NYC Officials Are Looking Into Grubhub’s Reviled Restaurant Fees

June 27, 2019 by Leave a Comment

New York City government officials are now diving into the Grubhub debacle, in which several restaurants have accused the food delivery app of slyly charging fees for customer phone calls that never resulted in actual delivery orders.

City Council’s Committee on Small Business will hold an oversight hearing to investigate those fees, as well as others charged by similar apps like like DoorDash and Uber Eats — an act that could eventually lead to more government regulation.

The hearing will go down on June 27, giving local restaurateurs a chance to voice their concerns. City officials will specifically focus on how these fees and other policies are affecting NYC restaurants, especially small mom and pop shops, the Post reports.

“If we see there is abuse, or if there is a manipulation here, then it could certainly be referred to the legal authorities,” Bronx Councilman Mark Gjonaj tells the Post. The hearing’s findings could eventually lead to the involvement of the Public Advocate, the city Comptroller, or the state Attorney General, he says.

Read more here.

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How He Got 200,000 People To Buy Ugly Fruits and Vegetables

June 24, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Imperfect Produce is a subscription home delivery service for "ugly" fruits and vegetables that are perfectly fine to eat.

“Four years later, Simon cofounded Imperfect Produce, a subscription-based home-delivery service for discounted “ugly” fruits and vegetables that are perfectly good on the inside, but otherwise rejected from the food supply chain for their looks.

“About 70 billion pounds of food is wasted annually in the United States. It’s from homes, cafeterias, farms, restaurants, grocery store and stadiums. Almost all of it is good food,” said Simon. “We wanted to think bigger about how to fight this food waste and create a more sustainable food system that was scalable.”
Simon partnered with his friend Ben Chesler, who shared his passion for social good, and the two homed in on farms as the starting point of their food recovery and delivery service. Up to 20% of the fruits and vegetables grown on farms in America is discarded because the produce doesn’t meet grocery stores’ aesthetic standards, said Simon.
“It’s often for discoloration, scarring on the surface caused by the fruit rubbing against a tree limb or an atypical shape,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the size. We see a glut of small avocados that go to waste because consumers tend to prefer larger avocados for guacamole.”

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McDonald’s Redefines Health In Terms Of Sustainability

April 25, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Screen Shot 2019-04-22 at 3.58.14 PM.png

“McDonald’s is moving toward a menu free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, but every product has a unique challenge, said Amy Wilcox, director of quality systems and supply chain management for McDonald’s USA. She and her colleague, Cynthia Goody, chief nutritionist for McDonald’s, explained how “clean” ingredients are a key part of the chain’s sustainability initiative during the “Sustainable Approach to the Menu” panel at Restaurant Leadership Conference.

But “we can’t use the clean label description, because everyone has a different definition,” said Wilcox. “We had to create our own definition for suppliers, operators and customers. And that involved a lot of outreach to make sure all our suppliers were on the same page.”

The chain, in fact, announced this past September that is was removing artificial preservatives from its “classic” burger lineup in the U.S. “We have a great group of suppliers,” said Chris Kempczinski, president of McDonald’s U.S., at the time. And now, the chain announced that a third of its eggs are cage-free—and it expects to source 726 million cage-free eggs this year. Right now, chicken nuggets fit the sustainability criteria, as do American cheese and burgers. As far as McDonald’s burger goes, “the pickle presented a problem,” said Wilcox. “We couldn’t find one that fit our definition, so we went forward with what we had and put an asterisk next to it on the menu. Being truthful and transparent is important to us.”

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The New York City Restaurant That Prohibits Cell Phone Use

April 17, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Il Triangolo

“(…) Gigliotti, who is 52-years-old, opened Il Triangolo in April 2011, which specializes in Southern Italian food. He created many of the recipes including homemade fettuccini ala Triangolo, chicken frangelico and shrimp limoncello.  It seats around 60 people.

He owns a cellphone bought for him by his daughter and thinks they’re a useful gadget for ordering items.

But back in 2014, when cellphone use started proliferating and most of his customers starting taking out their smartphones during their meals, Gigliotti became irritated. He noticed that “people weren’t paying attention to their food, their surroundings or their own family members.” No longer were his customers conversing; they sat there and ate and checked their cell phones as if they were dining alone. In fact, their behavior slowed everything down in the restaurant. Instead of eating and leaving quickly, they’d spend more time dining because they weren’t concentrating on eating their food and instead zeroed in on checking their emails or the web.  Meals that once took two hours were taking two and a half hours, and guests waiting longer for a table.

Gigliotti put up a small sign that said no cellphones placed on the table. When he encountered new customers, he’d tell them in person about the policy. If customers receive a phone call during the meal, they’re asked to step outside of the restaurant so as not to disturb any guests. Almost everyone complies.”

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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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Will Legal Marijuana Create New Restaurant Opportunities?

April 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Will legal marijuana create new restaurant opportunities?“If you’ve been to a food conference lately you’ll notice there’s at least one session talking about cannabis, CBD, cannabinoids, or whatever term we’re using now. I’ve been to two conferences in recent weeks that addressed the topic and I’m writing this post while in California, where voters legalized recreational use of marijuana via referendum in 2016. Therefore, I have pot on the brain — so to speak.

At NPD we’re always analyzing how trends affect the food and beverage industry and if you talk to a — what shall we call them, “pot enthusiasts” — you’ll know food plays a major role when they use marijuana. This can be from how they ingest the marijuana to the munchies leading them to eat a variety of indulgent foods.

We took a look in our SnackTrack information, which monitors the consumption of ready-to-eat, convenience-oriented snack foods in the U.S., to see if there are changes since legalization occurred. In those states that legalized recreational marijuana, brownie consumption has increased a whopping 107 percent compared to pre-legalization times. Chewy candies, which had a stable consumption level for years, grew by 17 percent after legalization, and fruit snacks also increased after legalization.

I’m not sure yet if this is a result of the munchies, pot brownies or gummies, and all I can fully say with confidence is these changes are correlations. However, these correlations are in line with what we’ve known anecdotally for some time about recreational pot usage and can point to growth opportunities should more states allow it.”

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4 Ways to Take Your Sales Strategy to the Next Level with a Video Presentation

April 5, 2019 by Leave a Comment

“To maximize potential impact, businesses are upgrading their sales strategy to incorporate a video presentation. Not only does this put a face to your business, but it can also be individualized to each client, and can significantly help you stand out among the rest. Consider these steps to take your sales strategy to the next level with an introductory video.”

1. Introduce Yourself To Clients

Add a more human, and engaging, element to your pitch and introduce yourself to potential clients with a video. You can let them know what makes your products or services better from the rest, and give them an idea of what kinds of people they can expect to work with by choosing you.

A corporate video can be used as an initial means of contact or a unique way to send clients some information prior to a sales meeting – more than just a sales deck showing off products and price points, a corporate video can provide a platform to show off your merchandise and let potential buyers see them in action.

This is an excellent sales strategy that will get them thinking about your business, and help to take things to the next step.

2. Use Video Content During Your Sales Pitch

When you get the opportunity for a face-to-face meeting with a client, having video content in your sales strategy can help a lot.

More than just presenting numbers, a corporate video enables potential buyers to see your products in use, and learn exactly how they’re beneficial. This is especially useful for those businesses that offer services or products which can’t be brought into the office for the meeting. Adding a quality visual aid to your sales approach allows you to show off the design process, manufacturing floors, your talented staff, and so much more.

(…)

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Inside Williamsburg’s New All-Day Restaurant Gertie

March 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Gertie

“In its bright, 70-seat space, Gertie — which opened over the weekend at 357 Grand St., at Marcy Avenue — will eventually serve an all-day menu built around its rotisserie, dedicated to roasted meats and vegetables. The setting and service style are casual: Orders get placed at the counter, but there’s still an element of table service when it comes to refilling drinks and bussing. There’s also a full bar program to come, the restaurant billing itself as both a luncheonette and a liquor bar.

Adler went to business school and was on the finance track when he started dabbling in the restaurant world by starting his own business in college. It was a take-out and delivery-only service for University of Pennsylvania students that mimicked home-cooked meals. After school, he decided to go all-in on hospitality and got a job at Danny Meyer’s Blue Smoke, working as a bus boy and then a floor manager. A couple years later, he partnered with fellow Danny Meyer vet Jonah Miller to open Huertas, East Village’s Basque tapas restaurant.”

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Halal Guys, Wetzel’s Pretzel partner with Kitchen United

March 26, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Image result for Halal Guys, Wetzel's Pretzel

Kitchen United, which offers off-premise kitchen centers for brands and franchises, now has two new partners as well as a new restaurant concept. Halal Guys and Wetzel’s Pretzels are now partners with Kitchen United, which also launched Fresgo, a fast Italian offering serving out of the Pasadena, California kitchen center.

The Halal Guys and Fresgo are now available for pickup, delivery and catering from the off-premise kitchen space, with Wetzel’s Pretzels officially opening April 1, according to a press release. Kitchen United’s Pasadena kitchen center opened last year and is home to Canter’s Deli, AmazeBowls, Cheat Day, Grilled Cheese Heaven, Mama Musubi and The Pizza Plant.

“One of Kitchen United’s goals from the beginning has been to leverage our collective restaurant experience to help our restaurant partners take a leadership position in delivery, a fast emerging growth opportunity in the industry,” said Jim Collins, Kitchen United CEO, in the release. “As a team of restauranteurs, we are thrilled to launch Fresgo in order to provide valuable insight and learnings to our partners. We are very pleased to add The Halal Guys and Wetzel’s Pretzels to our family of restaurant partners in order to help them expand their reach into the Pasadena market.”

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What To Expect From Hudson Yards’ Restaurant And Food Options

March 14, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Anya Fernald is bringing Belcampo's burgers, bowls and

“(…) The majority of new restaurants are slated to open this Friday, an almost unfathomable feat in a city where opening day can be synonymous with delays and postponement.

“We have an absolutely incredible construction and tenant coordination team,” Stuessi says with a laugh when asked how they’re pulling off the large batch of openings. “They’re working with us to bring them all to life in one moment.”

Already, there’s a sense of community in the new neighborhood.

“You see people from different restaurants walking in each other’s spots, grabbing a coffee,” Stuessi says.

The benefit of proximity has also helped the restaurants work together on staffing and supply needs; Stuessi recounts that the hospitality businesses were able to share applicants with their neighbors when good candidates presented themselves but job openings were already filled. “There is a sense of camaraderie with everyone opening a restaurant in Hudson Yards at the same time,” says Sam Gelman, vice president of operations at Fuku, Momofuku’s fast-casual fried chicken sandwich mini-chain.

The Hudson Yards outpost will feature Fuku’s new bone-in fried chicken program and menu of sides, along with its signature spicy fried chicken sandwiches and chicken fingers.

Opening day eats

More than 25 restaurant and food concepts are planned for Hudson Yards, with a majority making their debut this week. (Some, like Sweetgreen, have already opened, while others, like new concepts from Danny Meyer in The Shed and Stephen Starr in the Equinox Hotel, as well as a Maison Kayser, will follow.) Here’s a look at everything on the food front that’s slated to open on Friday:

The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards

  • Teak Tearoom at The Conservatory: Choose from a variety of teas, as well as bites and baked goods, at this all-day cafe. Level 1
  • Blue Bottle Coffee: Get your java fix from the specialty coffee roasters. Level 2
  • Citarella Hudson Yards: Shop a selection of seafood, meat, cheese and produce, as well as wine and spirits, at the gourmet market. Level 2
  • The Drug Store: Try new beverages from Dirty Lemon at this cocktail bar. Level 2
  • Fuku: Find the latest location for the Momofuku fried chicken spot. Level 2
  • Kith Treats at Snark Park: The ice cream and cereal bar adds an outpost in this exhibition space. Level 2
  • Bluestone Lane: Another spot to get your coffee fix. Level 3
  • Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream: The fancy ice cream shop continues its rapid NYC expansion. Level 3
  • William Greenberg Desserts: Pick up some black and whites from the kosher bakery. Level 3
  • Belcampo: Sustainably-sourced meats are the focus of this California chain. Level 4
  • Dylan’s Candy Bar: Fill up on boutique candy. Level 4
  • Hudson Yards Grill: The latest from chef Michael Lomonaco. Level 4
  • Jack’s Stir Brew: More in coffee. Level 4
  • Li-Lac Chocolates: The chocolate institution opens its newest chocolate bar and new flagship. Level 4
  • Queensyard: A restaurant and bar from the UK’s D&D London. Level 4
  • Shake Shack: Get the chain’s signature burgers and milkshakes. Level 4
  • Bouchon Bakery: Find a selection of French pastries and freshly-baked breads. Level 5
  • Kāwi: Chef Eunjo Park helms this new restaurant from Momofuku. Level 5
  • Milos Wine Bar: Get yogurt to go during the day, sip on Greek wines at night. Level 5
  • Neiman Marcus: The department store will feature a cafe (Cook & Merchants, level 5), bar (Bar Stanley, level 6) and restaurant (The Zodiac Room, level 7).
  • Peach Mart: Momofuku’s new to-go concept specializes in kimbap and sandwiches. Level 5
  • Wild Ink: Chef Peter Jin helms this new restaurant from the UK hospitality group rhubarb. Level 5
  • TAK Room: Chef Thomas Keller debuts a new concept in NYC. Levels 5 and 6
  • Estiatorio Milos: Chef Costas Spiliadis opens a second NYC location of his acclaimed Greek restaurant. Level 6

View more here.

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