Working Together to Rise Above Challenges
COVER STORY
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INDUSTRY HERO R E C O G N I Z I N G
R E S T A U R A N T
I N N O V A T I O N
OUT-OF-THE- BOX THINKING, CLEVER AND QUICK PIVOTS AND VALUABLE COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE ARE HALLMARKS OF THESE EIGHT WINNERS. BY A N N A WO L F E After a year like no other, Hospitality Technology presented the Industry Heroes awards to recognize both restaurant operators and technology solution providers for their out-of-the box thinking, quick and clever pivots, and assistance to their communities. This group of eight winners are awe-inspiring for their accomplishments. For inspiration, read on.
CMX: Repurposing a Restaurant Favorite CMX launched its COVID-19 Response, Reopening & Recovery Kit, providing fast-casual and quickserve restaurants with out-of-the-box templates for Employee Wellness Checks, Health and Sanitation Shift Logs, COVID-19 Related Incident Reporting, and Reopening Checklists. The action plan centered around a product already in their toolkits: ActivityStudio. Restaurants use ActivityStudio to digitize operating procedures in order to measure performance and compliance against KPIs. Restaurants could leverage these templates as-is or modify them to their specific needs. Leading brands including Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Firehouse Subs, Checkers and Rally’s, Taco Bell, Sizzling Platter, and more have used ActivityStudio daily to support their operations during the pandemic.
Concept Entertainment Group’s Creative Food Hall Concept The saying, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” definitely applies to the team behind Concept Entertainment Group. When Concept Entertainment Group halted dine-in service at its Thirsty Lion locations due to the pandemic, it pivoted to create an online food hall concept called Central Kitchen Online Food Hall to house different dining concepts integrated within Thirsty Lion’s kitchens — allowing customers to pick and choose from a variety of cuisines in one order, for delivery or at some locations for curbside pickup. Concept Entertainment Group embraced technology and new ways to improve operations, speed
of service and guest satisfaction. Thirsty Lion locations reopened with contactless menus, available via QR code on tables and signage. Guests now pay at the table and are able to order from their mobile phones in designated areas.
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Tech Overhaul At the beginning of the pandemic, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit completely redesigned its e-commerce site to optimize functionality for mobile users. Spearheading the tech overhaul: CIO Carissa De Santis, HT’s 2019 Top Women in Restaurant Technology award winner. The upgraded website features enhanced speed and performance, an elevated user experience with fewer clicks and and better website navigation, all of which contributed to a 42% increase in Dickey’s digital sales and 122% increase in site traffic. Dickey’s also integrated Chowly, a third-party delivery consolidation platform, into its online ordering system. After onboarding the new service, average sales across all locations increased 133.8%, with one Dickey’s franchisee seeing an on-premise sales growth of more than 400%. Two of Dickey’s franchisee-facing resources, an intranet portal and Dickey’s proprietary reporting system were also restructured, giving franchisees mobile access. Franchisees embraced the improvements and Dickey’s saw a 50% decrease in reporting and resource issues.
Fazoli’s Off-Prem Pivot Fazoli’s saw record-breaking sales − and traffic − in 2020, thanks to a streamlined pivot to drive-thru, curbside and to contactless payments. The entire team, from operations to marketing and IT, including Top Women in Restaurant
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