Take a peek behind the well-buffed stainless steel lining the aisles of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show—held in May in Chicago—and you would have seen insights into the future of the foodservice industry: high speed and low labor, along with aesthetic appeal and multifunctionality. Even big data has made its way into the commercial kitchen.
“What excites me is the unknown and what it will have to look like to survive the pressures coming the operators’ way,” says Juan Martinez, principal for foodservice design consultancy Profitality, Miami, who was at the show and took note of the number of equipment pieces that were designed for the front-of-house spotlight, as well as the trend toward either highly specialized equipment or incredibly multifunctional pieces.
Martinez points out that the big-picture issues of the foodservice industry are going to be what affects the commercial kitchens of the future—specifically costs associated with health care, minimum wage and changes to franchisor responsibilities for store-level employees.
“I just hope that the legislators are thinking hard about the potential unintended consequences of these actions to the industry,” says Martinez.
As these ramifications come to fruition, manufacturers have already developed innovations to help the operator save on labor and costs while delivering increasingly fast and high-quality foods.
What follows are some highlights from the show floor, including the details of each product and the “hook” of why they deserve consideration for your stores.
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