business. I suggest dressing up one of your stainless-Steel kitchen carts and offering a Mobile Coffee Bar, Breakfast Bar, Desert Bar & Snack bar to your community.

I am willing to bet there are plenty of office managers that want to reward their employees. You just need to market these new concepts which you can do cost efficiently with social media. The idea is to reward staff and spend less than last year.

I’ve always been a big proponent of how serving others can bring good Karma.

We all know someone who had to close their restaurant as a result of Covid. How about reaching out to those former owners and asking them to join your team on a consulting basis by serving as an am-

continued on page 90 76 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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RESTAURANT EXPERT

WITH DAVID SCOTT PETERS

WHEN TO FIRE A MANAGER I f you’re a restaurant owner who wants freedom from your business and to have the financial freedom you work so hard for, reaching those goals revolves around one thing: managers. You need managers who follow your system, your process, your way. And all too often, as restaurant owners I work with go through the process of implementing systems, they say to me, “David, when do I let this manager go? Is it time?”

The guilt we feel is because we’re not sure we really gave that manager the tools to be successful. We wonder, “Is it my fault that I didn’t give them the systems in the first place? Was it my fault that I didn’t give them the support?”

As hospitality industry professionals, we want to take care of people. The last thing we really enjoy, unless you’re a little bit weird, is actually firing somebody. It’s one of the worst things for us because we are built to take care of people.

To get over the emotional side of managing people and holding them accountable, I teach something I call the three-strike approach to management. It’s your recipe for understanding when it’s time to pull the trigger and send a manager on their way.

First you have to understand how people learn. People learn differently, auditory, tactile and visual learners.

As hospitality industry professionals, we want to take care of people. The last thing we really enjoy, unless you’re a little bit weird, is actually firing somebody. It’s one of the worst things for us because we are built to take care of people.

• Auditory people just have to hear it.

• Visual learners see it or read it.

• Tactile learners have to do it.

The best trainings have all three ways of teaching/learning because they cover all the bases. If you truly want to reinforce a learning process, your training must include auditory, tactile and visual methods for learning.

But let’s say I train you, and I didn’t realize how you learn may be

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

different than how my training is set up. Initially you show me you understand the process and you actually do it right. Then I come around the corner a month later, and you’re doing it wrong. And I’m thinking you know better because I taught you, and I saw you execute correctly. It’s so frustrating, and we want to get really mad at you for being such a dope.

But when this happens to you, my advice is to stop yourself from getting mad at them. It’s your fault

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.

you didn’t train them properly. You didn’t find out whether they are a tactile, visual or auditory learner.

You trained them a certain way.

They temporarily understood it but didn’t truly absorb it because you didn’t have all three learning methods in the training.

In three-strikes management, that incorrect way of working is strike one for your manager. You see them doing it wrong. You call them out on it and hold them accountable, which means there may be a write up. But you retrain them in a different way and make them show you over and over how to do it. Once you’re sure they understand their retraining, you let them out on their own.

If a month later they’re still doing it wrong, and you’re ready to fly off the handle, stop. It’s still your fault.

You still didn’t figure out how to train them properly. That’s strike two and maybe a write up, but you’re going to retrain them. You’re going to find a way to go through all the different

continued on page 92

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

RESTAURANT SOURCING to Sysco, their foodservice supplier, for ideas and support. Sysco had recently launched a series of Foodie Solutions Toolkits aimed at helping restaurant operators generate additional revenue through concepts such as grab and go meals, takeout and delivery, patio and outdoor dining, virtual kitchens and more.

Sysco’s Holiday Toolkit includes recipes and ideas for memorable virtual experiences to offer guests, as well as creative takeaway solutions to provide restaurant-quality gift giving or easy holiday meal solutions. For example, prepared charcuterie and cheese boards provide on-trend appetizers without all the work, cocktail kits provide a fun way for guests to enjoy signature holiday drinks at home, and a Pies-To-Go offering provides customers freshbaked flavors without extra time in the kitchen.

“I think that [Sysco] solidly nailed

CHEF EDUARDO PEREZ let’s do it.’ And from then on, every Sunday, I would work the grill. There were times when Wolfgang would walk in and make jokes and say, ‘Eduardo, is Joseph OK on the pasta station?’”

How did you learn the business side of running a restaurant?

When I came back to Spago in Vegas, I get the opportunity to understand how the front of a restaurant worked.

It also enabled me to learn the administrative side of the business because I knew the cooking side already.

from page 52 it,” George says when describing the Holiday Toolkit. “I think for us as operators to be successful and really make the most out of this holiday season, we need to be presenting ideas to offices and groups of people that typically get together,” explains George. “I think at this point we are back at another crossroads because we’ve gotten comfortable with where we are,” says George. “We’ve had outside dining...but we’re getting to a point where winter is going to change a lot of [things].

Sysco’s Holiday Toolkit also includes recommendations for serving guests safely at holiday gatherings.

Space planning that provides appropriate social distancing and safety best practices can help guests feel safe celebrating while dining out.

Prior to COVID, the Southern Inn did very little carryout. As George explains, “[by] March 17th, we were a carryout restaurant. Probably 70-

80% of our business was coming [from] online ordering.” An earlier update to the Southern Inn’s POS system was fundamental to being able to manage the shift to online ordering.

In addition, using the right takeout supplies ensured the restaurant’s menu offerings traveled well and continued to delight guests. George and Sue-Ann worked with their Sysco Sales Consultant, Tammie Sadonis, to give the to-go program a new look using all Eco-Friendly Products.

“We have gotten lot of compliments on our packaging,” George said.

Besides the Foodie Solutions Toolkits, which are available to all operators, Sysco customers also have exclusive access to: • Free Sysco iCARE webinars designed to provide an in-depth look at ways operators can grow and support their business, and • Free Marketing Services Con-

cierge that offers value added services, such as the creation of carryout and delivery menus, creation of QR codes for touchless menus and much more.

• Exclusive, chef-tested products through Sysco’s Cutting Edge Solutions platform that help foodservice operators easily update their menus with on-trend dining options while also enabling streamlined back-ofhouse operations.

of traffic we have. One of our advantages here is that our bars are open and keeping the 6 feet required for social distancing.

Since you are starring in a beer commercial, how has beer grown on a restaurant menu?

We have seen continual growth with beer. I think you see far more beer being consumed at the bar and more wine being served at the table.

No matter the challenges, Sysco has been proud to serve and support its customers and will always be there for them. “I would describe my experience as a Sysco customer as a long and winding road,” George describes. “Despite the occasional bump in the road, they have helped support us in so many ways. We’ve been great partners, and I hope that Sysco feels the same.”

from page 28 teachers. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for but I knew it was time.

How did this opportunity come along at the Venetian?

I had worked with Matteo Ferdinandi at Spago in Los Angeles. He was starting a new venture and it gave me the opportunity to work as an executive chef with a small company. We have three restaurants in Los Angeles and the two here in Las Vegas.

Where does this fire inside you to get better come from?

At the beginning, when I came to the States, I had no idea that this idea of a celebrity chef existed. I just knew that I had a passion for cooking that is still there today.

How has COVID-19 impacted your restaurants?

We were out for three months with the hotel shut down. We are seeing business return on the weekends at the hotel with customers from Arizona and California coming in for the weekends. Our second restaurant is in a mall so its been far more challenging.

When did you know it was time to move on from Wolfgang?

After 27 years, I just didn’t see any more opportunity for growth. Spago was my school and their staff were my

What are your thoughts on a cap on the number of diners in your restaurants?

We’ve been working with a 50% capacity which works well with amount

80 • November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

How did the opportunity come along to star in a national TV commercial?

It was completely out of the blue. I woke up one day and there was a message on my phone from Modelo’s ad agency. Before I knew it, we were in Vancouver shooting the commercial.

Funny that a chef who has never had a TV show becomes the star of a commercial.

I’ve done lots of guest spots on local TV and I’ve never had a cooking show.

Who knows? This could be a start.

Is the guy in that commercial really who you are?

That’s me. 100%. Okay, I say hello to everybody. But given the choice between spending time in the dining room or kitchen, cooking is my passion.

What is your perspective on how to negotiate a restaurant/hotel alliance?

There’s no question in my mind that a management contract is the best way to go. It sets a tone for the hotel and the restaurant to be true partners.

With that you are sharing the risk and the reward.

We are hours away from voting. Based on your own experience, where would you like to see the immigration issue?

I am not going to talk politics with you. But what I will say is that we depend on labor from outside the country to go into the fields and pick strawberries or vegetables. That workforce comes from Mexico and South America.

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

LEGAL INSIDER

from page 60

tors LLC, 14-CA-197985, 369 NLRB No. 127 (2020). If employees are discussing their choice of candidate in the restaurant’s kitchen, and one employee threatens to injure a coworker if they voted for the opposing candidate, it would most likely be lawful to discipline and potentially terminate that employee for such statement. The political aspect of that speech would not protect the inappropriate portion of that speech.

These principles extend beyond just traditional verbal speech. While employers can specifically prohibit employees from wearing clothing with political slogans (e.g., “Make American Great Again”), employers cannot completely prohibit all

NYC & COMPANY

types of logos or slogans. Employees have a right under the National Labor Relations Act to wear union insignia, for example. Further, federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on protected characteristics, such as race. Therefore, an employer that permits an employee to wear a mask with the logo of their favorite sports team, but then prohibits a Black Lives Matter mask, may face allegations of racial discrimination.

In fact, Whole Foods employees recently made this allegation after they were disciplined for wearing BLM clothing in violation of the company’s dress code, which prohibits visible slogans, messages, logos or advertising.

Employers may also be subject to more employee-favorable state law related to speech. Thus, while in the example above the NLRB found no issue with the business terminating an employee based on their political advocacy pursuant to federal labor law, that same advocacy may be protected under state law. Many states, including New York, prohibit employers from taking adverse action against employees due to their lawful off-duty conduct, including political activities, unless the conduct materially conflicts with the employer’s business interests.

Regardless of whether restaurants can lawfully prohibit certain political speech, they are urged to think twice about whether they should,

given the potential for public backlash. The Whole Foods example illustrates how a seemingly neutral company policy was changed to allow employees to openly engage in what is arguably political speech.

The hard truth is that your employees are likely to be caught up in today’s trending political issues because of the work they do (e.g., abolishment of the tip credit, minimum wage, racial injustice and COVID-19-related employee relief ).

It is imperative you implement neutral workplace policies and enforce them consistently, all while ensuring a sense of civility, respect and sensitivity to the emotionallycharged and outspoken society in which we live.

from page 4

ers. The roadmap also unveils a simple tagline that embodies how New Yorkers feel about their city and describes its greatest strengths: All In NYC. The tagline was designed by Aruliden, a New York City– based, woman-owned global award-winning design agency.

The first component of the campaign will focus on unifying health practices through the Stay Well NYC Pledge. NYC & Company will be creating transparency around Standard Operating Procedures to ensure that every New Yorker and visitor knows that the city is aligned on best-inclass cleaning standards.

The second component of the All in NYC campaign aims to encourage New Yorkers and visitors to explore neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs and support local businesses. NYC & Company will be creating a series of video profiles along with a platform that allows residents to share their love for their

neighborhoods, elevating a diverse range of voices across channels to both celebrate the locals who make the City so engaging and to help visitors enjoy a deeper, authentic experience in NYC’s many enclaves.

NYC & Company will also launch Art on the Grid, a multi-platform exhibition of new work by a group of 50 NYC-based emerging artists.

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The large outdoor art exhibition will feature works of art on NYC bus shelters and LinkNYC screens around the City. The campaign also includes supporting industries such as restaurants, with content featuring New York City chefs; promoting New York City-based staycations; leveraging well-known New Yorkers to become influencers for their

city; engaging external audiences; and expanding the campaigns reach geographically.

“Created by New Yorkers for New Yorkers, All In NYC is a rallying cry and campaign platform designed to help unite New Yorkers around the immutable spirit that they share and the infinite experiences this city offers them.

We are proud to partner with NYC-based creative agency Aruliden on this revitalization campaign, and are very appreciative of their amazing work as well as that of our collective network of local photographers.

All have greatly contributed to our effort to showcase not only NYC’s strength in tough times, but its diverse culture and inclusivity, which will be at the forefront of our messaging as we move through the stages of recovery and beyond,” said Nancy Mammana, CMO at NYC & Company.

FLAT TECH

from page 22

management, servers, and customers,” O’Donnell said.

“Our products work effectively on uneven surfaces, saving operators time, money, and custom.”

With a focus on maximizing revenues with restricted capacity, the FLAT® Tech line allows operators to quickly reorganize seating for groups. “A restaurant will often have to bring tables together for groups – aligning the tables where the adjoining table tops meet takes time and can cause spillages if not dealt with. Our table bases not only self-stabilize but also align in seconds by tilting or lifting the tabletop to the required level.”

O’Donnell added.

Furthermore, FLAT® Tech’s products are just as useful outdoors, as they are indoor, if not even more so. Restauranteurs looking to maxi-

mize their outdoor dining revenue will find FLAT® Tech’s technology invaluable. “Our products are perfectly suited to any outdoor terrain, be it brick, concrete, asphalt, or any other uneven surface. What it boils down to is no matter what environment you find yourself suddenly working with, our products will adapt to it,” explained O’Donnell.

For those worried about finances during these troubled times, FLAT® Tech has taken great care to make their products extremely affordable and cost-efficient. A box of Equalizers for existing tables, which will cover one of your standard tables, costs around twenty-two dollars, and FLAT’s self-stabilizing tables start at seventy-nine dollars. Op-

erators should also check if they are eligible for Outdoor Dining Grants in their locale to support the costs of ‘winterizing’ their establishment and investing in the necessary equipment to be successful.

“From a value proposition, the elimination of unnecessary labor costs spilled liquor and food, drycleaning bills and potential litigation costs - generate a quick return on investment for the operator,” O’Donnell concluded.

FLAT® Tech products are being utilized by some of the world’s largest brands and are available nationwide. FLAT® Tech stocks significant inventory levels within the US and sells through all major distributors.

See their website (FlatTech.com) to preview the line or to find a representative in your area.

November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 83

SCOOP

METRO NY INSIDER NEWS, from page 58

Star program for three consecutive years.

The 2020 program honors five outstanding women in hospitality and foodservice, including HMG+ Director of Client Services Amanda Beni. A member of SHFM for nearly five years and a Rising Star participant, Amanda is a committed mentor with a passion for service excellence. She helped to plan the first Young Professionals Session at the SHFM National Conference and credits SFHM with fostering her confidence and career growth.

“Amanda is the definition of a creative and capable leader,” said HMG+ President Karen DiPeri.

“During her five years at HMG+, she’s continuously demonstrated a level of professionalism and personability that makes her uniquely suited for hospitality. We are exceedingly proud of her selection as part of the 2020 Julie Flik Rising Star Continuation Program.”

Sharing the award with Ms. Beni are: • Amy Bendekovits, operational excellence manager, Unidine Corporation • Katie DeSimone, national director, catering and conference services, Compass Group • Christiana Williams, nutrition and wellness director, Eurest • Emily Wunder, regional wellness director, Eurest Members of the Julie Flik Rising Star Continuation Program will take on a variety of leadership roles within the association. Activities and responsibilities include mentoring current Rising Stars, participating in an SHFM committee or task force, providing support for the Young Professionals Summit and contributing to an annual project on behalf of SHFM. Additionally, members will receive a number of benefits including association membership and attendance/travel to the National Conference, Critical Issues Conference, Young Professional Summit and Professional Development Session/Mentoring. To learn more about SHFM, visit https://www.shfm-online.org/.

HMG+ is the Tri-State’s leading hospitality, training and staffing company. For more than 20 years

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

we’ve delivered exceptional client experiences by merging our industry knowledge with an unparalleled passion for service and safety. As a holistic hospitality partner, we provide off-premise catering, facilities management, administrative placement and more to drive customer satisfaction.

Start exceeding client expectations today by visiting https://hmgplus.com/.

SFA ANNOUNCES SOFI PRODUCT OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS SCOOP learned that Lodi Olive Oil Ascolano and Rye Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup are the winners of the sofi Product of the Year award, announced Ron Tanner, vice president of education, content & advocacy for the Specialty Food Association, Monday, during Specialty Food Live!

“Our Product of the Year is the sofi-winning product that earned the highest score from 1,825 product entries,” he said. “In this extraordinary year, we have an extraordinary tie!”

Calivirgin Olive Oils’ Lodi Olive Oil Ascolano is made with Ascolano olives handpicked from local trees and processed using state of the art cold extraction technology creating a fresh pressed olive oil.

The olive oil has a fruity aroma with a medium intensity and mild pepper finish. It is California Olive Oil Council Certified.

“We are so honored and humbled to have won this award,” said Julie Coldani of Calivirgin. “A big thank you to the Specialty Food Association for this bright spot in 2020.”

Finding Home Farms Rye Barrell-Aged Maple Syrup is the result of a partnership between two local farms to incubate rye flavor into maple syrup. The syrup is put into rye whiskey barrels and incubated to pull the rye flavor into the syrup. It’s then carefully filtered.

“It’s great to see three different farming families

with two farm-based products win this award,” said Dana Putnam of Finding Home Farms. “It really speaks to how innovative agriculture can be.”

Originally scheduled for March but delayed due to COVID-19, sofi Award judging began on July 27, said SFA interim president Bill Lynch.

“The number of judges and staff in the facility was capped at 15, all needed to have temperatures checked before entering, and the judges were spaced 20 feet apart in a large manufacturing space, which, by the way, is where the Impossible Burger was developed which is pretty cool,” said Lynch. “We owe a huge bouquet of roses to the Rutgers Innovation Center for all their preparation and ongoing support, and a world of thanks to those stalwart judges.”

The SFA has been presenting sofi Awards since 1972. The Awards represent the best of the $158 Billion specialty food industry. Past Award winners include industry leaders such as KIND Bars, Tate’s Bake Shop, Stonewall Kitchen and Rao’s.

continued on page 86

NYC RESTAURANT AIR QUALITY body is forcing anybody to come back to work. We had 135 employees when we closed in March and today we have 35. At the end of the day, if we don’t open than how are these people going to make money. Frankly, it’s not like the government has stepped in and is supporting anybody. These guys can’t live in Manhattan on $500 a week.

If you don’t want me to reopen then pass the Restaurant Act.” Once again there seems to be no recognition for the work that was done by Crown Shy and the restaurant community on behalf of the City’ First responders. “After laying off 275 people and closing the restaurant in March, we took a team of six and put them into quarantine so that we could cook for the ReThink program, Katz continued. We need someone to come out and say: maybe these guys need a hand.”

Day & Nite was at the forefront of working with Crown Shy and many of the City’s leading restaurant and hospitality operators in advance of the mandated shutdown. “We were actually writing to our client base as early as January 2020 as CV-19 mounted in China making its way toward Europe we continued to warn internally as well as our client base to ready,” noted Day & Nite President Matt Sher. “We could see that a solution was going to require more than the varied technologies we used over the years for Sick Building Syndrome and looked at for LEED Certified spaces.”

The challenge of preparing for reopening came from the industry-wide search for a silver bullet of guidance from the government. As often happens, lacking a target date, lacking a unified voice of reason, more than likely billions of dollars were wasted on passive and antiquated remedies.

There were a number of operators including Crown Shy and Raoul’s knew that using chemicals to clean simply wouldn’t suffice.

Day & Nite’s prep work once again put them in a position to help their customer base implement an innovative solution for a new challenge.

“We held true to what we knew by way of independent laboratory

from page 74

testing,” Sher said. We continued to press through our HVAC division our Performance Solutions to ACTIVELY combat viral pathogen in the air and on surfaces with a variety of proven technologies.”

The irony of the Crown Shy solution is that it features a Connecticut based company technology located just 40 miles from Manhattan. Atmos Air Bi-Polar Ionization has been proven through testing as the most effective way to actively combat Viral Patho-

gen, Bacteria, Mold, VOC’s and in particular Corona Virus.

There are less powerful systems but when it comes to UL 2998 standards and the active Kill Rate of Atmos Air BPI, there is nothing as effective on the market to impact IEQ. “Day & Nite has always been brand/solution agnostic and so it comes down to what is best for our clients. We have a variety of other Air Side Performance Solutions if it becomes a matter of budget,” Sher concluded.

“We’ve worked with Matt Sher and his team at Day & Nite for years. I wanted a solution that would truly be capable of seeking and destroying the virus. The Atmos Air bio-polarization system will also be installed in the much anticipated Saga restaurant that is slated to open this year some 60 plus floors above Crown Shy. It was a relatively easy sale to our investor group. From a hood not working to HVAC issues, Day & Nite understands what makes us tick,” noted Katz.

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

SCOOP

METRO NY INSIDER NEWS, from page 84

PARMIGIANO REGGIANO CONSORTIUM APPOINTS US BRAND AMBASSADOR

BETHPAGE BURGER BARBURGERS LIKE NO OTHER

SCOOP has heard that the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium has appointed Chef Michele Casadei Massari as its U.S. brand ambassador. Throughout the coming year, Chef Massari will promote the cheese’s presence in the U.S. from gastronomic, cultural, and nutritional perspectives.

Chef Massari will share his passion for this extraordinary cheese through educational events and culinary experiences that will take place virtually as well as on-site at his restaurant Lucciola on New York City’s Upper West Side. Events tentatively slated for 2021 will allow people across the country to better understand how authentic Parmigiano Reggiano is different from ordinary parmesan cheeses, experience its unique and distinctive taste, learn about its health benefits, and gain insight into its integral role in Italian culture.

In addition, Chef Massari will represent Parmigiano Reggiano at local trade shows and conventions, to celebrate, discuss, and showcase the cheese among a vast professional network, furthering the Consortium’s ongoing efforts towards American awareness and understanding of Parmigiano Reggiano within the food retail and hospitality industries.

“More than anything, I want to help people understand that by eating better food they will feel happier.

JOE LEHR

Chef Michele Casadei Massari

Eating real Parmigiano Reggiano is one great way to enjoy a rich experience within a clean diet. I will be introducing some new, and very healthy, recipes as well as some exceptional pairings,” said Chef Massari, in a statement.

In addition, a website dedicated to the promotion of activities, recipes, and interactive content around Chef Massari and Parmigiano Reggiano launched in September. The website will accumulate additional features, recipes, and articles as the year progresses.

The site will also play host to an ongoing podcast series featuring Chef Massari.

SCOOP learned that as most restaurants are closing their doors, the Bethpage Burger Bar has opened and will serve some of the best burgers, vegan and comfort foods on Long Island by using top quality meats and ingredients. In addition to their fresh food, specialty cocktails, desserts, and mouth-watering milk shakes topped off with Chonky Cookies by Long Island startup bakery owner Heather Friedfertig, will be offered to satisfy any sweet tooth. The team at Bethpage Burger Bar along with A2Z Restaurant Consulting devised the design and safety protocols including the latest technology point of sales system with each table having its own QR code so that they can order and pay for their meal right from their own phone.“I’m excited to be involved in the project and bring the Bethpage Burger Bar to our community. The Bethpage Burger Bar will become one of the iconic eateries for people craving tasty burgers and old-fashioned comfort food that are reasonably priced,” said Eddie Fahmy, owner A2Z Restaurant Consulting and Spokesperson Bethpage Burger Bar. “Additionally, Bethpage Burger Bar is offering a free meal to first responders Monday – Wednesday as they’re committed to giving back to our heroes, local nonprofits and food insecure on Long Island. We look forward to seeing everybody soon.”

For more information, https://www.facebook. com/bethpageburgerbar

from page 74

day’s newer buyer has become money and margins with quality second.

I find today that you simply need to work a little harder and be creative.

The business is there but as I said at the beginning, you need to look for it so that you get that extra 30 seconds to tell your story. So what I have done is to come at it from this new age buyer’s perspective. Simply put, how can my products help you make money. This is not my hobby, I still take it very personally, this is how I make my living and put bread on my table. So I am here to help both of us make money. Even though you like to text and email, our common goal hasn’t changed: we both make money by providing a specialty product (not a chemical) that tells you customers you won’t settle for anything but the

very best.

What I have always enjoyed is the process of trying to get better with every sales call I have made over my seven decades. To this day, if I go three days without an order, I hear those guys from the 50’s and 60’s telling me to come back with my catalog. To me, the rejection was simply the motivation to dig in and get more creative.

Even with all of the technology today, it’s still the answer.

I’ve always gone back to basics of my selling process as well. The goal of the creativity was to get the opportunity to go “on stage” and get the five minutes I needed to tell our story. I was never an order taker. Every time I see a distributor it is “showtime” to perform. The applause is an order.

It is interesting, throughout my ca-

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reer, I watched other salespeople in action. I learned more from those that I found disgraceful than from those who knew what they were doing.

It’s interesting the common characteristics of great salespeople haven’t changed. I worked to copy how they dress, speak and present their line to the buyer. I saw a salesperson chewing gum on a call and to this day I have never chewed gum again. Another time, I saw a guy calling on the same accounts wearing a shirt that clearly he had been wearing for the week. I made sure that when I got back to my hotel that my shirt was cleaned and pressed. Indeed to look sharp and raring to go to perform for my buyers.

A key ingredient that has never changed in selling is attitude. Salespeople need to build their own per-

sonal definition of success.

I call it being successful within yourself. When you really feel that you have done something really important and you start to make money with it, there’s simply nothing like it.

For me it started with the foundation that my Dad (Eugene) who was also my boss taught me about HONESTY, INTEGRITY and QUALITY and yes pounded the desk when he got to “YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND”.

There are those who may have looked at my business and said why isn’t he 10x bigger. My definition of success involved having Fridays off with my bride of 63 years and having a very different life outside of work.

I’m asking you to look inside yourself and build and live your definition of success.

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

FRANCINE COHEN

from page 30

fice where the technology allows us to see everything in a very customized dashboard. Onfleet enables us to pass through our middleware all the consumer order information and it allows the mixologist network to reach an app via 1 click to put the software onto their phone while optimizing all the orders in the market. It also lets us know what bartenders have completed so we know how to pay them. Without Onfleet there’s no way we’d be able to crunch the math, much less export it and pay them all the next day at noon. Its API integrates great with Shopify, and because of that, companies like ours who are a consumer experience business that must be tech enabled will thrive.

Thriving is a state of being that East Harlem and Upper Manhattan community-based coffee shop Dear Mama wasn’t so sure about when NY shut down. Based in neighborhoods where they’ve developed a reputation as being welcoming gathering spots, Dear Mama founder/CEO Zach Sharaga immediately noticed that he was left with little to no in-store foot traffic his business had relied upon and his plans underway to explore delivery were accelerated. He explains, “When the pandemic hit, we wanted to offer

New Sips to Seek with Francine Cohen We are warming up with whiskey again this month. And, since great American whiskey can come from anywhere, but we Americans aren’t likely to be traveling much of anywhere this month, despite the Thanksgiving holiday, it seemed fitting to take a trip to Texas and see what’s happening there.

Introducing, Milam & Greene Triple Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey. From the team of Texas entrepreneur Marsha Milam, Michigan-born renowned whiskey expert, author and Master Blender Heather Greene, Kentucky veteran

some consistency, and comfort for our neighbors’ bellies, by making sure we got to them. Our original intent on undertaking delivery was to build the Dear Mama profile wider than before and balance out the fees that result in a net zero profit by utilizing the platforms for their marketing power. So, we signed up for many of these delivery services to get as many eyes on us as possible.

In addition to connecting with our local customer base in a new way that felt safe, adopting these apps allowed us to open a line of communication with people we didn’t already reach. It is bringing our brand to people who haven’t heard of us; 51% of people coming to us via these platforms are first time Dear Mama customers.”

Sharaga also harnessed technology with a proprietary app and offers coupons when pick-up and delivery items go out, hoping people will navigate to the Dear Mama app on their next order. Utilizing all this technology has enabled him to expand his delivery zone and positively impacts his bottom line as he shares, “I see these apps bringing in more money on a margin per item basis than we saw when it was just in-store sales. “ In Jackson Heights, NY, two and

Master Distiller Marlene Holmes, and Texan bred Chief Brewer Jordan Osborne, who have 55 years of whiskey expertise between them, comes this bourbon made from 70% Texas corn, 22% Pacific Northwest malted rye from Oregon & Washington, 8% Wyoming barley and a proprietary yeast recipe from Kentucky and Texas. Each bottle is a batch of three hand selected straight bourbon whiskies: their 2-year-old premium Texas bourbon for a pop of spice married with 3 to 4-year-old Tennessee whiskey for vanillas and fruits and 10 to 11-yearold Tennessee whiskey for structure and tannins. It is then proofed to taste and bottled on site.

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a half year old Queensboro quickly reopened by utilizing QR Codes via their POS system Toast to reimagine the business of serving their regulars’ favorite beverages. Viewing the pandemic as a good chance to evaluate and refine operations, owner Michael Fuquay says, “Our POS company came up with a remote ordering widget that creates a unique QR code for every table, enabling drinks to be ordered straight from the guests’ phone. Transitioning to this cut down on the amount of face to face time our staff spends at the table.”

Before 2020, liquor brands that landed on someone’s cocktail table at home did so via retail channels.

The rise of third-party apps enabling direct to consumer bottle sales has changed all that as consumers are eagerly having spirits delivered to their door in order to replicate their favorite bar’s cocktail experience. Peter Nevenglosky, founder of Drifter Spirits, notes that the evo-

lution of direct to consumer sales technology is crucial to the survival of liquor brands big and small and comments, “Brands are now working with third party providers who partner with individual local retailers that can provide product to consumers in any state in the country within a day or so. This technology has evolved so that it is easy to get up and running and have the full spectrum of data that allows us to work through the supply chain.

Tony Matchus, COO of Caravedo Pisco, is pleased to see this sales channel newly open and robustly supported by enhanced backend technology. As the leading producer of a spirits category found primarily in the on-premise before the pandemic, Matchus relishes that technology has provided both a lifeline and fresh opportunities for growth.

He concludes, “It equalizes you as a liquor brand and puts you on equal footing with other consumer goods that you can buy on the internet.”

TECHNOMIC RESEARCH consumer expectations.

The report noted that consumers are looking for the same food experience they enjoy in the restaurant.

That expectation has been bolstered by some forward-thinking restaurant operators who have successfully delivered on that goal, and the subsequent praise and visibility they have received on relevant consumer review sites.

Fried foods are particularly challenging because the taste experience is dependent on maintaining both texture and temperature, both of which suffer as time elapses. The most ordered item for food-to-go is French fries, and it is not a coincidence that the top consumer complaint about off-premise dining is cold or soggy fries. However, chicken strips, nuggets, wings, egg rolls, fried vegetables, and hamburger buns are equally vulnerable to degradation by trapped humidity. Ironically, these foods are among the most popular, as well.

“One of the most common strategies, we have seen throughout the pandemic has been restaurants cutting the number of items they are offering on their takeout & delivery menus,” Zagor explained. Some operators restricted the off-premise menu to only the foods that travel well. However, many found that limited choices significantly impact the number of consumers reached and reduces the average order size. Operators should keep their menu as broad as possible and find packaging solutions for items new to takeout and delivery.

Technomic brought their worldrenowned research methodology to measure consumer perception of identical hot food when packed in different containers: plastic and fiber.

Consumer participants rated food appearance, texture, temperature, and taste. The research also probed if consumers are willing to accept lower quality when ordering delivery. It concluded that a consumer’s willingness to re-order takeout or delivery from an operator required high food quality.

The consumer interviews uncovered a series of insights regarding the impact of the packaging choice on food after 30 minutes. They were con-

from page 18 sistent across the consumer test group and within each packaging type.

Among the findings was the insight that retaining heat is good, but excess heat and humidity negatively impacts taste when it impacts texture. The research found that to protect taste, an operator needed packaging with a ventilation system capable of removing excess humidity while retaining heat and enough moisture to maintain flavor and texture.

Only one package retained heat

without impacting texture and taste: Anchor Packaging’s Crisp Food Technologies® containers. The packaging with patented, crossflow ventilation removed excess humidity while retaining heat and the proper moisture to maintain the taste and crunchy mouthfeel.

“With takeout and delivery here to stay and so much more riding on its success, operators need to make a commitment to quality packaging,” Zagor concluded. His thoughts coincide with the three crucial find-

ings of the study. First, operators can maintain the restaurant taste experience in off-premise dining by protecting both the food’s temperature and texture as it travels the “last miles” before being eaten. Secondly, packaging that can handle the average 30-minute transit time plays a pivotal role in the food taste experience. Finally, and most importantly, operators can develop a packaging plan to successfully leverage foodto-go growth as a permanent part of the business plan.

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

GERRY MURPHY

from page 76

bassador for your restaurant. If we can’t be kind to ourselves then who?

I have always been a person who keeps throwing things up against the wall till something sticks and it always does, eventually.

I’ve also noticed how kind we can be to strangers . That is the essence of the hospitality industry and that needs to continue. However, it is time to be kind to staff. Spend some one on one time with each staff member.

Get to know them find some common ground. Try to every day to elevate your employee’s moral. We all have stress. Currently leadership is what restaurants need most. Leadership as defined by President Dwight Eisenhower is “getting people to go where they would not go on their own”. Be a source of motivation and calm, just imagine how much stress your staff has before they get to work. You know how much you have! Be that leader that makes your staff happy they came to work.

I’ve also given a great deal of thought after the past four years of how we can bring people back together. Amidst all the craziness, your restaurant needs to be a hub for hub for family , both your work family and your customer families. So why not ask each employee to get a flag from their country of origin. Once the flags are on the wall perhaps on a slow weeknight your offer a special menu around that employee’s homeland. As time goes by include your customers. After all you want everyone to feel at home in your restaurant.

Whether you are political or not, the last six months have told us that we have an industry to protect. We need you help with the the heavy lifting and I don’t care which party is your’s. As the saying goes “all politics are local”. Many of your local House and Senate legislators are home for recess. For them it means that they are in the hometown offices. You are not on recess. Make appointments for all your staff to visit their local representative at their offices. They may not see the elected official , however the elected officials’ staff who will in-

form the representative of your staff members visit.

These meetings are often most productive when you are accompanied by your staff and you let them do the talking. Help your staff with talking points. Because through the years, I have often gotten the feeling that the politician sees a wealthy restaurant owner. not the reality of person with their life savings on the line. Don’t worry if the staff isn’t from the TriState are originally.

The common thread is support local restaurants. To ensure that each staff members sees their representative give them paid time to visit. In order to find local and state and federal elected officials all you have to do is Google the staff members home zip codes and ask who their elected officials are. This is a little bit of work the first time you do this. If you haven’t figured it out yet, then guess what? You and your staff are now your own best lobbyist.

Let’s learn a lesson from the year of the Pandemic. When all Hell broke loose, you and your staff were the first to run into hospitals with your arms loaded with food given from your heart to give comfort to first responders. You were there. Where is the city, state, and federal government when you need them the most? Recess!

Now I hope you see the need to blow your own horn! You are the backbone of the entire US economy. Remember it is small business that creates eighty percent of the new jobs in America.

What is NYC and the Tri-State without its restaurants?

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DAVID SCOTT PETERS

from page 78

things with an auditory, tactile and visual way. The goal is to cement the learning process and make sure the manager gets it and you get it.

Now, when you come around the corner a month later, a week later, two days later, and see it’s still being done wrong, whether it’s on the third or fourth strike, depending on whether you allow a third strike or fire on a third strike, they’re out.

After retraining twice, asking them to show you how to do it, and then just not following the proper methods, I call it “don’t know vs don’t care.” If they don’t know how to do something, it’s my fault as a trainer. Don’t care is their fault. If it’s don’t care, there’s the door.

COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS porate new COVID-19 protocols on top of other food safety initiatives.

Educate every employee about food safety rules and COVID-19 protocols and make training part of each new employee’s onboarding process. Emphasize the importance of following safety rules and COVID regulations and explain why these protocols are so important to secure employee buy-in. Ensure compliance and take immediate corrective actions if/when employees aren’t following protocols. Provide reminders via onsite signage, email, texts, pre-shift meetings, and “refresher” training sessions.

• Develop safer ways to serve food. Shared food items may be a thing of the past. It’s not currently considered safe to offer buffets, salad bars, and “family style dining” due to the possibility of coronavirus transmission via shared serving utensils and contact surfaces, or due to close proximity to others. Food businesses should provide single-use condiment packets vs. shared bottles. Serve individual meals vs. “family style” shared platters. Offer single servings of prepacked options rather than a salad

You don’t want managers who don’t care. They will poison the well.

But notice I’m not telling you to just pull the trigger and say, you’re an idiot, you’re out. You coached, trained and held them accountable. You did everything you could as a coach to expect more out of them, drive them to be better and give them the tools to be successful. That’s critical.

When you’re putting systems in place, it doesn’t matter if it takes one week, three weeks, or a year to get to three strikes. Either they don’t know, or they don’t care.

The next most important part of having the freedom to fire your “don’t care” employees and managers is to have a trained replacement

ready. You need to have a system in place where you may have one or two salaried managers and the rest might be hourly. This is your manager in training – an MIT. You can call them a supervisor lead or whatever else you want. They are taught to open and close a restaurant, to follow checklists, to make sure the money gets to the bank, that the guest is taken care of, how to comp things and so on. They’re entry level management. But their true role is to be ready to become a manager when you fire that manager that needs to go. As you hold that one person accountable, everybody sees that, and they’re going to stay in line.

If a manager isn’t doing the job as you expect, if they choose not to do the work, then they are slowing you down. They’re costing you more money and more headaches.

If you’re not reaching your financial goals, and you’re not able to leave your restaurant, then whoever is holding you back needs to go because they’re sabotaging your success.

But as long as you follow the three strikes, as long as you give them the training and support to be successful, do everything in your power to never let them fail, but they choose to fail, then it’s an easy decision, especially when you have trained replacements to follow behind them.

before they become huge liabilities.

ing proper protocols – now and into the future.

from page 10 bar. Have an employee (with clean hands!) pour coffee for guests rather than allowing them to help themselves to prevent multiple people’s hands from touching the coffee pot’s handle and potentially contaminating it.

• Switch from manual to digital systems. It’s ironic: at a time when we must elevate our quality and safety inspections to ensure compliance, it’s difficult to secure traditional corporate audits due to COVID-19-related restrictions. Further complicating things: many food businesses still rely on antiquated pen-and-paper systems to monitor important quality and safety initiatives. Manual systems have numerous (and serious) downsides. It’s impossible to get real-time data across a business, human errors are common, paperwork gets lost, etc. Conversely, digital tools and software solutions provide a broader, more accurate, more holistic, real-time view, whether you have one business location or dozens. Tech tools can instantly, accurately provide integrated data about various safety and quality initiatives, allowing you to easily identify (and fix) problems

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• Expand your suppliers. Looking back, we will always remember the shortages of toilet paper and hand sanitizer caused by the pandemic.

During this weird, unprecedented time, supply chains have been disrupted, and food businesses haven’t been able to consistently secure necessary products – from toilet tissue to meat. Continue supporting your regular suppliers – especially local companies and farms that are struggling through this crisis – but also consider expanding your roster of vendors to ensure continuous supplies. Also, vet every potential vendor for quality and safety criteria to ensure an ongoing and safe supply of products.

COVID-19 is more than just a short-term inconvenience; it’s a long-term problem. It’s likely that the 2020 pandemic has changed the foodservice industry forever, with safety protocols that may remain permanent. While this ongoing crisis may be frustrating and overwhelming, concentrate on what you can control. Commit to making your business safer by implement-

Francine L. Shaw is considered by many as the preeminent voice for food safety and education in the foodservice industry. Through her company, Savvy Food Safety, Inc., Francine provides world-class brands with food safety education, COVID-19 response plans, collaboration on the creation of digital food safety and COVID-19 digital platforms, crisis management, consulting, HACCP writing and implementation, curriculum development, public speaking engagements, and more. She has worked with many prestigious companies, including Starbucks, McDonald’s, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Target, Chick-fil-A, Disney, Stop and Shop, Walgreens, Sheetz, GOJO/Purell, Marriott, Omni Hotels & Resorts, RizePoint, Colnspect, and more. Additionally, Francine is frequently featured as a food safety expert in the media, including The Huffington Post, the Dr. Oz Show, iHeartRadio, the BBC World Series Radio, among others.

She has published hundreds of articles related to food safety matters.

November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 93

NJ RESTAURANTS

from page 2

not wearing masks as the reasons for the false start.

In late July, Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and senators Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, and Anthony Bucco, R-Boonton, sponsored the bill, which would also reimburse bars and catering companies for the money they spent to gear up for indoor dining.

“With respect to the business community, the impacts of the crisis have reached every industry in the world, but the pandemic’s impacts on the food establishments that drive the State’s hospitality industry have been particularly acute,” Murphy said in the statement.

“The bars and restaurants across our beach towns, villages, nature preserves, and urban centers are an indispensable component of the State’s economy, and I commend the bill’s sponsors for their efforts to assist these businesses during this extraordinarily challenging time.”

On Oct. 13, Murphy announced that $100 million in additional CARES Act funding would be dispensed to state businesses and residents affected by COVID-19. Of that money, $70 million will be distributed to restaurants and other small businesses through the EDA’s Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program.

More specifically, $35 million will be given to “Food Services and Drinking Places. “Following the recent announcement that an additional $100 million in CARES Act funding will be available to support New Jersey residents and businesses, including $35 million dedicated to food establishments, the goals of this bill have already been achieved,” the statement said.

Bucco, however, has criticized Murphy for vetoing the bill, which was unanimously voted for in both the House and Senate. According to Bucco, Murphy has mismanaged the CARES Act money and should approve the $30 million the bill allots for restaurants to supplement the $35 million that was recently designated for the state’s recovery.

“Based on Governor Murphy’s personal guidance, restaurants invested a significant amount of money, often on personal credit cards, to restock in anticipation of resuming indoor dining on July 2nd,” said Bucco in a statement.

“When the governor reversed course at the last moment, those restaurants suffered steep losses that they could ill afford. It’s unbelievable that Governor Murphy would veto targeted relief funds to cover losses that restaurants incurred to comply with his changing executive orders. It’s a slap in the face to an industry that’s struggling to survive.”

Many Garden State legislators share the concerns of the state’s restaurant and foodservice operators.

“The Governor’s announcement to allocate $35 million in aid to restaurants struggling to make ends meet will be crucial in providing valuable relief to our restaurant owners and food service workers,” said Senator Dawn Marie Addiego (D-Burlington/Atlantic/Camden). “Our food industry has been among the industries hit the hardest during this pandemic and while the aid cannot completely replace the revenue they have lost, it will hopefully be a source of great assistance.

“As we approach a cooler time of year, we must reconsider the current indoor dining standards that were created a month ago and put in place new procedures that will be instrumental in helping our restaurants survive through the winter,” she said. “The temperature is dropping quickly, leaving our restaurants litte time to plan on how to remain open and serve their customers once they are no longer able to rely upon outdoor dining.”

Senator Addiego noted that restaurants complied with the stringent requirements that have been set in place over the last seven months, but it will be difficult for them financially to survive the winter months without an expansion of indoor dining capacity.

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NEWS

SANITIZATION SOLUTIONS

EPA APPROVES P&G’S MICROBAN 24 SANITIZING SPRAY TO BATTLE COVID-19 CAUSING VIRUS

T

he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray (EPA Reg No. 4091-20-3573) as effective at killing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

For a product to claim it kills a specific pathogen, the EPA must conduct a data review and provide approval. Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray has been tested by a thirdparty lab, in accordance with the EPA testing guidelines, and was shown to kill SARS-CoV-2 in 60 seconds.

In addition to providing an initial kill of the virus that causes COVID-19, Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray is approved to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, including viruses that cause common colds and the flu. 1 Microban 24 also provides a protective shield that keeps killing bacteria for up to 24 hours 2, even when the surface is touched or contacted multiple times.

“Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray was introduced in February to give consumers a sanitizing product that works as hard as they do, providing protection against bacteria for up to 24 hours,” said Martin Hettich, SVP North America Home Care, P&G. “As Americans shifted from their standard sanitizing routine to one focused on protecting their homes against the COVID-19 virus, Procter & Gamble has been diligently working with scientists and health experts to ensure that Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray provides the effectiveness against the COVID-19 virus that people need.”

While COVID-19 has been a primary concern for many Americans

“We know that cleaning and disinfecting are top of mind with everyone during the pandemic, but especially for consumers who are returning to restaurants and hotels in a socially-distanced way.” — Paul Edmondson, VP North America, P&G Professional over the past eight months, the CDC is stressing the importance of reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses, like the flu, this fall and winter as more important than ever. 3 In addition to viral illnesses like the flu, the coming sick season is also the time of year when bacterial illnesses, such as strep throat, are more common. 4 That’s why in 2020, it’s important to have a sanitizing tool that will initially kill both viruses and bacteria. However, Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray will also continue killing 99.9% of bacteria1 for 24 hours to provide consumers with peace of mind that their home is protected during a time when the spread of bacteria is top of mind.

“With delays in COVID-19 virus testing, having any infection may lead to significant disruptions at home, school, and work. Therefore, over the coming cold and flu season, it will be especially important to ensure protection against viruses and bacteria that can cause infections,” said Dr. Frank Esper, an expert in respiratory viruses & emerging infectious diseases and an advisor to Microban 24. “The signs and symptoms of COVID-19 (including fever, sore throat, fatigue, and cough) are indistinguishable from many common bacterial and viral infections

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that continue to circulate in the community, so it’s best to use the tools that provide you with as much protection as possible.”

Prior to this approval, the EPA included Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray (EPA registration #4091-203573) on the EPA List N, which provided a list of products shown to be effective against harder to kill viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, under the EPA’s Emerging Viral Pathogen Policy.

“We know that cleaning and disinfecting are top of mind with everyone during the pandemic, but especially for consumers who are returning to restaurants and hotels in a socially-distanced way,” said Paul Edmondson, Vice President North America P&G Professional.

“Our research corroborates that people visiting restaurants and hotels would like the facilities to use cleaning and disinfecting products from manufacturers or brands they know and trust. That’s why our trusted brands, like Microban 24 Professional, are the right choice for the cleaning programs put in place by our customers.”

Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray is available in both Fresh Scent and Citrus Scent. The entire Microban 24 product lineup is sold at major

retailers nationwide in store and online. Microban 24 Professional is sold through P&G Professional, the away from home division, to professional end-users in foodservice, hospitality, non-acute healthcare, building cleaning and maintenance, and transportation.

P&G Professional is the awayfrom-home division of Procter & Gamble, serving the hospitality, foodservice, building cleaning and maintenance, healthcare, and food/drug/mass industries. P&G Professional offers complete solutions utilizing its parent company’s scale, trusted brands and strengths in market and consumer understanding. P&G Professional features such brands as Tide® Professional, Dawn® Professional, Cascade® Professional, Mr. Clean® Professional, Febreze® Professional, Swiffer® Professional, Comet®, Spic and Span®, Bounty®, Safeguard®, and its own brand, P&G Pro Line®.

1 The Sanitizing Spray kills viruses that cause common colds and the flu, including Human Coronavirus, Influenza A H1N1, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Microban 24 does not provide 24-hour residual protection against viruses.

2 Microban 24 provides continuous protection against the Enterobacter aerogenes and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, for up to 24 hours when used as directed.

3 https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/ index.html 4 https://www.cdc.gov/groupastrep/surveillance.html

November 2020 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 97

Behind You!

“

”

That’s Foodservice. Full Service.

The Tyson Fresh Meats Foodservice Team is always here to back you up - from pre-marinated options to consistently sized beef and pork products. Whatever the need, we’re part of your crew and ready to jump in.

For us, there’s only one way to do foodservice: full service.

Learn more at

TysonFreshMeats.com/Foodservice

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Minimally processed. No artificial ingredients. ®

/™/© 2020 Tyson Foods, Inc.