Sam Tell isn't just the one-stop shop for all the foodservice supplies and equipment a restaurant needs. It's also your source for insights into the restaurant industry.
Every month, we shine the spotlight on a handful of Sam Tell clients to celebrate their success and share what makes them special in our seasonal roundup. Take a look at this season's selections below:
January
National Restaurant Association Delivers PPP Loan Details
Here’s the gist of it: Eligible restaurants and small businesses can access $284.5 billion in new PPP loans, which can be fully forgiven if proceeds are used for allowable expenses during a selected 8-week or 24-week period that begins after the proceeds are received. This can prove to be a significant turning point for struggling businesses, particularly in the restaurant industry.
The National Restaurant Association earlier this month published a guide that outlines the new rules established by the federal government. Click here to access the document!
Eateries Display Hot Ideas To Combat Cold Weather
Dining outdoors in NYC during the winter months involves much more than a table, a few chairs, and an evergreen tree or two. Some restaurants have taken to building fantastic enclosures that can cater to intimate rendezvous or larger parties, while one particular eatery’s novel outdoor feature has proven to be more valuable than previously thought.
Click here to read our blog and learn more!
Winter Restaurant Week Takes On Takeout Initiative
Photo Credit: NY Eater
We love restaurant week. And while the summertime version was unceremoniously canceled due to the pandemic, city officials and restaurant owners have come together to hash out a plan to take the event out of the restaurant and give customers the chance to enjoy the culinary perks with a takeout version of restaurant week.
Click here to find out which restaurants can gain support through this initiative!
New Year's Eve
Don’t Drop The Ball On New Year’s Eve To-Go
With dine-in restrictions returning to NYC, customers are looking for to-go and pick-up options to ring in the New Year. Check out what some well-known restaurants are offering their customers by visiting our blog. Also, click here to download our Holiday Catering Supplies flyer.
Scare-Up New Business With A Ghost Kitchen
The restaurant industry continues to shift in new and unexpected ways. Though ghost kitchens have been around for quite some time, these dining room bereft eateries are transforming from niche effort to industry mainstay. Read more here.
Thanksgiving
Some of NYC’s top restaurants have opted to supplement the lack of sit-down dining this year with special Thanksgiving to-go packages. These takeout/catering hybrids feed multiple guests with the individual restaurant’s signature take on the holiday’s bountiful feast. It’s the perfect order for New Yorkers who typically spend Thanksgiving eating out in the greatest city in the world. And the best thing your eatery can do to serve these customers is to be prepared.
Click here to read our blog about what three well-known New York City restaurants are doing to keep customers fed and thankful. Reimagining Thanksgiving means taking a fresh look at your catering supplies—don’t waste any more time, contact your Sam Tell sales representative right now!
November
New Restaurants Strike Back with Three Openings!
Photo Credit: Rosella
Our first entry comes from a team that’s casting out sustainable seafood in the East Village. Rosella, a sushi joint docking at 137 Avenue A between East 9th Street and St. Marks Place, serves dozens of varieties of fish obtained from farmers along the coasts of New York, Oregon, and Florida. The menu also includes other farm-sourced ingredients, as well as an incredibly local drink menu.
Photo Credit: La Pecora Bianca
Next up, there’s the third NYC location of the fast-casual Italian eatery, La Pecora Bianca. The new Soho location slings local and seasonal cuisine, with a passionate focus on house-made pastas, fresh veggies, and old-world Italian classics presented with a modern flair. While the exterior of this location is strikingly similar to the restaurant that previously called this location home, the interior experienced a full-scale remodel.
Photo Credit: LT Bar & Grill
Our final new opening comes from the Shops at Riverside in Hackensack, New Jersey. LT Bar & Grill bring an approachable dining experience with an elegant, yet casual New American style of cuisine. The menu boasts everything from burgers and steak, to a full sushi bar with salads, as well as an intoxicating array of classic cocktails. Though the restaurant’s website is still under construction, check out its Facebook page here.
October
The Sam Tell Fall Restaurant Survey
We’ve developed the Sam Tell Fall Restaurant Survey, designed for restaurant owners, chefs, and restaurant staff to share with customers. We want to help your establishment learn as much as possible about what customers want, how they dine, and what would make them most likely to visit your restaurant this season.
Once we’ve gathered the survey results, we’ll share it with you so that you can use the information gained to present your restaurant with the best possible chance to gain business from new and repeat customers.
How to Navigate Online Ordering Apps
Many restaurants survived the last seven months thanks in part to takeout and delivery. And these days, a growing portion of customers prefer to order via an app rather than the old-fashioned way of actually calling the restaurant. But, are these third-party apps beneficial to a restaurant’s bottom line?
In this blog, we present data on the ordering habits of customers and share our research on the pros and cons of third-party ordering apps. What’s more, we’ll clue you into a few lesser-known options when you’re looking to get your menu online and ready for “click-to-order” customers
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Originally published July 31, 2020.
