Effective Lean Management Strategies for Restaurants
A business method that is designed to eliminate wasted resources, increase efficiency and quality. Like many industries, the restaurant sector has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though things might seem to be moving back to normal, restaurant owners are still facing several challenges, including labor shortages, a lack of customers, supply chain issues, and rising operational costs. In addition to these challenges, the restaurant industry is also an incredibly competitive landscape. With so many obstacles, restaurant owners must find ways to run more efficiently if they want to stay ahead. This can be achieved by implementing lean management strategies. Lean management is a business method that is designed to eliminate wasted resources, increase efficiency and quality, and boost customer and employee experiences—all of which can drive growth and boost profits. Effective Lean Management Strategies. Lean management has numerous advantages, including streamlining processes, saving money, improving worker and customer satisfaction, and reducing food waste and other inefficiencies. Lean methodologies can be primarily broken into two practices: Six Sigma and 6S. Six Sigma specifically focuses on the DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control). This methodology often begins with defining and understanding the customer by identifying their wants and needs and implementing strategies that cater to those needs and exceed expectations. Six Sigma also looks at improving order accuracy by utilizing simple practices such as repeating orders back to the customer to reduce order errors. This can also be done by implementing a team approach where more than one worker reviews orders to ensure they are complete and correct before the order leaves the kitchen.
Catering to Families
The untapped potential in the restaurant industry. As the restaurant industry faces multifaceted challenges, ranging from new minimum wage laws to reputational hurdles, a new hero has emerged: families with children. Despite a general decline in dining frequency, families have shown resilience and an increased appetite for dining out, according to Revenue Management Solutions’ Q1 Consumer Survey, “Dining Dynamics in 2024: The Shifting Landscape of Consumer Tastes.” The survey’s insights offer a glimmer of hope for an industry in search of sustainable growth strategies. While 38 percent of the survey’s 1,600 respondents report spending less on dining out—with plans to continue curbing spending across all channels—families are bucking the trend by ordering from restaurants more frequently and in larger quantities. Families are also open to all dining segments and channels. While they crave the value of QSR – 34 percent of families reporting higher spending at QSRs this month compared to 18 percent of childless households – they are inclined toward fast casual and full-service restaurants as well. While singles cut back, 20 percent of families had more fast-casual visits this month and 18 percent dined full-service, in stark contrast to 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively, among households without kids. Delivery services are another area where families are leading the charge. An impressive 64 percent of family respondents order delivery at least once a week, with 26 percent utilizing this convenience three times a week or more. This is compared to 58 percent of childless households that did NOT use delivery services in an average week, underscoring families’ significant role in the segment.
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert
“DINER BOB” GILLIS LISTS ANOTHER NEW JERSEY DINER
OCEAN COUNTY, NJ DINER FOR SALE
Photo used to depict “A Diner” only. Not actual representation.
Ocean County, N.J. Family-owned and operated since 1984, this retro-style roadside Diner is now on the market! Seemingly untouched by time, the Diner has a loyal clientele who enjoy the “breakfast-all-day” theme offering fresh strong coffee, homemade soups, chowder and chili, and all the Jersey Shore diner specials. The subject property consists of a 2,000 square foot, single-story, Kullman Dining Car style building with seating for (60) in booths or at the counter. The lot is .46 acres with private parking for (30) cars. Surrounded by a mixture of residential and commercial businesses and strip centers, the neighborhood contributes positively to the value of the Diner. PRICED TO SELL at $ 895,000
Contact Robert Gillis 732.673-3436 for additional information.
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How Different ‘Beer Flavors’ Can Transform Dining Experiences
Learning more about beer flavor and proper tasting. From bitter and hoppy to crisp and fizzy, the deceptively simple notion of “beer flavors” encompasses a nuanced concept essential for restaurant and bar operators to master if they want to curate a strong beer program. It’s vital to understand what goes into the flavor profiles of beer to ensure the best service and guest experience; a strong understanding of beer flavors equips bartenders and servers with the confidence and knowledge to accurately portray and explain those offerings to guests, suggest pairings for food items, and prevent the service of stale or flawed beers. Jeff Tyler, owner of Spice Trade Brewery & Kitchen in Greenwood Village, Colorado, explains beer flavor is a combination of many factors, including taste perceived with the tongue (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami); mouthfeel (tingly from carbonation, thin, and dry versus syrupy); and aroma. “Aroma can be overlooked, but is probably the most important,” Tyler says. The Brewers Association lists many possible aromas that contribute to taste in beer, such as malts—including bread flour, biscuit, caramel, and toast; hops—including citrus, tropical, fruity, and spruce; phenols—clove, vanilla, and cinnamon; esters—apple, apricot, peach, and pineapple; and alcohol—mild, strong, or not detectable. Tyler spends a great deal of time training staff on base beer styles and flavors, along with conducting tastings every time a new beer is released. Staff each go their separate ways to taste and take notes, which is helpful because everyone has different sensitivities and picks out certain things. “It’s a great way to get a whole picture of what the flavor is,” Tyler says. Then they come back and compare those notes to the actual flavor description of the beer.
Understanding the Restaurant Cybersecurity Threat Landscape
Cyber risks have been around for a long time, but that doesn’t mean they’re static. The average cost of a data breach in 2023 was almost $4.5 million, a figure that’s more than 15% higher than just three years prior. Statista’s market insights forecast the global cost of cybercrime will increase from $9.22T in 2024 to $13.82T in 2028. With modern threats proving to be more persistent, severe, and impactful, franchisors and franchisees must work together to protect the brand’s reputation and maintain customer trust. However, balancing those goals against the reality of financial limitations and franchisor/franchisee relationship dynamics makes it difficult to prioritize cybersecurity. Understanding the current state of cyber risk can help restaurants simplify their security strategies and focus their resources most effectively. When looking at the franchise threat landscape today, the gaps between the digital haves and have nots are a primary challenge. Large franchisors and franchisees are on one side. Hackers looking to snag a multimillion-dollar payout may be tempted by these large organizations. They process huge volumes of valuable data and their networks are often widely integrated with external partners and providers. But large organizations are also more likely to have significant cybersecurity expertise on staff and advanced protective measures in place to thwart attacks, making them a high-effort target that may produce low-end results. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as another advantage for attackers, enabling them to personalize phishing emails for highly effective business email compromise scams to introduce ransomware packages at scale.
Want to speed service?
Start with your menu. New research shows that guests spend an average of nine minutes plowing through a menu because the array of choices is so extensive. But they also want comprehensive descriptions of dishes and prefer a conventional bill of fare over QR menus. Restaurant workers aren’t the only ones relishing the trend toward simpler menus. New research shows the tighter bills of fare are drawing hallelujahs from patrons who’ve had their fill of poring through a tome to find what they want. In a survey of 1,000 consumers, foodservice distributor US Foods learned the typical restaurant guest invests nine minutes in that pre-ordering hunt. For 83% of the patrons, that’s after they’ve scanned the menu at home, work or on the drive over. And that, in turn, is after spending an average of 14 minutes in deliberations over where to eat. All told, the typical guest invests more than 23 minutes in a night out before they even place an order. Yet 82% of the respondents said convenience factors into their choice. The respondents were apparently canvassed solely about their on-premises experiences and preferences. Restaurants have been striving to make those visits less exacting for time-pressed guests by adopting digital technology like tabletop ordering systems or phone apps useable inside the establishment. Yet the survey participants showed limited appreciation for those time savers. A whopping 95% said they believe a restaurant should always have physical menus available.
What If We Subconsciously Love a Noisy Restaurant?
There’s a good kind of bustle. Restaurant guests may have luck scoring a corner booth or procuring a steak cooked to their liking. But one request feels like a moonshot: ambience that strikes a perfect balance between riotous and dead quiet. Diners say clanking dishes, larger parties and clubby beats can be a distraction when eating out. Entering a hushed dining room is often just as upsetting. Some call ahead of time to investigate noise levels. Others leave before being seated. Restaurant owners think they know something about their diners that their diners might not fully know about themselves: They enjoy busy spaces more than they realize. Customers tend to have more fun in louder environments. High-energy dining rooms are more likely to turn diners into repeat clients, they say. At San Francisco’s Che Fico, the playlist is timed to the ebb and flow of the evening. With tables turning over several times each night, the music is loudest when the restaurant is at its fullest, according to co-owner Matt Brewer. “There’s a crescendo that matches the turns,” he says. He finds that guests who enjoy the sound levels tend to enjoy the restaurant more. The Italian restaurant aims to have music loud enough so neighboring tables can’t hear each other speak, but can still enjoy the soundtrack. Hitting the sweet spot makes guests more likely to become repeat guests, with some lingering over drinks. “When people are feeling more energy, they tend to order another cocktail,” he adds.
Did You Know?
How restaurant operators can protect themselves from tech outages. Earlier this month, McDonald’s experienced a systemwide tech outage in several of the company’s global markets, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Hong Kong. Although the company clarified that the IT outage was not a result of a cybersecurity threat, it took much of the day to fix and get mobile ordering and kiosks back online. hen, a couple of weeks later, on March 24, Panera Bread also experienced a “massive tech outage” that impacted online ordering, POS systems, and in-store kiosks.
Employee Tip
Canlis attempts bold experiment: Summer weekends off for all. Staff members at the high-end restaurant will finally be able to experience the civilian joys of a Saturday and Sunday off, doing things non-restaurant people do. Working in a restaurant has one built-in downside: You have to work weekends. And that means missing the weddings, kid’s soccer games or camping trips that civilians (people who don’t work in restaurants) can enjoy together on the traditional weekends. But the fine-dining restaurant Canlis has announced plans for an experiment to see if the 118 workers at the Seattle venue can enjoy real weekends off for a change—at least for the summer.