Health | KRG Hospitality

Restaurant Tech Map Illustrates Innovation

by David Klemt

The hospitality industry’s embracing of new technologies is experiencing rapid and welcome acceleration in less than two years.

In comparison to the restaurant technology map by TechTable and Better Food Ventures from 2019, there are two entirely new categories: Shared / Ghost Kitchens, and Food Safety / Quality.

More than a dozen platforms on the 2021 map from TechTable and Culterra Capital (sponsored by Back-of-House) now fall into those two categories.

Changing Landscape

It’s a sign of current industry trends and what will matter to guests moving forward that ghost kitchens and food safety are emerging as separate tech segments.

Obviously, the pandemic didn’t create the ghost kitchen category. However, it did fuel a meteoric rise in delivery and takeout. In turn, ghost kitchens are more prevalent than ever.

After all, a former Uber executive Travis Kalanick owns CloudKitchens and Applebee’s is testing a ghost kitchen pilot program.

What was once the domain of murky, unpermitted virtual brands is now its own successful business model.

However, today’s guest isn’t concerned solely with convenience. In general, guests now take their health and safety more seriously since the pandemic

Tech platforms that can ensure the food guests are consuming is safe will ease some concerns.

Increase in Platforms

Again, in comparison to just two years ago, the acceleration in new tech for the industry is astounding. It’s also long overdue.

As a whole, the hospitality industry has been surprisingly slow to take on new tech. Although, it’s fair to say that there wasn’t much new to adopt until somewhat recently.

Now that there’s more to try out, operators seem keen to embrace tech that can help them streamline operations; improve inventory monitoring and ordering; hire employees and manage teams; engage with and market to customers intelligently; and much more.

Even better, the above map doesn’t include all of the available platforms. That’s excellent news as it means operators have an increasing number of choices to help improve their business in every category of operation.

For example, Barventory isn’t listed within the Purchasing / Inventory / Ordering segment. The platform makes taking inventory, gaining a real-time inventory snapshot, and efficient ordering a breeze. Barventory also features the world’s first live keg scale.

It’s challenging to find positives from the past 14 to 15 months. However, one good thing may be the leaps in technology our industry is experiencing.

If they continue, these innovations may make it easier for operators and their employees to recover.

A concept’s tech stack is crucial to operations and will only grow more important moving forward. Whether opting for a full KRG Hospitality package or the Mindset program, we can help operators make informed tech selections.

Map by TechTable and Culterra Capital, sponsored by Back-of-House

Featured image: Pepper by SoftBank Robotics (photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash)

Ontario F&B Workers Petition for Phase 2

by David Klemt

A petition on Change.org seeks to include F&B workers in Phase 2 of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Ontario, Canada.

The petition, which can be found here, is directed toward Ontario, Canada, Premier Doug Ford.

Currently, Ontario is in the midst of Phase 1 of Covid-19 vaccination.

Phase 1

Per the official Ontario Government website, Phase 1 aims to vaccinate around 1.8 million people.

The phase breakdown is as follows:

One: High-risk populations (December through March)
Two: Mass deliveries of vaccinations (April through July)
Three: Steady state (July onward)

Those eligible for Phase 1 inoculations are:

Health care workers
Adults in First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations
Adult chronic home care recipients
Congregate living for seniors
Adults over 80 years old

According to the Covid-19 Tracker Canada website, 1,116,496 vaccine doses have been administered throughout Ontario. In total, slightly more than six percent of the Canadian population has received at least one dose.

Phase 2

The second phase seeks to vaccinate approximately nine million people.

Eligible people are:

at-risk populations;
individuals with high-risk chronic conditions, and their caregivers;
high-risk congregate settings (such as shelters, community living, etc.);
adults aged 60 to 79, in 5-year increments; and
essential frontline workers who cannot work from home.

The requirement in bold should get the attention of all restaurant, bar and foodservice workers. Ontario identifies several “essential frontline workers” eligible for Phase 2. Among them are elementary and secondary school staff, police, firefighters, special constables, and social counselors.

However, high- and low-risk retail workers are on the list while restaurant and foodservice workers are not.

The Petition

Cassie MacKell is the person behind the petition to “Include Restaurant & Food Service Workers on Ontario’s Phase 2 Vaccination List.”

MacKell’s opening statement says, “I write this letter as a cry for help from the entire Food & Beverage industry of Ontario in regard to Ontario’s phase vaccine distribution plan.”

The petition’s creator goes on to say:

“As one of the hardest hit industries from Covid-19 why am I not seeing restaurants workers on this list? From the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic restaurants across Ontario have been heavily regulated and shut down by Premier Ford. Even after adhering to stringent restrictions and safety guidelines set forth by our government the framework continues to keep us closed, or only allows for limited seating capacity making it impossible for many businesses to survive.”

In closing, MacKell lays bare the situation for Ontario (and indeed all of Canada) foodservice professionals. Workers in this industry are exposed to people not wearing masks while they eat or drink; are unable to remain six feet from guests; and certainly can’t work from home.

Put bluntly, all those who work in foodservice are high-risk frontline professionals. If you agree and live in Ontario, Canada, please sign this petition.

Image: Alena Shekhovtcova from Pexels