A Matter of Taste : Rubbery Chicken Gets Bounced Out of Company Cafeterias
For Joe Avila, the food at Irvine-based Taco Bell Inc.’s company cafeteria can’t be beat: “It’s convenient, cheap . . . and the food tastes pretty good.”
Considering that Avila--who works a block away at LG&E; Development Corp.--voluntarily eats at Taco Bell’s corporate cafeteria is evidence of dramatic changes underway at company dining rooms.
“The days of big steam tables filled with food prepared two hours ago that’s now battleship gray are gone,” said Debi Benedetti, vice president of Bon Appetit Management Co., a Menlo Park-based food-service operator. “The future of corporate food service is directly linked to retail (trends).”
The improvements are obvious at newer and recently renovated company eateries, where stark neon lighting, straight-backed chairs and unadorned tables are giving way to vibrant colors, comfortable seating and outdoor dining.
Rubbery Salisbury steak and lumpy mashed potatoes are being replaced by entrees that reflect the dining tastes of the nation’s ethnically diverse--and health-conscious--work force. Operators also are incorporating brand-name products, including Taco Bell, Starbucks coffee, Dunkin’ Donuts and Haagen-Dazs ice cream, to spice up their menus.
Changes are being driven in part by the corporate belt-tightening trend that has prompted many companies to eliminate cafeteria subsidies.
“Five years ago, I would have said that 95% of the accounts we served were subsidized,” said George Maciag, chief operating officer of Guckenheimer Corp., a Redwood City-based operator of nearly 100 company cafeterias statewide. “Now about 65% are subsidized, and in five years, it’s going to be a completely (unsubsidized) market.”
The loss of corporate subsidies initially sent shivers through the food-service industry. But operators have learned to turn profits by successfully competing with traditional restaurants. For many operators, that has meant installing gourmet salad bars, chicken broilers, yogurt and pasta machines and offering fresh sandwiches and pizza prepared on the spot.
Company cafeterias serve a surprisingly large number of meals. Taco Bell’s cafeteria in Irvine, which is operated by Marriott Corp.’s Food Services division, serves about 900 meals daily.
Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak, which recently turned over management of its 27 cafeterias to Marriott, rang up an estimated $25 million in 1992 cafeteria sales, according to New York-based FoodService Director magazine.
Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola, which operates its own food service, did an estimated $24.5 million worth of business at its 24 cafeterias.
Only a handful of companies still run their own cafeterias. Most are now being run by food-service operators, including Marriott, ARA Services Inc. of Philadelphia and Canteen Corp. in Chicago.
Successful corporate cafeterias offer dining alternatives that “customers look for when they go out to dinner,” said Jay Peverley, a district manager with Marriott, which operates 150 corporate kitchens in California. “We’re learning how to market, how to do things in a retail kind of way. . . . We have to get away from the standard meat loaf and get into cooked-to-order stir-fry or fresh pasta salads.”
Operators are responding to an increasingly sophisticated work force, people who are accustomed to having it their way. Increased consumer awareness has dealt a death blow to the old company cafeteria culture of “take it or leave it,” Maciag said.
At Taco Bell’s newly renovated corporate eatery in Irvine, the bright, airy dining area is open to the public on weekdays between 6:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. It offers freshly prepared pasta, salads, pizza and sandwiches. The food court also offers slimmed-down versions of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Hot ‘n Now and KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) restaurants--all subsidiaries of Pepsico Inc. of Purchase, N.Y.
Brand-name items--pizza from Pizza Hut, hamburgers from Hot ‘n Now, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Starbucks coffee and the like--are hot sellers in corporate kitchens because they “end the boredom” associated with traditional menu offerings, Maciag said.
