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July 2011 Newsletter

Jul 24, 2011

Synergy

Greetings!

With this month’s newsletter, we’re especially excited to share news of one of our latest and most interesting projects yet, LYFE Kitchen. Synergy Consultants was asked by the founders of this new healthy, socially conscious restaurant concept to build the organizational and operational infrastructure needed to roll out the “LYFEstyle brand.” This transformative concept marries great-tasting, better-for-you food with a variety of philanthropic and community initiatives, supporting the ultimate mission to “Eat Good. Feel Good. Do Good.” We attended the groundbreaking ceremony in June, which took the form of a “fork-lifting” and tasting. We can’t wait to share the future of LYFE Kitchen as it grows.

 

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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Lyfe Begins in Palo Alto

By Joan Lang

LYFE Kitchen
LYFE Kitchen

 

Healthy, fresh, socially conscious. If that doesn’t sound like typical fast food, it’s not. LYFE Kitchen (the name stands for Love Your Food Everyday) broke ground in Palo Alto, CA, in mid-June, the first of what could be a 250-unit chain of fast-casual locations that promises to turn set ideas about both fast food and health food on its ear. The fact that LYFE is helmed by two mainstream industry heavyweights—CEO Mike Roberts, former global president and chief operating officer for McDonald’s, and Mike Donahue, former chief communications officer for McDonald’s USA—with the deep-pocket assist from Stephen Sidwell of boutique investment firm Devante Capital behind it, makes that ambitious expansion goal seem particularly promising.

But LYFE’s premise is anything but heavyweight, and in fact the concept was born when Sidwell lost 35 pounds with the help of a personal chef and reached out to Roberts with his idea. The mission: “To answer one of America’s greatest unmet consumer needs by providing great-tasting, affordable, good-for-you food while making a positive impact on all of the communities we serve.”

It’s a niche that was pioneered by Chipotle, explored by the likes of Panera and Le Pain Quotidien, and further defined by such concepts as Evos and Sweetgreen. What LYFE does is bring it all together as a “lifestyle” brand with an emphasis on ecological and social responsibility, as well as sustainable farm-based sourcing.

LYFE Kitchen also has some serious culinary cred behind it, including executive chef Art Smith (who first made his name cooking for Oprah) and consultant Tal Ronnen, a well-known vegan chef. Two physicians serve on the LYFE Health and Wellness Panel, and Olympic swimmer Janet Evans heads up LYFE’s “national mom advisory panel”

As for the made-to-order menu, the emphasis will be on healthy satisfaction—including desserts—rather than deprivation. It will sport a number of vegan and vegetarian items (Sweet Corn Chowder, Wild Mushroom Flatbread, Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries) along with Niman Ranch all-natural beef burgers with agave ketchup, Tal’s Ancient Grains Teriyaki Beef Bowl, and Smith’s justly famous Unfried Chicken. Entrée price point will be in the $8-$10 range. In addition, there will be:

• No butter or cream

• No fried food

• No high fructose corn syrup

• No single menu item over 600 calories

LYFE Kitchen has pledged to “awaken the customer’s Sixth Sense—the intrinsic desire to do good.” The nascent chain has partnered with the Global Animal Partnership to become the first restaurant to commit to that advocacy group’s 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Standards. In addition, underlying core values include socially conscious purchasing decisions, product sourcing, environmental practices, building materials and a robust program of philanthropic and community-based activities.

Synergy Consultants was hand-picked by Mike Roberts and the team to help bring LYFE Kitchen to life by collaborating with celebrity chefs and principals to build the organizational and operational infrastructure needed to roll out the brand.

Says Roberts: “Synergy managing partners Dean Small and Danny Bendas played an integral role in developing operating strategies and creating best practices while the Synergy design team captured the vision by designing a look that supports LYFE’s transformative guest experience.”


 

Back-of-House Efficiencies Maximize Productivity—and Profits

By Mark Ladisky, Senior Operations Associate

There are many different options when addressing labor solutions, and one of them involves maximizing the productivity of your staff. In the course of performing operations assessments, Synergy often discovers ways the operator can have an impact on the cost of operating a kitchen without simply sending people home.

The first option is to hire right. It’s quick, simple, and often not practiced. One example would be in the area of wages. Let’s say candidate #1 wants $10/hr. and candidate #2 wants $12/hr. In the course of one 8-hour shift, candidate #1 could cost the business $80 vs. candidate #2 who would cost $96, so there’s a difference of $16 per day. As a result of that math, you could say that candidate #1 should be hired for reasons of economy, and you wouldn’t be alone in that decision—many operators are in your camp. But there’s a secondary screen that should be applied which involves productivity. Candidate #2 may be more experienced, and as a result is likely to be faster, more consistent, and careful, which can prevent waste, one of the secret food-cost killers. Now which candidate is cheaper in the long run?

Another consideration in BOH productivity involves the simple concept of systems. When I mention systems, I don’t mean to suggest something complicated. In fact, I would say that the use of a thorough line-check form, order guide, and production chart would improve productivity exponentially with little effort. Review your batch sizes and compare them to shelf lives and usage. If you make tomato sauce every day, and you make five gallons of it every day, consider making a 15-gallon batch every three days, thereby increasing productivity.

Line-check forms, and the actual practice of using one, can prevent the waste of time spent on producing batches or recipes that aren’t needed to satisfy predicted guest demand. Often operators have kitchens that are on autopilot and simply produce the same volume of product every day. On average, this practice can work—but on average you also don’t need to carry an umbrella every day either.

Solid and reliable recipes are another tool to improve productivity. If you have a recipe that is very complicated, consider revising it to include a labor-saving purchased product. Additionally, if the recipe proves so difficult that an associate spends half a shift producing it, review the entire dish and consider if it is really worth the cost when labor is considered. Maybe buying an already flattened chicken breast makes sense in one location because legacy wages have you paying more per hour for staff.

Another practice that can shave hours off the payroll is consolidation. If cook #1 has diced tomato on the prep list, and cook #2 has the same item, we often see the two associates preparing them individually. Revise your prep lists to consolidate like items; it’s all one kitchen, share and share alike.

Lastly, and this one may be obvious, but we highly suggest you refresh your menu at least once per year. How does that impact productivity you ask? We often see kitchen staff preparing maybe two or three components, often daily, to satisfy the prep for a menu item that they all know never sells. Because that item is on the menu, they are obligated to order and inventory product, waste product and time, all for low or no sales on one or two dishes. If you look at your product mix monthly—if not more often—then you will clearly see trends in your customer purchases. Address those trends and you will minimize wasting resources and menu real estate with items that don’t make sense.

If you feel that addressing any of these issues requires a second opinion or some helping hands to tackle, Synergy is always available. With offices in every time zone, we can provide everything from phone support to on-site management of these and many more issues.


 

The Call of Seasonal Menus

By Joan Lang

 

Summertime, and thoughts turn to sweet corn and barbecued chicken. It’s a siren call you should make every effort to answer on your menu. Properly sourced, seasonal ingredients such as produce and seafood are abundant and less expensive during their peak—not to mention more delicious. They also answer growing customer demand for seasonal and even local foods.

• Rotate in Lighter Menu Items – Grilled meats and fish, main course salads, chilled soups, and other lighter fare are particularly appealing as warm weather settles in, and should be a part of the specials lineup if not the core menu.

• Go Produce Intensive – Seasonal sides, vegetable based appetizers (heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella, anyone), sandwiches, and smoothies and juices—in addition to the entrée salads and fruit desserts mentioned elsewhere—are great vehicles for seasonal fruits and vegetables and go a long way toward positioning your menu as seasonally responsive

• Consider Buying from Local Farms. It’s not as difficult as you think, even on a large chain scale, especially thanks to new buying groups and distribution models. Bon Appetit Management , Eat’n Park, and Big Bowl have all pinned menuing efforts on seasonal and local buying strategies, and made names for themselves among consumers in the process

• Offer Fruit Desserts – Traditional summertime items like Strawberry Shortcake, Peach Ice Cream and Blueberry Pie take advantage of the season’s bounty, but warmer weather and the desire for lighter eating also point to such offerings as fruit plates and fresh berries, poached pears, lemon-based confections, and old-fashioned crisps, crumbles and buckles. Can you menu a changing Crisp of the Season, from spring’s rhubarb to fall’s first apples?

• Add Iced Coffee Selections – Iced tea has been a no-brainer in the industry for years, but now the appeal of iced coffee is building. Chains like Starbucks and Au Bon Pain have experienced unqualified success with refreshing season-appropriate items including the Mocha Coconut Frappuccino and Iced French Vanilla Coffee, respectively

• Don’t Forget Cocktails – Rum drinks, spiked lemonade, wine- and beer-based imbibes like sangria and micheladas, fruit punches, and other refreshing drinks can be prominently merchandised on the bar menu

For more advice on how to make your menu seasonally appropriate and profitable, contact Synergy Consultants.


 

Tip of the Month

 

Thinking of going Green? The buzz has certainly been building for “green” businesses of all kinds, but just exactly what does green mean for a restaurant business? The Green Restaurant Association has some answers, guidelines, and lots of resources. Going Greener is intended for the Chicago area, but is still a valuable source of information. And ConSERVE is the National Restaurant Association’s greener restaurant program.