Patent Document

BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     This invention generally relates to bakery-cafes and, more particularly, a bakery-cafe arranged and operated to improve the customer experience.  
         [0002]     Bakery-cafes are known in the art. For example, Panera Bread presently has cafe-bakeries that showcase the art and craft of bread making, helping customers become true bread connoisseurs through learning to identify a great loaf of bread by studying its crust, crumb and craft. To this end, certain of the current Panera Bread bakery-cafes include a customer viewable fresh dough facility in which trained bakers handcraft each loaf from scratch. While customers can view a baker mixing ingredients, hand-shaping, and hand-scoring various types of artisan breads, interaction with the baker is presently limited as the customer may only view the actions taking place in the fresh dough facility through a window that extends to the ceiling of the bakery-cafe. Accordingly, to improve the overall experience of a customer, a need exists for a bakery-cafe having a fresh dough facility design that provides customers with more accessibility to the bakers.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The following describes a bakery-cafe which is arranged and operated in a manner that is intended to improve the overall customer experience. An appreciation of this and other objects, advantages, features, properties and relationships of such a bakery-cafe will be obtained from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth illustrative embodiments that are indicative of the various ways in which the disclosed principles may be employed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]     For a better understanding of the disclosed system and method reference may be had to preferred embodiments shown in the following drawings in which:  
         [0005]      FIGS. 1-3  each illustrate a floor plan of an exemplary bakery-cafe having a layout conducive to improving the customer experience. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0006]     With reference to the figures, the following discloses bakery-cafes having a layout conducive to improving the customer experience by, among other things, providing a fresh dough facility that allows customers to have accessibility to the bakers, including the ability to not only watch bakers performing their craft but to also interact verbally with the bakers. While described in the context of a bakery-cafe, it is to be understood that this description is not intended to be limiting. Rather, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate how to apply the various improvements described hereinafter to other types of endeavors.  
         [0007]     Generally, the bakery-cafes illustrated in the figures include a customer area  12  and a food preparation and food staging area  14 . As will be appreciated, the customer area  12  is the area in which the customer is free to move, e.g., to order and consume purchased cafe-bakery items. Accordingly, the customer area  12  may be provided with seating and tables. Meanwhile, the food preparation and food staging area  14  is intended to be utilized only by the employees of the bakery-cafe. Various of the stations that are to be described hereinafter will also serve the function of separating the customer area  12  from the food preparation and food staging area  14 .  
         [0008]     Within with the food preparation and food staging area  14 , the bakery-cafe may include one or more order entry stations  16 . The order entry stations  16  are desired to be positioned adjacent to a bakery display case  18  in which is displayed baked goods of a relatively fragile nature (e.g., mini bundt cakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, croissants, danish, specialty pastries, etc.) and one or more bakery wire shelves/baskets  20  in which baked goods of a relatively more sturdy nature (e.g., artisan breads, bagels, etc.) are displayed. The wire shelves/baskets  20  are further preferably positioned along a wall (i.e., a “bread and/or bagel wall”) that is located in an area generally behind the display case  18  so as to be out of reach of, but viewable by, customers. Accordingly, baked goods displayed within the display case  18  and in the shelves/baskets of the bread/bagel wall  20  may be labeled for easy identification by the customer. For reasons that will become apparent, it may also be preferred that the order entry stations  16 , the display case  18 , and the bread/bagel wall  20  be positioned in an area that is in the general vicinity of an entrance, i.e., vestibule  17 , to the bakery-cafe and that the baked goods within the display case  18  and the wire shelves/baskets  20  (which become readily viewable to a customer entering the bakery-cafe) be quickly accessible to an employee operating in the vicinity of an order entry station  16 .  
         [0009]     For allowing a customer to view that the baked goods, especially the artisan breads, are made fresh daily on premise, the customer is preferably provided with a view of baking ovens  21  as well as a fresh dough facility  25 . The fresh dough facility  25 , a part of the food preparation and food staging area  14 , will be understood to be an area in which a baker mixes ingredients, hand-shapes, and hand-scores various types of artisan bread. The fresh dough facility  25  of the subject bakery-cafe preferably includes shelving on which are stored the various ingredients for making the artisan breads (e.g., flours, nuts, etc.) and one or more scales, mixers, moulders, dividers, rounders, and tables. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the baking ovens  21  may be positioned, by way of example, behind the “bread wall” and be viewable there through. Still further, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the baking ovens  21  may be located in the customer viewable fresh dough facility  25 .  
         [0010]     Further located in the food preparation and food staging area  14  of the illustrated, exemplary bakery-cafes may be a “bulk-bagel station  22 ,” a beverage preparation station  23 , and a food product preparation station  24  (for example, a staging area of food products utilized to prepare salad, sandwich, and/or soup ordered by a customer). The bulk-bagel station  22  is preferably provided to be accessed by an employee of the bakery-cafe, to fill bulk orders for bagels, to restock the wire shelves/baskets  20  holding bagels, etc.  
         [0011]     The beverage preparation station  23  is illustrated as being located intermediate the bulk bagel station  22  and the food product preparation station  24 . The beverage preparation station  23  is preferably provided for the purpose of fulfilling orders for specialty beverages, e.g., espresso, cappuccino, latte, tea, blended ice coffee, and/or those drinks that generally require the mixing of ingredients. While the preparation of the specialty drinks takes place in the beverage preparation station  23  of the food preparation and food staging area  14 , the beverage preparation station  23  is preferably provided with a counter or the like whereby prepared beverage products may be delivered to the customer within the customer area  12 . Drinks that do not need to be especially prepared, such as fountain drinks and/or coffee, may be made accessible to the customer within the customer area  12 , although such drinks may be retrieved from the food preparation area  12  and delivered to the customer as part of the ordering process. Thus, by way of example, the customer area  12  may be provided with a cooler for keeping customer-accessible bottled drinks, a hot beverage filling area  28 , e.g., for keeping customer-accessible coffee dispensers, and/or a customer-accessible soft drink fountain area  30 . The hot beverage filing area  28  may be positioned in the vicinity of the bakery, e.g., the bakery display  18 , to better serve customers during the morning rush when it is more likely that the customer will be primarily ordering only bakery items and/or hot beverages which are more likely to be taken out rather than consumed on premise.  
         [0012]     The food product preparation station  24  is illustrated as being located at an end of the food preparation and food staging area  14  that is opposite the order entry stations  16 . As noted, the food product preparation station  24  is preferably provided for the purpose of fulfilling orders for salads, sandwiches, and/or soups. To minimize the time needed to prepare salads, sandwiches, and/or soup (i.e., for serving in a bread bowl or the like), the food product preparation station  24  is further preferably positioned in the vicinity of storage areas (such as walk in refrigerators and freezers) and food pre-preparation stations (such as sinks, chopping and cutting areas, microwave ovens, toasters, etc.). In this manner, the amount of distance and, therefore, time required to stage food products for quickly preparing food product orders may be minimized.  
         [0013]     For generally reducing customer queue times and overall congestion in the customer area in the vicinity of the food preparation area, the order entry stations  16  are preferably provided with one or more point-of-sale cash registers that are linked to one or more order printers and/or order screens that are located in the vicinity of the work stations. In a conventional manner, a customer will convey their order to a cashier manning an order entry station  16  and the cashier will, in turn, be responsible for entering the order into the combined cash register/order input system. The cash register/order input system will then calculate the total price and deliver (all or part of) the order to the order printer/order screen of an appropriate work station ( 22 ,  23 , and/or  24 ) within the bakery-cafe for fulfillment of the order, if necessary.  
         [0014]     To link order/customer pairs at the various work stations ( 22 ,  23 , and/or  24 ), a reference indicia, such as a number, may be assigned to each order. This indicia may be printed on a receipt, be associated with a pager, or the like that is provided to the customer (or the customer may be verbally informed as to their assigned indicia). In this same manner, the indicia is also preferably provided to an operator of a work station ( 22 ,  23 , and/or  24 ), for example by being printed on an order request or by being viewable on an order screen, so as to allow the operator to match food product that is to be prepared at the work station to the correct customer. It is to be appreciated that the indicia may be automatically assigned by the cash register/order input system (typically as a number assigned in a numerically increasing order) or may be manually assigned. In this regard, the indicia may be manually assigned when, for example, the customer is provided with a placard, pager, or the like having an indicia which will serve as a means for delivering prepared food product to the appropriate customer.  
         [0015]     By way of further example, when a customer provides an order to an operator of an order entry station  16 , the operator will enter the order into the cash register/order input system and charge the customer the appropriate amount. In the event that the order includes an order for baked goods that are within the display case  18  and/or wire shelves/baskets  20 , an order filler, i.e., a “backer,” or the operator of the order entry station  16  may fulfill the order by retrieving the ordered baked goods from the display case  18  and/or wire shelves/baskets  20  which, as previously noted, are conveniently located in close proximity to the order entry stations  16 . This order fulfillment may then be presented to the customer while the customer is at the order entry station  16 . In this manner, it will be apparent that the location of baked products in the vicinity of the order entry station  16  will function to minimize queue times by minimizing food product retrieval times, especially during the morning rush when the demand for baked goods is likely to be at its highest. It will also be apparent that the location of the baked goods in an area that is readily viewable by customers in the vicinity of the entrance of the bakery-cafe will also function to minimize customer ordering time (and hence customer wait time) as customers will have an opportunity to quickly discern which baked goods are available for ordering upon entrance to the bakery-cafe.  
         [0016]     In the event that the order includes an order for baked goods in a bulk quantity (e.g., a dozen or more), the order is preferably routed to the bulk order fulfillment station  22  where an operator of the bulk order fulfillment station  22  will be responsible for filling the order. At this time, the customer will also be directed to the bulk order fulfillment station  22  so as to receive the fulfilled order. In this manner, the current customer is efficiently removed from the ordering queue to thereby allow the next customer to place their order. Similarly, the operator of the bulk order fulfillment station  22  will be able to quickly fill the order, having bulk quantities of the pre-prepared food product readily available, to further reduce the wait time of the customer.  
         [0017]     In the event that the order includes an order for pre-prepared beverage product (e.g., coffee, fountain drink, or bottled beverages), the customer is free to retrieve the ordered beverage at the appropriate beverage storage location (e.g., cooler  26 , coffee filing area  28 , and/or soft-drink fountain area  30 ). As noted previously, such beverages may alternatively be retrieved by a backer or order entry operator and provided to the customer. If required, the customer may be provided with the appropriate cup prior to leaving the order entry station  16 . Again, it will be appreciated that allowing the customer to access pre-prepared beverage products will eliminate any wait time associated with an order entry operator retrieving the product for the customer. Furthermore, this allows the current customer to be efficiently removed from the ordering queue to thereby allow the next customer to place their order.  
         [0018]     In the event that the order includes an order for beverage product that requires preparation by an employee of the bakery-cafe, the order is preferably routed to the beverage product fulfillment station  23  where an operator of the beverage product fulfillment station  23  will be responsible for filling the order. The customer may then move toward the beverage product order fulfillment station  23  so as to be in a position to receive the fulfilled order. As before, this method of fulfilling an order of the customer serves to efficiently remove the current customer from the ordering queue to thereby allow the next customer to place their order.  
         [0019]     In the event that the order includes an order for food product that requires preparation, the order and customer are provided with an indicia that serves to associate the customer with the order and, while waiting for the order to be fulfilled, the customer is free to avail themselves to the beverage stations or seating as desired. In this manner, this method of providing food orders to customers functions to efficiently remove the current customer from the ordering queue to thereby allow the next customer to place their order. Similarly, since the operator of the food preparation station  24  will have food product staged for food product preparation, the operator of the food preparation station will also be able to quickly fill the order to further reduce the wait time of the customer.  
         [0020]     From the foregoing, it is also to be understood that the arrangement of the various stations of the illustrated, exemplary bakery cafe also functions to move the customer from a first side of the bakery cafe, i.e., the area of the order entry stations  16  and entry vestibule  17 , towards an opposite side of the bakery cafe with the result being a more pleasant atmosphere, e.g., it provides a bakery-cafe having relatively less customer congestion at the various stations. In the examples illustrated, the bulk order fulfillment station  22  is conveniently located in a position prior to the beverage preparation station since bulk orders for pre-prepared food products are likely to be fulfilled quicker than orders for to-be-prepared beverage products. Similarly, the beverage preparation station  23  is conveniently located in a position prior to the food preparation station  24  since it is likely that the to-be-prepared beverage orders will be fulfilled prior to the fulfillment of the to-be-prepared food order.  
         [0021]     As noted previously, for allowing a customer to fully appreciate that the artisan breads are made from scratch and baked fresh daily, the fresh dough facility  25  is preferably viewable by a customer. In this regard, the fresh dough facility  25  is preferably viewable upon entry through the vestibule  17  to allow the customer to immediately discern that the breads and bagels that they will see in the bread/bagel racks  20  is made fresh on premise. More particularly, the fresh dough facility  25  is separated from the customer area  12  by means of a partial-wall  32  that includes a portion constructed from a transparent material, such a glass, Plexiglas or the like. Thus, the transparent material may comprise the entirety of the partial-wall  32  or may be the limited to just the upper portion of the partial-wall  32 . Ideally, the partial-wall  32  is further limited in height to allow customers to talk directly to bakers working in the fresh dough facility  25  without interfering with such conversation. By way of example, the height of the partial-wall  32  may be in the range of 5 feet, plus or minus 6 to 12 inches. Still further, when the entirety of the partial-wall  32  is not constructed from a transparent material, it may be desirable to extend the transparent material downward to a level, e.g., a three foot height, where small children may observe actions taking place in the fresh dough facility  25 . In some instances it may also be desirable to allow the fresh dough facility  25  to be viewed from the exterior of the cafe-bakery through a window  34 . Yet further, certain of the equipment within the fresh dough facility may be positioned so as to draw the baker into an area in the vicinity of the partial-wall to further facilitate interaction between customers and the baker. By way of example, such equipment may include one or more mixers  40 , a scale  41 , and/or a kneading table  42  that are positioned within the fresh dough facility  25  against the partial-wall as seen in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0022]     Thus has been described a bakery-cafe wherein the customer is able to experience the entirety of the artisan bread making process. While specific embodiments of such a cafe-bakery have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof.

Technology Category: 3