Category: Hospitality

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Improving the Guest Experience with Beverage and Food Stations

hydration and nutrition stations

No matter what type of foodservice setting, one of the most desired factors that customers look for when consuming foods and beverages is the idea of convenience. Making things accessible is a great way to leave an impression that will enhance the reputation of the overall operation and lead to return visits, and beverage and food stations are an easy way to achieve these goals.

Here are a few scenarios to consider when looking to enhance the guest experience in hotels, convention centers, and even in corporate dining applications:

Everyone Loves Coffee

In pretty much every sector of the global economy, employers are looking at deficits in attracting and maintaining staffing. This is true in foodservice, and it’s also true in the corporate world where the labor force is currently coming back into the workplace and into the office. So how can corporations entice people to not only work for them but to do so in the office? By making the workplace more enjoyable and more convenient.

Consider coffee stations placed strategically around the office. People always appreciate access to coffee, and employers gain the benefits of a caffeinated workforce that benefits from the points of inter-office interaction created by self-serve coffee stations.

hydration and nutrition station

Starting the Day with OJ

Today’s hotel and resort industry faces many challenges. As we mentioned, staffing is certainly one of the issues that many hotel companies are facing. At the same time, guests are also looking at home-stay options like VRBO and Airbnb to satisfy their vacation and accommodation needs. This means it’s important for hotel operators to go out of their way to make guests feel welcome with hospitality-driven initiatives while reducing the burdens placed on staff.

Consider morning juice stations to add that extra level of hospitality. With a self-serve juice bar, minimal staffing is required to add a high-value benefit for hotel and resort guests. After all, everyone should start the day with a glass of OJ.

Provide Brain Food

As the world emerges from the pandemic, we’re seeing a return to pre-pandemic events like conventions and conferences, two important profit-makers for resorts, hotels, and convention centers. Again, there are also labor challenges that go with this return to normal, so the more services an operator can provide while using the least amount of labor possible, the better the results for the operation.

Consider a self-serve snack service for attendees at conferences and conventions. With a nutrition station strategically placed amongst the conference rooms, guests can get much-needed nourishment without the need to overuse hotel or convention center staff.

Enhance the Guest Experience Using Hydration and Nutrition Carts from Lakeside

Self-serve hydration and nutrition stations from Lakeside are designed to move from one location to another, easing the burdens on staff while providing high-value benefits for guests. Units are designed to fit within a wide range of aesthetics and décors, making their placement in just about any area of a hotel lobby or convention center common area eye-pleasing and easy.

There are many hidden benefits to hydration and nutrition stations, and whether you’re using a self-serve station or a full-serve station, Lakeside can help. Take a look at the full range of Lakeside hydration and nutrition carts today.

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How Meal Delivery Presentation Impacts Your Bottom Line

How Meal Delivery Presentation Impacts Your Bottom Line

Here’s a little puzzle: What part of the body does a person first use to eat? The answer might not be obvious at first, but people first eat with their eyes. Whether that’s in a fine dining restaurant when a plate is placed in front of the guest or when people are at home enjoying the convenience of delivery, presentation that appeals to the eyes by being attractive is an essential part of customer satisfaction and operator revenue. Presentation draws people to food and entices them to select it.

Defining Meal Delivery Presentation

More specifically, the way the food is arranged, the photographs and designs that are on the package, the color and shape of the food, and so much more — all those elements definitely are part of meal delivery presentation. Just as importantly, the cart or other equipment and supplies on which food is served also contribute to happier customers and more successful operators.

There are some key reasons why food presentation and appearance are so important. For one, when food is attractive, it communicates the message that the restaurant or operation offers quality. Also, meal delivery presentation influences what food customers select. People gravitate toward food choices that are pleasing to the eyes. In addition, presentation enhances customer perception of the food they are getting. Ultimately, all of those affect the bottom line as a result of increased sales.

Meal Delivery Carts

Meal delivery carts can be the perfect solution for successful meal delivery, while at the same time matching the preferred aesthetic. That includes unique colors, designs, and configurations. Various carts from Lakeside are available for hospital room service, steam tables, tray delivery carts, tray starter stations, and curbside & carry out. Those carts provide a great way to conveniently and stylishly deliver many types of food and beverages. Even better, Lakeside’s units are sturdy, fast, efficient, and quiet.

Many Foodservice Environments

Lakeside’s team understands and serves all types of foodservice environments, including K-12, colleges and universities, B&I, healthcare, hospitals, assisted living communities, nursing homes, rehabilitation homes, and more. The company helps by providing innovative, sustainable, and efficient food service equipment combined with extensive online resources to ultimately help enhance customers’ experiences and so much more.

For any business, the goal is to boost the bottom line. There’s no doubt about the fact that meal delivery presentation increases sales and improves the bottom line. With so many appealing choices available when it comes to meal delivery carts, there is a smart solution to meet any meal delivery presentation need. The challenge is narrowing down from all those excellent options and choosing the perfect configuration.

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Expanding Profit Points with a Mobile Bar

It’s already been well established that bar and beverage service is often the most profitable part of any foodservice operation. In fact, estimates vary between 30 and 40 percent of a restaurant’s profits can come from alcohol sales depending on the source, so having the ability to move those points of service can underscore the fact that there’s hidden revenue in a portable bar. But why?

Mobile bars are certainly profitable because they can expand service areas, but the reality is there’s more to it than just mobility. Mobile bars offer a wide range of benefits that can not only improve the bottom line for operators, but they can enhance the guest experience, as well.

Let’s take a look at some of the basics in mobile bar profitability.

PROFIT FROM MORE POINTS OF SERVICE.

This is the easy one. When the actual bar can be moved from point A to point B, that means point B can now be a profit center. Before it was just a small section of the restaurant patio or the far side of the hotel pool deck, now it’s a place where operators can encourage guests to gather and spend.

PROFIT FROM MENU EXPANSION.

Mobile bars also offer the ability to segment the types of beverages being served from one location to the next. Consider a wedding reception, for example. While the full bar might reside inside the ballroom, a mobile bar situated outside on a veranda can be dedicated to champagne service or even a special, signature cocktail from the bride and groom.

PROFIT FROM CROWD CONTROL.

This is similar to benefiting from additional points of service, but there’s another level of thinking as it relates to crowd control. When operators have the ability to space service out of the entire footprint of the service space, crowds can be easily dispersed reducing crowding.

PROFIT FROM SPEED OF SERVICE.

When crowds are more evenly dispersed, it will inevitably lead to reducing wait times at the bar. The bars themselves can also help increase the speed of service. Just like in the back of the house, a bar should operate in a mise en place style where everything is readily accessible, reducing the time it takes to make a particular beverage.

Build the right mobile bar with Lakeside.

Lakeside has a full line of mobile bar solutions that can help take your beer, wine, and cocktails to another level by moving them to another location. Learn more by reviewing our mobile bar series today.

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A Close Look at the Compact Mart Cart

In so many settings, it’s not practical or profitable to only sell food and beverages in one stationary spot. With a bit of creativity and the right tools in place, there’s no need to limit service to one particular area, though. This blog will focus on one of those tools, the Lakeside Mart Cart, and we’ll introduce you to the power of the Mart Cart, whether you’re setting up a profitable breakfast cart or taking advantage of outdoor dining trends.

The Benefits of the Lakeside Mart Cart

It comes in two convenient sizes. 

The smaller mart cart size, which is a breeze to zip around, is the Lakeside 660 Compact Mart Cart for Mobile Food Operations. It measures just 28 1/4 x 49 x 72 1/4 inches. For even more bells and whistles, the Lakeside 68040 Compact Mart Cart with Full-Length Stainless Overshelf provides plenty of space at 27 1/2 x 60 x 70 inches. Either way, both compact carts provide plenty of space for food and beverages while efficiently and conveniently using space. The large stainless steel countertop work surface offers plenty of space for completing tasks.

They’re designed to maximize portability.

Both sizes of compact mart carts provide next-level portability and are easy to maneuver into and out of spaces large and small including elevators, rooms, hallways, and kitchen areas. Features include easy-to-grab, ergonomic, vertical or horizontal handles on the side. There are also heavy-duty 5″ swivel casters to quickly move the cart from place to place. Better yet, both carts are lightweight yet sturdy. No need to be a racecar driver while steering and guiding either cart. Just move your point-of-sale and enjoy the profitability.

Speaking of profitability, stock the things that sell.

The sky is the limit when it comes to food and beverages that can find their way onto a Lakeside Mart Cart. It makes for an ideal breakfast on-the-go serving station, a snack bar, or beverage cart. Above the upper countertop is a storage area with multiple compartments that can hold a variety of items such as utensils, napkins, food packets, yogurt cups, tea bags, condiments, and more.

Create and customize Compact Mart Carts.

The adjustable height and slide-out stainless steel shelves allow the cart to customize its functionality for all sorts of easy configurations. It’s even possible to remove shelves and replace them with optional insulated containers for holding hot and cold items. Soup, hot cocoa, lemonade, and fresh fruit salad have never tasted better or been easier to serve. The optional personalized merchandising front is an incredible way to add a logo, phrase, or design element. There is also plenty of space for accessories like utensils, napkins, plates, cups, ice, food containers, and a cash register.

Clean-up and maintenance are a snap.

Not just practical, both carts are also attractive and durable with a standard laminate exterior finish. For added design interest, custom laminate finishes are available. Both sizes of the Lakeside Mart Cart have a stainless steel interior that is easy to clean and sanitize. An excellent way to attract customers to any location is by offering a variety of food and beverages in an attractive, functional compact mart cart.

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How to Set Up a Profitable Breakfast Cart

Revenue Boosters for K12 Foodservice

As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but according to data, it’s also the most profitable. These days, many restaurants and foodservice stations are discovering America’s love affair with breakfast, which is why so many businesses are offering these dishes all day. But who says restaurants have to have all the fun? Breakfast carts enable other entities to serve customers their favorite dishes without a commercial kitchen. But, how is it possible? Let’s break it down.

By the Numbers: Breakfast Sales in the United States

Although breakfast has always been popular in the US, it’s taken off considerably since 2020. According to a 2021 survey, over half (62 percent) of Americans say that breakfast is their favorite meal of the day. More impressively, the vast majority (79 percent) of individuals say they’ve eaten breakfast for a different meal (i.e., lunch or dinner) at least a few times in the previous year.

As far as breakfast dishes, eggs take the top spot with 65 percent of the vote, followed closely by coffee at 58 percent and cereal at 56 percent. Overall, this data illustrates that Americans are hungry for breakfast and, more importantly, they love the staples. That said, many restaurants and foodservice establishments are getting creative with breakfast offerings, so now is the best time to invest in this meal.

The Advantages (and Challenges) of a Mobile Breakfast Cart

Restaurants have it the easiest when serving breakfast because they have the infrastructure to build a menu and handle orders. Even hospitality businesses have it easy since breakfast in hotels has been a staple for forever. However, other entities like colleges, corporations, and venues can take advantage of breakfast by using a mobile cart. Breakfast carts offer several benefits, such as:

Flexibility

A mobile cart can move to wherever the action is. For example, if there’s a busy event, a venue can deploy carts to different areas to cater to guests. Similarly, colleges can post a cart in front of hot-spots so students can grab something on their way to class.

Affordability

Breakfast carts are designed for “grab-and-go” items and meals. So, a single attendant can manage the cart easily with minimal backup. Also, carts don’t draw much power for refrigerated items, or businesses can use ice trays to keep products at the right temperature.

Versatility

It’s easy to change the offerings on a breakfast cart since it doesn’t necessarily have a menu. So, cart owners can swap out low-selling items for those that go like hotcakes, making the cart even more profitable.

Although these benefits are pretty substantial, running a cart has two drawbacks. First, restocking the cart can be challenging, especially if it’s deployed in a high-traffic area. On busy mornings, the cart may run out of food quickly, leading to dissatisfied customers. The second downside is that it doesn’t offer hot food. As we mentioned, eggs are the number one dish, so customers may not appreciate the limited selection.

How to Optimize a Cart for Profitable Breakfast Service

Since demand is so high, businesses can’t afford to neglect the earning potential of a portable breakfast cart from Lakeside. Here are a few ways to make the cart even more accommodating to customers:

Use Fun Signage

Magnetic signs can draw the eye and entice customers to come check out the cart and its offerings.

Provide Plates and Utensils

Although a cart won’t have hot food, businesses may offer dishes that require utensils (i.e., cereal). Providing these items on-site makes it easier for customers to eat on the go.

Savory vs. Sweet Breakfast

Some people prefer sweets for breakfast, such as cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, or doughnuts. Others may want savory dishes like breakfast sandwiches or bagels. Carts can either focus on one item or provide both to capture both types of customers.

Make Breakfast Carts More Profitable by Selecting the Right Cart

Lakeside offers a full range of serving cart solutions that are ideal for breakfast service. Check out some of our most popular options today.

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How Flexible Foodservice Benefits the Hospitality Industry

When you think about hotels, resorts, and casinos, an image of an expansive property with a wide range of gathering spaces often comes to mind. From the arrangement of tables tucked behind the poolside waterfall to the small study just off the lobby, when guests can relax and explore every nook and cranny the establishment has to offer, they’re also more likely to stay within the confines of that establishment – and spend money there.

Simply put, those are the benefits of flexible foodservice. Those are the reasons to consider food serving solutions that can move from location to location on resort property. They provide guest satisfaction and profits for the operations

What does it mean to provide flexible foodservice?

The reality is there are many ways to “be flexible” when it comes to hospitality foodservice. All are closely related and are largely provided by similar foodservice equipment solutions, but they are different, nonetheless. Let’s take a quick look at the different aspects of flexible hospitality foodservice, as well as some of the benefits of each.

FROM HERE TO THERE

The first and most logical type of flexible foodservice is the ability to move a serving area from point A to point B. In resorts and hotels, one easy way to think about mobile foodservice is during a wedding. While cocktail hour might involve small plates and cocktails by the pool, the formal dinner will take place in the ballroom. It’s completely possible to utilize the same serving solutions for both, maximizing the potential of those units.

SAVING SPACE

Flexible foodservice solutions should provide an ability to save space as serving areas are moved around a property, even allowing for simple storage when some units aren’t in use. Nesting tables can be a great option in these cases. While one area of service might require the full breadth of tabletops, another might be better suited for only one. When operators can easily slide one table under another, saving space is easy.

BLENDING IN

When it comes to moving the point-of-service around the property, that can create challenges with aesthetics. Ideally, any serving unit should look nice no matter where it’s located, so how can an operator achieve those objectives in multiple locations with the same unit? Start with a unit that looks great and has a neutral aesthetic.

Go far with the Traveler Series from Lakeside.

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Are You Ready for the Summer Surge of Outdoor Dining?

Now that there’s a strong light shining at the end of the pandemic tunnel, restaurants across the country are opening their doors and welcoming their patrons back for unrestricted indoor dining. However, the restaurant industry was among the hardest hit by COVID-19, and it’s likely that whatever the new normal turns out to be, it will include certain aspects of restaurant service that gained momentum during the darkest days of the pandemic.

Outdoor dining, for instance, has long been a popular trend in areas with abundant sunshine and long warm seasons, but for the past couple of years, it has served as a lifeline for restaurants that would otherwise not be able to survive the long months of limited options for serving their guests. Now that summer is on the horizon, many restaurants are seeking ways to make al fresco dining more than just a survival strategy. Not only does patio seating provide more tables, but guests seem to like it too. Everyone is happier when the sun is shining on them, the food tastes better, and as an added bonus, restaurants that choose to go this route won’t be left having to make last-minute pivots in the event that further COVID surges result in the reimplementation of restrictions.

For everyone to get the most from outdoor dining, it’s essential that the designated area is more than an obvious afterthought. Following are several suggestions designed to help restaurants optimize their outdoor spaces and attract customers.

Add A Water Feature

Water features such as fountains, ponds, and waterfalls add a note of tranquility to any outdoor space — and they also create white noise that successfully drowns out city traffic noises. The sound of water also has a calming effect on the brain, which causes positive associations among guests.

Add a Fire Pit

The biggest problem many restaurants face with al fresco dining is that their location doesn’t offer enough warm, sunny days to make it worthwhile — and even in areas with balmy climates, temperatures tend to drop after the sun goes down. Fire pits make it possible to extend the time that restaurants can utilize their outdoor seating areas as well as provide an extremely appealing ambiance.

Create Separate Dining Spaces

Moveable partitions create separate dining spaces without making a permanent commitment, which helps guests feel as if their table serves as a private safe space. Even though future shutdowns seem unlikely, there will likely be coronavirus spikes and surges going forward, and many people remain wary of spending too much time in public spaces.

Consider Making Your Patio Pet-Friendly

A pet-friendly patio isn’t for every restaurant, but those serving casual fare in a pub-style environment may be able to increase their clientele by allowing well-behaved canine companions to accompany their owners. Restaurant owners and managers need to check with their local municipality before going this route to ensure that they aren’t in violation of local codes. Food and beverage establishments that choose to offer pet-friendly outdoor spaces often offer a special menu just for dogs and provide bowls of fresh drinking water.

Light Up The Night

Soft, twinkling fairy lights, outdoor lanterns, and candles create an ethereal atmosphere that sets an elegant mood for guests. Accent lighting at ground level creates good visibility without casting glaring shadows that ruin the mood.

Other ideas include having live music outdoors, creating a special patio-only menu, hosting all-day barbecues, and setting up a small bar in the outdoor space.

Outdoor dining service requires outdoor delivery and bussing solutions.

The bottom line is outdoor dining can be difficult and complicated unless operations consider the equipment and solutions that make it easier. Getting food and beverage to the customers is critical, and outdoor services stations can help resolve many challenges, but many operators forget the importance of bussing. Removing plates and glasses can be just as important as delivering them to the table.

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A Review of the Healthy Fast Casual Trend

Fast-casual has moved from a trend to an expectation, even a requirement for hospitality-focused operations like resorts, hotels, or casinos as a way to grab a healthy bite before enjoying the afternoon. The younger consumers have disrupted fast-food operators as they have shown a preference for healthier, fresher, and more upscale options when in a hurry. Many members of Gen Z have never visited some large fast-food chains and have no plans to do so when a bento bowl, vegan option, or fresh salad is available.

Fast-casual growth

Fast-casual had a market value of $125.6 billion in 2019 and is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6% from 2021 to 2027. This will push the total market value to $209.1 billion by 2026, far exceeding the anemic growth rates of traditional fast food. This market is no longer a trend; it’s an expectation.

Growth isn’t the only plus for the fast-casual market, excellent profits are also a component. The average profit margin of fast-casual restaurants is 6-9%, compared to 3-5% for full service. As volumes grow the margins increase further as fixed costs are covered and variable costs drop due to greater efficiencies in staffing needs.

Hybrid options: the newest trend

While fast-casual has become a norm, a new trend recognizes the need of customers to eat healthy and quick during the day and then prefer the elegance of full service at night. This hybrid model can serve both market needs from one space and with limited staffing through the use of easy, modular, and versatile serving equipment.

Often neglected in hospitality is that many people prefer fewer choices so long as the choice that fits their needs is available. For many, making one choice is a welcome respite from lives where too many choices exist in their daily lives. The ability to switch with ease fits their needs and the needs of the hospitality provider.

An example would a resort hotel that wishes to serve both the dining needs of its customers by switching from lunch to dinner menu and service style in the evening, making the best use of limited space. Using flexible Traveler Serving Tables, the restaurant can transform the dining area to fit the night’s menu needs with a serving area that are work individually or together.

This next level of hospitality flexibility can accommodate a weekend brunch menu, accommodate outdoor dining, transform common areas and event areas as necessary, and transition dining areas between purposes. Having such a degree of flexible hospitality foodservice retains keeps customers in-house for dining as it gives them an ease of options.

Service flexibility with the Travelers Series.

A hospitality operation with a modular serving station that doesn’t require table cloths and is easy to clean up can respond quickly at a low cost. Modular serving stations are perfectly tailored to meet the needs of both customers and organizations and the demands of this new dining trend.

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Is Street-Side Dining Here to Stay?

Over the course of the last two years, the restaurant industry experienced change after change to stay relevant. Many of these challenges resulted in innovative adaptations, and now, some of those adaptations might be here to stay. Of all the changes we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic, though, the one we most enjoyed was a massive shift toward outdoor dining.

In city after city, outdoor dining spaces were set up on parking lots, in street-side parking spaces, on sidewalks, and even in yards. Diners loved it, and many are clamoring for these spaces to be made permanent in a post-Covid world.

Because they are so wildly popular with diners, they’re also enormously popular with restaurant owners and operators. In cities and towns large and small, there’s overwhelming support to make outdoor dining structures permanent, despite pushback from other business types who cite disapproval for the lack of parking spaces and the additional noise. Municipalities are listening to the restaurants and their customers, though, as cities like New York and San Francisco have already voted in favor of making these street-side dining spaces permanent.

Street-Side Dining Comes with Challenges

If street-side dining is no longer just a temporary fix, restaurant operators will need to look for more permanent service solutions to match the permanence of the outdoor dining spaces they serve. As we’ve discovered over the past few years, there are consistent challenges in maximizing labor and making service easier and more efficient for staff, as food and beverage must now be transported over bigger areas. The days of simply running plates from the window to a table two steps away are over for operators who take advantage of street-side dining.

Challenges don’t just involve bringing food and beverage to the customer, of course. There’s also the issue of bussing away dinnerware, flatware, and glassware after service is over. For operators who invest in equipment to make this process easier, the “new norm” will be easier to deliver and take away, making both customers and staff happy because of increased efficiency.

Lakeside has solutions that can help.

Lakeside is one of the leading manufacturers of bussing stations that are designed for mobility and flexibility, benefits that help when bussing tables in street-side dining settings. Units are made using durable stainless steel and come with various finishes to match the aesthetic of the operation. Learn more about bussing stations from Lakeside by viewing the different options from our bussing station range.

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Lakeside Helps Florida Soup Kitchen

Food insecurity impacts more than one out of every ten U.S. households. When you think about it, that’s an alarming number, and it’s something so many great non-profit organizations around the country are trying to reduce.

One of those organizations is Gracie’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen in Yulee, Florida that feeds seniors, veterans, single parents with families, the homeless, and the working poor. Before the Covid pandemic, they were serving more than 40,000 meals every year to those in need in the Yulee area, with additional branches of their organization helping to feed malnourished dogs and cats, as well as their “Socks for Souls” program that provides socks to those in need.

Their main focus is on foodservice, though, with more than $30,000 raised annually to “Nourish the Hungry and Feed Their Spirit.” Here at Lakeside, we admire their commitment to the community, so we offered to help.

Lakeside Helps to Upgrade Gracie’s Kitchen Serving Carts

A team from Lakeside learned about the Gracie’s Kitchen story and quickly discovered their serving cart situation was a challenge at best. Pictures of their existing carts showed they were being held together, quite literally, by duct tape, and that’s when Lakeside decided to step in. By replacing their old plastic carts with new Lakeside 311 series carts, their ability to serve the community in need was drastically enhanced. The Gracie’s Kitchen team could not have been more thankful.

utility cart service

Foodservice utility carts for kitchens are our specialty here at Lakeside, and we’re happy to help contribute to the great works at Gracie’s Kitchen with our 311 serving carts.

The 311 series is the first stainless steel utility cart created at Lakeside, and it was designed to last. It’s made for both front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house applications, and we hope the great crew at Gracie’s Kitchen find their work just a little bit easier with the 311. Based on the duct-taped plastic carts they had before, we can guarantee it.