Pizza Today - November 2019 - 28

Maintaining the station is
especially important in counter
service pizzerias, where guests use
the areas. "What the guest sees is
what influences their perception of
the pizzeria," says Jordan Wallace,
culinary director for Pizzeria Locale,
with two locations in Denver. "So, if
tables have crumbs, floors have trash
or in this case the self-serve beverage
and condiment station has spills and
dirty condiment bottles that is what
the guest will use to decide whether
or not the pizzeria is clean and
ultimately if they trust the pizzeria is
cooking and serving food that is safe
to eat."
It's everyone's responsibility to
clean the beverage station, and the
food runner keeps an eye on the
area. "Every time the food runner
brings food out to the dining room
and then walks back to the kitchen,
they are scanning what areas need
attention," Wallace says. "This path
always leads the food runner directly
past the beverage station."
Keep a checklist of all the items
that need to be set out. "For example,
32 forks, 32 knives all clean and
ready to go, and x number racks of
glassware," says Christopher Quirk,
chef and member of the culinary faculty at Kendall College in Chicago.
"Convenience for service staff and
for the customer is probably the
most important thing."
QUIRK, WHO ALSO RUNS THE QUICK
SERVICE CONCEPT AT THE CULINARY
SCHOOL, says quick serve customers

are often in a hurry, so they expect to
find everything they need immediately. Speed is important in full service restaurants too, as every search
for a grated cheese packet or a straw
adds a minute or two to the transaction, which creates a ripple effect.
"It starts piling up and the whole
system goes down in flames," Quirk
says. "Customers will say, 'How come
I've been sitting here for 45 minutes?
I need a lid so I can get back in the
car.' All of those things mean lost
revenue because people are not going

to be repeat customers."
Don't let the server station become
a place for workers to hide. At Zeeks
Pizza, with 17 locations in the
Seattle area, the stations are designed
to keep the service crew on the floor
and close to the customers. "We
want our stations close to the action,
not tucked away in some corner,"
says Dan Black, president. "We want
them to be as efficient as possible for
getting work done, but also be visually appealing to the customer."
The stations' countertops have
blinds, or 18-inch walls, that hide
the point of sale system and wires.
"We care about aesthetics," Black
says. "We want people to be more
focused on the food, the people
they're there with, the music. When
there is a bunch of clutter and just
stuff that isn't awesome it detracts
from the experience."
The blind is short enough that
servers are visible in the dining
room. "If they are there ringing in
an order or getting more tableware
or glassware, they can do it without
losing sight of tables and customers,"
Black says. "Our whole mantra is to
keep servers where the action is."
For some, a percentage of the
action has moved to takeout and
delivery, and that changes what's
in the server stations. "We didn't
realize how much takeout business
we would have," says Bill Oechslin,
general manager of Ciao! in Ithaca,
N.Y. "Now it's 15 percent of our
daily business." The eatery built high
shelves to hold empty pizza boxes,
and plastic bags hang from hangers
in the server stations.
The restaurant seats 140 and has
five server stations, and staff have to
be very careful about what is stored
in the areas. "You always find things
to put into the space you have,"
Oechslin says. "Make sure you keep
them organized." n
NORA CALEY is a freelance writer
who covers small business, finance and
lifestyle topics.

Pizza Today - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - November 2019