SRE in the news.

QSR , "The Death of the Drive-Thru?" October, 2008
It’s also bad for business. Handley says customers complain about the lack of a drive-thru and that it’s possible his restaurant loses out on business that goes to the grand-fathered-in restaurants with drive-thrus. Read more.
 
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies , "Five on Five: Five foodservice designers discuss five trends and “movements” making waves this year." July, 2008
Ask any designer about the top “trends” in foodservice design and the words “sustainability” and “green” almost always come up today. For the purpose of this feature article we asked a group of five industry designers to go beyond the standard green rhetoric when discussing emerging design trends and received some refreshingly new ideas taking shape in the last year. Read more.
 
Chain Leader , "All Lined Up: Operations improve when Einstein Bros. rearranges its equipment package" July, 2008
Ticket times dropped and check averages rose when Einstein Bros./Noah's Bagels rearranged its equipment package. Read more.
 
Equipment, Design & Operations Handbook, "Finding profitability in the perimeter" May, 2008
Mark Godward, president of SRE, a subsidiary of WD Partners, discusses how improvements in operations can underwrite store innovation. Read more.
 
Commercial Kitchens, "Food service facilities need to be designed for efficiency" Spring, 2008
People wlee often fail to differentiate between efficiency and effectiveness. Read more.
 
Restaurants & Institutions , "Efficiency Experts" August, 2007
Energy-, labor- and time-saving equipment now offers faster returns for willing foodservice operators. Read more.
 
QSR , "The New Drive-Thru" April, 2007
Technology and building trends are taking quick-service drive-thrus to the next level. Read more.
 
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, "Pouring Profits" April, 2007
As specialty coffees and healthy smoothies are all the rage these days, beverage shops flourish by expanding their food menus, speeding up service, and maximizing efficiencies inherent in their equipment and design. Read more.
 
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies , "It's All About the Menu" April, 2007
With consumers spending nearly half their food budget on meals made outside of the home, their expectations continue to rise. Their demand for fresher, better-tasting food, not only means changes in menus, but also in equipment purchasing and kitchen design. SRE president Mark Godward is quoted. Read more.
 
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies , Announces Hall of Fame Top Achiever Recipient May, 2006
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies will honor Mark Godward as the Top Achiever in the Consultant category at its upcoming Dealer of the Year and Industry Awards Gala on May 20 at Chicago's Peninsula Hotel.
 
Nation's Restaurant News , "Small Chains Tap New Growth, Menu Plans to Gain Edge in Fast Casual Scene" April 10, 2006
Smaller concepts are using their menus and store experience in order to gain advantage, however, they realize that as they grow it will become much harder to compete with the "big boys" of the segment. SRE president Mark Godward is quoted.
 
STORES , "Restaurant Redux" February, 2006
D'Angelo turned to WD Partners/SRE to develop a new prototype in preparation for an expansion push. The team not only created a great customer experience, but also improved unit economics. The Westborough store is on track to gross a 35% increase in sales, and remodeled units are seing 20-30% increases.
 
Chain Leader , "Color Commentary" February, 2006
El Pollo Loco, a CA-based chicken quick serve chain, has launched a colorful new prototype with operational improvements engineered by Strategic Restaurant Engineering. Several of the new store are breaking all sales records.
 
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies , "Simple Rules for Improving Profitability" December, 2005
Mark Godward gives his opinion on three simple rules that everyone can apply while designing their own foodservice operation. Start by questioning the status quo.
 
Nation's Restaurant News , "Quick Service Leaders Eye Life in the Fast Lane" December 12, 2005
As QSR menus increase in complexity, operators are trying to shave seconds off drive-thru times with increased accuracy and improved training. Mark Godward suggests ways to maintain drive-thru sales.
 
Progressive Grocer , "Feeding the Masses" October, 2005
Many retailers are anxious to bring foodservice into the store as a way to keep their customers shopping longer, however, few are aware of what it takes to make it profitable. Mark Godward offers his insights into how retailers can make in-store foodservice succeed.
 
Chain Leader , "Full Speed Ahead: New technologies speed service at drive-thrus and takeout counter" October, 2005
"Mere seconds make a difference," says Mark Godward, president of SRE. "If you can cut your window-time by 3 seconds, you've increased your throughput by 10%. To an operator that handles 70 cars per hour, that means an extra 7 cars per hour. That's a big deal."
 
Chain Leader , "Extreme Makeover" August, 2005
WD Partners and SRE helped D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches reposition for growth. Learn how this new prototype improved AUVs, cut ticket times, and increased checks. Read more.
 
STORES , "Quick Studies: El Pollo Loco applies lessons from Fast Casualm and Quick Serve Restaurants" August, 2005
El Pollo Loco president Steve Carley talks about how they've applied the best of fast-casual and QSR, and reinforces what WD/SRE's discovered in their recent research on the topic.
 
QSR , "D'Angelo Unveils New Concept" June, 2005
D'Angelo vp of marketing, Mike McManama, announces their strategic brand initiative. "This is a major repositioning for us, a whole new brand experience that is more relevant to today's and tomorrow's consumer. Read the article.
 
Nation's Restaurant News , "Fast Casual Can Speed Up Success By Adopting Some QSR Rules" June, 2005
A recap of Dennis Lombardi's, Mark Godward's, and Lee Peterson's presentation of their research into the Fast Casual's strengths and weaknesses. While fast-casual excels at décor and customer experience, the traditional QSR operators treat operational standards as a science.
 
Benihana press release , "Benihana Takes Wrap Off New Brand Image" February, 2004
Benihana partners with WD Partners for wide-reaching brand evaluation. Goals include reducing capital investment and improving customer experience.
 
Chicago Tribune , "Health concerns feed changes in fast-food menus" January 29, 2004
Unless you are a recluse, you know that "healthy food" is one of the hottest media topics. But are we Americans truly changing our bad eating habits, or is this a another food fad? Mark Godward, President of SRE, says that restaurant operators tried healthy menus and "they simply did not sell."
 
Chain Leader , "Tight Squeeze"
A profile of Jamba Juice's new prototype. SRE tightened up the operations and increased speed of service and reduced the labor it takes to operate. Mark Godward remarks that they observed a lot of "wasted motion" in the production process. Jamba is testing five locations before a system-wide rollout, however, they report that the significant labor savings could be a huge influencer.
 
QSR Magazine , "Controlling Labor Costs" August, 2003
"Making the most of each shift is an often overlooked strategy," says Mark Godward. He suggests that not only can you schedule so that one shift can cover to peak periods, the efficient use of workers is vital. Understanding how to actually deploy the labor you have is also critical.
 
Foodservice Equipment and Supplies , "Red Lobster's Coastal Home" June, 2003
Inspired by a beach house retreat, Red Lobster's latest prototype is also designed to reduce the cost of construction and significantly improve the speed of service.
 
VM+SD , "Where the Bread is Buttered" May, 2003
The front of the restaurant is the glitter and glamour, but the back of the house is where 60-70% of the cost of sales is incurred. Mark Godward, president of SRE (a WD Partners company), contributed a primer on how design affects the functional and financial performance of foodservice concepts.
 
Foodservice Equipment and Supplies , "Chain Profile: Jamba Juice" February, 2003
Rick Shoffstall, vp of client projects for SRE, talks about how SRE engineered Jamba Juice's new prototype for improved speed of service and productivity.