The United States wastes 30-40% of its food supply each year which has an approximate value of $161 billion. Meanwhile, more than 54 million people are food insecure in 2020 (18 million of which are children), showing a 45% increase from before COVID. This emphasizes the important role restaurants and hotels have in educating their customers about food sustainability and to act as an example and leader in these efforts. Chef Kevin Templeton from San Diego has set out to be just that through his restaurant and his efforts in the community. Nurturing a passion for cooking since the age of 17, K ..read more

ABOUT Locations: 5 Weekly meals sold: 180’000 (Q4 2020) Website: Everytable Founder / CEO: Sam Polok Investors: Creadev, Kaiser Permanente Ventures Funding: $16M Series B Since the beginning of the first shut down order, the restaurant bankruptcy mill has been churning at high speed. After restrictions were lifted the first time, many however were still able to invest the money and effort to reopen their dining rooms and bars. Mere weeks later, when operators had finally gotten the hang of the new normal, the second shut down was fatal. The investment to build up inventory from scratch was too ..read more

Taka Tanaka, the man behind the quest to revolutionize the sushi industry in the US began his career as a sales representative of AUTEC Japan, then established a demand in the U.S. market which turned the brand around by increasing overall revenues of more than 500%. This success lead to the founding of AUTEC USA, followed by the creation the company’s most popular sushi robot, ASM865A, a rice sheet maker for sushi rolls, sushi burrito, and the new concept omusando. Taka’s passion for innovation and developing solutions is furthered through participation in movements such as One Young World ..read more

ABOUT First US location: Sawtelle (West LA) in 1998 First location featuring robots: West Hollywood, October 2020 Address: 8486 W 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048 Website: http://www.manpukuus.com/ CONCEPT Manpuku, which means “to be happy with a full stomach” in Japanese, opened its doors to hungry customers in Tokyo more than 60 years ago. 1998 it took the leap and introduced Japanese BBQ to American consumers with its first US location in West LA. Now, it is launching a brand-new food concept in West Hollywood featuring the first robotic sushi machine made Omusando. Omusando – from the word ..read more

ABOUT Opening: October 2020 Locations: 1 location in Marina del Rey, CA Website: https://www.caprigelato.com/ Team: Remi Zimmerman, Robert Mahler, Mary Mahler Store designer: Built Inc. CONCEPT The idea of bringing Capri Gelato to California was born because the owner wanted to share his family memories of sampling the best Italian ice-cream in Capri with his friends here in LA. He assembled an all-star team consisting of ice-cream chefs, coffee connoisseurs and restaurant branding-experts to develop over 100 authentic Italian gelato and sorbetto recipes. All menu items are made from scratch ..read more

Anton Van Happen is a franchisee of Nick the Greek, a Greek quick-service style restaurant concept with an aggressive expansion strategy for 2020 - COVID be damned. He did not only successfully open a location in Ventura in May 2020, he is also about to open his next location in Westwood UCLA on October 8. The San Jose based chain was founded in 2014 and is centered around the concept of a traditional Greek Souvlaki house where guests walk in and order a Gyro to go. With 15 successful locations in the Bay area, the expansion into Southern California is the natural next step. Anton, tell me ab ..read more

TREND A growing number of operators are creating new virtual restaurant brands, available for delivery only. Basically, instead of offering the same menu in the restaurant and on delivery platforms, restaurant companies are creating a completely new menu with food items optimized for delivery. The idea behind virtual restaurants is for operators to diversify their offering, streamline operations and ensure high quality and great taste upon delivery. The already established coverage of the market by food delivery platforms makes the launch of a virtual restaurant brand easier and less capital i ..read more

Beginning of June, I went out to the desert to plan the re-opening of the food and beverage operations at a hotel near Palm Springs after it had been closed for 3 months due to COVID-19. In March, the governor of California had mandated all restaurants to cease indoor dining. Hotels were obligated to close down shared common areas such as pools, spas and gyms to protect the population from itself - which left destination lifestyle resorts no other choice but to completely shut down operations. Once restrictions were lifted in June, we were allowed to re-open the hotel as well as dine-in operat ..read more

ABOUT Opening: 1997, Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky Brands: KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, The Habit Burger Grill Locations: 50,000 restaurants in more than 145 countries Website: www.yum.com CEO: Greg Creed (Jan 1, 2015–) Investor: Public YUM (NYSE) CONCEPT “As a global citizen, Yum! Brands believes in acting responsibly as we grow KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell around the world when it comes to serving food people trust, growing sustainably and unlocking potential in our people,” said Greg Creed, CEO, Yum! Brands, Inc. Calling it the “Recipe for Good”, Yum! intends to leverage its scale an ..read more

Trend For centuries, restaurants have played a crucial role in the professional, social, intellectual and artistic life of our communities. We’ve drafted world changing ideas and planned revolutions in restaurants. It’s a place where we gather our extended families to celebrate milestones and by consuming their food, we entrust our health into the hands of the chefs. This responsibility, of providing a socially responsible and healthy environment for customers and employees, is a responsibility to be taken seriously. Consumers are becoming savvier about what actions are actually sustainable a ..read more