Restaurant Trends

Food delivery platform DoorDash announced that it's purchasing on demand food and catering delivery service Caviar from third party payment processor Square. The deal is reported to be worth $410 million in cash and stock. Square purchased Caviar in 2014 for $90 million. This acqusition will inrease DoorDash's delivery infrasture. Doordash will also gain wider market appeal--currently DoorDash service mostly features...

Forbes recently released an article discussing how self service kiosks are finally catching on with customers. They cited a 2019 survey that showed 25% of restaurant customers have used a self ordering kiosk at a restaurant within the past three months—up 7% year-over-year. Furthermore, 65% of customers said they would visit a restaurant more often if self serve kiosks were offered, and 30% of customers prefer to...

Taco Bell fans rejoice! Taco Bell has expanded its partnership with T-Mobile for another quirky promotion. Just recently we reported on the 'The Bell' a Taco Bell resort open for a short period in Palm Springs, CA this summer. Well, get ready for T-MoBell. Next week, July 23 through July 25 Taco Bell and cell phone service provider T-Mobile will...

Today, fast food giant McDonald's announced that it's partnering with DoorDash. The company hopes to widen the reach of its McDelivery service to customers. McDelivery with DoorDash will start on July 29 with 200 locations in Houston, Texas. McDonald’s will also be added as an ordering option to DoorDash’s monthly subscription service, DashPass. Nearly a million DashPass members pay a $9.99 monthly fee for...

McDonald's has a chicken sandwich problem, namely Chick-Fil-A's signature fried chicken sandwich. Yesterday, the board of the National Owners Association (NOA) sent an email to McDonald's calling for the chain to create a southern style chicken sandwich to compete with Chick-fil-A. NOA was created in 2018 and consists of more than 400 U.S.-based McDonald’s franchisees. The self-funded owner's advocacy group...

Recently we discussed Amazon's $575 million investment in UK based food delivery startup Deliveroo,  how Amazon has struggled in the food service delivery arena and how Amazon Restaurants was shutting down. Speculation by industry watchers was rife that Amazon was going to use Deliveroo to gain a presence and foothold in the digital delivery market. As of this week, UK regulators have ordered Amazon to suspend investing in...

American-Mexican fast food chain Taco Bell is opening a hotel for a limited time this summer. 'The Bell' in Palm Springs, CA will be open 4 nights beginning August 8th. According to the Taco Bell website, all rooms are currently sold out. In 2012 Taco Bell introduced the slogan Live Más (“Live More”), and for Taco Bell fans, staying at the hotel seems a great way to...

Interesting tidbits currently happening in the restaurant and retail industries: • Uber Eats has rolled out a 'Dine In' option for some cities.  Customers can order or food ahead of time, go to the restaurant, then sit down inside to eat. The service is now available Austin, Dallas, San Diego and some other cities. • For a limited time this summer, Sonic is introducing...

In May, McDonald’s announced that it would allow franchisees to select its all-day breakfast offerings. This is a huge change as this policy allows local McDonald's locations to offer menus based preference. Ultimately, McDonald’s is giving its franchisees the ability to make adjustments based on customer choice and sales patterns. However, part of McDonald's appeal as a brand is consistency. Customers can purchase the same...

On June 27th, The New York City Council hosted an oversight hearing to understand the impact of food delivery apps on the restaurant industry. The central question for discussion was: Do delivery apps make financial sense for restaurants? Lately, many New York restaurateurs have complained about the high fees from food delivery services and how they're being squeezed. Third party platforms have countered...

Recently it was announced that DoorDash has surpassed GrubHub to become the biggest food delivery service in the US. While digital delivery service has been growing leaps and bounds in the last few years, DoorDash has especially taken off. This spring, the company saw a staggering 189-percent year-over-year increase, compared to 32 percent at Uber Eats and 6 percent at Grubhub. Besides diners, the...

Canadian execs at fast food giant McDonald’s might be the only ones unhappy about the Toronto Raptor's surprising historic run. The team is currently one win away from their first NBA title after Friday night’s unlikely win against the Golden State Warriors. About a year ago, the head of marketing for McDonald’s in eastern Canada, Chuck Coolen, signed a major sponsorship deal with the...

According to a 2016 study by the National Restaurant Association, employee turnover across the restaurant industry was 61%. The percentage is even higher for customer facing employees. It's estimated that restaurant employers spend an average of almost $2,000 to replace hourly employees and nearly $15,000 to recruit new managers. Also, currently the restaurant industry has a shortage of workers. We...

Food Icon and tv personality Martha Stewart is starring in a series of funny Postmate commercials to show that life in the kitchen isn't always perfect and sometimes you just need to "Postmate it." Postmates delivers anything to over than 3,500 cities, serving more than 70% of US households. The company offers on-demand delivery from more than 500,000 restaurants, grocery, retail...

E-commerce giant Amazon announced on Friday that it has become a major investor during food delivery company Deliveroo's latest funding round. The company was able to raise $575 million, bringing the investment total raised to date to $1.53 billion. London based Deliveroo was founded in 2013  and operates in two hundred cities across 14 countries, including locations in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and...

The International Food and Beverage Industry Show will be held on May 18-21, 2019 at McCormick Place convention center near the shore of Lake Michigan, in Chicago, Illinois. The event is put on by the National Restaurant Association (NRA). The National Restaurant Association is the largest food service trade association in the world with a membership of  more than 500,000 restaurant businesses. The NRA...

After a successful month long test run at 59 restaurants around the St. Louis area, Burger King recently announced plans to offer Impossible Whoppers at all 7,300 U.S. locations by the end of 2019. The Impossible Whopper is made with a vegetarian patty from Impossible Foods, a California-based company that develops plant-based alternatives for meat. White Castle also offers meatless sliders...

Chipotle's Mexican Grill Inc. experienced a large surge of growth in it's digital sales last quarter. Chiptole, which has about 2,500 locations has focused on a multi pronged online strategy. In January the company released the popular Lifestyle Bowl menu which may only be ordered through Chipotle's website or mobile app. These entrée were created with diet conscious, keto and paleo customers in...

Online delivery service Postmates announced that it has expanded to 1,000 new cities since December 2018. The new locations include Santa Cruz, CA, Jacksonville, NC, and Stillwater, OK. Postmates is now available in 350 cities across all 50 US states. The company delivers to 70 percent of U.S. households from over 500,000 restaurants. Postmates is trying a variety of ways to grow its reach. ...

Students of Tokyo University have invented a cooking robot  'Lorraine' that makes breakfast in six minutes. They were inspired by the breakfast machine in "Back to the Future" and named their invention after Marty's mother. Lorraine operates a coffee maker to make a cup of coffee. With the help of a toaster and hot plate, 'she' also cooks a breakfast platter...

For one day only, on Saturday 4/20--known to Americans as a weed celebration day, Carl's Jr. will sell the CBD-infused "Rocky Mountain High: CheeseBurger Delight" at a single location in Denver. The CBD burger will be cost for $4.20. This event makes Carl's Jr.  the first major fast-food chain to offer a cannabis-infused menu item — even if just for a one-location, one-day event. The...

Coffee giant Starbucks Corp. reported high second-quarter earnings amid strong comparable sales growth in two key markets: the U.S. and China. The recent announcement of rival Luckin filing an IPO didn't seem to phase the coffee company at all. Starbucks attributes much of the recent growth to its newly revamped customer loyalty program. Starbucks said its Rewards loyalty program grew...

In 1969 Dave Thomas opens the first Wendy's® restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, at 257 E. Broad Street. When he was eight years old, Dave Thomas dreamed he'd run the best restaurant in the world. He didn't just achieve his dream, he shared it with everyone. Dave loved two things above all else, food and people. That's why he started Wendy's...

Many restaurants have been adding digital kiosks to take customers orders. Have you ever been to a sit down restaurant and you see a mini tablet computer in the table? These digital order-taking tablets are very well known and they now take your order and bill your order. You can even pay for your food with your credit card and...

After weeks of rumors of the possible merger, Burger King restaurant chain has bought the popular Louisiana fried chicken chain. While it took several weeks for Popeye's to come to a conclusion it finally sold for 1.8 billion. Founded in 1954, Burger King is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world. Burger King not only owns Popeye's...

Sintel Systems is Direct & One-Stop offering from a single source of responsibility and components of the best point of sale system: 1. Top-Grade Hardware 2. Professional & Enterprise Software 3. All-inclusive POSupport 4. Rapid Replacement Warranty 5. Global Gift/Loyalty Network 6. Embedded Merchant Account Processing Sintel Systems best Point of Sale hardware comes equipped with the top software to...

The Salon Point of Sale software by Sintel Software is a great solution for organizing and maintaining your salon. Problems faced by salons is managing employees efficiently. Many salons have outdated systems to administer their business resourcefully. Sintel Software understands the regimen in which salons and spas operate, and with doing so, we have created a Point of Sale system based...

Nearly 10,000 attendees visited The NAFEM Show in 2015. But what is The Nafem Show? It is a place where ideas, products and new technologies are introduced. Equipment and supplies that help reduce the time spent on cleaning and maintenance. Products that enable operators to slash food prep and cooking times. Technologies that automate normally time-consuming foodservice trends – making...

In 1948 Harry Snyder introduces California’s first drive-thru hamburger restaurant stand in a space barely 10 feet square at Francisquito and Garvey in Baldwin Park. Every day before dawn, Harry would visit the meat and produce market to pick out fresh ingredients, which he prepares by hand. Meanwhile, his wife Esther diligently takes care of all the accounting for the...

In recent years health trends and new higher quality competitors have challenged traditional fast food chains, causing the term "fast food" to carry a great deal of negative connotations. New players are strategically pitting fast food vs fast casual, as the try to distance themselves from the unfavorable phrase. The term fast food has often been associated with obesity and...

New technological advancements demand all industries, including restaurants, adapt and form a digital presence in order to remain relevant. Implementing digital strategies is no longer an option and the new year will bring more restaurant operators concentrating on developing the restaurant experience through in-app integration and technology. In an excerpt from Entrepreneur.com specialist discuss the following aspects developing the restaurant experience...

This year Orange County Restaurant Week celebrates 7 years of amazing dining.  The prix fixe menus are priced at $10, $15 and $20 per person for lunch, and $20, $30, $40 and $50 per person for dinner. The only thing to make for dinner during Restaurant Week is reservations! This is the time for food lovers to try new places...

The nation's pivot toward better-burger restaurants continues to gain momentum as rumors surface that Danny Meyer's Shake Shack is considering an IPO this year. In her online post, "Shake Shack Considering An IPO," Nation's Restaurant News editor and restaurant finance expert Lisa Jennings says, "The news follows an earlier rumor that the parent to the West Coast’s Habit Burger Grill chain...

To make a successful decision, potential franchisees must first gather information, primarily by asking franchisers the right questions. Thankfully, all 107 of them are a mere click away, on a recent blog post by Gary Prenevost, who self-identifies as Canada's Leading Franchise Expert. We at Sintel Systems found this of particular interest, as it matches the momentum we've witnessed in...

Small-business owners all use technology to one degree or another, but they may wonder how they stack up in that regard against other small business owners. To answer that question, we recommend that you check out a report issued by the National Small Business Association (NSBA) entitled "2013 Small Business Technology Survey." Just as we share our vast point of...

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) has released a new version of its Restaurant TrendMapper, an online subscription service that helps interested parties keep up-to-date with the latest economic indicators and trends in the restaurant space. We spotted the news in an item titled "NRA Releases New Version of Trend Mapper," at QSRMagazine.com (QSRM). Just as we share our vast point...

After a brutal winter, pent-up demand has tourism-driven economies, including eating and drinking establishments, anticipating a buoyant summer season. In their web article, "Restaurants To Add More Than Half-Million Summer Jobs," limited-service retail observer QSRMagazine.com (QSRM) is reporting on another factor for restaurant retailer optimism — projected summer job figures. The QSRM report looks at recently released projections by the...

With all the marketing messages from more than 35 different frozen yogurt concepts, it's easy to forget about, you know, actual ice cream. In an article posted on their website, "What's the Scoop On Ice Cream Franchises?," SmallBizTrends.com (SBT) thinks the real dairy deal has plenty of appeal. Given the strong presence Sintel Systems has in the frozen yogurt segment of...

Image courtesy of NYTimes.com Scuffin Treat: Hybrid Muffin and Scone The Cronut was one of the latest popular pastry hybrid dessert of last year. It's basically a cross between croissant and doughnut created by New York pastry chef Dominique Ansel. Just this week NYTimes.com reported about the new treat around the block called the scuffin; hybrid muffin and scone...

Huffington Post reports on the breakfast war between McDonald's and Taco Bell. Image courtesy of McDonald's facebook page. In recent news, Taco Bell released a new commercial mocking McDonald's by featuring real life Ronald McDonalds claiming their love for Taco Bell's new breakfast menu. On Friday, McDonald's replied back in a kindly thanks by posting a picture of their clown...

Missed the show? Not to worry. Schedule a live demo with us here at Sintel Systems today. Sintel Systems had a great go at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 2014 Pizza Show. Stay tuned for more news on expos that we will be attending throughout the year. But not to worry we can always schedule live online demos...

What can Sintel Systems POS do for your Pizza Shop? Check out our Pizza Expo Flyers to find out more: {{block type="cms/block" name="custom.block" block_id="blog_post_footer"}}

https://sintelsystems.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/customers.jpg" width="381" height="254" />If business is running slow or you aren't seeing a row of many smiling faces of happy customers, then it might be time  to address another training in customer service skills with your employees. Sometimes when the days toil on and on we all just need a little refresher to get our spirits up and back on ...

Are you passionate about eating donuts? Do you lick your lips every time you think about the perfect balance of glaze to filling and medley toppings? Are you unsatisfied with the range of trite and zombie-like donut shops that surround your local area? Let us let you in a little secret. There's plenty of room for your perfectly most popular...

Have you ever thought about which loyalty system is better to use? The new points system or the good old punch card? We understand that it can be difficult to adjust to new changes; for you and your customers. Everyone is already so used to how the system works. But believe us when we say that there are reasons why...

It's no secret that beverages have the highest margins for profitability. Are you maximizing your opportunity to make the most beverage sales? To start you need to have a good menu. What are the beverage trends at the moment? According to sourcing by PizzaMarketPlace.com: Overall, consumers want more coffee, tea and alcohol options from restaurants. For the youngest demographic —...

Be sure to check out one of the many Louisiana Fried Chicken locations all across southern California as well as some licensees in Texas and Michigan. 1401 W. Manchester Ave.Los Angeles, CA 90047 323 759-8771 3403 W. Slauson Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043 323 294-5468 734 W. Alondra Blvd., Compton, CA 90220 310 764-2110 4378 S. Main St., Los Angeles...

Is it 11:30pm and are you in need of emergency POS support? Our technical support staff will be right on it. Just contact Sintel Systems at: www.SintelSystems.com/contacts Select the Technical Support Department and leave a message for your request. A Sintel representative will be able to attend to your support request with in less than 24 hours. Just remember to...

Need to expand your horizons in the field of POS? Here is some advice from Entreprenuer.com on what kind of POS System you should be looking for. Shopping for the Right POS System In looking for a POS system, the choices are many, the price can range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars, and the final decision can...

Let us begin with a highlighted business tip from an EKS&H article that sparked this No 2: Hug Your Customers Ask your customers how they are doing. After all, the health of your customer’s business drives the health of your business. Approach your customers with a sense of humility. Spend some time listening and asking questions. Be proactive, and let...

A highlighted business tip from an EKS&H article: No 1: Stay Engaged With Your Employees As a leader in your business, you must provide employees with a sense of stability and confidence during times of economic unrest. Let them know that you are in control of the situation, and be a force for optimism. When job markets are good, employees...

Here at Sintel Systems we work with big and small businesses of all types. When it comes to differentiating the two, the 80/20 Rule that Perry Marshall speaks of on Entreprenuer.com comes into mind when noticing the differences between the small and big operations. Marshall begins by discussing how small-business owners tend to waste their time on $10 an hour...

Self-Cleaning Plates by Tomorrow Machine The future is upon as some thinkers, inventors and such futurists of the world are advancing us for a future of planned green goodness. With iphones, robots, google glasses, and 3D printing upon us, it's only a matter of time until all this technology shifts and changes the way we operate and facilitate exchanges...

Managing and owning a business isn't an easy job. It can be quite stressful as tasks begin to pile on and on. Contributor Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and cofounder of TalentSmart, writes about the importance of staying calm. The article "How Successful People Stay Calm" is featured on Forbes.com it discusses how one's success does in fact...

If you're opening up a new business this summer then you know that right now it's crunch time before the season hits. Everyone is waiting for their vacation filled with frozen yogurt, barbeques, swimming pools and shopping sprees. Here at Sintel Systems we know that prospective opening dates don't always go accordingly to plan, especially with first time business owners...

  Are you thinking about opening up a candy store? Like we mentioned in our last article on pizza shops, the best way to discover your own unique idea is to explore what's already out there. Fuzziwig's Candy Factory is a successful candy shop franchise that grew from just one store in 1995 to 20 stores by the end of...