Chicago’s Sputnik Coffee Boldly Grows in Ways No Roaster Has Grown Before

June 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Sputnik Coffee Roaster Chicago

Since lifting off its launchpad roastery in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago in 2017, startup Sputnik Coffee Roasters has rapidly carved out a niche for itself with a concise product line and personable service.

In response to rocketing demand, Sputnik has now tripled its capacity with a new 15-kilo, IMF roaster and upgraded its packaging from hand-stamped craft bags to printed bags.

Starting with smaller and lower-priced retail bags of its one core blend, Sputnik’s growth also depends on the sales work of co-founder Vova Kagan. And with the recent shift from hand-stamped craft bags to printed bags, the company also adjusted its labeling to provide info in multiple different languages, reaching directly out to more people in the communities it serves.

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Filed Under: Coffee, Customer Trends, employees, Events, Global Market Buzz, Heard on The Street, sales, Shopbuzz, Trending Now, Your Restaurant Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Which Commercial Kitchen Layout is Right for Your Restaurant?

April 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Zone Kitchen commercial kitchen layout

“(…) Zone layout is what it sounds like – the kitchen is divided into different areas depending on the task at hand. So there might be a food prep zone for chopping and mixing, and all of the necessary tools and equipment will be right there in that station. The cooking zone is only for cooking already-prepped ingredients.

Good for:
The benefit of this type of layout is for restaurants that serve up several menu items that are not cooked, for instance, salads and smoothies. That way, servers can access both cooked and non-cooked dishes, and each staffer can focus on their specific job without getting in each other’s way.”

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Filed Under: Baking, Cooking, Heard on The Street, Operations, Opportunities, Your Restaurant Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yankee Stadium, Barclays Center Respond To Report Claiming They’re Among The Dirtiest Sports Venues

December 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment

A bombshell report released by ESPN’s Outside The Lines pored through and analyzed nearly 17,000 food safety inspection reports from 2016 and 2017 conducted by the local health departments which oversee the 111 arenas where every team from the four major North American sports hosts its games. OTL found that in 28% of the arenas, at least half of the outlets inside these venues incurred what ESPN called a “high-level violation — one that poses a potential threat for food-borne illness.”

In the New York City area, where we’ll focus this report, findings were mixed for the six arenas which house teams in North America’s largest and most lucrative market.
Of all 30 Major League Baseball teams inspected in this ESPN report, none fared worse than Yankee Stadium. The new-era cathedral in the Bronx ranked 102nd out of the 111 venues, with 34 of 43 outlets at the Stadium reporting high-level violations, a whopping 79.07%.

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Filed Under: Cooking, Events, Heard on The Street Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

NYC Food Trucks To Soon Get Letter Grades Like Restaurants

November 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Food Carts, Trucks to Get Letter Grades Just Like NYC Restaurants

“Every cart or truck will be getting (a) newly designed decal, and when the inspector finishes the inspection, an ‘A’ looks just like the restaurant A,” says Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Health Corrine Schiff.

Beginning in December, all of the city’s 5,500 mobile food vendors will be graded on their food safety and will receive a corresponding alphabet score. A tracking device will also be attached to every unit so inspectors can keep track of each business.”

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Filed Under: Cooking, Heard on The Street, Local Market Buzz, Openings, Operations Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

More New York City Restaurants Have ‘A’ Grades Than Ever Before

September 21, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Image result for More New York City Restaurants Have ‘A’ Grades Than Ever Before

“Eight years after former mayor Michael Bloomberg tasked the Department of Health with completely dismantling and rebuilding the city’s restaurant grading system, a record amount of restaurants have “A” grades, and that’s despite the fact that said grading system is as confusing and arbitrary as ever.”

“In this year’s Mayor Management Report, data shows that in fiscal year 2018, 93.7% of 24,000 restaurants received “A” grades compared to 93.3% of restaurants last year and 85.4% of restaurants in 2012. Meanwhile, the DOH continues to ding restaurants for violations that don’t relate to food safety, creating a system in which owners and chefs must pay fines and place “Grade Pending” signs in their windows while they contest their initial grade.”

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Filed Under: Heard on The Street, Local Market Buzz, Trending Now Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

FSMA Status Update: Compliance Requirements and Upcoming Deadlines

September 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment

FSMA-roasting_photo

“One of the most notable pieces of federal legislation addressing food safety in the past century, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), was enacted on Jan. 4, 2011 — amending section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). Companies that manufacture, process, pack, or store food, including coffee, must comply.

The FSMA requires companies in the United States with these food facilities to submit additional registration information to the FDA. It also requires companies to renew the registration on a biennial basis, providing the FDA with authority to suspend the registration of a food facility in certain circumstances.”

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Filed Under: Operations, Opportunities, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,