FINANCE: 3 Reasons Recipe Costing Isn't All It's Cracked Up to Be [Sponsored by Orderly]
Sure, recipe costing is important. It's what drives the profitability in your menu. But somewhere along the way we got duped into believing it should be complex and drive more than menu profitability. It shouldn't. Here's the three reasons recipe costing isn't all it's cracked up to be… and what you should be doing instead.
DID YOU KNOWS…
A Juicy Payoff
An Alabama man was just awarded $7.5 million after he slipped and fell while reaching for a watermelon at a Walmart back in 2015. The army vet said his foot got caught in a wooden pallet on the floor, causing him to fall and break his hip. He’s been walker-bound since. Let this be a quick reminder to check your restaurant to make sure there’s no hazards about.
Pie & Beer Pairings
Thanksgiving is a week away and if you’re looking for something a little different to promote your restaurant we have just the thing – beer & pie pairings. Here’s a fun infographic from VinePair that pairs 11 of America’s favorite pies with beer. Which is your fav combo?
Is Late Better Than Never?
Papa John’s tweeted a non-apology on Tuesday, attempting to clarifying its criticism of the NFL, the league’s leadership, and the player protests. Of course, this is two weeks after the comments were originally made and were named the official pizza of white supremacists. Not a good month for Papa John’s.
WHAT DOES PR REALLY STAND FOR?
Why it matters to you: Get ahead of potential mistakes by reviewing your own business.
PR means public relations, but if you have a mistake that brings you bad PR, it might as well mean painful recovery. This is a list of some colossal problems that food companies have experienced over the years and what their responses were.
Why bring this up now? Well, the world of bad press is becoming pretty intense these days. Between the sexual harassment stories pervading the news and illness outbreaks, there are clearly plenty of places for your business to trip.
It’s time to take a good hard look at your business and be honest with yourself. Ask your staff about how they like their jobs. You can do that with a blind survey or by interviewing, but it’s imperative you at least explore if there are burgeoning problems. The same is true of your service of food safe products and alcohol. These are the places that can cause you the biggest headaches and potential destroy your business. By being proactive you can avoid most disasters and be prepared for any others.
CHAIN REACTIONS
Why it matters to you: The chains quarterly results can give insight into your own challenges.
Third quarter earnings are beginning to come to light and there are clear signs of confusion (yes, that was intentional). Take the QSR segment; they are experiencing significant and sustained growth. Sure, Dominos has dominated that discussion, but McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s are also growing.
Unfortunately, the folks in the fast casual segment have not seen the sustained growth they have experienced for several years before 2016. Even Starbuck’s has succumbed to the current headwinds (that’s what we are calling the causes sales slowing these days).
Of course, the bulk of our readers are from the full-service casual dining segment. Here the results are decidedly mixed. Companies like Texas Roadhouse and the multiple Darden brands have seen solid growth, but other big players like Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebee’s have been shedding sales for the past several quarters. These results from the big players may not reflect your results, but you can learn from their trends where your own business may be heading -- and for now that direction is still a bit cloudy.
