KuypersCreative |
| Food Trucks |
| 2011.08.17 05:23:30 | |
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Evening readers, I just had a huge foray into the food truck revolution. Organic burgers topped with pineapple salsa, garlic parmesean artichoke hearts, Korean BBQ, and cupcakes all sitting on the side of Lake Lily in Orlando. What I also witnissed was a public venue being used to its fullest with attendance so hearty every restaurant in the area had to be jelous of them on a Tuesdy night. I must admit my two dinner guests where very very concerned about eating food from trucks on the side of the road with names like the Treehouse Food Truck and Twisted Spoon. But, as we left, everyone was playing name the best dish and lamenting on missed opportunities...But hey their always is next week. Tags: Hits: 537 | Read more... |
| Another Burger Ranking |
| 2010.11.15 03:14:41 | |
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Consumer Reports just ranked the best tasting burger chains in America. If these rankings really show anything its that you usually see the same chains in the top. In the recent Zagat ranking Five Guys and Red Robin top the list. What is interesting about the Consumer Reports list is that Red Robin is missing from the entire list. So is my personal favorite FatBurger. So just remember that these are an informative tool more than the one and only list. Oh by the way the here is the list:
2) Five Guys Burgers and Fries, 7.9 3) Fuddruckers, 7.7 4) Burgerville, 7.6 5) Back Yard Burgers, 7.6 6) Culver’s Frozen Custard, 7.5 7) Whataburger, 7.3 8) Hardee’s, 7.2 9) Carl’s Jr., 6.9 10) Checkers Drive-In, 6.9 11) White Castle, 6.7 12) Wendy’s, 6.6 13) Sonic Drive-In, 6.6 14) A&W Restaurant, 6.5 15) Krystal, 6.3 16) Burger King, 6.3 17) Jack in the Box, 6.3 18) McDonald’s, 5.6 Tags: Hits: 1183 | Read more... |
| Wendy’s Overhauls its Fries |
| 2010.11.15 02:48:27 | |
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On Wednesday November 10th Wendy’s lunched what looks like a promising change in the brand. They have listened to the consumer and sourced a French fry with what seems to be a superior product with quality detail addition of sea salt. The whole brand move drives the consumer to think the product is simpler, closer to nature and therefore healthier. They have also switched to heartier bacon, which I think is the best in the business BY FAR. With promised new burgers and chicken Wendy’s looks on the verge to move strongly back into the Burger Wars. I don’t think that MickyD’s has much to worry about but an already floundering Burger King is easily within reach. Tags: Hits: 1084 | Read more... |
| Bennigan’s Back from the Dead |
| 2010.11.10 22:00:28 | |
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Here’s a blast from the nostalgia past. Bennigan’s Restaurant has come back from the brink of restaurant extinction. Thanks to the well-directed leadership of David Corokin the brand has had a nice turnaround and is now looking quite attractive to potential franchisees. New menu, new logo, and new concept all combined with a very marketable name could mean good things for the former big chain. I for one am glad to see them back. Read more.
Now you know I always have a thought as well. While I like the fact that they have re-created teh brand, and the interior shots are great thier website leaves a great deal to be desired. Now mine is made for information obviously, but thiers should be made to entice. For a great websites check out Quizno's new website, The Chameleon Cafe, and Liquid Earth.
Also since I know money is tight I would implament an agressive social media campaign to couteract any negative remarks earned during the old ownership. Tags: Hits: 1157 | Read more... |
| The tide is turning |
| 2010.10.27 18:02:33 | |
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Finally we are seeing a turn around in profits for the big brands in restaurants. They work on economics of scale and have buying power that get's them their supplies cheaper than your local stores. So the news that Brinker recorded a year over year increase may be not good news to your local restaurants right now, it is an important bell weather on the direction of our industry. The news was the same from Kona Grill, P.F. Changs. Buffalo Wild Wings and Panera Bread!
Things are starting to look up! Tags: Hits: 1068 | Read more... |
| Been away |
| 2010.07.21 20:53:53 | |
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Sorry I have been on an exclusive assignment for some time. I will be returning rather frequently now with more posts. Want to hear about something on here send me an email and I will get right on it! Tags: Hits: 825 | Read more... |
| TV's for Menuboards |
| 2010.01.22 06:14:57 | |
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As you guys know by now I really like new technology, especially when it saves you money and allows for more marketing opportunities. That is exactly what using LCD TV’s for menu boards does. Why does it save money, they can’t be cheaper than light boxes? That is actually true, sort of. The first round of light boxes is cheaper than buying, installing, and framing LCD TV’s.
That being said, over the long term the costs associated with menu changes and price changes far outweigh the costs of the initial install. Imagine, you are out of an item, you can take it off the menu board with the swipe of a button. Want to increase sales of an item you have are overstocked on? Add special pre-programmed highlights. Want to change the look of the brand? No need to change the light boxes, just send a new file and change it instantly. Tags: Hits: 1041 | Read more... |
| People are Talinkg About You - Social Peer Review |
| 2010.01.22 06:03:39 | |
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Did you know that there are web pages with customers aggregating opinions about your restaurant? Did you know you can update the information and even provided marketing information all for free? Did you know you can control customer conversation through “thought leadership”? Below I will give a pretty extensive list of websites that aggregate customer data and then I will give you some tips.
So now that you have gone to the sites and registered your locations what do you do. You monitor them at least once weekly. Why? They are a barometer for your store or concept. Are people raving? How about complaining? Saying nothing? This all means something.
Complaining you can fix, and in order to survive you must fix it. If someone complains you need to send them an email and offer to make it right. Many times you can fix the issue and get them to write a second review. It cannot be said how much it impresses people when a company cares about the product they make. Monitoring these boards is part of that process. The execution to completion is controlling the conversation through proactive brand management.
This process for one unit can be daunting. That is why for anyone with over 20 units I would truly advise having a firm manage the process. It can be come consuming.
Tags: Hits: 927 | Read more... |
| Adding Curbside to Go |
| 2009.12.31 22:04:27 | |
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According to a survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports in November of 2008, 57% of all Americans polled were more inclined to eat out less, while another 34% responded that their eating out would continue regardless. With the current economic outlook and backlash of unhealthy fast food offerings, restaurants are quickly reaping the benefits of all insights gleaned from consumer trends by offering a better alternative in the form of curbside takeout.
If you’re a restaurateur looking to add a curbside-to-go program to entice the 34% of the population that order curbside-to-go meals, just where do you start? A great place to begin with is your curbside takeout menu. Most restaurants will offer the exact same dine-in menu to curbside-to-go customers with some small exceptions.
A key question to ask when deciding what items to include or exclude should be focused upon what will maintain its tastiness and freshness after a 15-25 minute drive? Another great question to remember is what will still taste great if reheated?
Next, a lot of time should be spent focusing on the type of packaging and container that will be holding your restaurant’s delicious edibles. It’s not just enough to use the same “doggy bag” approach for your curbside-to-go guests. Remember that you want to choose a container that is suitable for a variety of ingredients, which can be used for different food applications, and presents your food in a desirable fashion.
Consumers notice the extra attention paid to great packaging selection done by restaurants and of course are not interested in opening up leaky containers of food. The proper packaging can set you apart from competitors and allow for repeat business to occur.
Continuing on with the concept of customer service, it’s important to designate some easily accessible parking spaces devoted to curbside-to-go diners. These spaces usually are right in front of the main doors. Consumers definitely appreciate quick, time-conserving service and steps to expedite and simplify their ordering process will greatly help your curbside-to-go program.
Having dedicated curbside-to-go staff, and possibly a separate area for ordering curbside, also decreases the likelihood of confusion and misplaced or incorrect orders. It’s important to train the right people because these are the faces that are representing your restaurant. Remember to equip your staff with multiple forms of accepting payment because not all customers are going to pay with cash. Being unprepared to accept credit cards or bankcards will just slow down your service and possibly create disgruntled customers.
If you have all these details down, you should take a serious look into all the ways that you can advertise your new curbside-to-go program. Take every opportunity you get with each customer to promote this service whether it’s through inserts included with receipts, or t-shirts worn by staff emblazoned with information, and of course your online media presence. Lastly, spend time updating your website, twitter, and Facebook accounts with curbside-to-go promotions offering coupons and special deals. It’s important to spread the word around so you’ll have another profit generating operation to add to your already successful restaurant. Tags: Hits: 1652 | Read more... |
| Tankless Hot Water Heaters |
| 2009.12.27 07:46:05 | |
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Recently Lis Bertagnoli of Restaurants and Institutions wrote a great article on using tank less water heaters and for those of you that missed it I will surmise here and add some of my own thoughts.
Me being a huge proponent of green technology and of course the money savings that go with them, I was intrigued as to the feasibility of the machines especially in QSR and Fast Casual chains.
Long and short, they take up less space, but cost more money to install. That cost is offset in about 3 years then continues to pay dividends in the form of reduced utility cost. That, combined with low flow water nozzles, automatic water censors on faucets, and the recycling of dish rinsing water can reduce basic operation costs considerably. Tags: Hits: 1014 | Read more... |
| Restaurant Business What's Next 2010 |
| 2009.12.22 05:26:14 | |
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I think Restaurant Business is one of the best magazines out there. They often have inciteful advice for runnning a restaurant.
In their recent publication they list numorous items in their What's Next 2010 section including the use of "Local color" and "Better for you foods" - which both speak to close to the same thing. Using local color means using food from the surrounding community which has (according to some research) increased nutrient density and uses less natural resources. Better for you foods are where the consumer consiousness is going, so being a leader in that area can't hurt. Another thing they list is "comfort foods with a twist" which I belive is a sharp observation as people enjoy those foods and novel itterations of them usually incites whimsy in the guest..
Another interesting tid bit concerned upcoming food trends from a 2009 Chef Survey. They asked chefs what they thought the top ingredients in 2010 would be. I found most of them to be right on with the exlucion of black garlic and flower syrup, which, well I have never hear of. My favorites on the list include Artisan Cheeses, ancient grains, and agave.
Tags: Hits: 736 | Read more... |
| Another site for Green disposables |
| 2009.12.22 04:09:13 | |
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Found a site that has multiple ingredient disposable cutlery from corn to plant fibers. Some can even be compostable. http://www.ecoproducts.com/va-cms/ Tags: Hits: 408 | Read more... |
| Going Green in Restaurants - Part 1 of Many |
| 2009.12.22 04:01:59 | |
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Sorry I have been out, not posting for the last month, as I have been packed with work. That being said, this is a short post, but you should be seeing a bunch over the next weeks as I get those I wrote during the break, spellchecked. Do you a great deal of To-Go food or catering and want to reduce your eco-footprint? Their are now a great deal of items made of bio-degradable ingredients that don't cost much more, but are huge for reducing land fill waste.
http://www.dalanagroup.com/biodegradable-products-faq.html Click here for a company that supplies corn based clam shells and cutlery. Tags: Hits: 1599 | Read more... |
| Malcolm Forbes Quote |
| 2009.11.13 17:07:33 | |
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Failure is success if we learn from it. Malcolm Forbes Tags: Hits: 515 | Read more... |
| Starting a Catering Program |
| 2009.11.07 06:34:30 | |
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A natural progression for a successful restaurateur is to add a catering program to generate greater profits. According to Soni Bode, author of “Successful Catering,” “a restaurant doing $1,000,000 in sales could earn an additional $200,000 in net profits in the first year if it adds a catering operation.” However it’s not as easy as it sounds. A lot of planning and organization is necessary because you’re basically opening an extension of your restaurant or a second restaurant depending on how you look at it.
Organization and planning are going to be your keys to success and should be your natural starting point. A great place to start is to examine your existing business structure to identify if you have the resources to accomplish your goals. Most pertinent action is to do a virtual stress test on your kitchen. Ask yourself questions like: If your line is weeded in the morning, can they get out sandwich planters for lunch delivery? How many people can your kitchen cook for? Examine your supplier: How long to get orders fulfilled? In addition, depending on your concept you may need to buy additional resources including; transportation, food warmers, chafing dishes, serving utensils, and custom packaging.
The next step would be to examine your menu. You should decide what your catering menu is going to focus upon. This is your chance to be creative and to work outside the confines of what you regularly serve to customers as you will have more time (in most cases) to prepare them. To help keep your menu fresh, remember to try and work around seasonal ingredients which will enhance your variety as well as let customers know that you work with fresh ingredients.
A key point that good restaurateurs know and understand is the fact that most people begin a meal with their eyes. So your catering food will have to be exceptional in terms of both quality and taste. Delivering artfully arranged dishes that also taste great will benefit all concept types from quick service to fast casual.
After the catering menu has been decided, you’re going to have to ask yourself whether or not you need extra staff. In most instances hiring additional staff members to make a catering team will seem like a large investment. However, your new catering team is meant to focus on the catering aspect of your restaurant business and enables your regular staff to focus on their current job and doing it well.
Another good idea would be to designate someone as your catering manager or specialist so they can answer all the questions potential customers might have. You will find as things get busier having someone to manage the jobs will become a valuable asset. Train your regular restaurant staff with scripts and keep them informed about your catering program so that they can refer guests to the appropriate people to speak to when asked for information. Advertising catering programs on table tops and in your menu can also be a valuable business development tool.
If you don’t already have a point of sale system (POS) in place you should definitely look into acquiring one as soon as possible for your overall restaurant operations, plus an additional one strictly dedicated to your catering program. Having a POS dedicated to your catering program will allow you to monitor ingredient inventory levels, orders, overall costs and profit, and history as well.
Now that you have a program up and running, the next step is promoting it. This can seem as daunting as setting up the program, but there are a couple tactics that I have been successful. First is contacting your local chamber and offering to cater an event for them. Next list yourself with sites such as PartyPop.com and LocalCatering.com. An additional effective tactic is to contact your local business magazine for a list of the biggest businesses in the area. Create packaging that holds food and your menus and then deliver them to office managers at the companies. Why does that work? Deliver menus they get thrown away, deliver food they get saved with the food.
This brings us to the idea that an increase in orders doesn’t necessarily translate to more profit over the long run. Instead it’s the relationships and building accounts that will help you to create a successful catering program. Using the POS to keep track of previous orders, preferences, and requests is a great way of maintaining relationships with other businesses. The extra attention to customer service and their details will show your sincerity and quality. After all, B2B clients are some of the most loyal customers when it comes to catering.
From here, the sky’s the limit or really what your kitchen can churn out is! Need more help? Contact Kuypers Creative Restaurant Consultants, we would be happy to help!
Tags: Hits: 1935 | Read more... |
| Ed Wood quote |
| 2009.11.02 03:29:33 | |
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"We are all interested in the future, as that is where we will spend the rest of our lives" Ed Wood Tags: quotes | restaurant consulting Hits: 658 | Read more... |
| Waste Vegetable Oil - Delivery Cars |
| 2009.10.25 17:16:16 | |
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Tired of paying for your delivery cars gas? Why don't you make it? http://www.biodiesel-fuel.co.uk/how-to-make-biodiesel/ http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=447609751&f=719605551&m=857600061 http://www.ehow.com/how_4493854_make-vegetable-oil-diesel-fuel.html All of these are great articles on the process. Just remeber some state's allow this and some don't don't. So check first. Next post on rechargable vehicles. Tags:
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| Aramark goes green |
| 2009.10.25 05:20:41 | |
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Aramark on a couple campuses has debuted recyclable containers for take-out. Sodexo is starting next. Read more at: http://www.rimag.com/article/ca6685675.html
Tags: Hits: 517 | Read more... |
| AOL Money artice on Chain Restaurant in the Down Turn |
| 2009.10.25 03:52:17 | |
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Great article -http://money.aol.com/article/chain-restaurants-struggle-compete-for/730459 Breakdown - they built to much too quick, now the deep discountsmight not be enought to save restauarants......sound like a formula another industry did..... I can't remeber which. Tags: Hits: 389 | Read more... |
| First round of logos |
| 2009.10.23 08:04:01 | |
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I forgot to show you this round of logos
Tags: logos | logo design | logo examples
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