If you believe AI (artificial intelligence) is limited to just the tech and health sectors, think again! AI has made its mark in the hospitality industry in major ways. Case in point: TGI Fridays—the popular, 53-year-old franchise has recently reported a doubling of sales in its off-premise business in the past year, driven by AI in its marketing model, according to Sherif Mityas, TGI Fridays’ Chief Experience Officer. The “off-premise business” referred to includes activities such as customers ordering food through the TGI Friday’s bot via Instant/Direct Messaging. The company’s AI machineLearning bot works across multiple platforms (think Facebook, Twitter, and Alexa) to present customized experiences and offerings to consumers.  More about TGI Friday’s AI can ­be found here.

Synergy Restaurant Consultants reached out to its community in the hospitality space and asked what technology has been helpful in streamlining and improving operations as well as cost efficiency.

Some insightful feedback was noted:

“OLO which is Online Ordering has helped increase takeout sales by 15%. LSR which is Long Range Systems has improved our service and sped up our thru-put by a minute. Also CTUIT (I would add what this acronym stands for) reporting software has been very helpful with reviewing trends and with labor management.”

Another comment highlighted using AI.

“Artificial intelligence using through KOT (Kitchen Order Ticket) Analysis report for managing steward, feedback for every customer…”

If you need help incorporating restaurant technology that will help increase restaurant sales, please contact us.

Cauliflower—a vegetable once typically found in salads, stir-frys, and as a side dish—is now making a big name for itself. Perhaps even hotter than the avocado toast trend, many people are flocking toward menu items and recipes that use cauliflower in innovative ways. Pizza with a cauliflower crust. Cauliflower rice. Cauliflower crust grilled cheese. Cauliflower Couscous. Cauliflower tater tots. The list goes on.

Do you see a pattern here? Cauliflower has become a huge hit as a low carb, bread, potato and rice substitute. For example, one cup of cauliflower contains about five grams of carbohydrates while one cup of cooked white rice contains approximately forty-five grams. This versatile veggie is also low in calories, another reason people are gravitating toward it. Oprah has even recently launched a line of frozen pizzas that feature a cauliflower crust.

Health-conscious diners are ever-growing and they’re seeking new and innovative ways to satiate their hunger. Don’t be surprised to see more restaurants offering smart, unique, and healthy substitute options on their menus.

PIs there such thing as a perfect pizza pie? With so many options (Neopolitan, Roman, New York style, Chicago deep dish, etc.) there’s no clear answer! However, when it comes to authentic Italian pizza, there is one thing that positively defines the perfect pie— a crispy, light, and chewy crust complete with charred dark spots.

We can break down how to make perfect dough, but the one variable that makes or breaks a perfect pie is the oven. Sorry home chefs, you’ll be hard-pressed to replicate the delicious crust because as science has it, to achieve the same results, you must have a brick oven.

With a brick oven, the bricks slowly transfer heat to the dough (as compared to a steel oven). This simple nuance provides a largely different outcome because now there’s a balance between cooking—the crust can be cooked at a very high temperature while the pizza toppings cook with the oven’s indirect heat simultaneously.

More about this phenomenon here.

Step aside, duck fat, because fatback is stepping into the spotlight. Wait…what’s “fatback” exactly? It is just what it sounds like, fat from the upper back (of a pig) and is a revered ingredient utilized in traditional charcuterie and Italian cooking as well as in American southern cooking and soul food. Lardo is a type of hard fat which is consists of adipose tissue under the skin of the back with or without the rind. What’s does it look like? Think of a slab of bacon without the meat part.

Love sausages like nduja or cudighi? How about lardo? Yup, all made with fatback. Let’s take a closer look at lardo. It’s a kind of salume (Italian cold cut) created by curing strips of fatback with a mixture of salt, spices, and herbs. The flavor of lardo is one of creamy, richness—it tastes porky and buttery. It’s like lard’s fancy, gourmet cousin.

Interestingly, lardo is not something you’ll only find in an Italian kitchen these days. A renewed interest in lardo is forming among various types of cuisines. In Portland, Oregon, a restaurant named Lardo serves up a (surprise, surprise)– lardo-inspired menu. B.S. Taqueria in Los Angeles offers a truly unique clam and lardo taco. Going even one step further with revered animal fats is the use of leaf lard. This kind of lard is the pork fat found around the kidneys. Bakers like those at Sullivan Street Bakery in Hell’s Kitchen use the non-porky flavored fat to create buttery and flaky crusts.

With the nose-to-tail movement being embraced by many millennials today, it’s no wonder that animal fats like fatback, lardo and leaf lard are making their marks in more and more restaurant kitchens.

If you’re a Golden State resident, you may have gotten used to bringing reusable bags to the grocery store. It’s been over a year since California banned retailers from handing out single-use plastic bags to customers due to environmental concerns. Numerous cities have taken it a step further by imposing restrictions on restaurants giving out plastic straws such as Malibu, Seattle, Miami Beach and San Luis Obispo.

These restrictions make sense. According to ecocycle.org, 500 million straws are used in the US every day which contribute significantly to plastic pollution, especially in our oceans. In the UK, a ban on sales of single-use plastics, including plastic straws will be in effect as early as next year.

Even major brands are taking notice. As part of McDonald’s effort to make their stores more environmentally friendly, 1,300 locations across the U.K. will be phasing out plastic straws and testing paper straws.

Is your city next? As a restaurant owner, it is ever-important to not only keep abreast of new legislation that can affect your operation, but to also be fully prepared! Paper, wood or bamboo are good alternatives to plastic straws and cutlery. There are numerous options on the market that are easily ordered online or through your local supplier. Even if your restaurant hasn’t been banned from using plastic straws, it doesn’t hurt to be more mindful and eco-friendly.

It’s no secret that social media presence is increasingly important in the current restaurant marketplace. Fortunately, you can, to some extent, control the perception of your brand on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. How you present your concept and how often potential customers are exposed to what you have to offer is up to you. Advertising on these platforms has become the preferred marketing choice for many operators because it is easy to manage and effective for connecting with potential guests. Marketing can be done in real time, strategically reaching consumers in your precise location and within a reasonable budget. The following tips will help you improve your restaurant’s social media presence and increase your reach.

Number One: Use Vibrant Visual Content
Visual content is the most effective form of content you can post. If possible, make an investment in a professional photographer as this is the best way to compile high-quality visual content that you can utilize over a long period of time. When planning a photoshoot make sure the photographer captures a variety of images. You’ll want to have several different food items from each section of your menu (appetizers, entrees, desserts, lunch, dinner etc.) as well as cocktails, beer and wine and non-alcoholic beverages. These should be shot individually as well as in groups. Ask for photographs of any unique design elements of the restaurant. Have the photographer shoot the restaurant both inside and out and during the daytime as well as after dark. If you can, get pictures of the restaurant when it is full of guests and appears busy. Also, request headshots of key team members as well as employees “in action.”

If a professional photographer is not an option, consider investing in a good quality camera. There may be a team member with photography skills that is willing to help with content development. Pictures and videos taken with a smartphone can also be very good. Be sure that you have a clean workspace when taking your own photos and videos and that the area is well lit. If you can, arrange any props that make the photo more visually appealing. For instance, if you’re photographing a spring cocktail special with a citrus element, it might look nice to have a glass of lemons behind it or a bouquet of colorful flowers.

The best strategy for accumulating visual content is a combination of all the above approaches. To be able to post regularly you will need a wide variety of photos in your database in order to keep your posts fresh over a period of time.

Number Two: Update and Complete All Profiles
This is simple but important. For each social media account you have, make sure that all the information is accurate, up to date and complete. Facebook has extensive options for sharing information about your restaurant with potential guests that visit your page. Everything from your business hours to parking options to your menu offerings should be provided. Take advantage of the opportunity to make it easy for your guests to learn about your restaurant and plan their next visit by completing as much of the profile information as you can. If you make changes to any of this information, it’s important to remember to update all social media platforms with the new details. Instagram is limited as far as sharing specific information about your restaurant, so your account needs to be a short but engaging bio explaining your concept and food as well as the address, phone number, and website link.

Number Three: Maximize User Generated Content
Making the most of this type of content is a great way to generate more posts without having to develop content yourself. This may mean searching your restaurant location tag on Instagram and finding photos posted by your guests. These can be reposted, and the original poster can be tagged. A great way to encourage your guests to post their pictures and videos on social media platforms is by creating a hashtag for your restaurant. Posting the hashtag and asking your followers to attach it to their posts will make it simple to find these posts by searching the hashtag. Using guest content is a fantastic way to cultivate unofficial brand ambassadors for your concept and build relationships with your guests.
Number Four: Develop Custom Targeted Audiences

This is a feature specific to Facebook. It is designed to help you choose the people that you want to reach based on demographics, location, interests, and behaviors. The best way to do this is to use the Facebook Ads Manager feature and you can access this feature through your business page account. Use either the Ads Manager App on your mobile device or the desktop version. Ads Manager will guide you through how to create custom audiences as well as “lookalike audiences” based on your current followers. Ads Manager will also be able to generate insights into your different audiences. You may create several audiences, some based on location for real-time ads and others based on demographics that may be interested in your various promotions.

Number Five: Engage Followers
It’s important when managing social media to make sure to not overdo promotional content. Your followers and potential guests will tire of seeing posts meant only to promote your restaurant and products. Another form of content that has the potential to generate buzz is an engagement post. This may be as simple as posting a picture of one of your signature menu items and asking a question like “When was the last time you enjoyed our BBQ Bourbon Short Rib Burger?” and then responding to your followers when they answer. Instagram and Facebook both have easy to use features for posting surveys, which is another great way to engage your followers. Social media contests asking your followers to repost or tag their friends is a great way to not only engage your current followers but gain new followers as well.

Whether you are new to social media management or have been using it for years to promote your business, there is a constant stream of new features being added that can help generate sales with minimal advertising investment. It’s unquestionably worth your time to make an investment in building the strongest presence on whichever platforms you use. For more help creating a strong social media strategy, reach out to Synergy for an initial conversation to discuss your needs.

You’ve heard of Neopolitan pizza—the pie that originated in Naples that’s prepared with a few fine ingredients and cooked in a wood-fired oven. You’ve tasted NY style pizza—large in size with a pliable, thin crust. But have you heard of Roman-style pizza? Also known as “pizza al taglio,” this is a pie variation that is served as street food and sold by the ounce. Think of it quite simply as Roman pizza-by-the-slice.

So what’s the difference between a Roman-style pizza and the kind you can already order now? The largest difference is that instead of paying per slice, you are paying by weight (i.e., $1.20 per ounce). For example, instead of asking for one slice, you would show how much you want.

As for taste, pizza al taglio has a lighter, airy crust with a bit of a chewy texture, and is cooked in large rectangular pans. For toppings, think of traditional Italian fare: combinations of prosciutto, Gorgonzola, arugula, tomatoes, ricotta, peppers, sausage and more.

This concept can translate into a great fast-casual opportunity. There is a growing niche of  restaurants serving up Roman-style pizza, to including nontraditional toppings (think hummus and pesto). Keep an eye out for this trend coming to your neighborhood. Could this be an opening for other restaurants to selling a variety of other foods by-the-ounce? Synergy will keep you posted!

Though the ever-popular cocktail classics are still leading the charge in the craft cocktail scene, they are now sharing the stage with a new trend: creativity. It is not uncommon to find inventive large format cocktails, outrageous (and instagrammable) garnishes, rich house made syrups, tinctures and bitters, teas and smoke in the most unexpected places. Even big chains like Famous Dave’s are smoking their old-fashioned bourbon in house while Houlihan’s is carving their own block ice for some feature drinks. Putting out the same tired drinks year after year that look a lot like the drinks from across the street, turn drinks into a boring commodity, and commodities are subject to price comparison. The lowest price wins in this situation and everyone fights to sell the cheapest drink while the profits shrink. The less homogenous the product, the more resistant it will be to price comparison.  There is an untapped revenue stream from unique and creative cocktails that can separate you from the pack. Guests do not compare or question the price of something that is of quality and truly unique to your concept.

As you explore new revenue streams through craft cocktails, the biggest error is choosing style over substance. While creativity is key, it must work in conjunction with balance and efficiency. Astounding presentation in a cocktail that is overly sweet or acidic will bring guest back through the door about as fast as a perfectly balanced cocktail that takes 15 minutes to hit the table. Do you measure efficiency in bottle pickups, number of ingredients, components, all of these? What are your thresholds for each? How can you cut steps through batching, infusions, tinctures or flavored syrups and what are the proper applications of each?  What are the labor implications of each? A lot of planning goes in to the creation of a truly successful cocktail program, but returns can be disproportionately large as revenues and reputations surge upward. Alcohol, acid, sugar, ice, bitters, air and dilution must all work together in such a way that the sum is greater than the parts. Bartender training and server education must be on par with the desired quality of the drink, especially in large chains. Everyone coming in contact with these creations must know when to stir, when to shake, when to double strain and how to measure efficiency when developing recipes and identifying guest preferences at the table.

The trailblazers have been doing this long enough to have written many game changing, must-read books for the aspiring craft cocktail artisan. For technique, Jeffrey Morganthaler’s The Bar Book is the definitive source on how to. Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold dives deeper into why alcohol, acid, ice, etc., do what they do from a scientific perspective. Imbibe! by David Wondrich is a wonderful journey back in time highlighting the history of American bartending and cocktails that serves to familiarize us bar nuts with our roots. There are dozens of others worth seeking out and making available to your staff for some major inspiration and growth. Nothing derails a good training program like the lack of passion and inspiration from the staff. It is important to know what makes all this stuff special.

Whether it is craft beer, craft cocktails or responsibly sourced food, the verdict is in: tastes are changing and guests want quality and meaning behind their menu selections, and they are willing to pay for it. It is worth the effort to create a meaningful cocktail program and it will pay dividends when done right. The demand is there and our goals at Synergy is to guide those who are interested in crafting the supply.

If you thought a plate of spaghetti had nothing new to offer, it’s time to get acquainted with bucatini, spaghetti’s beefier cousin. Besides being thicker and offering a more pleasing chew, bucatini boasts a thin hollow space inside which allows sauces to permeate the noodle. It’s the “stuffed crust pizza” of the pasta world.

Synergy brought this bigger, better noodle to the Steam Plant in Spokane, Washington with its inventive turn on pasta carbonara which debuted during the restaurant’s January 22^nd opening. The bucatini noodles soak up an intensely flavorful sauce studded with house-smoked salmon, and topped with salmon roe for a pop of brine. Hand-shaved Parmesan, lemon zest, and dill sprigs complete the dish, which echoes the boldness of Steam Plant’s architecture and local guest’s affinity for salmon. Synergy’s culinary team is adept at turning a current trend into a compelling dish that reflects our client’s concept while wowing restaurant guests.

Where fire once produced steam power for the city of Spokane, it’s now igniting a restaurant renaissance in the heart of Eastern Washington State.

The Steam Plant, the defining architectural symbol of downtown Spokane, was granted a second life in 1996 when it was transformed into a multi-use space featuring a brewery and restaurant. After several years of profitability struggles with the restaurant, parent company Avista enlisted the services of Synergy Restaurant Consultants to breathe new life into the dining and beverage concept.

After conducting a comprehensive assessment of kitchen operations, food quality, and marketing efforts, Synergy assembled a multidisciplinary team of experts in branding, menu innovation and development, kitchen design, recruitment, and beverage strategies. The open kitchen reflects the industrial history of the Steam Plant space by showcasing a wood-fired pizza oven and grill/rotisserie. Other state-of-the-art cooking platforms incorporated into the new design include a smoker oven, combi-oven, blast chiller, and sous vide.

The flavors of flame and smoke permeate the reimagined menu of unique in-house preparations, such as smoked local salmon, short rib pastrami, and cast-iron baked cornbread. Synergy’s culinary team reimagined perennial favorites into signature menu items designed to reclaim loyal guests and attract new visitors. Menu highlights include a grilled Caesar salad, slow-cooked beef ribs, beer batter fish and chips, and banana cream pie. The new beverage menu features several local wines, as well as cocktails inspired by regional flavors.

In preparation for the restaurant’s relaunch, Synergy mobilized a team of front- and back-of-house trainers to prepare new hires to handle the expected rush of guests fueled by local and social media coverage. The restaurant reopened on January 22 to a flood of expectant locals and visitors who raved about the redesigned space and menu items. Synergy’s platform of high quality, innovative food and warm hospitality propelled the Steam Plant toward a financially successful and operationally smooth opening, and established the restaurant as the best new dining concept in Spokane.

We encourage you to come in and see (and taste) first-hand the incredible changes that have been made. Watch chefs work culinary magic via the open-view kitchen and savor the new menu in an elegant, vintage setting. Please take a look at the photos from this memorable event.

Steam Plant Kitchen + Brewery
159 S. Lincoln
Spokane, Washington

Hours
Monday – Thursday: 11:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.
Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
steamplantspokane.com