ORDERLY: Give yourself a $90,000 raise by knowing your Cost of Goods Sold

It’s insane how one simple metric can completely change your restaurant’s profitability. Your Cost of Goods Sold is the best way to know if you’re spending too much on food. When you know it, you can make the necessary changes to run your business better. For one of our customers, it completely changed her life. She was able to drop her COGS by 6%, and at the end of the year, she had an extra $90,000 in her pocket. Start making a difference in your profitability. Find your COGS and up your income.

DID YOU KNOWS…

The Healthiest of Wines

We’ve all read studies that promote the health benefits of red wine, but which red wine is the healthiest? It comes down to antioxidants which fights cellular damage. While determining the amount of antioxidants is tough, pinot noir is considered to have more than other wines. Also new wines tend to have more antioxidants, so if anyone gives you crap for downing Two Buck Chuck, tell ‘em it’s for your health.

Cheetos. So Hot Right Now.

What’s the hottest trend during New York Fashion Week? Cheetos… apparently. Three models in Chromat’s fashion show wore (and ate) bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. We only have one question – do the Cheetos crunch?

The Hunger Games or Winter Olympics?

For years now, it seems like Olympics announcer Johnny Weir has walked right out of The Capitol of The Hunger Games. The good news is you’re not crazy. That’s what Weir has been going for. Weir says that Cesar Flickerman has been his muse for the past two Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, Twitter is having a grand ol’ time over Weir’s look.

HE’S GONNA MAKE US SNAP

Why it matters to you: Trump administration wants to decide the food that SNAP recipients receive.

Being on food stamps is no fun, but the system is meant to keep people in less fortunate situations safely fed. The Trump administration is proposing a major overhaul over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The changes would mean SNAP recipients would lose the ability to choose much of the food they buy with their benefits. Under the proposal, roughly 80% of people on the program would receive half or more of their benefits in the form of a “USDA Foods Package.” In this package we would have “shelf-stable milk, ready to eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans, and canned fruit and vegetables.” To Trump’s budget director this sounds “like Blue Apron grocery delivery service,” and to us a bit like he wants to give poor people their feed like cattle.

Regardless of what this proposed new program is or sounds like, in reality it’s not a viable option. What if the food boxes come with something SNAP recipients don’t know how to cook? Do these “100% American Food Packages” come with directions and recipes? Not everyone on SNAP even have stoves and microwaves. What amount is going to be on the debit-like cards that make up for the missing items in the box? Are they only allowed to buy nonperishables with it? There are endless questions and real concerns that go along with this radical and ill-informed plan designed to drastically cut the budget – especially after the lofty tax cuts that were just passed.

THEY’RE NO CHICKENS

Why it matters to you: Americans ate 92 pounds of chicken per person last year. McDonalds noticed, did you?

Everyone loves their nuggets but who goes to McDonald’s for a chicken sandwich? That’s exactly the sentiment McD’s are hoping to shed by continuing their ‘Better Chicken’ push. Previously, if you wanted a more chicken-friendly menu you’d have to go to Chick-fil-A, but McDonald’s is trying to change that by acknowledging how much Americans love chicken. In fact, Americans ate 92 pounds per person last year.

So, what does that mean for you? Well for one, shifting your menu slightly to include more chicken options might be the transitional move as we head further into 2018. Tyson Foods Inc. is even investing in new processing plants. You know if those two giants are making moves it is most likely a safe bet.

This chicken binge seems to have no end near in sight. Why not embrace it? For starters, the margins are good. There are no risky preparations that would cause the food to be sent back like beef has. More chicken means more affordable items on your restaurants’ menu which means more accessibility for all income levels. In today’s climate the name of the game is to get and keep butts in seats and chicken might be your ticket.