How a downtown Deli took a delivery box, made it remarkable, and saved 45,000 dollars in the process.

Most of the menu analysis and menu engineering models were built during a time of solid annual growth for our industry. These models focus on high gross margin items. Today, blindly using these models to adjust menu prices may hurt your bottom line. 

A recap of one of Erle’s Dardick’s Brown Bag session with seven executives from major Fast Casual companies. The conversation covered:
• How and why to centralize control points
• The value of online ordering , and
• The advantages of providing an ordering method mix

Recent magazine articles from QSR Magazine, the Nation’s Restaurant News, and Hospitality Trends point to an explosion in catering, and catering business opportunities for QRSs

Successful American restaurants are typically highly capitalized, high concept, sit down affairs.

But with changing times, people get agile. Here come the food trucks, and VendrTV to track them. 

Contextualizing an article featuring Boudin Bakery and its rationale for casual catering - from Hospitality Magazine.

Out To Lunch Catering prepares food with fundamentals in mind. A video interview by MonkeyMedia.net about commitment in the age of transparency.

Suddenly, virtually every QSR operator is trying to enter the catering business.
Erle answers the million dollar question:
“What’s happening?”

A report from QSR magazine.

An answer to ‘why cater?’ - beyond a loyal customer base, an established brand, and an outfitted kitchen.

On April 2 2009, QSR executives joined forces to brainstorm transitioning to catering. A productive round-table discussion. For content, read on.

Catering needs executives who
1) ‘get it’, and
2) have time to focus on Catering.

Update from February 2009 Brown Bag seminar on casual catering at the Executive level.

Podcast interview with Vance Carlton, Einstein Noah Restaurant Group’s Director of Catering, about the success of their national program for business to business catering.

Making profitable choices about resource use.

From our Brown Bag free seminar series, hosted by Erle Dardick. 

All kinds of restaurants are following Fast Casual and QSR companies that have branched into Catering & Delivery.

Now high end restaurants are getting into the act.

Catering & Delivery may have grown out your restaurant or restaurant chain.

But it is a completely differentiated business; you need to promote it as one.

Part two - beyond the basics of Food Cost Control, by Joe Dunbar