Steve Starr

big changes in fast-casual

by Steve Starr

12 Chef-Inspired Recipes To Shake Up Your Quarantine Dining

Tired of making the same few things from your pantry-friendly foods? Even restaurant industry foodies feel like they’re running out of unique ideas to cook for themselves and their families while sheltering in place. So we’re here to spice things up. We reached out to our friends in the restaurant industry for some of their favorite recipes that you can make right in your own home.

Celebrity chefs and professionals with over 140 + combined years in the restaurant industry pitched in some relatively easy recipes that can be made with ingredients that are likely already sitting in your pantry. If not, you can easily find them at a local grocery store (in your mask, of course!).

While we still encourage everyone to support their favorite restaurants with take-out orders much as possible, we understand that it can become a bit taxing on some already tightened purse strings. So dive in and enjoy one of these 12 chef-inspired recipes from the chefs we’ve grown to know and love over our many years together in the restaurant industry – we know we will!

by Steve Starr

1 Problem, 3 Solutions: A Restauranteur's Guide to Selection & Procurement

As product options and providers increase across the globe, narrowing down restaurant furniture can be difficult. Procurement can be even more difficult, particularly as globalization continues to open doors to new opportunities and to new challenges.

For the purpose of this article we focus on seating, one of the most imported furniture products in the country. It also is one of the most essential, practical parts of restaurant interior design. However, ensuring that you have all of the right seating in time for opening day can be a huge pain in the you-know-what.

Here are a few practices you can take to minimize stress and complications when trying to get the best product into your concept seamlessly and cost-effectively:

Make sure expectations are clear

You should have a clear understanding of what your budget and concept mean for your furniture selection. We categorize seating in terms of the amount of time you intend a guest to sit in the chair (i.e. full-service dining restaurants usually use 45 – 90 minute chairs; whereas fast casual restaurants typically look for 30-45 minute options). If you’re used to “45-minute chair” prices in your casual dining concept, it’s important to note that you’ll need to pay more for a “90-minute chair” that’s suitable for a fine dining experience. Cost often correlates with average time spent in a chair, so it’s important to know how long the average customer will sit. QSR’s typically have a higher volume of shorter seat times, making comfort less important than durability.

You can also follow this old rule of thumb. If you are looking at wood chairs or stools and have physical sample, you can self-evaluate by looking at its number of mechanical fasteners (i.e. screws, bolts, brackets, etc.). The fewer mechanical fasteners, the higher the quality. When the joints are all wood, the chair is more likely to flex under pressure rather than break.

Look for properly rated products

BIFMA (The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association) is a non-profit organization that sets safety and performance standards for commercial furniture products. It runs stability, durability and safety tests on products from different manufacturers and uses scientifically-backed standards to rate each product. It can be challenging to differentiate between good, better and best quality products by looking at a catalog, despite the huge differences between them and their relative prices. Looking for BIFMA certifications not only provides direction but can also shift liability from you to the manufacturer if the product malfunctions. Although it may increase the cost, BIFMA-rated products are recommended for sustainability in the long run -the higher the rating, the more weight it is designed to support and the more durable it is.

Communication is key

Communication also is essential to mastering the lead time between ordering and receiving your furniture. This includes doing your research to see how long vendors will hold items, how much notice they need before placing an order and making storage arrangements for the products if they arrive before construction is completed.

One way we deal with this is to always include specifications for how and where the General Contractor should store the furniture should it arrive early. This is particularly important in today’s age of globalization, where shipping times can often be unpredictable (foreign countries, typhoons, etc.). Ideally, you want to work it out so that the furniture arrives once the restaurant is ready for it – but this is rarely reality. Therefore, clear communication about when the furniture is needed, how long it takes to ship, how far in advance to make the order and whether you need housing accommodations will help save you from overpaying for air freight or sacrificing design for quick-ship options. Using a purchasing agent or ensuring that your designer can act as a purchasing agent (and is familiar with these issues) can often save you a lot of money and pain in the you-know-what.

Featured in Restaurant Development + Design.

by Steve Starr

Post Covid-19: The Pros and Cons of Location Takeovers

As the novel coronavirus continues to derail restaurants’ plans for 2020, owners and operators may be beginning to contemplate what is in store for their future. Inevitably, some will fail. Others, however, will be ready to expand into new spaces– and with some concepts closing their doors, there will be an increase in vacated real estate open for takeover.

While it is possible to take over an existing restaurant space quickly, effectively and affordably, you have to be careful. Those unfamiliar with this type of development often think they’re getting a great deal because so many required elements of a typical restaurant build-out are existing. Landlords and brokers will emphasize these aspects, highlighting the opportunity to “save.” However, these existing conditions rarely work out the way they’re promoted and can end up costing more in the long-run.

Restauranteurs have the potential to keep these costs down, but in order to do so, it’s important to understand why the costs might not be as low as expected or promoted. There are two key things that influence the costs of developing or taking over an existing restaurant:

Differentiation – a fine line

The former restaurant you’re taking over most likely failed. There is a very thin line that separates the amount of changes required to convince customers that there is a totally new concept and operation in the existing failed space. Finding that line is difficult - falling short can mean continued failure. Blowing past it can mean overspending, making it nearly impossible to make a reasonable return on investment. It is critical to define the minimum amount of changes and investment required to ‘exorcise the demons’ from the failed restaurant and make it clear that a unique, new concept has settled in.

Assumptions

There are many variables associated with redeveloping an existing restaurant. People will often initially assume that much of the equipment, building utilities and existing build-out can be reused because there was a previously operating restaurant in the space. Unfortunately, regardless of what landlords or brokers may tell you, there are too many unknown factors related to reusing existing items: updated building codes, changes in use, condition and useful lifespan of the existing items, etc.  Many people may tell you that all of the existing conditions are “grandfathered” because there was an existing restaurant in use prior to you taking possession of the property. Unfortunately, the threshold for reusing existing elements that may not meet current requirements is very low. Every jurisdiction sets their own requirements for allowing non-conforming, existing conditions and these requirements are getting more and more strict.

how to control true costs

Keeping in mind why the costs might be potentially higher than you originally expect, there are three simple things any restaurant owner can do to understand the true costs associated with redeveloping an existing restaurant site and how to control these costs:

Do your homework:  As soon as you identify a potential existing restaurant location that you think might work for your concept and execute a Letter of Intent to acquire it, we highly recommend you work with professionals that can help you with thorough due diligence. This may be speaking with your Architect to identify and understand any potential existing areas that are non-compliant with current building, zoning and health codes. It could also be working with your contractors to examine the building systems (especially the HVAC and kitchen exhaust systems) to make sure they’re in good working order with reasonable life left. Do the same with your kitchen equipment vendor on the refrigeration, electrical and mechanical components of the existing foodservice equipment.  Don’t make assumptions. Verify as much as possible so that you can clearly ascertain the true costs.

Locate the Documents:  There are two different sets of documents that contain critical information and will help with the due diligence above. One set is the Base Building Construction Drawings and the other is the latest Tenant Upfit Construction Drawings.  These should include Civil, Landscape, Architectural, Structural, Food Service, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical and Fire Protection drawings.  Several details could be evident in these drawings that won’t be readily visible in even the most thorough site investigation, like the size of a grease interceptor, under-slab plumbing, exhaust duct sizes, etc. The accuracy of this information can easily swing a project budget almost $100,000 in one direction or another.

In many cases, the only place to find this information is in a detailed set of Construction Drawings. These documents are often available through the landlord or property seller. If not, you can also usually access them for a small fee from the local building department. The really good real estate brokers will make it their responsibility to find and copy these documents for the project team’s use.

Verify the fit:  We strongly recommend preparing a “test fit,” or a preliminary layout, as early as possible to determine which aspects of your ideal layout, including cookline, prep kitchen, bar, seating, etc., will fit in this specific location. For example, even though a kitchen exhaust hood may be existing, it might not accommodate your standard equipment line-up. This could either lead to an atypical operation or require significant changes. Either option may be the difference between success or failure.

We also often see an assumed number of seats and / or tables able to fit in a given space based on its square footage, or what was existing. Many times, we find that once a “test fit” is performed and the actual kitchen is laid out in a non-standard shaped space, either more extensive modifications are necessary to get the required seating capacity or the seating capacity becomes secondary to saving money. In either case, the ability to meet the desired ROI is compromised.

These are three simple and very low-cost things you can do to better ascertain the true costs associated with taking over an existing restaurant. Once the true costs are determined, it’s much easier to either negotiate up-front to address these costs or look at other design alternatives to mitigate these costs.

Featured in QSR magazine.

by Steve Starr

Cleanliness in the Restaurant: Reality & Perception

Just because dine-in business is on hold doesn’t mean your restaurant’s future has to be. Now is the time to get ahead and make sure you are equipped to adequately address what customers will likely be worried about most: restaurant cleanliness and sanitation. 

Although celebrity figures like “Bar Rescue” host Jon Taffer recently told “Fox & Friends” viewers that his biggest worry for restaurants is “the premise of spacing continuing into the retail environment,” there’s going to be more that operators will need to evaluate.  

We agree that “people aren’t going to want to sit shoulder to shoulder" at first, and that “they are still going to be cautious and want some spacing.” However, we expect the initial reduction in seating capacity to be closer to 25-30%, not 50%. This period will likely last 4-6 weeks, and we expect the seating reduction to create table spacing of approximately 9’-0” on center (from the typical 6’-0” on center).   

As restaurants adjust back to a new normal, we expect operators to incrementally add tables and seats back to their longtime standard. We believe this because we know that people are social beings and require social interaction to stay healthy.  

The key here will be providing guests with an environment characterized by both the reality and the perception of cleanliness and healthfulness, even if the restaurant concept is all about indulgence. There is and will continue to be a heightened awareness around how clean surfaces are and a wariness around things people are touching. But what does “clean” really mean? 

The Reality of Cleanliness  

We know that some viruses, including the novel coronavirus, can live for days on certain surfaces. This makes how, how often, and what surfaces you clean extremely important. Here are the three main levels of cleaning you should be concerned with: 

Cleaning – removing physical dirt, debris, soils etc. from the surface. Though it doesn’t kill germs, it is often seen as the most important part of a hygiene process because it impairs environments once conducive to them. 

Sanitizing – reducing, not killing, the occurrences and growth of bacteria, viruses and fungi on a surface.   

Disinfecting – killing or completely destroying microscopic organisms and pathogens on surfaces. While it does not clean dirt or germs off of the surface, it helps to prevent infection or disease transmission by killing germs. 

Sanitary Surfaces 

It’s also important to consider surface material. A recent New England Journal of Medicine study shows that the virus that causes COVID-19 can live anywhere from four hours on copper to two to three days on stainless steel and polypropylene plastic (often used to store food). However, antimicrobial technology might be the ticket to reducing the chance of those germs lasting there in the first place.  

Antimicrobials can be integrated into products like fabric and plastic, acting as a form of built-in protection.  They can also be applied as a coating on metal surfaces like stainless steel. These compounds contain active ingredients, such as silver, that work to suppress and prevent pathogen growth upon contact. Providers like AgION and Microban offer a wide variety of antimicrobial products for equipment used at large in the restaurant industry, such as ovens and HVAC systems. 

HACCP-compliant Processes 

The ability for germs to live on surfaces for multiple days also emphasizes the need for restaurants to implement processes and procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or the HAACP system. HACCP is a methodology that restaurants use to monitor food safety practices by setting processes, responsibilities and record-keeping systems. 

One former Darden back-of-house trainer describes it as a “checks and balances system,” allowing businesses to track where health related problems could have stemmed from. HACCP methodology establishes specific expectations for what needs to be cleaned, how it’s to be cleaned, how often it’s to be cleaned, who is responsible when, and more. While it’s customary to have a team of individuals who are responsible for monitoring HACCP compliance and everyone’s health as a whole, it’s important for every employee to be trained on, concerned with and committed to everything on the checklists. 

The Perception of Cleanliness -- Visual & Psychological Cues 

So, you know how to truly clean, you’ve found antimicrobial products that will do some of the work for you, you’ve established methods to keep the environment safe and you’ve trained your staff on complying with them. Then, a customer walks in the door: 

Door handle. Chairback. Tabletop. Menu. That’s four touchpoints in the first seven minutes upon entering your restaurant. And questions linger:  

“How clean is this restaurant?” 

“Am I safe eating here?” 

Using visual and psychological cues to affirm to guests that you have gone above and beyond in promoting restaurant cleanliness is going to be key to eliminating these thoughts. This kind of design doesn’t have to be monumental or cost an arm and a leg, either.   

One example would be to put hand sanitizer or wipe dispensers in accessible areas. This not only gives the guest control over their environment (which people naturally like), but also sends the message that cleanliness and sanitation are important to your restaurant. Similarly, you can install foot handles in places like the bathroom door, so guests don’t have to use their clean hands to open it. Again, you are providing the guest with more control over their environment and communicating an effort to reduce the spread of germs. 

Additionally, we expect aesthetic trends to scream cleanliness—a cleanliness with warmth rather than sterility. For instance, something more sustainable but reminiscent of the white, butcher paper on wood tables that was popular in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. From a table covering that is replaced between parties to light-colored quartz bar tops, plan to see the sharp, fresh, white trend reemerge. Though it seemed as though this trend had passed its peak on the trend curve, it will rise again due to how effectively it communicates cleanliness. Dirt or soil is easier to see on a white surface, so if you have a clean, light surface, you’ve already won half the battle.  

The next half of the battle is communicating sanitation, or that your space is “germ-free.” This can easily be portrayed by hanging up charts that list your HACCP processes and task frequencies. Include boxes for employees to sign off what time they complete specific tasks. By showing guests exactly when an employee cleaned the sink they just used and how often someone cleaned it that day, you are highlighting and celebrating the fact that it is, in fact, clean. 

Dining room doors will eventually open to the public again. Now is the time to invest some thought into how you communicate your cleaning habits and how others can and will perceive them. At the end of the day, you want to reassure your guest with messaging that says, “cleanliness and healthfulness is important to us.” 

Featured in Modern Restaurant Management magazine.

by Steve Starr

Foodservice Cleaning and Hygiene in the Age of covid-19

"When we look at a typical food service establishment, there are three distinct areas to address: front of house, back of house and restrooms."

Cleaning your restaurant and keeping it clean is not just something every restaurateur should be doing on a regular basis. It’s now going to become something that customers and guests will expect and local authorities will likely require.  

We know that the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t caused by or transmitted through food, but the foodservice industry may forever feel its impact. Guests will expect a higher level of cleanliness, at least for the short-term, when restaurants reopen for dine-in business in the coming weeks or months. 

Midlab, Inc. professional Keith Manning breaks down levels and high-focus areas of cleaning within a restaurant, along with best practices in each to promote health and safety in the foodservice industry. 

Manning says that while cleaning and disinfecting have always been important parts of a healthy environment, the emergence of the novel coronavirus emphasizes how critical each is for the long-term health and safety of both foodservice professionals and their guests.   

According to Manning, there are 4 aspects of keeping a foodservice establishment clean and sanitary: 

1. Hand Washing – best way to prevent both your staff and guests from getting sick.   
2. Cleaning surfaces – removing soils and food sources from surfaces. While cleaning does not kill pathogens, it is the most important part of the hygiene process because it impairs the environment where those pathogens would thrive.   
3. Sanitizing food contact surfaces –  lowering the number of germs on surfaces or objects to a safe level, as judged by public health standards or requirements, but not as thoroughly as a disinfectant. 
4. Disinfecting touch points – killing pathogens on surfaces or objects. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of spreading infection. 

Many people will mistakenly use disinfecting interchangeably with sanitizing, but it is important to note two major differences: effectiveness and application. Disinfecting with a product such as the Maxim Facility+ disinfectant cleaner removes more germs than sanitizing, making it more effective in killing pathogens like Covid-19. However, disinfectants are not generally food safe. Due to the high level of actives and detergency in disinfectant products, they must be followed with a potable rinse once the dwell time, or amount of time the surface must remain visibly wet, is achieved.

In contrast, food safe sanitizers like the 430 Maxim Hard Surface Sanitizer Tabletop and Decanter, removes pathogens to a safe level after cleaning and food products may be placed on the surface immediately after the dwell time. Though such sanitizers may not remove pathogens as thoroughly as a disinfectant, the application process is simpler because they do not require a potable rinse. 

When we look at a typical food service establishment, there are three distinct areas to address: front of house, back of house and restrooms. Each area plays a vital role to guests and should be kept clean at any and all costs. Especially now. Here’s what Manning also recommends in terms of each: 

Front of house

In a typical food service operation, cleaning and sanitizing have always been the rule of thumb.  From wiping off gross soil with a wet cloth to cleaning surfaces with an all-purpose or glass cleaner and food-grade sanitizer, this has been the norm for general surface hygiene.   

Moving forward, what will we see?  We are already seeing more of an emphasis on disinfecting rather than sanitizing as we deal with concerns over more contagious pathogens such as Covid-19.  We will likely continue to see more disinfectant usage.   

The keys are the staff and guest touch points. Staff should be disinfecting, not just sanitizing, the areas that employees and guests touch frequently. This includes, but is not limited to, all door handles, rails and non-food contact countertops.   

Tables are considered a food contact surface, so food safe sanitizers still need to be used between guests. Disinfecting followed by a potable water rinse needs to be done daily.  

Back of House 

The good news is that heat kills viruses at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, cooking and dishwashing will take care of viruses and bacteria on what you eat and eat on.  Again, staff hand washing best practices are another key to reducing the spread.   

Slow times are an excellent opportunity to implement best practices. This means using that time to disinfect touch surfaces with dwell time and a potable water rinse on food service areas. 

In summary, the simplest and most effective measure for combating the spread of viruses is to keep them away from you.  Hand washing and high touch point disinfecting, along with being more aware than normal, will win the day for you.   

Restrooms 

Restrooms are one of the main danger areas for the spread of infection, not to mention the image of a business in general.  Surveys show that dirty restrooms can have a negative impact on guest satisfaction overall.   

Disinfecting touch points, such as fixtures, flush handles and dispensers, several times per day is best practice. Deep cleaning, including thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting every major surface and scrubbing down toilet bowls, is best done daily. 

People may not continue wiping down their environments with Clorox wipes every 30 minutes, but we do know they will be paying more attention to how clean public areas are, especially restaurants. Legal requirements and regulations will likely increase maintenance standards, and customers will be even more conscious of slightly unkempt bathrooms. Do your research to make sure you’re using A-grade products and practices throughout all areas of your establishment, and be prepared to increase how often you disinfect instead of sanitize. And finally, make sure you teach your employees the difference.

Featured in QSR Magazine.

About Keith: 

Keith Manning is the Vice President of Sales at Midlab, Inc., a cleaning formulations provider focused on solutions that promote clean and safe environments. With over 20 years in the chemical solutions industry, he seeks to help clients solve challenges through safe cleaning solutions that fit the environment. 

by Steve Starr