— Interview with Tim Eippert — R&R: Where are you based and how long has the company been in business? Tim Eippert: MC Group was founded in Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1953 as MC Sign Company, serving Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania in sign sales, manufacturing, service and installation. At the time, it was a small business operated out of a local garage. R&R: What is your title and how long have you been with the company? Eippert: In 1994 at the age of 24, I purchased MC Sign Company …
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— Interview with Bennett Van Wert — R&R: Where are you based and how long has the company been in business? Bennett Van Wert: DWM Comprehensive Facility Solutions is a 22-year-old company with offices in Latham, New York, and Orlando, Florida. R&R: What trades/services do you offer retailers and restaurants? Van Wert: DWM is a full-service facility solutions company that specializes inside the box. Under our three divisions (Facilities Maintenance, Construction & Renovation, and Water Filtration), we handle anything from day-to-day break-fix items, preventive maintenance programs and water filtration …
— Interview with Keith Turner — R&R: Where are you based and how long has the company been in business? Keith Turner: HOODZ was started in 2009 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. R&R: What is your title and how long have you been with the company? Turner: I am the president of HOODZ and have been with the company for almost 5 years. R&R: What trades/services do you offer restaurants? Turner: HOODZ provides a variety of mission-critical commercial facility services. Services include cleaning, compliance and preventive …
— By Dr. Nancy Troyano — The most common pest issues in restaurants by month — and what you need to know to defeat them. With plenty of food, sugar-rich beverages, moisture and heat, restaurants are essentially the perfect environment for pests. Battling pests is a daily, year-round war, but it can be hard to prepare if you don’t know what the enemy looks like or from what direction it is coming. Based on an analysis of 2 years’ worth of data from restaurants, we were able to determine …
— By Jay Hart — How businesses can plan for the growing concern of active shooters and workplace violence. Active shooter incidents used to be rare. But now, people realize they are more likely to be involved in an active shooter incident as the frequency of such events increases. According to a 2018 FBI report, 21 states around the country, from California to Maryland, saw active shooter incidents in the 2-year period from 2016 to 2017 — 10 more than in the previous 2-year period. The report found most …
— By Gene Belli — What retail and restaurant facility owners need to know about environmental and condition assessments. At some point or points during the life of a thriving retail or restaurant property, it will inevitably require an assessment of sorts in the form of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), a Property Condition Assessment (PCA), a Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) or a Compliance Audit/Safety Assessment. The importance of these evaluations can often be underestimated due to their relative infrequency. That said, owners and managers of these facilities …
— By Carol L. Carey — How to control social media and news coverage of your establishment through effective, preventative pest control. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, local news outlets and even national television cover everything: the good, the bad and the ugly — and not all publicity is good publicity. Contrary to the types of stories you want printed about your establishment, negative stories can “go viral” quicker than positive ones. If someone finds a rat in the produce section at a local grocery store, or food poisoning at …
— By Dan Brickner — Now trending: right-sizing and reducing the store footprint with smaller-format stores. Retailers have discovered there is no longer a “one-size-fits-all” approach to market expansion. As a result, astute retailers are “right-sizing” their retail footprints and introducing small-store formats that are tailored to specific demographics in both urban and suburban areas. Through available data, retailers have the ability to tailor smaller store formats and curate their merchandising to better serve the needs of their customers. Take a look at how small-format stores are redefining retail real …
— Interview by Katie Lee — How The Container Store’s new prototype design enhances the customer experience. When The Container Store unveils a new store prototype, you can bet it is innovative, organized, high-tech, and a completely refreshing customer experience. On those points, the Dallas-based home organization retailer does not disappoint. Two years in the making and created by FRCH NELSON in partnership with digital agency MJD Interactive, The Container Store’s next generation store mirrors individual rooms in a home, allowing customers to visualize how each room in their home, …
— By Mike Rosen — How your parking lot can drive down operating costs. Of all the areas you’re responsible to maintain, the parking lot is one of the largest. And, in the fast-paced retail and restaurant industry, it isn’t always convenient to make repairs to it. This is a significant challenge for c-stores in particular where downtime is especially costly. How do I know? Recently, I had the privilege of attending the National Leadership Conference for a leading retailer of gasoline and convenience merchandise. My participation gave me …