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Food Equipment News 4 3 Saturday, February 11, 2017 UPSERVE ACQUIRES BREADCRUMB POS Restaurateurs know the importance of something that's made-to-order. A cus- tomer with a gluten allergy won't want a sandwich made with wheat bread. A steak-lover won't want his beef over- cooked, or maybe he won't come back. It's time for restaurants to get technology that's made-to-order. Upserve announced its acquisition of Breadcrumb POS, another restaurant spe- cialist, to help deliver the company's vision of becoming the only technology restaurateurs need to run and grow their business. Bringing together Breadcrumb's iPad Point of Sale system with Upserve's restaurant analytics allows restaurateurs to have instant access to everything that matters – managing money, the menu, the staff, guests and more, right from an iPad. "Operating a restaurant is a tough business, we know," said Upserve Chief Executive Officer and Founder Angus Davis. "By combining high-end analytics with a state-of-the-art POS, we are solv- ing some of the biggest problems restau- rateurs face. They no longer have to deal with expensive, antiquated hardware and sales systems that don't give them insights they need to compete and win in this crowded landscape." Breadcrumb is a respected brand in the restaurant industry with smart, easy- to-use products that are cost effective, and its leading-edge technology comes from a group of bril- liant developers, engineers and other team members who join Upserve. Breadcrumb, started in 2011, was acquired by Groupon in 2012. The prod- uct is a fully featured hospitality POS built to run on iPads and delivered in a subscription model like that of Upserve. In late 2015, Breadcrumb and Upserve integrated the two systems. Restaurant demand for the combined products was strong, with the companies achieving nearly 200 joint customers during first quarter of 2016. The acquisition also means Upserve now stretches across both U.S. coasts – with offices in Providence, Rhode Island and San Francisco, California. Upserve is the smart management assistant serving up clear guidance that makes restaurants thrive. The product suite currently manages relation- ships with more than 16 million active diners, and analyzes 11 million meals per month, and those numbers will make a significant jump now that the two companies have combined. Upserve has created something completely unique and powerful in the industry, giving restaurateurs the latest technology designed specifically for them. "We are excited to welcome Breadcrumb customers to Upserve," Davis said. "We are totally focused on restaurants, and our standard is to deliver you the same great service you give to your guests." For more information, visit www.upserve.com. CAPTAIN KEN'S: SERVING QUALITY FOR 50 YEARS By Mike Traxler, Co-Owner, Captain Ken's Foods, Inc. Great foods often originate in unlikely places. In fact, Captain Ken Freiberg developed his famous Firehouse Oven- Baked Beans while on duty at Firehouse No. 14 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fifty years later, this signature recipe (plus many others!) are made with the same attention to detail and commitment to quality. The story of Captain Ken's Foods' began in the summer of 1943, when Ken Freiberg joined the St. Paul, Minnesota fire department. In 1953, he was promot- ed to Captain. As was custom at most fire stations, each fireman took turns cooking meals for his fellow firefighters. Captain Ken's specialty was making oven-baked beans with bacon. Word spread, and peo- ple from the neighborhood would stop by the fire station hoping to sample some of Captain Ken's home cooked oven-baked beans. As Ken's beans grew in popularity, his fellow firefighters urged him to start a business, but Ken wasn't ready to give up life as a firefighter. In 1963, though, he used his two-week vacation to sell his oven-baked beans from a food stand at the Minnesota State Fair. The beans were a big hit! So a few years later in 1967, at age 55, Ken retired early from the fire department to start Captain Ken's Foods. It didn't take long for Captain Ken's rep- utation for making quality food products to grow. Today, Captain Ken's processes and markets a diverse range of premium food products for the foodservice and retail markets. The compa- ny features a broad line of award winning chilies, made from scratch oven-baked beans (not canned!), specialty taco meats, varied flavored macaroni and cheese recipes and more. Other customer favorites include Sloppy Joe Meat Sauce, Tater Tot Casserole, Chicken Pot Pie Filling, Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes, Spanish Rice and Home-style Chicken Chow Mein. All products are made using premium ingre- dients and are pre-cooked, then flash frozen to lock in freshness and nutrition- al value. Captain Ken's Foods is family owned and operated. Products are manufactured at the company's St. Paul, Minnesota facility, which is a USDA- and FDA-inspected and certified plant. Package types range from institutional size one- gallon pouches to single serve containers. Products are distrib- uted by national and regional broadline distributors. End-user operators include restaurants, cafeterias, resorts, casinos, caterers, convenience stores, delis, healthcare facilities, schools and more. All Captain Ken's products offer quality, consistency and value. Employees take great pride in making great tasting food products and continu- ing the commitment to quality that Founder Captain Ken Freiberg started 50 years ago. Try some today and we know you'll be back! For more information, visit www. captainkens.com. MARRA FORNI: WHY INVEST IN THE MARRA FORNI ROTATOR? Marra Forni never stops improving and innovating on its line of products. One such product that has enjoyed high demands in recent years is the Rotator. The Rotator is a very unique, fea- ture-packed and one-of-a-kind oven you will only find from Marra Forni. You should invest in a Marra Forni Rotator if you want to reduce your labor and pro- duce more pizza than you've ever accom- plished in the past. If making 110 pizzas per hour at ease is something your dream about, then Marra Forni has the only oven you need. The Marra Forni Rotator allows you to retain heat more efficiently and faster, control rotation speed from 15 seconds to 155 seconds, provides user-friendly func- tionalities for anyone to use and Marra Forni has an onsite architect, engineer, culinary director and marketing personal available to answer any questions or needs that may arise. All of its core materials to construct its ovens on site are directly shipped from Italy's campagna region. This includes bricks, sand and concrete. All steel com- ponents of its product come from the United States. It does hand brick by brick process, not only for its dome but also its decks, to reduce cracking dra- matically. Also, using a brick-by-brick process allows better heat reten- tion for evenly cooked pizzas. It uses a forced air burner, which at a high flame produces 100,000 BTUs and a low flame producing 70,000 BTUs. The mixture of its materials and burner allows the temperature to withhold within 20 degrees of the set temperature that you may need. Also, the positioning of the burners hitting its refractory brick creates constant heat spots throughout the rota- tion of its ovens. The innovative touch- screen on the Rotator allows you to control every aspect of the oven. Create new cus- tomized recipes and store them for anyone to use with- in your restaurant. Sharing recipes has never been so easy. Choose from a variety of languages. It offers its touchscreen in English, Spanish, Italian, French and German to make its product universal. In a matter of seconds you can instantaneously change the temperature of the oven as well as the rotation speed from 15 seconds to 155 seconds in five-second increments. For more information, visit www .marraforni.com. SHADE SOLUTIONS FROM SHADESCAPES For over a decade, ShadeScapes Americas has pioneered shading luxury spaces by supplying high-end, distinctive shade solutions to the design trade, hos- pitality and contract markets. Addressing the fundamental need for sourcing the finest and most architectural shade designs became the mission of ShadeScapes Americas. With an estab- lished presence in the design and hospi- tality markets, the company has become synonymous with the finest shade solu- tions by offering precise craftsmanship and manufacturing techniques, innova- tion, sophisticated styling, commercial- grade designs and materials, excellent quality control and t e c h n o l o g i c a l l y advanced working mechanisms that are easy to use and require minimal maintenance. ShadeScapes offers four distinct state-of-the-art collections: Umbrosa Collection – contemporary beauty; Woodline Collection – artistic beauty; May Collection – sophisticated beauty; and Cuscini Collection – luxurious beauty. Creative shade solutions include cantilever/side posts, telescopic umbrellas, giant umbrellas, shade sails, center pole umbrellas, dual- pole umbrellas, multi-umbrellas and per- sonal shade designs. When searching for the best shade solution tailored to your specific needs and style, you'll find that nothing compares to ShadeScapes shade solutions. For more information, visit www.shadescapesusa.com.