Bloomington — Customers will be able to dine outside in the beer garden after the Green Gables restaurant, which burned down in May, is rebuilt.
On Thursday, the McLean County Commission accepted a special permit request to allow beer gardens at its final meeting for 2022. County staff also recommended that the request be approved at a hearing earlier this month.
The McLean County Zoning Appeals Board has already approved two differences allowing the parking lot and porch of the Lake Bloomington Landmark to be within 40 feet of the county road adjacent to the site.
If those requests were not approved, the owners said it would be difficult to rebuild the nearly 100-year-old restaurant. However, with the consent of the board of directors, the owners hope to break ground this spring.
McLean County Board Chairman John McIntyre said the board also renewed Green Gables’ liquor license, which was required to obtain a license to operate video gambling machines.
“Things are going well and construction will go well,” McIntyre said.
The beer garden is 36′ x 36′ and is fenced. According to county documents, it is accessible through the restaurant and has an exit through the parking garage gate.
Since the fire, multiple fundraising efforts have been made to help rebuild Green Gables.
From smart kitchens to robocs: 10 innovations transforming restaurants
From smart kitchens to robocs: 10 innovations transforming restaurants
What was restaurant management like before the invention of electricity and air conditioning? Or the availability of trains and trucks that could deliver fresh produce every day? While it doesn’t seem like much has changed since the restaurant as it’s known has opened, the way restaurateurs run their businesses has changed dramatically. As the food service industry has evolved over the years, major technological innovations such as refrigeration, walk-in freezers, microwave ovens, and safe and hygienic plastic and stainless steel containers have changed the way we eat.
These days, restaurants are increasingly in need of new technologies to reduce food waste and overhead costs. The task group analyzed news and trends across the industry and compiled 10 innovations at the forefront of technology in the restaurant industry, from tabletop ordering tablets to incinerators that turn leftovers into compost.
Artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge software are powering some of today’s technological innovations, while others are simply long-awaited collaborations between engineering and the restaurant industry, some of which are due to the coronavirus pandemic. I was born out of necessity.
Learn about the drones, robots and management software that are taking restaurants into the future.
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pizza assembling machine
The coronavirus pandemic has left restaurants severely congested, with stay-at-home orders reducing overall sales, and the virus itself leading to a continued shortage of available workers. But the challenge has also brought advances in automated help.
Pizza chains are already ahead in some ways, and this makes sense. Pizza should be of predictable and programmable size and cooked the same way every time. Peek behind the counters at fast-casual chains like Little Caesars and Blaze to see the future. Seattle-based Picnic Works has only one employee at the helm of the dough, sauce, cheese and topping machine, and he promises 100 pizzas per hour.
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kitchen management software
Many consumers are now experiencing POS systems at farmers markets and small businesses. But for restaurants, kitchen management software can go further.
A robust system can track the inventory and expiration dates of valuable perishables. Returning customers are welcomed to record past orders, favorite dishes, and service adjustments such as discounts on their next order.
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service robot
In contrast to bussers and servers, food runners are restaurant employees whose sole role is to bring food to customers when it’s ready. I have developed a helper. This robotic helper can be programmed to carry food on your behalf.
Restaurants can code these robots with maps of their dining spaces and tables, from which they do the work and deliver trays of food to customers. Order changes and additional items can also be tracked via the touchscreen interface.
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fully automatic restaurant
In addition to the aforementioned Picnic Works pizza automation technology, other types of restaurants are finding ways to automate the process as well.
For example, Bay Area startup Mezli is a self-contained, fully automated grain bowl serving restaurant. Ingredients are already cooked and reheated when you order from the machine in the mobile restaurant. After ordering, the machine puts the ordered combination of products into the bowl and completes the order.
The concept may replace employees, but it harkens back to a time when automated restaurants dominated the early to mid-20th century, offering an experience somewhere between vending machines and fast food.
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desktop tablet
On-table tablets have been in use at American chain restaurants for almost a decade, starting with the Applebee trend in 2014. Customers can use their tablets to place their orders instead of trying to get the server’s attention. You can also use your tablet to pay bills without waiting for the server to process your credit card or make any changes.
Some might say that tablets remove the personal touch that only servers can provide, but there are entire restaurant industries, such as buffets and fast-casual restaurants, where servers are already not the norm.
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food waste analysis
Food waste is a major problem worldwide, from grocery stores to institutions such as schools and hospitals, to home kitchens, but especially in restaurants. In recent years, however, food waste analysis has made it much easier for restaurant employees to troubleshoot the problem.
A food waste analysis company offers software that allows restaurant employees to use digital measurement tools to track inventory and sales to predict restaurant needs. For example, furniture giant IKEA made headlines in October 2022 after consulting with an analytics firm called Winnow to cut food waste in half.
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drone delivery
Researchers estimate that more than 50% of the total cost of getting a product to the consumer is accounted for by “last mile” logistics, the transportation of the product from the production hub to the customer’s door.
Instead of delivering goods by car, bike, or truck, drones can minimize the time and cost of the last mile stage by avoiding traffic jams and reducing human contact. When it comes to drone food delivery, in 2016 Domino’s became the first company in New Zealand to deliver pizza by drone. In 2022, a company called Flytrex will start delivering food by drone in North Carolina and Texas.
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compost system
Composting has grown exponentially in 21st century America. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2000 the United States composted 680,000 tons of food, compared with her 2.59 million tons in 2018. That’s a 280% increase since the turn of the century.
On a personal level, people with access to compost bins can deal with natural food waste and avoid adding it to landfills. It also helps chain-scale kitchens reduce both the food waste itself and the cost of removing it. is logistically easier and more economical than hauling 10 truckloads of food waste to a landfill.
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cloud kitchen
Cloud kitchens, also known as ghost kitchens, aren’t exactly a new phenomenon, but they definitely got a lot of attention during the pandemic. A survey by Technomic and the National Restaurant Association found that 15% of restaurateurs reported using cloud kitchens before the pandemic. By May 2020, he had increased the percentage of his delivery orders using Cloud Kitchen for at least some portion to 51%.
Since there are no in-store customers, Cloud Kitchen can only do commercial cooking for delivery or pickup services. Additionally, for chain restaurants with a specific identity, ghost kitchens offer a way to expand to serve other meals and types of cuisine. For small culinary businesses like caterers, ghost kitchens can offer an opportunity to enter new markets without having to find and develop a restaurant space.
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Drive-thru AI
During the pandemic, drive-thru dining has made a comeback, giving customers a way to stay outdoors while visiting their favorite restaurants. Drive-thru typically requires an employee to take a customer’s order, manually enter it at the cash register, take payment, and fulfill the order.
But recently, advances in artificial intelligence have streamlined the drive-thru process. Customers can speak through AI-powered speakers, place orders, provide customer totals, and pay via kiosks. Chains such as McDonald’s, Panera and Sonic Drive-In have been working to perfect AI drive-thru ordering in recent years.
This story was originally published on Task Group and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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