How Small Restaurant and Food Businesses Can Cut Operating Costs
Fast. Running a successful small restaurant or food business often involves navigating various challenges, including the need to minimize expenses while maintaining customer satisfaction. Armed with the right strategies and a focus on cost-effective practices, it’s possible for savvy entrepreneurs to reduce their operating costs, improving overall efficiency and profitability. The following sections detail various approaches that you can implement today that are appropriately designed to help your business flourish in a fiercely competitive market. Streamline the Menu…In order to reduce operating costs and improve overall efficiency in your business, it’s essential to examine and streamline your menu. By carefully assessing each item’s profitability and alignment with your brand, you can make informed decisions about which dishes to keep. Focus on offering a well-curated selection of crowd-pleasing dishes that are simple to prepare and highlight your main selling points. This careful evaluation helps minimize food waste. Maximize Your Tax Deductions…Collaborate with an experienced accountant to navigate the complexities of the tax code and uncover every possible deduction. You can claim everything from start-up expenses to business-based travel costs. If you’re tax savvy, you can receive deductions of up to 20%. Staying well-informed about relevant tax advantages ultimately helps free up funds and lower your overall fiscal burden, allowing for reinvestment in other areas of your business.
Why Credit Cards Should Be The First Choice For Business Payments
Cash flow and beyond. If a company has been around awhile, there’s a good chance there are still some manual processes lingering. Businesses might still be writing checks, sending payments out via mail and juggling paper receipts—all steps that take extra time and can lead to extra expenses. Could using a credit card be a better choice? And is making the switch worth the effort? For many businesses, the answer is emphatically “Yes.” Money management: A key to successful business. Knowing how to best manage incoming and outgoing money is essential for any business. Many business owners have extensive expertise in their area of business, but not necessarily in the area of business finances. That’s why having a trusted banker makes sense. They can take a close look at a business and uncover specific ways to improve how owners can manage money. One recommendation that benefits nearly every business, however, is paying with credit cards. Here’s why. Build efficiencies, reduce risks. Using a credit card consistently can speed up processes and help protect businesses from fraud, since checking account numbers aren’t shared with each payment. Credit cards also allow businesses to hold onto their money longer, improving cash flow.
How TGI Fridays is Winning Loyal Guests Through Simplicity
The chain’s new rewards program leads with everyday rewards and a streamlined approach. Lindsay Eichten knows TGI Fridays’ latest innovation won’t buzz the headlines. There’s no AI greeting a guest at the drive-thru, or a robot rolling through the aisle to sing happy birthday. “The primary focus of what we’re trying to accomplish is just simplicity,” says Eichten, the brand’s director of loyalty, CRM, and paid media. “Maybe that isn’t super fancy, but the truth is, the simpler a program is to use, the more likely guests will get value out of it.” TGI Fridays on May 11 announced a reimagined Rewards program that cuts through the clutter, both from a tech and messaging side. Customers can link their cell number and start earning a point for every dollar—no app download or sign-up required. As customers accumulate points, they have flexibility to curate how they redeem across two reward tiers. At 75 points, guests get any appetizer, kid’s meal, nonalcoholic beverage, or dessert. For 150 points, all entrees become free. Additionally, the updated approach focuses on everyday value. Users get either free chips and salsa or $3 off any appetizer. It’s a perk they can tap once per day, every day. TGI Fridays also offers members personalized monthly deals to accumulate points faster and promote frequency. The chain implemented Oracle CrowdTwist to power this refresh. Diners can join from the website, app, or point-of-sale. On the back end, CrowdTwist builds 360-degree profiles of customers who opt-in.
Mastering Beverage Inventory Management in the Foodservice Industry
A thirst for efficiency. Behind every successful beverage program in the food service industry lies an efficient and well-managed inventory system. Managing beverage inventory effectively not only ensures accurate stock levels but also contributes to cost control and customer satisfaction. This article delves into the best practices and strategies for mastering beverage inventory management. By implementing these techniques, you can optimize your beverage program, minimize waste, and maximize profitability. Establishing a Robust Beverage Inventory System. A well-organized and structured beverage inventory system is the foundation of efficient management. Start by categorizing your beverages and setting up a dedicated storage area. Implement a tracking system that records all incoming and outgoing stock, ensuring accountability. Consider utilizing inventory management software or specialized tools to streamline the process and maintain accurate records. Conducting Regular Inventory Audits. Regular inventory audits are essential to maintain accuracy and identify any discrepancies. Schedule routine audits to count and record your beverage stock. Cross-reference the results with your purchase orders to identify any variances. Analyzing these discrepancies will help you identify potential issues, such as theft, over-pouring, or inaccurate data entry. Consider conducting audits during non-peak hours to minimize disruptions to your service. For perspective, TGI Fridays’ prior iteration, like countless platforms on the market, required members to download the chain’s app and create an account. A code would pull down that lasted four hours. When users reverted to points, they’d have to get another code. Consumers then had to switch back and forth between app and email to ensure their account was verified and rewards tied in. “We want guests to recognize the simplicity and enjoy rich benefits from the program itself by getting the tech out of the way,” Eichten says.
How The Retail Foundry Model Can Help Restaurants
In the retail and restaurant industry, change is inevitable. The ever-evolving nature of technology grows more rapidly with each passing year, as organizations and their leaders continue to push the boundaries of what is possible. This rapid pace of innovation has challenged enterprises in every industry to evaluate their products and offerings and assess how they can develop them better, faster, and more sustainably—all while providing the best possible experiences for consumers. The retail and restaurant industries are no exception. The dynamic nature of this sector can be attributed to two main forces: the consumer is a constantly morphing variable in the equation of how organizations in this industry do business, and technology vendors want to capitalize on the consumer as part of their business model and invest in understanding the consumer to increase their market share. However, for organizations and technology providers, understanding the consumer can be a massive challenge. This is because customer behavior, sentiment, desire, and day-to-day existence are wide and varied depending on geography, demographics, experiences, and beyond. Trying to commoditize something so individualized is no small feat, and with those two forces at play, traditional retail and restaurant companies have had to step up their game. These retailers must drive better competitive capabilities around convenience and consumer experience in both ecommerce and brick-and-mortar efforts in order to compete for customer mindshare and business.
How to Beat Inflation in the Restaurant Industry
Saving the bottom line. Owners of eating and drinking places have been compelled to increase menu prices as a survival strategy. Full-service menu prices jumped 8.8 percent and limited-service menu prices rose 7.1 percent in September year-over-year. However, continuing to raise prices to try to beat inflation could sound the death knell for restaurants at a time when they should be reveling in tune with the Christmas bells. While battling inflation may not be easy, it is not impossible either. What is needed is a clear strategy that tackles the core concerns of rising costs and diminishing profits. The ‘Trim and Grow’ model addresses both these directly. The premise is very simple: trim expenses and grow revenue. In other words, beating inflation in the restaurant industry takes three steps: trimming food expenses, trimming labor costs and growing revenue. Trimming Food Expenses. Since food costs generally account for about 35 percent of a restaurant’s total costs, this would be the best place to start to decrease spending. Luckily there are many ways to do this, like, for instance. Replacing expensive ingredients with cheaper alternatives. Buying locally saves on transport fees, while buying in bulk is more economical. Value-added ingredients remove much of the prep work. Purchasing vegetables and meats that have been cleaned and cut, halves the work that has to be done in the kitchen. The goal is to pay less without seriously compromising the quality of the final product.
The Future of AI in the Restaurant Industry
Revolutionizing dining. When people think of the way AI is currently used in quick service restaurants – such as fast-food chains – they might think of AI-powered voice bots utilized at drive-thrus or AI tools to forecast inventory needs based on demand. AI-based technology can be an incredibly valuable resource for the restaurant industry when utilized properly. It can make customer experiences more consistent and predictable, minimize human error, and reduce operating costs. Restaurant owners agree, as nearly half of hospitality operators in the U.S. and Canada said they planned to utilize some form of automation technology. AI is continuing to evolve with new capabilities seemingly by the day. With that in mind, here’s a closer look at some of the ways restaurants will use it in the near future. Restaurants like Taco Bell, Chipotle, and Domino’s, are beginning to implement AI-powered voice and chatbots to take orders, make recommendations, and answer frequently asked questions customers may have. Furthermore, the value of bolstering customer service without having to hire additional staff makes this a cost-efficient, enticing option for restaurants of all shapes and sizes. ChatGPT, a chatbot based on GPT-3 and GPT-4 technology, can also be trained on a central database with information about local menu availability, opening hours, events, location information and more, resulting in a human-like conversation with a customer. However, the chatbot needs to be set up with accurate and updated information to provide a seamless customer experience.
Did You Know?
6 places to buy cool artwork online for your restaurant. Art adds a visual appeal to any space, and restaurants are definitely no exception. Good artwork can create an inviting restaurant atmosphere and even enhance the dining experience by appealing to your clients’ senses. In fact, we firmly believe that food always tastes better when paired with a great ambiance. But – and this is essential – art should add to the flow and function of your restaurant, not hinder it or be a distraction. This means that what you use to adorn the walls of your restaurant requires careful consideration. In this blog post, we’ll explore the best online places for finding that perfect piece of artwork that will add a touch of creativity to your restaurant and set the desired atmosphere.
Employee Tip
Restaurants and bars continue to out-hire every other business. Restaurants and bars once again outpaced all other industry segments in creating jobs last month, adding 33,100 positions while the national unemployment rate inched upward to 3.7, according to newly released government figures. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday shows the U.S. economy as a whole added 339,000 jobs. Eating and drinking places accounted for roughly 1 of 10 of those new positions. The industry’s hiring strength lifted total employment within the nation’s leisure and hospitality sector to within 349,000 positions of its Feb. 2020 tally, a gap of just 2.1%.
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert
“DINER BOB GILLIS” SELLS ANOTHER NEW JERSEY DINER
Bielat Santore & Company sells the Horizon Diner in Manahawkin, New Jersey. Through the proficiency of one of its experienced real estate agents, “Diner Bob” Gillis, the company has sold several New Jersey diners. If you are looking to buy or sell a NJ Diner, “Diner Bob” Gillis, 732-673-3436, is your “Cup of Joe.”
Read More about the Horizon Diner sale in next week’s “Restaurant Industry Alert.”
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