Sales Boosting
There are two types of diners at a restaurant. The first one walks in, knows exactly what they want to order and within minutes has ordered and is patiently waiting to be served. The second pores over the menu for a long time, weighing each and every option. This diner seeks a unique culinary experience and is eager to try new foods.
The Prix Fixe menu is a menu format that offers benefits to both ordering styles. It’s a great option for other reasons as well. It can be used to control costs, promote or test new dishes or streamline holiday / special event dining into quicker and more efficient service.
Every era has its own iconic food that typifies that generation. For example, a decade ago, avocado toast made news headlines as the millennial dish. Today’s younger generation also has its own food favorites, and a unique way of engaging with food. Are you clued into Gen Z food trends? How many of these dishes have you heard of? Give yourself a point for each dish you are familiar with:
I stepped into my neighborhood Dunkin Donuts a few weeks ago. Seemingly overnight, the store had undergone an autumn transformation. Employees had overlain the windows with tantalizing photos of fall foods and pumpkin spiced lattes, apple themed donuts, and slogans like “Trick Out Your Treats.” The counters were lined with fall decor, including orange crepe paper and plastic leaves, and a well-placed sign informed me of the seasonal “Donut Decorating Workshop” for kids next week.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an extra-spicy beef gyro with lettuce and tomato, wrapped in fresh, warm pita bread with hot sauce and a can of Pepsi on the side. And it’s catching a ride from the restaurant to the customer’s home in the basket of a food delivery drone.
These winged waiters are the futuristic delivery method emerging on the horizon. Literally. In some restaurants, drones are taking the place of food couriers. In other places, they are inside the restaurant itself, carefully carrying the food from the kitchen to the dining room. Proponents of drone food delivery hope to redefine the food industry, claiming that drones are more efficient, reliable, and even more affordable than in-person service. Others in the industry are more cautious, and think the trend will take several years to “get off the ground.”
If you work in foodservice and haven’t yet tapped into what is currently one of the biggest business trends of the millennium, it’s time to step up to the plate and sink your teeth into the Grab and Go Market. Also known by the acronym GNG, Grab & Go or Grab-and-Go, refers to ready-to-eat, pre-packaged food items sold in your establishment. Not surprisingly, the largest body of consumers, literally eating up the opportunity, are millennials, the on-the-go Gen Y and the younger Gen Z populations.
The new normal in restaurant lingo is restaurant protective products. From protective barriers, social distancing products, cashier shields and more, the list of COVID-19 restaurant protection products is on the rise. Designed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and to provide a safe-as-possible dining-out experience, many of the new restaurant supplies on the market today are being grabbed up by businesses large and small alike.
What’s on the menu these days? Capitalizing on a proven business strategy, restaurateurs are buddying up with retail to help boost sales. From Coca Cola and 7UP to McDonald’s and Burger King, collaborations with clothing brands, sports companies, shoe retailers, and the worlds of beauty and cosmetics have created some of the most fruitful and lasting business partnerships in history. If you work in the food or beverage industry and want to increase your visibility, create excitement, and attract new customers, consider partnering with another company.
Drive-thru restaurants, a pure Americana tradition from the 1950s, have been making a comeback. Decades after reinvigorating the dining-out scene, the old-school paradigm is dominating once again. Only this time, rather than being the exclusive property of American fast-food joints, the take-out service has come to the fore as a champion of the foodservice industry overall. While the rise to fame over the past two years can be attributed to the pandemic, restaurant insiders claim that the drive-thru trend began long before – however, thanks to the pandemic, in the words of David Portalatin, NPD food industry advisor “we’ve really just fast-forwarded years into the future in a very short period of time…” . Continue reading on drive-thru restaurants →
Restaurants around the world have taken advantage of the pandemic to open their doors to outdoor dining, maybe permanently, with the permission of state and local laws. The sidewalk, owned by the city, was graciously turned over to restauranteurs during the pandemic so they could try to turn a profit and stay afloat. Over the years, allowing outdoor dining has certainly saved many a restaurant from caving in under the woes of the pandemic. Looking ahead, especially in larger cites such as NYC and LA, restaurant owners are in talks with city officials and neighborhood groups to allow this trend to continue, maybe forever.
If you are wondering what the most popular foods are during quarantine and which takeout menu items customers are craving in the wake of the coronavirus, you have come to the right place. In this guide, we will reveal the key ingredients to restaurant menu success during COVID-19 and provide specific tips, strategies, and recipe ideas that will help your food-and-beverage operation not only stay afloat but rise above the competitive pack and even thrive and grow.