National Restaurant Association Show announces new Foodservice at Retail Conference

(Chicago) The National Restaurant Association announces a new Foodservice at Retail (FS@R) Conference as part of the 2016 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show®, taking place at Chicago’s McCormick Place from May 21-24. The all-day conference, held on Monday, May 23, specifically addresses the challenges of retail operators in adding or expanding foodservice offerings to existing C-store and supermarket operations. 

New culinary and retail collaborations continue to offer cutting-edge streams of revenue for foodservice and retail operators within the hospitality industry. In celebrating the “grocerant” movement, attendees will hear insights from experienced foodservice and retail leaders addressing critical topics such as: operational hurdles of food service within a retail establishment; building a culinary culture in a retail environment; food handling and safety challenges; recruiting foodservice and culinary professionals to work in a retail establishment; and more. The conference also includes an offsite tour and lunch at one of Chicago’s great foodservice at retail success stories, Mariano’s.

“As more and more restaurant and foodservice operations open within retail establishments, the knowledge and expertise of our NRA Show exhibitors and foodservice leaders becomes a welcomed resource for supermarket and c-store operators,” says Lisa Ingram, Convention Chair for NRA Show 2016 and President and CEO of White Castle System, Inc. “The FS@R Conference allows C-store and supermarket operators to share experiences, best practices and lessons learned from marketing to hiring practices required to run a successful food service operation within the retail industry.”

Registration is now open to attend the FS@R Conference for $259 (includes full access to NRA Show) at https://show.restaurant.org/Attend/Registration. 

The following details topics and speakers at the FS@R Conference: 

State of the Food Service @ Retail Industry

Wade Hanson, Technomic

Topics Explored: Overview of C-store and supermarket operations; Consumer acceptance and insights; Predictive modeling for consumer usage

The Food Service @ Retail Culture (panel discussion)

Ryan Sheetz, Sheetz; Joe Gozzi, Wakefern\ShopRite; Steven Petusevsky, CIA; Brain Dunn, Hanskissle; Nicolas Granucci, Ecolab; Phil Lempert, (moderator)

Topics Explored: Challenges for traditional grocers; How to empower the organization; The power of selling “really good food”; Food handling & safety challenges; Sourcing 

The Role of Health & Wellness in FS@R 

Melanie Dwornick, Wakefern 

Topics Explored: How to educate staff and shoppers; Health & wellness trends 

  

Mariano’s Tour & Lunch 

Amanda Puck, Mariano’s; Gary Zickel, Mariano’s 

Labor & Talent Recruiting (panel discussion) 

Greg Drescher, CIA; Gary Zickel, Mariano’s; Matt Beenblossom, Hy-vee; Phil Lempert, (moderator)

Topics Explored: Changing the perception of “retail”; Hiring talent from culinary schools; Managing chefs in retail setting; Impact of the minimum wage; Outsourcing products and ingredients 

Marketing your Food Service @ Retail Operation

Amanda Puck, Mariano’s

Topics Explored: Dynamic marketing through social media; Making it interactive with the shopper; Presenting your FS@R concept to the consumer; The role of special events 

 

The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show^® is the largest annual gathering of restaurant, foodservice, and lodging professionals in the world. NRA Show^® 2016 will be held May 21-24 at McCormick Place in Chicago, and the 2016 BAR at NRA Show Event, held in conjunction with NRA Show, will take place May 22-23. The events attract 66,000+ attendees and visitors from all 50 states and 100+ countries, and showcase the latest products, services, innovative ideas, up-to-the-minute information about trends and issues, and growth opportunities. For more information, visit the NRA Show and BAR websites at Restaurant.org/Show and Restaurant.org/BAR and find the NRA Show on Twitter @NRAShow, Facebook, Instagram @NRAShow, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest and our year-round content hub Brainfeed.