R&I Insider - October 15, 2005

By The Editors -- Restaurants & Institutions, 10/15/2005

Philly Schools Change Course
Determination to bring costs under control led the School District of Philadelphia to consider the move from self-operated to contracted foodservice. After weighing proposals, the district last month selected Aramark— headquartered in Philadelphia—to provide meal service, vending and catering at 115 schools for a minimum of one year, renewable for four years. The company estimates the value of the contract at $120 million over five years.

Auditors at the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have urged the district to reverse foodservice losses at its full-service schools, says Wayne Grasela, director of foodservice for Philadelphia’s schools, which last year spent $80 million on foodservice. “We lost $3.5 million last year, and it looked as though it was going to get worse,” he says. “It was costing more and more to put meals on the tables.”

Aramark’s proposal includes $1 million to help the district implement a point-of-sale system by March 2006, along with programs to provide more than 100,000 students with breakfast, lunch and twilight meal services.

The move is not entirely budget-related, according to Carolina Lobo, vice president of marketing for Aramark’s school support services. She says Philadelphia foodservice employees “are thrilled they’re going to get food safety, nutrition and merchandising training” as a result of the contract.

Aramark says it intends to introduce its FUEL program—designed to increase nutrition awareness among middle- and high-school students—and other proprietary healthful-dining programs such as One World Cafe (shown).

MENU FOCUS
Thick and meaty or vegetarian-friendly, warm, hearty chili staves off seasonal chills across dayparts, standing alone in steaming bowls or atop savory favorites.

• CHESTERTOWN, MD.
  Washington College: White-meat chicken chili in a bread bowl
• CHICAGO
  Chicago Diner: Fiery Black-Bean Chili with ground seitan, onions, peppers, corn, tomatoes, ancho chile, corn chips and cheese
• GOLDEN, COLO.
  Table Mountain Inn: Huevos rancheros with two eggs, pork, green chili, cheese, black beans, guacamole, sour cream and salsa
• HUNTINGTON, N.Y.
  Faz’s Tex-Mex Grill: Soft-shell tacos with vegetarian chili, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese
• KNOXVILLE, TENN.
  East Tennessee Children’s Hospital: White-bean chili
• MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
  Red Robin Gourmet Burgers: Chili Chili Cheeseburger served open-faced with chili, Cheddar cheese, red onion and chipotle mayonnaise (above)
  Steak ’n Shake: Chili Mac—spaghetti topped with chili beef and special sauce
• TACOMA, WASH.
  Pacific Lutheran University: Chili cornbread casserole

Healthful State of Mind
With 96.1% of its schools allowing students to purchase food or beverages from vending machines or snack bars, Los Angeles Unified School District is more open to so-called “competitive foods” (not served by school foodservice programs) than are most districts in the nation. But what it and other California public schools offer students is about to change.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (l.) recently signed legislation setting new guidelines for foods and beverages available in the state’s schools. One bill, effective in 2007, allows high-school vending machines to dispense soft drinks only during 30-minute periods before and after school hours, a restriction already in place at elementary and middle schools. A second bill mandates that vended foods derive no more than 35% of their calories from fat and no more than 35% of total weight from sugar. The third piece of legislation signed into law last month earmarks $18.2 million for reimbursing expanded school purchases of fruits and vegetables.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released research on competitive-foods availability at secondary schools in 22 states and 11 large urban school districts. Los Angeles Unified School District ranked highest among urban districts for percentage of schools permitting competitive foods. The median across states surveyed was 89.5% of schools vending food and beverages; among urban school districts, the median was 81.5%.

The CDC report also found that 44.5% of schools across states and 45.9% across urban districts (both percentages are medians) offer fruits and vegetables. In Los Angeles Unified School District, 54% of schools make fruits and vegetables available.

The Whole Deal
The nation’s largest natural-foods grocery chain is trying to turn shoppers into diners. Opened last month, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market’s new Denver store features cafe-style offerings, including Italian trattoria, sit-down barbecue and seafood station. While many Whole Foods Markets offer seating and hot foods, the Denver location is one of just four stores that offer seafood. The restaurant, adjacent to the store’s seafood department, features fish sandwiches and fillet plates, as well as grilled and fried fish and shrimp.

The market, which also features five salad bars and a specialty candy counter with a chocolate fountain, has cafe-style seating throughout.

A Hire Calling
Taking a break from selling Big Macs, McDonald’s is marketing itself to prospective crew members. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain’s “My First” commercial, which began airing last month, showcases entertainers, athletes and professionals whose first job was at McDonald’s. The ad features 15 personalities—including singer Macy Gray (shown)—wearing McDonald’s name tags and praising the QSR.

“Our goal is to make McDonald’s a preferred employment opportunity throughout the world,” says Larry Light, global chief marketing officer. The spot also is intended to improve consumers’ perceptions of McDonald’s treatment of its employees.

The new commercial can be adapted for other languages or to include local celebrities.

A Fresh Start
The name above the door says Arby’s, but five-for-$5 roast-beef-sandwich promotions are nowhere to be found at Arby’s Marketfresh, the Atlanta-based chain’s month-old test concept in Schaumburg, Ill. The eatery debuted Sept. 12, a week before San Diego-based Jack in the Box announced it would shutter its own higher-end experiment, JBX Grill.

Tucked into a strip mall along one of suburban Chicago’s busy retail corridors, 40-seat Marketfresh packages the signature elements of fast-casual dining in a light, airy environment with high-backed booths and banquettes. Flat-screen televisions, magazines and table-tent puzzles offer entertainment.

On the menu, roast turkey, chicken salad, ham and Angus beef are the foundations for four types of sandwiches. A tossed-to-order salad station with 30-plus ingredients is the focal point of the exhibition prep area. Prepackaged salads and sides are available as well, with soups, crustless sandwiches for kids and desserts rounding out the menu.

Table Turns

• Mary Dillon (r.), previously president of Quaker Foods, assumed the post of executive vice president and global chief marketing officer for McDonald’s Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., on Oct. 3. She succeeds Larry Light, whose retirement is effective at the end of the year. ...
• Randy Garutti was elevated to director of operations for Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City. Christopher Russell succeeds Garutti as general manager of the group’s Union Square Cafe. ...
• Dwayne Chambers (r.) joined Boulder, Colo.-based Noodles & Co. as vice president of marketing. Previously he directed marketing for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. ...
• Kevin Stuessi was named senior vice president of food and beverage and strategic planning for W Las Vegas Hotel, which is planned to open in 2008 with more than 20 restaurant, lounge and nightclub venues. He had been vice president of food and beverage at Wynn Las Vegas. ...
• Amy Tornquist, chef-owner of Sage & Swift Gourmet Catering in Durham, N.C., is directing foodservice at the newly opened Nasher Museum Café in Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art. ...
• Restaurateur Kerry Simon is chef-partner for San Francisco’s Impala, an upscale Mexican concept with a 100-seat dining room and 181-capacity bar. ...
• A concept equal parts New England seafood shanty, Southern barbecue joint and all-American chophouse, Phatt Boys on Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., is the brainchild of Boston restaurant veterans Fred Rash and Scott Hartford. ...
• Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises has promoted Alpana Singh from sommelier at Chicago’s Everest to corporate director of wine and spirits. ...
• Chef Jona Silva (who has worked kitchens at Chicago’s Savor and Chilpancingo) has opened Meztiso Latin Bistro & Wine Bar with a small-plates menu showing Mexican and Spanish influences. ...
• Jeff Armstrong, who last worked with Tim and Liza Goodell at their recently sold Aubergine restaurant in Newport Beach, Calif., is executive chef at the couple’s latest: Dakota in Los Angeles. Seth Greenberg, who worked at the Goodells’ Troquet in Costa Mesa, Calif., is Dakota chef de cuisine.

Will in Search of a Way
Jim Funk, CEO of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, estimated that as many as one-quarter of New Orleans’ approximately 3,400 restaurants may never reopen in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Despite this, operators of many of the city’s best-known restaurants vow to rebuild and reopen as soon as possible. But restaurateurs’ dependence on services—including utilities, plumbers, electricians and others—and still-uncertain return plans by staff make it difficult to set timetables for reopening.

Katy Casbarian, daughter of Arnaud’s owners Archie and Jane Casbarian, reports that the 87-year-old French Quarter restaurant and Remoulade (which the family opened in 1993) suffered minimal damage and no looting but still will require repairs and cleaning. At press time, the operations had regained electricity but not potable water. “We love our restaurants and our city and are committed to returning to normalcy as soon as humanly possible,” Katy Casbarian says.

Those sentiments have been echoed by the Brennan family, which vows to repair and reopen Commander’s Palace, Brennan’s, Mr. B’s Bistro and its other operations. In a posting on his Web site, Chef-restaurateur Emeril Lagasse says his three restaurants in the city will “open as soon as the city is safe for our employees to return and it’s safe to open our doors. ... I have no doubt it will be a struggle, but I look forward to building a new New Orleans and an even better food city in the future.”

On Trend
R&I tracks recent menu introductions at operations across the country ...

• HARU SUSHI, multiple locations: Appetizer additions at this six-unit chain, owned by The Benihana Restaurant Group, include orange-liqueur-cured salmon crêpes with avocado, cream cheese and scallion sauce.
• IRON HILL BREWERY & RESTAURANT, Wilmington, Del.: In honor of Oktoberfest, a special month-long beer-pairing menu features options such as crispy potato cakes with applesauce, goat cheese and parsley-horseradish sauce.
• QUIZNOS SUB, multiple locations: The fast-growing sandwich chain’s latest is the Cabo Chicken Sub, which piles bacon, Cheddar cheese, tomato, red onion, spring greens, guacamole and chipotle mayonnaise atop sliced, roasted chicken (r.).
• SIZZLER, multiple locations: The revitalized company’s dining-trio promotion continues with an entrée of grilled steak with lobster-and-shrimp skewers, available through Nov. 20.
• SUBWAY, multiple locations: Recently installed high-speed toaster ovens heat up the top sandwich shop’s Chicken Parmesan Sub, with breaded all-white-meat chicken, marinara sauce, melted cheese, choice of veggies and a sprinkle of aged Parmesan.