“House Keeping”

As a Chef I have always hated winters, don’t get me wrong I enjoy the cold crisp air after working all day in the kitchen, and the sight of snow as it tumbles from the sky, but I can do without the drawn out shifts.

Unless you are at the bottom of a ski resort, your typical dinner service can sometimes feel like the last days of a prison sentence, waiting on the parole board to tell you, you can leave early.  Endless cleaning of the same shelf, craving for the sound of the printer pushing out orders. We have all been there, we know it is coming, actually at some point of the year we long for these nights.

But if we knew it was coming, what did we do about it? Or better yet, what can we do about it, while we are in it?

Now the obvious thought goes right to some gimmick, you know the ones that get people in the door, that you will likely never see again. The one hit wonders might work for a few weekends, and if you are into a short burst without any sustained business growth go for it, you can probably find something on TikTok.

But how about we use this time to grow our business, not just to cover this months’ bills, but to help generate a lasting revenue.

I know it's easier said than done. But at the same time it is not that hard to do.

You know what, let's flip the script, instead of focusing on the money coming in, let’s talk about the money going out. While everyone is trying to get the dining room filled at all costs, we will work on getting the cost under control. Let's start by going back to taking inventory, like we talked about in my last post. 

Maybe we look at last year's sales, not how much cash we took in but what items sold, and at what percent. In the past that would have been one hell of a task, but even with the most basic ordering system this is just a click of the button.

Once we have the data in hand, we now have to make some decisions, and some of them will not be easy.  Depending on the size of your menu, (nowadays it seems menus are getting bigger and bigger) you will need to determine what percentage of sales justify if an item stays on the menu.

One theory is the more items offered on a menu, the greater customer base you will have. That may be true but if we are holding on to a couple of menu items for the one or two customers that show up maybe twice a month, was it worth it? More menu options also means more inventory, more waste and a less likely chance of consistency (we will talk about consistency in a future post). 

If you can hone in your menu to the items that are consistently selling, and minimize the “Feel Good” items that sell occasionally, you can maximize the revenue coming in. As for what that percentage should be, that depends on the size of your menu. And what you are comfortable with.

There are also some other factors we should consider. What ingredients go into making the item? The time it takes to make the item. Could this be a seasonal item? Oh yeah, what's the food cost on this item?

Downsizing your menu is a tactical plan, based on solely controlling loss revenue. As chefs we have to take our personal feelings out of the equation and go simply by the data.

Quick hit marketing plans may help get you through the winter blues, but managing your menu will generate income throughout the year. There is no better time than now to trim your menu before the summer rush hits. 

If you need help evaluating your menu or would like to go deeper on this subject, please contact us.

I can be reached at dan@truenorthhbs.com.

Until next time stay busy. 

“But how about we use this time to grow our business, not just to cover this months’ bills, but to help generate a lasting revenue.”

-Dan Portelance