D’Ononfrio says, “I was stubborn in the beginning because the online prices are so good. Equipment is a big ticket item and the savings seem to be there, but I quickly found out the online guys are not here to serve. The online retailers ship it and it’s done. It was worth it to us to go the route we did with Curtis. The installation issues alone could not be handled by an online company.”

Curtis sales representative Candace Feese has 21 years of experience in the restaurant equipment and supply business, and was happy to help the D’Onofrio’s in their first restaurant venture. She offered many suggestions and was onsite during the equipment installation. “Candace ran beautiful interference and took it all on so we didn’t have to. If we needed her out here at 8:00am, she was right on time. She has a way about her. Her caring and concern, experience, and willingness to share her knowledge with us was a huge plus.”

The D’Onofrio’s included coffee service, baked goods, and comfortable seating in the design to encourage patrons to stay a while and come back often. It’s something that lacked in other yogurts shops they visited on the west coast. Although Yolotti is a quick, self-service concept, the D’Ononfrio’s wanted their customers to stay, relax, and enjoy their time in the restaurant.

The décor is fun but not juvenile to attract college students and adults, and is equipped with large screen TVs and Internet access. It’s a great place to grab a yogurt, hot chocolate, or coffee and do homework, have a meeting, or eat lunch. D’Ononfrio says, “Frozen yogurt is a great 250 calorie meal substitute. In fact, dieticians recommend frozen yogurt as a good way for consuming your daily allowance of dairy products. Frozen Yogurt is a good source of protein and calcium, as well as healthy digestive cultures, or probiotics.”

Yolotti Frozen Yogurt has two convenient locations. Visit their website at YolottiYogurt.com or Facebook, Facebook.com/Yolotti Frozen Yogurt.

Two Locations

King’s Landing Shopping Center
9918 Riverside
Tulsa, OK 74137
Phone: 918-296-7477

Brookside
3346 South Peoria
Tulsa, OK 74055
Phone: 918-430-3811

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All food service establishments in Tulsa County, including mobile food vending operations, require a license that must be renewed annually. THD categorizes mobile food services as follows:

• Full-service mobile: a vehicle or trailer designed and equipped to prepare and serve open food products.
• Pre-packaged mobile: a vehicle or trailer limited to the sale of commercially manufactured pre-packaged products, or products prepared and packaged at a licensed food service establishment.
• Pushcart: a non-self-propelled vehicle limited to the sale of non-potentially hazardous foods, the sale of commercially pre-packaged foods maintained at proper temperatures, or the preparation and sale of frankfurters.

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Construction, Equipment and Operation Guidelines

Full-service mobile food establishments are required to meet certain regulations regarding their construction, water system, equipment, personnel and food safety. Pre-packaged mobile and pushcart food establishments are exempted from some of these requirements.

Mobile Food Service Establishment Guide.

Procedures Guide for Pushcarts Selling Frankfurters.

Mobile Vendor Fees

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For more information, please call 918-595-4300.

“The Blue Rose Cafe’s new location was a challenge to begin with,” said owner, Tom Dittus, “We always start a new restaurant project with an existing kitchen space. This was a completely new construction project. Although we had access to used cooking equipment, it was important to us to have new equipment because of the warranty. ”

“Our management group shopped the competition on price, but the relationship built with Curtis Restaurant Supply over the years was the clincher in our buying decision. Our sales representative, Reza Ghavami, and kitchen project manager, Erik Davidson, have been there for our other restaurants, and worked hard to get this project completed for us,” said Tom.

The Blue Rose kitchen has seven people on the line, so the kitchen configuration had to be extremely efficient. The installation of the cooking equipment proved to be challenging. Curtis Sales rep, Reza Ghavami, comments, “Due to space issues, we had to build the vent hood around the range like a puzzle. There are always issues that come up during installation, but we were able to make on-the-fly modifications to make it fit perfectly. Tom’s architect was great to work with on this project.”

“I have enjoyed working with Reza,” said Tom. “He is accommodating, quick, knowledgeable and gives constructive suggestions on the things I need. The one thing we may have misjudged was storage space. To overcome this challenge, Reza suggested installing a new walk-in freezer outside the restaurant on a slab, which is currently being completed.”

Mr. Dittus is working on a breakfast menu which should be very well received for the Brookside area crowd.  Also, plans are in motion to create a shrimp boil once a month. Tom said, “It should be fun. No silverware, great food, nice view of the river, and lots of napkins.”

Blue Rose Café
1924 Riverside Drive
Tulsa, OK 74119
918-582-4600
http://www.bluerosecafetulsa.com
Facebook: @Blue Rose
Hours: 11:00am – 1:00am Daily

Here are a few pictures from the cornerstone dedication ceremony held December 14th, 2010.

If you would like to make a donation to stock their new kitchen, please Click Here.

The legislation gives foodservice operations an additional incentive to purchase equipment within the next 13 months. As a result of the legislation, foodservice operations can write off up to $500,000 of equipment costs immediately, rather than recovering all the cost over a multi-year depreciation schedule, as long as the purchase is completed during the 2010 or 2011 tax year.

This is a significant, but short-term opportunity to expense new equipment in the year it is purchased. We encourage you to review your capital improvement plan in order to take advantage of the greater access to credit and capital expenditures tax incentives through the end of 2011.

Benefits of the legislation are not limited to tax incentives on equipment purchases. The legislation also extends Section 179 expensing limits to foodservice operation structural improvements, new construction, and leasehold and retail improvements. As part of the $500,000 limit, foodservice operations can expense $250,000 of those costs the year incurred, through 2011. Prior to the legislation, foodservice operations could recover these costs only through a 39½-year depreciation schedule.

Benefits to foodservice operations don’t end there. Additional incentives make it easier for foodservice operations to obtain Small Business Administration-backed loans to invest in their businesses. The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 includes the following financial incentives:

• Establishment of a $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund to spur and facilitate small banks in lending money to small businesses
• Increase in the size of Small Business Administration loans from $2 million to $5 million
• Continue through year end the elimination of fees associated with such loans
• Continue through year end a 90 percent federal guarantee on such loans

For more information on what benefits the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 provides for foodservice operations, visit http://www.restaurant.org/nra_news_blog/2010/09/restaurant-industry-wins-tax-incentives-in-small-business-bill.cfm.

For additional information on the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/27/president-obama-signs-small-business-jobs-act-learn-whats-it.

-Competitive prices through our national buying group.
-Communication in all areas of service – from coordination of plumbers, electricians, and millwork contractors for your kitchen project, to delivery of your weekly smallwares and supplies order.
-Consult with our experienced sales personnel, to show you how to avoid costly mistakes, save money, and help your business grow.
-Have your kitchen equipment set in place. We will not leave it on the truck for you to unload on your own.
-Talk to real people. Simply call us to place an order, ask questions, or to meet you at your construction or remodeling site. You will get a real person… not a recording, or directed to a website FAQ page.

As a member of the School Nutrition Association of Oklahoma, Curtis Restaurant Supply is always searching for resources to make your job as a school nutrition specialist easier.

According to a study conducted by UCLA, kids eat more fruits and vegetables when schools offer salad bars (read article). Below is a list resources to provide a healthy salad bar for your school.

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Cool Kids Cook Too

This document is produced by kid2kid. It addresses the rising medical emergency of overweight and obese children.

It also has some terrific recipes.

cool kids cook too

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Salad Bar Equipment

Call us toll-free at (800) 766.2878 or locally in the Tulsa area at (918) 622-7390 to speak with a school kitchen equipment specialist for more information on salad bars.

Click Here for a suggested list of smallwares and supplies for your school’s salad bar.

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Salad Bar Procedures

A simple one-page how-to sheet.

Salad Bar Procedure

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Salad Bar Production Record

Keeping track of daily usage is essential to maintaining the quality of fresh foods on your salad bar.

Salad Bar Production Record

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Salad Bar Signs

These salad bar signs in English and Spanish can be laminated and folded into tents that can sit on top of your salad bars.

Salad Bar Signs

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4 Well Salad Bar Grid – Late Summer into Fall

The grid can be downloaded in Word so you may customize to your desired contents.

4 Well Salad Bar Grid – Late Summer into Fall

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4 Well Salad Bar Grid – Winter into Spring

The grid can be downloaded in Word so you may customize to your desired contents.

4 Well Salad Bar Grid – Winter into Spring

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Salad Bar Grid for a 5 Well Salad Bar

Salad Bar Grid for a 5 Well Salad Bar

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5 Well Salad Bar Grid – Late Summer into Fall

The grid can be downloaded in Word so you may customize to your desired contents.

5 Well Salad Bar Grid – Late Summer into Fall

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5 Well Salad Bar Grid – Winter into Spring

The grid can be downloaded in Word so you may customize to your desired contents.

5 Well Salad Bar Grid – Winter into Spring

The theme of the conference was Renaissance: Ye Olde Faire. “Renaissance means a renewal of life, vigor, interest; a renewed energy,” explains Dianne Boggs, SNA Oklahoma president. “The conference provided an opportunity to educate, energize, and inspire school nutrition professionals in our state. The educational training sessions, informational trade show, and activities presented new ideas and directions in children’s health and wellness they can take back to their schools. The conference also included a public health fair and several networking opportunities for the attendees to enjoy, including a themed dinner banquet with entertainment and a team cooking competition.”

“The Lunch Lady Challenge, sponsored by Curtis Restaurant Supply, is always a conference highlight,” said Kevin Ponce, conference coordinator. “Held on Saturday after the trade show, teams of school nutrition specialists competed in an Iron Chef-inspired competition. The teams were given a choice of secret ingredients at the start of the competition and were required to use the ingredient(s) in three dishes. The winning team received $100.00 each; the second place team received $50.00 each; and the third place team received $25.00 each. More importantly, they got bragging rights for the year.”

Below are photos from the conference:

Bowling Tournament

(Click on the photo to enlarge)

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Lunch Lady Challenge

Congratulations to the winning team; Doris Marcus, Alva Schools, Karma Honeycutt, Shawnee Schools, Renee Lewis, Muskogee Schools, and Mary Annette Turner, Stillwater Schools.

(Click on the photo to enlarge)

Randy Reich has joined Curtis Restaurant Supply as showroom sales representative. Mr. Reich comes to Curtis with eighteen years of experience in restaurant management, including ten years with Taco Bueno Restaurants and five years with Panera Bread®. Mr. Reich was most recently the beverage and culinary manager for Romano’s Macaroni Grill®.

Check out one of our favorite websites to get the answers!

Click Here to visit Still Tasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide.