10 Takeaways From MUFES 2025

More than 120 professionals came together Jan. 27-29 for FER’s annual Multiunit Foodservice Equipment Symposium. Attendees enjoyed pre-meeting events followed by two full days of advanced educations sessions geared toward equipment and supplies specifiers at multiunit restaurant brands and noncommercial foodservice facilities. Along with operators, manufacturers, dealers, consultants and other individuals also attended.

The event, held at the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach in Florida, marked the 14th edition of MUFES. Industry experts, handpicked by FER editors, delivered presentations focused on key issues, from mastering restaurant operations to growing footprints outside the U.S. to balancing technology with hospitality. Key takeaways include the following:

• Technomic is “cautiously optimistic” for 2025 industry performance, but a very competitive environment persists. Amid this, Technomic’s David Henkes points to limited-time offers—or, on a larger scale, learnings from spinoffs like KFC’s Saucy—as a key opportunity, so long as food and labor impacts are considered. Flexible equipment helps drive LTOs, he adds. Speaking of help, Henkes predicts “AI will not replace humans, but humans using AI will replace humans.”
• Design and operations must work in tandem to drive success. WD Partners’ Brooke Dusenberry, Zach Pappas and Rob Seely talked about the delicate back and forth among the design and operation teams when creating a future-proof facility. “Some stores get too design-oriented and then they lack efficiency or they go the other way and are all about the operational efficiency but then, what’s bringing that consumer into the physical space,” Dusenberry says. “It really is a balance among our teams to make the in-store experience the best of both worlds.”
• Speed scratch cooking suits many of today’s K-12 operations. Jeremy Carver and Eric Goodrich, of Ricca Design Studios and Rippe Associates, respectively, shared how the technique that combines ready-to-use items with fresh ingredients can unlock healthier menus, plus lower food costs and reduce labor. Automation within equipment—like a tilt skillet that auto-stirs and adjusts temperature within a recipe cycle or a dishwasher with remote service diagnostics—help support the model, too. “Those little upgrades on some of those pieces of equipment really do have a lot of ROI long-term,” Goodrich notes.
• Construction details warrant careful attention when specifying equipment with safety and sanitation in mind. NSF’s Larry Levine gave a high-level view of what the organization looks for when certifying products. “Casters have extremely difficult parameters to be a certifiable product—the gaps, the materials they use, the exposure of ball bearings,” Levine says. Pointing to other construction details, Levine says welds must be smooth and hinges removable, all for cleanability.
• With the right partnerships, global growth isn’t dramatically different. Panelist Laura Rea Dickey, of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, says it can be a 12-18 month process to open abroad, but market research and an experienced franchisee will help smooth the road. Still, that timeline is key if bulk buying equipment, as warranties will run out fast. Along with Dickey, panelists Joe Lewis (Famous Brands Int’l., parent company of Mrs. Fields and TCBY) and Ernesto Romero (Dine Brands) shared global expansion considerations and perks.
• Redundancy marks one strategy when looking to gain approval to use a heat pump water heater. The heaters boost energy efficiency but many health departments aren’t ready to say they can handle the load. “One way to get around that is to put in a heat pump water heater in series with another water heater (either electric resistance or gas tank type),” says David Zabrowski, of Frontier Energy and the Food Service Tech Center. “Use the heat pump water heater as the primary heater and use the other one as backup; it’ll come on occasionally or maybe not at all but it’s there for a safety factor.”
• Induction, combis and/or high-speed ovens mark good entry points into the world of electric kitchens. “If you’re trying to show your green creds and you’re going to take somebody on a tour of the kitchen, that induction cooktop is the best show and tell,” says Frontier Energy’s Richard Young, who was joined on stage by colleague Mark Duesler. To combat the higher capital cost for induction vs. gas, Young suggests looking at utility rebates (some of which are highlighted at caenergywise.com), plus adding up the long-term savings in energy costs, labor (particularly for cleaning), air conditioning and exhaust cfm.
  

  From left: Mark Duesler and Richard Young of Frontier Energy and the Food Service Tech Center

• Decarbonization in foodservice is complicated; start by investing in energy efficient equipment, gas or electric. “I get a little worried when we go, ‘We should switch to electric appliances,’” says Frank Johnson, of GTI Energy, in a session on decarbonization while using gas. “If we don’t have the electric source yet, are you really doing the right thing right now? In some cases, you’re not. We need to be generating better electricity.” Johnson also talked about the impact of hydrogen, a noncarbon-based fuel, on equipment.
• Cumulatively, U.S. foodservice operations wasted $147 billion on uneaten food in 2023. Angel Veza, of the nonprofit ReFED, acknowledged the tug-of-war between satisfying customers while having realistic quantities served, prepped and stocked. Tools that can help with the logistics include demand planning solutions, which, Veza says, helped one chain achieve a 53% reduction in made-to-order bread waste while also reducing labor.
• Lean into technology in the back-of-house and keep hospitality in the front. That’s the philosophy at Bolay Fresh Bold Kitchen. The emerging brand’s Chris Gannon says the team aims to use technology to create efficiencies in the back-of-house but still have “ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen” in the front-of-house versus menu ordering kiosks, for instance. “If this industry loses the hospitality focus and teachings with that guest interaction, if we don’t do it, what other industry is going to,” Gannon says. Ali Nemat (Jack in the Box) and Rob Grimes (International Food and Beverage Technology Association) also participated in the panel discussion.

Be sure to visit the MUFES 2025 Media Gallery for videos and photographs from last week’s event, and check back for the dates of MUFES 2026.