When it comes to creating the perfect ambiance in your restaurant for your customers to enjoy and to also enhance your eatery’s brand and experience, many factors come into play. From the decor you choose to the furnishings, the art displayed and even the interior temperature, everything adds to the overall feel of your business and the experience you are trying to create. That being said, what are some of the steps you can take to help create the desired effect & feel you have in mind for your restaurant? After all, your customers are not only coming for the delicious food they are also coming for the entire experience.

One of the most cost-effective things you can do for your restaurant or any commercial business really is to have a commercial window tint installed on your windows. Window tint is a great way to not only add elegance and class but also help with interior temperature control which can actually help to lower heating & cooling costs. But the benefits of having commercial window tint installed do not stop there!

Benefits of Restaurant Window Tint

UV Protection

UV ray exposure is one of the leading causes of skin cancer in the nation and while we may think we are protected from these harsh rays once indoors, the truth is we are not! In fact, when no protective window film is in place you are still exposed to up to 50% of UV rays. When you add premium protective window film you are able to block up to 99.9% of UV rays, thus protecting yourself and also helping with heat control.

Keep It Cool

When you are able to block UV rays you are able to manage the temperature inside a little better too. Installing commercial window film can help to lower inside temperatures by several degrees. This not only creates a more comfortable eating environment is also helps to lower heating & cooling costs.

Asset Protection

Blocking out harsh sun exposure can also help to prevent fading of your furnishings and decor inside. This helps immensely in keeping your furnishings and such looking their best without having to invest in reupholstering them or buying new ones altogether.

Cut Sun Glare / Add Privacy

Having reflective window film applied to your windows can help to cut down on sun glare and promote customer comfort & enhance privacy. Depending on the time of day the sun’s glare can hit different tables throughout the restaurant. How annoying is it when you are dining with friends or a loved one and have to constantly block the sun’s glare? The window film also adds privacy and to the entire ambiance when passersby are not able to see in completely.

Having premium window film applied to your restaurant windows is a great investment that will last for years to come. It is important that you work with a reputable and professional window tint installation company to ensure your window film is installed perfectly. Not only will you notice the dramatic difference but your customers will too!

Farm-To-Table restaurants have begun to pop up more and more throughout the entire country. With more and more restaurants & individuals looking to support local businesses, the Farm-To-Table movement looks to source locally grown food to not just restaurants, but stores and homes as well. With the movement comes a lot of benefits for not only the locally sourced businesses but for the restaurant industry itself. 

Benefits of Farm To Table Restaurants

Freshness Guaranteed – when sourcing local ingredients like produce, meats, and dairy this allows for pure freshness. From the quality of the product to the enhancement of fresh flavoring, most locally sourced items never need freezing or need to add any preservatives. Making ingredients not only taste better but better for you as well!

Natural Ingredients – It goes back to the no need to add preservatives or negatively affect quality by freezing etc. A lot of locally sourced ingredients are often organic and in their naturalist form as possible. Because there is no need to account for travel time you also get the ingredients closer to their very freshest point!

Economic Benefits – Help improve your city & even state’s economy by opting to source local. Farm to table restaurants not only help one local business but a good amount of local businesses. This helps to boost overall economic profits for your state, city, and region.

Environmental Benefits – Sourcing local also helps to impact the environment in a GOOD way! Locally sourced food & goods mean there is no need for long transport & hauling. This helps impact the environment by reducing the carbon footprint. Organically grown food uses nonpesticides and not other environmental contaminants, making our air & water cleaner! 

The benefits of Farm To Table restaurants are endless and not only positively affect the environment, but local businesses and your local economy. Check out the closest Farm To Table options near you!

For those of you that are conscious of the impact gluten can have on your health and for those that are 100% gluten intolerant, staying gluten-free when dining out can be a huge source of anxiety. Over the last few years, with more gluten awareness, many restaurants do cater to the needs of gluten-free individuals & have added gluten-free options to their existing menus. But, for those of us who are not just merely watching our gluten intake due to self-diagnosis, but instead have a severe gluten intolerance, Celiacs, or Crohn’s disease, cross-contamination in restaurants does happen.

Due to the constant concern of those who fear cross-contamination of gluten in restaurants and to help limit any liability, restaurants have decided to become certified by The GFFS  Certification program.  GFFS works with different experts in food prep to help not only educate & train restaurants on gluten-free standards but to also develop a structured program that requires them to adhere to these high standards in order to become GFFS certified. 

The Gluten-Free Dining Experience

Where You Eat:

Your choice of restaurant selection greatly determines the quality and level of gluten-free options. Fast food restaurants for example may have less time to assess all the ingredients in their food products. Cross-contamination in fast food restaurants is pretty much inevitable. Not to mention are the employees being monitored at all to make sure they follow any of the gluten-free guidelines?

Call Ahead:

Calling the restaurant you will be dining at before going there can make it a lot easier to ensure gluten-free dining. Look at the menu as well and make a list of gluten-free ingredients and options. Having a little advance notice from both parties makes it easier for you to really enjoy great gluten-free options as well as makes it easier for the restaurant to be prepared before their busy times.

Timing Is Everything:

Timing your dining experience can make or break your meal entirely. Eating during peak busy hours at a restaurant can make it harder to access the right people and get through answers to your questions. By planning your meals during the slower hours or also by calling the restaurants of choice ahead of time is key!

Detailed Questions:

By utilizing a GIG question card that can be taken back to the chef or asking detailed questions to the chef, servers or manager can help you determine if you are making the best gluten-free options for yourself and can help to ensure that your meal will be safe to eat. 

While gluten-free dining can be somewhat o a lot of work when eating out, once you have key factors and habits set in place it is a lot easier to manage your gluten intolerance or sensitivity when enjoying a meal in a restaurant.

Our love of food and wanting to share our recipes with all have led us to the decision to look into incorporating a food truck into our restaurant concept. Upon doing our due diligence we found that the food truck industry is very lucrative and is continuously growing. But in order to stay afloat in the mobile food industry not only does your food have to be delicious your truck also needs to stand out from the rest to catch potential customers’ attention.

Food trucks are one of the best mobile advertising tools and should aim to communicate a bright/modern design that communicates your company’s values and purpose. So how exactly can you accomplish this? Wrap Works, a California-based vehicle wrap company worked with us to incorporate all the above and more with our food truck design. Offering full and partial vehicle wraps and custom graphics services, we were able to work with one of their vehicle wrap experts and create the design of our dream all while helping to brand A Slice of Old Sac mobile.

A vehicle wrap offers one of the best ROI’s when it comes to marketing/advertising. And while full wraps tend to offer more in terms of room for design elements and visibility from all sides, partial wraps are also great and are a bit easier on the budget. You can choose from ¼ vehicle wrap to ¾ of a wrap and is a great option if looking for more of temporary use. When customizing your own graphics you are able to choose, color, style, texture, logo, contact, and graphic placement.

Should you see our food truck roaming the streets of California don’t hesitate to stop us for some great food or simply wave to say hi! Our food truck is a little slice of heaven to us and we had so much fun working on the design. We hope to make a great 1st impression and expand our audience even further with our new mobile billboard. And because a vehicle wrap adds extra protection to the original factory paint your reserve more re-sale value in it as well!

What is the difference between pancakes, crepes, and flapjacks? While all three of these delicious foods are relatively from the same family they are still different in their own right. With pancakes and flapjacks being the most similar, crepes are on their own and often don’t get the credit they are due!

Pancakes are believed to be American with the first pancake recipe dating back to a 1700’s cookbook. They are generally served stacked upon one another and have a slight height and bit of fluff to them

Flapjacks are very often confused for the same thing as pancakes, but flapjacks are a bit puffier and a bit smaller than a traditional pancake.

Crepes are of French descent and are often referred to as “paper-thin” cakes. When making crepes the crepe is to cover the entire base of the pan and are served with either a sweet or savory filling in them. While you can add things like bananas and chocolate chips to pancakes or even flapjacks, the possibility of filling for a crepe is virtually endless. 

In 1935 Vogue magazine wasn’t the biggest fan of pancakes and told their readers that “ pancakes are frankly difficult and not worth eating unless they are of paper thinness and succulent tenderness”. Sounds like what someone really had in mind was a crepe and not a pancake!

Whether you choose to enjoy pancakes, flapjacks, or crepes, the great thing about all of these is that you can customize them by adding some of your own ingredients and making them as delicious as you wish!

We discussed before the benefits of adding a vinyl wrap to your restaurant vehicle. Not only do commercial vinyl wraps help with branding your business, but they also act as a mobile billboard reaching a wider audience, helping to cement brand identity and create brand awareness. And while vinyl wraps for your business vehicle help to protect the underlying original factory finish, they only do so up to a certain point. While vinyl wraps do offer a great ROI in terms of your marketing/advertising expenses they still are not meant as true means of vehicle protection. So what is the best way to utilize your business/restaurant vehicle as a means of advertising & marketing while also helping to keep it looking its best and utilizing one of the best industries means of paint protection? Introducing paint protection film also known as PPF or clear bra.

The Benefits of Paint Protection Film

When it comes to your business you want to protect all aspects of it. From the building, you occupy to your business vehicles and everything you have invested in your business you want to make sure that you are as insured as possible. If you utilize your restaurant vehicles as delivery vehicles like most restaurants are these days, you also run into the issue of a lot of wear & tear, and a lot of environmental and other outside contaminants/factors marring the surface of your vehicle. Because your vehicle also represents your business and the food you are delivering you want it to stay looking its best. Not to mention the ease of maintenance and upkeep would be great as well so you don’t spend too much time worrying about cleaning and washing your vehicle. This is where paint protection film or clear bra comes in. PPF is applied to your vehicle with the same application technique as that of a vinyl wrap. With no color or texture to it, it acts as a top coat but one that is 3-5 stranger than that of your actual factory clear coat. With hydrophobic properties, water & other contaminants such as bird droppings, chemical etching, dust, dirt, and road debris are easy to rinse or wipe off never altering the appearance of your vehicle. But the benefits don’t stop there. In fact, they also include:

• Helps to Maintain/Increase Resale Value of Vehicle
• Ease of Maintenance
• UV Protection
• Keeps Vehicle Looking Newer Longer
• Offers Invisible Vehicle Protection
• Helps To Repel Outside Substances
• Helps to Repel Scratches & Chemical Contaminants.

The benefits of paint protection film are endless. If you are looking to keep your company vehicle clean, protected, and looking its best as long as possible, a clear bra may just be right for you! While there are many ways to cut corners and save a little bit of money when it comes to paint & vehicle protection services it is highly advised that you work with an experienced and reputable clear bra installer!