Seven Hills, San Francisco, CA
Photo via Seven Hills
We had the pleasure to connect with Chef Tony Florian on IG Live to hear how he and Seven Hills are adapting and finding solutions in San Francisco, California. Tony had lots of ideas to share, from making a small streamlined daily menu, supporting local farmers by buying as much produce as possible, offering prix fixe ‘Sunday Suppers’, and leveraging social media to connect with the community. Thank you, Tony, for sharing your ideas with us!
Here are a few of Tony’s tips:
- Streamline a small, seasonal menu for takeout which rotates daily and requires as few people in the kitchen as possible.
As an upscale Italian restaurant specializing in farm-to-table offerings, Chef Tony works to uphold the same unique experience for customers by curating daily dinner menus for takeout.
- Add an upscale prix fixe option one day a week (i.e. Sunday Suppers)
Recently, Seven Hills offered a Prime Rib dinner for $60 a head.
- Offer value-added pantry items from your kitchen for sale: fresh ricotta from local milk, house made sausage, bone broth, etc.
The new “Seven Hills Pantry” combines items Tony sources from the farmer’s market, and adds a Seven Hills spin.
- Leverage social media as a tool for managing takeout in place of subscription services: announce daily menus and provide direction for calling in orders within an assigned time window.
By using social media, Seven Hills has avoided having to hire an outside service, and is able to build new engagement by steering customers to Instagram to find the daily offerings.
- Manage takeout orders by establishing a max capacity and assigning pick up times in 15 minutes increments (i.e. 5 orders every 15 minutes from 5 pm to 8 pm nightly)
Assigning quantities and specific timing allows Seven Hills to manage inventory while also controlling health and safety.
As an added bonus, Chef Tony recommended his favorite seasonal spring pairing: farmer’s market asparagus, lightly blanched, drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.
Watch the full interview for even more inspiration and actionable ideas.
Connect With Us @corto_olive for even more industry tips and stay tuned for another installment of our #TogetherWithChefs series!