KRG Hospitality | KRG Hospitality

January 16, 2018by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Lowering Your Risk Before Opening a New Restaurant

Lowering Your Risk Before Opening a New Restaurant
Originally Posted on Typsy by Doug Radkey – 01/16/2018

Early recognition of risk is crucial for the success of any business, and arguably more so for restaurants. To ensure proper positioning and ongoing success, it’s vital for a restaurateur to understand the variety of operational, financial, legal, systematic, and people-related risks to not only opening a restaurant, but operating one too.

Identifying risks from the very early stages will position a restaurant to be disciplined and prepared for when things may ‘go wrong’ down the road. Identifying risks will also help streamline a restaurants’ processes while improving communication and implementing a variety of systematic control methods, something every restaurant needs for long-term success.

The opposite of risk, is opportunity, and that’s why focusing on with these seven tips will help you avoid pitfalls before opening your restaurant.

1. Assess Yourself First

First and foremost, the hospitality industry is not for everyone. It’s not what it’s made out to be on television and across some social media feeds. This industry is cut-throat; plain and simple. Take the time to look in the mirror and ask yourself about the required character traits.

You then want to ask yourself, and also write down detailed responses to:

Why you want to open a restaurant or bar
Why you think many restaurants fail within 18 months
What the difference is between success and survival
Explaining expectations of profit versus the lifestyle you want to live
Explaining how important growth is to you, both personally and in business.

Do you feel you have what it takes? This industry requires sacrifice, systemized thinking, social skills, creativity, stress management, and a lot of passion. The first opportunity in risk management – starts with you.

2. Plan Thoroughly

One word that cannot be stressed enough during the start-up phase is of course, planning. Sometimes, however, even with a high level of planning in place, things can unfortunately go sideways — and they can happen fast.

This is where having a strategic combination of feasibility studies, concept development plans, and business plans will be beneficial and provide you with an opportunity to set the tone early, for the upcoming project.

These plans will analyze and reduce the risk for many potential, common, and ‘unforeseen’ events during both start-up and operational stages.

3. Form a Strategic Team

You’re determined, positive, confident, adaptable, and crave learning experiences. Being an a restaurateur combines an enormous amount of passion and vision for creating food, drink, and experiences – and a drive to be undeterred by a high level of unprecedented risks.

But you shouldn’t go about it alone. Work with a team of supporters; including mentors, consultants, accountants, lawyers, designers, engineers, and chef/bar focused experts.

They will help minimize start-up and operational risks by creating efficient systems that will undoubtedly streamline your restaurant and both its start-up and ongoing processes. You will also be given the opportunity to learn a lot from these professionals in their respective fields which will assist you both short-term and long-term.

4. Do a Financial Check-Up

One of the many headaches aspiring restaurateurs face is the simple fact of running out of money before the restaurant even opens – a common, but detrimental risk.

A thorough set of plans reviewed by consultants, accountants, and designers – will prepare a restaurant for potentially hidden costs by measuring realistic financial scenarios. Ideally, there should be at least three months worth of operating capital set aside for opening day.

Aspiring restaurateurs should also analyze the potential for leasing equipment and other assets while comparing interest rates and exit strategies for each potential financial program they may apply to.

Restaurant owners should also ensure they have a credit check report and a statement of personal net worth, and to clear any outstanding debt with past creditors prior to starting a restaurant. Most importantly, set aside savings (ideally 6-12 months worth) for yourself and your family in case the restaurant is off to a slower start than originally predicted.

5. Complete All Business Paperwork

Make sure you receive the full list of permits that your local municipality requires for starting a restaurant or bar. Visit your city clerk office to receive the entire list, in writing, plus their associated fees and timeline for approval. Overlooking one or more of the required permits or licenses can result in a delayed opening and course, further additional costs.

These may include business registration forms, business licensing, building permits, zoning adjustments, occupancy certificates, ventilation, electrical and plumbing permits, outdoor signage permits, health and safety inspection certificates, liquor licenses, and others. Each municipality, province/state, and federal government will be different, so ensure you receive the correct information for your specific location.

A restaurant also needs to measure a variety of liability factors. Disaster can strike at any moment, therefore an aspiring restaurateur should ‘hire’ an insurance broker, to source the best general liability insurance, property insurance, off-premise insurance, liquor liability insurance, and workers compensation insurance to reduce risk, costs, and any personal liability.

6. Assess Your Restaurant’s Location

Choosing a location is an exciting component of starting a restaurant, but it comes with its own variety of risks. New restaurateurs often find out after a lease is signed that their property may not be fully compatible for a restaurant and will need further upgrades to meet standards for energy and ventilation, plus any revised building and/or health codes (to name a few).

This is where working with a commercial realtor, property inspector, engineer, and commercial lawyer will reduce any potential shortcomings while looking for specific leasehold concessions and exit clauses that will reduce your own risk, down the road, if the restaurant is unsuccessful.

7. Prepare Your Restaurant’s Operational Setup

When it comes to restaurants, bars, and cafes etc; the producers, manufacturers, delivery drivers, owners, managers, and servers ultimately share the responsibility to create a safe and enjoyable dining experience.

Transparency, traceability, and accountability in terms of food and beverage, must be a top concern when deciding on vendors to ensure all product entering your restaurant are not only safe for your customers, but for your community.

Knowing and understanding your concept will also assist in kitchen, bar, and storage requirements – reducing the risk for spoilage, theft, and accidents.

There is so much that goes into operational setup, but focusing on the above plus proper HR programs, staff training programs, allergen disclosures, secured networks, and overall venue related security, will create a safer environment for both your employees and customers; reducing a long list of risks and potential lawsuits.

Life happens, things go wrong, but being prepared is what will make you stand out from the others. It takes planning, effort, and an experienced support team to overcome the impact of an unfortunate event when opening your restaurant.

December 6, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Conducting Restaurant Staff Performance Reviews

Conducting Restaurant Staff Performance Reviews
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.

November 30, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Preparing Restaurant for Solo Diners

Preparing Your Restaurant For Solo Diners
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!

November 19, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Hosting Events Can Generate Revenue

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.

November 9, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Creating Adult Playgrounds in Your Bar

Creating Adult Playgrounds in Your Bar
By Doug Radkey 11/09/2017

Traditional darts, billiards, and even dance floors are starting to take a back seat in today’s fast-paced bar segment. To be current, playful, and competitive, today’s bars are required to step up their ‘game’; where having a great time must be a guarantee!

It’s no secret, that keeping guests in a venue for as long as possible creates more revenue generating opportunities. By providing a variety of interactive games and maximizing the square footage (creating an adult playground), venues can provide the energy needed to attract guests, amplify their brand messaging, and generate revenue throughout the many parts of a day or evening.

To do this successfully, bars need to first create unique value, vision, mission, and culture statements while understanding their true target market. This will ensure that the right mix of interactive games, music, food, and beverages are provided – creating an atmosphere that will resonate with the guest.

Here are five #barhacks to keep in mind when developing your venues interactive strategy plan:

Create Energy

After reviewing your target market and the available square footage, what interactive games would generate positive energy and a memorable experience? Which day-parts are lacking revenue and what can you add to fill in the gaps and maximize on each operating moment?

Hot trends for new builds: If you’re just starting out, look at the feasibility of a business model that revolves around an adult driven bowling alley, shuffle board layout, axe throwing cages, and/or indoor golf simulation that pairs well with unique food, craft beer, cocktails, and music.

Hot trends for operating bars: If you’re already operating and don’t want to plan for a major renovation, analyze your current square footage and consider adding in the likes of bocce ball, adult arcades, ping pong, beer pong, foosball, life-size connect four or skee-ball for example; either indoors or outside on the patio. If you have multiple large screens, consider hosting sport tournaments using an x-box (as one example). Maximize each minute and feel free to rotate a variety of games in-and-out, to keep it fresh.

Collaborate

Providing this type of atmosphere and energy is what suppliers like to see. This opens up an opportunity to collaborate with your suppliers to step-up promotions and offer unique, highly valued prizes and theme nights that will be a win-win for everyone involved, including your customers.

Food & Drink

Once you know the interactive route you’re taking, it opens a large opportunity for unique menu items. Outside of traditional speciality menus, consider adding self serve food or drink stations. With fun, interactive adult games comes the notion to reflect on your youth. For example, a fill your own candy bowl station or build your own ice cream sundae station. Or perhaps consider adding in a ‘create your own’ Caesar (Bloody Mary) bar stocked with different flavour infused ingredients.

Revenue Packages

Adding in all of the above tactics will position your bar to create ‘stay & play’ type packages or revenue generating membership cards, which will also create long-term loyalty. With the right marketing plan, this ‘value-add’ approach will win with both the younger and older generations.

Amplification

When finalizing your strategy plan and mix of interactive games, music, food, and beverages, always think social media. Design everything so it is social media worthy meaning guests will want to take photos, take live video, or simply check-in at the hottest spot in town – creating an inevitable fear of missing out (FOMO) among their network.

Pairing all of this with a fun, secure atmosphere will undoubtedly create brand ambassadors and long-term success for your bar. It’s time to think outside the box and up your game to create memorable guest experiences!

November 5, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Preparing Your Restaurant for Thanksgiving

Preparing Your Restaurant for Thanksgiving
Originally Posted on FoodableTV – By Doug Radkey 11/05/2017

Each individual has their own personal explanation of what Thanksgiving means to them. The general, modern celebration of Thanksgiving however, is characterized as an opportunity to enjoy quality time with friends, family, food, the occasional beverage, large parades, and yes, often the game of football.

It’s also a time to reflect, set aside political and corporate related agendas and turn a blind eye to the negative news surrounding us from around the world. Smiles, laughter, and memorable experiences are often shared over the course of the long weekend.

With so much focus around food, drink, and togetherness; what does all of this mean for restaurants on Thanksgiving?

Well, restaurants aim for a similar experience each and every day— offering food, beverage, smiles, laughter, and memorable moments with friends, co-workers, family, and loved ones.

Depending on the restaurant concept and its location, there likely lies a large opportunity to generate awareness, increase revenue, develop repeat customers, or hopefully, a combination of the three.

Here are six elements to consider for your restaurant around Thanksgiving:

1. Marketing 101

Solve a problem. For starters, a restaurant has an enormous opportunity to highlight consumer convenience by solving one of Thanksgiving’s largest ‘problems’.

What’s the one thing everyone enjoys at Thanksgiving? The answer (naturally) is eating the delicious Thanksgiving meal. What are the two things everyone dislikes at Thanksgiving? The answer is cooking the delicious meal (for many people) and of course cleaning up after the often large, messy meal.

With high quality design, consumer touch-points, and overall (pain-point) messaging, a marketing program can highlight convenience, more time for family, and yes, keeping a nice clean kitchen at home.

How can your restaurant leverage this solution?

2. Menu Development

The traditional Thanksgiving meal revolves around turkey, stuffing, yams, other vegetables, and of course, pumpkin pie. Is your restaurant in a position to offer this traditionally plated meal or other fall/harvest 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. If you’re a sports bar, put together a football inspired Thanksgiving menu. If you’re a QSR near a parade route, create an easy-to-eat holiday inspired option for on-the-go.

Develop a menu plan with the entire kitchen team (and bar team) with the restaurant or bar’s target market and concept kept close in mind. As always, keep the specialized menu small and inviting to reduce inventory, prep-time, additional staff requirements, and potential waste.

3. Revenue Options

If you strongly believe the target market would prefer to dine at home for Thanksgiving, don’t look at it as a potential loss. This presents an opportunity to offer the catering of a traditional or concept-infused, Thanksgiving meal— right to their door!

Create a variation of value-added packages for different sized parties and request 72 hours (or more) notice 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 afterwards! Pre-ordered packages such as this will generate cash-flow, control potential waste, and control staff costs.

4. Cross-Promotions

Make sure that special events and other winter related promotions are planned for well in advance. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend can act as a forerunner to both Christmas and New Years Eve parties, packages, and other revenue generating opportunities such as gift card sales.

With the right marketing and sales mix, a restaurant or bar can take advantage of pre-booking and pre-sale opportunities; keeping in mind many consumers are already in a money spending mindset, thanks to the likes of ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ which surrounds the holiday in the US.

Create a marketing plan that will drive sales now and over the next 1-2 months.

5. Giving Back

Based on your concept, target market, location, and/or size of establishment, maybe the above options aren’t right for you. This doesn’t mean that your restaurant cannot be involved in the festivities. Consider hosting a community benefit meal for less fortunate individuals or families, or hosting a meal for military personnel.

If that may not work, consider getting your team involved in the holiday by assisting at local food banks or shelters. This practice will not only increase employee engagement, but also develop a positive perception of your brand and increase the possibility of local media coverage. Make it a win-win for everyone involved!

6. Saying Thanks

It may sound obvious, but show what you’re thankful for. Give thanks to your customers with appropriate messaging on social media, your website, or within the specialized menu. You can step it up a notch and ask staff to provide a video snapshot on what Thanksgiving means to them and then create a video montage to share on Social Media.

Speaking of staff, let’s not forget about them! Ensure they’re given time to spend with their friends and family too. Be flexible with your scheduling and/or consider special operating hours over the course of the weekend – and don’t forget to thank them for their loyalty and commitment!

By truly knowing and understanding your target market, your concept, and the neighboring business environment, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is an excellent time to showcase your brand and your creativity – ultimately generating awareness, revenue, and repeat business opportunities.

November 1, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

What to Look for in a Restaurant Business Partner

What to Look for in a Restaurant Business Partner
Originally Posted on Typsy by Doug Radkey – 11/01/2017

If you’ve worked as a leader in the restaurant industry, then you know what it’s like. You know that leaders have to be willing to make sacrifices and acquire the systemized thinking, social skills, creativity, stress management, and passion that it takes to be successful.

Becoming a restaurateur combines an enormous amount of passion and vision. You have to create food, drink, and overall experiences with a drive that is undeterred by the high number of unprecedented risks. You must be determined, positive, confident, adaptable, and crave learning experiences.

And even if you do have all of those qualities, it can often be too much for one person to endure. This is when considering a partnership might be ideal for some.

It’s not uncommon for restaurants to be started or initially operated by a partnership, and you will be hard pressed to find a well-known restaurant brand that didn’t start as a partnership before becoming a larger corporation.

However, partnerships aren’t easy. They come with their own set of challenges, both at the start-up phase and during the operational stage.

There must be a common vision, mission, and commitment, and a high level of communication, creativity, and expertise between partners. Effective partners will also play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses to succeed in this cutthroat industry.

Here are a few elements to consider when determining if a restaurant partnership is right for you. This is what you should be looking for in a business partner today.

1. Have a Three-Step Plan

Before engaging in serious partnership discussions or agreements, it is crucial to complete a feasibility study, concept development plan, and business plan. Is the idea of a partnership even feasible? Can your restaurant concept withstand not only the market, but also two or more owners? Is there enough of a profit margin for all partners to live a healthy lifestyle? What are the short and long-term goals?

Many questions need to be answered before you make any decisions, and these plans will lay the foundation needed to move forward.

2. Conduct a SWOT Analysis

There should be a competitive SWOT analysis within the business plan, but it is also ideal to complete a thorough SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) on both a personal and partnership level.

What strengths and weaknesses do you each possess, what opportunities exist if you decide to partner, and what threats will present themselves if you formulate a partnership?

For full effectiveness, have all potential partner(s) complete the same and analyze all of the responses.

3. Create Statements

To ensure potential partners are on the same page, it is imperative that you all have a similar vision, mission, value, and culture statements. Complete an exercise, similar to the SWOT analysis, in which each individual writes a statement addressing those four categories. These answers should then be compared against one another.

A partnership will inevitably run into hard challenges if visions and goals are not equally aligned. If you cannot cohesively agree on these statements at this stage, don’t move on to the next step.

4. Review the Laws

It’s absolutely critical to review your national and local business laws, regulations, taxes, and how they may relate to structured partnerships, liability, and asset management. Many countries, states, provinces and local municipalities have different information on their registered requirements.

Study this information and review it with both an accountant and a lawyer, so you can determine which partnership structure is best for your unique situation.

5. Draft an Agreement

Restaurants, bars, and other hospitality related businesses are really no different to traditional businesses. There needs to be a comprehensive and clear partnership agreement in place, even if it is a friend or family member as the potential partner.

The agreement must clearly state the financial structure of the partnership (investment, return and profit share) in addition to property management involvement, labor involvement, and overall activeness within the business.

Will both partners be active in the day-to-day operations, or will one act as a ‘silent partner’? Often, one partner looks after the back-of-house while another looks after the front-of-house, or is one partner just there to assist in finances while the other operates the business? Every minor detail must be documented, reviewed by a lawyer, and signed for liability and accountability purposes.

At the end of the day, successful partnerships rely on setting realistic (S.M.A.R.T) goals, open communication, frequent meetings, defined roles, and sound business structure. Only partner with other individuals who are willing to be open, honest, and respectful, and share the same values that you do.

You will need a balance of planning, trust and talent to be compatible. There will undoubtedly be stressful situations throughout the start-up phase, operational phase, and overall partnership that will reveal who you have really partnered with.

By executing these steps, you should be able to limit any surprises. The same goes for partnerships as it does for business in general; if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.

October 25, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Security Strategies for Your Bar

Security Strategies for Your Bar
By Doug Radkey – 10/25/2017

Slips and falls, over-serving, theft, and violence are the most common reasons a bar needs very strict safety and security strategies. Bars, pubs, lounges, and clubs in particular, must continuously look at opportunities to reduce risk and liability.

The bar industry is built upon reputation and that reputation can be altered in the blink of an eye. In reality, it only takes a short moment of ‘looking the other way’ to create an unwanted atmosphere that encourages theft and an opportunity for violence, in particular.

As a bar owner, operator, manager, bartender, cook, server, or security personnel, it is your cohesive duty to create and maintain a safe environment and positive experience, not only for your customers, but your other team members as well.

How can we reduce risk and liability while creating a positive, memorable guest experience?

Bar Characteristics

The first thing to consider, is the bar concept. What brand messages are being portrayed? What type of environment has been created? Characteristics that often relate to violence and liability issues include darkness, crowded areas, noise level, competitive games (example pool tables), aggressive bouncers, and temperature/ventilation issues. How would you define your characteristics and what can be changed to improve them?

Drink Safety Policies

Guest harassment and potential danger, often comes with either the quantity of drinks consumed and/or the consumption of ‘spiked drinks’. Ensure that all bar staff have been highly trained (and have ongoing training) on proper serving protocols, signs of intoxication, and potential elements that can lead to ‘spiked drinks’ by other guests. In addition, it’s important to have a ‘safety drink’ that female guests can ask for if they feel they’re in danger, which should be posted in the female washroom indicating what to do if they feel they’re in a dangerous situation.

Install Strategic Cameras

There is plenty of new (affordable) technology that can assist in bar security, theft, and the protection of overall liability. Consider installing night & day 360 degree cameras to capture every moment as it happens. Cover the bar, liquor shelves, dance floors, cash registers, storage areas, hallways, patios, and all doorways with proper indoor or outdoor monitors. With digital storage space, you can now keep hours and months worth of data, to protect your brand from potential litigation.

Lighting Strategies

Dark areas are perceived as an area to start fights, to steal, to spike drinks, or to handle drugs. Ensure that washrooms are bright and that each light bulb both inside and outside the venue, has a true purpose. Is it to create atmosphere, create a sense of security, or a blend of both? Think through each light placement for a better sense of security and to protect both staff and customers.

Staying Alert

Sounds simple, but as time goes on, people often put their guard down and become complacent in their day-to-day activities. Absent-minded owners, managers, and staff can lead to danger for everyone. Provide a known presence, remember there is safety in numbers, and have ongoing meetings regarding theft, security, and guest experiences to keep everyone on the top of their game.

Bouncers

Are they still needed? Yes, they are an important part of a bars security plan, especially in larger establishments or venues with competitive gaming, live music or DJ’s, and dance floors. However, aggressive bouncers can actually lead to violence and security issues. Hire properly trained bouncers, have a security plan in place, and enforce your rules of conduct (which you hopefully have). Also, ensure your bouncers have a positive and transparent relationship with local police in addition to an effective communication plan, if there are multiple bouncers.

Bars can even step up their game by also hiring ‘guest experience officers’ who are visible on the floor both enhancing the guest experience and communicating with security staff of potential issues before they escalate. This is a less aggressive approach and is known to work, in both security elements and an increase in sales through brand perception.

Bars that target younger, less agreeable and more impulsive drinkers are the most at risk. Know your concept, know your target market, and know the consequences of having a poor security strategy. Your reputation and long-term success ultimately depends on it!

October 19, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Often Overlooked Benefits of Restaurant Lighting

Often Overlooked Benefits of Restaurant Lighting
Originally Posted on FoodableTV by Doug Radkey – 10/19/2017

There are so many critical elements that go into the design of a restaurant, so much so that it can easily become overwhelming. It’s a moment during the start-up or renovation period, where specifics that play a large impact on customer experience, can simply be overlooked. One of the key elements that are often overlooked — is the importance of restaurant lighting.

To create positive emotions and to deliver on your promise for memorable customer experiences, a concept must think through its initial design while utilizing processes, maximizing communication, and creating surprises through a multitude of ‘touch points.’ Arguably one of the most important touch points in the overall design — is again that of restaurant lighting.

Lighting within a restaurant (or bar), affects many elements within both operations and guest experience, including food and drink presentation, atmosphere, and length of stay. Lights come in many creative materials, shapes, sizes, and brightness; therefore the largest challenge is finding the right balance for each location and concept.

When planning a restaurant space, one has to consider the ‘job’ of each light source. Is it meant to highlight wall features, to enhance a back-bar, to highlight walkways, washrooms, and exits, or is it to create the right mood over a table? Or perhaps it is for security, liability, and theft prevention?

When considering the job of each light source, it’s imperative to remember to keep customers and operations top of mind first and not the architecture itself.

Here are other ways that restaurant lighting can have a large impact on revenue, profit, and customer satisfaction by again, considering the ‘job’ of each source.

Sense of Security

Ensure that the restaurant and bar space is well lit (this is both inside and outside the venue). Strategic placement and brightness of lights will undoubtedly reduce theft opportunities, reduce damage to property, reduce injury and liability, and keep both employees and customers safe (especially at night).

Differentiated Space

Different lighting sources within a venue can assist in creating multiple spaces. Similar to guest positioning, lights can assist in highlighting the multiple “levels of comfort” that guests will connect with and want to be seated near, allowing the restaurant to maximize each individual seating area, effectively managing customer satisfaction and revenue opportunities.

Seat Optimization

Lighting has another effect on Restaurant Revenue Management, as well. If a restaurant wants customers in and out quickly (QSR model), they should consider brighter lights paired with fast paced music, as it often makes guests feel hurried. A balance between warm and bright lights is ideal for casual restaurants where dimmed (softer) lights is therefore more ideal for restaurants that are looking for longer guest duration.

Kitchen & Bar Performance

Don’t forget about a restaurants team and the productive areas within the restaurant space. Ensure the correct light placement and correct choice of bulbs is decided upon for inside the kitchen and bar production area. Consider where food and beverage preparation and final presentation will be completed for a final quality check before being delivered to the guest.

Food & Beverage Presentation

Increase restaurant and bar profits with the correct back-lighting, up-lighting, and track lighting along liquor, beer, and wine displays. Take it up a notch and differentiate positioning of premium product with a different set of lights. Furthermore, food and drink can look unappealing if placed under the wrong lighting element— therefore bars and full service restaurants should use dimmers to control brightness (softness of light) and to ensure there are no shadows along the plate or glass while at a table.

Energy Conservation

When deciding on lights, consider the upfront cost and the ongoing energy cost and look for long-term operational savings, adding profits to a restaurants bottom line. Restaurants use a lot of lights so dimmers (or control systems) for example, are great for a variety of concepts to reduce costs and create more efficient layouts.

Curb Appeal

A restaurant cannot forget about its exterior lighting. Outside of the obvious security reasons, a well designed exterior with strategic lighting can in fact, invite people inside versus them choosing a neighboring restaurant. Lighting along entranceways, signage, landscape, and the up-lighting of architectural highlights, is most ideal. Lastly, outdoor lighting for a restaurants patio needs to be creatively decided upon and equally not overlooked to create not only the right outdoor atmosphere, but curb appeal, as well.

Poor restaurant lighting can lead to a cold and clinical feeling or a dark and unsafe feeling among guests. Lighting can also have a psychological effect on guests, as their minds may play tricks on them when it comes to flavors and scents for both food and drink.

October 14, 2017by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Creating Restaurant Brand Ambassadors

Creating Restaurant Brand Ambassadors
Originally Posted on FoodableTV by Doug Radkey – 10/14/2017

Ask nearly every restaurant owner what their number one, long-term marketing ‘program’ or tactic is, and most will say effective word of mouth. This can be great until it starts to fizzle down or another new restaurant opens up down the street resulting in the competition becoming the new talk of the town.

Instead of shooting into the wind and hoping ‘word of mouth’ with deliver desirable long-term results, restaurateurs need to embrace a program that is an extension of word-of-mouth marketing, by developing what is called ‘brand ambassadors.’

A brand ambassador will positively represent and promote a restaurant’s venue. They will embrace the company values, vision, mission, and culture. They will strengthen a restaurant’s identity within the community by providing additional visibility and overall awareness.

Yes, word of mouth happens organically over time because of excellent food, drink, service, and experiences, don’t get me wrong. But what if there was a way to double-down and create multiple micro-communities and multiple levels of ambassadors to promote a restaurant’s brand?

That’s where an ambassador program comes in.

Here’s how:

Owners & Operators

A winning brand ambassador program begins with guests and staff. However, as with any program, there needs to be a leader. As a restaurant owner or operator, there are many ways to be included within a brand ambassador program and be looked up to as the leader of the program.

Business Networking

Restaurant owners and operators can further ‘humanize the brand’ by networking within the community and showing the face behind the brand at a variety of business events that every city or community holds. Building effective hyper-local relationships is the first step to a winning program.

Community Involvement

Restaurants can build and protect their reputation by being involved in as many community based events as possible and even collaborating with other restaurant or foodservice operators within their area. An open mind and community driven mindset is essential.

Community Influencers

Restaurant owners and operators should also look to build long lasting relationships with community leaders, city officials, F&B distributors, local media, and bloggers— who are all influential within their city. These individuals can further amplify a restaurant’s positive message.

Set Goals

Once an owner or operator is on board with a true brand ambassador program, setting clear goals for both guest and staff ambassadors, is required. What do you want to see come out of this program? When setting goals, remember this one key rule a friend once said – ‘numbers lie and relationships rule’. Don’t look at the financials first; the money will flow once relationships are built.

Restaurant Guests

Happy customers are everything. They are the foundation to effective word of mouth. Outside of hoping they share their experience with their social network, there is a multitude of ways to get them further involved in the process of building true brand ambassadors.

Focus Group

Develop a group of individuals who show great interest in the restaurant (regular guests) and meet with them either once per month or quarter. Discuss upcoming community events, new menu items, or possible events to hold at the restaurant. Get them involved and give them something to talk about. For example, provide food and beverage samples of new menu items they will surely take photos of and share with their network.

Social Amplification

Similar to focus groups, consider holding ‘Facebook Only’ parties for example, where the only guests are ones that are fans of the restaurants page. This will surely amplify your messaging, product, and experience as they will be sharing photos or even live video of the event with their network.

Loyalty Programs

Every restaurant should have some form of loyalty program. There isn’t a one size fits all approach, but the general rule is that it will only work if the restaurant makes it worth something of perceived value. This comes down to knowing customer profiles and thinking of creative ways outside of just the standard ‘get one free after ten purchases’ loyalty program that everyone sees.

Restaurant Staff

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 the positive moments, effectively becoming brand ambassadors.

Provide Empowerment

When staff members are given empowerment to make minor decisions, a lot of positive can come from it. Customer service is the number one benefit, and happy customers as we know, continue returning. A training program that focuses on customer service sequence training (role playing) will allow staff the opportunity to create relationships with guests while providing both confidence and empowerment within their respective roles.

Double the Social

Nearly all employees will be active on some social media platform. Restaurants should look to encourage the use and even supply employees with content to share with their network. A social media training and a social media policy however, needs to be clearly articulated and signed off on to protect the brand. Furthermore, make sure staff members are included as much as possible with community events and any focus groups to amplify the social reach.

Create Stay Interviews

When staff members are happy, make a record of it. Create a ‘stay interview’ which is asking them questions such as why they love working at the restaurant so much? Create a video, share it, and post it on the restaurant’s website. This will create a positive brand perception which will improve hiring processes, reduce turnover costs, and set the stage for future brand ambassadors.

In summary, doing the unexpected, getting involved, creating engagement, highlighting staff, and listening to guests, will instantly develop the foundations for not only word of mouth, but that of a brand ambassador— delivering the desired long-term results!