Are You Cut Out for the Restaurant Business?
Going Into the Restaurant Business With Eyes Wide Open Marty Bombenger….KEY WEST & FLORIDA KEYS RESTAURANT BROKER (305) 310-1982 Even for businesspeople who have been successful in other industries, opening a restaurant can be one of the most challenging yet fulfilling entrepreneurial ventures one can encounter. Each year tens of thousands of people begin the process of creating a new restaurant. Their chances of success often hinge on how...
Read MoreHow to Find Investors & Raise Startup Capital for Your First Restaurant
Getting a small-business loan was fairly easy because the boat served as the primary collateral. My partner and I put up some cash and he added a small bit of real estate to round out the collateral needs. The total investment was $80,000. When it comes to restaurant financing, investments of $100,000 or less are typically financed in much the same manner. The owner/operator will usually contribute a portion of the capital and then seek the remainder of the financing needs through their bank,...
Read MoreSeven Steps To A Better Menu…
Food and labor cost, waste and high-demand items all figure into the right menu mix. Delicious food, great service and a comfortable, clean interior all loom large in a restaurant’s chances of success, but often that formula leaves out one essential ingredient: the right menu balance. Engineering a profitable menu can be a painful and complicated process, but in the end, this kind of discipline can pay off. Maybe you’ve analyzed all your recipes and know your food costs to a decimal point. But did you consider...
Read More16% of Yelp Restaurant Reviews Are Fake, Study Says
New York has cracked down on fake Yelp reviews, and new research from Harvard Business School suggests that such vigilance might be necessary. According to a study (pdf) titled “Fake It Till You Make It,” nearly 16% of all Yelp restaurant reviews in the metropolitan Boston area are fake. Not surprisingly, the phony reviews also tend to be “more extreme” (either positive or negative). The study has findings about why restaurants might write or procure both positive and negative fraudulent...
Read More10 Characteristics of Highly Effective Kitchen Managers
In most restaurants there’s no one person that impacts your day-in, day-out profitability and success like the one who manages your kitchen. Here are 10 traits that we’ve noticed consistently in kitchen managers of highly successful independent restaurants. How Does YOUR Kitchen Manager Measure Up? The best KMs can be found in the kitchen, not the office. They keep the recipe binders up-to-date, in good condition and easy to get to. They make using the recipe cards mandatory. They don’t trust...
Read MoreIs the Party Over for Automatic Gratuities?
The IRS wants to tax restaurants, not servers, on the service fees imposed on large parties. Glad it was Applebee’s and not your restaurant that got caught up in that mandatory service charge flap and subsequent employee firing that made the national news? Don’t gloat too much. A recent Internal Revenue Service ruling could have many operators rethinking how they handle automatic tips for large parties. First, the Applebee’s incident in brief: Pastor hosting party of 10 in St. Louis unit declines to pay 18...
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