FSR July 2024

MAKING LOCAL FEEL GLOBAL

HARD CIDER

TOP 50

INDEPENDENT RESTAURANTS

THESE BELOVED INDIE-OWNED DINING DESTINATIONS ARE MAKING WAVES IN THE INDUSTRY

MANAGING SCHEDULES

TOP BURMESE’S TRIUMPH

A TASTE OF REBELLION

MILENA PAGÁN IS CRAFTING A NEW NARRATIVE OF PUERTO RICAN CUISINE

PLUS

‘SHEF’ MIMI WEISSENBORN IS ELEVATING PORTLAND, MAINE’S CULINARY SCENE

Portable: Ideal for QSRs and customers on the go.

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26 Top 50 Independent Restaurants

These beloved, indie-owned institutions showcase the best of the U.S. when it comes to culinary prowess, community building, and delivering exceptional dining experiences from coast to coast.

Featuring a spotlight on Milena Pagán, who is crafting a new narrative of Puerto Rican cuisine at her restaurant, Little Sister.

CHEFS & INGREDIENTS

11 Storytelling, One Plate at a Time

“Shef” Mimi Weissenborn is elevating Portland, Maine’s culinary scene by parlaying the lessons and skills she learned from her culinary journey in Maryland and New York.

16 Making Global Feel Local

Chefs are concocting fresh, globally inspired twists to local and seasonal ingredients, including leaders at Thistle & Grouse, Stages at One Washington, and Plates Neighborhood Kitchen.

LIQUID INTELLIGENCE

21 The Case for Cider

Here’s how the versatile appeal of cider can elevate your restaurant’s dining experience with unique pairings and add a splash of creativity on your beverage menu.

FIRST COURSE

7 Corsica’s Countercultural Restaurant Revolution

The team behind 20-unit Barcelona Wine Bar is cooking up a new concept, Corsica Wine Bar, that doubles down on human-driven hospitality.

8 Tequila Versus Vodka

It’s peak patio season, and a recent report analyzed consumer appetite between two summer spirits—tequila and vodka—and found an overall winner.

BACK OF HOUSE

43 Authenticity Fuels Top Burmese’s Triumph

ON THE RISE From a food cart to a premier full-service dining destination, founders Kalvin and Poe Myint reflect on their journey of bringing Top Burmese to fruition and the concept’s future expansion beyond Portland, Oregon.

45 Tech Tips for Managing Frenetic Schedules

YOUR TAKE Here’s how operators can make the most of their growing tech stacks, from adding new revenue streams to utilizing the latest tools that minimize timeconsuming tasks so that they can spend more time doing what they love—delighting their guests.

48 The Art of Brand Partnerships

BEHIND THE SCENES Get a glimpse of what it’s like for Lonny Sweet to be a celebrity chef talent agent and manager, and how chefs can attract brand partnerships.

Editor’s Welcome

Advertising Index

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Danny Klein dklein@wtwhmedia.com

FSR EDITOR Callie Evergreen cevergreen@wtwhmedia.com

QSR EDITOR Ben Coley bcoley@wtwhmedia.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sam Danley sdanley@wtwhmedia.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Satyne Doner sdoner@wtwhmedia.com

VP EDITORIAL: FOOD, RETAIL, & HOSPITALITY Greg Sanders gsanders@wtwhmedia.com

CONTENT STUDIO

VP, CONTENT STUDIO Peggy Carouthers pcarouthers@wtwhmedia.com

WRITER, CONTENT STUDIO Ya’el McLoud ymcloud@wtwhmedia.com

WRITER, CONTENT STUDIO Olivia Schuster oschuster@wtwhmedia.com

DESIGN

ART DIRECTOR Erica Naftolowitz enaftolowitz@wtwhmedia.com

LinkedIn.com/company/ FSR-magazine Instagram.com/FSRmagazine Facebook.com/FSRmag Twitter.com/FSRmag

2024 REGIONAL GOLD AWARD: PUBLICATION DESIGN

2023 NATIONAL GOLD AWARDS: FRONT COVER (PHOTO), BEST USE OF COLOR NATIONAL SILVER AWARD: BEST USE OF TYPOGRAPHY 2016 MAGAZI TOP 10 AWARD

MAGAZIN FOLIO: Eddie Awards

BEST FULL ISSUE HOSPITALITY 2022 BEST SPONSORED CONTENT

The Silver Lining of Challenges

NOT TO GET TOO SELF-HELP BOOKY, but I’ve learned there’s a fine line between being grateful for when things are going well and being content in your circumstances, and becoming complacent with coasting through life. It’s a constant balancing act between pushing to get better while still enjoying life and appreciating the good things, which applies to both personal relationships and goals as well as business ventures.

Barcelona Wine Bar CEO Adam Halberg, for example, is doubling down on human-driven hospitality at the 20-unit anti-chain as well as its first sister concept, Corsica Wine Bar (PAGE 7). While the industry at large is continuing to deal with increased costs and price-conscious consumers, Halberg and his team are also committed to not jacking up prices “just because we have the opportunity to,” he says. “It’s our job to figure out how to make sure that we’re continuing to put out a superlative experience and not overcharge for it. That is deep in our bones.”

Another great example of a challenge leading to a better outcome is at Top Burmese, where founders Kalvin and Poe Myint learned a myriad of lessons through the closing of their food cart, Taste of Rangoon. It was their first foray into the restaurant industry, and although it was unsuccessful, the Myints view it as a necessary step toward their success today. Turn to PAGE 43 to read more about their journey.

And in the second-year return of our Top 50 Independent Restaurants report, our cover star Milena Pagán is showing the world how to deal with the challenge of overcoming bias and misconceptions surrounding Puerto Rican cuisine at her restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island. While the prices at Little Sister are on par with similar scratch-made, trendy restaurants in the area, Pagán receives a lot of pushback from people asking why a dish like the Mofongo Benedict—with smashed plantain patties, slowroasted pork, caramelized onions, two soft eggs, and achiote hollandaise sauce, served with side salad—is $29. “My price positioning is on par with some of the higher-end spots. Now, if you feel like plantains and pork and eggs can’t be elevated, then let me ask you, why do you go spend $30 on a plate of pasta?” Pagán says. “We don’t deny that pasta can be elevated, so why are we denying that for Caribbean cuisine?” Learn more on PAGE 26, where you’ll also find the other 49 indie eateries we found to be showcasing exceptional, experiential dining across the country.

Callie Evergreen EDITOR

cevergreen@wtwhmedia.com FSRmag @FSRmagazine

On the Cover

This month’s cover features Milena Pagán, owner of Little Sister in Providence, Rhode Island, as part of FSR ’s Top 50 Independent Restaurants report. Pagán was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She worked in management consulting prior to opening Rebelle Artisan Bagels in 2017, which is in the process of being relocated to Cambridge near the MIT campus. Pagán was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast in 2023.

SERVING UP RESOURCES TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS THRIVE

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In 2023, the average transaction size of American Express Card Members was 60% higher than that of non-Card Members. 3

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2. Nilson Report #1,257, February 2024. Spend per card derived from U.S. year-end purchase volume divided by year-end cards in force (CIF), not from individual consumer-level data. CIF represents the number of cards issued and outstanding with cardholders. Average Non-American Express spend per card includes Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit and charge card volume and CIF and excludes debit and prepaid volume and CIF.

3. Nilson Report #1,257, February 2024. Transaction Size derived from U.S. year-end purchase volume divided by year-end purchase transactions, not from individual consumer-level data. Average Non-American Express transaction size includes Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit and charge cards and excludes debit and prepaid volume and transactions.

First Course

Corsica’s Countercultural Revolution

BY CALLIE EVERGREEN

The team behind 20-unit Barcelona Wine Bar is cooking up a new concept, Corsica Wine Bar.

WHEN RESTAURANT BRAND LEADERS say they don’t need dining rooms anymore, or they need to implement more robots to replace employees, Adam Halberg says “cool, that’s more good humans for us to hire.” He’s not afraid of missing the boat on implementing the

trendiest new technologies; actually, one could say he’s sailing on a different ocean entirely, and his crewmates are helping him create the hospitality experience of the future. Halberg is the CEO of Barcelona Wine Bar and its first sibling concept, Corsica Wine

The central bar at Denver's new Corsica Wine Bar seats 23 people and boasts a bird's eye view of the creative beverage program in action.

First Course

Bar, which opened its doors in Denver at the end of April. Corsica is rooted in the flavors and cultures of France and Italy, and offers curated small plates designed to be shared as well as a bustling beverage program with over 200 European wine bottles. It aims to make its escapist dining experience and chef-crafted menu accessible to as many people as possible.

Led by James Beard Award-winning chef and culinary director Patrick Connolly and executive chef Kelly Patton, dishes include vegetables and meats cooked over an open-flame robata grill, baked pastas, classic apéro, and aperitivi snacks to pick, choose, and share from. Some examples include Salmon Rillettes with gem lettuce, everything spice, and salmoriglio ($9), and Bastian Meatballs with ricotta, parmigiano, and tomato sauce ($11). The top “apéro” section of the menu is designed with digestion in mind: warm olives with garlic confit, herbs, and citrus ($7), and Nduja stuffed dates with saba, hazelnut, and tarragon ($9).

The idea for the menu format stemmed partly from wanting to give people the ability to sample everything and say, “just give me the whole menu,” and was also partly a thoughtful response to creating affordable options for price-conscious consumers in a time when many restaurants are rapidly raising prices. “They’re priced so you can give yourself your own little pasta tasting and work your way through the menu,” Halberg explains.

The same idea applies to Corsica’s beverage program, with the majority of cocktails hovering around the $12 to $14 price point, including a frozen pastis punch; a menu of unique spritzes, punches for sharing, spirits for sipping; and house cocktails.

“We need to maintain that sense of, we are not going to increase prices just because we have the opportunity to,” Halberg adds. “It's our job to figure out how to make sure that we're continuing to put out a superlative experience and not overcharge for it. That is deep in our bones.”

Tequil a VODKA

VERSUS

It’s peak patio season, which means going out with friends and getting cute cocktails with umbrellas. Square analyzed consumer appetite between two summer spirits—tequila and vodka—and while the latter was the overall winner, there were some cities that prefer tequila, including:

1. SAN ANTONIO, TX

2. LOS ANGELES

3. MIAMI

4. HOUSTON

5. NEW YORK CITY

Whether it’s a moscow mule, margarita, or espresso martini, restaurants can anticipate a busy season ahead. Square also found that every year, restaurant spend increases at the end of March as patio season kicks off. Busy season continues until the beginning of September, before a natural dip ahead of the holiday rush that spikes after Thanksgiving.

CULINARY INSPIRATION AND STORIES FROM INDUSTRY TRAILBLAZERS

MENTIONED IN THIS SECTION CATFACE CAFE

PLATES NEIGHBORHOOD KITCHEN

PULLING INSPIRATION FROM THE CYCLICAL ASPECTS OF NATURE AND SEASONS, “SHEF” MIMI WEISSENBORN TRANSFORMS HER DISHES INTO EMBODIMENTS OF HER CHILDHOOD AND INFLUENTIAL JOURNEY FROM MARYLAND TO MAINE, WITH A STOP IN THE BIG APPLE.

GATHER

• THISTLE & GROUSE

STAGES

SUR LIE

Chefs & Ingredients

Storytelling, One Plate at a Time

BY CALLIE EVERGREEN

“Shef” Mimi Weissenborn is elevating Portland, Maine’s culinary scene at Sur Lie, Gather, and Catface Cafe.

THE ORIGINAL PLAN was for Mimi Weissenborn to become a physical education teacher coming out of high school. But when the science courses hit in year two of college, she quickly changed her mind and pivoted to something she was familiar with: being in a restaurant kitchen, which meant enrolling at L’Academie de Cuisine, one of America’s top culinary schools (which closed in 2017). “I never really loved it then, either.

I had finished and was like, ‘This is it. This is what I’m going to be doing.’ It wasn’t that exciting for me,” Weissenborn admits. “You went into a kitchen where you’re just told what to do. It wasn’t really until I was able to create and had the opportunity to create at my first restaurant … It took five hard years of being like, ‘I don’t even love this.’ But then it was the creative platform that really kind of and still does inspire me, and pulls me through.”

Hailing from Maryland just outside of Washington, D.C., Weissenborn ended up moving to New York City, where she discovered a love for the heartbeat and energy of the people there—the collective forward momentum of achieving greater things. Working her way up the line, she eventually chose to settle with Vinateria, the beloved Spanish- and Italian-influenced Harlem eatery, as their creative director and later on executive chef. There, she received a Michelin recommendation and participated in multiple chef collaborations such as New York

City Food & Wine Festival, Harlem Eat Up, and headlined James Beard Foundation dinners.

“I actually said I never wanted to live anywhere else outside of New York because I absolutely love the city,” Weissenborn says. But then COVID hit, and she decided to quarantine with her thenpartner in Portland, Maine. The Hallmark stereotype of the cute, quaint, New England town capturing the heart of the big city girl quickly took effect. And the favorable, pro-independent-restaurant culture in Portland didn’t hurt the chances of getting Weissenborn to stay.

“Truthfully, the community is so supportive of these places, and I think that really allows, when you have that support and people are so proud and want to come out and support all these establishments—and they certainly do—then a lot of good things happen, and you can see it. That’s why there are so many good restaurants here,” she adds.

A stint as a temporary fill-in chef allowed her to interview restaurant

owners in the area to try and find a permanent fit, which led to Weissenborn meeting Maine native and restaurateur Krista Cole, who has become known for her community-focused ethos and commitment to breaking down barriers for women and LGBTQ+ people in the restaurant community. Now executive “shef” of Sur Lie, Gather, and Catface Cafe—all owned by Cole—Weissenborn is pulling inspiration from her culinary journey to create world-class menus for each concept.

Sur Lie opened in 2014, though Cole didn’t acquire full ownership until 2021. The 75-seat, tapas-style restaurant in downtown Portland has a focus on contemporary American cuisine made with locally sourced Maine ingredients. The popover, for example, has become one of Weissenborn’s signature dishes, with Gulf of Maine lobster, cream of corn, tarragon beurre monté, and scallion for $26. “I had never even heard of a popover until I came up here,” she says. “It’s kind of like a muffin crossed with almost a souffle,

GATHER’S MENU RANGES FROM BANG’S ISLAND MUSSELS WITH SHALLOTS, GARLIC, VERMOUTH, LEMON CREAM, TARRAGON, AND A TOASTED BAGUETTE; TO MISO-BRAISED PINELAND FARMS SHORT RIB WITH SMASHED POTATO, CHARRED ESCAROLE, MISO GLAZE, AND CRISPY GARLIC.

MIMI WEISSENBORN

because it’s really light and airy. And so that whole dish that was inspired by my time up here, obviously with a nod to lobster, it has corn in it, and then it’s got a butter sauce at the bottom of it. I think it’s cool to see something like that, that was inspired by my time here become its own thing.”

Integrating Sur Lie into the Portland community has been an ongoing goal for Cole and Weissenborn. In February this year, they partnered with Chartreuse Money, the winner of Best Drag Personality 2023 for the Best of Portland Awards, to launch Drag Disco Dinner, a monthly supper club series that celebrates inclusivity, honors New England flavors, and aims to bring the community together for a unique experience that can only be found at Sur Lie.

On the second Tuesday of each month, Sur Lie’s dining room transforms into a retro disco-inspired party space for Drag Disco Dinner, which includes a three-course, family-style meal carefully crafted by Weissenborn and a show per -

formed by Portland’s best Drag Queens.

“As a proud member of the LBGTQ+ community here in Portland, the restaurant has always been my safe place, so that’s what I want to create for others with this new supper club series,” Weissenborn said at the time of the launch.

“There are so few visible Queer chefs, and even fewer that are women, so to be able to create a platform to talk freely about my personal experiences and struggles is something that I’m incredibly passionate about as I hope it will inspire others.”

In 2022, Cole decided to acquire her second restaurant, Gather, which opened in 2012 in as a neighborhood restaurant in Yarmouth, Maine, that partners with local farmers, musicians, artists, cheesemakers, oyster growers, fishmongers, breweries, butchers, and more to create a true gathering place for the community.

“When all your time and attention is in one place, you tend to have more of a pull there, which has been cool to also get to know the community up in Yarmouth, which is still something I’m

working on actively,” Weissenborn notes.

“I think it’s really cool when you start to meet people and [recognize] familiar faces. It feels good to walk through a dining room and see so-and-so back. I love that; that also feels like home.”

Gather’s menu ranges from Bang’s Island mussels with shallots, garlic, vermouth, lemon cream, tarragon, and a toasted baguette; and Atlantic Harbor Fish Market cod with parsnip purée, asparagus, ramp pesto, malt vinegar sunchoke chips, dill, and Stonecipher Farm lovage oil; to miso-braised Pineland Farms short rib with smashed potato, charred escarole, miso glaze, and crispy garlic. “It just has a lot of umami with sweet but also salty and then spicy flavors in it, and over the winter, having something like that, it’s kind of like that hug you want,” Weissenborn says.

Weissenborn helped get Cole’s latest venture—Catface Cafe—off the ground, which meant going from late-night restaurant hours to early 6 a.m. mornings. The cafe focuses on specialty coffee drinks and boozy breakfast cocktails, with daily breakfast and lunch and a weekend brunch, including breakfast sandwiches, a variety of toasts, and salads.

Her advice for aspiring chefs? Be patient. “I think I’ve seen so many people who come out of school and have an expectation of—myself probably included in that category—of what it should have looked like,” she says. “It takes so much time to build the foundation to be able to eventually go on and be great, and I think a lot of people want to skip a lot of those reps and kind of bypass. I think you’re not fully developed mentally as far as creatively to be able to challenge yourself and really kind of execute on a [high] level.”

“Being patient and allowing things to unfold as they will is just the biggest thing. It’s nothing but a game of reps, is what I always say. You’ve got to earn your chops and really repetitively learn how to properly chop chives, how to properly break down a chicken,” she adds. “But I think it’s less fixating on that and more of those things being steps toward a bigger picture.”

SUR LIE IS A TAPAS-STYLE RESTAURANT IN DOWNTOWN PORTLAND WITH A FOCUS ON CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN CUISINE MADE WITH LOCALLY SOURCED MAINE INGREDIENTS, LED BY “SHEF” MIMI WEISSENBORN.

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Making Local Feel Global

BY SAM DANLEY

Chefs are concocting fresh, globally inspired twists to local and seasonal ingredients.

CHEF EVAN HENNESSEY has spent over a decade honing his approach to local and seasonal sourcing at Stages at One Washington in Dover, New Hampshire. There’s seaweed, clams, scallops, and oysters he gathers from the shore himself. The vegetables are hyper local, too. Those ingredients flux more than the land animals, which are sourced from one farm and planned out a year in advance.

The restaurant also works with a team of foragers who arrive at the doorstep with whatever the land has to offer. After

a heavy rain, it might be black trumpet mushrooms. The next time, it could be berries or freshly plucked wild herbs.

“That’s a fun one, because I don’t always know when they’ll show up,” he says. “Right in the middle of service, they’ll walk in with bags of something. The question is always, ‘What do you have today?’”

The result is an ever-changing tasting menu showcasing the local landscape. That doesn’t mean he sticks to regional classics like clam chowder, lobster rolls, and blueberry pie. The ingredients might

come from New England, but the culinary influences come from around the world.

“If you look at a map and draw a line from New England, you’re going to run into parts of Northern Europe and eventually land somewhere in the area of Japan,” Hennessey says. “You’ll see a lot of similarities between the agriculture and aquaculture in those places, so it made sense to incorporate some of those cooking practices, because the ingredients are the throughline.”

One recent dish that showcases this

“GLOBALLY INSPIRED, LOCALLY PRODUCED” IS THE TAGLINE AT PLATES NEIGHBORHOOD KITCHEN, IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, WHERE CHEF DAVID MITCHELL BLENDS CLASSIC SOUTHERN FARE WITH FLAVORS AND TECHNIQUES FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

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latitudinal inspiration is sea truffle chawanmushi, a riff on traditional Japanese steamed custard made with red algae harvested from the New Hampshire coast.

Hennessey’s goal is to demonstrate the creativity inherent in utilizing local ingredients. That extends beyond culinary innovation to encompass collaborative efforts with the local food system, emphasizing the importance of restaurant involvement in supporting and enhancing regional foodways.

Pushing the farm-to-table message forward comes with plenty of challenges, says Bobby Will, chef and owner at Thistle & Grouse, an elevated gastropub in Portland, Maine. It means giving up a certain amount of control and letting nature dictate what ends up on the plate.

“I let the farmers tell me what my menus will be,” he says. “I’ll send a text and get a feel for what they think is looking great, and start brainstorming on paper from there.”

Weather is the most challenging factor, especially up in Maine, Will adds. There might be a killer forecast for sorrel or corn, but a week or two of warm weather can wipe those plans right off the board.

“If you’re going to dedicate your menu to local seasonal produce, you have to be able to adapt on the fly and pivot when things don’t grow like you want them to,” he says. “Learn to love the weather apps on your phone and text your farmer as much as you are both comfortable.”

Like Stages, the food at Thistle & Grouse taps into global flavors while coming straight from local partners. One of the biggest sellers is a spin on chicken pot pie. Organic chicken from a nearby farm is braised in a rich stock that turns into a gravy laced with last-of-the-season root cellar vegetables and aromatic vadouvan curry powder, topped with a pie crust made from rye flour produced at a local gristmill. There’s also a spin on fish and chips, featuring Casco Bay hake in an Allagash White Beer Batter with potato chips that are made in house and dusted with toasted nori powder. It is served atop an English pea puree with a generous dollop of housemade Japanese togarashi-infused tartar sauce and a lime wedge.

Meanwhile, “Globally Inspired, Locally Produced” is the tagline at Plates Neighborhood Kitchen, in Raleigh, North

Carolina, where chef David Mitchell blends classic Southern fare with flavors and techniques from around the world.

“I love watching travel shows and collecting cookbooks,” he says. “When I get excited about some Asian flavors, if it was just a traditional farm-to-table menu in the South, it would look kind of weird to have a soy broth or a miso vinaigrette on there. You have to throw the ‘globally inspired’ thing in so that you have the freedom to be as creative as you want.”

He’s done a braised beef short rib—“a very classically French dish”—but seasoned the outside with Chinese five spice and added soy sauce to the braising liquid, then served it over mashed sweet potatoes, for example. He’s taken fresh fried potatoes and tossed them with berbere seasoning, a distinctive Ethiopian spice mix, or paired them with a sweet yellow curry powder-infused mayonnaise to bring some flavors from Africa and India into the mix.

One recent addition is oven-roasted North Carolina trout served over a cassoulet made with white beans, andouille sausage, bell peppers, and onions, finished with a bit of lobster stock. “That’s very South Carolina or low-country Charleston, maybe even a bit of Louisiana with the andouille in there, but the cassoulet is very French,” Mitchell says.

On the sourcing front, Plates aims to work with local farmers to utilize their surplus produce. Mitchell says he’s told that to 20 or 30 farmers, but it’s taken years to get a tight knit group of four or five that come through and hold him accountable to it.

“It can be tough convincing them that my goal really is to be that safety net to sell what they have leftover, but it’s worth it, because it’s part of what I see as our role as a neighborhood restaurant,” he says. “I think there’s a certain amount of responsibility for a restaurant that really wants to be a part of the community to be there for farmers as a source of revenue. It’s something I take seriously. We’re a small business. They’re small businesses in their own right, too. And a rising tide lifts all boats.”

PUSHING THE FARM-TO-TABLE MESSAGE COMES WITH CHALLENGES, SAYS BOBBY WILL, CHEF/OWNER AT THISTLE & GROUSE. IT MEANS GIVING UP A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CONTROL AND LETTING NATURE DICTATE WHAT ENDS UP ON THE PLATE.

ATLANTA MARRIOT MARQUIS

TRENDS AND CREATIVE APPROACHES TO SPIRITS, WINE, AND BEER.

MENTIONED IN THIS STORY AMERICAN CIDER ASSOCIATION • BLAKE’S BEVERAGE COMPANY • BIVOUAC CIDERWORKS

The Case for CIDER

Liquid Intelligence

BY KRISTEN KUCHAR

Here’s how cider can add a splash of creativity on your menu.

WHILE WINE, SPIRITS, AND BEER often get the most attention when planning a beverage menu, there’s another option that deserves a seat at the table: hard cider. Despite the apple-based beverage’s rich history in the U.S. and world -

wide, there is often some misconception around it. For consumers, they may assume it’s only a sweet, apple-juice like drink, or be unsure about when they should be enjoying it. For restaurants, there can be confusion on pricing, CIDER’S VERSATILITY DOESN’T END WITH THE ARRAY OF STYLES; IT CAN ALSO BE USED AS A CREATIVE INGREDIENT IN COCKTAILS.

marketing, and how to serve it. One of the biggest benefits of adding cider to a restaurant’s menu is that it is extremely food friendly, says Michelle McGrath, CEO of the American Cider Association (aca). “It can elevate the pairing experience with a broad range of food flavors,”

five families of cider, according to the ACA: cider made with 100 percent apples, perry made with pears, fruit ciders (made with fruits like citrus, berries, cherries), botanical ciders (made with spices like ginger or cinnamon, flowers like hibiscus, herbs like lemongrass or

“You can have a really highend, single varietal bottled cider, and it’s still going to cost less than the wine counterpart. Apples are expensive, but cider earns a premium and gets it.”

CAN

WELL WITH SEAFOOD AND PORK DISHES, SPICIER FOODS, AND RICH FOODS THAT COULD BENEFIT FROM THE BRIGHT ACIDITY THAT CIDER OFFERS, SUCH AS GERMAN CUISINE.

McGrath says. Specifically, McGrath notes that cider works well with foods with heat, such as spicy sausages, tacos, and Indian dishes, along with rich foods that could benefit from being lifted by the bright acidity that cider offers, such as German cuisine.

Cider has a broad range from bonedry to a sweet, dessert cider. There are

thyme, and vegetables like pumpkin or chili peppers), and dessert cider.

For operators, a common cause for confusion is how to price cider and where to place it on your menu. McGrath clarifies that cider doesn’t have to be priced the same as beer offerings. “You can have a really high-end, single varietal bottled cider, and it’s still going to cost less than

the wine counterpart,” McGrath says. “Apples are expensive, but cider earns a premium and gets it.”

Menu placement is also important, and McGrath recommends removing cider from the beer menu to help the offerings stand out. A great way to highlight cider on the menu is to offer beverage pairing suggestions for food items and include cider. For restaurants with a natural wine list, seek out grape apple co-ferments, which is a good gateway to cider from wine, McGrath adds. Having the tasting notes on hand from cider makers can help describe the cider to curious guests.

To train staff, McGrath recommends serving different ciders to taste as a team

to understand how broad the range of flavors and styles can be, from bone dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, and sweet, and even an ice cider to understand the range of sweetness. “It takes experiencing it first hand to really understand it,” she says.

The ACA also offers a Certified Cider Professional course, which is an introduction to the cider world. “It helps hospitality professionals quickly gain an understanding of the diversity and nuance of flavors available in the cider category,” she says.

One mistake to avoid: Don’t utilize the same tap lines as beer, McGrath advises,

HARD CIDER

PAIR

AT BIVOUAC CIDERWORKS, CIDER IS INCORPORATED THROUGHOUT THE FOOD MENU, INCLUDING CIDER-BATTERED FISH AND CHIPS, A CIDER PUB CHEESE SAUCE FOR SOFT PRETZELS, A PINEAPPLE PEAR CIDER GLAZE FOR WINGS, AND A CIDER AIOLI FOR FRIED SHRIMP AND THE VEGAN BURGER.

since many cider consumers are opting for cider since it’s often gluten-free.

Cider’s versatility doesn’t end with the array of styles; it can also be used as a creative ingredient in cocktails. “If a restaurant is wanting to expand its cider offerings, featuring cider cocktails is a really good ramp for that,” McGrath says, adding that because of an acid-forward tendency, cider can lift cocktails. It also gets people to start thinking about cider.

Andrew Blake, CEO of Blake’s Beverage Company in Armada, Michigan, echoes McGrath about the versatility of cider and the dual use as a cocktail ingredient. “It’s a great way to liven up your cocktail menu,” he says. “A good mixologist could really play with what cider has to offer and create unique drinking experiences.”

There is flexibility in what cider can be, he notes, either enjoyed like wine

or more of a pub-style cider on its own, or as a cocktail ingredient. Blake says many consumers are looking for a fruitforward option where cider fits in, and there’s a whole demographic interested in this product. “When you look at Gen Z and younger Millennials, drinking preferences are completely different,” he says.

Adding more cider options to your beverage menu can set your restaurant apart, he adds, and can provide inspiration and innovation to a food menu as well.

“Cider shouldn’t be a box to check on the menu,” Blake says, adding there’s a whole world to explore beyond just putting a couple ciders on the menu, such as pairing with food. Blake points out that specific pairings for cider depend on the

style and flavor, but in general, cider tends to pair well with seafood and pork dishes.

From a cost viewpoint, Blake says that cider can create a great margin because the beverage is at an elevated price point. “There’s a real economic case as you look to maximize the return on your bar,” he says. To help prepare servers for selling cider, Blake says to find a supplier that is willing and eager to help educate your staff.

Lara Worm, co-founder of Bivouac Ciderworks in San Diego, also recom mends taking the time to train employ ees on cider offerings, which can lead to greater sales. Worm suggests taking staff to local cideries to learn and find ing cider producers willing to help. For example, Worm will host a tasting with a restaurant’s buyer and their staff, pro viding information via videos and print outs as well.

“Once the staff is educated, they will educate the consumer,” Worm says. “If the staff is excited about it, people will order it.”

Educating guests is important, espe cially when it comes to adjusting peoples’ perceptions of the sweet-dry scale. Once staff are knowledgeable on the product, they can suggest a cider to pair with the meal. At Bivouac Ciderworks, you’ll find cider incorporated throughout the food menu, including cider-battered fish and chips, a cider pub cheese sauce for soft pretzels, a pineapple pear cider glaze for wings, and a cider aioli for fried shrimp and the vegan burger. Worm notes that there are numerous food pairing possi bilities both with casual food options as well as higher end menu items.

“Cider is as approachable as beer, but as nuanced as wine,” Worm says. When it comes to comparing cider pricing to wine or beer, Worm says the margins on cider can be quite profitable for restau rants, since operators can charge more for cider than beer.

And, cider has staying power. “It’s not a fad,” Worm says, pointing out its his torical, cultural, and agricultural roots along with a wide variety of styles available and a cider for every occasion and every meal.

TOP50 INDEPENDENT RESTAURANTS

These beloved, indie-owned institutions showcase the best of the U.S. when it comes to culinary prowess, community building, and delivering exceptional dining experiences from coast to coast.

BY CALLIE EVERGREEN

MILENA PAGÁN

is crafting a new narrative of Puerto Rican cuisine at her restaurant, Little Sister. Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Pagán describes herself as being restless and rebellious growing up, constantly trying new things. As a teenager, Pagán was a skilled seamstress, pattern-maker, illustrator, spelling bee queen, ballet dancer, and calculus and math tutor. She started cooking at a young age, inviting friends over for barbecues and parties, and especially liked cooking for a crowd.

Her success with science took her to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (with a full scholarship at the age of 17) where she graduated with a B.S. in chemical engineering.

Prior to opening her restaurant Little Sister, Pagán used her degree to work in management consulting, and ended up moving to Rhode Island to work at CVS headquarters in 2013. “I was a strategy spreadsheet monkey for three and a half years, and then I had a moment where I was like, ‘I don’t really like corporate, I don’t vibe with corporate. I don’t like having to be so buttoned up all of the time,’” says Pagán, who decided to take some time off and go back to the drawing board.

The next phase of her career began with making bagels. They were immediately a hit, so she opened Rebelle Artisan Bagels in 2017 on the east side of Providence with her modest savings and some help from a Kickstarter campaign. The idea for a full-service restaurant then sparked in her mind, which was originally going to be a European-inspired cafe with paninis, soups, and salads—”the same thing everyone is doing,” with mass appeal. But a friend recommended she put some Puerto Rican flavor in the concept to stand out, which stuck in her mind. Pagán doubted people in the area would be interested enough to make it work, but her love of a challenge and adventurous spirit made the idea irresistible. “I also get a kick out of introducing other people to new things,” she says. “These people don’t know what Puerto

MILENA PAGAN, OWNER OF LITTLE SISTER IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, LIKES TO CHALLENGE THE NOTION THAT AUTHENTIC CUISINE IS ONLY SERVED OUT OF HOLE-IN-THEWALL SPOTS. HER INTERIOR BOASTS PLENTY OF HOUSEPLANTS, BEAUTIFUL GARNISHES, AND BOHO VIBES.

TOP INDEPENDENTS

Little

Sister

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Cuisine Type: Puerto Rican Owner: Milena Pagán

Rican food is. They don’t know what the flavors are. I want to push them outside of their comfort zone.”

Pagán opened Little Sister in 2020 with a menu of Puerto Rican-inspired pastries and coffee, a range of brunch plates, upscale sandwiches, signature cocktails, and spirit-free juices and concoctions, as well as wine and beer. Every Friday and Saturday evening, the venue turns into a casual wine bar with small plates and glasses from an eclectic natural wine selection with over 70 bottles and a special focus on Spanish producers and offbeat flavor profiles.

The intimate, 24-seat setting has quickly become one of the hottest brunch spots in Providence, and books out every week. Pagán partially attributes that success to not making it super obvious that it’s a Puerto Rican restaurant. “That’s on purpose, because if I tell you from the outside what it is, I’d almost make it easier for you to dismiss it, and I want to reel you in. And once you’re seated, you are going to enjoy the food.”

“In a lot of ways, my expectations did match reality. I think my intuition was right; a lot of people are not interested in Puerto Rican food,” she adds. “If there's no judgment, there's no problem just trying something new. But a lot of people will dismiss it on the surface.” While the prices at Little Sister are on par with similar scratch-made, trendy restaurants in the area, Pagán

receives a lot of pushback from people asking why a dish like the Mofongo Benedict—with smashed plantain patties, slow-roasted pork, caramelized onions, two soft eggs, and achiote hollandaise sauce, served with side salad— is $29. “My price positioning is on par with some of the higher-end spots. Now, if you feel like plantains and pork and eggs can’t be elevated, then let me ask you, why do you go spend $30 on a plate of pasta?” Pagán challenges. “We don’t deny that pasta can be elevated, so why are we denying that for Caribbean cuisine?”

The fair pricing also allows Pagán to pay her staff competitive wages and offer benefits like insurance, PTO, and a 401k with an employer contribution. “I’m always trying to get people to see it. I’m challenging those notions, pushing the buttons, starting the conversation,” she adds.

Following Hurricane Fiona’s catastrophic impact on Puerto Rico in September 2022, Pagán began offering a five-course Chef’s Tasting Menu dinner with 10 percent of profits going to a nonprofit organization in Puerto Rico. She hosted tasting dinners every week up until last fall, and now does them on special occasions, invite-only, for $77 per person (plus $35 for a wine pairing).

The tasting menu is always inspired by the flavors of Puerto Rico, but done with Pagán’s flair and unique take on the traditional foods she grew up with, featuring fresh Rhode Island seafood and local vegetables.

Pagán was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast in 2023, and is gearing up for the relocation of Rebelle in Cambridge close to the MIT campus while earning her MBA at MIT School of Management. “I have peers [from MIT] who are making a million dollars a year. That could have been my path. But ultimately, I want to remain grounded,” Pagán adds, “working with my hands, doing something I could feel proud about at the end of the night...From the beginning, I was an outsider looking in, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna do it different.’”

Death & Taxes

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

Cuisine Type: Contemporary Woodfired

Owner: Ashley Christensen

Bombay Club

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Cuisine Type: Upscale, traditional Indian fare

Owner: Ashok Bajaj

The Choptank

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

Cuisine Type: MidAtlantic/seafood

Owner: Alex Smith

Morcilla

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

Cuisine Type: Spanish

Owners: Justin Severino, Hilary Prescott Severino, Nate Hobart

Mister Oso

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Latin American

Owners: Blake Edumunds, Juan Padró, Katie O’Shea

Michael’s on Naples

LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: Italian

Owner: Michael Dene

Red Tops Rendezvous

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Detroit-style pizza, Italian

Owners: Kevin Eddy, Juan Padró, Katie O’Shea

A5 Steakhouse

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Japanese

Steakhouse

Owner: Max Mackissock

TOP INDEPENDENTS

El Halal Amigos

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: HalalMexican

Owner: Hisham

Abdelfattah

Bar Dough

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Italian

Owners: Juan Padró, Katie O’Shea, Max Mackissock

Amelia’s 1931

MIAMI, FLORIDA

Cuisine Type: CubanAsian Fusion

Owner: Eileen Andrade

In June 2023, Miami chef and restaurateur Eileen Andrade introduced the revamped and elevated Amelia’s 1931, offering a sophisticated blend of Pan Latin cuisine with an Asian twist. The restaurant features a polished, vintage atmosphere and seats 127 guests. Its unique speakeasy-style entry is concealed behind a curtain of cleaned, bagged clothes, mimicking a vintage dry cleaner.

Hummus Mediterranean Kitchen

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: Turkish

Mediterranean

Owner: Amir Hosseini

Oceans & Earth

YORBA LINDA, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: New

American farm-to-table

Owners: Adam Navidi, Barbie Wheatley

The Post Chicken & Beer

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: American

Owner: Dave Query

HashTAG

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Brunch

Owner: Troy Guard

Top Burmese

PORTLAND, OREGON

Cuisine Type: Burmese

Owners: Kalvin and Poe

Myint

Petula's

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Cuisine Type: American/ Italian

Owner: Rachel Titcomb

Homegrown Tap & Dough

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Pizza/Italian

Owners: Jean-Philippe

Failyau, Peter Newlin

Holly Hill Inn

MIDWAY, KENTUCKY

Cuisine Type: Kentucky Inspired/Classically

Prepared

Owners: Ouita and Chris

Michel

Mexican Sugar

PLANO, TEXAS

Cuisine Type: Mexican

Owner: Jeff Carcara/FB Society

Deck 84

DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA

Cuisine Type: American & Sushi

Owner: Burt Rapoport

Daisies

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Cuisine Type: Midwestern

Owner: Joe Frillman

Cariño

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Cuisine Type: Latin American

Owners: Norman Fenton, Karen Young

Sur Lie

PORTLAND, MAINE

Cuisine Type: Tapas/ Contemporary American Owner: Krista Cole

Sushi Ii

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: Japanese

Owner: Susumu Ii

Summit House Restaurant

FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: Steakhouse

Owners: Gary Parkinson, Bruce McDonald

Nautilus Pier 4

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Cuisine Type: Asian fusion

Owners: Stephen Bowler, Clinton Terry, Liam Mackey

Thistle & Grouse

PORTLAND, MAINE

Cuisine Type: Modern Gastropub

Owners: Bobby Will, Kimberly Kraus

Brasserie Mon Chou Chou

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Cuisine Type: French

Owner: Jerome Serot

The brainchild of three Frenchmen, Brasserie Mon Chou Chou serves quintessential French comfort food inspired by the founders’ grandmothers and the diverse regions of France. Located in San Antonio’s Historic Pearl area, the brasserie offers simple, flavorful dishes that evoke memories of family meals. Mon Chou Chou also features a quarterly Le Table dinner series, presenting a pre-fixe menu of regional French dishes, adding a unique culinary highlight to the local dining scene.

TOP INDEPENDENTS

Blue Jay Bistro

LITTLETON, NORTH CAROLINA

Cuisine Type: Farm-totable American

Owners: Ed and Deb Fitts

The couple opened Blue Jay Bistro in 2021 with the mission to bring highquality dining and hospitality to the small town area, create more job opportunities, and set an example for how to operate a restaurant that prioritizes employee wellbeing. Led by executive chef Ashleigh Fleming, Blue Jay Bistro’s menu is seasonally driven and is a reflection of her Houston, Texas, roots, as well as a testament to the quality of ingredients from local North Carolina farmers and purveyors.

Gigglewaters

SAFETY HARBOR, FLORIDA

Cuisine Type: Elevated American comfort food

Owners: Rachel Wilson, Richard Wilson, Frank Fine

Chang Thai Cafe

LITTLETON, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Cuisine Type: Thai Owner: Emshika Alberini

Maizano

COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: Mexican Owners: Jorge Salim, Javier Hernandez Pons

Max's Grille

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA

Cuisine Type: American/ Continental Owner: Burt Rapoport

Domenico’s On Grand

MONESSEN, PENNSYLVANIA

Cuisine Type: Italian Owner: Domenic Mendicino

Compèr e Lapin

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Cuisine Type: Caribbeanmeets-Louisiana

Owner: Nina Compton

Eastern Standard

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Cuisine Type: New England

Owner: Garrett Harker

The Blind Pig Kitchen + Bar

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: New American Owner: Tony Monaco

Rosticceria

PHOENIX, ARIZONA

Cuisine Type: Italian Owner: Joey Maggiore

Calaca Mamas Cantina

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: Mexican

Owners: Angela and Mariam El Haj

Founded in 2022 by sisters Angela and Mariam El Haj, Calaca Mamas

Cantina celebrates Mexican culture and cuisine, inspired by the Día De Los Muertos. Situated near Disneyland, the restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, alongside over 20 original craft cocktails, such as the Churro on Ice, and unique presentations like the Churro Cart with sparklers and dipping sauces. The vibrant atmosphere features marigold decorations and a personalized ofrenda. Their menu highlights traditional recipes, including a standout Tlayuda with a twist—a fried egg on top, all prepared using local organic produce to support nearby growers.

Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar

BOULDER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Seafood

Owner: Dave Query

Stages at One Washington

DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Cuisine Type: Progressive New England

Owners: Evan and Jared Hennessey

Ash’Kara

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Middle Eastern/Mediterranean

Owners: Juan Padró, Katie O’Shea, Max Mackissock

Señor Bear

DENVER, COLORADO

Cuisine Type: Latin

Owners: Blake Edmunds, Juan Padró, Katie O’Shea

SHOR

HONOLULU, HAWAII

Cuisine Type: Desi (Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan)

Owner: Imran Ali Mookhi

Urban Hill

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

Cuisine Type: New American

Owner: Brooks Kirchheimer

El Naranjo

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Cuisine Type: Mexican

Owner: Iliana de la Vega

Duck Sel

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Cuisine Type: New American

Owner: Donald Young

Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen

FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA

Cuisine Type: Desi (Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan)

Owner: Imran Ali Mookhi

Trending on the Menu Cheese

RICOTTA, PARMESAN, AND FONTINA BAKED THREE CHEESE DIP

The Secret for a More Dynamic Menu

Elevating dishes with premium cheese blends. BY

OLIVIA SCHUSTER

Menu applications offering both versatility and quality will help restaurants to stand out from their competitors. Cheese blends can enhance a wide range of dishes with rich flavors and textures. Whether for pizzas, pasta, salads, or gourmet sandwiches, quality blends will take a dish from satisfactory to delicious, making it an irresistible choice for consumers.

Wisconsin Cheese reports one of the

top consumer trends in 2024 is likely to revolve around consumers’ growing interest in international flavors and unexpected blends. “The blend trend has taken off,” says Frank Alfaro, vice president of foodservice and export at BelGioioso Cheese. “It’s a way for a restaurant to differentiate their product from the restaurant down the road.”

Combining cheeses with different characteristics provides a more com -

plex and well-rounded taste compared to using a single cheese. “For example, introducing fontina into a pizza blend,” Alfaro says. “Fontina has a very low melting point allowing for excellent stretch qualities, and it gives the pizza a slightly different tangier flavor.”

Cheese blends provide a dependable flavor and texture profile, ensuring that every dish meets the same high standards. This reliability is essential for

SALAD BLEND

BELGIOIOSO CHEESE

providers, delivering consistent flavor, texture, and performance.

“We’ve mastered the art of traditional cheesemaking right here in the United States,” Alfaro says. “By faithfully using time-honored techniques, we mirror the meticulous methods of traditional Italian cheesemaking.”

BelGioioso offers an array of cheese

maintaining quality across a busy kitchen. When times get hard, operators often cut ingredient costs instead of finding ways to attract more customers. However, consumers are savvy and will quickly notice the difference in quality. “Competing on price and lowering quality will lead to lost clientele, as proven by many chains that have gone out of business for this reason,” Alfaro says. “Rather than lowering quality, incorporate a high-end blend to make your offerings more gourmet and differentiate yourself.”

BelGioioso is a name known for exceptional quality and authentic Italian cheesemaking. BelGioioso’s cheese blends stand out as versatile, premium cheeses that enhance a wide range of culinary creations. These blends are designed to meet the diverse needs of chefs, restaurateurs, and foodservice

blends, each carefully crafted to suit various applications.

A popular blend is the four-cheese blend, typically including Provolone, Asiago, Fontina, and Parmesan. The versatile flavors are ideal for pizzas, pasta dishes, and casseroles, this blend provides a balanced profile of creamy, tangy, and nutty flavors, enhancing both the taste and texture of the dishes.

The Italian Blend features Mozzarella, Provolone, and Parmesan. This blend is a staple in many kitchens. Its mild yet rich flavor profile makes it ideal for everything from gourmet sandwiches to elegant salads.

“By incorporating full-flavored cheeses, chefs can craft distinctive offerings that not only draw in curious food

enthusiasts but also keep patrons coming back,” Alfaro says.

Another benefit of cheese blends is its ability to make dishes look more appealing. Blending cheeses with different colors and melting properties can create a visually striking presentation. For example, combining smoked mozzarella with buttery Fontina can elevate the look of a pizza or sandwich. Visual variety makes dishes more appetizing and enhances the dining experience, encouraging customers to share their meals on social media and attract more people to the restaurant.

“It’s really all about the stretch and the melt—the ooey gooey effect, as we like to call it. People eat with their eyes. There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing a hot panini, pizza, or flatbread. When you bite into it and pull away, you get that vision of the cheese stretching and melting.”

BelGioioso cheese blends are designed to perform under various cooking conditions. Whether melted, baked, or used as a topping the blends consistently deliver excellent results. The careful selection and aging of the cheeses ensure they have the right moisture content and texture, making them easy to work with and enhancing their culinary versatility.

Many cheese producers will add fillers and unnecessary ingredients to their cheese to cut costs and meet lower price points. This practice compromises the quality and integrity of the cheese. BelGioioso takes a different approach.

“We stay as close to tradition as possible,” Alfaro says. “At BelGioioso, if we say it’s five pounds of low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella, it’s all five pounds of low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella.

By choosing BelGioioso, foodservice providers invest in a product that brings authenticity, reliability, and excellence to their kitchens. Customers will taste the difference and be delighted with every bite.

“We have the heritage and history of crafting high-quality Italian cheeses and the ability to meet chef’s requests and high standards,” Alfaro says. “You can continue to be successful by finding new ways to maintain quality. A cheese blend can help you achieve that.”

LASAGNA FLATBREAD (THIS IMAGE) AND FONTINA GRANA PASTA (BELOW)

Cheese Trends

A FEW KEY INSIGHTS FROM DATASSENTIAL ON CHEESE

• Cheese blends menued at Italian restaurants increased 4 percent over the past 12 months.

• Plant-based cheese is predicted to grow 219 percent in the next four years.

• Three quarters of operators offer more than one variety of cheese on their pizzas, and most purchase pre-shredded

• Cream cheese is predicted to decline nine percent in the next four years.

• The term “fresh” has a menu penetration of 61 percent.

CHEESE TRENDS TO WATCH & UNDERSTAND // COURTESY OF DATASSENTIAL

BURRATA A fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.

CONSUMERS:

MENU EXAMPLE:

An Adult Grilled Cheese: Burrata, white cheddar, crescenza, blueberry jam, brussels slaw, bacon, on toasted sourdough. The Hook & Plow // REDONDO BEACH, CA

PANEER A type of cheese curd common in Indian cooking.

CONSUMERS:

MENU EXAMPLE:

Spicy Paneer Thin Crust Pizzae: Paneer cheese, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, green chilis, and cajun seasoning.

Fast Pizza Delivery // SAN JOSE, CA

BURRATA

Soft and delicate, with a slightly sweet, milky flavor, BelGioioso Burrata is made with hand-crafted Fresh Mozzarella filled with Stracciatella, a mix of soft mozzarella shreds and sweet cream.

Enhance your menu by creating a new, fresh Burrata salad with fruit, tomatoes and prosciutto. Or enrich your pizza or pasta by topping with a garnish of this fresh, creamy cheese just before serving.

Available in 2 oz., 4 oz. and 8 oz. Burrata balls, 4 oz. balls with Black Tru es, and 8 oz. and 1 lb. Burrata Filling (“Stracciatella”).

For more info and samples, please contact: foodservice@belgioioso.com 877-863-2123

belgioioso.com/Foodservice

COTIJA A hard cow’s milk cheese that originated in Mexico and is named after the town of Cotija.

CONSUMERS:

MENU EXAMPLE:

Chipotle Caesar Salad: Romaine, heirloom tomatoes, seasoned croutons, cotija cheese, pepitas, chipotle Caesar dressing. gluten-free. 89Agave // SEDONA, AZ

MENU ADOPTION CYCLE: CHEESE BLENDS

INCEPTION Trends start here. Found in mostly fine-dining and ethnic independents, inception-stage trends exemplify originality in flavor, preparation, and presentation.

1. Ricotta Salata

2. Panela

ADOPTION Found at fast-casual and casual independent restaurants, adoption-stage trends grow their base via lower price points and simpler prep methods. Still differentiated, these trends often feature premium and generally authentic ingredients.

1. Havarti

2. Mascarpone

FETA A creamy, soft Greek cheese with a crumbly texture which is originally made with sheep’s milk.

CONSUMERS:

It

MENU EXAMPLE:

Tried It

Local and Organic Kombucha on Tap: grilled la brea bread, spicy tomato feta cheese sauce, spinach, over easy eggs, chopped mint, arugula. no substitutions. A Votre Sante // LOS ANGELES, CA

PROLIFERATION Proliferation-stage trends show up at casual and quick-service restaurants. They are adjusted for mainstream appeal. Often combined with popular applications (burgers, pastas, etc.), these trends have become familiar to many.

4.

Ubiquity-stage trends are found everywhere—these trends have reached maturity and can be found across all sectors of the food industry. Though often diluted by this point, their inception-stage roots are still recognizable.

1. Aged Cheese 2. Burrata

UBIQUITY

1. Swiss

Parmesan

3. Grana Padano 4. Chihuahua

5. Taleggio

3. Vegan Cheese 4. Cotija

5. Queso Blanco

3. Fresh Mozzarella 4. Gorgonzola 5. Brie

3. Provolone 4. Pepper Jack 5. Cheese Blend 6. Cheddar

MASCARPONE

SWISS CHEESE

Authenticity Fuels Top Burmese’s Triumph

From a food cart to a digital kitchen to a premier full-service dining destination, founders Kalvin and Poe Myint reflect on their journey of bringing Top Burmese to fruition.

BEFORE MOVING TO THE U.S. and stirring up Portland, Oregon’s restaurant scene with their Burmese concept, husband-and-wife duo Kalvin and Poe Myint grew up in Burma in what they call “a family of foodies.” Myanmar—the country also known as Burma—sits in the nexus of Southeast Asian culture, drawing influences from India, China, and Thailand. Naturally, this blend of tastes extends into Burma’s culinary profile, characterized by a melting pot of flavors.

ESTABLISHED: 2019

COFOUNDERS: Kalvin and Poe Myint

LOCATIONS: 4

CATEGORY: Burmese

Food was a central part of their respective childhoods, with cooking being a communal experience between family and friends. While fridges and electricity were scarce, Kalvin’s family visited the market daily to gather fresh produce and meats. Even if he wasn’t directly involved in the preparation of meals, he picked up cooking techniques just from watching and being immersed in the environment.

“In America, we are all very independent … We cook and clean on our own. But in Burma, it’s a little different. I learned hands-on cooking from watch-

ing my relatives and my mom without even realizing it until later when I started cooking with my children,” says Poe, reflecting on her childhood. “My kids would bring their friends from many different backgrounds, and they’d love the food.”

Once they lived in the U.S., Kalvin worked in software engineering and Poe had a career in banking, but they couldn’t ignore their desire to build a Burmese restaurant concept in Portland’s metropolitan area. “The dream was always with us throughout our lives, and we didn’t want to get older and regret not doing it,” Kalvin adds.

In 2003, Kalvin and Poe opened the first version of their concept, a food cart

called Taste of Rangoon. Unsure of how Burmese cuisine would be accepted, they presented it as Thai fusion, which they thought would be more recognizable to consumers.

The food cart operated for a year before the Myints decided to shutter it and return to the drawing board. It was their first foray into the restaurant industry, and although it was unsuccessful, Kalvin and Poe view it as a necessary step toward their success today.

“We learned [that] when we put our passion first and be authentic to ourselves, the business will follow along, and the energy will present itself naturally,” Kalvin says. “[Taste of Rangoon] was vague … we learned we needed to present Burmese cuisine in a way that’s true to who we are,

TOP BURMESE’S MENU FOCUSES ON TRADITIONAL DISHES LIKE FRIED APPETIZERS SERVED AS STREET FOOD, KHAO SOI NOODLES, AND HINN PWERE, THE MYINTS’ AWARD-WINNING CURRIES.

On the Rise

with precise and clear delivery.”

From Taste of Rangoon’s closure in 2004 and Top Burmese’s opening in 2019, the Myints took notes on finding a better route into the full-service space. They’d go out to eat and jot down aspects of the restaurants they admired. They watched Portland’s restaurant scene grow in diversity, although Burmese food was still underrepresented. For over a decade, they took the lessons learned from Taste of Rangoon to heart and waited for the right opportunity to present their passion project to the public eye once again.

At first, the duo launched Top Burmese as a delivery-only concept in 2019, available on third-party delivery platforms like GrubHub and UberEats. Piggybacking off the pandemic culinary trends and leveraging his background in software engineering, this is how Kalvin gradually reintroduced Burmese cui-

sine to Portland alongside his wife, Poe.

And this time, they decided to be unapologetically themselves, building a menu with touches from their childhood. Examples include A Kyaw, small appetizers usually fried and served as street food; Khao Soi, noodles; A Thoke, hand-mixed salads; Hinn Cho, soups; and Hinn Pwere, their award-winning curries. There’s also A Cho Pwere, which includes desserts like the Burmese Milk Tea, and Toet Saya & Tha Nutt, which features pickled or fresh veggies to dip into curry. Top Burmese’s menu focuses on traditional dishes, staying away from fusions as Kalvin and Poe work to build familiarity with customers. “We want to master the classics first, but I can see us slowly introducing some modern twists in the future,” Kalvin says.

they eat at home, and it made me realize what we’re doing is relatable to all Southeast Asian cuisines,” Poe adds. “I was so happy to hear feedback like that and learn about the similarities. We’re learning how to relate our cuisine and spices to other cultures and audiences as we go.”

Today, Top Burmese has grown to four dine-in destinations throughout Portland. The original restaurant is heavily influenced by the Myints’ family homestyle cooking, whereas the Top Burmese Bistro Royale location in Beaverton is designed to resemble the tropical oasis of Burma. The two newest additions, Top Burmese Burma Joy and Top Burmese Ambassador, explore the crossroads of Burmese cuisine and recreate an elevated Southeast Asian dining experience.

Over the years, they’ve discovered that Burmese food is relatable to a wider audience than anticipated, due to Burma’s reputation as a hub for Southeast Asian culture as a melting pot of Indian, Chinese, Thai, and Bangladeshi influences.

“Customers from Indonesia or Malaysia will tell us our curry tastes like what

AS

THE MYINTS CONTINUE TO WORK ON THEIR RULEBOOK FOR GROWTH, THEY’RE EYEING WEST COAST CITIES LIKE SEATTLE AND THE BAY AREA OF CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS KNOWN AS AN EPICENTER OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN CULTURE YET STILL LACKING IN BURMESE RESTAURANTS.

“As far as concept goes, we want to provide a holistic experience for our guests,” Kalvin says. “Our concept rests on three pillars … [The] atmosphere that pairs well with our food, polite service, and food that’s easily customized to different accommodations.”

Top Burmese’s design creates an environment where guests feel as if they’re vacationing off the coast of Burma. Pathways to tables are decorated with beachy touches and cultural landmarks. The servers are educated on the traditionally courteous nature of the Burmese people, which is built into the DNA of the restaurant.

“This is a passion-driven project, and now that we have four stores in the Portland area, we’re trying to find the right model to scale it further,” Kalvin says.

“From having one restaurant to two and three, it’s quite a different journey. So we’re refining our strategy further.”

As the Myints continue to work on their rulebook for growth, they’re eyeing West Coast cities like Seattle and the Bay Area of California, which is known as an epicenter of Southeast Asian culture yet still lacking in Burmese restaurants. Not only that, but their oldest daughter is urging them to bring a location closer to her home in Southern California. “Sometimes you learn from the younger generations, and we’re letting our kids guide us in this journey,” Poe says.

Tech Tips for Managing Frenetic Schedules

Technology can be the grease that keeps sales sizzling in the front-ofhouse and the back office humming with far less effort.

RESTAURANT OPERATORS FACE ongoing labor challenges, rising wages, and critical technology investment decisions as our industry continues to adapt and adopt new digital tools. Together, these challenges can create a hectic schedule that underscores the fast-paced nature of restaurant work, especially for full-service and casual fine-dining restaurants.

But operators can take some steps to make the most of their growing tech stacks, from adding new revenue streams to utilizing the latest tools that minimize time-consuming tasks so that they can spend more time doing what they love—delighting their guests.

Profitability: how to master the ‘controllable’ Food costs have been rising for a few years now, and that remains the case in 2024. Diners have also been fatigued by high menu prices due to inflation.

All of this weighs on operators’ biggest concern: profitability. Here are four tech-minded ways they can “control the controllable” with the goal of improving their bottom line:

• EMBRACE CATERING AS A REVENUE STREAM without adding a ton of extra work. Restaurant operators can har -

ness digital tools to streamline operations, crafting online contracts, quotes, and estimates. These tools can automate invoicing, payment processing, prep, packing, and managing repeat orders. Not to mention that catering is increasingly essential to restaurants, equaling on-premise dining and delivery as priorities, per a 2023 Toast survey (48 percent) of 847 restaurant operators.1 The catering market spans diverse occasions—from company lunches to weddings—offering restaurants opportunities for customer base expansion, increased sales, and potentially higher profits.

• TAKE A DATA-BASED APPROACH TO SCHEDULING, which can improve decisions such as overstaffing and distributing overtime hours. With the right toolkit, you can set budget alarms to ping you when staffing drops into the red and forecast labor costs for each shift and employee. You can also get real-time insights, revealing staffing cost inefficiencies.

• ADD RETAIL. Whether you’re an Italian restaurant offering high-end imported wines and olive oils or a lounge selling branded cocktail glasses, a few strategically placed shelving units can open up a new revenue stream for restaurants. Merchandising isn’t just for retail stores anymore; it should also be the domain of restaurant operators because it offers revenue streams for nonperishable goods or items with long shelf lives. Tech tools, like POS integrations, are available to manage inventory for these items.

JT Riley, VP of operations for Taste Of Belgium, which operates nine fullservice restaurant locations in Ohio, says the restaurant added retail items as a new revenue stream after a recommendation from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ahead of the restaurant feature on the Food Network show.

“They were like, if you don’t have this, you need to solve it now. It’s a missed opportunity,” Riley said.

The episode led to thousands of sales of its waffles, which it sells in-store and ships to all 50 states, along with other items like coffee and waffle mix.

“We just really focused on the things that travel well, represent the brand well, which we can offer to people as we continue to work on growing our brand presence. I think retail is important to establish yourself as a growing concept of brands,” Riley said.

Day-to-day complexities: streamlining can be at your fingertips Scheduling tools also help operators deal with day-to-day complexities and can

KELLY ESTEN

optimize their personal bandwidth. They can be a time-saving boon, consolidating scheduling tasks into one accessible platform. With no manual data entry or cumbersome onboarding processes, existing schedules effortlessly sync with employee profiles.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg for improving operations with tech tools. Here are three more important areas where going digital improves the “dayto-day.”

• ADOPTING A KITCHEN-DISPLAY SYSTEM (KDS) can be a game-changer for restaurant operations. It fosters seamless communication between kitchen and front-of-house staff, delivers prompt service, and enhances order transparency. These devices can also help throttle third-party takeout and delivery orders, controlling the chaos of an unexpected bump in off-premise ordering and allowing operations to run smoothly without overloading the kitchen.

• OPTIMIZE FIRST-PARTY ORDERING CHANNELS with automated marketing campaigns. While online ordering has become common and expected by restaurant guests, first-party online ordering systems are often underutilized by restaurants. But automated marketing tools are emerging as a new way for operators to take better advantage of their online channels. With a few clicks and simple inputs, AI-powered writing tools and automated marketing campaigns can run in the background so operators can focus on running the rest of their business.

• MOBILE HANDHELD POS SYSTEMS ARE BECOMING THE NEW STANDARD. They facilitate swift transactions with contactless payment options, streamline ordering processes, and enable effi -

FOOTNOTES:

cient service across diverse settings— indoors, outdoors, drive-thrus, curbsides, and beyond. Not to mention all the steps they save front-of-house staff walking back and forth to the POS terminals where they previously needed to enter orders.

“We were early adopters of the handheld technology,” Riley told me. “Because we knew it would allow us to really be engaged with our guests in a more meaningful way, as opposed to writing things down. Sometimes, you can’t read your own handwriting by the time you get back to the terminal.”

“It’s also helpful to be able to process payments at tables being PCI compliant without taking that credit card away from the guests. We exclusively use handhelds at our restaurants — we have terminals, but that’s really for carry-out guests,” Riiley added.

Serving in the smartphone era: go digital or go home

In the dynamic world of restaurant operations, delivery services have become paramount and stand out as potent assets for boosting sales. Yet, savvy operators must navigate the landscape to find platforms with favorable commissions and minimal fees, protecting profit margins because those outcomes will make their lives more hectic and stressful.

Your competitors are likely also adopting tech tools, so it’s imperative to keep up with them or lose out on customers in this smartphone-driven era. Here are more tech tools essential for the ever-changing restaurant landscape:

• POINT-OF-SALE (POS) SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE making it imperative restaurants rely on one that will help them stay ahead of the curve. When working optimally, this ‘heart’ of the restaurant operating system, whether

all in one or the anchor in a tech stack, enables restaurants to harness data insights, run more efficiently, and adapt to emerging trends.

• INTEGRATED REWARDS PROGRAMS ARE STRATEGIC TOOLS for cultivating customer loyalty and increasing guest frequency. Restaurant operators can solidify their foothold in the competitive market by incentivizing repeat visits and fostering a sense of appreciation among patrons. A 2022 Deloitte survey revealed almost half of restaurant loyalty members (47 percent) use their memberships several times a month.

• ADDITIONALLY, WAITLIST TECHNOLOGY CAN PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE in optimizing seating arrangements and enhancing guest experiences. By efficiently managing wait times, personalizing service, and converting firsttimers into regulars, this technology improves operational efficiency and contributes to long-term customer retention strategies.

More tech = less hecticness

A full-service or casual-dining restaurant operator’s work will never be done— that’s the nature of this business. But technology can be the grease that keeps the sales sizzling in the front of the house and the back office humming with far less effort. The keys are investing the upfront time, energy, and budget into the right solutions.

Kelly Esten is the senior vice president of marketing and business development at Toast, a restaurant point-of-sale and management system that helps improve operations, increase sales, and create a better guest experience.

1 To help better understand the restaurant industry, Toast conducted a blind survey of 847 restaurant decision-makers operating less than 15 locations in the United States from May 26, 2023 to June 20, 2023. Respondents include a mix of both full-service and quick-service restaurants. Respondents were not made aware that Toast was fielding the study. Panel providers granted incentives to restaurant respondents for participation. Using a standard margin of error calculation, at a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error on average is +/- 3%.

2 Methodology: Toast analyzed the number of transactions at full-service restaurants in 17 select MSAs on the Toast platform between 4 p m. and 12 a m. local time platform to determine the busiest hours transactions occurred in Q3 2023. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Advertising Index

Ajinomoto .

ajinomotofoodservice.com

American Express

877-569-5497 | www.creditcard.americanexpress.com

Barilla

www.barillafs.com/frozen

BelGioioso Cheese

877-863-2123 | belgioioso.com

Blount Fine Foods

800-274-2526 | blountfinefoods.com

Boar’s Head

800-352-6277 | boarsheadfoodservice.com

Columbus Vegetable Oils

847-257-8920 | www.cvoils.com

Johnsonville .

800-837-5391 | JohnsonvilleFoodservice.com

Mise

miseconference.com

NorthAmerican Bancard

866-481-4604 | www.NYNAB.com

Progressive Commercial

888-806-9598 | www.ProgressiveCommercial.com

www.pryzeapp.com

800-543-2110 | fishermanspridecalamari.wpcomstaging.com

Simplot

208-780-8200 | www.simplotfoods.com

888-404-1004 | stratasfoods.com Vito Fryfilter

847-859-0398 | www.vitofryfilter.com

Advertising Inquiries

Eugene Drezner, VP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT edrezner@wtwhmedia.com | (919) 945-0705

Amber Dobsovic, NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR adobsovic@wtwhmedia.com | (757) 637-8673

Edward Richards, NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR erichards@wtwhmedia.com | (216) 956-6636

Mike Weinreich, NATIONAL SALES MANAGER mweinreich@wtwhmedia.com | (561) 398-2686

Behind the Scenes

ROLE: CEO

COMPANY: Sweet Management Group HQ: Glen Ridge, NJ

Lonny Sweet isn’t so much an operator as he is a matchmaker, bringing people, places, and food together. With more than a decade of sports marketing and event experience, Sweet launched a fullservice culinary and lifestyle marketing agency in 2008, now called Sweet Management Group, that partners with brands, chefs, and media to create programming, sponsorships, and campaigns. The group’s roster of chefs includes Nina Compton, Leah Cohen, and Jeremy Ford, among others. FSR sat down with Sweet to discover what it’s like to be a celebrity chef talent agent, how to get brand partnerships, social media influencers, and more.

BY CALLIE EVERGREEN

The Art of Brand Partnerships

What factors make a chef attractive to a largescale partnership?

The reality is when we talk to brands, the first question is, how many social followers do you have? What is your engagement and reach like? It’s an important piece to it. I always try to tell people, especially with our roster, our chefs primarily are experts with influence, not necessarily influencers. So you take Michelle Bernstein or Marc Forgione, they’re going to be able to generate press and attention and awareness a lot easier, even though they don’t have massive followings, than somebody with a couple million followers. Let’s not have a conversation about them not having a million followers, let’s have a conversation about what their expertise is and what value they bring.

Have you ever steered chefs in a different direction as far as personal branding goes?

Yeah, and listen, I’m very grateful to have clients that trust me to ask those questions and trust me for my opinion. We have conversations about that stuff all the time. And

that’s not just, “hey, should we go through with this brand deal?” That’s like, “hey, I’m thinking about this restaurant concept, or I’m thinking about [opening in this] city.” We all need people around that can challenge the way that we’re thinking, and poke holes in something and force us to really step back and think about what we’re doing.

Can you talk about your approach to partnering with social media influencers?

If we’re trying to promote something or get more [people] in seats, we are absolutely tactical about who we go out and approach, making sure the audience is aligned, making sure they are on brand, that we think the people that are following them are folks that are interested in coming to the restaurant, that we think you’re going to spend money. There’s a lot of them out there, and so you’re able to actually be picky. Then it comes down to personality. It’s not always the food content creators that we’re asking to come in. Sometimes it’s fashion people, or artists, or folks that are not necessarily doing reviews, but they’re in that cultural zeitgeist of food.

LONNY SWEET

RODNEY SCOTT

TIFFANI FAISON

RYAN DePERSIO

MICHELLE BERNSTEIN

Restaurant Equipment & Technology

Old wisdom has noted that the restaurant industry was slow to adapt to certain technologies. The digitization of, well, everything was a slow and steady process playing out during the 2000s and 2010s. New equipment, technology, and digital solutions were rolled out fast and furious, all with the aim of helping restaurants become more efficient.

The Future of Drive-Thru Signage Technology and How It Affects Revenue

How fast-casual dining is continuing to think of ways to improve efficiency

With off-premises dining driving revenue in the quickservice segment, state-of-the-art signage is emerging as a crucial solution for drive thrus and pickup areas. Poor traffic flow and inconsistent branding rank among the biggest front-of-house restaurant design challenges. Effective signage keeps traffic moving for faster service and reinforces branding through easy-to-read, well-organized, and clearly visible signs.

In 2024, more operators are investing in upgrading or adding drive thrus and walk-up windows, as well as tools to enhance offpremises dining. “The key today is seconds matter, and that is everyone’s mantra,” says Robert Creasy, vice president of business development for DSA Signage. With 70–80 percent of their business coming from drive-thru, online, and delivery orders, managing high volumes efficiently has become paramount.

Today, the focus is on balancing throughput, speed, efficiency, customer service, and communication with customers. Creasy highlights that operators are constantly planning for future needs. “Drive-thru renovations used to be every 10 years, but now these are happening every three–five years due to new technology and the desire for more lanes.”

This evolution is driving the demand for both static and digital signage, accommodating multiple lanes and separate pickup areas. Operators must also balance these spaces with parking to avoid customer confusion and safety hazards. The need for dynamic digital menuboards is increasing as menu prices fluctuate. Digital signage allows for quick and easy updates to food offerings and prices.

“The ability to quickly change menu pricing is the biggest selling point for digital signage,” Creasy notes. “This adaptability was highlighted as the price of chicken fluctuated widely over the last five years.”

While fluctuating prices influence the need for digital signage, static signage has offered a lower upfront cost.

Large, backlit static and digital menuboards also address visibility issues and function well across various lighting conditions.

“This setup allows operators to feature photos of high-margin items and encourage impulse sales,” Creasy says. “The recommended format is 80 percent pictures and 20 percent text, focusing on revenue-driving items and meal combos.” The choice between static and digital menus can be significant, given their longevity.

“There is a cost justification for digital displays versus continuously reprinting a menu board,” Creasy says. “Static signage, meanwhile, offers a more affordable option that can provide similar benefits.”

With so many changes happening to the market right now like fighting the cost of inflation prices and increasing wages of workers across the country it’s apparent that the need for more and more automation and digitalization will be developing and getting more and more impressive. Like many of the European fastfood chains have already adopted, self-service kiosks and artificial intelligent menuboards are expected to keep expanding across America to help with the flow of traffic and off-setting costs. RET

How the Biggest Fast Food Empires Handle Their Cash

The simple strategy big brands are using to save hours of payroll every week.

For fast food chains, where speed is king, cash handling can be tricky. Common issues faced by quick-service restaurants include human error, theft, robbery, high labor costs, and more. But industry giants like Taco Bell, Papa John’s, and Whataburger have a trick up their sleeves.

PRODUCTIVITY SOARS AT TACO BELL

Family Foods Inc., operating 19 Taco Bell locations, had managers spending two and a half hours daily on cash-related tasks. CFO Waylon Dallas sought out a solution, installing Loomis’ SafePoint smart safe solution in 10 locations in the beginning of the partnership—later expanding to all 19 stores.

SafePoint is a cash management solution offered by Loomis that streamlines the process for businesses. It typically involves secure smart safes, armored cash collection, and an online reporting system.

“Our on-site managers have greatly increased productivity via the elimination of their absence to make bank deposits, as well as the amount of time spent counting money,” Dallas says.

Managerial cash handling responsibilities were reduced to less than 30 minutes per day, per store.

PAPA JOHN’S CONSOLIDATES BANK ACCOUNTS

Papa John’s struggled with managing over 600 bank accounts, posing security risks and administrative challenges.

“Loomis was the name we kept hearing of,” says Amy Anne Turnage, senior director of treasury at Papa John’s.

SafePoint saved Papa John’s over three and a half hours per day by eliminating daily bank trips and bi-weekly change pickups. Cash validation and deposit prep times were also drastically reduced.

“We feel like we far and away accomplished our objective of improving employee safety,” Turnage says.

WHATABURGER SAVES ON LABOR COSTS

Whataburger, operating hundreds of locations, also struggled

with daily bank runs. Ruben Olivas, director of asset protection at Whataburger, partnered with Loomis to introduce smart safes across the burger franchise’s Texas locations. He estimated that each restaurant saved 45–50 hours per week post-implementation.

Olivas calls it the “fastest, most effective project at the organization to this day.” The franchise experienced bank-run related time savings and a decrease in robberies.

A PATTERN OF IMPACT

McKay Barnes, executive vice president of business development at Loomis, has seen the benefits of SafePoint firsthand.

“SafePoint takes the cash out of employees’ hands,” Barnes says. “It helps give visibility, and more importantly, it can get your money into the bank quicker, giving you more liquidity and the ability to do more with your cash and your funds for your operation.”

SafePoint has proven to be a game-changer for quick-service restaurants. By automating cash handling, these fast-food giants have improved efficiency, enhanced security, and provided their employees with a safer, more productive work environment. RET

CASH HANDLING HEADACHES CURING

SafePoint—The Solution to Operational Pains

Manual cash handling is not only timeconsuming but also leaves your business vulnerable to theft and human error.

SafePoint by Loomis is here to alleviate your operational pains. Our smart safes and cash recyclers offer a secure, efficient way to manage your cash, so you can focus on what matters most—growing your business. Plus, with features like provisional credit, you could have access to your funds overnight.

Save on labor and training costs.

Reduce the risk of internal theft and external threat.

Gain real-time visibility into your cash flow.

Eliminate the need for daily trips to the bank.

Partner with cash handling experts.

Why Manual Inventory Counts Are a Thing of the Past

Fast and accurate mobile AI computer vision counts improve efficiency while unlocking supply chain automation.

As a bustling quick-service restaurant hummed with activity from the dinner rush, Sarah, a dedicated worker, was summoned to the backroom for the daily inventory count. Minutes ticked by as she painstakingly tallied items equipped with only a pencil and checklist. She occasionally returned to the front to help customers. Exhausted, Sarah’s mind wandered, double counting and missing items on her list.

After making her way through the entire back-of-house and ensuring to count the make-line, she turned her attention to enter the data into the restaurant’s tracking system. Her shift was ending and counts for ordering were due in just five minutes. There wasn’t time to check for mistakes.

This event plays out across restaurants on a daily basis.

In the fast-paced world of foodservice, managing inventory is a constant challenge. Whether operators are counting inventory for department counts, order placement, make-line checks, preplist building, or confirming distributor deliveries, the traditional method of counting items is riddled with pain points and operational inefficiencies.

The most obvious is that counts are labor intensive. Often times these counts are performed by high value employees like a shift supervisor. Like Sarah, these resources should be focused on managing teams or engaging with guests. Instead, they’re in the backroom counting inventory.

Counts are also prone to inaccuracies that drive up food costs. By overordering products, operators open themselves to increasing food waste. Worse yet, not ordering enough leads to out-ofstocks and lost sales. Add to this the fact that inventory is the least-like job by employees, causing operators to reduce the frequency of counts.

Recognizing these pain points, Nomad Go, the leader in foodservice AI and computer vision, developed an innovative solution that promises to transform inventory management. Its platform, METAshelf, combines computer vision with augmented reality to automate inventory counts with a scalable hand-held solution.

Using METAshelf is like stepping into a futuristic world where inventory management is fast, accurate, and fun. Instead of manual data input, users quickly scan inventory using a device and instantly see data overlaid on top of the real world as they walk their store. This dramatically reduces the time and effort to complete an inventory job, but also delivers nearly perfect accuracy, which is then passed directly to an IMS or ordering system.

The technology is built to go anywhere. “Foodservice back-of-house environments are notoriously tight and crowded,” says Nomad Go’s CEO, David Greschler. “Whether inventory is stored on shelves in a dark corner or in temperature-controlled refrigerator or walk-in, Nomad Go’s AI can recognize, scan, and capture counts with nothing more than a commodity handheld device.”

METAshelf doesn’t stop with counts; it empowers operators with a suite of features that drive efficiency and optimize operations. With real-time data, restaurant brands gain unparalleled visibility into their supply chain. This visibility unlocks upstream value, enabling predictive forecasts, automated ordering, and just-in-time inventory. RET

Ditch the barcode scanner.

Automate your inventory counts.

Nomad Go’s METAshelf™ combines computer vision and augmented reality to automate stock counts in any foodservice environment, unlocking full supply chain automation. Power automated ordering, drive operational efficiencies and enhance the customer experience.

Computer vision enables st & accurate counts

Restaurant Tech: Why Operators Need a Full-Service Technology Partner

The right partner keeps the focus on the customer experience, not technical difficulties. / BY R.G. COLLINS

The use of technology in restaurants has evolved far beyond point-of-sale, drive-thru communications, and kitchen displays. IT professionals are now responsible for managing a variety of systems, including digital menuboards, drive-thru timers, and surveillance systems. During the pandemic, self-order tools such as kiosks and mobile order apps became essential. Looking ahead, artificial intelligence and geo-notifications for mobile orders are poised to become the next focus in the effort to increase efficiency. Managing all these systems can be overwhelming. Having the right technology partner can lead to a competitive advantage, keeping restaurants’ focus on the customer.

IT professionals are not only responsible for maintaining the hardware, but also managing software upgrades, subscription services, and compatibility. When a system fails during a busy period, operations are significantly impacted. Busy managers today do

not have the time to diagnose and troubleshoot systems. To alleviate this burden, full-service solutions providers can be a single point of contact. In addition to providing service and repairs, the right partner can offer complete restaurant systems solutions, including proper installation and staff training. Based in Buffalo Grove, Il, R.F. Technologies is such a full-service partner, allowing the staff to focus on providing quality food and operate efficiently.

Scalability and flexibility are key aspects when evaluating available solutions. R.F. Technologies’ CEO Bob Noorian explains, “Technology needs vary over time, so operators need to predict the unpredictable. This means investing in flexible solutions to expand capacity while incorporating new features and scalable systems which communicate not only with existing systems, but also the next-generation as the market evolves. A full-service partner is not only aware of available technologies, it helps shape the future like we do with our Apex drive-thru headset system.”

Commonly, restaurant operators think about solving one specific problem when upgrading or replacing a piece of restaurant technology. The better practice is to think holistically about the restaurant and how the specific piece of tech fits into the overall environment. Here, too, is where the right partner adds value. An example is data traveling between systems, from the POS and the menuboard, to video analytics of a transaction and into subsequent reporting. This interoperability is essential to a comprehensive awareness of restaurant performance. It influences the customer experience and, ultimately, profitability. If data is siloed within disparate systems the complete understanding is often unattainable. A full-service technology partner knows how systems communicate and knows how to extract maximum value from the investment.

Technology is now an integral part of quick-service restaurants, and IT professionals have an essential role in managing various systems. The right partner helps ease the burden of maintaining systems and offers comprehensive solutions to keep restaurants running smoothly. RFT President Joseph Gierut concludes, “Technology evolves rapidly so restaurants need a trusted partner vetting available tools and recommending solutions providing the greatest value to the restaurant operator while minimizing risk and expenditures.” RET

Restaurant Technologies Helps “ControlCustomers the Kitchen Chaos”

Automated kitchen solutions can help drive efficiency and cost savings.

UNLOCK HIDDEN SAVINGS AMIDST RISING LABOR COSTS

As foodservice operating expenses surge nationwide, managing business costs becomes paramount to ensure profitability. The solution lies in uncovering savings that often remain unnoticed. We’ve identified strategies to help build a successful foodservice operation by automating cooking oil processes and flue cleaning that can help reduce expenses such as labor costs and insurance premiums and increase efficiency in commercial kitchens.

SAFETY, LABOR EFFICIENCY, AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION

Managing hot cooking oil is one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the kitchen. Employees also consider the task one of the most challenging in commercial kitchens. Filtering cooking oil is tedious, and mishandling hot cooking oil can lead to burns, along with slip and fall accidents.

Automated cooking oil management eliminates one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in foodservice. This can improve morale and create a positive work environment while boosting staff retention.

“We had employees who got burned by grease and issues with grease getting all over the place. There’d be oil on the floor, and it

would take forever to clean it. But it was more than that. It was the drums of grease outside and the people who came to pick them up. It was a hassle,” says TJ Ahmed, owner of Spring Valley Jack, LLC, a multibrand franchisee company currently operating five Jack in the Box restaurants in Texas.

Restaurant Technologies’ Total Oil Management® and AutoMist® solutions have received numerous industry awards for enhancing safety and efficiency, including the Buyer’s Edge 2023 Labor Saving Solution of the Year award.

CONTROLLED CLAIMS AND INSURANCE COSTS

Automated oil management reduces the risks of costly accidents such as burns, along with slips and falls from spilled oil. An automated hood and flue system helps keep hoods clean from grease buildup and can help reduce the risk of fires. The reduction in risk through these systems can also lead to a reduction in insurance costs.

SAVINGS IN OIL USAGE AND FOOD QUALITY

Automating oil replacement ensures optimal usage as guesswork is eliminated, preventing wasteful early replacements or poor food quality due to late changes. Customers report substantial savings by maximizing oil life without compromising food quality.

“The fryer filtration monitoring system has helped us to do a better job monitoring the maintenance of our oil,” Lingel says. “Using the oil test kits that Restaurant Technologies supplies and the dashboard, we are able to extend the life of the oil and improve the quality of our fried foods, says Jeff Lingel, Apple American group area manager, the largest Applebee’s franchisee with over 300 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurants.

ENHANCED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Consistent oil quality translates to consistently delicious menu items, enticing repeat customers and offsetting increased labor expenses. Implementing Total Oil Management and AutoMist is a win-win for your business, staff, and customers. RET

Ensuring Operational Excellence

The key to minimizing downtime and maximizing profits.

In the fast-paced world of foodservice, the importance of quality and reliability in restaurant equipment cannot be overstated. From high-efficiency grills to soft serve freezers, the equipment a restaurant uses plays a pivotal role in its operational success. This is where Taylor Company shines with its comprehensive range of high-performance solutions.

DOWNTIME: THE HIDDEN COST

WHY TAYLOR?

For any restaurant, downtime is more than just an inconvenience; it’s a direct hit to the bottom line. Unplanned equipment failures can lead to lost sales, wasted ingredients, and dissatisfied customers. This is why investing in reliable, high-quality equipment is essential. Taylor Company understands this well, offering robust machines designed to minimize breakdowns and ensure smooth operations. The company’s advanced technology and automated cleaning systems reduce maintenance time and keep machines running efficiently. By preventing such scenarios, Taylor’s equipment contributes to the overall profitability of a restaurant.

THE VALUE OF QUALITY AND SERVICE

Quality equipment not only enhances efficiency but also boosts the overall customer experience. Taylor’s innovative two-sided grills and high-capacity soft serve freezers exemplify this by delivering consistent results even during peak hours. These machines are engineered to handle high volumes, ensuring that customer service remains swift and seamless. Moreover, Taylor’s commitment to service is evident in their extensive support network, which includes factory-trained technicians available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This ensures that any issues are promptly addressed, minimizing downtime and keeping operations seamless.

Taylor’s slogan, “Good Things Start Here,” perfectly encapsulates its approach to foodservice equipment. It blends modern engineering with traditional craftsmanship, creating machines that are both durable and easy to use. Taylor offers the ability to purchase service contracts that cover parts and labor, providing restaurant owners with the flexibility and peace of mind they need. These contracts are particularly beneficial in managing long-term costs and ensuring continuous operational efficiency. Additionally, Taylor’s extensive local service coverage, with thousands of certified technicians around the globe, ensures that any issues are swiftly addressed, allowing restaurant owners to focus on what they do best—serving great food. This global network underscores Taylor’s commitment to its customers, providing reliable support no matter where the restaurant is located.

PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS: GOOD THINGS START HERE

For restaurants looking to enhance their operations, choosing Taylor Company means investing in equipment that promises reliability, efficiency, and exceptional support. As the foodservice industry continues to evolve, Taylor remains a trusted partner, helping businesses thrive in a competitive market. The company’s dedication to innovation ensures that its equipment is always at the cutting edge, incorporating the latest technological advancements to meet the needs of modern foodservice environments.

Taylor’s reputation is built on decades of experience and a steadfast commitment to quality. By choosing Taylor, restaurant owners are investing in a partnership that supports their business goals. Whether it’s through its high-performance machines, comprehensive service contracts, or extensive support network, Good Things Start Here. With Taylor, restaurants can confidently navigate the challenges of the industry, knowing they have a reliable partner by their side whenever and wherever. RET

Transforming Quick-Service Restaurants with UPM Raflatac

OptiCut Linerless Labels

Unveiling OptiCut technology: performance and sustainability.

Linerless labels have enhanced the quick-service sector by eliminating the need for traditional label backing, thus reducing waste and enhancing sustainability. UPM Raflatac’s OptiCut linerless now gives operators additional benefits, including improved label performance and verified sustainability impact.

Over the last few years, suppliers have had time to innovate and address initial problems with linerfree solutions. Today, operations have options for linerless label material, and the choice is critical because it affects the clarity and readability of the printed label, impacting order accuracy and customer experience. It also ensures the label adheres to various surfaces, especially more sustainable packaging options. Finally, it impacts printer performance and the frequency of label jams encountered by your staff.

UPM Raflatac developed OptiCut linerless labels using an innovative adhesive formulation that prevents sticking to the cutting blade and leaves little to no residue in the printer. For operators, this means fewer label jams in printers, which is the last thing restaurants need during a lunch rush. As well, UPM Raflatac has worked with OEMs such as Epson to ensure OptiCut is qualified in common liner-free printers, giving restaurant leaders additional confidence that their labeling system functions seamlessly.

In addition, OptiCut gives the flexibility operators need in a restaurant environment. It allows the labels to be stuck, peeled, and re-applied on different surface types. If a restaurant is moving to more sustainable takeout containers or using a variety

of packaging in your restaurant, OptiCut technology ensures the label remains in place until the product reaches the customer. And these labels are BPA-free and Total Phenolfree, ensuring a compliant solution for food packaging.

When it comes to sustainability, UPM Raflatac OptiCut Linerless material originates from well-managed FSC™ certified forests and other controlled sources. And it uses approximately 40 percent less paper than similar lined label materials. But going liner-free with OptiCut does more than reducing material and eliminating liner waste. UPM Raflatac linerless range is certified as a CarbonNeutral® product for the entire life cycle, meaning that the printed labels can be promoted as carbon neutral. UPM Raflatac partners with Climate Impact Partners to ensure that the CarbonNeutral product offering adheres meticulously to its publicly available framework for carbon neutrality, The CarbonNeutral Protocol.

If a restaurant’s current liner-free media is creating business inefficiencies or frustrations, OptiCut may transform its experience, as well as improve its customers’ experience. With the OptiCut solution, operators can ensure their labeling system enhances operational efficiency and maintains clear, accurate labeling, while boosting sustainability.

Author: Marko Tiainen is a manager of new and emerging technologies at UPM Raflatac, a global supplier that offers high-quality self-adhesive paper and film products including label materials, graphics solutions and removable self-adhesive products. RET

BOOST SUSTAINABILITY

AND EFFICIENCY

WITH UPM RAFLATAC OPTICUT ™

LINERLESS LABELS

Benefit from Thermal Linerless Labels with superior print clarity, and reduce downtime of your linerfree printer thanks to less adhesive accumulation.

OEM Tested and Approved

The Crucial Role of Digital Reader Boards in Quick-Service Restaurants

Switching from manual reader boards to digital signage has major advantages.

For Wendy’s of Bowling Green, an established name in the restaurant industry spanning five states, the shift to digital reader boards wasn’t merely a response to changing times; it was a vital strategic move. Manual reader boards, with their timeconsuming letter arrangements; small, hardto-read text; and limited design capabilities, no longer sufficed in capturing attention amidst increased quick-service competition.

Wendy’s can tailor hiring messages for specific roles, provide application instructions via QR codes, and showcase employee benefits, all aimed at attracting top talent and fostering business expansion. These messages can even be multi-part, enabling Wendy’s to share more details, while still maintaining readability.

“The agility they offer is truly remarkable. Unlike traditional boards, Watchfire’s digital displays allow us to easily rotate messages in real-time.”

Bayne Million, marketing officer at Wendy’s of Bowling Green, emphasizes the inherent flexibility and dynamic capabilities of digital reader boards as a pivotal advantage. “The agility they offer is truly remarkable. Unlike traditional boards, which tether us to static messages for prolonged periods, Watchfire’s digital displays allow us to easily rotate messages in real-time—whether they’re national campaigns or region-specific—with attention-grabbing graphics and engaging motion.”

In addition to attracting customers, Wendy’s of Bowling Green is capitalizing on the power of Watchfire digital reader boards to offer versatility and drive impact in recruitment messaging.

With Watchfire’s Ignite OPx software, making lastminute updates and creating content is streamlined, allowing for quick adjustments and remote management from a single platform. This convenience and efficiency revolutionize operations, from dayparting content to customizing messages based on location.

Million says, “We can easily promote opening hours and breakfast items in the morning, highlight special offers like discounted kids’ meals during peak traffic times, and endorse late-night drive-thru services to support extended hours. The ability to adapt messages on-the-fly individually, by market, or as a group–is a game-changer for us.”

From a cost perspective, the advantages of digital signage are evident. When compared to traditional reader boards with their letter costs, labor-intensive changes, and static nature, digital displays offer a more economical solution over time. Digital reader boards amplify brand visibility and attract passing motorists, further enhancing their value. Million says, “Locations with the Watchfire digital reader boards are consistently top performers.”

With 135 Wendy’s of Bowling Green locations, the adoption of digital reader boards has been steady, with nearly 15 already operational and more planned for future openings. These digital reader boards not only cut through signage clutter on busy roads but also reinforce brand consistency and deliver quality messaging across markets.

The transition from manual reader boards to digital displays represents more than just a technological upgrade; it’s a strategic investment in staying ahead in today’s competitive market. For Wendy’s and other quick-service restaurants, the benefits are clear: increased visibility, enhanced messaging capabilities, and a platform for driving growth and success in the digital age. RET

DIGITAL READER BOARDS. DRIVE TRAFFIC. INCREASE SALES.

Increase your QSR’s foot traffic and boost sales by promoting new menu items, menu specials, and rewards program perks. Display eye-catching, dynamic brand-approved messages that uphold your QSR’s brand standards.

Maintain message flexibility with our Ignite OPx content management software. Ignite OPx allows users to program messages months in advance or make last-minute changes and streamline your sign messaging for one location or many.

Our reputation is built on your digital reader board looking and performing great, not just for one day but for its lifetime.

It’s in the bag! I t ’ s i n t h e b a g !

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