Thanksgiving Week Presents a Major Opportunity for Restaurants
New data finds that 37% of consumers plan to order takeout or delivery for Thanksgiving. It’s Thanksgiving week and millions of Americans are scrambling to get their menus set and their houses in order as they prepare to host loved ones for a celebratory feast. For restaurants, that can mean a continued concession to grocery stores, which, amid an intensely inflationary backdrop, have been priced more favorably for 18 straight months. Or it can mean a major opportunity awaits. For starters, Thanksgiving Eve, often referred to as “Drinksgiving” or “Blackout Wednesday,” has become one of the busiest nights of the year for bars and restaurants. According to Toast data, there were 11% more transactions on Thanksgiving Eve last year versus the average Wednesday. The average ticket size was about 10% higher. Alcohol sales compared to an average Wednesday were 70% higher (hence the “Drinksgiving” moniker). Further, catering sales were 35% higher and takeout sales were 10% higher. On paper, it all makes perfect sense – with an intense cooking day in the kitchen on Thursday, why not rely on restaurants during the rest of the week? That said, according to new Popmenu data, 42% of consumers plan to order from or dine at a restaurant on Thanksgiving day. This year, 37% of consumers reported that they plan to order takeout or delivery from restaurants for their Thanksgiving dinner, up from 32% last year. Another 5% plan to dine at a restaurant on Thanksgiving. Of the consumers planning to skip cooking for the holiday, 75% said they will do so because it’s easier, while 32% said it’s cheaper than buying all of the ingredients to cook at home. Twenty-three percent said they are too tired to cook, and 22% said they prefer to have a professionally cooked meal. “Ordering in or dining out for Thanksgiving is becoming a new tradition for consumers who just want to relax and enjoy a meal versus serving as the family chef for the day,” Popmenu’s chief executive officer and co-founder Brendan Sweeney said in a statement. “Restaurants have seen $10,000 or even $50,000 in Thanksgiving pre-orders. Although it’s tougher to book something the week of Thanksgiving, there are still restaurants out there who are taking orders and reservations”…
From Reservations to Reality
Ensuring Guests Show Up. Managing no-shows is crucial as the holiday season approaches. The Problem of No-Shows: Imagine running a successful evening at your restaurant, where every seat is reserved. The kitchen is prepped, staff is ready, and the mood is set for a busy night. Yet, as the evening unfolds, multiple tables remain empty due to last-minute no-shows. This scenario is all too familiar for many restaurant managers and poses a significant challenge, particularly during the busy holiday season when maximizing revenue is crucial. The Impact of No-Shows: No-shows can severely impact a restaurant’s bottom line. When customers fail to show up, the potential revenue from those tables is lost, resources are wasted, and opportunities to serve other guests are missed. While this issue affects the restaurant industry, it also happens in other sectors like airlines, hotels, healthcare, and event management, where missed reservations and appointments can lead to financial and operational challenges. How Prevalent Are No-Shows: No-shows and cancellations are a common issue that can vary in frequency depending on location, customer base, and type of restaurant. A recent study in the U.K. found that 14 percent of consumers have not shown-up for their reservations. Similarly, Barclays found that 37 percent of U.K. adults who dine out regularly cancel on the day of the booking. Why Do People Not Show Up: Understanding the reasons behind no-shows can help create better prevention strategies. Some common reasons include:
- Forgetfulness or change of plans
- Difficulty in canceling reservations
- Double-booking or booking without intent to commit
- Cost concerns, where guests may decide against dining due to budget constraints…
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
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Understanding the Lifecycle of a Seasonal Hire
Hiring and recruitment. With the holiday season often comes a surge in dining out: shoppers are grabbing quick bites between stores, families are reconnecting over dinner at their favorite hometown restaurants, and people are seeking professionally-prepared meals for their various holiday gatherings. Restaurants added nearly 70,000 jobs this September, a sign of hope that demand will grow despite inflation-weary consumers’ pullback on restaurant spending. Seasonal hires can have an outsized impact on how a restaurant fares during a busy period. Whether the business has just staffed up for the holidays or experiences their busy period at a different time of the year, investing in seasonal talent is a crucial part of labor strategy year-round. To facilitate a successful seasonal hiring process, restaurant operators must understand the full lifecycle of a seasonal hire – from recruitment to onboarding to retention – and how each stage presents an opportunity for restaurants to enhance their business and cultivate stronger teams. As the competition for skilled food service employees remains fierce, restaurants should be boosting their employee engagement strategies well in advance of their busy season. According to a new survey, 61 percent of frontline retail and restaurant managers say this year’s talent isn’t as skilled and experienced as in previous years – but there could be operational barriers at play, keeping the best workers from even clicking ‘apply.’ The first step to hiring a successful crop of seasonal talent is to listen to the needs of full-time staff. Restaurant operators should have an ongoing dialogue with employees about where they need support during normal and lull periods, then proactively plan for how a busy period could impact those challenges. While some restaurants may need more employees with a certain skillset, like management, others may need to focus seasonal hiring on a specific area of the restaurant, be it the kitchen, the dining room or both…
Less Is More When it Comes to Luxury
Niche Menus. If you were to ask people who enjoy the finer things in life about the hallmarks of a luxury hotel, you would likely get responses that include quality, consistency, and service. These are indeed the table stakes when it comes to delivering premium experiences. But what if your menu was telling your guests something about luxury? In the January 23, 2024 New York Times article, “The Menu Trends That Define Dining Right Now,” the publication gathered 121 menus from restaurants all over the United States. It stated how “together they [menus] offer a glimpse into the tastes and values of today” suggesting that dining has a distinct way of reflecting consumer preferences. It’s true: food is the ultimate reflection of the cultural zeitgeist. Everything from health and wellness trends to eco-consciousness and pop culture are all reflected in the pop-ups, restaurants, and dining trends we see daily. The article goes on to suggest that “restaurant menus can be surprisingly revealing. They’re a time capsule of culture, reflecting the comforts, habits, flavors and values of an era.” Perhaps the menu speaks for itself in ways in which we never quite imagined. What’s interesting are the subtleties when it comes to luxury hospitality. One of which is the idea that less can mean more – a lot more- particularly when it comes to dining. A small menu hints at luxury, signaling to the audience that the items listed on a menu have been hand selected to deliver a more special experience. The idea of having a curated menu implies a certain level of care and attention that evokes trust. For example: if there are only five entrée options on the menu at an upscale menu, the consumer can all but guarantee that each individual has been hand selected, and curated to perfection, by the chef. Fewer choices communicates exclusivity, which drives up customer value. And as spending increases, so does engagement. We’ve explored some ideas about how offering fewer choices can lower stress, increase satisfaction, and enhance the experience overall…
U.S. Restaurants Face Scrutiny Over Antibiotic Policies
Background. In a recent report published by the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), researchers evaluated the effectiveness of popular United States (US) food chains’ anti-superbug policies. They scored companies across policy strength, implementation, and transparency and revealed that Chipotle and KFC were the most proactive in their anti-superbug efforts, while Olive Garden, Sonic, and Dairy Queen were the least. The current report highlights the central role of food companies in curbing the genesis and spread of deadly superbugs. Compared to the previous FACT report (2015-2021), the present report notes that the chicken sector was observed to substantially attenuate its preemptive antibiotic use. However, significant gaps remain in beef, pork, and turkey policies, where antibiotic overuse continues largely unchecked. In contrast, the holistic meat sector (poultry, pork, and beef) depicted alarming trends of unnecessary antibiotic use and limited policy transparency. Modern medicine’s contributions to alleviating disease, improving patients’ quality of life, and extending human lifespans cannot be understated. Of the extensive research and progress in the field, the discovery and leveraging of penicillin and subsequent antibiotics have arguably played the most profound role in treating infections and achieving modern medicine’s benefits. Unfortunately, the unnecessary and widespread overuse of antibiotics has resulted in the genesis of ‘superbugs’ – antibiotic-resistant populations of bacteria and fungi with unprecedented tolerance to conventional treatment options, resulting in hard- or even impossible-to-treat infections. A growing body of evidence implicates the preemptive use of antibiotics in healthy individuals (humans or livestock) as a profound driver of superbug genesis, thereby highlighting the need for policy implementation aimed at responsible antibiotic use across both medical and animal husbandry sectors…
Are Value Meals Worth It for Restaurants?
Chains attract bargain seekers. Robert Sroka is the steady customer that the restaurant industry wants right now, dining out several times a week. In another way, the 35-year-old Maryland resident is a problem: He often chooses his destination based on the biggest discount offer. Promotions and discounts have become the U.S. restaurant industry’s go-to lure for lapsed customers. Restaurant prices are up around 30% from pre-pandemic levels, according to the Labor Department, and chains are struggling to keep diners coming. Sroka, an assistant professor of sport management at Towson University, said he goes to Shake Shack some Sundays, when the chain offers free chicken sandwiches with a minimum $10 purchase. He swooped when Domino’s Pizza DOM 0.94%increase; green up pointing triangle offered half off on parts of its menu and, after that deal disappeared, pivoted to its carryout promotion for a $7.99 one-topping pizza. “I get the deal that I want, and that’s usually all they’ll get out of me,” Sroka said. An estimated 81% of North American consumers have ordered a fast-food value meal in the past three months, according to a September survey of 1,793 diners by market-research firm Intouch Insight. Around half said the promotions prompted them to eat out more often or switch chains. But deals aren’t always translating to profit and don’t necessarily keep customers coming back, companies and analysts said, leading restaurant-chain executives to gut-check whether discounts and freebies are paying off. Starbucks earlier this year dabbled with a coffee and breakfast item bundle starting at $5, but months later yanked it, saying the new discounts weren’t working…
Did You Know?
New York City landmark Gotham Restaurant closes for good. Gotham Restaurant, a culinary landmark in New York City, has closed its doors for good. The restaurant’s website now includes the message, “Gotham at 12 East 12 Street is permanently closed. We thank you for an extraordinary 40 years. Enjoy this site for sense memories of a place you loved.” The closure comes after several tumultuous years for the fine-dining restaurant. In July, parent company Gotham Restaurants LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York…
Employee Tip
How To Save Up To Four Hours Every Single Day. Restaurant operators face significant challenges in today’s industry, particularly with rising labor costs and the ongoing labor shortage. These hurdles are making it harder to maintain optimal staffing levels, which in turn impacts various aspects of operation. With fewer employees available to handle cleaning duties maintaining hygiene standards can become difficult, potentially impacting customer satisfaction and compliance with health regulations…
