One of the biggest problems we find when we’re trying to help struggling restaurants is that they can’t really “see” their business. Their managers work hard, often 70 to 80 hours per week. They enact policies to cut staff when its slow or they endlessly pursue cheaper ingredients and/or portion control, but efficiency often proves […]
Restaurant Fiscal Calendars – The Silver Bullet Read More »
Every day, local and national news agencies report on the state of the labor market. Governments anchor their discussion on unemployment rate, citing moving average trends or comparing today to a year ago. Business owners lament generational work ethic variances. Progressives blame a lack of career advancement opportunities while Conservatives blame liberal child rearing strategies
Restaurant Gig Labor – A Solution to the Great Resignation Read More »
If you own a restaurant, now is not the time to “just survive” and hope things get better. Rising costs of ingredients, product shortages, added transportation charges, smaller labor pools, less qualified candidates, and higher wages are all working against you. Holding out for things to course correct on their own may be a long
5 Reasons You Should Ask for Help Read More »
“The restaurant kept running out of food.” “The manager gave us free mimosas for seating us 45 minutes after our reservation, but they never made it to our table.” “It took 25 minutes for a server to greet our table.” “Apparently water and iced tea refills are forbidden on Mother’s Day.” These are all lines
Mother’s Day: The One Day Restaurateurs Cannot Afford to Mess Up Read More »
When you think of ambience in a restaurant, or anywhere for that matter, you often consider things like music, lighting, temperature, smells, materials, and acoustics. Those are certainly components of great ambience (which, by the way, I learned can be spelled ambience or ambiance). But in our series discussing a restaurants “LAMA” (lights, atmosphere, music,
6 Pillars of Restaurant Ambience Management Read More »
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 phase 3”, “is there a possibility that I
How to Reopen Your Restaurant – Safely and Profitably Read More »
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 abysmal and there is often a bit of a hangover
Restaurant Resolutions in 2020 Read More »
Who doesn’t love to be outside in beautiful weather with an ice-cold drink in one hand, and a fork full of incredible food in the other? Throw in some good friends and great ambiance, what could be better? With spring now in full bloom, and summer right around the corner, the desire to dine alfresco
5 Things To Consider When Offering Outside Dining Read More »
The obvious motivation for a restaurant to take on delivery service is to build sales. Third party delivery platforms like GrubHub, UberEats and EAT24 are making it possible for restaurants to add delivery that don’t typically offer it. Simultaneously, those services add competitors to the fray as square footage allocated to dining space becomes less
Delivery: Is It Right For Your Restaurant? Read More »
A couple of decades ago, to open a healthy-option restaurant was suicide. Menus were often free of fat and full of lettuces, grains and juices. They came off as hippy food… Moosewood in Ithaca, NY or Greens and Knead Your Bread in San Francisco. Sugar and bread were still “ok” if not staples on those
Healthy Menus Are Here To Stay Read More »
