Our Team
Put Our Combined 350 Years Of Expertise To Work For You
FEATURED ARTICLES
"Trials and Tribulations of Opening a Restaurant"
CSP Magazine - February, 2021
“The check list was long: develop a menu, identify and purchase equipment, find a great location, hiring, training, soft opening…check, check and check. Opening a restaurant is not for the faint of heart. Doing it during a pandemic? Downright crazy. Sill, I opened the doors to my first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Chef Bob’s Lobstah Trap, in Colorado Springs, Colo., in late September.”
"The New Normal of the Business of Food"
CSP Magazine - September, 2020
“Chalk it up to another piece of the new normal, but the experience was more significant for me. You see, after years in the c-store and food-truck business, I’m in the process of building a restaurant. Call me crazy. But I now find myself knee-deep in the decisions necessary to set up shop. Particularly trying is the to-go business.”
"Food Trucks Driven to Serve in a Crisis"
CSP Magazine - June, 2020
“As the owner of a food truck, I found myself in a unique circumstance. After the first week of sheltering in place, neighborhood associations, consumers and food truck owners put their heads together and came up with a plan: Let’s bring in the foods trucks to feed residents right in their own front yards.”
"Get Out of the Box With a Food Truck"
CSP Daily News - March, 2020
“In the convenience retailing world, brick-and-mortar stores are the ideal way to build a business and brand. A permanent location provides products and services, and everyone knows where the store is all the time. But real estate and construction are expensive propositions, especially when seeking permanent locations that offer high traffic and the right demographics.”
"Managing the Metrics of Foodservice"
CSP Magazine - September/October, 2019
“The challenge with most foodservice categories is determining the offer and menu and selecting what stays and what goes. That’s the foundation of success – or, in some cases, distress. But, to understand why the overall offer is or isn’t working, one must dig into the category data.”
"Waste Not, Want Not"
NACS Magazine - August, 2019
“The convenience store industry is well on its way to transitioning from the Cokes, smokes and gas mentality. Foodservice is the rising star among top category performers, delivering generous margins that can overcome waning demand for gasoline and tobacco, along with rising labor costs and credit card swipe fees. But it’s not a foolproof golden ticket, as even the most established foodservice operators will attest.”
Bob Derian
Partner
Bob has more than 40 years of experience in the food industry ranging from 20 years in hotels, clubs, cruise ships, and restaurants to 20 years in Corporate R&D for foodservice, retail, and manufacturing. He is also the owner of Chef Bob’s Lobstah Trap, a food truck in Colorado Springs that has been recognized as one of the top 3 food trucks and top 3 seafood restaurants in Colorado Springs by the Colorado Springs Independent “Best Of 2018”.
From 2009 through 2016 Bob worked in various capacities managing the foodservice division for RaceTrac Petroleum, a privately held $9 billion, 400+ unit C-Store chain. In addition to initiating, crafting, and implementing a strategic plan at RaceTrac, Bob also developed new and successful products, concepts and platforms. His last three concepts greatly increased the overall annual margin for foodservice. Prior to RaceTrac, Bob served as Director of R&D for Vicorp, Inc. (Village Inn and Baker’s Square restaurants), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, and Boston Market, Owner of Food From Thought, as well as Corporate Executive Chef at Kraft Food Ingredients.
A background in Menu and Product Development
Bob’s inherent passion for food segued into a life-long career that has been focused on developing the very best products and menu items that intersect “craveable” flavors with customer relevance. Bob’s extensive travels to over 40 countries helped him gain valuable insight into cuisines and cultures, which assisted him to understand what makes food taste great. His vast experience in the product development process – from ideation through testing to rollout – has sparked many successful retail and food service products and processes. Many of his products can still be found on shelves and menus including Mrs. Dash Marinades (3 liquid, no sodium marinades), Frontier Foods (dry mixes), and assorted menu items at both Village Inn and Red Robin.
An insider perspective on Menu Development and Managing Cross Functional Teams
As an inclusive leader with a results-oriented mindset, Bob has successfully led the menu development for multiple concepts simultaneously while managing cross-functional teams from Marketing, Training, Operations, and Finance to Procurement. He credits his ability to develop relationships based on trust, collaboration, and respect with building successful teams that are formed and motivated from a coaching mentality. He also used this approach when he coached competitive hockey for over 15 years!
Intellectual Capital Available in a Customizable Format
Bob’s strong insight into current trends combined with his ability to analyze new trends turns products into successes. Since his culinary expertise encompasses food taste, equipment, commercialization processes, and strategies, he uses this first-hand knowledge to make sound decisions that ensures executability at the operations level and profitability on the P&L.
