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A Chef’s Place in the California Drought

Sep 30, 2015

By Justin Braly, Synergy Restaurant Consultants

Chefs in California are spoiled. We have artisan poultry farmers (Liberty Ducks), same-day seafood availability (Catalina Offshore Products) and an unrivaled bounty of produce (Chino Farm). But we also feel the effects of the immense elephant in the room: the drought.

Not only will Californians have to deal with a drier than normal fire season, but crops will struggle, meaning that jobs may face the chopping block and commodity prices will increase.

Water Conservation

As a consultant who travels across the country regularly, it is clear how most people outside of the region are generally unaware of the drought’s severity.  Most restaurateurs elsewhere in the U.S. aren’t aware of California’s law that prohibits serving complimentary water to diners unless it is requested. This measure, a state rule passed by Governor Jerry Brown earlier this year, was designed to raise awareness of the water shortage while reducing water waste.

Some restaurants find unique ways to deliver the message:  At Ladera Grill, a Morgan Hill, CA, restaurant, management places succulents on each table with a toothpick sign speaking to water conservation: a humorous approach to a serious problem.

Taking the initiative to the next level, chef John Cox of The Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur has come up with a way to save 300,000 gallons of water per year in his restaurant by using compressed air in lieu of water to rinse plates.

What if more people thought like Chef Cox?  Is it our duty as chefs and restaurant operators to help our dire case? Per the California Restaurant Association, nearly 65,000 dining establishments exist in California. And California is not only the source for much of the produce available in the United States, but also a microcosm for what’s going on in much of the rest of the country.

If a fraction of us step up to the plate in addressing this problem in whatever way we can, we as an industry can look forward to a less arid future.

Crop photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture CC by 2.0

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Pumpkin Spice Everything

Sep 24, 2015

It’s that season again. In the aisles of your local grocery store and on the menus of your favorite cafes, pumpkin spice-flavored treats are abound. From unique products like pumpkin pie flavored potato chips and Peeps to decadent desserts like pumpkin cheesecake and crème brulee, pumpkin-spice is everywhere.

And what is the most hands-down, most popular seasonal fall-flavored treat? It appears to be Starbucks’ beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte. Since 2003, Starbucks has sold over 200 million of these drinks. This season, to meet the evolving demands of diners everywhere, Starbucks announced that their lattes would be made with real pumpkin and no caramel coloring.

Competition has grown to capture the seasonal trend of pumpkin spiced mania. Panera Bread offers a Pumpkin Spice Latte of their own, that is not only free of caramel color, but also free of potassium sorbate, mono and diglycerides and sodium benzoate. Want a donut with your beverage? a Dunkin’ Donuts is serving up pumpkin lattes at their stores. And yes, you guessed it: McDonald’s is on the list of restaurants whipping up this popular drink, too.

 

Not a coffee fan? Caribou Coffee has a special Pumpkin Chai Latte featuring chai tea instead of traditional espresso. An ice-cream lovers can rejoice in Dairy Queen’s Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.

 

While pumpkin is a super star ingredient in the fall, as a restaurant operator, don’t forget to add other seasonal flavors to your menu. The food experts featured in this NRN article note several ways you can spruce up festive dishes with other autumn notes like using figs, butternut squash, apples and cranberries.

 

Pumpkin patch photo credit: Liz West CC by 2.0

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5 Things to Look for when Hiring Hourly Employees

Sep 18, 2015

In recent days, Chipotle has been very public about their mission to hire as many as 4,000 new employees in just one day. This massive hiring frenzy, while unrealistic for most restaurants, is a good reminder that operators must stick to best practices when it comes to the hiring process, particularly in the interview.

We reached out to our restaurant human resources and compliance consultant, Brian McDonough, to uncover the top five things to look for when hiring hourly employees.

1) Connection : Explore the ability of the candidate to make eye contact, converse and explain—that’s how they will communicate with your guests and other employees.

2) Consistency: By reviewing events within the candidate’s life (sports, past jobs, education), does the candidate stick with what they start?

3) Attitude: How the candidate approaches problem solving, interaction with other employees and interaction with guests is what makes them a high-performing employee.

4) Experience: Even if the candidate has not performed the specific duties of this position, review past experience and cross-reference similar skills to be sure the candidate has has a strong chance at performing the tasks being presented.

5) Desire: Through questioning, gauge the prospective employee’s interest in the position, working for your company and working at all. Ensure the candidate has sufficient motivation to come in to work each day.

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Happy hiring!

 

Burger King hiring photo credit: Mike Mozart CC by 2.0

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4 Ways to Promote Your Restaurant During Back-to-School Season

Sep 16, 2015

As temperatures begin to cool down and the leaves start to change colors, we say goodbye to summer and hello to a new school year!

As restaurant owners, this season presents a huge opportunity to deliver great promotions for both parents and students alike. Restaurants like Shoney’s and El Fenix offered deeply discounted or even free kid’s meals through the month of August, while more popular spots like Denny’s and IKEA offer year-round deals for children. Promotions like these can help restaurants introduce their brand to new customers, present more chances for up-selling and assist in spreading the word about your offer through word-of-mouth and social media, thereby attracting even more guests.

Here are 4 ways to promote your restaurant during the back-to-school season:

1)      Focus on the early evening dinner daypart, offering free or discounted kid’s meals until 7pm.

2)      Offer free weeknight delivery through to cater to students and busy families. This promotion can last through September or the fall, in turn creating regular users and keeping your brand top of mind after the season wraps.

3)      Add a check-in special on foursquare or Yelp focused on students to get your brand in front of a tech-savvy group of consumers.

4)      Offer visiting guests incentives to return, such as a redeemable code on the receipt or a take-out menu boasting a seasonal promotion valid for their subsequent visit.

 

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Opening a New Restaurant? It’s All About the Location!

Sep 15, 2015

You’ve heard it before: “location, location, location.” There’s truth to it: the August 2015 issue of Restaurant Business delves into this topic and finds interesting data to support the idea that location is of utmost importance when choosing a restaurant location.

It was noted that tourism is a strong factor contributing to new restaurant growth,  which is why the 5 best places to open a restaurant include two cities in Hawaii and the tourism mecca, Las Vegas. Interestingly, it also appears that restaurants in small times near crossroads and highways were gaining interest from consumers as they venture on roadtrips.

For the full list of the best and worst places to open a restaurant, check out Restaurant Business Online.

Of course, location is not the only factor contributing to a restaurant’s success. Among other critical components are the concept’s strength, throughput, consistency, the concentration of its target market in an area, and details down to the . If you’re interested in exploring your new concept, please contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

 

Now open photo credit Taro the Shiba Inu CC by 2.0

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LYFE Kitchen’s Exponential Growth

Sep 11, 2015

We are very pleased to learn that our former client, LYFE Kitchen, is planning to open 10 more locations by the end of this year. Cofounder Mike Donahue, former McDonald’s executive, set forth to create an elevated fast-casual restaurant experience that focuses on good-for-you food that’s also delicious and perfect for meat-eaters, flexitarians, locavores, vegetarians and even vegan diners.

LYFE stands for “love your food every day,” and that’s exactly what it aims to do with its menu and company values. LYFE’s menu consists of an array of choices that emphasize locally sourced, sustainable and organic wherever raw materials where possible. All menu items contains less than 600 calories and less than 1000 mg of sodium.

From only a single location in Palo Alto, LYFE Kitchen now can be found now be found in 17 locations across the nation in California, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, and Texas. We congratulate LYFE Kitchen on all their success!

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Mobile Ordering and Food Delivery a New Trend

Sep 09, 2015

Almost everyday, we hear  someone talking about Uber, the massively popular ride-sharing company that makes it a breeze to catch a cab. Finding a designated driver has never been faster or easier thanks to the Uber app, and now, with UberEATS, finding a fast meal is as simple as finding a ride.

Uber began its food delivery service in Chicago and New York City, but has since expanded to Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington D.C. and Barcelona. UberEATS’s promise? During operating hours, a preselected meal, prepared by a local restaurant, will arrive at your location in 10 minutes.

With this in mind, meal options aren’t as varied as on GrubHub or Eat24, but the 10-minute promise is perfect for those looking for a quick refuel. Uber Eats curates a special weekly menu of featured dishes from local eateries for brunch, lunch and dinner focusing on the “best local flavors.”

Similar apps named like Grubhub, Eat24 and DoorDash also provide Uber-style food delivery from local restaurants.

Food delivery is fast-growing trend in the restaurant industry. Many restaurants including Chipotle, BK, Taco Bell, Starbucks and Panera are testing delivery.  It’s a great way to generate new revenue streams without adding to your restaurant’s footprint.

To find out if delivery is a feasible option for your restaurant, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Fast Casual: The Next Generation

Aug 27, 2015

By Joan Lang, Editorial Director

A new “fine casual” segment is evolving out of the Chipotle quick-quality model. Older concepts are rebranding as fast casual or launching their own F/C siblings. And all around, there is quick, healthy, customizable food that blazes a new guest-satisfaction trail.

It’s the dawning of yet a new age of segmentation around the twin goals of cooked-to-order food and convenient and contemporary trappings.

Small wonder. Traditional quick service is hurting for sales and struggling to redefine itself, and there’s no question that many consumers are losing their taste for fast food, whether because of boredom, health concerns, or desire for a better overall experience.

Next Generation Fast Casual

Finer, Faster

Call it Fine Casual. Call it Fast Fine. But whatever you call it, a new niche is evolving between fast-casual and casual—just as fast-casual created a space between fast food and casual over the past decade.

Many of the concepts are being developed by fine dining chefs, intent on bringing their cooking to a wider segment of the dining public—and hoping for a Danny Meyer/Shake Shack-size payout.

Beefsteak is Jose Andres’s entry into the market, where “fresh, market-driven vegetables take center-stage.” The menu focuses on make-your-own grain and veggie bowls, with or without meat or another protein, plus a tightly curated list of Our Favorites that include a salad, gazpacho and a Beefsteak tomato “burger.”

David Chang’s new Fuku concept centers on an $8 spicy fried chicken sandwich, fries and a salad—no more and no less—and entertained such lines during its first week of operations that it had to close for a weekend to regroup.

Meanwhile, Honor Society Handcrafted Eatery in Denver, spearheaded by local chef Justin Bronson, is dubbing itself a healthful, “fast fine” concept serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a scratch menu built around a platform of plated meals, with a base protein and side dishes featuring seasonal and sustainable ingredients.

In San Francisco, Little Gem promises “order-at-the-counter dining taken to a new level of quality and experience,” courtesy of two Thomas Keller alumni who are in the process of putting together a menu that is dairy-, gluten- and sugar-free.

The dual-format Little Beet and Little Beet Table, based in the New York area, are also offering accessible, affordable, veggie-centric food in the fast casual segment, as well as a “polished casual” venue where chef Franklin Becker gets to flex his creative muscles a bit. With a “create-your-plate” platform as well as house-designed signatures, The Little Beet caters to the “guiltin’ free” set, while The Little Beet Table offers table service, wine and beer, and a more refined overall experience.

And on the flip side, Darren Tristano of Technomic even posits that there’s room in the equation for something called QSR-Plus, with a stripped down, quality-oriented menu that guests are willing to pay more for because of its quality focus—as evidenced by the success of brands like Chick-fil-A and Potbelly.

Healthy Equation

If there’s one thing that defines the new generation of fast casual restaurants, it’s the search for healthful dining options—not the sprouts and tamari “health food” of old but the DIY, veggie- and grain-laden model that also eschews gluten, refined sugar and other current lifestyle no-no’s.

Matt Matros, founder of Protein Bar, modeled his menu on the kind of food he’d want to eat himself, including “bar-ritos” that change out the burrito’s rice for quinoa, a variety of gluten free bowls, egg-white and oatmeal breakfasts, and salads, juices and blended drinks

Matthew Kenney, known to raw foodists and vegetarians as a chef to be reckoned with, has launched Make Out, “a plant-based fast casual café for the everyday eater.” The menu highlights greens, bowls, wraps and flatbreads, as well as such dairy-free sweets as parfait cups, cookies and cheesecake.

In fact, bowls are emerging as the newest platform for the customizable, fast-casual menu, obviating the need for bread and allowing for bases of grains, greens, veggies and other good-for-you ingredients. Bowl of Heaven, on the expansion trail with new franchise agreements in California and Nevada, is typical of the genre. Its menu is anchored by acai bowls that are custom-made with trendy superfruits, as well as fresh juices and enhanced smoothies.

New Flavor Experiences

It stands to reason that the fast-casual format would also bring new flavors and globally themed menus to the marketplace.

  • Lolo’s Seafood Shack, in New York City, is inspired by the casual, beachside seafood joints of St. Martine and elsewhere in the Caribbean. The menu includes traditional seafood steampots and Shark & Bake, as well as snacks, sandwiches and veggie sides such as johnnycakes and sweet potatoes with honey butter.
  • Dos Toros is a San Francisco-style taqueria with six locations in the New York City area, and a simple mix-and-match menu that offers three different proteins (carnitas, carne asada and pollo asado, plus rice and beans) in a choice of burrito, plate, salad, quesadilla or taco.
  • At Uma Temakaria, the creation of a Michelin-starred Manhattan chef, the vehicle for freshness and customization fast-casual style is hand-roll sushi, a freshly made seaweed cone filled with the likes of salmon, tuna, tofu, avocado and seaweed salad, as well as a custom hand roll or rice bowl option.
  • In Southern California, fast-growing Slapfish is a fast-casual “modern seafood shack” specializing in such iconic sandwiches as fish tacos, lobster rolls, as crab-lobster grilled cheese, along with signature sauces such as housemade tartar, Sriracha spread and creamy lemon herb.  Daily seafood plates and sandwiches, plus sides and snacks (hand-cut chips, lobster dip, fried pickles) round out the bill of fare.  Owner Andrew Gruel is committed to ocean sustainability, which sweetens the deal.

Want help with your fast-casual concept? Contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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Keeping Your Brand Fresh: 3 Things to Do

Aug 27, 2015

Emily Callaghan, Concept Development & Communications

 

At Synergy, we like to say that restaurants should refresh their interiors every seven to 10 years to remain clean, fresh and relevant, but what about a restaurant’s overall brand? Do changing times require revamped logos, collateral (business cards, packaging, menus) and website refreshes?  They do indeed.

Synergy has come a long way from the brand it was more than 26 years ago, founded by two passionate chefs with a desire to help brands big and small hone operations and establish standardized efficiencies, particularly in the back-of-the-house.

Since then, Synergy has grown to be so much more, now offering clients turnkey solutions to their greatest restaurant challenges. Architecture, interior design and kitchen design? We’ve got it. Branding and marketing? You bet. Menu development? It’s still a strong suite, after all these years. And behind these areas of expertise are the Synergy experts themselves.

To better reflect where Synergy is today, we’ve updated and relaunched our website. This change more accurately encapsulates what Synergy can do for restaurant operators, private equity firms, developers and entrepreneurs, also painting a picture of whom you’ll be working with when choosing Synergy. At last, we’re showing the world who we are today.

Now, I ask, is your restaurant sending the right message? Here are relatively straightforward tactical changes to consider.

  1. Website: Restaurant websites are far more simple than B2B websites, and updating yours needn’t be an enormous undertaking. These days, there are both free and inexpensive templates. Also make sure your design is responsive on mobile and tablet, as restaurantgoers often use their devices to research restaurants.
  1. Brand Style Guide: Create a document that outlines your custom logos, font families, color schemes and guidelines for usage to maintain consistency of your brand across your website, print materials (this includes your menu) and even uniforms.
  1. Social Media & Review Platforms: Is your logo updated and consistent across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like? Is your information up-to-date? Don’t be a restaurant that posts an outdated menu or even incorrect basics like hours of operation or address (yes, this happens).

As we’ve just gone through this ourselves, we’re here to help you, too.

Enjoy the new site, and a more complete picture of the Synergy brand—and good luck showing the world yours.

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Branching Out into Fast Casual

Aug 27, 2015

By Joan Lang, Editorial Director

Ambitious young entrepreneurs and boldface-name chefs aren’t the only ones attempting to cash in on the popularity of fast casual concepts that offer convenient service, affordable prices and an elevated level of food quality and customization to a new generation of customers.

Many established players on either side of the space are moving up and down with fast-casual projects of their own.

 

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  • Yum Brands has been especially proactive in its attempts to create new brands. Pizza Hut is hard at work refining Slice Bar as part of an attempt to reposition itself in the fast-casual niche, where pizza is already undergoing a revolution with the likes of Pieology and 800 Degrees. Taco Bell is experimenting with U.S. Taco, which touts upgraded offerings like a grilled Manchego taco with molcajete salsa—even as it tests its own new initiatives including delivery. Yum also has Banh Shop, a freewheeling, fast-casual take on Vietnamese street food.

 

  • Buffalo Wild Wings has also been playing in the fast casual field with last year’s investment in Rusty Taco, which has garnered 2015 Breakout Brands status in Nation’s Restaurant News. Now nine units strong, the better-taco concept showcases handmade tacos featuring such distinctive fillings as picadillo (spiced ground beef), brisket and achiote pork, as well as breakfast tacos.

 

  • The Bonanza and Ponderosa group has also been refining its fast-casual entrant, having recently rebranded its year-old Bo’s Steak & Grill as Cole’s Backyard Grill. Located in Lindale, Texas, the new franchise features an ambitious, cookout-style menu of steaks, burgers, chicken fried steak and fried chicken, beer-can chicken, and ribs and brisket.

 

  • Denny’s continues to court millennials with its fast casual spinoff, The Den. With 11 units in operation in University locations, the new-style diner touts all-day breakfast (including Denny’s signatures such as The Grand Slam) and an abbreviated menu of “hand-smashed” burgers, sandwiches, and shakes.

 

  • La Boulanger, a French-inspired bakery-café chain with 18 locations in central California, has announced that not only is it not the chain that’s being closed by Starbucks, but its founders are also looking to open a wine-bar/bistro called Fire, Oak & Barley. Designed to overlap with La Boulanger on breakfast and lunch, the new “fine fast” concept will target dinner sales with pizza, a burger, sandwiches, steaks, pasta and specialties from the woodburning oven.

 

  • It makes sense that organic and vegetarian food manufacturer Amy’s Kitchen would leverage interest in cleaner eating with its fast-casual venue, called Amy’s Drive-Thru. Launched this summer, the vegetarian concept features meatless versions of burgers, pizza, burritos and salads, as well as meticulously sourced ingredients and repurposed or sustainable building materials, solar power, and recycled rainwater.

 

  • John Gilbert, now co-owner and president of Romano’s Macaroni Grill—recently liberated from Ignite Restaurant Group—is the impetus behind a fast-casual component called Romano’s Kitchen Counter, specializing in $7 express lunch and lower tariffs for time- and cash-poor customers. Earlier this year, the Counter concept was expanded to include dinner as well as lunch to-go, seven days a week. The $9 dinner menu includes Pork Belly & Chicken Carbonara, Prosciutto & Chicken Penne, Pesto Chicken Farfalle, Diavola Scaloppine and Chicken Milanese Panzanella.

 

  • Umami Burger founder Adam Fleischman, who stepped down from day-to-day operations at that wildly successful burger juggernaut in 2014, is now working on three fast-casual concepts: Fat Noodle, with chef Joshua Skenes, which will specialize in hand-pulled Chinese noodles; Chop Daddy’s, a two-unit barbecue joint; and Choco Chicken, chocolate-fried chicken concept that has met with mixed success. His AdVantage Restaurant Group also includes the full-service Smoke.Oil.Salt and Taco Teca.