Rising Food Prices Killing Your Margins?
As you know, the prices on key products like meat, produce and a host of other food items are up dramatically this year and could go even higher. This means that even with stable sales and customer counts, food and other cost increases are putting additional stress on already narrow restaurant profit margins. Now might be a good time to step back and make sure you’re employing smart purchasing practices and doing everything possible to maximize the utilization of the products that come in your back door and...
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Hot Restaurant Menu Trends
The coming year will be a year of blurred lines in the hospitality industry, with hotel lobbies doubling as living rooms, croissants doubling as doughnuts, and vegetables doubling as dessert ingredients, a hospitality consulting group predicts. Blurred Lines was the theme of the latest annual trend-prediction webinar given by Andrew Freeman, chief executive of San Francisco-based hospitality consulting firm Andrew Freeman & Co. After a quick rundown of the trends that are winding down, what currently trending...
Read MoreSome Basic Reasons Restaurants Fail…
MARTY BOMBENGER….Top Reasons Restaurants Fail 1. Location. I’ve said it over and over again. And I will continue to say until I am blue in the face. Location. Location. Location. A bad location is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) reason a restaurant fails. Poor visibility, no parking, no foot traffic, or maybe being cursed are just a few of the problems associated with a bad restaurant location. 2. Restaurant Owners Who Don’t Work. Being a restaurant owner means, in most cases, working at...
Read MoreMarty Bombenger’s Rules of Thumb: How Does Your Operation Measure Up to Industry Averages…
The first and most fundamental restaurant rule of thumb is “every independent restaurant is unique.” However, rules of thumb regarding the financial and operational aspects of restaurants can provide a valuable starting point for evaluating and understanding the financial feasibility and performance of proposed and existing restaurants. Restaurants generate a lot of numbers so particularly for those new to the industry, deciding what numbers to focus on first and knowing what they mean can be...
Read MoreThe 3 Dumbest Things Your Servers Are Saying & Why It’s Hurting Your Business
It starts with “Hi, my name is Jordan and I’ll be your server tonight.” When customer asks, “What’s good here?”, server replies, “Everything.” Then after the food arrives, server asks “How’s everything?” All of above are mindless, boring, predictable clichés that customers hear over and over again. These expressions reduce the chances that any meaningful, relationship-building conversation will take place between your servers and their guests. And...
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