QSR February 2023

EVOLUT ION

out, and catering make up about 20 percent. Drive-thru busi ness is 50 percent, and the other 20 percent is dine-in—whereas pre-pandemic, dine-in accounted for about 35 percent of sales. “We had to come up with new standard operating proce dures, because you grew entirely overnight a whole new daypart or segment of your business that really wasn’t there before, because delivery in our segment was very small, and takeout was OK,” Rothschild says. That meant reevaluating packaging, staffing, design layouts, and more. If “pivot,” “unprecedented,” and “new normal” were the buzzwords of 2021, “optimization,” “efficiency,” and “new prototype” are gaining cause to be called the popular clichés of 2022—for good reason. Now that dining rooms are filling up again, yet off-premises channels remain far elevated to prior levels, restaurateurs are grappling with how to balance their various business formats in a way that satisfies consumers and their labor force—groups with higher expectations and standards than ever, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Pandemic-related pressures continue to force the restaurant industry to make progress with new,

already have, looking at new equipment and new processes,” Rothschild says, which also included reengineering cook lines, and moving around existing equipment to increase food quality, accuracy, and speed. “We’re just trying to get more efficient and keep costs under control with lots of out of the box thinking.” Rothschild isn’t alone in thinking beyond conventions. Kevin King, president of Donatos Pizza, says automation will be critically important for the restaurant sector as the labor market remains tight post-pandemic. With digital orders now accounting for about 60 percent of Donatos’ business versus 40 percent before COVID, anything the company can do to make restaurant employees’ jobs easier is welcomed. As such, Dona tos’ latest investment was implementing a piece of equipment in restaurants that applies sauce to pizzas—apparently one of the hardest skills to teach. “It sauces pizza as fast as a human could do it, does it way more consistently, and the portion control is spot on; there are no peaks and valleys in the sauce,” King says. The Smart Sau cer, made by Agápe Automation, rolled out to more than 15 stores as of press time, and was on track to be in about 100 more

creative solutions to improve customer and employee experiences, which in turn make for better systems overall. Slim Chickens, for example, reconf igured its restaurants’ kitchens and designated parking spaces for delivery drivers to help optimize the f low for employees and guests. After recently bringing on a new vice president of technol ogy, the brand is also looking at implementing new technologies in the drive-thru and adding staff members armed with order entry pads in parking lots to increase throughput. “We spent a lot of time over the last year retooling our prototype, then going back and starting to do some work in the kitchens we

Donatos and Red Robin restaurants by early 2023 and eventually throughout the entire sys tem, he says. Columbus, Ohio-based Donatos partnered with Red Robin in 2020 to bring its pizzas to new markets. With 172 traditional stores and 250 Red Robin “nests,” Donatos’ footprint has now exceeded the 400-store range in about 27 states. “I think it’s a fabulous partnership for both, and it’s clearly been incremental in sales for them which is great,” King notes. “Dona tos has an operating system that’s easy for [Red Robin] to execute at an extremely high level in their stores.” Minneapolis-based Caribou Cof fee also found a way to improve on its operating sys tem and drive-thru experience. By introducing a “Cabin” prototype with drive-thru lanes and walk-up windows at a smaller footprint and lower investment, the 460-unit cof feehouse brand was able to “offer speed and convenience without sacrificing quality or service,” says John Butcher, Caribou’s president and CEO. Caribou also completely refreshed its Perks loyalty program while simultaneously launch ing a new app, which allowed customers to save customizable beverages and frequently vis ited stores, as well as a revitalized points and rewards system. “To remain relevant in today’s climate, a brand must be able to adapt to consumer pref erences and continue to improve its business model,” Butcher adds. At Modern Restaurant Concepts, which owns 28-unit Modern Market Eatery and 20-unit Lemonade, the leadership team decided to lessen

SAM ROTHSCHILD COO/SLIM CHICKENS

SLIM CHICKENS IS WORKING TO OPTIMIZE RESTAURANTS TO BETTER BALANCE NEW CHANNELS OF REVENUE.

SLIM CHICKENS (2), STAFF: MARK JACKSON, SAM ROTHSCHILD: HATCH AND MAAS LLC

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FEBRUARY 2023 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com