All-day breakfast now occupies a firm spot in the foodservice universe, with restaurants angling to satisfy demand for breakfast foods beyond the early morning hours.
The National Restaurant Association’s 2016 industry forecast reported that 60% percent of consumers surveyed would order breakfast items if offered throughout the day. Among millennials, that preference is even stronger.
To meet this shift in consumer eating patterns, operators are innovating with all-day breakfast in a variety of ways.
At Oliver’s, a 250-seat retail diner-style eatery on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, the staff is busy from 7 a.m. until midnight preparing classic diner favorites, from a French toast platter to eggs any style, biscuits with gravy, “extreme” hash browns with four toppings, cereal and toast.
The menu contains some nods to contemporary tastes, including a breakfast burrito, pita pizza with eggs, spinach and tomatoes and breakfast sandwiches. Oliver’s has many fans: Of the five restaurants under one roof, it pulls in 40% of sales.
Point Park University in Pittsburgh operates Point Café from 7 a.m. until midnight, with a menu of breakfast sandwiches, omelets, eggs, breakfast sandwiches and protein packs containing chicken, fruit and mixed nuts. Lunch items are available as well. When CulinArt took over management of the café, the company updated the space and the menu, says dining services general manager Kristy Weiss.
The biggest shift was adding more fresh foods and healthier options. Today, top sellers are yogurt parfaits, made with mixed fruit, vanilla yogurt and granola; and breakfast sandwiches, including one with egg whites and spinach on an English muffin. At the University of Southern California, an outlet of Qwench Juice Bar on the health sciences campus serves acai yogurt bowls and smoothies made with Greek yogurt.
Tech startups, known for their generous at-work perks, often feed their staffers to keep them happy and productive. Uber’s New York City office is no exception. The team of 230 meets weekly over breakfast for group presentations. And a daily free lunch includes several salads, sandwiches, proteins, sides and a full salad bar. One of the most-requested choices is “brunch for lunch”: scallion-flecked scrambled egg whites, chicken sausage and challah French toast.
Seniors in assisted living settings and hospital patients aren’t always hungry at standard mealtimes—and visitors and staff need to eat, too—so healthcare facilities are increasingly providing flexibility in dining. On-demand room-service breakfast (and other meals) is a typical solution to keep patients and residents fed.
Vintage Park, a group of Kansas-based assisted living communities, provides all-day dining with an abridged menu of choices that includes breakfast items, a main entree, soups, salads, sandwiches and other options. And several hospitals offer branded cafes such as Au Bon Pain that sell breakfast items throughout the day. With health-conscious choices such as its Good Egg Breakfast Sandwich (two eggs, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, avocado, spinach and lemon aioli on a rustic baguette) or the Cranberry Crunch & Honey Parfait (non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt, cranberries, honey, housemade granola), the concept meshes well with hospitals’ mission.
From smoothie bowls to parfaits and grab-and-go drinks, morning offerings are in demand during all hours of the day. Dannon can help you expand breakfast with our delicious portfolio of products. Yogurt is a better-for-you ingredient that works in all kinds of tasty, on-trend recipes, such as Maple Cinnamon Apple Overnight Oats. Learn more about our products and find culinary inspiration at dannonfoodservice.com.
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