Football’s Blitz on Online Ordering and Praising the Lard

6 Min Read By MRM Staff

Served up on MRM’s Daily Bite is news of a convention postponement, online ordering and football, new White Castle uniforms and a lard recipe competition. 

Send news items to Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com.

Florida Restaurant and Lodging Show Postponed 
The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 11 to Friday, Oct. 13 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL due to the expected impact of Hurricane Irma on the homes, businesses and families of show visitors in the state of Florida.  The trade show and conference, produced by Urban Expositions and sponsored by the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) was originally scheduled to take place September 10-12.
 
“Urban Expositions and the FRLA’s first concern is the safety of the attendees and exhibitors of our event,” said Tom Loughran, Vice President for the event. “With Hurricane Irma’s storm path within reach of the state of Florida, we want those in the restaurant and foodservice community to keep their family and business as their first priority. Our thoughts are with those that might be in harm’s way, and hope for the very best.  We look forward to bringing the industry together in four weeks to offer a terrific trade show and conference.”
 
Show visitors with confirmed registrations will receive a new confirmation email shortly with the new event dates and hours.  There are no additional steps that need to be taken.  Special events and complimentary educational sessions are not expected to have any significant changes; show organizers will contact attendees with any revised schedules. 
 
 Online Ordering Revenue Boost During Football
As the college and professional football seasons kick off, restaurants should be prepared for a boost in online ordering revenue, according to business intelligence from orderTalk, Inc., a provider of online ordering systems for restaurants.
During the 2016 college and NFL football season, orderTalk’s restaurant clients saw an average increase in revenues of nearly 10 percent when compared to the rest of the year.
 
“A restaurant ordering system, when seamless and efficient, drives sales,” said Patrick Eldon, CEO, orderTalk. “Football season is a prime time for ordering food online as more and more fans stay home to enjoy the games. The good news for restaurants is that the playing field has expanded beyond diehard fans. Today even the casual fan who is entered in a fantasy football pool at work is now paying attention to scores and stats. A larger fan base potentially leads to more orders and that’s always good for business.”
 
NCR and PFG Enter Strategic Partnership

NCR Corporation and Performance Food Group Company (PFG) entered into a strategic referral relationship to bring NCR SilverTM, the cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) solution, to more restaurants throughout the United States.

PFG will introduce NCR Silver to its 36 Performance Foodservice distribution centers nationwide, which deliver food and food-related products to regional and national restaurant operators. Restaurateurs will be able to purchase NCR Silver software and hardware under a subscription service model.

With NCR Silver, Performance Foodservice customers will be able to check out customers quickly and gain access to sales, inventory and employee scheduling reports. They will also be able to offer customers targeted loyalty discounts and promotions. Utilizing cloud and tablet technology, NCR Silver was designed to give restaurateurs the freedom to take mobile payments in their restaurant and be able to easily sell their products on the go.

“NCR’s deep-seated history in the restaurant space and the solution’s ability to drive efficiency makes this an ideal partnership for us,” said Fred Sanelli, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales Development at Performance Foodservice. “With NCR Silver, our customers will be better equipped to grow their businesses and maintain profitability.”

Solutions available through the relationship include NCR Silver core and NCR Silver Pro Restaurant Edition that are enabled on iOS and Android platforms.

PFG will soon expand its relationship with NCR by integrating its order management system with NCR Silver to further streamline restaurant operations. The planned integration will enable restaurant operators to not only ring up orders, manage inventory and employee schedules, but also order from PFG’s vast inventory of food and food-related products – all from one platform.

“The PFG team provides restaurant operators with dedicated service and high-quality products, and we’re confident NCR Silver will complement these efforts,” said Colin Armbruster, Director of Global Channel, NCR Silver. “Working with PFG supports our strategy to put intuitive and comprehensive technology in the hands of independent restaurateurs who need all-in-one technology solutions so they can focus on their customers.”

For Love of Lard

Coast Packing Company, a West Coast supplier of healthy animal fat shortenings, is holding the first-ever #LardLovers Recipe Contest. For more information, click here.

Have a favorite recipe that uses lard? Perhaps for a pie crust that people can’t stop raving about? Or a special bread or cookie recipe that friends and relatives swear by, thanks to the lard they may or may not know is in there? Maybe you’re the keeper of a family secret for a memorable fried chicken concoction or for mind-blowing tamales that never fail to wins hearts, minds and palates. Any unpublished lard-laden recipe – sweet and/or savory – is fair game.

Contest entries will be accepted online by midnight Friday, Nov. 3. To enter, contestants can use the online form posted at http://www.coastpacking.com/lardlovers/. Alternatively, entries can be submitted via Facebook: https://goo.gl/qCigJg.

The panel of judges for the contest includes Evan Kleiman, host of KCRW’s popular “Good Food” radio feature and longtime Los Angeles restaurateur; OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America; and LA Weekly food editor Katherine Spiers, host of the podcast “Smart Mouth.” The lineup of prizes, with identical awards in both the sweet and savory categories, includes the following: 

  • First place: KitchenAid® Professional 600™ Series 6 Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer (estimated $600 retail value)
  • Second place: Le Creuset Stoneware 6-piece Heritage Bakeware Set (estimated $250 retail value)
  • Third prize: Gotham Steel Titanium Ceramic 9.5” Non-Stick Copper Deep Square Frying Pan (estimated $50 retail value)

Winners will be announced on December 8, the first (unofficial) National Lard Day. The first official observance is set for December 8, 2018, according to Chase’s Calendar of Events. The contest is open to those 21 and over and no purchase is necessary to enter.

Members of the Coast Packing Co. staff will determine the finalists in each category. Recipe finalists will be determined based creativity, visual appeal and ease of execution (how easy is this recipe to make by the average home cook). Recipes determined to be finalists will be prepared (cooked) by Coast Packing Co. staff. The top three winning recipes in each category will then be determined by the panel of food journalists based on creativity, visual appeal and flavor.

“Lard is the once and future king of the kitchen, the one ingredient that never fails to speak ‘flavor,’ even as it brings out the best in everything it touches,” said Ernest Miller, Coast’s Corporate Chef. “There’s a reason certain ingredients are traditional — they provide better taste and quality than the non-traditional alternatives. We at Coast relish the opportunity to sponsor this first-ever #LardLovers Contest, and we want to thank our judges and contestants in advance for joining us in praising the lard.”

White Castle Uniform Makeover

White Castle entered a wide-ranging partnership with  fashion house TELFAR to reimagine and design original uniforms for White Castle’s nearly 400 restaurants and 10,000 team members, nationwide. Various extensions of the partnership are underway including events, consumer merchandise and more.

“Our partnership with Telfar Clemens and his creative partner, Babak Radboy, is an incredibly special one for all of us at White Castle,” said Jamie Richardson, Vice President at White Castle. “Our two brands may have started 84 years apart but they share a passion for originality and timelessness that we believe is unrivaled.”

White Castle’s new uniform, the first component of the partnership, was recently unveiled to all White Castle team members. The new uniform is inspired by the brands’ shared influence on Americana and their status as “Originals” in their industries. The design combines the appearance of a collared shirt with the unparalleled comfort of a t-shirt. The design is bold yet classic and features White Castle’s royal blue hue with yellow contrast stitching and is emblazoned with the brand’s  logo and typography based on styles of the early 1900’s.
 
“In our minds there is no more authentic American restaurant than White Castle and we have truly been touched by the working process, trust and support,” said Telfar Clemens. “There’s a White Castle right by my apartment and I’ve been going there my whole life — seeing the uniform is just amazing! At first glance the partnership seems surreal, but beneath the surface what we have in common is originality and integrity. Being original means taking risks and doing what you believe in, and that’s what our relationship is all about. The uniforms were not about reinventing White Castle, just reflecting that core authenticity that people crave.”

White Castle and TELFAR plan to continue the partnership beyond team member uniforms with a capsule streetwear collection and launch event this October.