Blog posts from October, 2014

A little while back we profiled the top fall wedding trends for 2014 for our party rental, event venue, wedding planner or catering blog readers. We had 100 views of this slideshare presentation in a matter of a few weeks so we thought it was a topic that our readers were interested in seeing more of. Take a look below at the top winter wedding trends for 2014 that we're seeing across the industry. Also, feel free to share with any of your clients who are struggling to pull together the last of their weddings before their big days – or looking for inspiration for winter 2015!

Continuing with our expansion into the foodservice and restaurant industry, we’re once again exhibiting at The Connect Show November 3 – 4 2014 in Booth# 123/125. Taking place at the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Connect Show brings together thousands of owners and operators of restaurants, hotels, pubs, bars, and more across BC to make lasting connections that drive business profitability and shape the future of the foodservice industry.

We have predominately sold to the party rental industry in the past and focus on supplying products (including event chairs, folding banquet tables, spandex and polyester table cloths, serveware, porcelain dinnerware, bone china dinnerware, stainless steel flatware, crystal and glass stemware) that are durable and allow this high turnover industry to make money. What makes our tabletop supplies so attractive to the restaurant industry is our ability to help foodservice and hospitality operators / owners make their tabletop budgets go further and focus their time and efforts on producing great food. What foodservice operator wouldn’t rather their staff members accidently break a $2.75 wine glass compared to a $5.00 wine glass?

We're all about helping out our prospects and customers with information that benefits their businesses and so in anticipation for the event, there's a number of blog posts we've written that we hope add some value to your business.

• New Menu Items to Offer in a Crystal Martini Glass
• On Your Next Menu Optimization, Consider Using This Language
• Why Your Restaurant Should Consider Offering Amuse Bouche
• Can Melamine Platters be used in Refrigerated Display Cases?
• Menu Trends: Showcasing the Hottest Appetizer Flavours

We'd love the chance to talk with you about your business so please come by Booth 123/125 to give us a suggestion of another post you'd like to see written about, or talk with us about how we can help your business focus on profits instead of losses.

Round table dollies are a lifesaver when it comes to storing and transporting any round banquet tables your event venue or party rental company may own. One of the questions we get asked regarding our round table dolly is how many plastic banquet tables, wood banquet tables and Rhino plastic banquet tables fit in one dolly. This blog post should answer that question so you know how many you require to store and transport your folding table inventory.

How many Plastic Round Banquet Tables fit in a Round Table Dolly?

We stock 48" round plastic folding tables, 60" round plastic folding tables and 71" round plastic folding tables. If you're transporting 48" round plastic folding tables, you can fit 16 tables in the round table cart. If you're transporting 60" round plastic folding tables, you can fit 14 tables in the round table cart and if you're transporting 71" round plastic folding tables, you can fit 12 tables in the round table cart.

How many Wood Round Banquet Tables fit in a Round table dolly?

We stock 48" round wood folding tables, 60" round wood folding tables, 66" round wood folding tables and 72" round wood folding tables. If you're transporting 48" round wood folding tables, you can fit 10 tables in the round table cart. If you're transporting 60" or 66" round wood folding tables, you can fit 9-10 tables in the round table cart. If you're transporting 72" round wood folding tables, you can fit 9-10 tables in the round table cart.

How many Rhino Plastic Round Banquet Tables Fit in a Round Table Dolly?

We stock 60" round rhino plastic folding tables with the rest of the table line being rectangles in shape. If you're transporting our 60" round rhino plastic folding tables, you can fit 9 tables in the round table cart.

Hopefully this helps you estimate the amount of round table carts you require.

With the restaurant industry as crowded as it is, differentiating your establishment based on your food plating could give an extra edge against the competition. Crystal martini glasses are a versatile tool that can be used with a rectangular platter or flat round plate without a rim to wow your guests into becoming evangelical customers or at the very least repeat customers. Everyone can use some additional sources of inspiration – so without further ado here’s some restaurant menu items that should get your creative juices flowing!

What about a new take on an old classic? Rochester University, ranked one of the best universities for food, offers mashed potato “martinis” with fried chicken and barbeque sauces to students.

Photo credit: Rochester University

Use crystal martini glasses as a way of presenting individual brownie trifles to your guests as a dessert option. Full recipe for this lovely dish available at Better Homes and Gardens Magazine website.

Photo credit: Better Homes & Gardens Magazine Delish Dish Blog

LJC Restaurants in the Philippines have introduced six new appetizers to their menu, one of which is a fried breaded shrimp with creamy aioli in a crystal martini glass. Martini glasses are often used for shrimp cocktail, however this is a different take on the traditional non-breaded shrimp with marinara sauce.

Photo Credit: LJC Restaurants

What about offering a soup served in a martini glass with some warm breads as a compliment? Food Network and Celebrity Chef Giada De Laurentiis vamps up a Watermelon and Cucumber soup with a spike of Vodka! Recipe and video located here.

Photo credit: Today Show and Giada De Laurentiis

Then there’s this restaurant offer, straight out of a molecular gastronomy dinner put on by Bravo! Restaurant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The chef served among other innovative wonders, a Smoked Salmon filet under an inverted martini glass with Cucumber Gelee, featuring lingering applewood smoke.

Photo Credit: Bradley Pines | Kalamazoo Gazette

I hope that some of these dishes stir your creative juices and start you thinking about all the innovative ways you can showcase your food using a crystal martini glass.

If you're in the Party Rental industry, and either looking to get into tablecloth rentals or already including them in your rental inventory, having high-performing commercial laundry equipment will not only save you (or your staff) a lot of time, but also a lot of money on utilities and labour. Even though we don't offer commercial laundry equipment ourselves, because we sell to the party rental industry, we get asked from time to time what the best commercial laundry equipment for party rental companies in Canada are. I thought a blog post showcasing who specialize in the Party Rental Industry as one of their dedicated markets. Read on for who live and die in providing high-performance commercial laundry machines for the event rental industry.

Continental Girbau

Continental Girbau has 5 different lines of commercial washers and 3 different lines of commercial dryers that should service the varying levels of party rental businesses. Their commercial washers-extractors range from singleload to 255 pound capacities with the ability to complete up to 24 cycles a day. The washers have a life expectancy of 10-20 years ensuring you receive a good return on your investment, and are designed to drive down water, electrical and gas costs. They feature high-speed extraction to reduce dry-time, operating time, utility consumption and labour expense and feature a 3 year limited parts warranty and 5 year key component warranty. Their commercial dryers range in capacity from singleload to 175 pounds. They feature radial airflow that helps ensure maximum load separation for big loads and bulky items and provides quick even drying. They also have stackable commercial dryers to minimize the footprint of your commercial laundry equipment. They have distributors in Canada serving British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec available through their website.

Milnor

Milnor offers washer-extractors to reduce labour costs, save on linen replacement costs, save energy, save water and lower a party rental companies total cost of ownership. Milnor's commercial washers range in capacity from 25 – 700 pounds and are designed for durability and ease of use. Designed to reduce utility bills by reducing peak electricity amperage, they offer a RinSave Water Saver feature that eliminates up to two complete rinses – meaning fewer cycles and faster turnaround. Engineered to ensure no costly rewashes. Their commercial dryers are designed for high productivity with airflow that ensures the linen dries quickly so there's no dryer holds. Plus their dryers are more compact and save more space than other dryers because they're front-serviceable – meaning they can be installed close to walls, and other machines. Milnor commercial laundry equipment is available through hundreds of dealers across Canada – whose locations can be accessed here.

Unimac

Unimac prides themselves on working closely with their party rental customers to identify and address any key concerns they face every day with regards to commercial laundry equipment. They also offer financing options for their products via UniMac Funding. Their commercial washers save time and maximize the amount of linens that are turned around – allowing many to be sent directly to the ironer bypassing the dryer step entirely. Their washers range in capacity from 20 – 275 pounds and like the other companies, help to deliver reduced costs and optimized throughput while improving utility costs. They also boast on their website that they have the industry’s lowest cost of ownership. Unimac distributes in Canada through a number of distributors. You can find one in your area here.

Hopefully this helps you narrow down a short list of commercial laundry equipment suppliers to begin your purchase journey on. If there’s anyone we’ve missed that you feel deserves a mention, comment on this post so we can update it!