IHOP Delivery and Vegan Diner Favorites at Mythology Diner

On today’s MRM’s Daily Bite, we have news from IHG, Grubhub and OpenTable, IHOP, ezCater, The 5700 Inc. and ParTech. 

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

IHG Teams with Grubhub and OpenTable

IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) is working with Grubhub®, and OpenTable® to offer members a unique takeout and dining out point earning benefit for using either service via IHG channels. These collaborations make IHG® Rewards Club, the loyalty program for IHG, the first hotel loyalty program to offer members consistent point earning benefits for ordering delivery to the hotel or dining on or off property.

The Grubhub integration will be offered across markets where Grubhub is available in more than 1,000 hotels in the U.S. for guests staying at the Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites® brands. The OpenTable integration is global; starting now IHG® Rewards Club members can access OpenTable via IHG channels and book reservations at any OpenTable restaurant in the U.S., including those at select IHG hotels, with the restaurant options expanding to the U.K. and Australia by the end of the 2017. 

Liz Crisafi, Head of Loyalty, Partnerships and Portfolio Marketing, The Americas, IHG, said: “Our members have told us that they want more ways to earn while dining with us, and now these innovative programs with OpenTable® and Grubhub® are an easy way to get rewarded, whether ordering delivery to their hotel room, dining at the in-hotel restaurant or grabbing a bite on the road. These new benefits now give our members the ability to create an even better food and beverage experience and represent another great way we are evolving our program to meet their needs throughout the entire travel process.”

Stan Chia, Chief Operating Officer, Grubhub said: “We’re always looking for new ways to make it easier for our diners to find the food they want from the broadest, best set of local restaurants,” said Stan Chia, Chief Operating Officer, Grubhub. Through our collaboration with IHG, we’re excited to allow hotel guests to discover food from the best local restaurants and have it delivered directly to their hotel room.”

Scott Jampol, OpenTable Senior Vice President of Marketing, added: “We’re excited to help IHG guests reserve the perfect table at must visit destination restaurants as well as help them discover hidden gems that offer authentic, local experiences. Whether IHG guests are traveling somewhere new or dining at their favorite neighborhood restaurant, we’re looking forward to serving as their dining passport and connecting them with tens of thousands of our restaurant partners.”   

IHOP To Test Delivery

IHOP® Restaurants expanded its IHOP ‘N GO® (to-go) platform, which includes a fully-integrated, online ordering system through IHOP.com; delivery test launches with leading providers like Amazon and DoorDash; and the introduction of a mobile app by end of year. The national rollout of the online ordering system builds on a limited test conducted earlier this year when the brand unveiled proprietary packaging specifically designed to protect the integrity of its signature Buttermilk pancakes and other popular all-day breakfast foods during carryout.

“More and more guests are telling us they want to enjoy the distinctive, freshly-prepared menu items they love at IHOP, but outside of our restaurants and without having to give up the quality they expect from us,” said Darren Rebelez, President at IHOP. “So, we looked at every aspect of our IHOP ‘N GO® business and focused on creating an exceptional guest experience from start to finish. We developed state-of-the-art packaging that keeps our signature foods – like fluffy Buttermilk pancakes – warmer longer; an online ordering system that lets guests customize their meal, just like in an IHOP restaurant; test partnerships with leading delivery companies that we know our guests are using today; and ongoing technology enhancements, like mobile capabilities, to make it effortless to find and order food quickly. As we get ready to celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2018, our expanded and enhanced to-go offering is just one of the many ways we’re looking to best meet the ever-changing needs of our guests.”

Earlier this year, IHOP introduced  patented packaging at select locations; designed to maintain superior food taste and quality, the new packaging is now available nationwide for all IHOP ‘N GO® orders. From fluffy pancakes to crispy hash browns and French fries to freshly scrambled eggs and juicy burgers, the containers keep cooked-to-order meals hot, fresh and intact until eaten. Stand-out features of the IHOP ‘N GO® packaging include:

Food-Centric Containers: Modular design for maximum food plating, including an interlocking component designed around the brand’s world-famous buttermilk pancakes.

Quality Pancakes On the Go: Side ventilation traps in heat, but not moisture, allowing pancakes to maintain their fluffy texture.

Breakfast Staples Kept Warmer, Longer: Patent-pending, nested packaging compartments to ensure food stays warmer for a longer period of time.

Easy Transport: A box shape and lid design that fits perfectly into an IHOP to-go bag to minimize sliding while food is in transit.

Combo Meals Made Easy: Sections snap together to hold different items in combo meals securely.

Online ordering is now available through most IHOP restaurants across the U.S. with additional locations being added. Delivery testing with Amazon and DoorDash is scheduled to start at the end of November in select cities in California, Texas, Oklahoma, Washington, and Utah while the mobile app is expected to be available by the end of 2017.

To ensure an exceptional carryout experience, the brand also created a Meals to Go Specialist Certification program, which trains and certifies restaurant staff members to be experts on every touchpoint of IHOP ‘N GO®, from plating to packaging to guest service. Each IHOP restaurant will have at least one team member certified in the program and ready to ensure that every IHOP ‘N GO® order meets the same high-quality standard that guests have come to expect from eating at IHOP.

IHOP ‘N GO®, including the new packaging, is now available at close to 1,700+ U.S. based IHOP restaurants and online ordering for participating restaurants can be accessed via IHOP.com.

ezCater Expands White Glove Service

ezCater now has more than 60,000 restaurants and caterers available on its platform and that all 60,000 are available through ezCater White Glove, a newly expanded service for managed, recurring office meals. ezCater White Glove has been a long-standing but limited ezCater offering and is now available for any location in all 50 states. To date, ezCater has served just under 30 million people nationwide.

The 60,000 restaurants and caterers on the ezCater network range from independent restaurants to regional chains and large national brands like California Pizza Kitchen, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, and Rubio’s. The network provides reliable office food delivery to more than 22,000 cities and towns in the U.S. Customers can choose from a wide variety of food types and know that all caterers on the ezCater network have been curated for reliability and quality.

The ezCater White Glove service for managed office meals includes a dedicated account manager who works with each client to manage budget, dietary restrictions, food preferences, and schedule, and dips into ezCater’s network of 60,000 caterers to provide each client with unmatched selection and flawless execution. Like all of ezCater’s other award-winning services, ezCater White Glove is free to use; ezCater clients never pay upcharges on any food or delivery service. Unlike other recurring meal providers, such as ZeroCater or Cater2Me, that serve only a handful of U.S. cities, ezCater White Glove satisfies offices and meetings everywhere in the U.S.

“ezCater White Glove has saved me so much time and enables me to wow our employees with new food experiences,” said KahReem Copeland, Customer Delight Associate Manager at WePay, an online payment service provider recently acquired by JPMorgan Chase. “My ezCater account manager quickly learned the types of food our employees love, enabling me to spend less time planning meals and more time focused on our business. ezCater White Glove has been a game-changer.”

“We’re very happy to expand ezCater White Glove nationwide,” said Stefania Mallett, Co-Founder and CEO at ezCater. “It’s one more way to use our expertise and our reach to help our customers. Now, as our network crosses the 60,000 caterer mark, whether you want self-service online ordering, occasional assistance from the best customer service team on the planet, or a fully managed service, ezCater has you covered, everywhere in the U.S.”

Vegan Diner Food in Toronto

The 5700 Inc. is taking over Parkdale with the opening of their third vegan storefront – Mythology Diner. The team is already known for the international Vegan Food & Drink Festival, The Imperative vegan retail concept store, and Doomie’s unmistakable vegan comfort food. Now, The 5700 Inc. is partnering with award-winning chef Doug McNish to bring the city a premium vegan diner.

Recently honored as the city’s Best Chef in the NOW Toronto Reader’s Choice Awards, Doug McNish is Mythology’s co-owner and executive chef. 

Smashing the expectations of your typical greasy spoon, Mythology will redefine the traditional diner experience by veganizing menu classics like Reuben sandwiches, Salisbury Steak, Fish & Chips, Cobb Salad, Cinnamon Bun Pancakes, Fettuccine Alfredo, Root Beer Floats, and more! The location will also feature local craft brews, wine and specialty handcrafted cocktails, developed by their in-house mixologist.

The lively and intimate 36-seat space boasts an elevated dining experience and showcases iconic art like Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’ veganized and a wall-to-ceiling Andy Warhol inspired vegan selfie room.

Located at 1265 Queen Street West, Mythology Diner will be open to the public for dinner service as of Friday, Dec. 1.  Lunch service will begin on Monday, Dec. 18 and  brunch service will begin on New Year’s Day.

ParTech SureCheck at Turning Stone

Oneida Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino deployed PAR’s SureCheck® Food Safety and Task Management System to properly monitor the resort’s food operations.  SureCheck is a global food safety and workforce efficiency solution assisting some of the world’s largest companies to improve operations, compliance, and food safety processes in thousands of stores. 

Turning Stone Resort Casino sought to automate its Food Safety Checklist and Refrigerator & Cooler Monitoring. Prior to deploying SureCheck, Turning Stone used a manual, time consuming, paper and pencil recording method, making it difficult to have complete enterprise level visibility of its Food Safety Checklist and Appliance performance.   With PAR’s cloud-based SureCheck solution, Turning Stone now has complete 24×7 visibility of its operations.

The SureCheck Food Safety and Task Management System is currently being installed in all on-site restaurants and catering kitchens, with plans to expand into other commercial properties owned by the Oneida Nation, including its new brand of convenience stores, Maple Leaf Market, and its second gaming facility Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango, NY.  With the SureCheck solution in place, and its cloud-based reporting, Turning Stone employees are now able to work more efficiently and the team is able to repurpose the space currently being used to store paper records. 

“SureCheck is a valuable addition to our culinary toolkit for ensuring food safety here at Turning Stone,” said Scott MacMaster, Executive Sous Chef, Turning Stone Resort Casino. “The system allows us to continue exceeding our high standards for guests, as well as enabling our Team Members to work more efficiently.” 

“We are very pleased to provide SureCheck to the Turning Stone Resort Casino.  Its dynamic environment requires the solution to be available 24 hours a day as the food service requirements continually change per guest’s demands.” stated John W. Sammon III, SVP & GM, at ParTech. “This deployment was successful through the excellent collaboration with Turning Stone and we look forward to expanding the use case of the product to other Oneida Nation owned businesses in the near future.”