Industry Voices

— 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 more than 160 years. To stay viable, the owners of the beloved establishment made the difficult decision to relocate the restaurant four blocks upriver. The nation’s third-oldest restaurant now occupies three floors with balconies overlooking the Big Easy steamboats cruising the city’s Mississippi River harbor each day. “A favorite of …

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— 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. However, even for decades before the pandemic, there were debates between online and brick-and-mortar, where some think one abolishes the other, while others think they play well together. Perhaps, it’s important to know what they can do for each other. Let’s explore the trends for 2023 and how online and …

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— 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 the promise of summer days near. You’re enjoying your first day off after the holiday rush. At least now, with the ice of winter behind you, you won’t be facing water leaks…right? Think again! On this beautiful 50-degree morning, as you’re enjoying a stroll, you get a panicked call from …

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— 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 2021 and 3.9% above pre-pandemic sales. The predictions signaled an optimistic future, but instead, many businesses now are facing additional hardships brought on by inflation. Even with higher sales, the industry profit margins are 11.5% lower than in 2019. A third of all restaurant operators expect sales revenue outcomes to …

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— 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 are drawers to fill, schedules to make, questions to be answered by associates and patrons. But when is the last time you looked up? Or down for that matter? In the blur of day-to-day operations, little details that can have a huge impact are often overlooked when it comes to …

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— 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 of a shopping cart (wobbly wheel optional) through a maze of aisles featuring shelves stocked with a wide array of goods have come to an end. Technological advances had already begun to make grocery shopping from home much more accessible and appealing in recent years. Then came March 2020. The …

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— 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 2021, while in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, brands needed to pivot to survive. Traditional guest-facing techniques fell to the wayside, as consumers called for contactless pickup and delivery — relying mostly on apps and websites to place orders, and demanding as little person-to-person contact as possible. Amazingly, for …

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— 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 their organizations and there’s no determination of when these challenges will subside. However, there are certain opportunities retail manufacturers and logistics providers can take advantage of now to start to overcome these challenges and rebuild their resilient supply chains throughout 2023 and beyond: Opportunity 1: So Long, Standardization Let’s face …

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— 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 a certain visual indicator — like a bruise on an apple or a snack past its ‘best before’ label. One minute food is edible, delicious, desirable — the next it’s unsellable, tainted, trash. Waste is an unfortunate output of system inefficiency, and the economical and environmental impact of when the …

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— 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 with record high gas prices, EV sales are soaring. The federal government is helping states build out a national EV charging network with a goal of 500,000 chargers by 2030. Even the exponential numbers of EV charging stations won’t be nearly enough to meet market demand. Retailers have a unique …

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