Restauranteurs have slowly been adopting technological advances into their businesses. These advancements include reservation and ordering programs, mobile apps and payment options. Infrastructure, staff training, and large price tags prevent restaurants from gaining access to these up and coming technologies. Large chains and start-ups, however, have dived headfirst into this new wave by incorporating even more innovative products to improve service. Guerrilla marketing techniques are being utilized on social media platforms and soon it may be commonplace for customers to place their order on kiosks.

Key Takeaways:

• A 2016 survey indicated about a third of those, in the restaurant business, who were surveyed, felt their business was falling behind in the technology front.
• Since the survey, however, the shift has been towards a greater acquisition of technology, by both chain restaurants and independent enterprises.
• Restaurants are making use of social media marketing and apps that allow customers to order online.

“They’re looking for the best options available to them and everything is on the table, from ordering kiosks to social media platforms to radio frequency identification programs.”

Read more: https://www.restaurantnewsresource.com/article94080.html

A website for the quick restaurant industry has a feature about how to avoid a discrimination lawsuit. The feature notes that new employees are required to produce identity documentation within three days of being hired. In a case in Florida, a pizza franchise had to pay $140,000 in a settlement with the Department of Justice. The franchise required permanent resident cards from non citizens. The law did not restrict id to this card, and the company was charged with discrimination. The piece advises readers what are acceptable forms of identity.

Key Takeaways:

• The US Citizen and Immigration Services issues form I-9 paperwork, designed to authenticate new hires immigration status and work authorization.
• All businesses, regardless of size, must complete 1-9 documentation for new hires, within three business days.
• Federal law prohibits citizen status discrimination as well as discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment practices, based on a worker, or potential hire’s, national origin.

“It is important for leaders within the quick service restaurant industry to understand the employee onboarding process to avoid claims of unlawful discriminatory practices under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/outside-insights/your-restaurant-being-set-discrimination-claim

It’s the current trend among chefs to put their own spin on a tried-and-true, traditional regional recipe. On the East coast, clam chowder is a regional dish commonly being revisited in this way. More examples of traditional dishes being given a modern spin include Wisconsin cheddar cheese curds, Creole-style breakfast jambalaya, a towering crab cake sandwich, and roasted king salmon. In addition to recipes for the dishes themselves, a brief history and background of each dish and the region to which it belongs is included in the article.

Key Takeaways:

• A trend towards using local ingredients has also seen a rise in restaurants serving signature local dishes such as New England clam chowder.
• Cheese curds have a rubbery texture that squeak when eaten. They are best when served within 2 days of being made so are popular in Wisconsin.
• Cooking salmon on a plank evolved in the Pacific Northwest and jambalaya is a signature dish of New Orleans brought by Spanish settlers.

“For all the most obvious reasons, managers and staff don’t always agree. But both sides can get behind retiring annual performance reviews, according to a January survey from software company Adobe, which quit the practice in 2012.”

Read more: http://www.foodservicedirector.com/menu-development/recipe-snapshot/articles/recipe-report-regional-american-specialties

Robots that deliver food are now being used in San Francisco. A collaboration between Yelp Eat 24 and Marble has produced intelligent robots that can navigate the city in order to deliver food. The robots are small, and have a plethora of sensors that help move and navigate. The founders of Marble used to work on self-driving cars and have implemented similar technology in these robots. They hope that these robots are a cleaner alternative to delivering food by car.

Key Takeaways:

• People and animals aren’t the only things who travel around in the streets anymore
• Electronic robots carry food inside of themselves as they walk across the streets to deliver goods
• These robots are not too different from cars who can drive themselves

“The robots, which the company says are smart enough to travel and navigate traffic in a “reliable, efficient, and safe fashion,” are delivering food to consumers across the region.”

Read more: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/make-way-food-delivery-robots-san-francisco

Jonathan Maze’s Nation’s Restaurant News takes a look at the sales figures for the nation’s restaurants in the month of March. Although they have risen a little bit since the last month, they’re still weakest it’s been for the past three years. Besides delving into the fact, Maze also takes a look at some of the causes behind the current decline (including lower grocery store prices) and what might occur to sales in the immediate future.

Key Takeaways:

• The growth in restaurant sales over the past several months is the slowest it’s been since 2013.
• General retail sales, however, are up (meaning that the slow growth for restaurants isn’t the result of general economic distress, but rather consumers spending money on other things).
• Grocery store sales are increasing as their prices decrease, possibly taking sales away from restaurants.

“Restaurant sales rose 2.8 percent in March, according to federal data, slowing for the second straight month”

Read more: http://www.nrn.com/sales-trends/restaurant-sales-slow-again-march

A Chef teamed up with a dietitian of Oncology to offer chemo patients a better variety of entrees and sides in their diets. Bernstein created a few dishes that she thought would go over well, dishes like; margherita quiche and carrot miso soup, and taught them to others. The percentile for liking the dishes were high in the 90th percentile. She was contracted for over $50,000 dollars. They say it is sometimes better to have someone who can put their expertise in on a project. It really makes the difference.

Key Takeaways:

• It helps to find someone who shares your passion, as when Oncology dietitian, Cynthia Wigutow, paired up with a chef who’s own mother was undergoing chemotherapy at the time.
• Hiring an outside chef may be expensive, so it doesn’t hurt to consider fundraising, or philanthropic sponsorship.
• In the case of Wigatow, the pairing investment was worth it, as patient approval ratings for the new dietary additions went up almost 20 percent.

“Two years ago, Memorial Cancer Institute in Hollywood, Fla., was looking to improve culinary options for chemotherapy patients, whose strict diets often leave food bland.”

Read more: http://www.foodservicedirector.com/managing-your-business/missing/articles/3-steps-working-outside-chef