BUSINESS: Different Ways to Branch Out with Your Restaurant
Finding success with your restaurant is great, but you can’t stay the same forever. If you do, what will keep people coming back? Having great food and a good atmosphere can be enough to keep your business stable, but your goal should be to consistently grow, not remain stagnant. Here are some changes you can make to branch out and build on your current success.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Court: Jägermeister Logo Not Offensive
Jägermeister’s logo – a deer with a floating cross over its head – shares similar iconography with St. Hubert who, as the story goes, skipped a Good Friday mass to go hunting where he ran into a deer with a floating cross over its head and began speaking to him. Anyways, a Swiss court has ruled on a lawsuit that, despite the shared imagery, Jägermeister can’t be considered offensive to Christians. The court ruled that the logo is more closely tied to Jägermeister and not Christianity.
The Worst States for Corruption
The report examined public corruption convictions across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, finding that D.C. had the highest number of public corruption offences per 10,000 inhabitants between 1976 and 2018 with 16.79. That can be attributed to several factors including a comparably low population and the fact that it is the center of national government and home to the Department of Justice. That means nearly all of the country's federal agencies are housed there with large numbers of government employees who can monitor and investigate potential offenses.
Maybe AT&T Won’t Sell Their RSNs After All
AT&T has been trying to sell of their regional sports networks (RSNs) for over a year now. Unfortunately for them, the bids have been half of what they wanted ($500M vs. $1B). Now AT&T is considering not selling their RSNs off after all.
“ON YOUR OWN”
Why it matters to you: Solo diners are a terrific opportunity to market a growing segment.
Solo dining is on the rise. According to the NPD Group, more than half of all meals are eaten alone—a number that’s on the rise. In countries like Japan, the trend of going solo even has its own name, ohitorisama, or “on your own.” This means the stigma to going “on your own” alone is relenting and people are more comfortable traveling and dining alone. This presents a unique and easy way to attract retain those solo diners.
For example, this blog outlines three strategies for making the solo diner feel at home in your restaurant. The first step is engaging them and making them feel welcome. Sounds silly, but more often than not, the solo diner is actually interested in the attention. According to Eliza Poehlman, general manager of Ai Fiori restaurant, “Solo diners are often more ready to engage with the staff, our wine, and our cuisine than large groups that, while still requiring excellent food and service, are somewhat distracted by their companions.”
You can also facilitate their experience by offering window facing seating or communal tables, especially if you don’t have a bar. By making it clear you welcome solo diners, more will likely come to visit for just that reason. Also from a marketing perspective it’s easier to entice a solo diner because you are only convincing one person. Therefore you can target your marketing to engaging them as to why your restaurant is a great place to enjoy a meal “on your own.”
[Source: FSR Magazine]
COUNTING ON IT
Why it matters to you: If you don’t implement inventory processes, you are destined for trouble.
The never-ending struggle to keep your costs in line shouldn’t be the struggle that it is in today’s world. There are so many tools to ensure you aren’t losing your shirt in inventory. The folks at Orderly created a terrific infographic that outlines five processes to shred your food cost. According to the National Restaurant Association, our industry did $800 billion in 2017 alone, yet we still struggle to control our cost of goods sold. So Orderly begins with the most basic process associated to inventory control, actually (and accurately) counting your inventory. You can’t know you have a problem with something as quantitative as inventory, if you don’t do the math.
But that’s not where the infographic leaves off, because they also suggest that you create a waste log. For the same reason that accurately counting your inventory is important, you can’t know what you are wasting, if you don’t track it. Of course, you can’t stop at counting and expect to control something as important to your financial success as food and beverage inventory. Which is why being diligent regarding your own prices is an essential process. F&B inventory is subject to fluctuations and if you experience a price hike, but don’t respond, you are cutting directly into your bottom line. The essential takeaway here surrounds the responsibility of managing inventory. It won’t happen without systems to ensure success and it’s up to you to implement them.
[Source: Orderly]
