A bill being introduced today by New York City council members would ban the use of plastic straws at restaurants, cafés, bars, stadiums, even the street’s food carts.
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What is a snack?
May 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
“Most consumers say what defines a snack is not the category but the convenience and how it is used and consumed.”
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How will the L Train effect restaurants
May 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment
“We feel however many small restaurants & bars with a similar set up are feeling the pinch especially in Williamsburg. Increases in wages with more to come, product cost and operating costs all add up and make it difficult to break even, that and the uncertainty of the L train going down and how that will effect business were all factors.”
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Chipotle Invests in Delivery
May 15, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Off-site orders are the future Chipotle sees. So much so, in fact, that the new CEO, Brian Niccol, has spent some $3m outfitting stores with new flatscreen ordering systems. So far, Chipotle as outfitted about 300 stores with these $10,000 platforms–and expects to roll out to another 600 stores this year.
The platforms are the brand’s effort to streamline and lean in to the mobile and delivery segment of the business. Employees see images of an order’s ingredients, instead of words, and labels are printed automatically instead of handwritten. The new system makes it easier and quicker to train workers, and orders are more accurate according to Chief Digital and Information Officer Curt Garner. The move will improve the additional production lines — dedicated to digital, online and catering orders — that Chipotle has added to supplement the front lines that serve in-store diners.
Taco Bell, KFC and McDonald’s are all now offering the service in some capacity, while Panera Bread has built its own network with 13,000 drivers. Chipotle, meanwhile, is eager to prove it can recapture growth. Chipotle has said about 8.8 percent of orders go to its second production lines. The chain is working to boost its delivery capabilities — in April it announced a partnership with DoorDash Inc. to add the service to 1,500 restaurants. It also delivers at some locations through Postmates Inc. and Tapingo.
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C-Stores Evolve With Guests
May 8, 2018 by Leave a Comment
What’s old is new again. Conveniences store, the oft-forgotten stepchild of the grocery, restaurant, foodservice continuum are stepping into a new age. Over the past few years, we’ve seen the restaurant industry eclipse grocery sales in America, which was a huge first. Now, restaurant revenues have finally started to slow–not slip!–and some spending to return to other formats.
And C-stores want a piece of the action. At Choice Market in Denver, guests can get artisan sandwiches and staples like quinoa or kombucha on tap. Housed in 2,700 square feet–about the size of an average Chipotle, places like Choice Market and Green Zebra, in Portland, are finding a new niche between QSR’s and grocery stores, but well above the traditional Doritos-and-candy convenience store.
Traditional players, like Wawa, have long known the value of the their real estate and already provide an up-scaled convenient experience. And now Amazon is getting in on the action with Amazon Go–a cashless, cashier-less store that tracks you and bills your Amazon account.
We’re seeing a confluence of trends merge on similar themes again and again: grocery stores relying on prepared foods for sales, restaurants capitalizing on the fast casual trend, and automation in point of sale.
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Shake Shack Returns to its Roots
May 8, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Karl Marx will have to wait; the machines will not yet replace us. The fully-automated ordering system Shake Shack put in place at it’s newish Astor Place location is being terminated to bring back people and cash.
On the most recent earnings call, CEO Randy Garutti discussed the feedback that the chain has received about this unit in particular. Voices came in clearly via Twitter, Yelp, and direct feedback: guests want the option to pay in cash and want to place their orders with a person.
When Shake Shack opened the Astor Place location in 2017, it was touted as the company’s first foray into self-service kiosks and cashless operations. The benefits of both are obvious–less labor, lower risk of theft, less waste, and more-accurate ordering.
However, the backlash came in hard and fast from guests who didn’t want to wait on the kiosks and who were inconvenienced by the credit-only policy. Shake Shack is reinstating a cashier for all open hours and will begin accepting cash with said cashier. The kiosks will be rolling out to other locations–but not in replacement of the cashiers.
Shake Shack has consistently be posting huge growth. In 2016, average unit volumes were 3.5x the burger-segment median, at $4.5m. However, net income was only 6.2%–a far cry from industry elder McDonald’s 20%.
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Gertie at Frieze New York
May 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Gertie will be opening in Brooklyn this summer, but if you can’t wait to try their food you can have some at the Frieze Art Fair this weekend. Gertie will open on the corner of Marcy and Grand in Williamsburg and will offer all-day food. At the art fair they will offer a selection of pastries, sandwiches and beverages as a sneak peak toward their full menu.
You can read more about the event here.
Real Food x Real Talk
April 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Join Pilotworks at their new location in Brooklyn for a day of panels and business owner showcases. This will be a great opportunity to hear from people involved in the New York food scene, learn about new brands, and network.
You can sign up here.
Thu, April 26, 2018
2:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Pilotworks
630 Flushing Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11206
White Castle x Impossible Burger
April 13, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The very popular Impossible Burger will now be available in slider form at select White Castle locations. Impossible Foods’ CEO Pat Brown says that making the high-tech veggie patties available at White Castle should yield insight into how to “popularize plant-based meat with mainstream burger lovers,” which is clearly the company’s top priority.
Let us know what you think about this partnership!
You can read more here.
Let’s Dance — Cabaret Law Repealed
April 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
A law known as the Cabaret Law was put into place during Prohibition to restrict dancing in New York City Bars. It was enacted in attempt to control speakeasies and since the 1920’s, bars and restaurants needed to obtain a cabaret license to allow dancing. In New York city, only 97 out of roughly 25,000 eating and drinking establishments had a cabaret license because these licenses were both extremely costly and time consuming to obtain. This November, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio repealed this law. Beginning this weekend, March 30, 2018 legal dancing in the city’s designated zones is allowed.
Our main question – who even knew about this law? Bars did. For being known as the city that never sleeps, how could dancing all night be banned? As New Yorkers, we walk into bars and see people dancing, grooving, swaying along to music but never once did it cross the average patrons mind that this was illegal. How have so many establishments been able to get around this law for so long?
It is said that the Cabaret Law wasn’t necessarily put in place to cut down on dancing, but rather to crack down on the people who dance. “The Cabaret Law was enacted during the height of Harlem Renaissance” and “even years after the law was enacted it targeted marginalized groups under the pretense that somehow they were more dangerous than anyone else. Basically, anything the NYPD deemed dangerous, this law was used to get in those spaces and shut them down” (Thrillist).
Over the decades, many bars have been forced to shut down after being hit with major citations. Bar owners and bartenders kept music down and dancing to a minimum to avoid these fines and penalties. Ever been asked to stop dancing by a bartender? This is why. Certain bars throughout the city have been fined purely for letting people “sway” to music.
So, what’s about to change? To some, it may not seem like a lot. But, to others, their favorite spots might turn into the bars their owners always dreamed they would be. Bars are more likely to start promoting dancing and music just because they can. This could change the entire nightlife culture throughout NYC. According to Thrillist, Royal Palms’ owner stated “we never had plans to become a dance club.” But, with this new appeal she said, “we might be a little bit more encouraging in our advertising and social media about coming to the club to get down.”
When dancing is banned, people still find a way to get down. Warehouse parties with well-known or aspiring DJs have become quite a scene. These parties are drug filled and considered “underground”. Many of them don’t announce the location until the day of; which, most warehouse party-goers probably didn’t realize is because the parties are illegal. The New York Times quoted “when we stop people from dancing they go straight to these warehouses…People haven’t stopped dancing, they’re just dancing in these extremely unsafe, unregulated environments”. Well, this is all changing.
Going out for a night on the town, dancing with some friends, and enjoying the best that music has to offer no longer means being restricted by certain DJs sets, having to go to a concert, being required to get a table at an elite club, or heading to an unknown location at a specific time. Now, you can bust a move wherever you please. Bars and restaurants will begin promoting a more focused music and dance culture. Random dance parties can, and will, breakout wherever anyone sees fit.
After signing the repeal De Blasio said “when freedom of expression is not allowed, it’s not New York City anymore. Imagine how insane it was that you needed a license to allow people to dance.” We couldn’t agree more.
paigepapers.com 