Blue Orbit Hospitality Consulting
Mike Krebs – Project Manager, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting As more hospitality businesses continue to reopen and grow during the COVID life environment we are all trying to figure out how to hire and retain staff. This is a great time for owners to review some of the aspects of their business to make sure …
It’s the end of the 2020 Summer and COVID-19 is still running wild. Elections are on the horizon and, regardless of your political bent, moving left or right carries downsides that don’t quite feel great for the country as a whole. The only constant is uncertainty and restaurants continue to suffer mercilessly with no end in sight until a vaccine is imminent (no easy or automatic task) or herd immunity runs its course. So why on earth would it be a great time to START a restaurant?
By January 2020 the restaurant business was getting crowded and hyper-competitive. Since about 2009, on the heels of the worst recession in most people’s memory, restaurants around the country struggled and failed. Panera Bread, Chili’s, Cheesecake Factory, Seasons 52, and Red Lobster were suspiciously still standing while higher quality mom-n-pop concepts were crushed to dust by the downturn. The sub-prime mortgage business disgusted the public.
Unless you’ve been boycotting the steady stream of dreary news coming at us from all sides, you’ve probably heard how meal delivery services like Grubhub, Uber Eats, Door Dash, or even Postmates are struggling to turn a profit. On the delivery company’s side, their models are proving unsustainable despite the pandemic’s effect on delivery demand.
Michael Maxwell – Partner, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting As states begin to allow businesses to reopen, most in 3 phases of lessening restrictions, all restaurant owners are scrambling to decide what to do. Questions like “can I afford to reopen my dining room with only 10% capacity”, “when will we go to phase 2 and …
How to Reopen Your Restaurant – Safely and Profitably Read More »
Mathew Green – Director of Culinary Operations, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting Whether you have been doing delivery since you opened, or you have recently launched a delivery program due to a global pandemic, there are five incredibly common mistakes we see restaurateurs making. Selling food that does not travel well. When your chef puts up …
What You Should Not Be Delivering: 5 Common Delivery Mistakes to Avoid Read More »
Michael Maxwell – Partner, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting In my last blog, I outlined a step by step process for preparing to reopen your restaurants. Getting a handle on your finances, applying for aid and re-engineering your business to be bulletproof are all important tasks that need to get done, but it looks like that …
Michael Maxwell – Partner, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting In the last few weeks, I have had some very difficult conversations with a lot of restaurant owners that I consider not only clients but friends. I’ve listened to them as they have made hard decisions to close one or all of their locations, worried about their …
Ray Camillo – Founder & CEO, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting The holiday hubbub is settling down as Part-Time workers head back to school and holiday parties are in the rearview. Hopefully, your restaurant has fared well and all of your planning to deliver record-setting performance has paid off. But now what? Quarter 1 is notoriously …
Michael Maxwell – Partner, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting You may feel all alone in an empty dining room but take comfort in the fact that almost every restaurant suffers the September Slump. For the most part no matter how much you promote your business or how big a discount you offer, it really doesn’t drive people through …