Much is spent on predicting trends, and for good reason. Being in front of a trend, whether it be the stock market, food and beverage or fashion, can mean big bucks for those who anticipate their onset. Some trends are predictable and modest. Others appear out of nowhere, spontaneously combusting like some galactic super nova. Their impact is monumental and viral; altering the way human beings live. One day, for no apparent reason, everyone’s eating raw food or wearing less and less clothing. As a restaurant consultant, I dig for data and research trends for a varied set of clients within the food and beverage industry. At times, I see common patterns emerging across many business segments; trends running on parallel paths. So what is the latest, earth shattering movement in the food business? Well, it seems that what was once in is now, out, and that my friend is sooo “in.”
Do you remember sushi? It was great and still would be if it hadn’t been so over hyped and massed produced. Even Kroger rolls its own Maki now. Where’s the fun in munching on sashimi bought out of a self serve case? The beauty of sushi was the experience, right? Landing two seats at the sushi bar, witnessing nimble Asian artists form intricate, raw seafood delicacies in a show of culinary prowess was the highlight of any Saturday night in Y2K. Now, 11 years later ….”check out aisle 6!”
What the sushi bars and other similar trends, i.e.; (sizzling cast iron fajita platters), ushered in was an outward connection to the kitchen. Guests actually got to experience “how it’s done,” a peek into a chef’s inner sanctum. Those trends were the predecessors of what is now called transparency or experiential entertainment. The machinery creating the end product is now out of the closet and fully exposed for all to see.
Read More Post a comment (0)There is no question that starting a restaurant is an expensive proposition. Depending on the situation at hand, a new restaurateur can easily incur hundreds of thousands of dollars on pre-opening expenses before the first customer walks through the door. For many budding entrepreneurs, finding a capital source is no easy task. Even as the economy begins to thaw, traditional lending sources are hesitant to fund precarious restaurant ventures, especially for start-ups and single unit operators. In the face of monetary scarcity, those determined to hang a shingle in the culinary world must search for creative methods of entry. In recent years all types of novel methods have emerged to showcase rising talent, including; underground dinner clubs, specialty food events and, most recent to Atlanta, “Pop Up” restaurants.
The “Pop Up” is part restaurant, part food truck and part theatrical performance. Born in the culinary sub cultures of big city America, pop ups are best described as temporary restaurants. Typically located in non-traditional spaces, pop ups can be found in vacant retail spaces, in running restaurants that are willing to share kitchen and dining space or in warehouses tucked away from the public eye. Their underlying philosophy is to introduce new foods, concepts and chefs into the market place quickly and inexpensively by utilizing existing capital infrastructures. Championing the old motto that something old is something new again, pop up restaurants allow chefs and entrepreneurs to test market response to culinary themes in an edgy atmosphere on someone else’s dime. Pop ups are usually short lived, operating for only months at a time.
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Demand for shared commercial kitchen space is on the increase in the Atlanta area. Several factors have surfaced that are contributing to the need for hourly, daily and shared commercial kitchen space. New Georgia Health Code laws have restricted caterers from cooking in residential kitchens, and the popularity of the food truck and specialty food businesses are increasing the need for inexpensive, health department approved work space. A new facility located in Lawrenceville, GA is now open offering several kitchen station set ups ideal for bakers, specialty food processing, food truck commissaries and entrpreneurs with a new ideas. Monthly memberships and hourly rates are available.
If you’re a caterer, food truck operator, chef or entrpreneur and interested in learning more about this new facility please contact Cornelia Florea at 404-484-4588.
We are busier than ever today, fitting more into our already hurried schedules; work, school, exercise, kid’s activities, networking. Available time to eat and re-fuel, especially during traditional parts of the day, is getting squeezed. Lunch is now the 10 minutes between cell phone calls. As a society we are also concerned about what goes into our bodies. In the past, this battle of time scarcity and nutrition usually meant settling for an unhealthy fast food option.
A study by the Cisco Corporation entitled, Understanding and Managing the Mobile Workforce, estimates that currently one quarter of the world’s work force are mobile workers. That percentage equates to roughly 1 billion people who are on the move in some capacity as it relates to their job. Mobile workers are those not attached to a permanent desk or office space, are professionally focused, self-sufficient individuals engaged in meetings, conferences, phone calls, e-mails and computer based work. They are entrepreneurs, managers, independent consultants and sales people. They are a group that likes to service themselves. They run their own businesses, set their own schedules and shape their own destiny. They do not want anyone else to tell them what to do because, like most entrepreneurs, they believe they can do it better.
Time is an important factor for them, and in their busy schedule they do not have time for a full service lunch. A working lunch or snack is more the norm for the mobile worker.
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As the waiter approached my table, my mind began to ponder the customer service I was about to receive. Maybe she will be different, not like the others before her. As she came closer, I could see her silver nose ring and tattooed shoulder and I thought to myself, great, another Gen Y-Millennial-20 something that could care less about her job. So I began to brace for the inevitable cold, stoic attitude as her mouth began to move and form those dreaded words which have seemingly permeated the entire hospitality industry….”can I get you something to drink?” What? What do you mean can I get you something to drink? What about, “hello, how are you tonight?” or, “welcome, glad you’re here”. No casual conversation? After all, we are both in this relationship together. But no she just wants to know what I want to drink, and by the way, hurry up so we can end this encounter sooner than later. I felt fleeced and used…shall we shag now or shag later?
On the surface I knew I had been the recipient of second rate customer service. Her attitude was mediocre and her table side mannerism lacking throughout the entirety of my dining experience. But there was a deeper message in the server’s performance that struck me. I spend a lot of time in restaurants, both as a concept developer and a customer. I have experienced hundreds of service encounters just like the one above and I now believe there is a real and meaningful shift going on in the hospitality industry away from stereotypical “pamper the customer” mentality. Said more simply, the doting, white apron wearing waiter as we have come to know her in the restaurant biz is dead and going to rest in a quiet place along with the 1950’s gasoline station attendant.
Strong evidence exists that leads me to this conclusion.
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