There’s no need to adjust your glasses. Restaurants are getting smaller.
Some of the biggest players in the foodservice industry, such as McDonald’s, Portillo’s and Del Taco, have rolled out smaller-format stores in the last year, with plans to keep growing — only smaller. The trend is real.
Your customers are pursuing prime locations on smaller sites. A more streamlined facility allows operators to fit into urban locations where they can continue to boost takeout, delivery and off-premises revenue streams. And, in the process, they can save on build-out and real estate costs.
As your customers rethink their kitchen layouts to optimize efficiency, your product expertise will be an increasingly vital ingredient in delivering superior customer service.
Hatco has a reputation for designing foodservice equipment that is agile, flexible, resilient and responsive to changes in the industry. That kind of strategic anticipation has put Hatco in position to help your customers maximize their increasingly smaller spaces.
By looking at why kitchen layouts are integrating compact, versatile foodservice equipment, you will quickly figure out how best to help them.
Minimize labor costs
There is a competitive advantage in maximizing employee output while reducing overall headcount. Obviously, less payroll equates to less costs. But streamlining kitchen labor requires you to put people in the right position — literally. The less people have to move around a kitchen, the more time they have to multitask or engage in customer service activities. Compact equipment keeps employees moored in one place.
These Hatco kitchen solutions are essential to optimizing a kitchen for maximum efficiency or productivity:
- The Intelligent Toast-Qwik® Narrow Conveyor Toaster is fast, reliable and extremely versatile, with the ability to toast multiple bread products, as well as melt cheese and finish smaller food products, at the touch of a button. The narrow design allows for continuous single-slice toasting on even the smallest of countertop spaces.
- The Electric Salamander is a single unit that can do the work of much larger and more expensive pieces of equipment. With a small footprint and easy-to-use controls, the salamander automatically transitions from cook to hold mode to prevent burning and gives commercial foodservice operators the flexibility to multitask.
- Flav-R-Savor® Tall Humidified Cabinets utilize vertical space to create a large-capacity holding solution. Employees can make greater quantities of food in advance, so they can perform customer-facing tasks during the busiest times. A full-view door and easy-access design lets workers locate menu items quickly.
Reduce carbon footprint
A significant part of the overall strategy for building smaller kitchens is to reduce overhead costs. When restaurant equipment can mirror this objective — do more while using less energy — it’s a net win for your customer. Smart equipment design uses less overall energy and does a better job of capturing the energy that is used. A smaller kitchen footprint equals a smaller carbon footprint, which equals a smaller energy bill.
These Hatco products are on the cutting edge of energy efficiency:
- Induction cooktops use 85%-95% of the energy they generate. Furthermore, induction cooktops are up to three times more energy efficient than gas cooktops and 10% more energy efficient than smooth-surface electric cooktops. They do not emit nitrous oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO) or formaldehyde (HCHO), all of which can have negative health effects and exacerbate respiratory conditions.
- Refrigerated Drop-In Wells, Drop-In Frost Tops and Cold Built-In Shelves all have condensers utilizing environmentally friendly R-290 refrigerant, which has a 90% higher heat absorption capacity than other refrigerants, resulting in quicker temperature recovery and lower energy consumption. Optimal and environmentally friendly insulation on the sides and bottom provides even chilling from top to bottom for better cold retention and cost savings.
- Toasters and zoned merchandisers conserve energy by only turning on when the product is present. High quality materials work more efficiently to maintain the proper temperatures and provide increased sustainability to your customer’s operation.
Facilitate customization needs
No two kitchens are exactly the same. Whether a customer is considering a new build-out or retrofitting an existing kitchen, they will need to incorporate some customization. Planning a kitchen goes beyond simply picking a color (although some Hatco lines offer Designer Colors). Choices can feel overwhelming, so make it easy for your customers.
These Hatco configurators are tools that give your customers the power to build and design a kitchen to their unique specifications:
- Build a Lamp is a one-stop shop for building the perfect decorative lamp. Customers can select heat or no heat, wattage, mounting style, shade design, colors and more to ensure their lamp fits their unique design and functional needs.
- Build a Shelf has the flexibility in design to match the flexibility of your customer’s menu. Hot, cold and hot/cold shelves offer convenience and versatility that make them an industry favorite (front or back of the house) for a wide range of applications.
- Build a Sneeze Guard helps your customer find the right sneeze guard for the right function that fits correctly. Don’t let customers overlook this necessary ally of food safety.
- Build a To-Go Locker transforms to-go foodservice operations by ensuring your customers have the perfect to-go holding solution. These systems not only streamline the pickup process but also ensure that food retains its optimum temperature and quality, enhancing the overall customer experience.
- Build a Well helps customers customize their well to make it a seamless part of their kitchen design. They get optimal insulation to keep food at desired serving temperatures in all well types: hot (dry or wet), cold (ice or refrigerated) or a hot/cold convertible well. Then, customers can adapt capacity, location, power and a host of features to meet their needs.
Incrementally expand upon existing products
Unlock the potential of a piece of equipment without changing its footprint in a kitchen. Start with core offerings; then pursue adjacent opportunities. Help a customer reach unexpected new heights in space optimization by offering equipment that is convertible or levels up with an additional component. This is a “Trojan Horse” sales strategy that uses an existing piece of equipment to increase sales.
Increase sales with these incremental additions that don’t change a facility’s footprint:
- Sneeze guards are necessary everywhere customers come in contact with food. This includes but is not limited to induction cooktops, cold shelves, portable buffet warmers, hot food wells, cold food wells and carving stations.
- Converting warm buffet equipment into a to-go station takes existing equipment (and footprint) and doubles the customers’ revenue possibilities. Accessories like Hatco’s modular/ganged heated well covers create a heated space to hold pre-packaged, pre-heated, self-serve foods at safe serving temperatures.
- Decorative lamps with heating capabilities provide light and heat for a busy kitchen. If you need to briefly hold food warm at various serving stations and enhance your decor at the same time, these are the perfect dual-purpose solution.
At the end of the day.
- There is a seemingly never-ending push by operators to do more with less. You can help them overcome their challenges. As restaurants become leaner, Hatco is there with logical answers. Why have three toasters, when one smart Hatco toaster will do the trick? Why use energy-burning equipment when smarter, energy-efficient solutions save customers money in the long run? Compact equipment reflects the reasoning behind smaller kitchens — boosting productivity, reducing costs, optimizing production and minimizing waste.
Still not sure what compact equipment to recommend to your customers? Check out our handy decision map.
