Category: Workforce Hospitality

For OVER 75 years, Lakeside Manufacturing has been America’s first and still best-selling foodservice utility cart manufacturer. Not only did we pioneer the stainless steel utility cart, we’ve spent over seven decades perfecting every aspect of it. Simply put, it’s been an endless pursuit for perfection with our reps, dealers, and operators top of mind. We have constantly strived to give them the best as they expect from us. So, what pushes Lakeside carts ahead of the pack? Constant evolution. 

For many, it’d be rather difficult to envision that our first ever product was a wooden BBQ grill cart in 1946, and it wasn’t until two years later we debuted the classic Lakeside 311 stainless steel utility cart. In 1950, the 311 won the Museum of Modern Art Award for Design, and has since become a timeless piece of ingenuity on wheels. To this day, the 311 remains a staple on our line of products. So, why has this cart and its product family members been consistently reliable to operators around the country for all these years?

At Lakeside, it’s simple. There are reasons and stories behind everything we manufacture and they’ve helped us refine our products to be the best in the industry. Through our determination to learn from our mistakes, unsuccessful trials, and can’t dos, our team has always found ways to raise the bar to new heights. In this blog, we’ll highlight the keys to what makes our utility carts ultra durable, extensively customizable, and conveniently selectable.

Dedication to Durability 

At Lakeside, it’s been our duty to make sure that each one of our foodservice carts on wheels is reinforced with rugged stainless steel. That’s why we developed our helpful and always accessible durability index. Now you might be asking yourself, what is a durability index and how can it benefit my operation? This rating is derived from load capacity, intended use, work environment, and projected hours of service in order to help find you the correct utility cart for your needs. When looking for that perfect Lakeside cart, you will need to be asking yourself all of these questions. You can also take our load capacity quiz here to find your ideal cart. 

One of our keys to the success of our foodservice carts on wheels is our endless selection of weight capacities. We offer five different weight capacities to fit the needs of any sized load. Below, you’ll see an overview of what each can do for you. 

Standard Duty

Can haul up to 300 pounds. Standard duty utility carts are ideal for dining area bussing, set-up tray and soiled dish station, and transporting light loads. These utility carts work best for smooth and vinyl tile floors as well as smooth indoor concrete. Standard duty utility carts by Lakeside shouldn’t be used for more than 3 hours per day.

Medium Duty

Ideal for transporting moderate loads no more than 500 pounds. Medium duty foodservice carts on wheels by Lakeside are ideal for the same types of tasks and floor surfaces as standard duty models. Medium duty utility carts shouldn’t be used for more than 4-9 hours per day.

Heavy Duty

These tough utility carts can receive goods, move loads for ware-washing and can transport items up to 700 pounds! Heavy duty Lakeside carts move well over vinyl and ceramic tile floors, carpet, and indoor concrete. They shouldn’t be used for more than 9-12 hours per day.

Tough Transport

Tough transport utility carts make receiving dock and storage room loads up to 1,000 pounds a breeze. These foodservice carts on wheels can transport with ease across uneven tile floors, thresholds, and elevators. These rugged utility carts shouldn’t be used for more than 10-18 hours per day.

Extreme Duty

They don’t come tougher than extreme duty utility carts by Lakeside. These foodservice carts on wheels can carry loads up to 1,500 pounds in casinos and correctional facilities. Extreme duty Lakeside carts can transition across uneven tile floors with ease. They shouldn’t be used for more than 24 hours per day.

More Than 10,000 Custom Configurations

Since 1945, we have learned that many operators want exactly what they want. In other words, a high-quality product tailored to their exacting specifications. For example, is there a utility cart that you need, but it doesn’t have big enough casters? What about a foodservice cart on wheels that doesn’t have bumpers on all four of its corners? We understand the importance of ROI and that a utility cart must deliver outstanding value.

By listening and working with people like you, no design is impossible to achieve. Our utility carts are able to be modified with numerous shelf sizes, caster types, bumper styles, and materials. This is one of the ways we’ve been able to accelerate the development of our stainless steel Lakeside carts, and continuation of perfecting our craft. Our seemingly endless variations and feature combinations will satisfy your every need!

Industry Leading Ship Times

Convenience and timeliness are two words that can describe the shipping process of our Lakeside utility carts. We know that last second orders happen. We know how critical it could be for a foodservice cart on wheels to arrive on time, and we understand the convenience of a fully assembled and well packaged utility cart. Without sacrificing an ounce of quality, our industry leading ship times have remained a huge part of the Lakeside difference. Check out the high-quality results of this project that we were able to deliver in top-notch times when the equipment wasn’t one of our standard products. 

Roughly 90 percent of our standard stainless steel utility carts ship in an average of three days or less. That often can’t be said for many other manufacturers’ lead times. Choosing the right utility cart for your operation should be a fun and easy journey. That’s why we make our ship times fast and convenient by guaranteeing 100 percent satisfaction.

 

As we continue to manufacture our trusty stainless steel utility carts, our drive and determination to enhance our craft will only continue to grow to new heights for the next seven decades. Our mission will always be to help you and your operation tackle tomorrow’s challenges and increase the strategic value of foodservice in your facility. With our rugged and reliable stainless steel utility carts, endless possibilities of success await. All of our Lakeside carts are proudly made in the USA! Experience the durability, reliability, and accessibility you’ve been searching for by speaking to a Lakeside cart expert today!

It’s no secret that 2022 was financially difficult on businesses and operators within the foodservice industry as so many felt the stresses of rising costs, staff turnover, and supply chain shortages. Combine all of those factors and it easily becomes an afterthought to even want to invest in high-quality foodservice equipment such as stainless steel utility carts that can assist an already stressed staff. Stainless steel foodservice carts can do wonders for a struggling staff in need of extra hands during various transporting from back-of-the-house to front-of-the-house operations.

Yes, stainless steel carts are ultra rugged and durable, but come at a cost as well to an operator on a budget. Not every operator can make a commitment in continued times of uncertainty and may instead be focusing on specific goals that need to urgently get accomplished. So, what’s a possible solution to experiencing the reliability and spacious storage capabilities of a foodservice cart on wheels without going over your budget? The answer could be plastic utility carts! 

Plastic foodservice carts on wheels provide many similarities you’d expect with stainless steel utility carts. These carts feature stain and impact resistance, sturdy construction, non-marking all-swivel casters for ultimate maneuverability, and seamless shelves for spacious storage room, but on a more affordable scale. Plastic utility carts are extremely versatile that offer a contemporary look and an economically smooth transition to front-of-the-house use. 

This is even supported by Old House Online who stated, “Plastic utility carts have the edge over metal ones when it comes to being lightweight and resistant to corrosion. Their manufacturing material is also relatively cheaper and highly flexible.” 

Here’s four ways plastic utility carts can reward you and your team throughout 2023 below!

1. Stain and Odor Resistant Capabilities

Let’s face it, nobody particularly likes cleaning a dirty cart after a long day of use, but with plastic utility carts, proper cleaning and sanitation becomes more enjoyable to partake in. Removing residue from plastic utility carts is effortless, which saves time during the cleaning process. Plastic utility carts are also odor resistant to ensure top notch cleanliness and sanitation to prevent potential contamination. With plastic utility carts, you are assured an easy to clean and safe surface.

For example, the Lakeside 2000 plastic utility cart’s polyethylene shelves are not only impact resistant, but stain and odor resistant as well. It may be offered in the color white, but thanks to its precision molded and high-density polyethylene material, it is capable of attracting less dirt and debris while assisting your team during regular tasks. Maintaining an everyday clean and sharp appearance is made easy with this Lakeside foodservice cart on wheels’ stain and odor resistant construction.

2. Economically Durable and Reliable

When it comes to foodservice utility carts on wheels, durability and reliability are both expected. If a utility cart cannot produce results for your operation on a consistent basis, what use is it? Precious time and even more money could be utilized for repairs and potential replacements. If your operation is under a tight budget, this could be detrimental to the overall nature of your staff, guests, and internal processes. 

Plastic utility carts are both durable and reliable similarly to stainless steel utility carts, but only at a more affordable price. Furthermore, durability is the name of the game for the Lakeside 2500 plastic utility cart. Its polyethylene shelves are durable, versatile and dent resistant, whereas “…metal would show scratches and dents,” as stated by Webstaurant. Equipped with sturdy shelves with brushed aluminum legs, means this Lakeside cart is able to stand up to a variety of challenges in any restaurant. Talk about the perfect balance between durability and affordability!

3. Ultimate Maneuverability and Control

It’s not an easy task to maneuver a utility cart from back-of-the-house to front-of-the-house while transporting a heavy load. This task becomes even more difficult to maintain in a crowded space. No one on your staff wants to be hit or have their pathway blocked because of a utility cart that doesn’t have quick and smooth maneuverability. This can be extremely risky especially during front-of-the-house transport around guests. 

For ultimate maneuverability, the Lakeside 2512 steps up to the plate with ease. Outfitted with double sided integrated push handles and all-swivel casters, maneuvering around corners and tight spaces now becomes a breeze. Its push handles are cushion grip for added comfort and all-swivel casters are no-mark polyurethane for quiet maneuverability. True accessibility at a competitive price!

4. Spacious Storage Capacity to Combat Staff Shortages

Still experiencing staff shortages from the previous year? Then having a utility cart with spacious and secure shelving is a must for any operation. The number of times you can limit the trips from back-of-the-house to front-of-the-house is crucial to the success of your team. In doing so, members of your staff will be able to focus more on high priority needs and tasks. It’s a win-win for not only your staff, but for your guests as well. Your team will feel accomplished, and your guests will have smiles on their faces. 

Several plastic utility carts possess deep well shelving for safe and secure transporting as exemplified with the Lakeside 2523. If your team is in need of extra space, the 2523’s deep shelves are designed for safe transport to help prevent accidents so items don’t roll, slip, or even fall. This versatile foodservice cart on wheels has no problem keeping items organized and in place during transport over uneven surfaces. This Lakeside plastic utility cart’s deep well shelves help safely pave the way for your team’s next transport.

The balance between quality and price is essential in today’s foodservice industry. That’s why Lakeside perfected the plastic utility cart for durability and reliability at a competitive price for years to come. It’s time to put 2022 in the past with Lakeside’s plastic utility carts today!

Work related injuries are the last thing an employee or employer wants to happen. Coming to work should be both enjoyable and safe, so how can you reduce the risk of staff injuring themselves on the job? There is no straight forward answer or solution to completely removing the possibility for work-related injuries, but there are various steps that can be taken to avoid these injuries. Every industry has different possible injuries due to what the employees are exposed to, handle, move, or are near while at work. 

The foodservice industry presents workers with different possibilities for injuries compared to someone working in the construction business. It is important to understand the risks your specific foodservice operations pose to employees on a daily basis. While each foodservice operation may have different risks, there are some common problems that nearly every kitchen has that have led to employee injuries in the past. 

Your employees are your most important asset, so they should be treated as such. As it has been learned in recent times, when there is not enough staff, the doors are not able to be opened to diners. Providing employees with a safe working environment and safe equipment is crucial to not only keeping your staff healthy and able to work, but it also shows your commitment to your staff and their well-being. Here, you will learn some ways to help reduce work related injuries within your foodservice operations.

1. Reduce Slipping 

Kitchens are bound to have water on the floor or a splash of food that accidentally slipped off a plate or off the counter. This does not mean that the floors should be left like this for long though as it presents the possibility for slipping. Your dish washing area is going to have a wet floor, there is no question about that, but how can you limit the possibility of injury? Have a mop handy to soak up the water occasionally as dish loads are going through the dishwasher.  Take intentional breaks to stop and mop the area to make sure everyone remains on their feet. 

The wet floors near the dishwashing area transfers to the rest of the kitchen throughout service as the dishwashers are walking around to put clean dishes back on their shelves. Making sure the entire kitchen floors stay as dry as possible is a step that can be taken to reduce the risk of employees slipping and severely injuring themselves. Consider having employees also wear non-slip shoes as well to add another layer of protection. “Daily mopping, periodic deep-cleaning and adding non-slip mats to high traffic areas can help reduce the risk of slips and falls,” according to Independent Agent Magazine. 

2. Set Lifting and Carrying Safety Guidelines

Training your employees on how to safely lift, carry, and transport kitchen supplies and items is a great form of preventative action against employee injuries. Knowing what types of items your staff will be moving around on a daily basis, you can do some research on how to best lift and carry those specific items so that employees are able to reduce the strain on their body. Moving around heavy items can lead to muscle strains in staff member’s shoulders, legs, neck, and back. Finding ways to avoid these strains is very important. 

A basic rule of thumb is to never lift or carry an item that has a weight greater than 50 lbs. Obviously that restriction may even be lower for some employees, so make sure employees have equipment that allows them to still move those items but in a safer way. There are various pieces of equipment that can be used to help transport heavy items, or even lighter items that are bulky and awkward to carry. Utilize the right equipment to help foster a safe work environment for your team. 

3. Use the Right Equipment

In the back-of-the-house, there are always supplies to be moved around whether a delivery was just made, or supplies are being taken from the storage space and into the kitchen to be used. Having foodservice utility carts allows staff to transport these heavy or bulky items with ease, but not every utility cart is designed to move heavy loads. Heavy duty foodservice utility carts allow staff to transport heavier items while not increasing operator strain. Ergonomic utility carts are designed with this in mind. 

Handles on ergonomic utility carts are placed at a height and a position that works with the operator and not against them. These foodservice carts are built in a way that optimizes the pushing motion of the operator. While these carts can be extremely helpful in reducing the risk of employee injuries, they are no help if they are not used. Making sure that it is expected to use these carts for moving heavier loads is very important. When the precedent is set that heavy loads are to be transported with ergonomic carts, the risk for staff injuring themselves can be reduced. 

 

Employee safety should be one of the number priorities within the foodservice industry. While you need a healthy staff in order to work, it is also important that you show the importance and emphasis that is put on your worker’s safety. When employees feel they are valued at work, productivity and efficiency can be increased all while building upon your work culture. Lakeside’s new motorized utility cart is built to help staff transport the heaviest of loads while helping to limit the amount of strain on the operator. Moving heavy loads just got easier with the Load-Master motorized cart! Are you ready to discover the Load-Master difference?

Labor shortages are unfortunately something that has become somewhat of a norm in various industries over the past few years. Everywhere we go, wait times are longer or the goods we want to buy are not available. The implications of the current labor shortage can be seen nearly every day. The foodservice industry specifically has seen a great decline in the staff they are able to retain. Diners see this with longer wait times, smaller menus, and increased prices, but let’s take a look behind the scenes. 

Foodservice directors are finding it very difficult to maintain a full staff. When a position is open, it takes months to find staff which leaves the current staff making up for the gaps. Being able to function amidst a nationwide labor shortage has its challenges as diners, guests, students, and patients still are expecting to receive the same level of service and quality food. Although your team is smaller right now, the same amount of work needs to be done. Deliveries need to be put into their home in the storage room and transporting food supplies to the kitchen for meal prep still needs to happen. At the end of the day, your small staff can get by, but ultimately they are pushing themselves to a limit that will soon be reached. 

Having employees get to a point where they can no longer physically and mentally work in the foodservice industry is a point we don’t want you to be reached. While the labor shortage will continue to impact the foodservice industry, we have gathered some ideas for you to consider implementing to help make your employees time at work both enjoyable and safe, and also for it to be such a great work environment that your company culture is recognized as being one of the best. Being known for having a great company culture can have great impacts on your hiring process. Below we will dive into some ideas to help reduce the impacts the labor shortage is having on your foodservice operations. 

1: Build a Strong Work Culture

When your employees enjoy their work, they share that with their friends and family. Word-of-mouth marketing can be one of the most powerful types of marketing as a positive word-of-mouth review can send your business to success while a bad review can have many negative effects. When you treat your staff well, the community knows it and in return will want to support your business more and even consider working for you. 

In an employee starved industry, people looking for jobs have the ultimate say on where they want to work. Being known as a great employer will increase your likelihood of receiving more applications which will lead to more interviews and eventually to great hires. Building your work culture all starts with management. Offering flexibility and positive reinforcement are just two of the many ways to create a good relationship with your staff. 

Another aspect of work culture is safety. No one wants to work for a company that pushes their employees to the breaking point and has them do work that is unsafe. Ensuring your operations, kitchen, and dining space offer equipment that is safe for employees to use is very important. In the foodservice industry, there are lots of heavy items that need to be moved around ranging from canned food to bringing heavy dirty dishes to the back-of-the-house from the dining space. Safety paired with an enjoyable work environment can help encourage job applicants to seek out your business. 

2: Offer Impressive Benefits

While company culture is one aspect that helps retain staff, offering great benefits helps get people in the door for interviews. When looking for new jobs, the first thing you look at on a posting is the general description and the quick list of bulleted benefits. While some foodservice operations are not designed to offer full-time salaried benefits like health insurance and retirement savings plans, there are many other benefits you can offer your part time staff. Consider offering employee discounts, wellness benefits, flexible schedule benefits, training and professional development opportunities. 

With all of this in mind, it is also so important to pay your employees a competitive wage. That may sound like a very obvious statement to make, but at the end of the day, job applicants want a job that will be able to sustain their living expenses. Wage paired with impressive benefits can really help attract and retain employees so consider evaluating your current benefits and then take some time to brainstorm how you could add more benefits to the package. 

3: Increase the Use of Technology

Within the foodservice industry, there are many tasks that have now been able to be replaced by automated technology. For example, Open Table is a service many restaurants use that allow guests to make reservations online without having to call and talk to a restaurant staff member. Reducing the amount of time a hostess is on the phone taking reservations is an easy swap to bring back time to your smaller staff. 

Another new technological advance in the foodservice industry is the use of wireless payment systems. Instead of staff having to come to the table to get a form of payment, take the card back to the register to process the payment, and then bring the card back to the guests, they can simply do take the payment right at the table, process the payment, and print a receipt within less than a minute. This is yet another way to reduce the time it takes staff to complete a task. With the current labor shortage, when the time it takes to complete a task is reduced, this brings back time to increase productivity and efficiency. 

Investing in your employees and company culture is so important in the labor starved foodservice industry. Offering benefits while introducing new technologies can help increase operational efficiency. Efficiency also comes with equipment that works with you, and not against you. With Lakeside’s new motorized cart, you can move more heavy loads with less staff all while reducing operator strain from transporting heavy loads. This new foodservice cart helps increase labor efficiency to help combat labor shortages. 

With limited employees, the last thing you need is to lose a staff member that needs to take two weeks off to recover from a work related injury. Your foodservice equipment sets the stage for successful and safe operations for diners, guests, patients, students, or whoever else walks through your doors. Talk with a Lakeside cart expert to discover equipment solutions!