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Mail-Order Mastery Tips from Partners Coffee

By Nicholas Upton | July 27, 2022

Partners Coffee just launched a new line of instant coffee for mail order and delivery, and the five-location coffee shop and roastery has some tips for doing national delivery right. Partners is a hip, Brooklyn coffee shop with five locations around the New York City area. Inside the company, however, is a sprawling ecommerce operation that plays up the hip brand, sustainable supply chain and small-batch roasting. The company has been shipping specialty coffee around the country for years and has coffee in grocery stores, as well. As more brands […]

Kitchen United CEO, CBO Detail Plans for $100M Investment

By Tom Kaiser | July 26, 2022

Kitchen United raised $100M and announced plans to grow from 15 to 500 locations, partly with Circle K, a partnership that could rival its work with Kroger.

After Layoffs, Nextbite’s New Co-President Denny Post Digs In

By Tom Kaiser | July 21, 2022

Nextbite’s new co-president, Denny Post, says her next big innovation is coming via virtual restaurants.

Reef, Hubb Kitchens Open Virtual Food Hall at RDU

By Tom Kaiser | July 21, 2022

Reef and Hubb Kitchens have opened a virtual food hall at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport with nine restaurant concepts.

Wow Bao Targets Food Deserts with Automated Vending Machines

By Tom Kaiser | July 21, 2022

Wow Bao is taking its next step toward an off-premises-biased real estate model with high-tech vending machines.

Vollrath Adds New Senior VP of Foodservice

By Tom Kaiser | July 21, 2022

Brian Hedlund has been named senior vice president of foodservice for the U.S. and Canadian markets at Vollrath Company.

Compass Group, RoWok Announce 3-Location Robotics Pilot

By Nicholas Upton | July 20, 2022

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 […]

Survey: Drive-Thru Customers Want More Automation

By Nicholas Upton | July 20, 2022

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 […]

Kroger, Kitchen United Open Dallas-Area ‘MIX’ Location

By Nicholas Upton | July 18, 2022

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 […]

Seattle City Council Proposes Permanent Cap on Delivery Fees

By Nicholas Upton | July 18, 2022

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 […]