BUSINESS: The Humble Restaurant’s Brexit Survival Guide
It’s estimated that 20% of UK restaurants are going to bust over Brexit. And while that may not affect owners and operators in the US, there are still things we can learn from our British cousins’ trials and tribulations. Things like efficiency savings, attracting the perfect staff (and retaining them), and other leadership skills are always good to keep in mind – regardless of the political and economic climate.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Party Animates Voters
Partisanship is the biggest deciding factor for voters, with 17 percent of surveyed voters citing that as the make-or-break in the lead up to election day. Healthcare, on the national stage since the 2016 election, comes in second with 14 percent of voters citing that issue as a determining factor in their vote
If at First You Don’t Succeed…
The NFL again structured its TV deals to pay owners in the event of games lost to a work stoppage – a concept that sounds all fine & dandy until you remember that a judge ruled against this back in 2011. There’s a chance, however, that a future challenge on this contract concept would yield a different result. More here.
Facebook (Still) Dominates Social Media
Earlier this year, Instagram announced that it had just reached one billion monthly active users, making it the fourth platform in Facebook’s portfolio to pass that milestone. Looking at some of Facebook's competitors in the United States helps to understand how hard it is to get to that level of adoption. As Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest are all struggling to reach 500 million users, it is hard to imagine any of them getting to one billion.
AND THE WINNER IS…
Why it matters to you: If you are considering expansion, check out these cities that are waiting for your arrival.
If you are an entrepreneur in our industry, then you are already convinced of the value a great location contributes to your success. But what if you are aren’t expanding across town, but have decided to expand across the nation? Then this little analysis by LendingTree will be of particular interest to you. In it, they identify a top and bottom 10 cities for opening a new restaurant. They include factors like average sales in a specific city, number of restaurants per 100k residents, and relative labor costs. All of these combined for a top 10 of cities where the economic factors are favorable for a new restaurant.
Of course, none of those factors will guarantee you the right location once you have arrived at the right city. Finding the perfect spot takes a similar analysis of more neighborhood and address specific factors. Start with concerns like parking, the character of your neighbors, and visibility to potential guests. When you are ready to expand, you can leave things to chance. Use metrics to compare locations just as we see the comparison of cities has done. While you can never be guaranteed to find the perfect location, you for sure won’t if you don’t do a thorough analysis using the numbers -- and not your gut -- to guide you.
[Source: LendingTree & TheBalanceSMB]
THERE’S A NEW F.C.C IN TOWN
Why it matters to you: The Food Connected Consumer is next trend influencer.
So, what is a Food Connected Consumer (FCC)? It’s a person who is a foodie, but now we have a segment title for them. By defining them and assessing their attributes, we can determine what they seek and how to impress them with our products. By some estimates, 62% of Americans qualify as an FCC and this represents $835 BN in US food expenditures. This is verified based on Bureau of Labor Statistics food expenditures data and FCC survey data estimates of income and food-related behaviors.
To translate that to restaurant speak: this is the future of your menu. If you are still opening frozen bags of pre-made fry-able products or opening cans to complete most recipes then you have a long road to travel if you want to stay competitive in the coming wave of FCC-oriented guests. Knowing where their food comes from and a general transparency to your kitchen processes is the new norm. These are the same folks that are watching cooking shows on TV and researching their own recipes online.
You don’t have to suddenly dump your menu and start serving aged tofu picked at midnight by villagers on a south facing mountainside. But it does mean exerting yourself to create a menu that fits their sensibilities and addresses their concerns. FCC guests are mindful and focused on their relationship with food. This includes supporting efforts to correct causes like GMOs and general food waste. You are already serving them, but will they return? That will depend on whether you take their values seriously.
[Source: ModernRestaurantManagement]
