Digital Menu Displays Throw Food for Loop; Food Stays on Track!3 min read
The RollercoasterRestaurant® opened on April 9, 2011, in the 20-meter (65-foot) high Historama Pavilion in Europa-Park®, in Rust, Baden-Württemberg — the largest and most famous theme park in Germany. The 215-seat, two-story facility provides a spectacular view of the park. The innovative concept takes “event gastronomy” (themed cuisine), to a whole new level. “The 3rd dimension of gastronomy” (the first two dimensions being service and self-service restaurants) combines themed cuisine, at its best, with a high level of comfort and service, a wide variety of culinary offerings, with local and seasonal influences, and a state-of-the-art digital menu display. The combination provides an unforgettable experience. Empowering its guests to use the digital menu displays saves time and frees FoodLoop’s staff to carry out those tasks that directly benefit its guests “with passion and perfection.”
The seating arrangement in FoodLoop’s rollercoaster-themed area (a separate upper-level café seats an additional 20 people) is critical to the design. There are 13 color-coded seats at each of the 10 first-floor and 5 second-floor tables, each of which is equipped with three tables that are mounted with a touch-screen digital menu display, from which guests can select any of the restaurant’s food and beverage offerings, find detailed information on each selection, and read other guests’ evaluations and lists of favorites.
When guests place their order, they also enter the number and color of their seat on the digital menu display. The food is served tapas style; the small portions serve the dual purpose of allowing guests to enjoy an assortment of specialties in 4-5 courses, while enabling each course to be freshly prepared and cooked quickly.
As soon as an individual course is ready, the small metal cooking pots and individual glass beverage bottles are placed in transport devices (the feet of which are color-coded to correspond to the guest’s seat color, making it easy for guests to recognize their dishes as they arrive on the track), and carried by a vertical lift high above the second floor, where they are released to race down the elaborate steel rollercoaster track, through a series of sharp twists and turns, up, over, under, and around its 2 loops, across the entire restaurant, and directly to the guest. Typically, it takes under 8.5 minutes from the time guests place their order on the digital menu display, to the time they receive their food.
While they are waiting, guests use the digital menu displays to access information on the restaurant or read the latest world news. After the meal, guests can write an evaluation of the food or service, create their own personal list of favorites, send a recommendation via email or text, and make payment, all directly from a digital menu display on their table.
Disclaimer: This is an independent report sourced from one or more news articles and or press releases; none of the company’s, entities or technologies digressed in this report are affiliated with or a client of Aptito.
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