Learn more about how technology is changing the restaurant industry in this exclusive white paper from <a>Tundra Restaurant Supply</a>

1. The Front Burner Presents
Technology Is Changing
The Restaurant Industry
Tundra Specialties 888.594.4183 888.594.4183 1

2. Take yourself back to 2005
for a minute. For most of
us that doesn’t really seem
like a long time ago, and
yet so much has changed
for the food service indus-
try since then. In 2005,
Facebook was barely a
year old and known only
to college students. The invention of Twitter was still a
year away and three years would pass before the first
Groupon coupon was ever issued.
In six years technology has altered the landscape in
which restaurants operate, and the reach of these ad-
vances goes far beyond the internet.
A good example is the way the iPad has begun to take
over menus and profoundly change how they interact
with customers. Touch screen and wireless technology
makes ordering food an interactive experience that
engages customers like never before. Early adopting
restaurants have reported a 20% increase in sales af-
ter converting things like wine lists to iPads. Sometimes,
technology can be the best salesman in your restaurant.
Certainly the iPad and the internet are only the begin-
nings of the new frontiers technology will open for res-
taurants. In this issue of The Front Burner we discuss some
of the most important and cutting edge advancements
that have a direct impact on the food service industry.
That said, three core principles remain the same: quality
food, excellent service, and an attractive concept set
in a comfortable atmosphere determine whether restau-
rants succeed or fail. The advent of all this technology
merely allows restaurants to accomplish these funda-
mental goals more efficiently, with better effectiveness,
and in a more stylish manner than previously thought
possible.
Keep those basic ideas in mind as you explore the new
frontiers of technology.
Michael Lewis
Tundra Pioneer
2 Tundra Specialties 888.594.4183

3. Technology Is Changing
The Restaurant Industry
Technology is like the California Gold Rush: everyone’s moving fast
and trying to get a piece of the action. And while technological
nuggets like Google and the iPad have changed how millions of
businesses operate, the food service industry has largely been left
behind.
Finding ways to tame the technological frontier for the benefit of
restaurants was a major topic of discussion last year at the annual
National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, and though res-
taurants have been slow to adopt new technology, many restaura-
teurs are now realizing just how much they stand to benefit.
Venturing out into the great Tech Territory can be daunting – every
new service and gadget requires significant investment and a quick
learning curve. But for the gunslinging restaurateur who is willing to
bring that technology to bear there are riches and fame there for
the taking.
Okay, “riches and fame” might be a tall tale – but the benefits of
leveraging the advantages of technology can be very real for any
restaurant, and those who don’t keep up stand to be left behind.
1. A Brave New Front of the House
2. The Server’s Favorite Six-Shooter
3. Give Your Menu A Golden Spike
4. The Internet Deals A Short Hand
5. And Can Also Give You A Full House
6. Computers Are Like A Good Mule
"We just thought it was the right
thing to do, both for our business
and for our customers"
On the cutting edge of food safety
Tundra Specialties 888.594.4183 3

4. If the kitchen is the Wyatt Earp of a restaurant – ready to deal with
every order thrown their way with cool determination - then the front
of the house is the OK Corral – the place where that daily showdown
with customer’s expectations is decided in the blink of an eye.
Because the dining area is so critical, many restaurateurs have in-
vested in technology here first, with the goal of simultaneously im-
pressing and serving customers more effectively, and maybe get-
ting a little publicity to boot.
Here are 4 ways to rope technology into
changing the dining experience:
Put John Wayne TV, it’s easy to change specials and rotate tion into more general entertainment.
On The Flatscreen
brand messaging often at almost no addi-
This means you can not only advertise but
tional expense.
intermingle that advertising with entertain-
That means you can experiment with mul- ment, which makes your advertising much
TVs have slowly been creeping further and
tiple advertisements and specials until you more effective.
further into every restaurant’s atmosphere for
find the ones that work best. You can also
years now. It started with a small black and No doubt, investing in a digital media system
offer many more promotions without having
white television in one corner of the bar so for your restaurant can mean a hefty ex-
to worry about changing menus, which give
guys could watch the game. Now many bars pense up front. But if you leverage this tech-
you the freedom to find new ways to attract
have several HD flat screens showing multi- nology properly, you can see very real boosts
customers.
ple games and news channels at once, and in sales, brand awareness, and customer sat-
That’s No Barkeep
even dining areas have started to keep a TV Become interactive. Because it’s so easy to isfaction.
or two positioned in strategic corners so cus- load new content onto digital media, res-
tomers can keep up on sports and informa- taurants have a lot of leeway with trying new
Some trailblazers way out on the edge of the
tion. items and promotions. However, the only
tech frontier have brought back some pretty
way to find out if these new promotions are
As digital media permeates our lives more exotic goods to the food service industry. A
working is through customer feedback.
and more, a new era has dawned in how good example are robot servers and cooks,
televisions can be used in the food service Interactive touch screen monitors can col- who have been taking on a larger role in
industry. Those screens don’t have to be just lect information from customers quickly and Asian restaurants from Singapore to Beijing.
for sports and talking heads anymore. That’s in a way that engages and entertains the
The Dalu Robot Restaurant in Jinan, China
because the technology has advanced to customer. Interactive digital media can even
takes its robots very seriously. The restau-
the point where restaurateurs can engage collect orders from customers and give them
rant made headlines when it introduced six
customers in new ways, and because that a direct line of communication to manage-
mechanized waitresses last year. Resembling
technology is now widely available, custom- ment.
golden mannequins, the robot servers follow
ers themselves welcome and even expect to Entertain while customers wait. Digital media a fixed track and serve tables in order before
be engaged with digital media. can also entertain customers while they wait returning to the kitchen to have their carts re-
Consider three ways to leverage the digital for food or service. Studies have shown that loaded by human staff.
phenomenon in your restaurant: customers who are entertained while they
Plans are already in the works to roll out a
Advertise yourself and your specials. Well are waiting for service are much more forgiv-
more sophisticated 2.0 version capable of re-
placed digital media in your restaurant can ing about their wait times.
filling drink glasses and even washing dishes.
become a great vehicle driving sales. Not TVs have been used for decades to enter-
On a more practical note, restaurants in Sin-
only can you promote daily specials and tain customers in restaurants and bars. Digi-
gapore have employed robotic technology
high margin menu items, you can drive brand tal media takes this concept to a new level
to make food preparation faster and more
awareness with digital media campaigns. by allowing you to insert advertisements and
efficient. An automated fryer, robotic noodle
And because your medium is a flatscreen branded messages about your specific loca-
boiler and rice dispenser allow the human
4

5. staff to focus on other tasks. Singapore has a short- guest – and make the experience in your restaurant truly unique.
Saloon of the Future
age of workers, so the increased productivity pro-
vided by automating simple prep chores more than
justifies the steep cost of investment.
If you think iPad menus are newfangled then the Inamo restaurant in
The novelty of being served by a robot would prob- London’s Soho district is really going to whet your whistle. Inamo has
ably wear off pretty quickly in the U.S., where good left the old-fashioned iPad menu in the dust. The front of this house
customer service is expected. The day when robots reckons like a futuristic vision: the tables are actually huge touch
can handle complicated tasks like dealing with an screen monitors illuminated by an overhead projector.
irate diner unhappy with how their food is prepared
The ordering system took some pretty heavy duty programming to
are probably still a long ways off.
create. That’s because all computers are designed to have only one
Using robotic technology to handle simple, repetitive mouse pointer. Unfortunately, solo diners are a relatively rare thing,
tasks in the kitchen, on the other hand, is something and since people want to select and order at the same time, one
that can be incorporated into food service much mouse pointer didn’t cut it.
more quickly and easily.
So Inamo developed a system that has multiple pointers. Tables are
“activated” as soon as guests are seated. A light touch of the finger
Making Menus Your
is all it takes to flip through menu items and place their order. Drinks
and food are served by a real person, but everything else, including
Ace-in-the-hole
payment, is handled by the touchscreen. Add an ultra modern inte-
rior design and cool images splashed on the walls by more projec-
tors, and this little restaurant makes the act of ordering food a fun,
Every restaurateur worth his salt knows a good menu
futuristic experience.
is the best way to get customers hitched to your wag-
on. They’re already in the door, seated, and hungry.
Now it’s up to the menu and a well trained staff to An Interactive Table at Inamo Restaurant, London
close the sale.
The importance of the menu is precisely why some
tech savvy restaurateurs were among the first to see
the potential of the iPad after it was released last
year. Already, some restaurants have explored the
possibilities of replacing menus with iPads, turning a
laundry list of entrees into an interactive experience
for guests.
These iPad menus feature entire albums of pictures
spotlighting each entrée from many angles, the in-
gredients before they go in, and even video of the
dish being prepared. And after a guest has explored
all of this digital eye candy to their heart’s content,
they can even order directly from their iPad menu
with a simple touch of the screen.
For now the cost of the iPad makes it a
pretty expensive menu, but the time is not
The menu is the
very far off where a handheld device simi- most
lar to today’s iPad could be affordable important
enough to make it a very compelling op- piece of
tion for restaurants. Like most technology, advertising a
high-end establishments will probably be restaurant
the first adopters, followed by the rest of possesses.
the industry as price points fall.
An interactive digital menu has many intriguing ef-
fects on the operation of a restaurant, effectively
digitizing the marketing of entrees and automating
the ordering process. This could free servers to focus
on achieving top-notch customer service for every
5

6. Just as surely as an unshod horse will go lame, un-
attended customers will leave your restaurant angry.
Luckily the frontiers of technology have advanced
to the point where servers and POS systems can truly
become one.
A case study released by Motorola last year showed how one pioneer in San
Francisco’s Bay Area benefitted from complete integration of person and POS
machine. Sam’s Chowder House, a high volume seafood restaurant that seats
about 280 people achieved a return on investment on the hand-held devices in
one month. That’s because check averages went up and table turnover times
and labor costs went down.
With this system, servers no longer have to write down orders and then re-enter
them into the POS system. Instead, they enter orders directly into the handheld
device. This allows servers to focus on customer service and sales, which explains
the check averages and improved table turnover times.
Labor savings were realized by Sam’s because more efficient servers means less
front of house staff could serve the same amount of people in the restaurant.
That makes the servers happy because they get more tables and therefore more
Store Location: tips. Staff turnover rates have plummeted since the introduction of the handheld
Sam's Chowder House ordering devices as a result. Finally, these devices can also process credit cards,
Half Moon Bay, CA allowing servers to run customer checks while standing tableside, further improv-
Applications: Wireless infrastructure and mobile ing turnover times and customer service.
computers used by servers to take customer
The handheld ordering device is obviously the future in restaurant technology,
orders.
but for now the cost of the system is still prohibitive for most operations. Yes, Sam’s
Wirelessly send orders to the bar and kitchen
realized an ROI in one month, but Sam’s also does A LOT of business ($6 million in
Swipe credit cards tableside
annual sales). The benefits listed above are admittedly direct from Motorola, who
Motorola Products: has an interest in hyping the good points, but they also make good logical busi-
WS2000 wireless switches ness sense. Just imagine if your servers never had to leave their tables. Of course
AP300 access ports
MC50 enterprise digital assistants (EDA) sales and table turnover times are going to improve.
MSR5000-00R magnetic strip readers
If you’re a smaller operator, wait for the day when these devices are much more
Benefits: affordable. It’s just like any new technology (HD TV, cell phones, iPads): they’re
• Achieved ROI in one month always extremely expensive at first and then eventually become affordable to
• Increased sales 30%
• Turned tables 10 to 15 minutes faster the masses.
• Increased per-person average $4
• Improved employee retention & productivity
• Reduced front-of-house labor by 12%

7. When the transcontinental rail- in life size, and the connection speed is fast
road was completed in 1869, a enough to eliminate any lag between au-
golden spike was used to secure dio and visual. Already businesses looking
the final piece of track. Overnight to save on airfare have booked these suites
communication and travel be- despite the steep price ($500 an hour).
tween East and West became much,
What’s in it for restaurants?
much faster. The coast-to-coast rail-
Well, if a hotel can generate stays with tel-
road of our day is teleconferencing
econferencing, then a restaurant can cer-
– the ability to communicate visually
tainly sell some meals to the same crowd.
and verbally with someone else far
Morton’s Steak House is on the cutting edge
away in real time.
of this trend, with teleconferencing capabili-
hand, people are connecting online now
Until recently teleconferencing was ties in dozens of its locations across the U.S.
more than ever, and giving them a venue to
largely unavailable to the pub-
Of course, like most new technology, the do so while providing a great meal may be
lic. Marriott Hotels has begun to
cost to implement teleconferencing is be- a trend to watch in the future.
change that with state-of-the-art
yond the budget of most restaurants. But
teleconferencing suites in select As communicating with other people re-
over time, those costs will come down, and
locations across the country. The motely becomes even more ingrained in our
more and more restaurateurs will be able to
investment started to make a lot of culture than it already is, communal meet-
take advantage of teleconferencing as an-
sense when the recession hit last year and ing points like restaurants will become a
other service they can offer customers.
businesses started looking for ways to slash more and more popular venue for remote
travel budgets. Even so, the market for expensive, quality tel- communications. We’re not quite there yet,
econferencing between high powered busi- but the restaurateur who makes their restau-
This isn’t choppy video on a laptop screen
ness people isn’t exactly a large, untapped rant technology friendly is going to succeed
backed by lagging audio either. Three large
resource for most restaurants. On the other in the new era of communication.
screens display the people on the other side

8. In the last year, Groupon.com and a whole array of
other discount coupon websites have stampeded
the internet like buffalo in front of a prairie fire.
These sites operate by getting large discount vouchers from restaurants (usually in the
50% range) and then marketing them to a large list of potential customers through
email and the internet.
The argument made to restaurants goes like this: bite the bullet on this deep discount
coupon and you’ll earn a repeat customer who comes back for more, making you
money in the long run.
It’s a compelling argument, and already many restaurants have tried it. There is still
quite a bit of debate about how effective these deep discount coupons actually are
at getting a restaurant repeat business.
The first school of thought is that butts in seats are better than empty Unfortunately, statistics are spotty on breakage rates. Many restau-
chairs, no matter what it took to get them there. These restaurateurs rants hope for 30% (i.e. 30% of customers who bought a Groupon
are indeed biting the bullet and hoping for some repeat business coupon for their restaurant never redeem it), but since it takes up to
down the line. a year to find out exactly who is redeeming these coupons, business
owners may have to wait awhile to find out how high their breakage
The second school of thought takes a more skeptical approach. The
rate actually is.
biggest fear with bringing in customers on such deep discounting
is that all the new business is there because of the once-in-a-life- Thus it comes as little surprise that many restaurant owners view these
time deal being offered by the restaurant, not because they have deep discount sites with a healthy dose of skepticism. That’s not to
or plan to have any connection say these coupons can’t ever be an effective tool for
with that establishment. Without restaurants.
repeat business, the Groupon
Some restaurateurs have used deep discounting sites
concept is completely sunk, be- The X factor in making a calculation like Groupon or BlackBoardEats to promote grand
cause there’s no money in that
about using a deep discounting openings or significant additions like a new dining room
first visit for restaurants.
coupon service for your business: or patio or a new menu. In situations where it’s impor-
Naturally, Groupon claims a 90% tant to build a lot of buzz very quickly because you’re
return rate for customers who offering something new, a deep discount program can
Number of guests who
use their coupons. That number be a great way to reach customers en masse.
hasn’t been independently veri- use the coupon In these cases, you’re not as worried about getting
fied. It’s also a bit of a logistical
problem to track customer visits VS. repeat business as you are about filling your establish-
ment for a specific reason.
after they redeem their Groupon
Number who bought The jury is still out about deep discounting, but in cer-
coupon. The fact that coupons
are good for a year on average the coupon tain situations, like opening night, it can be a surefire
makes it difficult for restaurants way to pack your restaurant. For restaurants with an es-
to know exactly how successful This is known as the “breakage rate” tablished brand and customer base, deep discounting
their discount program is, since it and can really help a restaurant get appears to be a much more risky proposition.
can take a long time for all cou- back some of the money they’re
pons to be redeemed.
giving away on coupons that are
redeemed.
8

9. The internet doesn’t always have to be a raw deal for restaurants.
You just have to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em,
Too many customers.
A great problem to have, right? Here are some key lessons the big
know when to walk away…you get the picture. One gamble you
chains have already learned:
can certainly bet to win is online ordering - if you’re holding the right
cards. Be prepared. Internet sales aren’t going to come in during the af-
ternoon lull. They’re going to pour in when everyone else is hungry:
As some restaurants have discovered, however, you can also shoot
right at lunch and during the dinner rush. When you first start out,
yourself in the foot.
assign extra staff. You don’t know how online orders are going to
One national chain launched online ordering a couple years ago shake out, and the last thing you want is to compromise service
and it proved to be far too successful. Orders poured in and staff try- because you can’t keep up with online orders.
ing to fill online orders frequently got in the way of staff trying to take
Manage order flow. As others have learned the hard way, hav-
care of customers in the store. Customer service suffered, which is
ing two teams, one working on walk-in customers and the other
the last thing any restaurant can afford.
devoted to internet sales, is a great idea in theory, but when those
two teams are competing for the same food prep resources, prob-
lems and inefficiencies arise. Make sure you develop a way to either
give both teams their own resources or a way to integrate orders
from both sources that allows your staff to deal with them in a timely
manner.
Be flexible. No matter how well you prepare, something is going to
go wrong. Be ready to make adjustments and continue to tweak
your service until you get it right according to your circumstances.
For many restaurants, online ordering seems like a distant prospect.
Don’t be fooled: this is a trend that will sneak up on the food service
industry faster than most realize, and when the day comes for your
restaurant, no matter how large or small, to accommodate custom-
ers coming in from the internet,
Be prepared.
9

10. In the old days, if
you wanted help
with the heaviest,
toughest work day
in and day out, you
used a mule.
Some restaurants are finding that a good computer is just like a good up the lights and equipment all at the same time. All of these things
mule was back then – dependable and ready to work hard every mean wasted energy and therefore wasted money.
day to save you a passel of money.
The energy savings alone from having an automatic thermostat that
Some restaurants have discovered a great mule in the form of a drops the heat in winter and the cool in summer during off-business
fully automated energy management systems (EMS) to help reduce hours is significant.
energy usage in their restaurants.
An energy management system goes much further. An alarm will
Energy management systems have been around for a couple dec- sound if the door to the walk-in has been left open for more than
ades, but recent technological advances have really improved 10 minutes. Employees walk into work in the morning with the lights
what an EMS can do. A modern EMS system can control air condi- already on and the equipment powered up and ready to go. These
tioning, hood exhaust fans, lights, and even equipment power-ups increased efficiencies not only reduce the headache factor, they
automatically via a central computer that doesn’t even have to be can translate into some real savings.
in the same building.
Granted, most smaller operations probably can’t afford a compre-
Why is that good? Imagine an employee deciding it’s too hot and hensive EMS just yet. But as the technology gets cheaper and ener-
dropping the thermostat to 50 and leaving it on overnight. Idle cook- gy expenses continue their inevitable rise, the day may not be far off
ing equipment getting well ventilated by a hood fan on full blast. when it makes sense for even a small restaurant to have a compre-
Or maybe the morning shift manager arrives a little late and cranks hensive, automated system managing their energy consumption.
Why not set up your own
energy management system?
It may not have all the same cool computer-powered features of
a modern EMS, but it can be just as effective. Consider setting up
some guidelines for your staff on how to power up equipment and
turn on lights in sequence when opening your restaurant:
1. Train kitchen staff to dial back ovens, ranges, and
broilers during downtimes and cut back the hood exhaust.
2. Post guidelines and expectations for energy usage like
closing refrigerators, and hand out rewards for energy
efficient practices.
3. And most importantly, buy an Energy Star rated automatic
thermostat! It’s much less expensive than a fancy EMS,
and accomplishes the same goal: automatically adjusting
the thermostat during non-business hours.

11. he technological advances of the past decade have certainly made
for a wild ride. Every business out there is still trying to figure out how
to incorporate all of the new ways to engage and serve customers
made possible by those advances.
However, one thing is certain: the pace at which new technology
becomes available is only going to get faster, not slower, and that
means restaurants don’t have a moment to lose.
This is the point where a skeptic might say, “Wait a minute, my restau-
rant is doing just fine – the past couple years have been rough, but we
got through it and now just as things are looking up you want me to
spend a bunch of money I don’t have on new technology that won’t
necessarily give me an immediate return on investment?”
The truth is that a steady investment in technology can mean real returns for your
restaurant – just look at what online ordering has done for some cutting edge
national chains or how iPad menus have changed the way customers order
food.
Some of these trends can seem a little far-fetched, like hosting teleconfer-
encing events for customers or employing robot servers. At the same time, 10 years ago a site like Groupon seemed
equally implausible, and yet the restaurant industry finds itself grappling with how to deal with mass internet discounting
today. Maybe robots and video phones aren’t all that far off after all.
No matter how you look at it, the game is changing, and that leaves the food service industry with two choices: get on
the train or get left behind. Those that choose to venture to the frontiers of technology will find themselves in green new
pastures, where they can stake out the best homesteads and wait for the rest to catch up.
6 ways technology is changing
A Brave New Front of the House 4. The Internet Deals A Short Hand
The Server’s Favorite Six-Shooter 5. And Can Also Give You A Full House
Give Your Menu A Golden Spike 6. Computers Are Like A Good Mule
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