The restaurant industry is sandwiched between two distinct economic entities. Macroeconomic forces cause unpredictable supply chain issues, a fluid workforce climate and a digital age of algorithms and automation. Meanwhile, customers present a conundrum for restaurants. Their taste for quality food is ever-expanding, yet they expect an option for convenience on top of reasonable prices. Enter the hybrid restaurant.
The hybrid restaurant levels up from where the pandemic had left off. With conventions thrown out the window, we saw all sorts of changes on the fly: fine dining restaurants pivoted to pickup, catering operations became ghost kitchens, fast-casual concepts added delivery and everybody sought contactless payment solutions. No longer were restaurants operating in defined silos. Consumers got a taste for flexibility and creativity. This effectively frees restaurants to innovate and push the industry forward.
The upside for operators is that hybrid restaurants address the two economic entities head-on. Customers are given ancillary ways to engage with a restaurant: drive-thrus, collaborations with the arts, imaginative indoor or al fresco dining spaces, walk-up windows, entertainment and/or subscription models. In the meantime, restaurants diversify revenue streams and add to the bottom line. The goal of the hybrid restaurant is to use less labor, have a smaller physical footprint and manage volume.
The question is, when change comes, will your kitchen be ready?
Smaller footprint equates to lower costs
The hybrid restaurant is purposefully designed to operate in less space. This correlates to less monthly rent or more effective cost per square foot when purchasing real estate. There is also a sustainability factor to the hybrid restaurant, for less space equals less waste, saves energy and reduces the carbon footprint. Restaurant kitchens were already trending to be more compact. The dawn of the hybrid restaurant is accelerating that momentum. Countertop pieces of equipment like the electric baker can be diminutive substitutes for larger baking equipment. Calibrating baking equipment capacity to what you will actually use saves money. These savings become exponential when equipment such as the salamander can tackle a number of cooking tasks without using any extra space.
Efficient kitchens mean less labor
Minimum wage is increasing across the country, stressing an already tight labor market. The right kitchen equipment allows you to maximize the efficiency of the kitchen staff. In the best cases, roles can be found that are more customer service oriented. Hybrid restaurants often have employees wearing several hats. Labor-saving kitchen equipment, such as conveyor toasters that automatically monitor and adjust the unit’s chamber for consistent toast results, eliminates human oversight. Depending on the model, some toasters can even churn out up to 2,000 slices of bread per hour, freeing up labor for other tasks. Heated wells designed with large drains and auto-fill features help keep your headcount low because they’re easier to service, clean and fill. Thermostatically controlled wells provide or pull back on heat supply to maintain precise, accurate temperatures. This eliminates the need for employees to keep manually adjusting the temperatures.
Tech makes it easier for both sides of the transaction
Frictionless ordering, payment and pickup advances has been a boon to business. By eliminating physical barriers, new customers are willing to try a restaurant, while existing customers enjoy the convenience. Tech can help streamline kitchens for hybrid restaurants just as it did for the front of the house. Tech helps your operation serve more guests in less time with programmable cook settings, touchscreens and USB ports for programming. A faster kitchen leads to an increased sales volume. The hidden advantage of tech in the kitchen is the amount of data that can be generated. This data can then, in turn, be mined and analyzed for proactive means. You can find pain points and you can identify the most profitable parts of the operation. Tech allows management to make decisions based on real, quantifiable information.
The future is now.
Restaurant customers are pushing for ultimate quality and convenience in a time of economic uncertainty and tumult. The frictionless digital experience honed during the pandemic is no longer enough to stand on its own. Restaurants are evolving yet again, pushing the boundaries of operational creativity and efficiency. As this revolution takes hold, will you be ready? Begin equipping your hybrid prototype kitchen today by contacting a Hatco sales rep.
