Planning for 2019: Tips for Operators

A new year can be viewed as a fresh start, with opportunities to revisit your operation for areas of improvement, ways to address emerging trends and ideas for this year’s investments. We spoke with members of the Antunes product and sales teams to hear their thoughts on the year ahead and where operators should focus.

“Operators should invest in equipment that addresses speed of service. Customers appreciate and will return to restaurants with good food that is served and delivered fast. Additionally, delivery will grow in all segments, and QSRs and C-Stores will be impacted the most as convenience is already a focus for them.” – Pete Hope

“With breakfast all day becoming more popular, Antunes’ Egg Stations provide a consistent, high-quality freshly cooked egg product each and every time. Egg Stations also help alleviate operational challenges. For example, a customer recently told me that they currently cook their eggs on the flat top where chicken and beef are also cooked. Remnants of those products were getting into the eggs, and therefore the eggs had to be thrown out. Their cooks were also inconsistent and often overcooked the eggs. Lastly, space is an issue for this operation, and there is no more room under the hood. The Egg Station has a small footprint that does not need to go under the hood and take up additional space. It also prevents cross-contamination and consistently cooks eggs to order.” – Ron Zuehlsdorf

“Since quick service restaurants are increasingly becoming an automated industry, restaurant owners will be evaluating how to reduce labor costs by investing in technology. Technology will also transform certain jobs on the kitchen line; equipment and technology factor heavily into simplifying these tasks with less human labor. Antunes has design for custom equipment to incorporate into the “connected kitchen.” – Olga Flores

“Labor challenges can be met with a myriad of Antunes products that allow the operator to simply press a button to start cooking and move on to other tasks. Antunes toasters allow an operator to provide a consistent and hot toasted bun. The operator no longer needs to be chained to watching the bun on the flat top grill; they simply feed the bun into an Antunes Vertical Contact Toaster and can multi-task. With the VZN water filtration system not only do you get filtered water that is safe and clean, you also have less filter change-outs which means less labor going to the maintenance of this vital piece of equipment.” – Ron Zuehlsdorf

Have goals for the coming year? The Antunes team would love to work with you to help make them successes. Connect with us to discuss how our foodservice equipment and water filtration solutions ― make plans to visit booth #2429 at The NAFEM Show February 7-9 to talk to our team or contact us via this form. Here’s to a great 2019!