Features

— By Chad Connor — The importance of checking your restaurant’s fire safety.   Restaurant kitchens have many places where fires can occur. Business owners need to be aware of potential fire hazards and take preventative steps when it comes to fire safety. Following a few simple safety tips can prevent fires and keep employees and patrons safe in your establishment. Conducting Regular Inspections Regular inspections are the first step in fire safety for restaurants. Inspections of fire safety equipment must be done annually by a professional for approval by …

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57% of consumers believe restaurant employees have more control over their experience than the brand itself.   Chicago — Labor demand is continuing to outstrip labor supply by a wider margin despite record job openings. The hospitality industry is just one industry taking hard hits, with some restaurants reporting temporarily closing or cutting hours due to the labor shortage. But just as restaurants look to robotics, apps and digital tools to fill the voids in the frontline workforce, consumers are pressing pause, expressing their desire for more human experiences. Big Red …

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— By Joe Bshero — Common carpet care myths debunked.   In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s important to give retail customers a quality shopping experience. Some companies do so by focusing on easy-to-navigate store layouts, while others offer in-store dining and soothing music to create a pleasant atmosphere. Cleanliness is also key, and its role is only increasing. The novel coronavirus pandemic has placed added stress on managers by imposing demanding cleaning standards meant to protect all building occupants. As more states reopen, retailers must understand that there will be …

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— By Del Williams —   How UVC light inactivates viruses and other airborne pathogens, thus improving indoor safety.   With commercial facilities taking precautions against viruses as never before, an effective new tool in their arsenal is a new type of “germicidal” LED fixture.  This specialized, enclosed LED fixture draws in air and irradiates it with ultraviolet light (UV), significantly improving indoor safety by providing continuous disinfection of airborne viruses as well as bacteria and germs. While traditional UV fixtures have been used for many years to clean surfaces, …

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— By Patricia Olinger —   The virus doesn’t care — and we all know which virus I’m talking about. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19, does not care about politics, an individual’s socioeconomic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, or age. It has one mission: infect whomever and as many as it can. Over the past year and a half, we’ve realized just how quickly pathogens can travel from person to person. This has caused us to adjust infection prevention protocols, including increased cleaning and disinfection efforts, mask …

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— By Adam Povlitz — Best practices and applying lessons learned during COVID-19 to commercial cleaning.   For a time, the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an era of remorseless uncertainty, and every industry across the nation grappled with how to address the pandemic safely while making every effort to keep businesses afloat. This is especially true for retail and restaurants in our cities and neighborhoods. In the early days of the pandemic, closures caused widespread damage to our favorite shopping and dining spots. For retail outfits, operations shifted and relied …

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— By Marian Nolletti — The dangers of rooftop grease.   Any type of grease from animal fats or vegetable fats on a rooftop can reduce the roof system’s resistance to UV rays and heat. Plus, it can cause premature deterioration of your roof, as well as increase the risk of fires and slips and falls. If all of that isn’t bad enough, it can also void most roof warranties and violate environmental regulations. Grease will destroy any roof system if left sitting on it. Common defects from it include …

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— By Katie Lee — Farmer Boys marks its 40th anniversary with a new post-pandemic appreciation for quality and convenience.   As Farmer Boys celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, the Riverside, California-based fast-casual concept recalls a memorable, milestone 2020 in which it opened four new restaurants, entered a new state (Arizona) and saw its total systemwide sales increase by $17 million — all during a global pandemic. Also in summer 2020, Farmer Boys’ senior vice president of operations transitioned to president and chief operating officer — during perhaps the …

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— By Andrea Lisbona — Best practices for long term PPE implementation in retail design.   Prior to the pandemic, it would have been rare to consider PPE like hand sanitizer, plexiglass barriers and masks as critical elements in enhancing the customer experience in retail environments. Today, a standing hand sanitizer dispenser, for example, is the norm at a retail door; it is the first thing customers will see and use when they walk into a store, and continue to experience throughout their browsing and buying journey. It’s clear that …

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— By Inna Tuler — How to navigate the maze of retail construction in today’s post-COVID environment.   The popularity of online shopping has recently seen a marked expansion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in spite of growing e-commerce purchasing, brick-and-mortar retailers are far from obsolete. Retail sales at physical store locations in 2020 made up approximately 85% of all U.S. retail sales, but given the onslaught of online competition, brick-and-mortar retailers cannot lose sight of their physical store strategies. There are many reasons why a retailer location will …

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