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2013 Forecast  Trends

Five trends for 2013: Operations forecast

2013 Forecast & Trends

Fine-tuned equipment

More manufacturers will add liquid-cooling systems around the computerized controls found in much of today’s kitchen equipment to bolster reliability in high-temperature environments, and more small pieces, such as blenders, will join larger items in their ability to import data for fine-tuning controls and export information for HACCP and other record-keeping purposes, according to facilities design consultant and Nation’s Restaurant News columnist Foster F. Frable Jr.

Frable, president of Clevenger Frable LaVallee, also noted that the use of hoodless kitchen designs will grow because of the purchase and code-compliance costs of conventional systems in some applications, and foodservice operators will turn to a new array of compactors, bailers, digesters, composting equipment and oil-handling systems as more jurisdictions mandate recycling and waste management.

Farm-to-fork taverns and gastropubs

Darren Tristano, executive vice president of research consultancy Technomic Inc., said farm-to-fork-themed “taverns” offering regional craft beers and wines, and upscale comfort foods made as much as possible from local produce, would grow in numbers. Their older, less rustic cousins, gastropubs, will do likewise, according to Randall Hiatt, president of foodservice business consultancy Fessel International Inc. He called such restaurants, “fine dining for Millennials.” Hiatt noted such eateries are more likely to be warm and familiar than stark or cutting edge.

Tablets

More operators, though primarily independents and smaller groups for now, are trying point-of-sale-system software for iPads and other touch-screen tablet computers to reduce costs and, in some cases, training, compared with long-used PC-based systems, noted Fred LeFranc, founding partner of the Results Thru Strategy consultancy. Other operators have said they are exploring tablet use for inventory control, quality-assurance duties, manager reviews and training, which LeFranc said makes sense given the value of e-learning in preparing “an emerging workforce that won’t read a manual [and] is connected to mobile devices.”

Modern experiences

Tablets will also be deployed by more restaurants for use by guests as multimedia wine lists and by employees to better manage wait lists, guest seating and reservations. Some will also be mounted or tethered on tabletops for guest self-order and pay, or entertainment and surveys.

Fessel’s Hiatt said some of those developments, as well as the availability of smartphone software — or mobile apps — for such functions as simplified online ordering, will enhance the guest experience. A recent National Restaurant Association survey found that many consumers are ready. Depending on the technology, one-quarter to more than one-half of surveyed respondents said they would use tableside electronic payment and ordering systems; mobile payment options; tablet computer menus; mobile apps for viewing menus, ordering or making reservations; and self-service ordering terminals in quick-service restaurants.

Morphing technologies

Some mobile-payment tests will merge with wait-list-management software that sends text messages to guests when their table is ready as operators try to leverage the one-to-one connections those applications require to move loyalty programs onto customer smartphones.

“When you talk about frequency and loyalty, payment is going to get involved in that,” said LeFranc. “Once I’m able to pay with my smartphone, I’m identifying myself, and the [restaurant] company has the ability to track my transactions and spend.”

Contact Alan J. Liddle at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @AJ_NRN.

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