Brookhaven Marketplace, a specialty grocery store on the outskirts of Chicago, has roots that go back nearly 50 years when two cousins emigrated from Greece and opened successful produce, bakery and deli establishments. A generation later, Executive Chef Roman Zarycki draws on Eastern European influences to create a distinctive offering of gourmet, ethnic and specialty dishes.
“We have a rotisserie lamb that we've been doing at my dad's store since 1980,” says second-generation owner and Director of Operations John Peter “JP” Bertakis. “Not every grocery store is going to have freshly roasted lamb for Christmas and Easter.”
Consistency and technology.
One Brookhaven Market‘s core values is delivering old fashioned, exceptional customer service. Another is using technology to simplify processes and elevate consistency. This is the thinking that led them to RATIONAL when they evaluated new kitchen equipment. In early 2020, they deployed a new RATIONAL iCombi Pro at each store and added two more – for a total of five – in the months that followed.
John Peter Bertakis, Director of Operations, Brookhaven Market
Chef Roman and his team at Brookhaven use the iCombi Pro all day – and all night. About 80% of food is prepared in Chef Roman’s central kitchen, and the remaining 20% is made at the stores using recipes saved in the RATIONAL. They make a variety of items such as salmon, tamales, Italian beef, and rotisserie chicken. They prepare doublebaked potatoes in a fraction of the time, and use the VarioSmoker to render savory brisket, smoked ham and pork butts overnight. Meanwhile, the baking team uses it for cookies and pies.
“It’s a solid investment,” he adds. “Yes, it is an expensive piece of equipment. But when you factor in what it can do for you and if you embrace the technology and systems, it can do a lot.”