Expanding a Data Relationship and the Rise of Brinner
5 Min Read By MRM Staff
Served up on MRM’s Daily Bite is news of an expanded partnership, a “Brinner” concept and a steakhouse brand expands footprint.
Send news items to Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com.
Seven Rooms and Jumeirah Expand Partnership
SevenRooms, a reservation, seating and guest experience management platform for restaurants, nightclubs and hotels, has expanded its partnership with Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding. Starting this August, SevenRooms’ software will integrate into more than 70 restaurants, lounges and bars within the Jumeirah Group portfolio, including the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Jumeirah Creekside Hotel and Madinat Jumeirah.
SevenRooms, a technology platform used by hospitality operators in 100+ cities around the world, started working with Jumeirah Group in 2016 in a pilot program. The expansion of the technology across the remaining restaurants, lounges and bars will enable Jumeirah Group to service and understand guests at their F&B outlets on a more personalized and sophisticated level. What was once siloed guest F&B data will now be shared across properties to streamline service and improve day-to-day operations across the board, offering unified guest profiles containing detailed guest history and order data through the point of sale integration, according to SevenRooms.
Operationally, the SevenRooms platform will connect systems and teams across the organization while freeing up employees’ valuable time to focus on what matters most: the guest experience.
“Expanding our partnership with Jumeirah Group, a luxury hotel operator, is an exciting milestone for SevenRooms. Jumeirah Group’s focus on enabling a truly differentiated guest experience through technology completely aligned with our company’s ethos from day one, and we knew this would be a beneficial partnership for both our companies,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO & Co-Founder of SevenRooms .
“At Jumeirah Group, knowing our customers and providing them with memorable experiences is at the core of our business. Every decision we make supports delivering to that objective so we are thrilled to not only find a technology platform that gives us the ability to provide our customers personalized service, but to be working with a company, SevenRooms, that shares in this philosophy,” said Alejandro Helbling, VP of Group Services, Jumeirah Group .
MATLET and Bloomin’ Brands Renew
The MATLET Group, a manufacturer of consumer goods packaging, menu print solutions and fulfillment services, and its division, CFP, reached a three-year contract renewal with Bloomin’ Brands to provide state-of-the-art casual dining menu solutions.
“We are very appreciative of the continued commitment on the part of Bloomin’ Brands to Matlet/CFP’s Menu Solutions Group,” said Matlet Group CEO, Gary Stiffler. “This renewal is particularly exciting to us as it comes on the heels of our announcement of a more robust facility allowing us to provide a higher-level of customer support, expanded menu innovations and double our capacity.”
Earlier this summer, the Matlet group announced the relocation of their casual dining menu manufacturing operations to a state of the art, 300,000-square foot facility based in Pawtucket, R.I. The new facility allows Matlet/ CFP to better serve its customers in the restaurant industry and support the company’s continued growth. The manufacturing transition has occurred and the new facility is fully operational.
The Capital Grille To Open in Greater St. Louis
The Capital Grille will debut in the Greater St. Louis area on September 18.
The new restaurant will open in the Hanley Corporate Tower in the suburb of Clayton, Mo.
“Barbecue put the St. Louis food scene on the map, but the region has grown considerably as a Midwest culinary center and the entire Capital Grille team is excited to be a part of it,” said Geoffrey Dill, Managing Partner, The Capital Grille. “Our exceptional personalized service is a perfect match for the area’s vibrant business community and we look forward to welcoming our guests this September.”
The Capital Grille is best known for its steaks, which are custom-aged for 18 to 24 days in-house and hand-cut by the restaurant’s in-house butcher. A pastry chef prepares desserts each morning from scratch and mozzarella is handmade in-house every 90 minutes. There is also a wine list of more than 350 selections curated by its Advanced Sommelier,
Offering an interactive and personalized experience, The Capital Grille invites guests to enjoy an in-restaurant iPad wine list updated in real time, affording guests the opportunity for exploration while providing detailed tasting notes and suggested pairings. Further complementing the in-restaurant experience, The Capital Grille Concierge Mobile App allows guests to manage their wine locker, view the most up to date wine list, explore food and wine pairings and make a reservation with just two taps.
The Capital Grille will be located within the Hanley Corporate Tower at 101 South Hanley Road and will have a seating capacity of 251 guests among the main dining room, three private dining rooms and one semi-private dining area. Private dining will be available in The J. Buck Room (seats 16), The Lewis Room (seats 24) and The Clark Room (seats 24), with the Lewis and Clark Rooms combining to accommodate up to 48 guests and The Semi-Private Room seating up to eight guests.
LeaseQ and ARF Financial Partner
LeaseQ, an online marketplace connecting business owners, equipment sellers, and lenders formed a national partnership with ARF Financial, the only FDIC-compliant financial lender that provides short-term, unsecured business loans and lines of credit for restaurant/hospitality business owners and retailers nationwide.
“We are unique in having our own sales organization, and LeaseQ gives our loan consultants around the country a lease product with instant quotes,” ARF Financial CEO Steve Glenn said. “Now we are a one stop lender offering additional products to satisfy our customers funding needs for their businesses.”
Innovations in the equipment finance industry will continue to increase flexibility and convenience for customers, according to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2017. Automation fuels advances in instant quotes, soft credit pulls, same-day approvals, one-day funding and blockchain for secure, multi-party transactions – many of which are available today through LeaseQ and ARF Financial.
“You can finance a car in an hour, but not a walk-in freezer to start or expand a restaurant,” said Vernon Tirey, co-founder and CEO of LeaseQ. “One-day funding is a trendy thing to say in equipment financing, but when the restauranteur or hotel manager presses the button to get financing, it has to work. We’re advancing our technology and partnering with lenders like ARF Financial who understand the value of automation to make it happen.”
There are currently 150 lenders on the LeaseQ platform serving 28 vertical markets.
The Rise of Brinner
Research shows nearly one in three people enjoy eating their favorite cereal outside of breakfast. With the rising trend of extending breakfast from morning to any time of day, Kellogg’s® is bringing the ultimate brinner concept to SQIRL.
For the first time ever, SQIRL will open for dinner. What’s on the menu? America’s favorite breakfast staple – cereal, but with a unique twist.
Chef Koslow will incorporate her favorite Kellogg’s cereals into a specially-curated menu for the experience, including a cereal-fied version of her coveted Ricotta Toast finished with Rice Krispies® and topped with limited-edition cereal jams.
“I was so excited when Kellogg’s challenged me to stir up my favorite cereals into dinner recipes,” Koslow said. “Cereal is such a versatile ingredient that can work for both sweet and savory dishes. Breakfast is the best meal of the day—why not have it all the time?”
“We’re thrilled to partner with SQIRL to help everyone up their creativity by reinventing cereal for dinner,” said Aleta Chase, marketing director at Kellogg’s. “Kellogg’s is always encouraging foodies everywhere to reimagine what a bowl of cereal can be. With this partnership, cereal pushes creative limits in the bowl and beyond.”
The restaurant will be open September 21-23 at SQIRL (720 N. Virgil Ave. #4, Los Angeles) from 7-10:30 p.m.