The Italian Place, Smaller Footprint for Fresh Food Fast

Many restaurateurs can’t pay the rent in a 10,000 sq. ft. building when consumers are hesitant to come in and eat dinner?  Consumers are dynamic not static and restaurant operators must be as well.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believes “The Italian Place is evolving with consumer relevance with a sustainable business model.”

When the consumer moves, restauranteurs must move with them or risk capitulating customers according to Johnson.  The grocerant niche filled with fresh food fast has been driving customer adoption in ever sector of foodservice for the past 20 years continues to do so according to Johnson.

So, it was a natural pathway an appropriate time to evolve for The Italian Place during the COVD-19. It’s new strategy is to leverage self-serve kiosks to streamline its ordering process, maintain consistency and enhance convenience and safety for customers.

Given that The Italian Place is an emerging hot concept at the start of its franchising journey, they spent significant time and investment in technology that has empowered them to evolve faster than many legacy chains. Smaller footprints, fresh food, fast is one of key hallmarks of the grocerant niche that consumers are most fond of and The Italian Place aims to edify its brand with relevant consumer trends.

Adriana Penachio-Sifakis, founder of The Italian Place  stated “We pivoted fast, communicated with our customers, and pursued opportunities to build efficiencies and add profitability to our model,”  “We added pizza to our menu, leveraging the latest ventless technology to cook the pies in 90 seconds at more than 900 degrees, which enabled us to increase revenue and profitability over the past few months.”

New ventless technology is clearly a growth differentiator, The Italian Place is doubling down on its portable self-serve kiosks. Customers are also able to quickly review products, pairings and process their orders independently with additional payment options like Apple Pay.

Penachio-Sifakis continued “In light of what’s happening in the world today and how it has impacted folks in the food space, online ordering and self-serve kiosk ordering has made a significant difference,”. “The kiosks provide a seamless process for customers to quickly place their order in our busy and fast-paced world, and with a global pandemic, they appreciate the convenience factor even more now than ever before.”

Dan Rowe, CEO of Fransmart stated “Concepts with built-in technology are thriving and continuing to see sales growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and emerging chains should take notice,” … “Investing in technology may seem like an unnecessary gamble for an emerging concept, but in these unprecedented times, operators are seeing first-hand how crucial it is to remain adaptable and nimble. Technology can play a key role in a concept’s ability to pivot and address changing customer behaviors.” Are you looking a customer ahead?

? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter