Here, in rapid-fire succession, are six revelations from FARE, a conference presented by Restaurant Business’ parent company, CSP Business Media, as a forum where foodservice professionals from all channels can learn from one another. Attendees are drawn from c-store chains, hotel companies, quick-service and fast-casual chains, colleges and universities, healthcare operations and the feeding components of travel and recreational sites.
- Putting the silhouette of a shell or some other target in a men’s urinal leaves a bathroom 83 percent cleaner, according to motivational speaker and best-selling author Eric Chester.
- Chester also revealed that the average drive-thru time at the Pal’s Sudden Service quick-service chain is 17 seconds and the accuracy rate is one error per 3,500 transactions. He cited it as proof of what a service business can do with the right culture.
- Mobile ordering and pre-paying already is reshaping the design of restaurants. Sweetgreen, one of the industry’s most-watched concepts, is designing new stores with the expectation that half of orders will be placed by customers, not staffers, which means less counter space is needed for POS systems.
- One third of consumers choose a restaurant on the basis of what alcoholic beverages are available, according to Technomic’s Donna Hood Crecca.
- Wurstkuche, a concept that serves only sausages, fries and beer, is generating sales at an annual rate of $14 million at its Los Angeles location, according to information shared at a breakout session.
- The best way to keep government from saddling the industry with unfeasible laws and regulations is by ensuring lawmakers have accurate information, said the National Restaurant Association’s Phil Kafarakis.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.