Image: NRA Website

This year’s NRA show in Chicago just wrapped up. From food and seminars, to products and technology—the show really covers it all. To keep it simple, we’re just going to discuss some of the interesting trends we saw — along with links to the other information for you to catch anything you missed!

Latest Technology

Companies are finding innovative ways to use technology to make a customer’s experience with a product exceptional. Many times advanced technology can be something restaurant owners stay away from. We live in a fast-paced world and restaurants don’t have time to figure out how to fix a piece of equipment filled with technology.

However—companies are now not only making products that cut down on time, but are making them easier to manage as well. When searching for a product, don’t be so nervous or stray away thinking it’s “too advanced.” The people creating these products, from ice machines to digital signage, are making everything easier all the way around. Don’t think of getting the latest in technology as a fad, consider the money you will be saving later on down the road.

Digital Signage

Image: Titbit Interactive Digital Menu Website

Digital signage is on the rise and is a great way to go paperless. We came across several vendors advertising digital menu boards. This is an excellent way to advertise a menu, as many times pre-made signage isn’t easy to change and can be costly. With digital boards, changes can be made in an instant.

Another huge trend, which we have been covering, is the menu tablet. A major concern among restaurant-goers is a tablet can’t replace excellent customer service.

When speaking with a representative with Titbit about their interactive digital menu, she explained this technology actually enhances customer service. By using these menus, customers are in complete control of their order freeing up the wait staff’s time to focus on the actual service.

Food

If you attend NRA, you can’t miss the food. They truly have it all. Among the many food vendors this year were foods for a particular lifestyle such as gluten-free and vegan/vegetarian. Whether it’s a lifestyle choice or an allergy, customers with particular eating habits are no longer few and far between. It’s best to be prepared.

Going Green

Image: Conserve Website

Companies are finding ways to go green and many have at least one product that is eco-friendly. We came across many green products from fryers to disposableware. If you haven’t taken too much time on making your restaurant more eco-friendly, it’s becoming very easy to find a green model of a product.

As we’ve been learning about the importance of saving the environment, we released this whitepaper last month on making a restaurant economically friendly which will help if you’re not sure where to begin.

More Information

Here are a few links to other interesting aspects of the show. If you attended this year’s NRA show, we hope you share with us what stood out to you.

• Food Trucks
• Flash Mob
• Floored! Official Blog of NRA
• Kitchen Innovations
• Keynote Speaker: Colin Powell
• NRA Show Mobile App
• Social Media

Photo from thenafemshow.org

In refrigeration, the primary trend still seems to be energy efficiency.  For example, LED lighting is an option on many refrigeration lines now and is even becoming standard on some lines.  New Department of Energy requirements go into effect the second quarter of 2011, and most manufacturers seem to be ready for the changes.

Turbo Air’s booth at the show was full of exciting new refrigeration product launches, including ice cream dipping cabinets, prep units with drawers, and Premiere series reach-ins.  Manitowoc Ice had one of the biggest product launches of the show with their Indigo cube ice machines, with many energy saving features.

Photo from Cathy Lane

Cardinal Glassware introduced Zenix dinnerware, which is a fully tempered line of glass dinnerware.  It looks much like traditional china but has the durability of fully tempered glass with a moderate price point.

Hatco introduced heated zone merchandisers, which use “Spot On” technology to detect when products are on the shelf.  Super fast heat-up keeps the product warm; not having the entire unit on 100% of the time saves energy and money for the end user.

APW Wyott will launch their Champion line of steam tables in April.  These solidly constructed units have either hot or cold wells and come standard with poly cutting boards.  The tables have a lower price point than leading competitors and APW is expecting wide popularity with these.

Known for their forged knives, Wusthof is coming out with their first stamped series.  These knives have a poly handle, are NSF listed and come at a great price point.  Wusthof anticipates that this series of knives wll become a fixture in the commercial kitchen for everyday use.

In the area of beverage equipment and supplies, we learned that the trend right now is hot water products.  With the growing popularity of hot tea, oatmeal and pourover coffee service, the need for instantaneous hot water is in demand.  In fact, Bunn-O-Matic and Wilbur Curtis Company now offer hot water dispensers with “Oatmeal” backlighted graphics.  Service Ideas is also keeping up with the hot tea trend by offering contemporary tea pots, tea presses and tea infusers.

Photo from Cathy Lane

Melamine dinnerware continues to increase its presence in the foodservice industry.  Main melamine vendors – G.E.T., Carlisle, Elite Global Solutions – are seeing the growth in their dinnerware lines.  G.E.T. introduced SuperMel in Mardi Gras colors, while Carlisle launched their Dayton and Sierrus lines.  These new additions to the Central Restaurant Products catalog should help continue this growth.

CresCor introduced a new mobile holding cabinet that can be used for outdoor dining.  While electrical on the interior, the exterior uses propane tanks for heating and a solar panel to run the controls.  It has a heavy duty construction to stand up to the rugged outdoor terrain.

As for furniture, several manufacturers noted that unique seating styles seem to be the trend right now.  Low cost import products have become so prevalent in the market and these manufacturers have realized they can no longer compete.  Instead, they’re trying to set themselves apart from the imports and from their domestic competition by designing unique styles and offering more custom furniture options.

Furniture Imports debuted their booth-in-a-box at the show.  This unassembled booth (which saves on shipping costs) earned a spot in NAFEM’s What’s Hot, What’s Cool pavilion.

Photo from Laura Bedilion

In addition to the exhibits, the NAFEM Show also offered several educational seminars that the category managers attended.  Some of the highlights included Tim Sanders’ presentation on Corporate Responsibility and Peter Sheahan’s seminar on Innovative Thinking.  The NAFEM all-industry celebration on Friday provided a “night out” with industry friends, and Huey Lewis and the News got the crowd rockin’ and pumped for the final day of the show.

Customers loved our Central Exclusive trays, especially the Blue!

Not only did customers love the trays but they also complimented Central’s service levels, quick shipping and competitive pricing.

As far as attendance, there seemed to be less people at the conference this year but it was still fairly crowded.

The vendors had very few new products for this conference but most of them said they would be releasing new items during NAFEM. We will keep you posted on this.

Thanks to all who came out to visit the booth and support the School Nutrition Association.

This conference could not come at a better time. In the current times of obesity in children and the Let’s Move! campaign school nutrition is under the microscope. Attend the seminars to learn how to provide healthier alternatives to children, how to prepare and produce food, plan menus, promote a positive image on your nutrition program and more.

Visit the exhibit hall to learn about the newest equipment available in the foodservice industry. Some of the vendors in attendance include; Cleveland Range, San Jamar, The Vollrath Company and of course, Central Restaurant Products.

Visit Don Hogan and Sarah Templeton at booth #1733 for your chance to win a CanPro. Also come see the Metro Holding and Transport Cabinet and samples of our exclusive compartment trays.

These trays are one of many products offered exclusively from Central.

Central has worked hard to bring you exceptional value on exclusive offerings you cannot get anywhere else! All Central Exclusive products have the following features:

• Equal or better quality than the leading national brand
• Value engineered by Central’s team of Product Experts
• Offered only to Central Customers!

Enjoy the ANC, stop by our booth with any questions you may have and for your chance to WIN!

In case you missed it:

• • • • American Metalcraft introduced a wonderful new line of products called Securit. This line includes menu cover, write-on boards and markers, smoker poles and crowd control posts and ropes.  These items are similar to items you may have already seen offered by Central Restaurant Products but they have a unique twist to them. The style of these items could give your restaurant a classic feel.
• Cambro had a presentation that spotlighted the Versa Food Service System including the Versa Cart, Versa Work Table and more of the Versa accessories.
• Waring introduced several new items at the show this year. Among these items were revamped waffle makers, spindle drink mixers with LED readouts and a higher-horsepower Margarita Madness blender.
• Moffat is restyling their line of convection ovens into a classier looking stainless steel. Be watching for it to hit the market soon.
• Southbend will be adding a new under fired broiler option to their build-my range series. As of now it will only be available on the 6 and 10 burner models.

Be watching our website for these items to become available.

Source: PizzaExpo.com

We’re back from another fabulous trip to the 26th Annual International Pizza Expo.  Just like last year, we had a great time meeting our wonderful customers in person!

If you couldn’t make it out to the show, Central’s Director of Sales, Don Hogan, put together a list of the highlights from the 2010 expo:

• Larger crowd than in 2009
• Lots of hands-on displays, including the Nemco Easy Chopper II and Easy Slicer shown at Central’s booth
• New from HATCO:  Glo-Ray food warmers
• New from DoughPro:  Panini grill that is large enough to cook sandwiches up to 4″ thick!
• Hot trend in the pizza industry:  Gluten-free pizzas
• Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse provided cooking demonstrations

For more information about any of the products or trends mentioned, contact a Product Consultant for details.  You can also browse through a list of the top pizza supplies (and if you buy through 3/15/10, you’ll save 10%!).

Be sure to mark your calenders for the 27th Annual International Pizza Expo held March 1-3, 2011 in Las Vegas!  Stay tuned for more details from Central.

The 2010 International Pizza Expo will be in Las Vegas, NV on March 2-4, 2010.  Central will be at Booth #1036.  Stop by our booth to view a live product demonstration of the Easy Chopper II (a $241 value).  Be sure to enter for your chance to win your own Easy Chopper II while you’re there.

Plus, the Central Management Team will be there waiting to meet you.  Introduce yourself, ask questions about products and let us know more about your business.

We’ll have school-friendly foodservice equipment and supplies on sale, PLUS one lucky winner gets to take home a Cambro cold food bar – fully loaded with tray rails, end table, insert pans, divider bars — and we’re even throwing in matching compartment trays.

Meet your product experts at Central and take advantage of valuable education and networking sessions with other industry pros.

See you there!