The toilets in higher-end eateries have become seriously designed conceptual comfort stations, with restaurants attempting to outdo one another. Relieve yourself at The Federalist in the XV Beacon hotel on Beacon Hill, and you’ll find a grotto atmosphere of cobblestones, discreet stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors, and white porcelain sinks raised off the counter so no spills dampen clothing or purses. With two-ply toilet paper rolling freely and waffled-cloth hand towels amusingly stacked like mini Mayan temples, the Fed has got to be Boston’s poshest public powder room, followed by The Four Seasons, with new restaurant Sibling Rivalry in the running. [Read more…] about The throne room .. no kidding
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Milk's Makeover
https://www.qsrmagazine.com/issue/69/milk.phtml
Today milk is the second most popular beverage in America and number one in homes, according to Milk PEP. Indeed, it seems milk is everywhere, featured on television and in magazines and filling the shelves in convenience stores and supermarkets. There are even single-serve milk vending machines. But there is one place where milk remains conspicuously absent : restaurants.
Sure, there have been a few isolated incidents, but for the most part, milk’s place in foodservice has been in crates in the back of the kitchen. Kurt Graetzer, CEO of Milk PEP, says that while milk is present in 97 percent of restaurants, it only represents a 5 percent volume share of all beverage sales. But how could this be, one might ask.
Showing the Frennch how to run a cafe….
Paris exceeds Starbucks’ expectations
Starbucks brewed its first cup of coffee in Paris in January, and by month’s end will have nine stores up and running in the French capital. “We have a solid and sound basis that operates well,” says Starbucks’ general manager of the Paris operations. The coffeehouse chain has no plans to expand into other areas of France at this time.
The worlds most radical hotel
https://www.yotel.co.uk/
We have had an enormous response to Yotel over the last few months and would like to thank all those that have been in contact and are showing interest. We are working hard to bring you the first Yotel and will announce shortly where the first Yotel will open.
Rise of the Sushi King
https://www.business2.com/b2/web/articles/0,17863,749970,00.html
By taking nigiri down-market, Ryuji Ishii’s Advanced Fresh Concepts made raw fish an American fast food.
Advanced Fresh Concepts (AFC) sells more sushi than anyone else in America — nearly $250 million worth of its Southern Tsunami brand nigiri and makimono each year. That’s 300 tons of fish, 20 million sheets of seaweed, and 1.9 million pounds of rice. The Rancho Dominguez, Calif., company operates sushi stands in supermarkets from Alaska to Alabama, relying largely on franchisees. AFC’s California rolls — which account for half the company’s sales — win newspaper taste tests despite costing less than $5. “I can keep quality high because volume keeps costs down,” says founder Ryuji Ishii. Here’s how he turned raw fish into a U.S. supermarket staple.
USATODAY.com – Restaurants serve up reloadable gift cards
After watching the rest of the retail world get fat on the popularity of reloadable gift cards, the restaurant industry is jumping into the fray just in time for the holidays.
Everyone from McDonald’s to Dunkin’ Donuts to Jack in the Box has added, or soon plans to add, “stored value” cards you can reload with more bucks.
“It’s become the greens fee for being a serious player in the restaurant business,” says John Glass, analyst at CIBC World Markets. [Read more…] about USATODAY.com – Restaurants serve up reloadable gift cards
Self Service…
Quoted from Businessblog https://www.manyworlds.com/1/businessblog/2004/11/learning-for-innovation.html
Self Service – A quick poll of the audience, about 1500 people, revealed that most of us used a check-in kiosk at the airline of our choice to get to NYC. A year ago this was unthinkable. This is a great example of why the ‘self-service’ trend is so hot and will continue to be the preferred way of people to interact with systems.
At first you’d think the airline personnel who used to staff the check in desks would be highly threatened by this, but they have now realized that they are freed up to really add value to situations where people really need help, not just the transactional. And now kiosks are moving up the value chain, mooving from the transactional to the ‘revenue generating’ as they have new functions to buy drink coupons and ‘auction’ first class seats depending on demand. Imagine this kind of self-service environment in a much broader way inside organizations, its a great way to help them learn and develop, as well as freeing up ‘real’ people to focus on the most important things.
Power snacking with superfood.
Health-conscious and high-tech-loving consumers are grabbing more powerful snacks. A new “superfood” industry is merging that catcrs to customers’ desires for convenient, highly efficient foods that have the best formula of calories, caffeine, sodium, vitamins, and minerals to meet their diet and lifestyle needs.
-Futurist Update, Apr 2004