Warm Welcome
— 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…
Decision To Go Digital
— 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,…
Temperature Check
— 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…
Tools of the Trade
— 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.…
Moving the Needle
— 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…
Protect People, Not Pests
— By Dr. Nancy Troyano — Storm recovery tips to keep people safe and prevent pest infestations. As a result of several consecutive storm seasons tracking above-average activity, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has redefined the qualifications for…
Reinventing Retail & Restaurants
— By James “Gino” Ginopoulos — As a result of the pandemic, retailers and restaurants are getting a new look. Even prior to the pandemic, many industries were looking for ways to adapt to changes in their markets to…
The Enemy Within
— By Alex Blahnik — What is eating at your profits? (It may be smaller than you think.) Maybe supply chain disruptions and historic labor shortages are your biggest problems as you emerge from the pandemic, or perhaps, your…
From Kitchen to Customer
— By Eric Symon — Keeping restaurants connected to enhance the customer experience. One of the biggest challenges that restaurant owners face is implementing technological advancements to stay current with customer demands. According to a recent survey conducted…
Routine Roof Maintenance
— By Michelle Grojean — Did you know the Number 1 cause of premature roof failure is lack of regular roof inspections? Let’s talk about the necessary protection of one of the largest assets of your commercial building: your…
“Tech”-tonic Shift
— By Daniel Estrada — The new frontier for restaurants in the back of the house. If it feels like the restaurant industry has been in the headlines for the last year — it’s because it has. Restaurants are…
Legal Considerations for Restaurants Following the Biden Vaccine Mandate
Like broader society, the restaurant industry must contend with the 3-way collision of economic reality, medical ethics and societal health concerns. More specifically, on September 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for federal employees. As…
Post-COVID Capital
— By Carty Davis — The evolving restaurant facility, changing priorities in CAPEX and capital through and post-COVID. As regulations and mandates end, owners and operators continue to adapt to a post-COVID society. Declining COVID cases and vaccine availability…
Extinguish the Threat
— 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…
JLL Survey: Frontline QSR Workers Favored Over Technology by Consumers
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…
Setting the Stage
— 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…
Active Airflow
— 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…
Defeating the Virus, Together
— 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…
Commercial Cleaning Post-COVID
— 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…
Slippery Slope
— 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…
Sanitize & Design
— 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…
Plan & Protect
— 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…
Counter Attack
— By Ara Aslanian — How to reopen your restaurant free of cyber concerns. Despite an apocalyptic prediction last year, only 14% of restaurants closed permanently during the pandemic. After a dark winter of to-go-only orders or limited capacity,…
What “Clean” Means
— By Chris Gurreri — How restaurants can rise to the raised expectations of what “clean” means in a post-pandemic world. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened everyone’s awareness of everyday actions, from breathing to touching doorknobs. One area…
Help Wanted
— By Megan Varano — The benefits to outsourcing your facilities maintenance program and what to look for when choosing a provider. If you’re considering outsourcing any part of your company’s facilities maintenance services, you’re not alone. There is…
New Standard of Safety
— By David Vigil — Embracing consumer demand for a new standard of safety and hygiene. Retail and restaurant leaders understand the importance of customer service, but amidst the events of the past 12 months, a greater focus has…
Free & Fair Air
— By Ramez Naguib, P.E. — Effect of air filter rating on energy consumption in restaurants during COVID-19. This we know: COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets, which are then released when someone with…