Click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A guide to scaling a food concept in 2024. <\/strong>Facing harsh headwinds in the form of stiff competition, tough macroeconomic conditions, and ever-evolving consumer preferences, running, and scaling a successful restaurant business requires a nimble approach that encompasses four key focuses. From attracting investors to prioritizing repeatable unit economics, there has never been a more crucial time to be disciplined during the growth phase of building a restaurant. To effectively scale a multi-unit restaurant business in 2024, courting investors is often necessary. Whether founders need funding for geographical expansion, marketing, or operational enhancements, presenting a compelling case to potential investors is required. In years prior, a glossy deck and some buzz around your concept and the promise of what could be may have been enough to raise capital, but now investors are looking for a thoroughly vetted premise. Backed by robust market research, proven brand awareness, and an understanding of changing consumer trends, a successful restaurant concept can show a clear-cut case on why the landscape is missing what they have to offer. Specifically, for restaurant concepts, investors will focus their time and diligence on a few key metrics, including (but not limited to): (i) average unit volumes (or \u201cAUV\u201d) \u2013 how much revenue is being brought in by each location, (ii) same-store-sales (or \u201cSSS\u201d) growth \u2013 how each restaurant location is performing year-over-year, (iii) gross margin \u2013 profitability after two significant expenses for any restaurants \u2013 labor and cost of goods (collectively, \u201cPrime Costs\u201d), (iv) four-wall EBITDA \u2013 how much profitability is generated after restaurant-specific expenses (e.g. rent) and (v) cash-on-cash return \/ payback \u2013 how long and at what rate will investment in a specific location be returned. Within each of these metrics, there is an immense amount of detail to analyze.<\/p>\n Click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n NEW LISTING \u2013 MONMOUTH COUNTY BAR-RESTAURANT FOR SALE<\/strong><\/p>\n Photo used to illustrate “Bar\/Restaurant” only and not actual representation.<\/em><\/p>\n ASSET SALE – Liquor License and FF&E; owner moving; new lease available with landlord for 3,600 square foot restaurant and bar in vibrant Monmouth County downtown corner location. Landmark venue generates hundreds of new patrons every week before and after performances.<\/p>\n Click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n Contact Richard Santore 732.531.4200 for additional information.<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n We invite you to visit our website, where you will find all our current listing inventory, a library of helpful industry resources and a collection of client testimonials expressing their assessments of our work and our service within the restaurant industry.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n A voice for our industry.<\/strong><\/span> If you find these weekly bulletins informative and beneficial, we kindly ask that you write a brief Google review providing a vote of your appreciation. Simply click this link<\/a>\u00a0and leave a review. Thank you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Content from customers is authentic and cost-effective but beware of its risks. <\/strong>User generated content (UGC) is everywhere. In a nutshell, UGC is anything a user posts or shares, such as photos, comments or reviews. UGC is essential to the modern restaurant\u2019s growth. Positive reviews can attract new customers and drive traffic to a restaurant just as a user\u2019s video testimonial from a recent positive dining experience can influence others to go check it out. Restaurants use UGC as an effective branding tool, filling their own social media feeds and running ads with this organic content. Not only does it come across as more authentic, but UGC is also a cost-effective way to capture and share real sentiments. Beyond social media and reviews, restaurants are driving revenue through delivery apps, specialty promotions and their own proprietary apps and webpages, all of which hold space for UGC in one way or another. As great as it is when used properly, UGC is not without risks. Users are unpredictable and one bad apple can ruin the bunch. There are specific vulnerabilities in the food and beverage industry that operators should be aware of in order to maintain brand reputation and avoid facing legal consequences. The best restaurants understand the specific content to look out for when it comes to UGC so that their brand is not damaged. There are some common types we see over and over in the food and beverage industry. Both positive and negative comments are necessary for a restaurant to be seen as trustworthy, but brand trashing, mentions of competing brands and controversial content can and should be filtered out. Brand trashing is more intentionally hostile, sometimes posted by users or competitors who have a personal vendetta against the restaurant.<\/p>\n Click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now clubbiness is becoming a norm. <\/strong>On a recent Tuesday evening at 4 Charles Prime Rib, in the West Village, shortly after my party of four had settled in for dinner, a man who bore the gentle air of owning the place arrived at a neighboring table. As our server delivered our cocktails, she gestured at him and said, with a wink, \u201cThis is Gary. He\u2019s a regular. I\u2019m so sorry you have to sit next to him. Let me know if you want me to put up a curtain to block him out.\u201d Everyone laughed. \u201cGary\u2019s full of wisdom,\u201d the ma\u00eetre d\u2019 added as he passed by. Gary\u2014round but trim, with a shaved, shiny pate and a distinct Long Island accent\u2014smirked and said, \u201cYeah, like, drink a Martini if you\u2019re driving, and tequila if you\u2019re not.\u201d Gary is more than a regular at 4 Charles; he\u2019s one of only a few people who can get a table there at all. The restaurant is ostensibly open to the public, but if you\u2019re not Gary\u2014or Taylor Swift, whom Gary told me he\u2019d been seated next to a few nights prior\u2014you\u2019re probably not getting in. According to more than one thread on Reddit, your chances of booking a reservation even the instant a batch of them is released on Resy, at 9 a.m. each day, are slim to none. By the restaurant\u2019s calculations, you\u2019d be competing with anywhere from nine hundred to fifteen hundred other hopefuls. Moreover, nearly half the tables in the very small dining room are already reserved, for \u201cstanding guests,\u201d like Gary. Gary has a reservation every Friday, but he likes to pop in on Monday or Tuesday, too\u2014\u201cso they don\u2019t forget about me,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd to annoy them.\u201d That he has the appetite for this is a feat. The menu at 4 Charles is an extravagant appeal to one\u2019s inner child, which is to say that it could have been drawn up by Richie Rich. The baked potatoes are fully loaded, crowned with glistening lardons of maple-glazed bacon; the enormous hot-fudge sundae comes surrounded by piles of candy. Our server suggested a cheeseburger for the table, as a mid-course between sizzling shrimp scampi and a bone-in rib eye, and when it arrived, she put on a white glove to cut it carefully into quarters.<\/p>\n Click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Food, beverage, nutrition, lifestyle and unique aspects of boutique and high-volume foodservice<\/strong>. Casual experiential dining appeals on many fronts to consumers of varying ages in different parts of the country looking for affordable culinary experiences. Chef driven fast casual restaurants feed consumers\u2019 desires for high quality menu items delivered quickly and on the go. Eight-six percent of dames surveyed agreed that chef driven fast casual restaurants are filling a consumer desire for high quality menu items. The festive nature and exclusivity of a pop up with special offerings available for a limited time appeal to consumers\u2019 desires for culinary adventure and offer opportunity for chefs to express themselves in a unique way without the constraints of working in a restaurant. Ninety-two percent of survey participants agreed that pop ups appeal to consumers\u2019 desires for exclusive culinary adventures. Food trucks that bring food to patrons where they live and work have become a part of everyday life. Ninety-four percent of dames surveyed agreed that food trucks have become commonplace and are no longer a secret find. Discussions emphasized that even though food trucks are much more accessible, those with an exclusive following continue to thrive in many areas. Plant-based menus are becoming more available as the variety of offerings and demand of restaurant patrons continues the momentum. The debate over manufactured plant proteins and whole plants has begun, and it has spurred innovation in menus across all segments of the foodservice industry. Ninety-one percent of survey participants agreed that chefs are expressing their culinary creativity in whole plant-based dishes. The influence of chefs continues to expand whether it is championing a cause or investigating the provenance of a unique ingredient. Eighty-six percent of dames surveyed agreed that chefs have become trusted sources of knowledge beyond the menu. Ninety-two percent agreed that chefs are gaining recognition for their philanthropic efforts around the world.<\/p>\n Click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The independent restaurant operator can now create content for free and relatively in a short time. <\/strong>I hear it all the time from independent restaurant owners. \u201cThe chain restaurant down the street is crushing me. I just can\u2019t stay open competing against them. They have an unfair advantage.\u201d Whether this is true or not, according to The National Restaurant Association\u2019s yearly report, the average independent only profits 5\u20137 percent before income taxes. Conversely, the average chain restaurant profits 10\u201315 percent before corporate overhead. Another research study that highlights the advantages of big chain restaurants over small independent operators is \u201cThe Effects of Chain Affiliation on Operating Efficiency: An Empirical Investigation in the Restaurant Industry\u201d by Chung, H. and Lee, S. published in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research in 2016. This study determined the average chain-affiliated restaurant has higher operating efficiencies compared to independents. This is due to economies of scale, standardized operating procedures, greater access to resources, and stronger brand recognition. Additionally, chain restaurants are more likely to benefit from centralized management and marketing strategies, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. Overall, the research suggests that big chain restaurants have a competitive edge over small independent operators in terms of operational efficiency, profitability, and market share. So, let\u2019s break it down by talking about how independent restaurant owners can replicate what the big chains do well so that they can even the playing field and compete. Then, I\u2019ll show you what advantages the independents have to actually beat the big chains.<\/p>\n Click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How to prepare for DOL\u2019s new overtime rule. <\/strong>In a proposed rule back in August, DOL announced its intention to significantly raise the exempt salary threshold from $684 per week to $1,059\u2014meaning employees would need to earn $55,068 or more per year to be exempt from overtime pay\u2014a change the agency says would impact 3.6 million workers. Specific to the quick-service industry, your assistant and general managers are most likely to be affected. The White House budget office recently announced that it is reviewing the rule, which is the final step before it is shared with the public. Although the final rule will likely face legal challenges, you can\u2019t bank on a court halting its implementation, which means you should start planning now. Here\u2019s a seven-step action plan to help you prepare as the rule is finalized.<\/p>\n Click here to read more<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\nBuilding a Resilient Restaurant<\/h3>\n
\nBielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nThe Hidden Impact of User Generated Content on Restaurants<\/h3>\n
Why New York Restaurants Are Going Members-Only<\/h3>\n
Dining Trends for 2024<\/h3>\n
How Independent Restaurants Can Beat the Big Chains<\/h3>\n
Did You Know?<\/h3>\n
Employee Tip<\/h3>\n