QSR August 2022

MULTI-UNIT OPERATIONS Let’s revisit existing ways of achieving kitchen output.

ONES TO WATCH / CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

FRANCHISE FORWARD / CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

ing station. For example, if an online order comes in, it goes directly to the cook. Once the product leaves the oven, it goes to the pizza cutter, who has his own screen. Also, delivery drivers use an app that shows cus tomer contact information, directions, how much they drove, how much they make, and the number of orders they delivered on a daily basis in real time. From inside, managers can see drivers’ locations and how close they are to arriving back at the store. To simplify flow, the computer sys tem automatically chooses delivery orders that are going in the same direction, which means fewer drivers and not as much time on the road. Suppliers, inventory manage ment information, and third-party delivery aggregators are all digitally integrated, and the brand is working on artificial intelli gence to take phone orders. Nelowet says technology especially helps for those who speak English as a second language. He remembers traveling to a res taurant in Coral Springs, Florida, where 40 percent spoke Spanish and 40 percent Ukrainian, yet the staff worked together seamlessly because of the unifying digi tal processes. “I’ve never seen anything technically set up the way that Sarpino’s is across the board. I’ve never seen such heavy use of technology,” Nelowet says. “So really, for somebody who already owns another brand of some kind, it’s going to make it really easy for them to add this to their portfolio.” Before fully taking control, they undergo “unbelievably intense” training. Sarpino’s works with franchisees for months at its home office, and then two executives work alongside operators inside restaurants for 30 days. Such training is needed to execute the brand’s elevated scratch menu, Chat kin says. The pizza dough is made daily from 100 percent whole wheat flour, yeast, water, salt, olive oil, and that’s combined with crushed tomatoes and daily shredded mozzarella. Although the menu is more involved, systemwide labor costs are kept at 27 percent. The top 50 percent averages 24 percent. Chatkin attributes this to use of technology and the fact that Sarpino’s can charge more for its premium items, build ing revenue and gross profit margin. q

Center for Global Franchise Excellence,” she adds. The idea is to select 10 MBA students from the University of Louisville and How ard University to participate in a five-month fellowship. They will receive educational experience, mentoring, and hands-on train ing, and at the end of the program, Yum! will provide two students the opportunity to become future franchise owners. “Included in the fellowship are schol arships, extensive education through the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excel lence’s franchising curriculum, one-of-a-kind mentorship from some of Yum! Brands’ top franchisees in the U.S., in-restaurant training, a sponsored trip to Yum! Brands’ Louisville Restaurant Support Center, and a number of unique curated franchising pro fessional experiences,” Williams says. Wendy’s put forward an initiative called “Own Your Opportunity,” designed to encourage a more diverse and equitable company. “We want our Wendy’s system to reflect the diversity of our customers. Our franchises want them to be engaged and growing, and through the world of fran chising, we can create pathways for others so everyone can be successful,” Pringle says. She adds the concept behind Own Your opportunity is tied in with its Good Done Right strategy—Wendy’s corporate respon sibility platform. “We wanted to create positive change in our business and through our industry, through food, people and foot print. One of our goals is wanting to increase representation of underreported groups in leadership, management as well as our fran chise system, across the board,” Pringle says. To that end, Pringle says Wendy’s took a fresh look at the financials and reduced the initial net worth requirement by 75 per cent. The company is also partnering with several financial lenders, including First Women’s Bank, which Pringle described as “… the only women-founded, led, and owned commercial bank, focused on serv ing the women’s economy.” Another element is establishing a build to-suit fund, in which Wendy’s takes care of the finding the location, constructing it, designing it, resulting in the franchisee to pay for a much smaller amount of the ini tial building process. This has already been put to the test in Canada. q Hilary Daninhirsch is a regular contributor to Food News Media and is based in Pittsburgh.

Your Experts in Time, Labor & Cost Savings. #THEsolution The widest range of Food Preparation Machines Scan Code to Request a Demo

Robot Coupe USA, Inc. 1-800-824-1646 : www.robot-coupe.com

Ben Coley is Food News Media’s content editor. He can be reached at Ben@QSRmagazine.com .

102

AUGUST 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com