Industry Voices

— By Chris Marasco — Improving IAQ to better protect your customers.   The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst of disruption for more than a year. In 2020, the virus quickly shut down many restaurant locations while forcing retail businesses to enforce strict guidelines that instructed customers to wear masks and stand 6 feet apart. In many situations, consumers shifted toward online stores to make their purchases as opposed to gathering in person at a brick-and-mortar location. While the pandemic turned many lives upside down, one positive outcome was …

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  The Dec. 1 “Smarter Cleaning for Retail, Grocery & Restaurant Facilities” demonstration, hosted by Retail & Restaurant Facility Business, focused on important topics for any facility interested in cleanliness. Kaivac’s vice president of business development, Mike Perazzo, also makes note of easy ways to promote employee satisfaction (in a time when there is a shortage of labor) and making cleaning easier (in a time when hygiene has never been more important). Check out some of the important topics and their video timestamps below, or click to hear Perazzo talk …

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— By Steven Duffy — Retail formats — grocery formats especially — must adapt quickly.   The future of retail changed forever as the pandemic exposed the inadequacies of e-grocery. Consumers seek convenience at a fair price, and they want a frictionless experience. Grocers and retailers must adapt, and quickly. Retail and grocery formats and their supporting technologies have remained static for decades, unable to respond to shoppers’ demands, new technologies and have failed to meet today’s consumer’s shifting paradigm. Retail of the Future is at an Inflection Point Today …

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— By Tom Dawson — How to prep your roof for winter.   Winter and colder weather are coming — which means snowfall and ice dams and, if you do not prepare correctly, roof leaks. Did you know that it costs businesses roughly five times more to repair a roof in the winter when snow and ice are present because of the increased labor needed to complete the job? Here are some simple tips and preparation steps to help you avoid expensive wintertime roof leaks. Schedule An Inspection Before The …

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— By Todd S. Kentzel, R.A. — New speakeasy beats pandemic-era odds to become a summer of ‘21 restaurant success story.   Architetra p.c. , an architectural firm based in Paoli, Pennsylvania, has announced  a collaboration, more than 2 years in the making has come to fruition with the grand opening of Nucky’s Kitchen & Speakeasy in Ventnor, New Jersey, on May 25, 2021. Amidst the backdrop of a global pandemic, a proven team of collaborators led by Joseph Lombardi, co-owner of Architetra, forged forward to create a unique dining …

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— By Jeff Hungarter — Videri Chocolate Factory: an LED lighting solution showcases a sweet spot.   When Roxanne Lundy began working at Videri Chocolate Factory in Raleigh, North Carolina, she was fresh out of college and the company was but 1 month old. Lundy has been a catalyst behind Videri’s growth from a small, 2-day-a-week operation into a handcrafted bean-to-bar emporium par excellence — far beyond her imagination. Lundy has advanced from chocolate wrapper to retail manager to, today, general manager. She’s a designer by inclination and training, and …

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— By Dan Hyman — Davanni’s Pizza & Hot Hoagies invests in staff with bold new software.   For more than four decades, Davanni’s Pizza & Hot Hoagies has been a fixture in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. And now, with 20 locations, it has firmly cemented its role as not only a local mainstay but also a direct competitor to many of the national chains in its market. It’s why when tasked with the challenge of how to better train its employees and, more importantly, retain such employees and …

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— By Manik Suri — Food waste is a major issue. Here’s what you can do about it.   What do Dutch Bro’s, Eggs Up Grill, and Domino’s have in common? They are creating more sustainable businesses by replacing manual temperature checks with automated systems. Project Drawdown found that about a third of food produced is never eaten, which means that the resources used to grow that food is wasted. This waste of resources is ultimately accountable for 8% of global carbon emissions. But food waste isn’t just a climate …

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— By Colin Trethewey — Local Pizza Co. depends on technology to maintain profitability through challenging times.   The Local Pizza Co. story began in early 2019 when owner Milen Kolev decided to bring a novel pizza concept to St. Petersburg. Drawing on his Mediterranean roots, Kolev envisioned a pizza restaurant and Mediterranean market serving healthy food made with fresh ingredients sourced from local vendors. The store, located at 1846 62nd Ave. N, opened to less than auspicious circumstances in February 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic was taking hold. …

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— By Cedar Blazek — Two major businesses effectively meet and exceed energy-efficiency goals despite COVID-19 challenges.   It’s no secret that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020 brought everything to a screeching halt. Nearly overnight the world was in lockdown, businesses shuttering — some temporarily, some for good — as the overarching “What do we do now?” question blanketed the economic landscape. The pandemic forced widespread shutdowns across sectors and challenged essential businesses to adapt quickly as consumer traffic changed and public health protocols tightened. …

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