Lending Your Expertise

— By Jon McClure —   Responsible, creative financing supporting QSRs — how to find success in a challenging economy.   How is it that with high inflation and high costs of borrowing, many QSRs owners continue to manage successful

The Big Squeeze

— By George Lessmeister — 3 areas of margin pressure on restaurants.   Operating a restaurant can feel like a roller coaster ride. Revenue and volume plummeted during the pandemic and then climbed back to pre-COVID levels in 2022. Rising

Essential Convenience

— By Bart Waldeck —   Retailers will need to embrace creative innovations in order to thrive in 2023 and beyond.   The retail landscape doesn’t look like it used to anymore — from buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS)

Threat Detection + Rapid Response

— By Dave Fraser —   Protecting facilities with AI gun detection technology.     The grim reality in today’s day and age is that active shooting incidents are on the rise. In fact, according to the FBI, active shooter

Connected & Coordinated

— By Mark Danzenbaker —   Smarter retail facilities for lower energy costs.     Decarbonization. Net zero. ESG. These terms, as part of corporate sustainability efforts, have garnered incredible momentum over the last year. With major climate policy and

On The Border Bets on Bold

— By Katie Lee —   Rethinking its operations since the pandemic, On The Border rebrands with bold changes for its food and the guest experience.     When the COVID-19 pandemic upended the world’s economy 3 years ago, many

Following OSHA’s Lead

— By Troy Tepp — What restaurants and retailers can learn from common OSHA violations to protect their employees and business.   Each October, OSHA — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — releases its annual review of the 10

Inflation Response

— By Morven Groves — The benefits of private-equity backing in 2023.   It’s no secret that the restaurant industry is facing a significant challenge in the form of inflation, which has led to increased costs on everything from labor

Designing the Details

— By Sarah Schanke —   Designer replicates Tujague’s iconic Mardi Gras flair down to the last detail.     Tujague’s, an iconic French Quarter fixture of the New Orleans cultural landscape, has been serving culinary delights to customers for

Digital Evolution

— By John Moezzi — What to expect in 2023 digital signage for retail and restaurants.   Another year has passed — since the pandemic started — and we continue to see an uptick in consumers in stores and restaurants.

Blame Game

— By Hara J. Prager and Tom Coble —   Whose leak is it anyway? HVAC provider or roofer?     Imagine — it is a beautiful spring day; the air is cool and crisp, the sun is bright, with

Unlimited Access

— By Hayden Spiess —   Wild Birds Unlimited offers backyard bird feeding retail for an increasingly diverse customer base, with a growing flock of franchised locations.     Jim Carpenter’s aspirations were not always avian in nature. The founder

From Layout to Takeout

— By Zayn King-Dollie —   Utilizing mobile ordering and building design to capitalize on takeout trends.     Last year, The National Restaurant Association estimated that 2022 would have record-breaking sales revenue of $898 billion, a 12.4% increase from

High Expectations

— By Amanda Anderson —   When is the last time you looked up?     The day starts early with management opening the doors to prepare for incoming customers, following a routine checklist to ensure a successful day. There

Cold Case

— By Kevin Piel and Joe McMenamin — Choosing the best insulated-panel system is paramount in ensuring optimal climate-controlled operation in many different applications.   The days when grocery shopping was solely an in-person, on-site event that involved the maneuvering

Bridging the Digital Divide

— By Jim Metevier —   Striking the right balance between dine-in and digital investments.   In a world where convenience is king, the quick-service restaurant industry is experiencing an unprecedented push toward digitization, and understandably so. Throughout 2020 and

Ad Art: Signature Vendor Spotlight

— Interview with Corey Perez —   R&R: Where are you based and how long has the company been in business? Corey Perez: We are headquartered in San Francisco with locations in Los Angeles; Fresno, California; Stockton, California; Las Vegas

Variety Show

— Interview with Eduardo Luz —   Panera puts on a show with several new design formats catering to the needs of an increasingly digital and off-premise guest.   If variety is the spice of life, the many evolving iterations

Retail Resilience

— By Chelsea Brady — 5 opportunities to help retailers build resilient supply chains throughout 2023.   From high inflation to rapidly changing labor needs and hiring challenges, retail manufacturers and logistics providers continue to face multiple supply chain challenges with

Waste Not

— By Tyler Simmons — Restaurants need a new menu item: food waste strategy.   Waste is a concept. We decide on a marker of when something usable becomes unusable, whether that is within a certain timeframe or due to

It’s Time

— By Patrick Lorimer — Getting the retail market EV-charging ready.   Automakers are committed to bringing more affordable electric vehicles (EV) to market. GM alone expects to have 30 EV vehicles in their product line by 2025 and coupled

Looking Back to Look Ahead

— By Michael Hess —   Learning from 2022: How to optimize your retail and restaurant waste management programs in 2023.     As 2022 comes to a close, it’s always important to look back and reflect on the year.

Protecting People — & Property

— By Casey Hoffhines — The importance and functionality of parking lot bollards to protect your stores, restaurants and customers.   Parking bollards are short, protective posts that are embedded into the ground and serve as a parking lot safety

Moorefield Construction: Signature Vendor Spotlight

— Interview with Hal Moorefield —   R&R: Where are you based, and how long has the company been in business? Hal Moorefield: Moorefield Construction Inc. headquarters are located in Santa Ana, California, with a second office in Sacramento, California.

Customer First

— By Katie Lee —   David’s Bridal exists for magical moments — and puts customers front and center its new store format.     In November 2022, David’s Bridal announced plans to debut a new store format systemwide, following

Moving Forward

— By Sean Gillespie — Why it’s important — even during challenging times — to keep multi-site painting programs consistent and on track.   There is no question the past few years have presented more challenges than solutions relative to

The Road to Energy Sustainability

— By Jason Narod —   Why it pays for your retail and restaurant facilities to be grid-interactive.     Rising costs, energy mandates, electrification trends and more prevalent power disruptions — as seen recently in California and Texas —