The 2021 Restaurant Start-Up Cost Guide & Checklist is Here! Download Today
by David Klemt
This guide gives anyone starting a restaurant, bar, brewpub or other F&B venue the best chance for success in 2021.
Hospitality has endured a nearly endless thrashing for almost an entire year. The calendar has ticked over to 2021 but still, the pummeling doesn’t have an end date.
However, the industry has endured and continues to do so. We don’t know when Covid-19 will cease presenting a threat but we know this: there’s no end to the fight in those in the hospitality community.
Veteran and neophyte owners and operators are still going to open new venues in 2021, pandemic be damned. That fact means it’s more crucial than ever before that owners are positioned for success.
The KRG Hospitality 2021 Restaurant Start-Up Cost Guide & Checklist aims to structure the process of opening a restaurant or bar to maximize an owner’s opportunity. The guide contains 2021 start-up costs, renovation costs, scaled costs, an in-depth milestone checklist, and more that will help readers understand the process and keep them on track to go from concept to opening doors as smoothly as possible.
Click here to download the guide and start down the path of restaurant or bar success today.
0.0 to 0.5 Beers to Know for Dry January and Beyond
by David Klemt
As consumers become more conscious of their drinking habits, alcohol-free beer options are becoming more appealing.
Interest in NA beers grows during Dry January, but shifting consumer habits show that it’s wise to offer alcohol-free options year-round.
Putting both quality non-alcohol and true-zero beers on your menu as part of everyday operations is just good business. Doing so makes guests who have given up alcohol permanently or temporarily will feel included and they’ll remember that your business offered them a complete and enjoyable experience.
Below are several options that will help you develop the NA portion of your menu thoughtfully, split into two categories: 0.5 or lower and true zero.
0.5 or Lower Beers
Mikkeller: The world-famous, revered Danish brewer prepared for Dry January by curating a bundle of five 0.0 to 0.3 beers. Mikkeller Limbo Riesling and Drink’in the Sun are 0.3, and Kinder Series Xtra Grapefruit, Weird Weather and Limbo Raspberry complete the five-pack.
BrewDog: The manifesto for this awesome brewer states that BrewDog is “determined to make a stand for independence, a stand for quality and stand for craft.” This extends to their alcohol-free beers. There are six BrewDog alcohol-free beers, one of which, Ghost Walker, is a collaboration with metal band Lamb of God.
Partake Brewing: Founder and CEO Ted Fleming created Partake Brewing in response to the lack of quality, drinkable alcohol-free beers on the market. Fleming gave up alcohol more than ten years ago but missed drinking a good beer. The Canadian craft brewer has been making inroads into the United States, providing Americans with a high-quality NA beer choice. There are five styles in the Partake Brewing portfolio: Blonde, Pale, IPA, Red, and Stout.
Athletic Brewing Co.: Bill Shufelt, the founder of Athletic Brewing, explains on the Connecticut company’s website that he chose to lead an alcohol-free lifestyle but still enjoyed going out to bars and restaurants. What he didn’t enjoy were the subpar alcohol-free beers that were the only options at most places he visited. So, he filled that void with Athletic Brewing, which currently offers six non-alcohol brews.
Surreal Brewing Company: Husband and wife team Tammer Zein-El-Abedein and Donna Hockey, who live an alcohol-free lifestyle, felt excluded by the lack of quality beer choices available. So, they did something about it: they created their own craft NA beer company operating in California. There are currently seven brews in the Surreal Brewing Company portfolio: Natural Bridges Kolsch, Creatives IPA, Juicy Mavs Hazy IPA, Milkshake IPA, Chandelier Red IPA, 17 Mile Porter, and Pastry Porter.
WellBeing Brewing: This Missouri-based brewer has a singular focus—brewing craft alcohol-free beer. Founder Jeff Stevens, similar to other founders and CEOs of brewers who gave up drinking alcohol, still liked going out to bars and live-music venues. He also ran into a similar problem: NA beers that didn’t offer an enjoyable experience. WellBeing Brewing currently offers five non-alcohol beers, three of which are vegan and therefore work for Veganuary: Heavenly Body Golden Wheat, Hellraiser Dark Amber, and WellBeing Victory Wheat Sports Brew (with electrolytes). Intentional IPA and Intrepid Traveler Coffee Cream Stout round out the portfolio.
Clausthaler: German brewer Clausthaler claims the title of most-awarded non-alcohol beer brewer. Clausthaler offers five alcohol-free options that taste, smell and look like beer: Original, Unfiltered, Dry Hopped, Lemon, and Grapefruit.
Lagunitas IPNA: A 0.5 beer, Lagunitas IPNA is brewed with Citra, Mosaic & CTZ (Columbus, Tomahawk, Zeus) hops so the alcohol-free offering is still as hoppy and full-bodied as its traditional counterparts.
Coors: Launched toward the end of 2019, Coors Edge replaced Coors Non-alcoholic and is intended to taste like Coors Banquet.
0.0 Beers
Budweiser 0.0: Brewed with two-row and six-row barley malt, Budweiser Zero achieves true zero-alcohol status and weighs in at just 50 calories and 11.5 grams of carbs.
Heineken 0.0: It took years, according to Heineken, to get the recipe for Heineken 0.0 just right, which uses the brewer’s famous A-Yeast.
Bitburger Drive: A completely alcohol-free brew from a brewer that adheres German Beer Purity Laws, Bitburger Drive is 0.0 pilsner.
Those seeking new restaurant opportunities in 2021 should give serious consideration to Absurd! Kitchen Co., KRG Hospitality’s unique turnkey QSR.
Development of the concept was motivated by the realization that operators need to continue to pivot to survive the pandemic and thrive in a post-pandemic world.
“At KRG Hospitality, we immediately pivoted in March 2020 into ‘rescue mode,’ understanding the immediate needs of so many independent operators,” says Doug Radkey, president of KRG Hospitality.
Moving forward into 2021, guests will be more concerned health, safety and their comfort than ever before. Absurd! was developed as a response to heightened guest expectations and to create a path forward for operators in the post-Covid-19 era. Not only is the concept forward-looking, it’s designed for turnkey operation.
Restaurant guests were growing accustomed to the convenience of frictionless ordering, pick-up and delivery. Lock downs, restrictions, and health and safety concerns have pushed delivery and pickup closer to the forefront of guest expectation. Absurd! leverages the latest in technology and utilizes a subscription element to reward loyalty while offering a convenient and safe QSR experience.
In the new era of restaurant operation we can expect guests to be less tolerant of waiting in lines. Multiple publications have published articles hypothesizing that the Covid-19 pandemic we lead to the end of waiting. Considering the importance of social distancing and how commonplace curbside pickup has become, it’s understandable that many guests have developed a preference for speedy, safe service.
Equally understandable is a guest wishing to keep interactions with other people to a minimum. The ability to peruse a menu via QR code or pay their bill using their own device has offered a level of comfort to guests during the pandemic. It’s logical to believe these guest habits are here to stay.
At Absurd! locations there are no traditional lines. By design, there’s no contact between guests and staff. Guests interact with a location via designated pick-up or drive-through areas. In the pick-up area, guests access food-safe storage units through their mobile devices to grab their orders. The drive-throughs only serve delivery drivers or those who have placed pre-orders. Convenient, safe, time-saving restaurant features for a post-pandemic world.
Absurd! cuisine is inspired by Southern flavors and dishes such as loaded chicken strips, fried waffle sticks, breakfast bowls, and sandwiches. There are options for the full range of dietary needs and preferences, such as dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan meat alternatives. Along with a competitive, high-quality menu, KRG Hospitality has developed a retail offerings that include branded dry spices and meal kits, leveraging another trend that has seen significant growth during the pandemic. The concept’s packaging is sustainable, and adding a food truck can expand an Absurd! operation’s reach.
“Approximately 85 percent of the food menu will be prepared on-site, including the seasoning mix and ‘dredge’ for the fried chicken, which is intended to also be gluten-free and dairy-free,” says Radkey. “The brand is able to accomplish this by maintaining a small but robust and strategic menu mix over the breakfast, lunch, and dinner day-parts. Other food items such as the chile cornbread, breakfast biscuits, and sandwich buns will be sourced through regional partnerships.”
While developing Absurd!, KRG has created a loyalty program to go along with it that’s relevant to today’s guest preferences and consumer habits. Loyalty programs have made the news lately, with attention being paid to how they’ve been changing for the past couple of years. Tech has emerged as a driver for such programs, combining guest data and personalized digital interactions to increase loyalty. However, creativity is a crucial element as well. Recognizing the value of a unique but easily understood loyalty program that offers an attractive value proposition, KRG’s approach for Absurd! is a beverage-based subscription service.
“With a low monthly cost of approximately $8.99 USD per month, the Absurd! beverage subscription program, which is optional, gives the brand an easy way to attract customers and convince them to change their traditional F&B ordering habits while building a strong base of loyalty (and data),” says Radkey. “Consumers today are accustomed to low-cost monthly subscriptions. Therefore, we think it is time for restaurants to tap into that opportunity. The ‘unlimited drinks’ within this program include coffee, iced tea, lemonade, and an assortment of flavored soda waters.”
Absurd! Kitchen Co. isn’t unique for the sake of being different. First and foremost, the concept was designed for experienced and new operators alike so they can thrive in the new era of hospitality. The dedication of KRG Hospitality to helping operators flourish with concepts that are scalable, sustainable, profitable, memorable and consistent is ingrained in Absurd’s DNA.
The concept is a recession- and pandemic-proof QSR that doesn’t rely heavy upon day-to-day involvement by the owners, making it ideal for operators of any level, from the neophyte to the experienced hospitality group.
Click here to learn more about Absurd! and visit www.AbsurdKitchen.com to download this turnkey concept’s information packet.
You Need to Watch Restaurant Hustle 2020: All on the Line Now
by David Klemt
Whether you own, operate, manage, are employed by or have ever spent time at a restaurant as a guest, you need to watch Food Network’sRestaurant Hustle 2020: All on the Line.
Guy Fieri, who has helped raise $24 million (and counting) for restaurant industry workers, executive produced and co-directed the documentary, which aired last night. He tasked skeleton production crews (one would assume given the pandemic) with following four incredible chefs—Marcus Samuelsson, Maneet Chauhan (and her husband Vivek), Christian Petroni, and Antonia Lofaso—and said he wanted them to keep the cameras rolling to capture “the good, the bad and the ugly.”
When the scope of Covid-19 became clearer and the industry began to see how much devastating its impact would be on restaurants, bars and other hospitality venues, Fieri says in the documentary that he had two thoughts: “’No way can this happen,’ and, ‘Oh my god, this is gonna be worse than we ever imagined.’”
He’s angry about what’s happening to the industry and millions of people it employs and feeds.
“I was mad. I’m still mad,” says Fieri in Restaurant Hustle 2020. “Wrecked lives, wrecked families… Changed the history of the industry.”
Per the documentary, Fieri felt compelled to help his “millions of brothers and sisters” in whatever ways possible: “There was no words. It’s coming. Prepare. Stick together. What can we do?”
The documentary begins with three indisputable facts that speak volumes to the importance of the industry: The restaurant industry employs over 15 million people. That equals up to 20 percent of America’s workforce. The industry generates over $850 billion in sales.
From there, Restaurant Hustle 2020 introduces the four chefs, their restaurants, their challenges, and their collective hustle. Like so many in this industry, there’s no giving up in these people—there’s only fight.
Chef Marcus Samuelsson
Seeking community after 9/11, Chef Samuelsson opened the Harlem location of Red Rooster in 2010. That location employed 180 people—Chef Samuelsson had 30 venues located in eight countries when Covid-19 hit. Pre-pandemic, Red Rooster in Harlem would see around 1,100 guests on a Saturday night, and Chef Samuelson was just a week out from opening the doors of Red Rooster in Miami.
“It’s taken me 25 years to build this moment, but it took ten days to tear it all down. I don’t wish it on my worst enemy,” says Chef Samuelsson.
Chef Maneet Chauhan
Chef Chauhan and her husband Vivek operate four restaurants and three breweries within the Morph Hospitality Group portfolio in Nashville, Tennessee. At their peak, they served 2,500 guests over the course of a weekend. Morph employed nearly 300 people but by March they made the heart-wrenching decision to close their doors. Recalling the difficult choice, Chef Chauhan is brought to tears talking about how gracious her employees were about it.
However, Chef Chauhan and husband Vivek are willing to fight for their dreams and their employees: “The thing is, we are scrappy. We are immigrants,” she says.
Vivek focused on developing and strategizing reopening plans, and the duo fully embody the meaning of the Hindi word “jugaad,” or “a flexible approach to a problem.” While it only represented maybe a tenth of their regular sales, Morph implemented curbside pickup at three of their venues. They rotated availability offering curbside at a different location on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This allowed them to bring back a handful of employees.
Chef Christian Petroni
There are five locations of Chef Petroni‘s Italian restaurant concept Fortina throughout New York’s tri-state area: Armonk, Brooklyn, Rye Brook, Stamford, and Yonkers. Heading into 2020, they were set to have another amazing year after doing very well in 2019.
“We were just gearing up to take over the world,” says Chef Petroni.
The first Covid-19 death in the United States was reported on February 28 in King County in Washington State. As we know, on March 16, 2020, NYC shut down around 27,000 restaurants, resulting in the loss of 225,000 jobs. Chef Petroni employed nearly 300 people but had to reduce his workforce to less than twenty. To help the communities they serve and generate some revenue, Chef Lofaso created Pies for the People so customers were able to buy pies for those in need or who needed a morale boost (such as hospital workers and EMTs).
Chef Antonia Lofaso
Over the course of a decade, Chef Lofaso has built and operated three restaurant concepts in Los Angeles, California. Her restaurants employed almost 500 people and back in February, serving 1,200 guests over the course of just two weekend evenings was common. Chef Lofaso’s biggest passion is the hospitality aspect of restaurant operation and being “the facilitator of the good time.” That good time came crashing down in March.
“It’s taken me ten years to build these three restaurants and it took a matter of a week for it all to be torn down,” says Chef Lofaso.
She admits to feeling sadness and anger, in large part because she had to lay off nearly 500 employees. Chef Lofaso says that she feels responsible to her team members because they help her build her dream. By March she was able to bring back roughly 20 workers, convert her locations into markets, and sell liquor, which allowed her to bring back 90 percent of her back-of-house employees for at least two days per week and double sales.
For the rest of the story, people will have to watch Restaurant Hustle 2020. The importance of Food Network, Guy Fieri and these chefs capturing this crucial moment in history cannot be overstated.
As Fieri says in the documentary, it’s “a historical moment in time in an industry that is so important to all of us in so many ways, shapes and forms, and these four very brave chef-restaurant owners captured it. Something you’ve never seen. Something you’ll probably never see again.”
As we move forward into 2021, it’s crucial we remember that this story is still unfolding—we don’t know what the new year holds for this or any industry. We know that without targeted aid, the lives of millions of Americans are in jeopardy. We know that even with vaccines available, we’re not out of harm’s way yet.
We don’t know what the industry will look like when the world returns to “normal,” whatever that may be. But we know this industry is made up of fighters and we look out for our own. We’ll get through this together.
Food Network is available via several streaming platforms, including Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV.
Is Texas the Model for Restaurant Operation During the Pandemic?
by David Klemt
The mass exodus to Texas has been all over the news lately.
Many new Texas residents moved to the Lone Star State moved from California. Some moved to escape exorbitant rent, home prices, and taxes. But others have left California due to what some deem over-reaching Covid-19 restrictions.
On December 5, a regional stay-at-home order took effect in five California regions. Included in that order was a restriction on “nonessential trips” between the hours of 10:00 P.M. and 5:00 A.M. Some California lawmakers disagreed with labeling the restriction a “curfew” but it certainly seemed like one to Californians.
Also included in the order was a full shutdown of businesses categorized as bars, while restaurants were restricted to delivery and takeout only. In response, a group of operators in Orange County formed the #OPENSAFE movement and made it known they intended to defy the order, which is expected to remain in place through at least Christmas.
It’s likely that some former Californians flocked to Texas due to Governor Gavin Newsom’s restrictive stay-at-home order and “Covid fatigue.”
But is Texas less restrictive than California?
Some counties in Texas did implement curfews. For example, a 10:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M. curfew took effect in Bexar, El Paso and San Antonio Counties over the Thanksgiving holiday. However, they were short-lived and ended November 30.
According to reports, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego is mulling the idea of a “partial curfew” for the period between the Christmas holiday and New Year’s Eve.
One major difference between the orders implemented in California and those that were issued in Texas is that the latter weren’t blanket, statewide restrictions.
Another difference regards bars. Drinking establishments are closed throughout California. In Texas, according to this document located on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission website, “[b]ars or similar establishments located in counties that have opted in may operate for in-person service up to 50% of the total listed occupancy inside the bar or similar establishment,” and guests must remained seated if they’re drinking or eating.
Interestingly, no occupancy limit exists for a bar’s (or “similar establishment’s”) outdoor area. Another interesting detail: “the County Judge of each county may choose to opt in with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) to allow bars or similar establishments to operate with in-person service.”
That statement relates to Texas’ GA-32 executive order. In counties where Covid-19-related hospitalization rates and case counts meet state requirements, county judges can opt-in to reopen bars. In fact, the TABC features a map—updated daily at 3:00 P.M. CST—that displays the counties in which bars are permitted to open their doors.
Bars are required to stop serving alcohol at 11:00 P.M. but don’t have to close for business or send guests away at that time.
Restrictions are different for Texas restaurants. According to the TABC’s website, “Restaurants may operate for dine-in service up to 75% of the total listed occupancy inside the restaurant; outdoor dining is not subject to an occupancy limit; and restaurant employees and contractors are not counted towards the occupancy limitation. This applies only to restaurants that have less than 51% of their gross sales from alcoholic beverages.”
Per news coverage, the cutoff rule Texas bars operate under doesn’t apply to restaurants, motivating the decision of thousands of bar owners to reopen their businesses as restaurants.
One of the highest-profile ex-Californians who made the move to Texas recently is Joe Rogan. Rogan speaks with Texas native and entrepreneur Richard Rawlings on the most recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Spotify. The subject of California comes up roughly 23 minutes into the discussion, with Rogan calling out California and saying that Californians “are recognizing” that “California itself doesn’t exist as everybody thought of it.”
Rogan goes on to say that California’s government is to blame for the exodus to Texas, saying, “Literally, it’s a case of now we know that if you have poor government, the government can ruin a state.”
He praises Texas Governor Greg Abbott and his approach to Covid-19. In particular, Rogan lauds Gov. Abbott for shutting down the state for a short period of time but allowing businesses to remain open. He mentions that while businesses are still struggling—capacity restrictions, social distancing protocols, mask requirements—at least they’re able to operate.
At around the 24-minute mark, the conversation shifts to restaurants in particular.
“You can’t even go eat outside. There’s a 10:00 P.M. curfew in Los Angeles. It’s insane. There’s no science behind it, either. There’s no science that shows that if you get people to stay home after 10:00 P.M. that there’s less transmission,” says Rogan.” There’s no science, nothing. It’s arbitrary decisions that are made by politicians. And that’s the minimum: The outdoor dining thing is the most egregious because you have all these people that spent so much money to try to convert their restaurants and make these outdoor dining [spaces]—spent thousands of dollars that they didn’t even fucking have. They just wanted to stay open, and then they just get shut down.”
Rawlings then references the owner of Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill, Angela Marsden, and the emotional, viral video she posted in response to Los Angeles restaurants being prohibited from offering outdoor dining.
Marsden claimed to have spent $80,000 to comply with L.A. County health requirements and create an outdoor dining area before the restriction was put in place. In the video, she shows a television production crew dining under tents set up next to her outdoor dining area. Ultimately, Marsden had to shut down after running out of funds.
“I was pretty pissed off at that one because, you know, we shut down Gas Monkey Bar & Grill for the winter,” says Rawlings. “We’re just hanging out, see what happens.”
Texas hasn’t fully reopened and some may still view some of the state’s Covid-19 rules as arbitrary. However, capacity limitations for bars (up to 50 percent) and restaurants (up to 75 percent) are much more viable for operators.
There are other questions to consider regarding Covid-19 protocols and restrictions. If state lawmakers implement rules that ultimately encourage their residents to flee to other states, does that increase the risk of infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths rising in those states? Is America capable of setting aside our divisions and pulling in the same direction to flatten curves nationwide? Are our lawmakers capable of abandoning the arbitrary for the targeted and logical to provide relief and increase the survivability rates of restaurants, bars and other small businesses?
Covid-19 protocols can change in any state at any time, but for now, Texas may serve as the best model for restricted restaurant and bar operations in the United States.
Take Steps to Become a More Sustainable Operation this Green Monday
by David Klemt
You’re probably being inundated with emails about Green Monday today.
Given how the meaning of the word “green” has evolved over the past couple of years, many people may think Green Monday is similar to Earth Day. In reality, it’s about the color of money.
Green Monday, a term coined by eBay, is sometimes called Cyber Monday 2. It’s the busiest online shopping day of December and second only to Cyber Monday in terms of online sales.
eBay and other retailers often promote the idea that shopping online is greener than shopping in person since people aren’t driving to and from stores. The reality is likely closer to the meaning of Black Friday—businesses are trying to boost revenue.
We’ve decided to take a different approach to Green Monday. Sustainability and responsible business practices are important to today’s consumer, including restaurant and bar guests. Significant swaths of people want to know they’re supporting businesses that share their values.
This Green Monday, take a look at the sustainability of your business. Evaluate what can be changed to make operations greener and implement those initiatives for 2021.
Go local. Source produce and other ingredients from local farmers and suppliers to reduce carbon emissions.
Go hyper-local. Grow produce using a restaurant garden or containers. Garnishes, items for salads, veggies for entrees… Get creative.
Reduce and reuse. Inventory software can help reduce food waste by sending alerts when items are nearing their expiration dates. Reconsidering portion sizes can also help avoid food waste, as can cross-utilization: use as much of an item in as many ways as possible, such as tying food and beverage together with the same ingredients. If you can do so safely and legally in your area, donate excess food items before they expire.
Recycle and compost. Getting in the habit of recycling can be as easy as placing dedicated bins in strategic locations throughout the back of house and bar. Composting can be more complicated, particularly for venues with limited space, but there are local organizations and farms that will pick up compostable items.
Be efficient. The more energy-efficient pieces of equipment you can use, the better. Flow restrictors and low-flow toilets can save millions of gallons of water. Eco-friendly cleaners and sanitizers are safer for people and the environment.
Audit your packaging. Are you using recyclable or compostable packaging?
Audit your suppliers’ packaging. Many brands have committed to reducing packaging or opting for more sustainable materials. Speak with your suppliers and request reduced packaging.
A group of California restaurant operators is pushing back against current restrictions in defiance of orders they feel go too far.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order mandates that restaurants remain open only for delivery and takeout. The order affects five California regions: Northern California, the Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, the San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California.
Throughout 2020, similar orders have been issued throughout the United States. They’ve included an array of restrictions, from banning indoor and outdoor dining to choking traffic by imposing significant capacity restrictions.
Allowing only delivery and takeout is not the health and safety solution lawmakers believe it to be. Third-party delivery platforms and their policies can be detrimental to operators, worsening an already bad situation.
Several operators in Orange County, located in the Southern California region, are, per an Instagram post, refusing to comply with Gov. Newsom’s order.
The statement on publicist Alexandra Taylor’s Instagram account is posted in its entirety below:
“We, as responsible small business owners and operators, do hereby declare our intention to protest the current state stay home order and to maintain our safety standards of service as set forth by country and state health guidelines.
“We cannot, in good conscience, allow our employees and their families to have their health and safety jeopardized as resources to them have been exhausted.
“We will continue and strengthen our mitigation of the potential spread of SARS-Covid19 with the highest standards of safety protocol including, but not limited to: Outdoor Dining, Socially Distanced Seating, Mask Requirements when not seated, PPE, Readily Available Sanitizer to back of house/front of house staff, immediate quarantine and isolation of potentially infected employees, Barriers to prevent close quarters transmission between guests, limited capacity, etc.
“Although eating and drinking establishments (both indoor and outdoor) have shown to increase the potential for viral transmission, current data also indicates that travel and essential shopping have as much as a 10x more likely chance of transmission than these establishments based on CDC risk assessments.
“We agree, as responsible business owners, to commit to staying open with a dedication to public health.”
The image of the statement is accompanied by the hashtag #OPENSAFE and American flag emoji. More than 80 Orange County establishments that support the #OPENSAFE movement were listed in the caption of the post at the time of publication. The original post states that the list of venues is growing daily.
Taylor, the founder and president of The ATEAM, included a caption that read, in part:
“RESTAURANTS. I represent them, I invest in them, I celebrate them, I support them, I am passionate beyond words for them, for the PEOPLE behind them— and I will fight for them.
“This is a declaration for not only restaurants but all SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS to commit to STAY OPEN SAFELY and RESPONSIBLY, while giving their establishments, their employees, and their families a fighting chance to survive this BS.”
State and county officials across the nation can impose a number of penalties on businesses that defy orders. Fines and temporary suspensions of business licenses appear to be the most common. In Chicago, for example, operators can face fines in excess of $10,000. One restaurant, Ann Sather, owned by Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney, violated a ban on indoor dining and ignoring Covid-19 safety rules and faces a maximum fine of $10,500.
Earlier this year, a restaurant in Monterey County, located in California’s Bar Area region, faced fines of up to $35,000 violating shelter-in-place orders.
It’s unclear at the moment if the collective of defiant Orange County operators will face consequences for their civil disobedience. Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes has stated that the department has no intention of enforcing Gov. Newsom’s order closing restaurants.
“Orange County Sheriff’s deputies will not be dispatched to, or respond to, calls for service to enforce compliance with face coverings, social gatherings, or stay-at-home orders only,” said Sheriff Barnes. “Deputies will respond to calls for potential criminal behavior and for the protection of life and property. Our actions remain consistent with the protections of constitutional rights.”
Whether operators in other counties across America coalesce around their own #OPENSAFE movements remains to be seen. The consequences must be fully understood and weighed, and law enforcement’s stance on enforcing stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders regarding bars and restaurants must also be considered.
Two things are, however, clear. One, operators have had enough. Two, government officials need to listen to restaurant and bar operators and workers about the impact of restrictions before issuing orders.
One Fair Wage Survey Results: Foodservice Professionals on Front Lines of Infection Risk and Hostility
by David Klemt
Over a three-week period, One Fair Wage (OFW) surveyed 1,675 foodservice workers in five states and Washington, D.C.
The survey was initially sent to more than 61,000 applicants to the One Fair Wage Emergency Fund in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and D.C. By November 9, 2,621 respondents had completed the OFW survey online. A total of 1,575 indicated they were currently employed and an additional 100 surveys were completed by phone.
One of the key takeaways of the survey is at once disturbing and unacceptable but not, infuriatingly, shocking. Not only did significant percentages of respondents report lax Covid-19 protocol training and enforcement along with increasingly hostile guests, close to half revealed “a dramatic increase in sexual harassment” since the pandemic struck.
Increased Sexual Harassment
Forty-one percent of survey respondents noted a marked shift in the frequency that guests are subjecting foodservice workers to unwanted sexualized comments. A quarter said they had personally experienced or witnessed “a significant” change in this manifestation of sexual harassment.
An analysis by OFW of the comments shared by respondents reveals the impact that this increase in sexual harassment has on the recipients. The comments have a negative effect on workers’ sense of safety in the workplace, financial security, physical health, and emotional and psychological health.
Of the 25 percent of the female respondents who had personally experienced or witnessed sexual harassment, 43 percent reported that comments were directly tied to social distancing and wearing masks, two pillars of Covid-19 health and safety protocols.
Identified by OFW as a “mild example” of the unwanted comments being made, “Take your mask off I want to see what’s underneath,” provides insight into the overall “theme” of the harassment being made. Many guests engaging in harassment appear to be sexualizing covered noses and mouths. Indeed, other comments support this analysis:
“Come on, sweetie. Lemme see that pretty face under there. Take it off for me, will you? Just a quick flash.”
“Please take the mask off, I want to see your lips.”
“Take off your mask so I know how much to tip you.”
When foodservice pros rebuff these unwanted advances, the responses tend toward hostility and smaller—or no—tips. In short order, these types of aggressors have found a way to weaponize the guest-server power dynamic and seemingly fetishize required Covid-19 protocols.
Increased Hostility
Whereas close to half of OFW survey respondents reported increased sexual harassment, more than three-quarters reported increased hostility from guests.
A staggering 78 percent of respondents said they had experienced or witnessed increased hostility as a response to following and enforcing Covid-19 protocols. Almost 60 percent said these incidents were occurring on a weekly basis.
Again, the power dynamic comes into play. Nearly 60 percent of respondents reported hesitation in enforcing Covid-19 protocols for fear doing so would affect their tips negatively. That concern is rooted in reality: 65 percent of respondents said they were tipped less on a weekly basis after enforcing health and safety protocols.
More than 80 percent said tips have decreased since the pandemic took hold, with 65 percent reporting that decrease to be 50 percent or more.
Impact of Subminimum Wage
One Fair Wage, as their name suggests and their mission clearly states, advocates and campaigns for all employers in America to pay full minimum wage. The organization also calls for tipped workers to receive full minimum wage plus their tips.
Per OFW, service workers—including people who work in salons and airports—are twice as likely to require food stamps to get by when compared to the rest of the workforce in the United States. Foodservice workers, however, are subjected to more sexual harassment than those workers in any other industry. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency, has identified the restaurant industry as the sector with the most sexual harassment charges filed by women.
This isn’t a digression. The OFW’s mission for a full minimum plus tips for tipped workers would have a direct impact on community health and safety. Infectious disease experts have warned that Covid-19 will not be the last pandemic with which we’ll have to contend. According to a report released by the CDC in September, the risk of contracting Covid-19 doubles for adults after dining inside a restaurant.
Were all service workers working for a full, living minimum wage, they’d likely be less concerned with incurring a guest’s wrath in the form of a reduced tip or no tip at all. The OFW survey findings that foodservice pros are being harassed to remove their masks or not socially distance—risking the health and safety of themselves and guests, then of family and friends, and therefore the community—and that 58 percent are reluctant to enforce Covid-19 protocols out of concern for their tips illustrates, in part, how subminimum wage for tipped workers can impact the health and safety of communities overall.
The pandemic has made foodservice workers and others who work with the public, by default, Covid-19 protocol enforcers. Clearly, significant swaths of the public feel zero compunction when it comes to responding with hostility, threats, harassment, and refusal to comply.
It’s also clear that guests who react with hostility and intimidation when employees are enforcing officially mandated health and safety requirements lest their employer face fines, the suspension of their business and/or liquor license, or any other form of punishment that puts their employment at risk won’t hesitate to wield the guest-server power dynamic as a weapon. That weapon can ultimately endanger an entire community.
The Good News
A mere ten percent of survey respondents reported their employers instruct employees to follow all Covid-19 health and safety protocols on a consistent basis, and just 31 percent of respondents said their employer follows all such protocols.
Those are startling numbers since ten percent of respondents said they had contracted Covid-19, 88 percent said they knew someone had contracted the infection, 44 percent reported that at least one coworker had contracted Covid-19, and a depressing 42 percent of those who reported knowing someone who had contracted the illness had died from it.
However, there were some positive pieces of data shared by survey respondents:
92 percent reported their employers require all workers to wear masks.
86 percent reported their employers require all workers to wash hands frequently.
86 percent reported their employers require tables and chairs be wiped down and sanitized between uses.
78 percent reported their employers provide employees with personal protective equipment (PPE).
75 percent reported that a supervisor has told them they will have their back if they tell a guest or coworker to put on their mask whenever they’re within six feet of them.
In a perfect world, those percentages would all be one hundred. This isn’t a perfect world and there’s obviously major room for improvement. Management must step up in this time of crisis and uncertainty and embrace true leadership:
Respect the fact that employees are putting themselves at risk every shift. Put people first.
Avoid putting the bottom line ahead of health and safety.
Create and enforce a zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy—for employees and guests. Support employees when they report sexual harassment.
Communicate clearly and consistently. Transparency and targeted training must be priorities.
Display integrity when making decisions and enforcing rules.
Foodservice and hospitality industry professionals are on the front lines, sacrificing their own health and safety—and that of the people inside their bubble—to keep the industry afloat. Ownership and management need to protect them.
How to Address Temporary Restaurant and Bar Closures: 5 Social Media Examples
by David Klemt – 12/1/2020
Repeated restaurant and bar closures have, tragically, become a hallmark of 2020.
Operators have had to learn how to communicate closures to potential indoor guests, as well as delivery and takeout guests.
For most operators, the possibility of closing their doors—temporarily or otherwise—has moved well past “if” territory. At this point, it’s not even a question of when a restaurant or bar will have to close, it’s a matter of when it will happen again.
There are a few reasons a F&B business will have to close due to the Covid-19 outbreak: official mandate, reduced indoor and outdoor dining capacities, and voluntary temporary closures.
Mandated closures are, on the surface, straightforward. Government officials decree that certain types of businesses must close their doors by a specific date and time, and owners are expected to comply.
Closures induced by capacity restrictions are less straightforward. It has become woefully apparent that most lawmakers don’t understand (or don’t care) that at a certain threshold, reducing indoor and outdoor dining capacities is as good as forcing a restaurant or bar to close; the value proposition of remaining open simply isn’t there.
A voluntary temporary closure can come about because of capacity limitations, but they can also be the result of other factors. A significant workforce reduction, lack of traffic, rising costs of goods, or an internal Covid infection.
The stark reality is that the likelihood today’s operators are going to have to craft social media posts and emails announcing temporary (and possibly extended) closures is anything but slim.
Below are four examples of effective closure announcements that bars across America have posted to Instagram recently.
Machine, an upscale cocktail bar and restaurant in Chicago, made the difficult decision to close their doors to in-person dining guests throughout the remainder of 2020. The post addressed the reason for the decision but made it clear that Machine would continue to operate for delivery and curbside pickup orders placed online. Community health and safety was held up as a priority, and though the news was disappointing and no doubt difficult to break, Machine’s post was positive.
Award-winning Chicago cocktail bar Lazy Bird, located in the basement of the Hoxton hotel, was forced to close due to indoor dining restrictions. The post image was short and to the point, with the caption explaining in detail why the bar was closing temporarily. Lazy Bird is part of the Boka Restaurant Group and their post included a call to action for people to support venues within the portfolio that would still be able to offer outdoor dining, delivery and takeout.
Three days ago, award-winning restaurant Compère Lapin announced a temporary closure due to a team member being exposed to Covid-19. Like the Machine post, Compère Lapin’s message explained their decision was based on safety. Similar to Lazy Bird, the restaurant urged guests to visit James Beard Award winner Chef Nina Compton’s other restaurant, Bywater American Bistro (BABs).
In Woburn, Massachusetts, just ten miles northwest of Boston, the Baldwin Bar alerted guests to their temporary closure because a staff member tested positive for Covid-19. The message, like that of Machine’s, was transparent, straightforward, reassuring, and positive overall. Not only did the Baldwin Bar share that the venue was undergoing a deep clean, they named the company tasked with providing the service.
The Baldwin Bar, thankfully, got to post the following message a little more than a day after posting their closure announcement:
Operators who find themselves in the terrible and frightening position of having to announce a temporary closure would do well to follow the examples above. While hope isn’t a viable business strategy, a hopeful tone can help garner support from the community.
Equally important are an emphasis on health, safety and cleanliness so guests feel comfortable placing orders for delivery and takeout, and returning when the doors open once again. As difficult as it may be when faced with closure, focusing on the well-being of the guests can help ensure there are guests lined up upon reopening.
Festive Season. These two words signal colder weather (in most areas), delicious comfort food, creative drinks, memorable parties, laughter with friends & family, and of course – gift giving.
These are also two words that nearly everyone seems to look forward to throughout the year, including that of restaurant owners. The reason is quite simple; consumers are often in a generous mood which equals longer stays and more spending dollars.
Restaurants, bars, and cafes have the opportunity to generate an abundance of awareness, an increase in revenue per guest, and even repeatable business in what can be defined as the often slower months following the Festive Season (yes it is possible).
Let’s jump right into some Festive strategies your concept or venue should consider this holiday season:
1. Cross-Promotions
Make sure that special events and other winter-related promotions are planned for well in advance, ideally 1-2 months prior. This season is such a large opportunity, that a true marketing plan should be developed just for the season. The festive cheer that starts the season, for example, can act as a forerunner to both Christmas and New Years Eve parties, packages, and other revenue generating opportunities such as gift card sales.
Speaking of gift cards – create a marketing program specifically around these money-makers. Restaurants are the most popular choice for consumers to purchase gift cards, with 41% of total gift card spend going to restaurants. But don’t just sell the one card. Create a promotion that includes spending an ‘x’ amount of dollars on a card before Christmas, and receive a second card with an amount of ‘x’ that can only be used in January or February. Add value, be aggressive, and get people through your doors over the next two months when sales are traditionally lagging.
2. Labor Management
Similar to that of the retail sector and depending on the size of the restaurant, additional staff may need to be hired to handle the extra covers that are waiting to come in. This is where planning ahead really comes into play. To be fair to yourself, your team, your new hires, and your guests, you need to ensure you leave yourself enough time for interviewing, talent selection, onboarding, and training before the peak of Christmas season truly hits.
Both front-of-house and back-of-house systems and their teams need to be reviewed to ensure your operations are prepared. Customer service and speed in the kitchen or bar should not be hindered by the fact it’s getting busier. You can ‘scale’ your business by being prepared; create mock schedules and see where there may be gaps to ensure a high standard of service is available when your restaurant needs to shine.
Speaking of staff, let’s not forget about their valuable time! Ensure they’re given time to spend with their friends and family too. Be flexible with your scheduling – and don’t forget to thank them for their loyalty and commitment!
3. Off-Premise Dining
With the increase in delivery and off-premise dining, the Festive Season may not show any signs of slowing that segment down this year. Is your restaurant prepared to market the catering and delivery of food and beverage to office parties and house parties?
This presents an opportunity to offer the catering of a traditional or concept-infused, Christmas focused meal or buffet style dinner — right to their door!
Create a variation of value-added packages for different sized parties and request 72 hours (or more) notice (with deposit) to have it prepped and delivered, right on time. Just don’t forget the high-quality take-out containers and plates for an easy clean-up afterward!
Pre-ordered packages such as this will generate cash-flow, control potential waste, and control staff costs.
4. Food Menu
Is your restaurant in a position to offer a traditionally plated meal or other harvest/winter flavors? How about a unique variation or infusion based on your restaurant’s concept and kitchen structure?
Don’t be afraid to think outside-the-box and get creative. For example, if you’re a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) near a parade route, create an easy-to-eat holiday inspired option for ‘on-the-go’.
Develop a holiday-themed menu with your entire team (kitchen and bar team) with your target market and concept kept close in mind. Make it a fun exercise for everyone. As always, keep the specialized menu small and inviting to reduce inventory, prep-time, additional staff requirements, and potential waste.
You also want to keep in mind that a lot of the guests visiting may have never stepped foot in your establishment before because they’re just tagging along with a large party. Think of allergens and include dishes that vegans, vegetarians, and guests with other primary food sensitivities would still enjoy.
5. Beverage Menu
Having the right drinks on your menu is just as important as the food. The Christmas season is the best time of year to sell both pre-and-after-dinner drinks if you’re a dine-in restaurant.
You have to have the mindset that every drop counts!
While pre-and-after dinner drinks are big sellers, you can make a larger impact by offering ‘session drinks’ – drinks with a lower level of alcohol – or just zero-proof drinks all-together.
The drinking ‘culture’ associated with alcohol, in particular, has definitely changed over the past decade thanks to strict driving laws, the cost of ‘going out’, and the sophistication of consumers.
Show off your bar teams talent by creating ‘theatre’ in your beverages in addition to a balance in alcohol levels which should be promoted with the right mix of marketing.
When crafting your beverage menu, keep sustainability, speed, price, and perception of value in mind – for both non-alcohol and alcohol driven drinks.
6. Christmas & New Year’s Parties
You have the square footage, you have the approved capacity, and you have the kitchen/bar. These are the needed ingredients required to host an exclusive or intimate type event at any venue. Whether you have the capacity for 20 or 200 plus guests, there is an opportunity to generate awareness, revenue, and repeat customers by becoming known within your community for being the ‘best host in town’.
To make event management work for your restaurant, it must create a unique and memorable guest experience, which is no different than traditional dining strategies. Whether you’re hosting your own New Year’s Eve party or renting out your space before Christmas for a variety of private events – ensure there are defined (but value driven) food & beverage packages and a financial deposit made to protect your bottom line.
You also want to ensure there is a communication strategy in place to let other guests know if your venue is closed for a private event. Maximize each event by being organized, well staffed, and engaged. Take it a step further by providing guests at the event – an opportunity to revisit in January or February with a measurable gift (a coupon for a free appetizer or $10 gift card, for example).
By truly knowing and understanding your target market, your concept, and the neighboring business environment, the Festive Season is an excellent time to showcase your brand and your creativity – ultimately generating awareness, revenue, and repeat business opportunities, ultimately setting the tone for the following year!
Should restaurants ditch third party delivery apps and create their own in-house off-premise strategy? I recently took part in a few online conversations surrounding third party delivery apps – from both the consumer and the restaurant operator point-of-view.
If you follow along – I am not a fan of these services (at all). I’ve never used them nor suggested a brand to use them.
While I embrace technology in the restaurant space (and off-premise dining options) – I feel the business model surrounding these apps (in particular UberEats and Skip the Dishes during these most recent discussions) are lacking in both customer service and transparency while further killing overall restaurant profits (like operators today need anymore of that).
Let’s look at a recent transaction. I recently saw a screenshot from a consumer using a third party delivery application. After a delivery fee, a busy area fee, a peak delivery time fee, and the delivery fee taxes, a meal that was listed as $8.89 on the menu ended up costing them $30.36.
Of that, the restaurant earned a mediocre $6.67 of that order.
It’s not exactly a traditional breakdown of revenue that we see in restaurants, and operators today are struggling to adapt to this ever-changing restaurant landscape. I feel it came at them much too fast and many have jumped on board because they felt they had to.
But I have a question – why are we not doing a better job to get guests to spend that $30.36 they were willing to spend – in the restaurant or at least through our own off-premise dining program?
With a little effort – it can happen!
Here is what we know. Delivery and off-premise dining has disrupted the restaurant industry more in the last five years than anything else. Digital ordering paired with the outsourcing of delivery has impacted restaurant traffic, revenue, profit and overall restaurant operations like no other piece of industry-wide technology.
Based on the conversations this past weekend it seemed liked the only party benefiting from the use of these apps – was the third party. However, if you ask them, they’re apparently not making ‘huge profits’ either.
Here are a few notable quotes from the public chat that took place on Facebook – again from both consumer & operators:
“I’ve deleted the app – every time I’ve ordered, something goes wrong and a lot of times it’s the drivers fault not paying attention” – Consumer
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“If you’re doing takeout, pick it up from your local business. Other than that you’re rolling the dice” – Operator
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“Their chat-bot told me ‘we are deeply disappointed that we have failed to provide you with optimum service during your orders and for this reason we have decided that it is best to remove ourselves from this relationship’” – Consumer
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“Best thing to do is get out and support your local restaurants, leave these rip off merchants congeal back in the gutter where they belong” – Operator
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“I had no idea these apps take such a percentage from the restaurant on top of the delivery fee. I will no longer order through an app. I thought I was supporting my favorite restaurant, but apparently I wasn’t” – Consumer
—
Not much of anything positive.
Here’s the thing; recent stats are showing staggering numbers such as 60% of consumers ordering delivery in the past 30 days. Based on trend reports, this is ‘unfortunately’ only going to climb – even though I personally wish more people would visit restaurants, engage in the experience, get out of their home, and socialize with others away from their smart-phone.
But out of those that do order delivery through these third parties, 30% are experiencing poor customer experiences – with either the app or the restaurant – or both.
That is significantly higher than the number of complaints one would receive at the restaurant level without a third party being involved.
Here’s the next problem; according to a study by Steritech, consumers are placing over 80% of the problems on the restaurant through the use of these apps (even if most problems are not their fault).
Due to the third party app, a gap in communication immediately happens between the consumer and the restaurant. This leads to the restaurant not being able to often resolve the problem in a timely manner before that consumer blasts them for something on social media.
Not a pleasant situation.
This is because they’re sending their complaints directly to the third party app (the platform that ultimately placed the order for them) – which I suppose makes sense from a consumer point-of-view. This however leads to over 25% saying they would not order from the restaurant ever again – not entirely fair considering the restaurant may never have even known about this unhappy experience.
Furthermore:
14% say food quality was not as expected (likely due to travel time or packaging)
19% say the order took too long
19% say the food wasn’t the correct temperature when it arrived (timing or packaging issue)
29% say the order was incorrect or missing something
All of this could be avoided! When partnering with these mainstream third party apps – you’re also:
Losing a direct communication channel
Losing positive brand perception
Losing much needed profits to sustain yourself
Losing consumer data for future marketing
Losing foot traffic in your dine-in real estate
Most importantly – you’re losing control once that food leaves your four walls.
Why on earth are we doing this to ourselves for such limited margins?
If you are operating a restaurant and are currently using these apps – though you will never have full control of the situation, there are a number of options available to you to leverage more control.
That said I encourage you to consider your own in-house off-premise program. These options below should be considered whether you’re partnering with a third party or if you’re offering your own in-house platform:
Offering a limited delivery only menu option with higher margins (consumers are obviously willing to spend more)
Offering limited day-part delivery times (example; not at 6pm on a Saturday when the kitchen is slammed)
Using specialized take-out packaging for certain menu items to protect the quality of your unique food options
Using tamper-proof packaging so delivery drivers cannot alter the order (happens often)
Having a quality control program (or expeditor) reviewing meals before it leaves the restaurant
Sending printed customer care promises (how to reach the restaurant directly) delivered with the meal
There are much better options out there for digital take-out, delivery, catering, and off-premise dining that will allow you to keep control of all of the above while maximizing profits including the introduction of your own off-premise strategy – which will often keep costs to under 10% – no joke!
Then, use these ‘savings’ to increase your own marketing & advertising efforts. It surely won’t be 25-30% like what these third party delivery apps are currently taking from independent operators (which you were willing to give up anyway); keeping more money in your pocket.
This type of in-house strategy will also differentiate your brand from the competition that is also increasing each day on these main-stream app platforms.
How will you stand out and make your brand memorable? How will you position your brand for a sustainable future? How will you protect your brand, its profits, and utilize the available customer data?
Don’t partner with them just because it seems like the easy thing to do or ‘because everyone is using them.’
The notion that you must be on them to survive is 100% inaccurate. If you need to use them for ‘marketing’ – you need to learn more about marketing.
Take a stand and learn about your options first.
I am yet to hear a positive story on how these main-stream third party delivery apps have actually helped their business grow in the long-term. In my professional opinion, restaurants should ditch third party delivery apps.
Originally Posted on FoodableTV – By Doug Radkey 08/08/2018
With technology continuously advancing in the restaurant industry, it can be easy to get absorbed and caught up in the next big thing. Technology platforms can help you save time, financial resources, and improve ‘customer service’ levels, just to name a few.
But sometimes when you get so caught up in technology, you can forget some of the fundamentals that will never be replaced by technology, but still play a large role in the success of today’s restaurants.
The key is the right balance of technology that will assist you in meeting both short-term and long-term goals.
This article is not about how to not use technology (it’s a great asset,) but don’t let it fail you, your staff, or your customers. Let’s strip back the technology for a moment and remind ourselves as an owner, operator, manager, or front-line employee – some of the tactics that we must never forget or stop learning.
First Impressions
Curb appeal and first impressions must meet and exceed your guests’ expectations. When stripping back technology, restaurateurs must understand that first impressions are essentially a means of effective communication that positions a restaurant to develop positive customer emotions and “touch points.”
As always, one must thoroughly think about the consistent message and experience that’s intended to be delivered.
Key Performance Indicators
Technology provides an operator with a great amount of data, but restaurateurs still need to learn and understand this data and know how to use it to their advantage. Understanding key performance indicators such as staff turnover percentages, prime costs, percentage of repeat guests, and proper menu engineering statistics (to name a few) – are all essential to making the right business decisions that will eventually impact your bottom line.
Concept Characteristics
Outside of having the right location, the right concept, and the right chef or mixologist – a restaurant needs to inherit five key concept characteristics that technology cannot simply implement on its own.
Restaurateurs need to develop scalability, sustainability, profitability, and consistency – while providing a memorable experience. Finding a successful, individual approach for managing each of these characteristics is the key to success in any economic situation. All five of these characteristics are important and must work in unison to be successful.
The 3 Elements of Marketing
In terms of restaurant & bar marketing, it comes down to three things– driving awareness, increasing revenue per customer, and generating repeat business.
Technology can help execute marketing strategies, but operators still need to know their target market and their hyper-local competition to understand which strategies will drive the best return on investment.
An ‘old school’ approach to developing a marketing plan will still deliver success in today’s technology driven world.
Continuous Education
It doesn’t matter which role one plays in the restaurant, everyone must continue to learn. Owners, managers, and front-line staff should have the mindset and a personal development plan in place to continuously learn the industry. It’s important to stay up to date with customer service strategies, product details (visiting suppliers), and how the supply chain works within the restaurant. In addition; reading books and listening to podcasts for example are a great learning tool everyone can take part in.
Customer Service
It’s no secret, we’re all witnessing a shift in how technology affects customer service and ordering sequences.
As the technology continues to evolve, restaurateurs must not forget that engaging guests on a personal level will always build on those positive customer emotions. These “touch points” are required to make not only a positive first impression, but a lasting memorable impression.
This is especially important if you’re considering adding third party delivery to your revenue & service mix. How will you protect your brand and enhance customer service after the food has left your venue and is in the hands of their delivery drivers?
Make sure there is a plan in place that engages customers on a personal level.
Focus on Systems
Having the correct systems in place will create consistency, develop operating capital, enhance team morale, and build business value– while also positioning a restaurant’s concept for future growth opportunities (being scalable & sustainable).
This includes proper communication between front-of-house and back-of-house, day-to-day checklists, quality control methods, and human resource management, among others.
Again, there is technology that can assist operators with their systems, but they can’t develop the process of implementing the right systems for specific concepts. That is up to you to know which ones are needed to maximize each moment of the day.
Collaboration
Lastly, a sense of community is a driving force in this industry. We can build online communities (social followings,) but the best way to develop a sense of community is through collaborating with local farms, breweries, chefs, charities, and even the competition. Understanding this fundamental strategy will amplify your messaging throughout the community, improve a restaurants perception, increase staff morale, and generate revenue opportunities– while developing a destination, not just a restaurant.
Sometimes it is nice to just step back and review the bigger picture and remind ourselves not only why we’re in the restaurant business, but to revisit the basic fundamentals for restaurant success.
Once that is truly understood and the proper ground work is in place, technology can be implemented to enhance and support operations to save time, financial resources, and improve those needed ‘customer service’ levels.
There is truly a science to the design and layout of a winning bar. Outside of implementing a timeless interior, a bar needs to consider many factors including but not limited to; efficiency, hyper-local competition, and overall guest experiences – within its design elements.
Completing a bars ‘concept plan’ should be one of the first steps any aspiring bar owner should take. A concept plan will outline vision, value, mission, and culture statements plus its initial architectural, entertainment, and menu development characteristics (wishlist).
Once you’ve defined your concept, you can begin adding more heart and soul to the design and overall guest experience strategies; the back-bone to a memorable bar. Every component of the bars interior design, entertainment plan, and menu development process should enhance the guests’ overall senses (also known as emotions).
Here are items you can work on for your vision, prior to delivering a presentation to any designer, consultant, and/or architect.
Energizing the Space
Consider ways to not only maximize the space, but energize the space. What experiences can you deliver? Use this time to consider adding space for sound engineering, live music and/or DJ’s, interactive games, mix of televisions, and the right mix of socializing and networking opportunities.
Social Space
In today’s market-space, it is imperative that all newly designed bars (and restaurants) take into account social media, guest photos, and guest videos. Keeping the energized space in mind, how can you add space with the right lighting for taking group photos (with your branding in the background) in addition to taking videos and photos of cocktails and/or food.
Bar-Back
The next focus needs to be on bar efficiency. Consider the size of establishment, guest capacity, and your point-of-sale requirements. Then add multiple bartender stations while choosing the correct equipment, bottle display, overhead glass racks (less breakage), and under-bar space plus the number of speed rails, ice stations, garnish stations, cutting boards, and sinks within a one pivot movement for each bartender. This will then determine the size of ‘bar’ required, which will assist in developing your budget (and beverage menu).
Kitchen Space
A winning bar will also have a memorable food program. Offering premium food and focused, high-quality beer, wine, & spirits is a recipe for maximum revenue potential in today’s market space. Ensure there is space for grills, flat-tops, deep fryers, burners, and a convection oven (or combi-oven) plus space for prep areas, freezers, and refrigeration to provide a quick (and profitable) food program.
Seating and Lighting
This will entirely depend on the chosen concept. Your choice of lighting and seating will determine length of stay, the amount of money a guest will spend, and how they will interact with guests in their party plus other guests at your bar. Every seat and light fixture must have a purpose. This is just as important as laying out the actual back-bar itself and should be discussed with designers, architects, and consultants.
Branding
Consistency through all design elements (interior, exterior, menus, website, social media, and other marketing collateral) is the final consideration piece. Look for ways to incorporate subtle additions of logo colors and branding throughout the venue. Where ever the guests will take the most pictures and videos, make sure there is a way that people will know they’re at your bar!
There are numerous other variables and details required, but starting with this will make you look like a pro when you meet with a designer by having a concept plan completed and a true vision of how you want your bar to be laid out. A professional designer should be able to then take your vision, tweak it to professional standards, and implement it into drawings that will ensure it meets local codes and your overall budget!
Patio. Season. Two words nearly every Canadian seems to enjoy and two words nearly everyone looks forward to after a long cold winter, including that of local restaurant & bar owners.
If your property is lucky enough to have this additional space and seating, it’s critical to take advantage of this revenue generating opportunity.
But can having a patio be looked at as a double-edged sword? While it opens up more seats and potential revenue (during a time when many restaurateurs are seeking smaller foot prints), can a patio also cause labour, logistics, and other operational challenges?
The quick answer is absolutely!
With something as complex as a successful patio season however, there needs to be an action plan, first and foremost to combat those challenges. This is a plan that is developed prior to the nice weather arriving and a plan that is well organized with strategic goals and a series of risk assessments.
To execute a flawless patio program, it’s important to start planning as early as possible, preferably 2-3 months prior to the start of the warmer weather. Developing a program around your patio this early will allow your restaurant or bar to determine cash-flow needs, staffing requirements, inventory levels, marketing requirements, and any additional training requirements to ensure a smooth operating season.
As with any seasonal, strategic, or marketing related program, it’s crucial to use a SMART mindset towards your planning; one that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
Furthermore, the development of an action plan is a fantastic opportunity to utilize your staff to help brainstorm menu items, themes, and other special events to ensure your venue and patio becomes the desired destination that it deserves to be!
So how can owners, operators, and managers take advantage of this opportunity and maximize on its potential while limiting day-to-day challenges?
An epic patio program will highlight the following critical segments.
Labour Management
Let’s start with the biggest elephant in the room. Depending on the size of restaurant and patio, additional staff may be needed to handle the extra covers that are sitting outside.
The first question you need to honestly and realistically answer is, will your traffic increase or will it be merely the same traffic, just sitting outside versus inside?
In summary, will you be putting in the continuous efforts to increase traffic?
This is where planning ahead really comes into play. This is where strategic goals, historic data, an the understanding of your target market & hyper-local competition, and where knowing if your intended marketing plan will position you to have either a distressed or profitable patio program.
With an hourly breakdown of foot traffic (historic and potential) and an understanding of your day-parts, you can begin to determine your staff requirements.
To be fair to yourself, your team, your new hires, and your guests, you need to ensure you leave yourself enough time for interviewing, talent selection, on-boarding, and training before the peak of patio season truly hits.
Culture Reset
As you’re reading this, you may be saying phrases such as ‘good luck finding more staff’ or ‘I can’t even keep the staff I have now, how am I going to staff an increase in traffic this summer”?
Fair statements if you lack the elements of culture. I think we’ve all heard by now that there is a “shortage of qualified hospitality staff”. If you’re experiencing this first hand and had those phrases or ones similar go through your mind – it may be time to hit the reset button on the culture within your venue.
An entire article could be written on this subject alone, but in summary – let’s just put a stop to the excuses right now. You can overcome these challenges with the right mindset towards culture and towards providing an emphasis on your core values, team experiences, a positive work environment, employee engagement, hiring practices, and providing above average pay scales.
It can be that easy – or that hard. It depends on you and your leadership team. The way out of this ‘shortage’ starts with you and your brand.
Labour Systems
Getting back to the fundamentals of a winning patio program, both ‘front-of-house’ and ‘back-of-house’ systems and teams need to be reviewed to ensure your operations are prepared. Customer service and speed in the kitchen (and bar) should not be hindered by the fact additional seating is now offered.
Plan ahead, create mock schedules, and see where there may be gaps to ensure the high standards of service inside is going to be matched with high standards of service outside.
How will this affect your labour costs? Are you going to be able to control this additional cost versus the potential revenue opportunity? What happens if the weather doesn’t cooperate one day and you’re over staffed? What is your contingency plan?
Restaurants today have the ability to cross-train and create more of a ‘one-house’ approach versus one with varied departments which positions a concept to maximize their personnel while hiring based on values versus experience.
This mindset towards actual ‘labour systems’ will ensure not only staffing your patio becomes ‘easier’, but staffing your restaurant throughout the entire year becomes much less of a ‘headache’ – something most will agree is the biggest year-over-year challenge within the industry.
Seating and Tables
To effectively control your labour, you need to equally review your seating arrangement and overall patio capacity.
Outside of making it enticing, inviting, and clean with new patio furniture, there are numerous ways you can step up your patio game. There should be more to it than just wiping down the tables, setting up the chairs, and sweeping the ground of the past winter.
Similar to that of seating strategies inside your venue, ideally you want to have a strategic setup of tables and chairs outside. Consider a restaurant revenue management (RRM) approach, which can be defined simply as selling the right seat to the right customer at the right price and for the right duration of time. A strategic setup includes understanding your target market, their ideal length of stay, and average party size in addition to overall space for comfort and traffic flow for both guests and staff.
Again, this additional seating must also align with production levels in the kitchen and bar. What would happen if you were at full capacity, both inside and outside? Have a plan in place and analyze your revenue per available seat-hour (RevPASH) to maximize each moment throughout the day.
You also want to analyze the steps taken for staff from the pass and/or bar to the patio section. Many patios are designed in a way that it is a distant walk for staff. How many steps does each staff member take to serve a guest? What is the cost of this distance over the course of a day, a week, or a season?
Are there ways to reduce this burden on your labour? The answer may be hiding in the way your patio is setup for a successful season.
Patio Driven Menus
The answer to efficient labour and revenue management as it relates to your patio program – may just lie within your menu. If you have the space, consider taking the grill outside (or any equipment you can) to launch an exciting new outdoor experience. This will push your restaurant to create unique outdoor menus, redefine your guest experience and stay a step ahead of your competition.
This will not only improve on the guest experience, but reduce wear & tear on your staff – improving ticket times, walking distance, and staff morale.
Take the Production Outside
Equipment today is extremely versatile. You can now put together mobile kitchens & bars that are cost effective and perfect for the patio – especially in a climate that sees a variety of weather patterns. With minimal square feet and utility requirements, you can now grill, fry, and/or bake a targeted food menu right on the patio.
The fun doesn’t stop there, mobile bars can ensure the drinks continue to flow on the patio and that the cocktail shaking is both seen and heard, keeping the energy level high every day of the season.
Work towards elevating your guests visual, auditory, olfactory (smell), and gustatory (taste) senses right on the patio.
Creative Menus
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have the space for any bar or kitchen equipment outside. Create a seasonal menu that’s inspired by an outdoor patio, anyway.
Develop a menu plan with your entire bar and culinary team with your venues target market and concept kept close in mind (and reward them for that creativity).
As always, keep this specialized menu small and inviting to reduce inventory, prep time, waste and any other staff requirements. Be creative this year and start thinking outside the box.
Support Local
Your guests today are likely looking for new flavours and innovation, as well as creative summer-like takes on traditional menu items. There is no better way to stay ahead of this need than by utilizing and building stronger relationships with your local farmers market. Provide your team with the means to develop unique, limited-time offers with not only seasonal produce, but a variety of barbecue-related flavours.
Innovation shouldn’t stop with just the food; beverages need to be included into the mix, too. (It is hot out, after all). The “garden-to-glass” trend continues to grow and new, refreshing spirits are becoming readily available to develop flavourful drinks with unique vessels and memorable presentations.
Lastly, beer and cocktails with low-levels of alcohol should also be featured, plus creative mocktails and house-made spritzers should highlight one’s patio menu.
Temperature Control
Unfortunately, we can’t dictate the weather. Throughout the patio months you’re going to see rain, wind, storms and even days where it may feel ‘too hot’, or evenings where it may feel ‘too cool’ to be out on a patio.
Restaurants and bars should consider these weather elements by offering more than just an umbrella or patio heaters. Look for other solutions to shade your patio, block wind and prevent heavy rain from ruining a potentially profitable day or night on the patio.
These investments will pay off by continuing the positive cash flow even when mother-nature tries to disappoint you.
Pest Control
Now that you have your labour, revenue, production, menu, and weather patterns considered, take the time to meet with your pest control vendor and discuss your plans for outside.
They can suggest safe bug repellents and means of keeping away other animals and critters like mice, squirrels, and even birds.
Sanitation is a critical component in any restaurant and the patio cannot be overlooked. Put a preventative action plan in place to deter any bugs or animals from potentially ruining a guest’s experience.
Noise Control
With outdoor seating, you’ll likely encounter noise issues that start beyond the boundaries of your patio, including vehicle traffic, construction and other neighbourhood noises.
To reduce this burden, consider noise reduction strategies such as walls, bushes or even your own sound strategy, like a catchy playlist through your sound engineering plan.
Music (whether live or through a playlist) can deliver the right, on-brand ambiance and attract your target demographic while increasing overall profits and drowning out other noise on the patio. No matter the concept, guests enjoy their food, drink, and company more when music is playing, which ultimately makes them stay longer and, of course, spend more of their hard earned dollars on your patio.
Driving Energy Levels
The warm weather typically attracts tourism and gets locals looking to re-explore their outside surroundings. The restaurants or bars that provide the right mix of marketing (online and offline) paired with energy are the ones that will attract a consistent level of guests throughout the patio season.
Look for ways to utilize live music, themed parties, and interactive games (inside or outside) on a daily or weekly basis throughout the patio months.
A fully pre-planned calendar of events will drive high level of positive energy while creating awareness, excitement and anticipation while developing repeat business opportunities.
Marketing Plan
Now it’s time to tie all of this together. Remember, if you build it they will not come.
An epic patio season could be destroyed if it’s not coupled with an epic marketing campaign.
It is vital to inform your guests of your patio and the plans you have for it throughout the season. Each week and month throughout the season should be properly planned for to ensure the said energy level, never cools down.
Create Buzz
To maximize your patio program or event’s reach, it’s best to use a three-tiered approach to creating buzz. Have a plan in place to promote your seasonal events including patio launch party, menu launch parties, live music, comedy night on the patio, and the many others you and your team come up with.
You’ll need to create buzz not only prior to the event, but during the event and also after the event.
Give guests (and potential guests) a means to engage with your brand. You’re also giving an opportunity for others to see what they may have missed out on, also known as FOMO (the fear of missing out) making them intrigued to not miss your next scheduled event!
Story-Telling
Venues must now make their story meaningful, personal, emotional, simple, and authentic. This story-telling should flow to your patio program as well.
Despite the word “story,” it isn’t even confined to the written word. Colours, decor, vendors, staff members, plating, and glassware — even the simplest visual segments within your brand and patio ‘messaging’ — can paint a picture worth a thousand words.
Within your marketing plan, ensure you’re capitalizing on this through all of your resources and media channels, including the use of social media.
Using Video
Story-telling and video elements are really required for any time of the year, but to promote your patio, your events, your limited-time offers and summer drink menu for example, there is no better way to amplify the message than through video.
Use this opportunity to showcase service staff planning an event, cooks building that signature summer burger, or bartenders pouring that refreshing beverage.
Hint; this will also improve your culture!
Remember, with today’s smart phones, you no longer need to break-the-bank on video production!
Tap Social Circles
A successful patio program also relies heavily on the opportunity to reach out to sporting teams, bike clubs, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Can your venue host after-parties? Can your venue host a social-media-only party or tasting event?
Don’t be afraid to reach out and partner with other local businesses and organizations. Every campaign should have a social media and/or community-driven strategy behind it.
Three Visits
Each seasonal program and its associated campaigns should have the goal of guests returning at least three times. Understanding your target market, is it realistic to see a guest return three times per week, three time per month, or once per month over the course of your patio season?
Once you truly understand their lifestyle and spending habits, you can develop events and campaigns to drive patio drive loyalty and a personalized experience.
Quality Designs
When a venue gives itself the opportune time to plan, a sense of higher quality often comes with it.
Budget for and take the time to create high-quality designs for posters, ads, video and social media posts. This will speak volumes to potential guests while providing a perception of value to not only your new patio menus, but also your events and overall venue.
The patio season provides an opportunity to think outside the box, but don’t go overboard with menu changes and special events. Know your target market, know your concept, and know your financial budgets.
Develop a program that is simple but memorable, profitable, and effective, and without placing additional stress on your kitchen, bar, or service staff.
In summary, concentrate your patio program on presentation, energy levels, story-telling, and developing a personalized guest experience. Doing so will develop a sense of community and culture, setting your venue up for success, even as the weather (and often sales) begin to cool down come the next fall and winter season.
How Restaurants Can Avoid the Dead Ends of Delivery
Originally Posted on RestoBiz – By Doug Radkey 07/09/2018
I recently saw a screenshot from a consumer using a third party delivery application. After a delivery fee, a busy area fee (what?) and delivery fee taxes, a meal that was listed as $8.89 on the menu ended up costing them $30.36. Of that, the restaurant earned a mediocre $6.67 of that order. It’s not exactly a traditional breakdown of revenue, and restaurant operators are struggling to adapt to the ever-changing restaurant landscape.
Delivery has disrupted the restaurant industry more in the last five years than anything else. Digital ordering paired with the outsourcing of delivery has impacted restaurant traffic, revenue, profit and overall restaurant operations like no other piece of industry-wide technology.
The Here and Now
No longer just for the pizza or Chinese food segments, consumers can now dine at home or work with the same quality food found at their local fine dining restaurants. With consumers so accustomed to shopping online, it was no surprise to see non-traditional restaurants take advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself. But while the numerous positives seemed self-evident — a new revenue stream, more access to customers, more seats available for visiting customers — the negatives quickly became apparent as deliveries got underway across the world.
Third-party applications like UberEats, DoorDash and Foodora, represented on the backs of the small army of cars or bicycle couriers that sport the companies’ large, cubic bags, have largely made the delivery revolution possible. That revolution is far from free; restaurant operators can typically expect to give away 25 to 30 percent of the revenue generated by delivery to the third-party services that enable it, a cost that often ends up eroding the restaurateur’s bottom line.
By the Numbers
Restaurants typically spend an average of 30 to 35 percent in food costs, 25 to 30 percent in labour costs, 10 to 12 percent for leasing, plus minimal space for numerous other ancillary costs. At the end of the day, it leaves an average profit margin of approximately four percent. It’s already cut-throat, but with the added 25 to 30 percent for delivery, it’s simply brutal.
Consumers are driving the shift to third-party delivery, demanding convenience and high-quality, atypically-delivered food. Restaurant operators are in a bind: sign up for a third-party delivery service and relinquish a quarter to a third of their delivery-derived revenue, or miss the boat entirely. It’s not an easy decision.
Best Practices
It seems like most opt to take the plunge, which opens the door for a host of new issues. At one step of remove, restaurants’ relationships with their customers change. Operational headaches that are otherwise immediately addressed in the dining room are left in wonder. Even if a dish is perfectly cooked, it might be delivered cold, or outside the estimated timeframe, or jostled around until it falls apart. If it persists, it’s only a matter of time before it affects the restaurant’s reputation.
Dine-in traffic is reduced, as well. Restaurants risk demolishing their more profitable dine-in revenue by encouraging customers to stay at home and order. This is where the high-levels of profit from beverages, upselling and overall menu engineering strategies are lost. Restaurants must focus on the guest experience more so now than ever before, to draw in guests and encourage the guest to spend that noted $30.36 in-house.
In-House Delivery Solutions
Many immediately throw this idea out the window. The first thing you should do is consider an in-house delivery platform, with the use of a cost-effective digital ordering platform that is tied into your point-of-sale system.
Consider completing a cost comparison analysis based on your projected delivery orders while also considering insurance, staffing, and other startup delivery platform costs.
You may be surprised by the outcome. Numerous studies have suggested that in-house delivery platforms will operate at over 50 percent less than that of employing the services of a third party. If you’re willing to put in the effort to develop and execute a winning strategy, you will undoubtedly keep your brand messaging consistent while producing higher profit margins, controlling the delivery costs, keeping consumer data in-house, and maintaining your quality control efforts.
Going Third Party
While 25 to 30 percent is the norm, negotiation is still on the table, and it may be easier than you think. What could a reduction of 3 to 5 percent of commissions for example, mean to your bottom line over the course of a year? If, let’s say, UberEats isn’t willing to negotiate with you, then consider speaking to Foodora, or vice versa. Take control of the conversation.
Your delivery window is your control, as well. Limit it to off-peak hours of operations only, and encourage dine-in or pick-up only traffic through the use of effective experiences plus marketing and advertising during your peak-times to control kitchen operations, overall quality and, most importantly, your profit margins.
Similarly, it’s vital you limit what you deliver. Some items command a solid price point and still look good upon delivery, despite the bumps in the road. That elaborately prepared entree that your kitchen puts together with tweezers? Probably not so much. If a dish can barely survive the trip from the pass to a table intact, best not ask someone on a bike to rush it across town.
The Road Ahead
Delivery is only going to keep growing, and operators have the opportunity to take advantage of the new trend. But done haphazardly, they risk losing their hard-earned dollars, delivery by delivery.
Restaurateurs need to understand the risks and options available to them, and integrate the radically different profit margins into their day-to-day business.
Do your research and understand your brand, know your target market, and put the effort into analyzing the variety of options that are available to you.
The long-term viability of your restaurant may just depend on it.
7 Strategies for Building a More Effective Beverage Program
Originally Posted on FoodableTV – By Doug Radkey 06/14/2018
Every drop counts! Beverages arguably play a larger role in the industry today than they ever did before!
You could try and make everyone happy by offering dozens of options at your restaurant, cafe, or bar, but we all know that’s likely not going to happen. An establishment needs to carefully consider their beverage menu, whether alcohol-focused or not, and offer one that is balanced, targeted, and one that fits their concept.
Many operators continue to face a challenge, however, when it comes to developing an effective beverage strategy. As with its food counter-part, consumers are more educated today about beer, cocktails, wine, coffees, sodas, and even a variety of waters. They understand retail prices and flavor profiles because they’ve become (or think they’ve become) a barista, mixologist, and/or wine & beer connoisseur at home. When they’re dining out or visiting a bar now, they crave something that’s ‘differentiated.’
How can restaurants, cafes, and bars take advantage of this segment and develop a memorable, consistent, and profitable beverage strategy that creates differentiation? Here are some tips to review when creating or re-engineering your next beverage menu.
1. Day-Part Strategy. First, let’s look at your hours of operation and overall concept. Taking advantage of different day-parts is critical to maximizing each delicate moment of the day. Look at your mornings, lunch periods, afternoons, dinner hours, and late night day-parts. One segment that is taking off, for example, is the hybrid of ‘coffee by day – cocktails by night’. Both of these beverage categories now require a high level of skill, if executed properly (we’re not talking basic drip coffee here). Can your restaurant, bar, or even cafe, introduce a beverage strategy that targets specific time-frames of the entire day?
2. Session Drinks. The drinking ‘culture’ associated with alcohol, in particular, has definitely changed over the past decade thanks to strict driving laws, the cost of ‘going out’, and the sophistication of consumers. Society today wants to maintain some measure of sobriety when they’re out in public. Therefore the days of ‘strong’ cocktails or binge drinking at the bar are diminishing. For your next menu, consider low-levels of alcohol in highly creative cocktail platforms in addition to flavourful beers that have less than 3% abv. In summary, a “session drink” is a beverage low in alcohol which can be consumed in ‘larger’ quantities without making someone excessively intoxicated.
3. Beverage Science. What are the age brackets, income levels, and the number of men vs. women you’re targeting at your establishment? How long are your guests intending to stay? This all plays a part in their choice of beverage offerings. Still focusing on alcohol, let’s have a quick lesson.
Alcohol is a depressant or a “sedative-hypnotic drug” because it depresses our central nervous system. Every organ in the human body can be affected by alcohol. In an average person, the liver breaks down roughly one standard drink of alcohol per hour. Excess alcohol then moves throughout the body making the body ‘impaired’. At low doses, however, alcohol can act as a simple stimulant, where people may feel happy, or become talkative.
This mindset and thought processes have to be considered in the development of a beverage strategy, especially one involving alcohol. Consider the volume of alcohol, the sugar levels in the mixers (juices and soda), the potential pairings with food (yes, even if you’re a sports bar concept) and how it will affect your target customers during their stay.
4. Perception of Value. Many restaurants & bars are still trying to ‘up-sell’ that extra ounce or two of spirits or upgrade to a glass of beer that’s larger than a traditional pint. Using the discussion points noted above, it may be wise to consider ‘down-selling’ to deliver that new perception of value. This is a reason why beer flights, for example, are effective (less beer, stronger profits, and visually impressive). All beverages must elevate the guests’ sense of smell, taste, and vision to create a positive emotion and perception of value. Consider this mindset first before trying to add that extra ounce of alcohol instead!
5. Reward Creativity. An effective beverage strategy, similar to that of food – also includes the development of limited time offers (LTO’s). Get your baristas and bartenders to create unique cocktails, iced teas, iced coffees, or craft sodas that are ‘Instagram Worthy’ – and then reward them for that creativity. This is also a great way to generate staff engagement, social media engagement, and to generate a new channel of potential revenue.
6. Sustainability. When developing your next beverage menu, consider sustainability. Let’s think about it; there is a high use of energy within ice machines, refrigeration, and glass cleaning appliances. There is an enormous amount of waste in garnishes, straws, bottles, and napkins (to name a few). How can your establishment re-purpose ingredients, use more edible garnishes, conserve energy, and work with beverage suppliers to make a difference by reducing waste by 25-50% over the next six months within your venue? Make it a team challenge!
7. Price and Speed. Lastly, you want to keep your beverage menu compact and balanced with the right mix of high-quality choices and price points your target market will resonate with. You also want to ensure beverages are produced at a cost-effective speed. High-quality coffee, sodas, and cocktails, in particular, still need to be quick. How many of one specific drink can your team produce per hour? Anything over 60-90 seconds becomes a problem for venues and consumers. This comes down to production strategies and service training techniques. Make sure this is reviewed before going to print!
By now, you should see that the beverage category is a brand differentiator. When you ‘humanize’ that beverage experience, it takes it out of the realm of being a ‘commodity’. No matter your concept, there are strategic ways to maximize your beverage potential.
Originally Posted on Typsy by Doug Radkey – 04/24/2018
Opening a second restaurant location is not as easy as many people may think. Just because “you’ve been there – done that” once doesn’t mean it’s going to be any easier the second time around. In fact, many restaurateurs find it more difficult than the first one.
A common first challenge is that many restaurants, even the most successful restaurants, are simply not ready or properly positioned for this type of expansion. There are numerous circumstances that need to be executed on first, many of which are often overlooked.
To take a restaurant from one location to two or three takes a variety of planning methods, in-depth market research, and the proper execution of a variety of systems. Sound familiar?
Let’s have a look at the indicators so you can ready yourself for growth and expansion!
1. You’re Mentally & Physically Prepared
By now you should know if you have the willingness to sacrifice in addition to the required systemized thinking, social skills, creativity, stress management, and passion to lead a restaurant to success. But that’s just one restaurant, now you’re considering multiplying all of that by two (or more).
Are you ready?
We know restaurant owners more often than not, wear too many hats, leading to upwards of 60 to 80+ hours of work per week. You have to truly ask yourself if you’re in the right mindset and have structured your personal life to endure this type of growth. This is where surrounding yourself with the right professionals (supporting cast) and/or considering a business partnership might be ideal for some – to reduce both risk and potential burnout with the opening of a second unit.
2. Your Previous Restaurant Isn’t Dependent on You
How critical is your presence to the operations and day-to-day success of the restaurant? If it is highly dependent on you; what would happen if your time was shared at a secondary location? What often happens is an independent owner will spend more time at the new location, leaving the first location vulnerable.
That’s why it’s important to take the time to consider the right management team for multiple locations to ensure there is no collapse of the first location and a strong start for the second location.
This includes additional chefs, managers, and supervisors in addition to start-up specialists like consultants, designers, engineers, and architects that will save you time, money, and energy during this growth stage.
3. You Have Strong Systems and Processes in Place
Arguably one of the most important aspects in terms of growth is ensuring that each restaurant (current and the potential new one) has consistent systems in place. Duplication of the same winning formula is the key to early success.
Developing daily routines, service sequences, training programs, communication methods, hiring practices, and customer experience strategies to name a few – is absolutely critical.
It takes effort, honesty, training, reviews, and accountability by the entire team to ensure these basic systems work and are implemented on a daily basis. If you feel there is a gap in any of these systems, it needs to be addressed immediately before any second location is considered.
4. You’re Financially Ready
Is the current restaurant highly profitable and maintaining the most important key performance indicators? Could there be any further financial improvement at the current location? Could it help financially carry the second location if needed for a period of time? If so – for how long and by how much?
Again, just because one restaurant is profitable, doesn’t mean the second unit will have immediate profitability. It takes a deep dive into the books to make a verifiable business decision to expand. Work with trusted and experienced accountants to fully understand the financial health of the current location and the viability of a second.
5. Your Restaurant is a Good Market Fit
Conducting a feasibility study for the second location is just as important as completing one for the first location.
Consider these factors: Where are you planning on developing this second location? How close will it be to the first location? Is the market large and strong enough to support a second location of the same brand? What has made the first location so successful? Will you need to scale or adjust the concept?
There are numerous market related questions that need to be addressed.
Outside of the company structure, choice of concept, financial viability, and overall market – growing restaurants need to consider supplier consistency and overall marketing plans for numerous outlets.
There are many positives to growing into multiple locations, but it should only be done when the time is truly right and when it is done for the right reasons. It’s important to not forget the fundamentals of restaurant operations; where consistency, the quality of food and beverage, customer service, and overall guest experience is paramount at each location.
Developing Staff Engagement for Positive Guest Experiences
Previously Posted on RestoBiz by Doug Radkey 04/11/2018
Engaged and motivated employees are at the heart of positive restaurant experiences. Working at a restaurant or any hospitality-related business needs to be more than just another paycheck. Restaurant operators need to remember that money is not a motivator – it is a satisfier.
When employees are satisfied and engaged, everyone wins.
When restaurant staff members are effectively on-boarded, trained, and are emotionally happy in their environment (a venue where they get a sense of achievement, respect and wages), they are more often than not willing to share these positive moments with others, effectively becoming a brand ambassador – both inside and outside of the restaurant.
If restaurants hire for a mix of values and experience, versus experience alone, and create a systematic approach to hiring through proper job advertisements, interview processes, on-boarding, manuals and training, they will see an immediate difference in their culture and turnover costs.
This is why it’s important to remember that ‘values beat experience, when experience doesn’t work hard’.
Investing in employee engagement can give any new or seasoned restaurant a competitive edge. Let’s look at the steps needed to create effective staff engagement today:
On-Boarding Strategies
On-boarding is often overlooked within the restaurant industry, though it should be a priority! It’s an opportunity to introduce new hires to your expectations and culture, the first step in developing engagement. The days of throwing new hires into the fire on their first day of work needs to come to an end; no matter their level of experience. All staff should be given a series of welcoming packages, manuals and proper training specific to the brand. Lastly, on-boarding provides a clear chance to define what it means to be productive, promote compliance, and create the footprint for a memorable working experience.
Proper Communication
It is important to ensure the restaurant has a pre-shift meeting with all staff members on-duty. This will set the tone for the upcoming shift, whether in the kitchen or the front-of-house area. This is the time to ensure all staff clear their minds of ‘outside noise’ and are working towards a series of goals for the upcoming shift. Other communication methods that will increase engagement opportunities include hosting staff meal programs to discuss menu items, manager log-books (print or mobile friendly), and having other communication boards strategically placed throughout the restaurant.
Continuous Education
Consider starting a program that offers to help pay for culinary or other hospitality related education. Once a candidate passes their three month probation, discuss an opportunity for them to take their learning to another level. This could include online courses, in-class courses, or visiting suppliers such as breweries, wineries, or local farms to learn specific product information. Imagine the long-term benefits and staff engagement a program like this will do to a restaurant’s bottom line and overall guest satisfaction.
Flow of Creativity
When employees are empowered with the opportunity to be creative, great things happen. It is ideal to keep staff engaged in the food and beverage menu development process. It may be wise to create a program that promotes a new food and/or beverage item each month. If each staff member creates a new dish or cocktail; hold a contest to see which item(s) should be featured over the next thirty days. Then for each sale of that item over the next month, ensure the creative staff member receives a small commission from the sales. This immediately creates a new story, a level of engagement (online and in-store), and could help with future menu engineering strategies!
Staff Reviews
One of the many methods used to create culture and accountability, is that of performance evaluations. This type of evaluation is extremely helpful to track an employee’s step-by-step development and is highly beneficial; for both the employee and operator. Staff evaluations highlight areas the employee may be excelling at and areas that are in need of improvement. It also provides an opportunity to develop performance based rewards, which is an excellent way to reduce employee turnover costs and keep employees engaged in their day-to-day tasks.
Team Experiences
Outside of commission-based sales and continuous education opportunities, restaurant teams still seek other experiences. When is the last time the entire team went to a staff party or took part in a staff building exercise? Depending on concept and median age of employees, a restaurant operator has the opportunity to take their team min-golfing, laser-tag, paint-balling or out for a meal/drink elsewhere, one night per quarter, to name a few examples.
In summary, providing a consistently positive restaurant experience through staff engagement is what creates customer loyalty and long-term brand ambassadors. Once you have formulated this mindset, and designed these programs, it’s time to promote it. Get your staff to talk about it, get them to help in your recruitment efforts, create a story on your website and menu, showcase your staff everywhere possible (social media), and finally invest in their future for the sake of yours. It really can be that simple.
Preparing Your Restaurant or Bar for Wage Increases
Originally Posted on FoodableTV – By Doug Radkey 03/09/2018
If you haven’t done so already, preparing your restaurant or bar for a regulated wage increase should be near the top of your to-do list, no matter your region. There has been plenty of government level discussions and a ‘movement’ if you will, defining a need to offer better living wages for citizens across North America (and abroad), with a focus on the hospitality industry.
The day is coming if it already hasn’t happened in your area.
Should your venue have already been offering what’s called a ‘living wage’? Arguably yes, but the market for years has demanded ‘good food for cheap’ (for the most part) which has dictated the need for restaurateurs in particular, to pay out the lowest wage possible to its hard-working staff.
However, the times are rapidly changing. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Not surprisingly, however, many restaurateurs, potentially ones like yourself, have become concerned about the complications a dramatically large increase in their costs will have on their operations.
The biggest challenge most restaurant owners face when considering a large wage increase is how they’re going to adjust their concept and overall business models, sales, and marketing strategies to effectively respond to the increase.
Smaller independent restaurants are placed into a concerning financial position that could have dramatic implications. But, it doesn’t have to be so grim for small operators with a well-thought-out plan about what processes need to be in place.
1. Review of Concept
Restaurateurs are ultimately responsible for achieving long-term viability. The key elements to a successful concept are scalability, sustainability, profitability, consistency, and delivering memorable experiences. To achieve this, one must weigh their overall value against their expenses.
The first step to preparing for a wage increase is to measure your value proposition. How can you add further value to your guests to ultimately increase your revenue? What are one to two ways you can increase value within each of the above five listed elements within your unique venue?
Create a SMART action plan to implement over the next 1-3 months.
2. Review of Systems
Successful restaurants are also built on systems. As an employer, these systems need to be reviewed on an ongoing basis. What FOH and BOH systems can be scaled, improved upon, or simply cut-out, to maximize efficiencies without diminishing guest experiences, profitability, sustainability, and consistency?
This is the time to review your restaurant’s service sequences, training programs, food & beverage preparation, line of equipment, food & beverage suppliers, menu development, communication systems, inventory management systems, use of technology, and many others.
A complete 360 degree assessment of your operations is the most ideal approach.
Doing so will position your venue to potentially reduce weekly hours while offering an improved competitive wage that will be more utilized to its maximum potential.
3. Utilize Available Data
Improving a restaurants staff scheduling process within itself is an easy way to control costs, positioning a restaurateur to maximize its sales per labor hour and other labor performance indicators. Restaurant labor costs are a prime expense that needs to be properly controlled to eventually turn a profit.
An increase in labor benchmarks means your other prime costs including food and rent costs, need to be reduced below what’s been known as ‘industry standards’. This means that your food costs should be between 25-30% (instead of 30-35%) while your rent should be 5-8% (instead of 10-12%).
Aligning these benchmarks to profitable levels will position your venue for a sustatainable future; even with a wage increase – there is nothing to stop a venue from obtaining what’s often referred to as an impossible 10-20% net-profit over a period of time.
Utilize data on labor, hourly sales, and the month-over-month operating results from your point-of-sale system, to forecast expenses (creating a revised budget) with an increase in your new minimum wage over the next twelve months.
Physically visualizing this data and its results will determine the route you will need to take to pivot and align the remainder of your cost categories.
4. Menu Engineering Strategies
Once your systems are deemed to be operating at their full potential, it may be time to review your menu engineering strategies. To assist in a wage increase, for example, it is ideal to consider adding ‘value added’ menu items, simplifying food preparation methods, and looking to eliminate any complex menu items.
Your last resort should be to increase menu prices. Look at all other aspects first, including size of menu, preparation time, prime food costs, the number of ingredients used, and the repurposing of those raw ingredients throughout the menu, where possible.
Looking for ways to reduce and control food & beverage costs (controlling – not cutting), while developing a menu your target audience wants & needs, may position your restaurant to have more available funds to use towards an increase in labor costs.
5. Review Promotional Plans
The math is simple, an increase in sales and margins will position a business to pay its staff higher wages. Often the problem doesn’t lie within traditional lunch and dinner hours. To fill seats during traditional non-peak hours, restaurateurs need to consider menus that target day-parts and added-value; while understanding their ideal customer profile.
The moment a restaurant stops marketing is the moment it starts failing. Once a restaurateur truly understands their locations slow periods and peak periods, in addition to the target market and guest spending habits, a strategic plan can be developed and executed to maximize each moment of each day; by ensuring your restaurant has a monthly and quarterly marketing and sales plan created.
In summary, once that moment is gone, you don’t get it back. Therefore, what could an extra $100 to $200 per day in sales during typical ‘slow periods,’ do for you and your new labor costs, in one full year?
6. Look After Your Employees
Employees are your number one asset. If we (most restaurants) weren’t already paying just a minimum wage to employees, this discussion wouldn’t be needed. It’s time restaurant owners look to take the initiative and implement a better living wage for their employees.
Build culture and value by developing sustainable hiring programs, consistent training systems, scalable pay grades, profitable working environments, and memorable customer experience strategies to develop a brand your entire community (customers and employees), will want to support over that of your competition.
It’s understandable that small independent restaurants are vulnerable to a minimum wage increase, but there are ways a restaurant can prepare itself for, and take the initiative on their own, to increase wages and pay their staff a more comfortable living wage.
Originally Posted on FoodableTV by Doug Radkey 02/21/18
We know restaurant owners, chefs, and managers, more often than not, wear too many hats, leading to upwards of 60 to 80+ hours of work per week.
No matter how much improvement we’ve collectively made in recent times to keep operations manageable, flexible, and “fun,” there still seems to be the long hours, the working on holidays and weekends, and the minimal margins.
Let’s not forget about the labor restraints, the rising operating costs, and the demand of the overall market to deliver quality food, drink, and experiences; all at often the lowest price point possible.
It takes sacrifice and required systemized thinking, creativity, social skills, stress management, and a lot of passion to win in this industry — which leads to an enormous amount of personal pressure.
This job-related pressure and the extra hours at work will, no doubt, create higher than normal amounts of stress; leading to personal exhaustion, poor decision making, mental health issues, and sometimes even family related conflict.
If this sounds like you, you need to find a way to simply work smarter, not harder. If you currently have the mindset that by working more hours will result in more work being done, you are wrong and need to make a restaurant lifestyle change, today!
This mindset is, in fact, the starting point of what we call: burnout.
Burnout within the restaurant (and hospitality) industry is real and happens more frequently than it should. Preventing burnout and building a work-life balance for everyone—including owners, chefs, managers, and support staff— is, in fact, possible, contrary to popular belief.
Here’s how:
1. Hiring the Right Team
The first step is to build a team based on values, vision, mission, and culture. Creating and executing on these statements will build the foundation within your concept to create consistency, accountability, and room for growth.
The right team, however, is only as good as the training program installed at the venue.
A profitable training program will provide common elements such as the use of checklists, incentives, and easy to understand procedures. This will then, in turn, create a system of standards— one that reflects your vision, value, mission and culture statement— immediately positioning you as a leader, to properly delegate tasks and empower your team to achieve the required daily objectives (therefore making life easier for everyone).
2. Creating Operational Systems
The more any restaurant depends on the owner’s day-in and day-out involvement in the operational details of the establishment, the greater the risk of failure and burnout.
Starting and operating a successful restaurant also relies heavily on having the right systems in place, allowing the venue and its hired team to work as one cohesive unit.
Having the correct systems in place will create consistency, develop operating capital by reducing costs, enhance your team morale, and build business value while positioning your concept for future growth opportunities.
These systems include HR management, inventory management, communication systems, financial control systems, positional and shift related checklists, quality control systems, and more.
The benefits that you will quickly achieve through the implementation of these systems are much greater than what you will need to invest in setting them up.
3. Utilizing Available Resources
It is also important to stay on top of your game by continuously learning. There are multiple ways to accomplish this, such as working with industry mentors, attending trade shows, reading leadership and industry-driven books, and/or listening to podcasts (just to name a few).
Owners, managers, and yes, even front-line staff should have the mindset and a personal development plan in place, to continuously learn the industry. Continuously learning will reduce your daily involvement, improve on team experiences, and drive the results your restaurant needs.
Without diminishing restaurant fundamentals, is there also a way to implement technology within your restaurant, allowing you to work more efficiently? What are some cost-effective resources available to you and your team to enhance operational systems? It’s time to look for these investment opportunities.
4. Finding YOU Time
It is critical that you find yourself some ‘you time’. With the right team, systems, and resources in place, it is not only beneficial for you but for your entire team, as well. Look for ways to have a 30-minute workout in the morning, afternoon, or evening after work.
You also want to ensure you’re taking time off each week for yourself, your friends, and your family. Lastly, schedule a vacation, and take it.
No excuses!
Stop trying to do everything yourself. Learn to trust your team, delegate tasks based on their varied skill sets, and simply avoid burnout.
If you recognize any of the symptoms of burnout, it’s time to make a change in your restaurant’s lifestyle.
Find your balance and build a culture that places a premium on life. It may look like more ‘work’ up front, and there are many more solutions to suggest, but investing in a people-first mentality, will provide the results you need to begin leading a successful operation.
Originally Posted on RestoBiz by Doug Radkey – 01/17/18
Throughout the restaurant industry, the phrase ‘it’s not my job’ can simply not exist. It is every employees job to provide memorable customer service; from management to the back-of-house employees, and of course through to the front-of-house team.
All employees must work as one cohesive unit to ensure an unforgettable guest experience. To execute this, a restaurant needs adequate service training programs. A winning program will reduce turnover (by over 10 per cent) and provide attentive service without ever being “noticed”.
As with much of a restaurants general operation, everything should coincide with an overall strategy plan. A training program also needs to follow the SMART acronym to be successful where every training element is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.
This will create two key ingredients; consistency and confidence.
A profitable service training program should also provide common elements such as the use of checklists, incentives, and easy to understand procedures. This will then in-turn, create a system of standards; one that reflects your vision, value, mission and culture statements. Here’s how:
On-boarding
This first step provides an opportunity to first introduce new hires to the expectations and culture through the use of a well-designed welcoming package. This is the best time to engage these new employees on their roles to create a smooth transition that will define productivity, promote compliance, and create the footprint for a memorable working experience.
Sequence of Service
For each position, outline each and every step (in detail) using the SMART acronym. For example; “all guests must be properly welcomed within 30 seconds of entering the restaurant” or “drink orders at a table must be delivered within three minutes”. Walk each position through a step-by-step sequence of events that will lead the guest from entering the establishment to paying and exiting the establishment.
Instructing
This step is where all of the ‘How-To’ manuals will come in handy. Outside of the basics which include service etiquette, appearance, knowledge of menu, and knowledge of layout; staff should be instructed on opening and closing procedures, preventative maintenance, fire safety, food safety, cleaning schedules, and overall equipment training. This should be completed using a mix of videos and reading material.
Demonstrating
It’s important that the entire team is then properly coached. The next component of instructing, is demonstrating through hands-on instruction (coaching). Restaurant owners, managers, and shift supervisors should look to be trained themselves first and foremost, on how to properly coach a team to become stronger leaders. New hires will buy into the service training system if they’re also shown first hand, in confidence, each element of the ‘sequence of service’ and ‘instructional’ stage.
Role-playing
Now that the team has been shown all of the steps, it’s their turn to demonstrate that they themselves understood the instructions. Before sending new hires to actual guests, they should walk-through the sequence of service for their position, multiple times, with managers and other staff, acting as guests. This will provide a variety of scenarios and prepare them mentally for real guest situations, creating confidence in their position and a more positive guest experience.
Shadowing
This step should be completed in two elements. There should be an approach where the new hire shadows an experienced individual for one-to-two shifts followed by the experienced individual shadowing the new hire, for another one-to-two shifts. This process will ensure all standard operating procedures are being followed while allowing the opportunity to address any final questions or concerns.
Reviews
Now that the new hire has shown that they’re comfortable in their position and understand the standards, they should be confident enough to cook food, make drinks, welcome guests, and/or serve guests. They should then be reviewed after one month, three months, and then quarterly from there on out. As you can see, staff training is a process. The restaurant should also plan daily shift meetings, weekly team meetings, and quarterly all-staff meetings (at a minimum) to review standards, menu changes, and overall business objectives.
Secret Diners
For a minimal investment, a true secret diner program can become a profitable training and development platform for owners, operators, and managers. A secret diner also provides a different perspective: one that speaks from the eyes of a customer and not from the eyes of an owner, manager, employee, friend, or family member. After a secret diner visit (which is suggested to be once every month or at least every three months), a secret diner should leave a comprehensive report of the visit with a list of positives, negatives (what needs to improve), and a score for a variety of categories. This score (which should be shared with staff) can be used as a measurable tool while also implementing a high level of accountability; with an incentive goal to improve the score after each future visit.
Restaurateurs need to invest in educating their team while creating a systematic approach to service, which will create the consistency needed to win in this industry.
A winning program will bring an entire team together, creating a positive working environment where staff members would not even think of saying ‘it’s not my job’.
Originally Posted on Typsy by Doug Radkey – 12/06/2017
It takes happy, engaged employees to create memorable guest experiences. To do this requires leadership, culture, and accountability. This in turn will develop a cycle of improved revenue, loyal customers, and a decrease in employee turnover.
One of the many methods used to create culture and accountability, is that of performance evaluations. This type of evaluation is extremely helpful to track an employee’s step-by-step development and is highly beneficial; for the employee, restaurant owner, operator, or manager.
Staff evaluations highlight areas the employee may be excelling at and areas that are in need of improvement. It also provides an opportunity to develop performance based rewards, which is an excellent way to reduce employee turnover costs and keep employees engaged in their day-to-day tasks.
The key ingredient however to a winning employee evaluation program is consistency. Be consistent in the timing of evaluations, your required standards, and with all employees (meaning do not single any one employee out from the others).
Asides from consistency, it’s ideal to also keep the following six tips and steps in mind when conducting staff performance reviews:
1. Create the Foundations Early
Make it known during the on-boarding process that all employees are subject to both regular and scheduled evaluations.
Design a complete staff performance plan by formulating accurate job descriptions, job expectations, standard operating procedures, on-boarding processes, pay scale development, training programs, and team building exercises.
These systems will create the foundations to work from, for future performance based evaluations.
2. Schedule Evaluations in Advance
When it comes time to complete an evaluation, the employee shouldn’t be surprised. It’s either part of the scheduled evaluations that they’ve been made aware of from the start, or you’ve had regular discussions with them, leading to a required off-schedule evaluation.
When you schedule an evaluation in advance, you can explain to them the entire process and provide them with a copy of the evaluation forms, so they’re equally prepared.
3. Encourage Self-Evaluation
This form of evaluation is often over-looked by many employers, though it is an extremely important aspect to the overall evaluation process. It is best practice to have employees fill out the exact same evaluation form to see how their personal observations may pair with your observation.
Finding out how they feel about their own performance will set the tone for the evaluation meeting. It will also open a brief discussion period about any obstacles they may be experiencing to achieve a stronger performance.
4. It’s Not All About Your Employees
Performance reviews should develop an opportunity to create ‘two-way’ communication. Don’t make it all about the employee. Use this time to ask if there is anything the restaurant can do to make their job or employment experience better for them and their team mates.
Make note of this discussion and see if there are any trends or consistencies among the answers from multiple employees so you as the owner, operator, or manager can take immediate action to improve.
5. Provide Balanced Feedback
The overall staff evaluation should look at the quality of their work, including their dependability, attendance record, customer service rating, team-based communication, openness to feedback, and how they’ve handled unique or stressful situations. It is ideal to score and rank each category out of 10, to provide a measurable goal for improvement.
You want to take this time to provide honest feedback with a solid direction to improve on the requirements of the hospitality driven business.
Discuss the previous period, but keep in mind that at least 50 percent of the performance evaluation should be spent on the future. When talking, use simple, direct language while comparing each issue to a note within your completed standard operating procedures. This is how effective leadership is then respected.
If there is a below average score, anticipate the possibility of a confrontation or negative reaction. However, as the leader, if you’re properly prepared for the evaluation, you can take a proactive measure by following every negative with a positive, to reduce this possibility and to keep the momentum of the meeting in check.
You want to spend more time on the positives to enhance the performance improvement plan.
6. Set-Up a Performance Improvement Plan
This is the opportunity to improve on performance, morale, motivation, personal development, and overall profitability. By using a series of ‘SMART’ goals (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) an employer can create a system of reward and accountability.
Whether it was an excellent, average, or below average review, there should always be an improvement plan in place. It’s ideal to provide three SMART goals for each individual to work on between now and the next review or specified time for improvement. As the employer, is there any further support and/or resources they need from you to achieve these goals?
Write these goals on the performance review form, discuss any rewards/incentives, and ensure both parties sign it for optimum accountability.
Completing these reviews on a consistent basis will provide employers with the opportunity to develop happy, engaged employees.
Originally Posted on FoodableTV by Doug Radkey – 11/30/17
The dining scene has surely changed over the years. One of the many noticeable differences is the acceptance of the “solo diner.” Single (or solo) diners are no longer strictly targeting the quick-service restaurant or getting take-out to fulfill their desire and need to eat.
Many of these individuals, which are no longer just business travelers, are now looking for unique dining experiences at casual or even fine dining style restaurants.
For years, many solo diners preferred ordering in because they felt awkward to eat alone at restaurants, while restaurateurs preferred to fill their tables with two or more guests. Eating out alone, however, can now be a memorable social experience and many restaurateurs are starting to take notice and adjust their operations accordingly.
From single demographics and business travelers to even married individuals who are simply looking for some ‘alone time,’ restaurants are provided with an opportunity to generate a niche driven revenue stream from this segment, if they’re properly prepared.
If the latest forecasts from Euromonitor are indeed true, “there will be more than 330 million people in the ‘developed world’ who will be living alone by the year 2020. That’s a 20 percent increase in less than a decade.”
Equally, data from Open Table shows “the majority of solo dining reservations are booked for dinner (43 percent) followed by lunch (30 percent). Solo diners also book the majority of their tables Monday to Friday (78 percent), saving the weekends for dining with others.”
Catering to solo diners takes some adjustment, an open mind, and specific training. Let’s have a look at a variety of ways restaurants can begin to take advantage of this growing opportunity.
1. Welcoming the Guest
One of the easiest ways in which a restaurant can make a solo diner feel unwelcome is at the time of entering the restaurant. When someone walks in solo, staff should never ask ‘are you dining alone?’ or ‘table for one?’ especially at a volume that other guests may overhear.
You want to seat them where they can see what is going on. The guest may be lonely and want someone to talk to. Be friendly, but don’t neglect other guests. With nobody to talk to, time seems long (though smart phones help), so it’s ideal to serve them as efficiently as possible, without rushing their service. Invest in Wi-Fi and provide solo diners with a password as soon as they sit down. This could be the servers’ most critical guest of their shift.
2. Seating Strategies
When planning a new restaurant layout or adjusting your current one, keep in mind solo diners. Consider table optimization or the use of communal tables and high-tops for these guests. At the same time, you want to consider their view as a high percentage of guests would rather choose to sit near points of interest, such as a window, featured wall (near fireplaces or wine racks, for example) and not just near the exit, kitchen door, or washroom for example, as many restaurants have done in the past.
Some solo diners may prefer quiet and privacy, but many are now open to enjoying a meal at a communal table with other solo diners or even learning a few things from the bartender or chef, while sitting at the bar. Either way, know your concept, know your demographics, know your square footage, and adjust accordingly to maximize on your Restaurant Revenue Management (RRM).
3. Elevating the Bar
If the restaurant has a bar, consider this as a potential seating arrangement for solo diners. Pending the concept, bars are becoming less and less just for beer, cocktails, or shots. With the correct setting and chair style; the solo diner, who should be able to order everything off of the restaurant menu right at the bar, will be able to enjoy a meal, converse with the bartender, people watch, and enjoy a memorable experience without looking across at an empty chair. A nice place setting at the bar can in fact, be more enjoyable for solo diners and be more profitable for the restaurant, than that of a traditional table, with a correctly engineered menu.
4. Create a Tasting Menu
How often do we see fantastic pairings and unique menus, for couples or larger groups? There are rarely any meal deals for solo diners at casual or fine dining restaurants. These individuals should not be treated any differently than a table for two, and in fact, solo diners may spend nearly as much as a table for two. Ensure there are appetizers, entrees, and desserts that are geared toward solo diners and/or create tasting menus with the solo diner in mind while pairing the food accordingly with offered beverages.
5. Serving Single Guests
Customer service training is extremely important, for any guest, but arguably more so, for the solo diner. Though solo diners are rarely ‘alone’ anymore thanks to smart-phones, service staff must still make it a point to serve them efficiently. Service staff must not assume that solo diners will not appreciate an up-sell, another drink, or that the guest is a simple ‘one and done’ visit. Service staff must still make it a point to give the diner time and not rush them to flip the table for a larger party. Make it a point as an owner, operator, or manager, that each staff member understands the importance of a solo diner.
Restaurants can no longer assume that solo diners mean less revenue. The numbers don’t lie; the frequency of these visits is only going to increase. With the right method of planning and adjustments to seating, bar design, menu engineering, marketing, and customer service training, solo diners may indeed, improve your restaurants bottom line!
How Hosting Events at Your Restaurant Can Generate an Additional Revenue Stream
Originally Posted on FoodableTV by Doug Radkey – 11/19/17
You have the square footage, you have the approved capacity, and you have the kitchen. These are the three key ingredients required to host an exclusive or intimate type event at any venue. Whether you have the capacity for 20 or 200 guests, there is an opportunity to generate awareness, revenue, and repeat customers by becoming known within your community for being the ‘best host in town’.
Hosting events are a great way to fill a restaurant on any chosen day or night. From hosting business networking events and office meetings to fundraising events, menu tastings, media launch parties, and ‘paint’ or ‘trivia’ type nights – restaurants have the ability to plan out the most “perfect event.”
Restaurateurs must start to realize that hosting events are a great secondary source of revenue. By strategically planning your own events well ahead of time will position your restaurant to obtain pre-event cash-flow and allow you the opportunity to maximize on labour management, inventory management, and revenue per available seat on what may be a typically slower day.
Here are some strategies to craft a memorable and profitable restaurant event while becoming the talk-of-the-town through the use of social media!
Create a Strategy Plan
As always when developing any strategy or marketing related plan, know your target market in terms of socio-demographics. This will help in determining the type of event that your guests will resonate with. A strategy plan will also create objectives, milestones, and layout personnel related responsibilities in addition to outlining costs and potential return on investment. Planning ahead, approximately two to three months, will further allow you and your team the time to create professional marketing material and properly prepare for each event, creating the perception that you are well organized.
Type of Event
To make event management work for your restaurant, it must create a unique and memorable guest experience, which is no different than traditional dining strategies. Restaurants that provide food and beverage tasting events, DIY paint nights, community fundraisers, dinner and comedy shows, and of course live music are currently leading the way in generating brand awareness and revenue opportunities. Meet with your front-of-house and back-of-house teams, think outside the box, and come up with creative events.
That said— the most ideal self-hosted event for a restaurant is a food and beverage tasting event. Holding one or two per month is an excellent way to showcase your kitchen and bar while offering a limited time only experience. Consider hosting a four-course wine-maker’s dinner or a beer and cheese pairing night or a ‘one night only’ seasonally plated dinner event where you collaborate with local farmers and artisans. The ideas are truly endless.
Pre-Event Management
Within your strategy plan, you want to outline pre-event, day-of event, and post-event management strategies. With pre-event management, you want to give your event the appropriate lead time required to generate buzz and awareness.
This is your opportunity to:
Create an engaging social media strategy. According to KissMetrics, 77 percent of event managers rely on social media as a primary engagement strategy before events.
Create ways to collaborate with local partners, vendors, and community influencers to amplify the events awareness and to generate value-based add-ons for the event itself.
Create a cash-flow opportunity by requiring a reservation through pre-payment. By knowing your target market, completing an event cost analysis, and pending the style of event, ticket prices can often vary from $50 to $150 per person.
Day-Of Management
When the day of the event arrives you must be prepared. A completed strategy plan will outline responsibilities, food and beverage preparation, staff requirements, and sequence of service.
To maximize on the opportunity, it is also critical to:
Have a social media strategy in place for the day-of by promoting opportunities within the four walls of the restaurant for guests to check-in, use hash-tags, and encourage photo and video usage.
Have a repeat customer strategy in place by offering a measurable incentive to return for all of the events guests. There is a chance that it’s the first visit to the restaurant by some of the guests, therefore it’s critical to maximize on the moment and ensure they return for another meal within the next 30 to 60 days.
Have an appointed ‘guest experience’ manager walk the floor, take photos to create additional content, and interact with guests to ensure they’re having a good time.
Post-Event Management
This is where many restaurant events fail. When the event is over, the effort must not end. There must be a plan in place to continue the momentum that’s been created. Restaurants should further look to:
Review the guest generated content online (photos, videos, hash-tags, reviews, etc…) and look for ways to share and engage with that content over the next couple of weeks.
With the measurable incentive program in place, how many of those event guests returned for a traditional (non-event) meal within the next 30 to 60 days?
Review the overall success of the event. Did it meet the objectives in terms of revenue, costs, and return on investment? Were there any pre-event or day-of event processes that could have been better? Could this event become a monthly, quarterly, or annual type event?
By becoming known within the community for hosting events, you provide guests with new experiences each time they visit and they then look forward to the next event while sharing their experiences with their friends, family, and co-workers. Outside of that, they may look to host their own event (birthday party, retirement dinner, etc…) at your venue providing you, as an owner or operator, with the opportunity to piggyback on their own marketing efforts.
As you can see, hosting events should not be overlooked; they are a great way to also amplify your brand messaging and create long-term brand ambassadors.
