Multifamily

Historically, seniors housing dining services were known for serving simple proteins and side items purchased from an outside distributor, which would be prepared in bulk and served all at once in a communal dining room. But variety and novelty are quickly becoming key selling points for today’s incoming senior population, and communities are scrambling to keep up with the demand. “We have a tsunami of developers and contractors building new facilities across the United States, and full-service dining is one of the most important features that prospective residents look for,” says Victoria Albert, vice president of marketing at Boston-based dining vendor Unidine. “The baby boomers are different from their parents. They are more worldly and experimental, and they want opportunities to try different cuisines.” Newer dining programs allow service teams to think more like an industrial kitchen, planning their menus around seasonal flavors and cross-utilizing the same ingredients for a variety of dishes. The result is a higher quality of food service with a thoughtful application of resources and marketing. “The environment of the business is shifting to operate more like restaurants and market more to friends and families of guests,” says Harris Ader, founder of Senior Dining Association, an …