Best Concepts: Central Table Eatery brings healthy, abundant choices to Pennsylvania hospital

As part of a $182 million-plus overall hospital expansion and renovation, Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania partnered with Morrison Healthcare to step up its foodservice game. The result is Central Table Eatery, a food hall–style space that offers guests nearly a dozen unique dining concepts and represents the cutting edge of healthcare facility retail dining. It has been named Best of Show in the 2023 FM Best Concept Awards program.

Central Table Eatery replaces four previous venues: a cafeteria, convenience store, sandwich/salad/soup café and a coffee kiosk. Hospital management and Morrison’s onsite leadership team worked on a new approach to foodservice and food retail that would prioritize multiple elements. They are…

The project was divided into two phases.

In phase 1, the kitchen was moved to a new area and rebuilt. The cafeteria was set up in a temporary servery “that was even nicer than some other permanent serveries I’ve seen,” says Nick del Valle, system director of food services for Morrison and the hospital.

Related:A photo tour of Best Concepts Best of Show winner Central Table Eatery

After testing out the new ordering and payment technology, the initial stations debuted: Craft Beverage & Bakery, Create (salad bar, soup, grains, grab & go), Harvest Grill (burgers and sides), Heritage (plated specials spotlighting local ingredients), Market (upscale convenience store) and Hearth & Co. (flatbreads and pizzas). During phase 2, which debuted early in 2023, they were joined by Good Grain Deli (sandwiches), Umami (Asian bowls and sushi), Earth Bowl (create a bowl), Food Works (partnership with local restaurants) and Street Eats (seasonal patio eatery).

The Food Works station highlights partnerships with local restaurants.

Customer reaction to the changes has been dramatic.

“They were definitely blown away,” says Stephen Gotthelf, regional executive chef for Morrison and the hospital. “It’s now part of the main thoroughfare of the hospital, and you don’t feel like you’re in a hospital.” Compared with pre-COVID numbers, retail sales have jumped by about 67%, and check counts have grown by 32%.

Of the new stations, arguably the most popular is Hearth & Co.—because, well, pizza. Harvest Grill, which offers a healthy spin on the Smashburger concept, has also been a fan favorite. And despite all the variety, guests still expect menus to rotate.

“We have a fairly captive audience, so even with all these stations, they still want to see a weekly special at each station,” says Rachel Schaffer, associate director of retail. “So we’ve had to continuously modify and update menus.” The Food Works station, which rotates local vendors and restaurant popups, also provides more variety.

In determining the mix of stations, “we identified what the overall trends were in the area and how we could align those with what we could execute on in a strong way,” del Valle says. Local favorites and historically popular menu items took priority as well. In addition, the entire operation adheres to 50% FIT criteria, meaning they conform to balanced levels of calories, saturated fat, sodium and carbonated versus non-carbonated beverage mix.

New equipment purchases included two wood stone rotisserie ovens that cook everything from Brazilian-style meat to rotisserie chicken, two high-tech rotating deck pizza ovens capable of finishing pizzas in about 90 seconds and a large growing cabinet for cultivating micro-greens and lettuce, among other items. Craft Beverage & Bakery baristas work on state-of-the-art coffee equipment. The Food Works station has a self-contained grill outfitted with an internal exhaust and fire suppression system—thus no need for a noisy hood, which allows staff to talk to guests while they’re cooking. 

The new operation, with more moving parts, also meant staffing up by about 20%, Gotthelf says. With so many new menus and new equipment, intensive staff training was also key.

“These stations operate as sort of micro open kitchens, and all the items are prepared fresh, a la minute” he says. “It’s more of a B&I feel.”

Local producers are represented throughout Central Table Eatery, from sausages to poultry, beef and seafood to local chocolate, fair trade coffee and ice cream. The local products are spotlighted in signage throughout the space.

The new café is mainly cashless, relying on a POS with 18 order/pay kiosks that guests can use to order from any station. Guest receipts are numbered, and screens display those numbers as orders are completed. That process has required a bit of way-finding signage to explain.

“Our first-time guests have needed help because it can be overwhelming,” Schaffer notes.

An underlying goal of the project was to create a community hub, she adds. To achieve that, now that the hospital has lifted its COVID restrictions, Central Table is beginning to promote beyond the facility, reaching out to area businesses and a nearby college. The space is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and there is plenty of seating to accommodate guests beyond hospital visitors and staff. Eventually those students from the nearby college may even find Central Table on their meal plan.