Brian Hedlund has been named senior vice president of foodservice for the U.S. and Canadian markets at Vollrath Company.
Compass Group Canada will soon have three fully-robotic kitchens in a new partnership with SJW Robotics, the creator of RoWok. Compass, the largest foodservice company in Canada with more than 2,200 locations across the country, will pilot three kitchens starting this fall. The devices are essentially van-sized kitchens that offer fresh meals at all hours. That’s a key use case for Compass, according to Heather Wilkie, VP of innovation at Compass. “We’re on a mission to become the country’s most innovative foodservice provider, we’re doing this by offering some new […]
In a recent survey from Presto, drive-thru customers like the influx of automation and they want more. Presto, a digital services provider known recently for AI-voice technology, announced the findings of a biannual survey that showed a strong desire for more technology, if it made the experience better. The survey, dubbed the Presto Pulse, received responses from 243 consumers, which the company said represented a wide swath of U.S. restaurant consumers, about their recent drive-thru experiences. The majority (77 percent) said the overall quality of those experiences were the same […]
Ghost kitchen operator Kitchen United and grocery giant Kroger have opened the second Kitchen United MIX location in Texas. The MIX location represents a lot of learnings from the company distilled into a smaller-format, high-tech location compared to some of the original Kitchen United locations. CEO Michael Montagano said grocery consumers especially like having the option of ordering restaurant takeout alongside their grocery store. “Kitchen United MIX is proud to open our first state-of-the-art grocery installation in the Dallas area,” said Montagano. “We recently debuted our supermarket concept, and guests […]
Under a proposed Seattle City Council ordinance, restaurant delivery fees would be capped at 15 percent. According to a presentation from the Council, the ordinance would “require food delivery platforms to engage in agreed-upon, reasonable, and transparent business transactions when operating in Seattle to protect the interests of consumers and restaurants.” The presentation also claimed that 77 percent of local restaurants offer delivery, and food delivery platforms account for 21 to 30 percent of current restaurant sales in the city. The move would make permanent a COVID-era rule to cap […]
In a new collection of guest sentiment data from the feedback platform Tattle, the customer is not all that happy and off-premises experiences especially could have been better. Overall, sentiment since January 2021 has declined across the board. Dine-in, takeout and delivery have all dipped in Tattle’s look at nearly 200 brands and 10,000 locations in the system. The dip in dine-in satisfaction was not exceptional, but takeout and delivery both declined more, according to Tattle founder and CEO Alex Beltrani. “It’s not supernatural that food quality, speed, packaging and […]
One of the next frontiers in restaurant evolution is adopting modern payment technology to prevent customers needlessly waiting for servers or the bill, reduce staffing levels and minimize credit card fees generated by multiple transactions during a single guest visit. Mobile payment and online ordering platform CardFree is shifting its attention from pandemic-driven fires to helping restaurants adapt their business models to this new era. Aside from labor and processing fees, its middleware payment technology also helps operators capture valuable guest data, even if they’re not enrolled in a brand’s […]
C3 announced a new strategic investment that will “evolve” its global presence and solidify its offerings across the United States and United Arab Emirates.
Taiwan-based ghost kitchen operator and virtual brand creator JustKitchen will enter India under a new agreement to bring its virtual brands to the unique market. The company will partner with Kitchens Centre, a ghost kitchen operator that bills itself as a KaaS (Kitchen as a Service). It’s the largest shared kitchen space provider in India with more than 1,000 kitchens across 80 locations in 25 cities. CEO Lakshay Jain of Kitchens Centre said the company will integrate JustKitchen’s 32 brands into kitchens that already operate more than 350 brands. “We […]
Two savvy automation startups are forging ahead on the promise of fully automated pizza deliveries. Serve, the robotic delivery company that was spun off from Postmates, and robotic artisanal pizza purveyor Piestro announced a new partnership. Under the agreement, upcoming Piestro pods will alert Serve to find the nearest available robot for pickup. According to Piestro CEO Massimo Noja De Marco, it will be a significant speed boost compared to traditional delivery. “Because Piestro’s scheduling system will automatically notify Serve’s fleet for the nearest available robot in Serve-enabled areas, we […]
