Cafeterias of the past were often designed with one basic purpose in mind: to move students through the serving line as quickly and efficiently as possible. And as the number of students grew over the years, space constraints often necessitated changes that emphasized the “get in, get out” mindset. As a result, many traditional cafeterias […]

In early 2020, traditional dining nearly ground to a halt in the blink of an eye as the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world. Initial concerns about virus transmission through touch led to the widespread closure of self-serve food bars, and some dining establishments went as far as to shut their doors completely. Others pivoted to […]

Food wells are an essential part of any commercial foodservice business. They perform key roles in displaying food choices as well as heating or cooling menu items to specific temperatures. In addition to showcasing an establishment’s menu items, they play a critical role in food safety and must follow certain guidelines to maintain stringent industry […]

Breakfast is a critical meal for students, helping to jump start their brains and bodies for the day ahead. Kids who skip breakfast will feel tried, restless and irritable and may experience an energy slump by mid-morning. And those who eat breakfast tend to feel, behave and perform better in school, according to research. Despite […]

Food allergies have been on the rise in the U.S. for years, posing intense challenges for people to protect themselves from the very food they eat. As foodservice operations have worked to meet the needs of diners with allergies, a slate of guidelines and best practices have developed around allergy-safe serving. Most of those processes […]

Compostable packaging. LED bulbs. Recycling. Reducing food waste. There are many visible — and often publicly promoted — ways that dining operations enact and foster sustainability initiatives. Pursuing these daily efforts is important, but for best effect, they should be paired with a holistic look at the entire operation. The big physical pieces in any […]

See ideas for how to address long lines at the serving counter during lunch with this efficiency-boosting article. Learn more!

The start of the 2021-22 school year is looking much different than the conclusion of the year before. Many school districts are moving away from the online or hybrid models that dominated the 2020-21 school year — including the nation’s largest school district, which announced in May that its 1.1 million students would return to […]

It’s a tale replicated countless times across non-commercial dining. Old, deteriorating equipment is limping along. It breaks and is costly to diagnose and repair. It’s limited in what it can do and a struggle to keep looking clean after years of use and abuse. In addition, diners are drawn to the newer, flashier restaurant down […]

In many restaurant construction projects, building the front-serve counter — the literal front line of the restaurant experience — falls to the general contractor. What results is often a wall constructed like any other stick-built interior wall, with holes drilled in the wood framing to make way for electrical, water or gas lines. It’s functional […]