I've been working with my families restaurant to do some efficiency improvements and this does not surprise me in the least. Their business is a sit-down/takeou

I've been working with my families restaurant to do some efficiency improvements and this does not surprise me in the least. Their business is a sit-down/takeout place and in practice it is fairly similar to a fast-food chain. By far, the largest drain on resources is the grocery runs during unexpected rushes, ie the time when you need every hand available. Automating deliveries and curb-side pickups was a legitimately daunting challenge for them but the results are extremely lucrative. Aside from not losing a worker for 45 minutes, it allows for smaller/more efficient refrigeration with less food stuffs going to waste. It's easy to see how the large chains would want to exploit these type of gains to the max. The "SKINK" concept, first time I've heard this term, is another aspect that I've been working on for them as well due to the nature of their business as a takeout spot. I would be interested to hear what you've been doing in this area because on the surface it seems highly advantageous. I've done some rough calculations and from what I've gathered, the margins on their business go from around 50% to nearly 80% if they were to cut the front-of-house. It also eliminates the problem of table turn-over. Aside from the margin gain, the idea of only requiring a kitchen to do business is curious. Take for example my city, it’s a massive foodie town where otherwise amazing restaurants come and go simply due to the downtown leases being extremely expensive. If a takeout spot were able to lease a fryer and a prep station from a slower downtown sit-down joint, the competitive advantage they would have is massive.