Features

Lending Your Expertise

by Katie Lee June 7, 2023

— 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 buyouts and acquisitions? One answer is creative deal structures in partnership with a responsible lender. Inflation — while beginning to ease — is still at levels not seen since the 1980s. In an effort to rein in rising prices, the Federal Reserve raised the Federal Funds rate seven times in …

June 7, 2023

Industry Voices restaurants vendors

The Big Squeeze

by Katie Lee May 31, 2023

— 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 costs, however, are now squeezing profit margins. These ups and downs can make it difficult to plan. What’s the outlook for 2023? Supply Chain Challenges While supply chain bottlenecks are easing somewhat, they are expected to continue as a problem for the restaurant industry well into 2023. Some operators are …

May 31, 2023

Industry Voices restaurants retailers software/technology

Essential Convenience

by Katie Lee May 23, 2023

— 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) and curbside delivery, to touchless shopping and scan-and-go checkouts, retail shopping trends have dramatically changed, both out of necessity due to the pandemic and evolving consumer preferences. Since COVID-19, retailers have had to shift store layouts, rethink operations and leverage new technologies to offer customers an innovative — and seamless …

May 23, 2023

Industry Voices security/loss prevention software/technology vendors

Threat Detection + Rapid Response

by Katie Lee May 18, 2023

— 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 incidents jumped more than 50% in 2021. And as we already saw with multiple mass shooting events in 2022, and 2023, the problem is not going away. This alarming trend is placing increased pressure on facilities to be ready in the event that a mass shooter walks through their doors. …

May 18, 2023

energy management green building/LEED HVAC/R Industry Voices lighting retailers vendors

Connected & Coordinated

by Katie Lee May 10, 2023

— 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 legislation, a renewed focus on the clean energy transition, growing concern for an overloaded power grid and aggressive goals to reduce environmental impact, one thing is for sure: climate impacts and sustainability are top of mind for every industry. For retail and restaurant facility owners and operators, the negative effects …

May 10, 2023

construction and design Cover Story facilities management remodels restaurants

On The Border Bets on Bold

by Katie Lee May 3, 2023

— 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 industries were forced to turn on a dime, to rethink their entire business models, to reengineer some shred of stability in the shakiest of markets. As On The Border can attest first-hand, the restaurant industry was among the trickiest terrain to navigate. But the Texas-based brand was agile enough to …

May 3, 2023

Industry Voices restaurants retailers

Following OSHA’s Lead

by Katie Lee April 26, 2023

— 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 most frequent violations of the past year. The list provides business owners and managers a reason to slow down and think about the safety of their business — even when the days get too busy. Rather than fear violations or surprise visits, business leaders should embrace the information as a …

April 26, 2023

Industry Voices restaurants

Inflation Response

by Katie Lee April 19, 2023

— 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 to food and beverages. In response, many companies have taken one, if not several, price raises over the last 18 months or so. While industry sales remained positive overall at the end of 2022, an estimated 95% of those sales went to offsetting the increased cost of labor and goods. …

April 19, 2023

construction and design Industry Voices remodels restaurants vendors

Designing the Details

by Katie Lee April 12, 2023

— 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 …

April 12, 2023

Industry Voices signage software/technology vendors

Digital Evolution

by Katie Lee April 5, 2023

— 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 …

April 5, 2023

Newer Posts

Older Posts