Success Story Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, NYC
TOM moved in to a popular restaurant in Manhattan and instantly made life easier there. “The staff is loving it! Before we were constantly switching bags”. Famous for its delicious chicken, the place is open till 2.00 am and TOM does not mind working the late night shift!
BLUE RIBBON RESTAURANTS, A NEW YORK CITY BASED RESTAURANT GROUP, presents a fascinating and inspiring concept as each venue has its own individual style and unique menu. Since its inception in 1992, the group has expanded successfully and in 2013 a new addition, the casual eatery Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, opened in East Village in Manhattan.
Voted ”best fried chicken in the US” The Chicken dishes and ice cream are on the menu and the specialty is the delicious crispy fried chicken, which has been voted “Best fried chicken in the US” in the Food & Wine Magazine. The restaurant is serving on average 400-500 guests per day and it is open 7 days a week till late night. As it is located in a residential area far from office buildings, the busiest hours are from dinner until 2:00 am.
Understandably, this popular place generates a tremendous amount of garbage and up until a couple of months ago it kept the staff busy switching bags at the trash and recycling point. It was a time-consuming activity, but all that changed when two TOM units moved into the restaurant replacing the traditional set up. Robert Anderson, the general manager, is impressed with the new solution:
“With the TOM compactors on site, even on a busy day just 1-2 bag switches are sufficient to handle all the trash. Before, we were constantly switching bags! The staff is loving it and the restaurant is much cleaner now.”
Went from two to one busser at night
To keep the sitting-area orderly, the staff is taking turns to be bussers. The bussers are a part of the hospitality function in the restaurant, socializing with the guests, wiping tables and changing the trash bags.
In New York City, the trash has to be stored indoors at daytime and at Blue Ribbon the bags are brought to a refrigerated garbage room. The room is now less crowded and the significantly reduced number of bags are more
efficient to handle when they are brought outside early in the morning for pick up. The decreased volume also results in reduced garbage collection costs.
“Before we got TOM, I always had to schedule two bussers for the late night shift. One of them was dedicated to handling the garbage, but now when TOM takes care of that, I just need one busser.”
Robert Anderson, general manager at Blue Ribbon
No more hassle with glass bottles Another advantage of installing TOM is to no longer have to deal with glass bottles. Before the soft drinks were served in bottles, but since TOM came Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken has invested in a soda fountain, where the guests pour the beverage into plastic cups, which TOM takes care of after the meal. Mr. Anderson, explains:
“The fountain of “old style” flavored soft drinks like black
cherry, grape and coke is very popular and we sell more drinks than ever. At the same time we do not need to handle glass bottles anymore.”
