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DOT is also seeking proposals for food, beverage and/or merchandise concession in the Café Building at Fordham Plaza. The Request for Proposals for the Café Building is found here: https://a856-cityrecord.nyc.gov/RequestDetail/20190402014. Prospective proposers are encouraged to consider applying to as many of these RFPs as they are interested in.

TERM

In each Kiosk RFP, DOT is seeking a kiosk concessionaire for one (1) five-year term with three (3) five-year renewal options, exercisable at DOT’s sole discretion. No longer term will be considered. This concession will be operated pursuant to a license agreement issued by DOT; no leasehold or other proprietary right is offered.

SITE VISIT

There will be a strongly recommended on-site proposer meeting and tour of Fordham Plaza. The tour will take place on May 15, 2019 and will include a tour of the Café Building starting at 10AM and a tour of the kiosks at 11AM. We will be meeting at Fordham Plaza under the canopy at the Café Building doors in the northeast corner of the plaza near the corner of Fordham Road and Third Avenue. If you are considering responding to this RFP, please make every effort to attend this meeting and site tour. DOT will view favorably proposers that attended the site visit.

PROJECT MANAGER

The Project Manager for this concession is Brandon Budelman. All RFP questions and/or inquiries should be directed to him. He may be reached at:

Phone: (212) 839-9625

Email: concessions@dot.nyc.gov

You are receiving this email because you are on the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) mailing list for Food and Beverage or Merchandise solicitations.

https://paigepapers.com/2019/05/31/17621/

Starbucks begins mobile ordering rollout in Beijing and Shanghai

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“Starbucks said it has begun rolling out its Starbucks Now mobile ordering platform to 300 select stores in Beijing and Shanghai and will expand the service throughout China over the next year.

Starbucks Now, available for Starbucks Rewards members through the company’s mobile app in China, allows customers to order their food and beverages ahead of time and pick them up in store.

“Starbucks Now represents a significant opportunity for Starbucks China to drive new, innovative customer experiences,” Belinda Wong, chief executive officer of Starbucks China said in a company release. “This builds on the latest of several digital initiatives in China, including Starbucks Delivers and locally relevant gifting and e-commerce experiences.”

Customers can use Starbucks Now to find a local store based on the mobile app’s GPS location, order food and customized beverages and make payment, with the order ready to pick up when they arrive at the location.”

See more here.

Innovative Filipino Dishes Come to the Lower East Side


“The flavors of the Philippines are interpreted inventively in the hands of Jappy Afzelius, a Filipino executive chef who worked at high-end kitchens in France, Italy and New York. Starters, called pica pica, include pinsit fritos or pork dumplings, fried vegetable spring rolls called lumpia, and kale laing sautéed with shrimp paste and replacing taro leaves with kale. Mr. Afzelius adds Filipino ingredients to a Caesar salad; uses French-cut chicken breasts in his chicken adobo with turmeric soy sauce; includes salmon in sinigang, a typical tamarind soup; and serves traditional Filipino milkfish belly called bangus, fried with chayote and quinoa. His halo-halo dessert uses coconut sorbet in place of shaved ice. Not only does the menu expand your Filipino vocabulary, but you may also note that the name of the restaurant is a play on the Spanish word chisme, or gossip. The intimate room has a tropical feel, a copper bar and a chef’s table with eight seats facing the open kitchen. Philippe Segura, the beverage director, selected the wines and sakes. The owners, Stephen Young and Reggie Aguinaldo, have Filipino roots.”

See more opening here.

McDonald’s Spent $50 Million on TV Advertising in April

Image result for McDonald’s Spent $50 Million on TV Advertising in April

“McDonald’s easily led all companies in TV ad spend last month for the second time in 2019, spending $50 million to promote its new any size $1 soft drink limited time offer, and mix and match 2 for $5 deal to customers.

The Illinois-based chain last topped the list in February when it introduced bacon as a new topping on its signature burgers. McDonald’s was pressed by analysts last week on its first quarter earnings call about when it would also delve into the growing plant-based food trend, which rival Burger King has tapped into with Impossible Foods. CEO Steve Easterbrook said McDonald’s is currently weighing additional complexities of launching its own product, while also assessing the sustainability of the consumer trend.

“Our menu teams are clearly paying close attention to it,” said Easterbrook. “They are discussing this amongst each other and with some of the options that are out there. So maybe more to come, but nothing much to say about it in the moment.”

Read more here.

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“As NYC’s only culinary high school, Food and Finance High School provides a unique educational opportunity to students and families in the community.

Students learn the true reward of hard work, dependability and time management from a staff of acclaimed chefs, educators and business leaders that oversee their curriculum, field trips and internships. Food and Finance works to understand its students’ barriers of success and develops additional programs to support their needs and dreams.

Preparation for higher-learning and the workforce is key to the ongoing success of our students. NYC comes together at Food and Finance High School to provide a rigorous and rewarding Regents Diploma and culinary curriculum for our students. We’re more than a school, we are a community that supports our students as they tackle new challenges and reach new heights. We work to inspire and to empower our students.

The Food Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit that exclusively supports Food and Finance High School through job training and internships, our visiting chef program, and college and career readiness programming.”

See more here.

https://paigepapers.com/2019/05/24/17608/

Burgers still America’s favorite sandwich, chicken gaining ground

Image result for Burgers still America's favorite sandwich, chicken gaining ground“Burgers have been a top item ordered at U.S. restaurants for decades, but chicken sandwiches have come on strong over the last several years, according to The NPD Group receipt-harvesting service, Checkout, which tracks the same buyers’ purchasing behaviors over time. It found that although chicken sandwiches were still behind burgers in the sandwich pecking order, they were gaining ground. Over the 12 months ending February 2019, chicken sandwich orders were up 4% at 4 billion serving, but burger orders were flat at 8.6 billion ordered.

By the numbers, the average number of times a customer purchased a burger at a restaurant over the same period was 14.7 times, and the customer purchase frequency of chicken sandwiches was 8.7. Burgers also have the upper hand when it comes to menu importance or the percentage of all restaurant orders that include one. Burgers were included in 14.1% of all restaurant orders and chicken sandwiches were included in 6.5% of orders.”

See more here.

Where to Eat and Drink on the Water in NYC

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“New York City is made up of five boroughs and about forty islands, give or take a few. While there’s not a lot of fun stuff happening on, say, Rat Island, or the Chimney Sweeps, the city’s tangle of rivers and bays ensures we’ll always have plenty of waterfront.

Although it’s still too cold to swim in the water off our many shores, it’s certainly warm enough to enjoy some of their sea breezes. And anyways, isn’t it more pleasant to sip a $14 cocktail than to fight off a landfill-fattened Coney Island shark? Whether you’re a Brooklynite, a Manhattanite, a Hog Islander, or just visiting, these are the ten best places in the city to eat and drink while taking in some of our most spectacular waterfront views.”

See more here.

Why Teriyaki Madness CEO is confident about 500-unit growth strategy

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“Claiming to double your restaurant unit count in one year may seem pretty gutsy, but Teriyaki Madness CEO Michael Haith isn’t afraid to say it aloud.

Founded in 2003, the Las Vegas-based concept now based in Denver started 2019, with about 40 units but will end it with more than 80. The growth plan doesn’t stop there, however, as the chain will hit 500 by 2026. And that’s a “minimum,” said Haith, who purchased the brand in 2016, from the founding brothers, who still own five locations.

“500 is not our goal as much as it is a conservative forecast for the next five to seven years,” he said in an interview with FastCasual. “It is the number we will be at as a benchmark towards our 10-year goal.”

Since taking over, Haith — who came to Teriyaki Madness from Maui Wowi and Doc Popcorn — and his team have implemented processes and systems to focus on growth. And that team includes several industry veterans:

  • VP of Marketing Jodi Boyce, who worked for Quiznos and Smashburger.
  • CFO John Miller, Chipotle’s former CFO.
  • VP of Operations Janice Branam, whose tenure includes Smashbuiger and Quiznos.
  • Joe Gordon, who worked for Noodles and Co., is VP of Supply Chain.
  • COO Erin Hicks, formerly of Maui Wow.
  • VP of Real Estate Peter Harding, who came from Einstein Bros.
  • VP of Real Estate Hank Janik of Schlotzsky’s. (…)”

Read more here.

Peru’s Efforts to Boost Coffee Sector Stifled by High Costs, Low Prices

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“Coffee farmers throughout Peru are weighing the relatively high costs of replanting old or diseased trees against low international prices. Such market forces are threatening the country’s already economically delicate coffee sector, according to the latest annual report from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service(FAS).

Peru remains the world’s leading exporter of organic Arabica coffee, with an estimated 90,000 certified hectares in addition to non-certified farms, which in many cases are following organic practices out of necessity due to lack of access to chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides.

According to the FAS report, many smallholder coffee farms throughout Peru have not fully recovered financially from the leaf rust outbreak that peaked in the country in the market year 2013/14, affecting as much as 50% of the country’s total crop production.

While Peru’s Ministry of Agriculture has led an ambitious rust recovery and replanting program in the years since, and the federal government has initiated a sweeping marketing initiative for coffee, total coffee-farmed land in the country is estimated to be 390,000 hectares in 2019, a negligible increase compared to last year. The report further estimates that countrywide production volumes and export volumes will see slight increases over last year’s levels.”

Read more here.

New York Restaurant To Host Nine Michelin-Star Chefs In A Special Dinner Series

Chefs Club

“For those looking for a unique and intimate dining experience, there’s now a special dinner series to consider.

Between May 13 and June 18, Val Cantu (Californios), Carrie and Rupert Blease (Lord Stanley), Erik Anderson (Coi) and five other chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants in the San Francisco and Bay Area will take over Chefs Club in Soho—celebrating the key ingredients, cooking and cultural influences Northern California has to offer.

This is the first New York 4×4 dinner series hosted by the Michelin Guide and Chefs Club—a restaurant group that has hosted nearly 200 world-acclaimed chefs on a rotation basis at their Manhattan, Aspen and St. Regis locations since 2012. Running four times each year, each dinner series will see renowned chefs bringing a combined rating of four stars to every table. (…)”

See more here.