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California Fast Act: What You Need to Know

Jan 03, 2023

One million signatures stopped a new law affecting fast food workers starting January 1 in California. The Fast Act, or Assembly Bill 257, is a law that was signed on Labor Day by the governor of California, Gavin Newsom. The idea behind the Fast Act is to give fast-food employees more input regarding how they work, when they work, and for how much. The act constructed a council of 10 individuals to decide important work conditions such as hourly wages, benefits, working hours, and more.

 

What is The Fast Act?

 

The AB 257 bill aims to support the rights of fast food workers in California. It “was designed to give fast-food employees a seat at the table.” The council can change the minimum wage, raising it from the current $15 per hour wage to $22 in California. Restaurants defined as quick-service, with a minimum of 100 or more locations are the only ones directly affected by the Fast Act. Besides determining how much quick-service workers will be paid in California, the council decides on the work hours, and the environment they will work in.

Fast Act 2023

 

Why is There Opposition To The Fast Act?

 

Support for the Fast Act law is widespread, as shown by the petition signed by 1 million fast food workers and business owners. However, the concern of those who don’t support implementing the Fast Act is fear that the raised wages will increase inflation even higher. California has already seen higher food costs and the rising wages will increase the costs further.

 

San Francisco saw a 10 percent rise in food costs, with a 9 percent increase for food away from home. Save Local Restaurants said any more added costs on food would majorly affect individuals already fighting against inflation costs resulting from the pandemic.

 

Who Are Save Local Restaurants Group?

 

Save Local Restaurants consists of individuals from “small and family-owned businesses, minority-rights groups, workers, consumers, your favorite restaurants, taxpayers and community-based organizations” who are against passing The Fast Food Bill. Group members organized what they call on their website a coalition focused on redirecting the decision of Assembly Bill 257 to give the California voters the right to decide. Save Local Restaurants includes a compilation of three groups; the National Restaurant Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the International Franchise Association.

 

The Projected Future

 

Due to a last-minute decision by the courts on Friday, December 30, a hold of the Fast Recovery Act has been issued to determine if the signatures signed in opposition against the assembly bill 257, or The Fast Act are valid, which, if they are found to be, would let the issue become a voters decision. It would move forward, going on the 2024 ballot.

 

It is expected that the signatures from the petition will be verified, putting the issue at a standstill until 2024, which is exactly what Save Local Restaurants wanted when first filing the referendum. The petition is said to have well over the required 600,000 amount of signatures needed, topping out at one million.

 

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Negative Online Reviews for Restaurants: Fight Back with Great Training

Dec 28, 2022

Online reviews have become increasingly important in the hospitality industry, as they provide important feedback that can help restaurant owners make decisions to improve their establishments. Unfortunately, bad reviews can be damaging and expensive for business owners, leading to fewer customers and fewer profits. Maintaining a positive perspective online is just as crucial as in-person impressions. Statistics from the COVID-19 pandemic showed how powerful online chatter could be in helping potential customers decide whether to try a restaurant. New data from Trustpilot has shown that negative reviews have increased by 3% since April 2022.

 

Better Training Equates To Better Online Reviews

Restaurant owners can train their staff to get better reviews online by focusing on providing excellent customer service. This could include greeting customers warmly when they enter the restaurant, responding to customer feedback and complaints promptly and professionally, ensuring that orders are fulfilled accurately and on time, and clearly understanding all menu items.

The better the customer experience is, the better the online restaurant review a customer will write. It is not uncommon to see high turnover negatively affecting staff training (or lack thereof) and new employees being thrown out to serve the public without being taught how to give exemplary service that makes customers loyal.

A study published in the International Journal of Science researched university cafeteria customers and concluded that the customer’s overall satisfaction revolved around two crucial components; how the workers treated them and how well the staff knew about the food they were serving. That shows how important good customer service is and why all restaurant owners should implement it into their routines.

 

good guest service

 

5 Ways Restaurant Owners Can Train Their Staff For Better Reviews

 

  1. Encourage staff to pay attention to detail when serving customers. This can include ensuring drinks are refilled promptly, orders are taken correctly and food is served at the correct temperature.
  2. Teach staff to be polite and friendly when interacting with customers. This can go a long way in making customers feel valued and appreciated, which can lead to positive reviews online.
  3. Provide staff with ongoing training and development opportunities to improve their customer service skills.
  4. Utilize customer feedback to identify areas that need improvement and ensure these areas are addressed in staff training sessions.

training

  1. Encourage staff to ask customers for feedback after their dining experience and thank them for their reviews. This can help build customer loyalty and increase the chances of getting positive reviews online.

 

Business owners can offer incentives to their hospitality customers who leave positive reviews, such as discounts, free appetizers, or other promotions. It’s essential to stay on top of social media trends to ensure they provide the best customer experience possible. Social media marketing campaigns work well in bringing attention to a restaurant business and it’s a way to interact with customers faster.

Conclusion

By providing good restaurant training, restaurant owners can help foster a positive experience for customers and make sure that their staff is equipped to handle any situation. This will not only help improve customer satisfaction but can also help ensure that reviews are more favorable. Employees will make better tips when applying the customer service training they receive, which is an incentive in itself.

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Back to the Basics: Food Safety in the Restaurant

Dec 09, 2022

The Environmental Health Services (EHS) links most food poisoning cases to eating in restaurants. They performed a study analyzing the food safety practices of restaurant workers, and the study found that less-experienced workers engaged in risky food practices. Dangerous food practices are also more prevalent in independent restaurants than in chain restaurants.

Restaurants can avoid foodborne illnesses by practicing basic food safety. Workers must keep themselves and their areas clean and separate raw and ready-to-eat foods. Restaurants must also practice proper chilling and cooking methods.

Restaurants that don’t follow these basic food safety practices are liable to make their diners sick. Foodborne illnesses caused by negligent restaurants have led to many lawsuits across the country. In many cases, the restaurants must pay thousands or millions of dollars in reparation.

Essential Food Safety Practices for Restaurants to Follow

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service says there are four steps to maintaining a safe restaurant:

  • Clean
  • Separate
  • Cook
  • Chill

Clean

CDC found that workers wash their hands when they should only 1 in 3 times. Employees must wash their hands and restaurant surfaces often to prevent contamination. Before handling food, employees must wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water and use the designated handwashing sink, not the preparation sink.

Employees who wear gloves must wash their hands before putting them on. Employees should change their gloves whenever they switch tasks that could cause cross-contamination.

Doing so can help prevent the spread and outbreak of diseases such as COVID-19, Salmonella, E. coli, and norovirus.

employee gloves

Separate

The USDA says to keep ready-to-eat and raw foods separate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and juices away from other foods. Prepare the meat in an area away from other foods. After preparing the meat, wash and sanitize cutting boards, knives, and countertops.

Cook

Always use safe thawing practices, as recommended by the USDA. First, you can thaw food in the refrigerator, but ensure that juices do not leak onto other foods. Second, you can thaw food placed in a leak-proof bag in cold water. Change the water every 30 minutes and cook immediately upon thawing. Lastly, you can safely thaw food in the microwave.

Meat that needs to marinate should marinate in the refrigerator, where it can stay cold. To avoid cross-contamination, keep the marinating meat inside a pan covered with plastic wrap.

Always check foods with a thermometer to ensure you’re cooking them to the proper temperature. Raw beef, lamb, pork, and veal must reach a minimum internal temperature of 145°F. Allow the meat to rest for three minutes before cutting and serving for the best quality and safety. Ground meats must reach an internal temperature of 160°F. Poultry must reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

Chill

The USDA says to refrigerate or freeze food promptly to avoid contamination. You must refrigerate perishable food within two hours. Fresh poultry, fish, and ground meat must be cooked or frozen within two days. Beef, veal, lamb, and pork should be cooked or frozen within three to five days.

You should check the temperature of your refrigerator (>40°F) and freezer (>0°F) with an appliance thermometer.

Lawsuits

Restaurants that don’t follow proper food safety practices are held accountable for causing illness in their diners. Below are two of the most severe cases of food poisoning caused by negligent restaurant practices.

1. Torchy’s Tacos — Texas

In 2021, a family sued Torchy’s Tacos in San Antonio, Texas, for $200,000. Two months after eating at Torchy’s, their child was still in the hospital, fighting a salmonella infection he developed after eating contaminated onions at the restaurant.

The child began showing symptoms ten days after eating the onions, and his symptoms worsened over the week, leading to hospitalization. His infection resulted in sepsis, pneumonia, and organ failure.

2. Chipotle Mexican Grill

In 2020, Chipotle agreed to pay $25 million in response to criminal charges they received for serving tainted food between 2015 and 2018. The tainted food caused sickness in over 1,100 people across the United States.

According to the New York Times,  “Nick Hanna, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement that Chipotle failed to ‘ensure that its employees both understood and complied with its food safety protocols, resulting in hundreds of customers across the country getting sick.’”

restaurant food safety

Conclusion

Restaurants that don’t follow basic food safety practices are likely to cause foodborne illnesses within their clientele. Severe cases of food poisoning may lead to legal action being taken against the restaurant. Fortunately, restaurants can avoid causing harm. They need to keep surfaces clean, keep raw and ready-to-eat foods separate, and chill and cook food properly. For professional assistance with food safety, please contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants.

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How to Open a Restaurant: 16 Steps to Launch Your Restaurant

Dec 09, 2022

So, you want to know how to open a restaurant?  Good choice.  A thriving restaurant can be one of the most rewarding business ventures out there.  It can also be one of the most difficult businesses to get right.  Especially, if you don’t know where to start.  Lucky for you, we’ve helped start thousands of restaurants, and we’ve boiled down all this experience opening restaurants into 16 easy-to-follow-steps.  Let’s jump in!

 

Do Market Research & Choose Your Niche

First things first, you need to develop a vision for your restaurant.  Great businesses typically start with their customers in mind.  Who are the customers you plan on serving?  You may be tempted to say everybody.  But, in order to stand out among the intense competition, you need to get specific with who your restaurant is geared toward and what you’re going to offer them.  

An easy place to start is where you live.  Look around at the restaurants in your town.  Is there a need not being met? A restaurant concept that would excite the members of your community?  Is your area missing an authentic Mexican restaurant, a family-friendly gastropub, or a fast casual spot for bowls and salads?

If you already know exactly what type of restaurant you want to start, then you’ll need to find a location and demographic that will support your vision.  For example, a 3-star, fine dining restaurant may not fare well in a lower-income community of 500 people.  Or a brewpub may not fare well in many parts of Utah.

While demographics are an important part of market research, many aspiring restaurant owners fail to consider psychographics – which is the more powerful tool in defining your target market and building your restaurant’s brand.  Psychographics revolves around customer’s state of mind – their emotions, beliefs, motivations, ethics, and values.  You want to consider how your customers will want to be perceived by others when they visit your restaurant.  You can read more about psychographics here.

 

Make a Restaurant Business Plan

Now, that you’ve picked the niche for your restaurant, you’re on to what might be the most important step of all: making a restaurant business plan

So, why is a business plan so critical?  For one thing, anyone who may provide you with funding (investors, banks, etc.) will require a fully-fleshed out business plan as proof that your restaurant will be successful and provide a return.  More importantly, a business plan forces you to put down, organize and summarize all your thoughts surrounding your restaurant concept into one, cohesive document.  An effective and actionable business plan will help you answer several questions: who is your target market? Who are your potential competitors? Where will your restaurant be located? What is your unique value proposition?  What food will you serve to your customers? How will you market to your target market?  How will your restaurant make money?  How long will it take your restaurant to break even and make a profit?  What’s the endgame?

In the actual plan itself, these questions will be answered within the following sections:

  • The Executive Summary
  • Key Investment Considerations
  • The Menu
  • The Brand
  • Design Approach
  • Management & Organization Plan
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Capital Expenditures
  • P&L Forecasts
  • Risk Mitigation & Exit Plan

Create the Name and Brand of Your Restaurant

With the all-important business plan finished, many of the next steps are taken care within the plan itself or become much easier.  Here’s a fun step: coming up with the name and brand of your restaurant!

restaurant logo startup

In our blog Restaurant Startups: Logo, Name, and Branding, we provide some great tips for creating the perfect name and brand for your restaurant.  To start the brainstorming, experiment with names that incorporate puns, your location, or the traditions your menu is inspired by.  Then, you want to make sure that whatever name you come up with has not been taken by another business first.  You can verify this by visiting your state’s Secretary of State website.  

Once you’ve selected the perfect name, file this “doing business as” (DBA) name with your state’s agency, so you’re not at risk of losing your name to another business.  You’ll also likely want to trademark your name with the US Patent and Trademark Office.  It’s important to also see if you can secure the website domain and social media handles for the name of your restaurant.

Along with your name, you want to create a strong brand.  Your restaurant brand communicates your mission and identity in a memorable way to potential customers.  From Synergy’s founder Dean Small, “a brand is a promise that you make to your internal customers (your team) and external customers, your paying guests.” 

Your unique brand identity should clearly express your ideas through your logo, color palette, font, and brand voice.  It’s crucial to make your brand consistent across all your points of contact with customers, like: 

  • Restaurant décor, restaurant menu (and takeout menus)
  • Website and social media pages
  • Employee uniforms, if applicable (this depends on the type of restaurant you operate)
  • Packaging (bags, napkins, cups, containers, etc.)
  • Restaurant advertising
  • Music played in your location
  • Business cards

Develop Your Restaurant’s Menu

Next up in the plan to open your restaurant is another fun step: developing your concept menu. Your restaurant’s menu can be thought of as an extension of your brand.  As such, the menu serves as part of your marketing strategy to encourage new customers to try your restaurant.  

Although, it’s enticing to make a highly innovative menu with all your favorite food, you need to approach menu development strategically.  Your menu items will prescribe the type of kitchen equipment you’ll need and the experience required from your team.  For example, if you plan to open a pizza parlor, you’ll need proofers, mixers, brick oven pizzas (if part of your concept), and chefs who are experienced in handling pizza dough.

To really show potential business investors you have a rock-solid food plan, you’ll make a menu that’s optimized for labor efficiency and pricing.  You’ll want to consider the time required for each menu item, the food cost of each menu item, its price point, and its projected sales generation.  Even more bonus points if you optimize your menu plan for upselling!  Learn all about our proven strategies for menu upselling here.

 

Select the Legal Structure for Your Restaurant

We’ve touched on the legal requirements for selecting the name of your restaurant.  Now, we’ll turn to settling upon the legal structure for your new concept – another crucial step in starting a restaurant.  Do not breeze past this decision as your restaurant’s legal structure will determine how you file your taxes and your potential liability if someone were to file a claim against your business.  

To get an idea of the difference between possible structures for businesses, check out this article from the U.S. Small Business Administration.  The most common legal structures for small, independently owned restaurants are sole proprietorship, partnership, and limited liability company (LLC).  If you plan on opening a chain of restaurants across different states, you may want to consider filing as a C Corp or S Corp.  With a decision of such legal import, your best course is to consult a business attorney before you make this decision for your restaurant.

 

Get Funding for Your Business

Just starting out, most restaurant entrepreneurs do not have the capital required to successfully open their restaurant.  Thus, they must turn to outside funding.  If you’re in this crowd, there are many options available to you.  Although, as mentioned earlier, you must have a sound restaurant business plan along with in-depth financial analyses and forecasts.  You should focus on your break-even point, predictive cash flow, profit and pay-back estimates, and projected P&L for your restaurant’s first 5 years following its open.

Most small business owners fund their concept through a business loan.  Nowadays, there are several business loan types to choose from, including:

  • A term loan: a commercial loan from a bank or alternative lender.  The repayment terms and interest rates of term loans depends on the needs of your restaurant, your credit score and other factors
  • an SBA loan: In response to the hesitancy of commercial lenders to provide term loans to small businesses (especially new restaurant concepts), the Small Business Administration started guaranteeing as much as 80% of the loan principal for term loans through participating lenders.  This has proved particularly valuable to aspiring restaurant owners.  To match with a lender through an SBA loan, you’ll need a rock-solid business plan, financial projections, verified credit history, and collateral.  Begin this process as early as possible because it may take several months from start to finish.
  • A short-term loan: these are similar to regular term loans except they typically cover up to $250,000 with a payback time anywhere between 3-18 months.  While unusual for restaurant startup funding, a short-term loan could prove useful when you need money quickly to cover expenses which you don’t have cash on hand for.
  • A business line of credit: a highly flexible form of financing which operates like a personal credit card.  Once set up, a line of credit can be periodically drawn upon for business needs (like inventory or payroll) as long as you repay the funds over time.
  • a grant: an oft-overlooked form of financing which provides the huge benefit of you not having to repay the money!  Though, grants do typically require more paperwork than business loans.  If you want a short-cut to finding restaurant specific grants and strategies for winning these grants, check out our blog Restaurant Grants in 2022: lifelines for your restaurant.

Regardless of where you get the funds to open your restaurant, you’ll need to make a comprehensive budget to compare against the money you have on hand.  The difference will make up the amount of outside funding you need.  Be careful in budgeting though!  According to Synergy founder Dean Small, “Most new restaurateurs look at construction and equipment costs for budgeting purposes; however, they don’t realize that there are numerous additional costs that need to be factored in, such as pre-opening expenses, inventory, freight and installation of equipment, deposits, china/glassware, food inventory, technology and dozens of other line-item costs.”  You can read more about Dean’s thoughts on common mistakes made by new restaurant business owners here.

 

Find the Best Location for Your Restaurant

Earlier we alluded to opening your restaurant based on your target market and brand.  Which geographical location has the right demographic and psychographic profile to sustain your restaurant.  You’ll also want to factor in whether the area’s population is growing or stagnant.

Savvy entrepreneurs will also survey the local restaurant competition.  In selecting the right neighborhood for your restaurant, you should look for the sweet spot – an area where restaurants are profitable but where there isn’t an over saturation of food and drink establishments.

In our blog about restaurant location, we discussed how tourism is major driver of new restaurant growth.  In small towns, restaurants near crossroads and highways draw customers on road trips, which plays into the two most critical success factors for a restaurant’s location: visibility and accessibility.

You want your restaurant to be easy for your customers to get to.  Plus, you want it to get a lot of foot and car traffic – enhancing the odds that a passerby will become a customer.  And you want to consider the amount of parking spaces available when selecting a location.

Should you own or lease your space?  In most cases, new restaurant owners lease simply because the majority of available commercial spaces operate that way.  While a short-term lease is more desirable for new startups, restaurant owners may want to consider a 3-5 year lease to get more favorable terms.  For more information on negotiation tips and the right questions to ask while searching for a lease, check out this article.

Finally, you want to choose a space that offers the right square footage and features for the design of your restaurant – which brings us to…

 

Design Your Space

The importance of this step cannot be overstated.  A poorly designed restaurant is destined for disaster.  Given the make-or-break impact of design, you’ll want to consider working with an restaurant design expert – whether that’s one of our world-class design professionals or another restaurant architect.  

spruce up decor

To get an in-depth walk-through of an efficient restaurant design process, check out our interview with Bob Kuchinski of Coastline Design, Inc.  In his process, Bob converts the space into a “bubble diagram” which should flow back and forth between:

  • Deliveries come in; they need to be stored somewhere
  • Storage goes into prep
  • Prep to cooking
  • Cooking to serving/expos
  • Then out to the customer 

The most basic division of a restaurant is the front of house (FOH) and back of house (BOH).  Factors to plan for in FOH design include: 

  • Seating Capacity
  • Furniture
  • Ambiance and Décor
  • Cleanliness Capacity 

Turning to the BOH and kitchen, Bob advises considering a number of questions in your design plan, including: 

  • Does it flow properly?
  • Is it easy to work in?
  • Is it easy to clean and maintain?
  • Is it a comfortable environment for the employees to work in?
  • Is there a lot of wasted square footage? Or is it lean and mean? Sometimes the tighter a facility is, the less expensive it is to operate. Costs to operate a restaurant are so high now when examining cost per square foot. The bigger the space, the harder it is to clean, and the more expensive running air conditioning or heating.

Speaking of cost per square foot, about how much money does BOH construction cost?  According to Bob, BOH construction is currently around $250-300 per square foot.  Build-outs – like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc. – are about $200-300 per square foot.  Thus, it’s crucial to know the existing utilities and equipment of the space you plan on leasing.  If you’re starting completely from scratch, the cost of starting your restaurant could skyrocket.

 

Register Your Restaurant for Federal, State, and Local Taxes

On to everyone’s least favorite step, taxes.  To start, you need to register your restaurant with the IRS to receive your Employer Identification Number (EIN).  The EIN is required for your business to pay federal taxes.  You can apply for one here.

Additionally, most states require your business to pay income and employment taxes.  Many states also require you to carry Workers’ Compensation and unemployment insurance.  Here’s a tool from Nerdwallet that will help you determine if your restaurant will need Workers’ Comp and how to get it. 

The state requirements regarding tax registration and filing vary quite a bit, so we suggest you consult with an accountant to make sure your restaurant is on the up and up.

 

Acquire Restaurant Permits & Licenses

Did you think you were done with the paperwork.  Not quite yet! 

As a new business, you’ll need obtain the standard business licenses and permits to open your restaurant.  As a restaurant, you’ll likely need several more licenses and permits depending on your food, drink and entertainment offerings. These all fall into the buckets of logistics licenses, health and safety permits, and entertainment licenses.

To learn more about each type of permit and license, check out our blog on the subject.  In a nutshell, you may need:

  • Certificate of Occupancy – verifies that your space is up to code
  • Sign Permit – gives you the right to post signage to advertise your restaurant
  • Resale Permit – allows you to by non-taxed wholesale food products
  • Seller’s Permit – allows you to collect sales tax from your customers
  • Food Service License, that confirms that your business follows all food safety regulations
  • Building Health Permit, which ensures that your location is sanitary
  • Food handling permits for all your employees, which confirms that your staff has proper training on food storage, handling, and more
  • Dumpster Placement Permit, which allows you to place a dumpster outside your building for safe disposal of food waste
  • Liquor License, so you can serve alcohol
  • Music License, so you can play copyrighted music without issue
  • Valet Parking Permit, so you can offer valet services
  • Pool Table License, which confirms that your space can safely house a pool table
  • Live Entertainment License

 

live music

Bear in mind, this is not an exhaustive list.  Depending upon your state and restaurant, different licenses or permits may be required.  We encourage you to visit the FDA’s Retail and Good Service Regulations by State site to learn more.

In a similar vein, you may want to look into certain types of insurance for your restaurant – such as: 

  • Property insurance
  • General insurance
  • Liquor liability
  • Auto liability
  • Life insurance
  • Fire insurance
  • Loss of business
  • Food contamination

Purchase the Right Equipment for Your Restaurant

We’ve seen that the equipment your restaurant will need is primarily dictated by your food and drink menu.  There are some common equipment denominators for all restaurants like cooking equipment (oven, grill, range, etc.) and refrigeration units.  Other equipment will be specific to the type of food you plan on serving at your restaurant.  For instance, if you run an upscale Italian restaurant, you’ll need pasta cookers and pizza deck ovens.  Or if you have an in-house brewery, you’ll need a malt mill, filtration system, beer ferment and several other pieces of equipment

Your space will also affect the amount and type of equipment you buy.  If you’re short on space in the kitchen, you may look for double stack units.  Also, the decor of your dining room will set parameters for the type of furniture and fixtures you buy. 

When buying equipment, you may want to look for gently used equipment (especially kitchen equipment) as that can save you a lot of money.  Where can you find restaurant equipment?  Luckily, the options for buying and selling equipment have rapidly increased with the internet.  You can go the traditional route with a local/regional equipment dealer, resale store, or auction.  Or you can shop online for new and used restaurant equipment in many places –  online resale marketplaces, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, etc.

 

Connect with Suppliers

Here again, your menu will directly decide the food supplies you need and indirectly determine your restaurant’s vendors.  Most restaurants buy their food from suppliers – both large operators (like Sysco and US Food Service) and local purveyors.  Restaurants typically get fresh produce from smaller, local suppliers and everything else from large operators.  To find a local supplier, you can ask restaurants in their area who they work with or search through the USDA’s Local Food Directories.

In order to purchase from suppliers, you must open an account with them.  If you’re just starting out in the restaurant business and have a limited credit history, your vendors may require to pay immediately upon delivery.  Once you gain more experience and build up a relationship with your vendors, you’ll be able to extend your term of payment up to 30 days.  

In selecting the right suppliers for your restaurant, you should create a list of prospective vendors and then arrange to meet with their sales representatives.  In these meetings, you should ask about their catalog of food items, delivery schedule, their credit terms, and references from other restaurants.  After those meetings, you can compare the different vendors based on these criteria and select the ones that are the best fit for your restaurant.  If you’d like top-of-the-line tools for purchasing and receiving product, check out our exclusive tools below.

In special cases, your restaurant may not have to deal with suppliers at all.  You do have the option of going straight to the farms to procure your food.  This is especially true if you open a farm-to-table restaurant or a restaurant whose brand revolves around fresh, local ingredients.  If this is your vision for your restaurant, you’ll be happy to know that consumers have shown a willingness to pay more for local products.

 

Establish Systems & SOPS

Here, we’re referring to both technological and organizational systems.  In terms of technological, you’ll certainly want to invest in a POS system. A restaurant POS system combines hardware (tablets, credit card readers, printers, cash drawers, bar code scanners, handheld ordering devices, etc.) and software to take care of a variety of functions including: 

  • payment processing
  • FOH management
  • order processing
  • sales reporting
  • tip reconciliation
  • loyalty programs
  • self-service ordering

point of sale

Some of the more popular POS systems out there include: Square, Clover, Lightspeed, Toast, and TouchBistro.

Moving on to organizational systems – this is where many new restaurant owners miss out on a golden opportunity.  Restaurants that fail to implement systems make up the vast majority of those that fail within the first 5 years.  Great systems are the engine of every great business.  Restaurants are no different.  The reason why the McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts of the world are so profitable and widespread is the systems they implement in each and every restaurant.

If your mission and values are the what of your restaurant, your systems are the how.  Systems manage your day-to-day operations and communicate to your team what’s expected of them in every activity they undertake.  A major component of systems is standard operating procedures (SOPs).

For a detailed overview of SOPs, check out our blog on the topic.  In essence, SOPs answer to the question, “How do we do things at this restaurant?”  They communicate your BOH and customer service standards.  SOPs save managers and team members by saving staff from making small mistakes, which typically eat up the time of managers and operators in restaurants lacking SOPs.  They also help prevent poor reviews and lawsuits stemming from food poisoning and poor customer service. You’ll want to codify your SOPs in an employee handbook and staff training program.

If you’d like a plug-and-play solution for your restaurant’s systems, SOPs, and management training – you won’t find a better value in the industry than Synergy U.

 

Hire the Right People

While we’re on the theme of teams, some of the most important early decisions you’ll make as you open your restaurant will be who you hire.  Especially, your managers.  In building your team, you have the opportunity to start a great culture from the ground up.   

training

 

To get a strong sense of the restaurant hiring process, check out our blog 6 Restaurant Hiring Tips.  In short, these 6 tips are: 

  1. Figure Out What You Need
  2. Write a Good Job Description
  3. What Benefits Make You Stand Apart?
  4. Consider Your Website
  5. Opportunities to Advance and Referral Programs
  6. Treat Your Staff Like Family

The positions you’ll hire for depend on the requirements of your restaurant, but broadly speaking you’ll need a management team, BOH staff, FOH staff, and Bar staff.  The management team may consist of a general manager, kitchen manager and FOH manager.  BOH staff could include head chef, sous chefs, prep and line cooks, and dishwashers.  FOH staff could include servers, hosts, bussers, and food runners.  The bar staff may include bartenders, barbacks and cocktail servers.

While you should search for people who have the right attitude and values that harmonize with your brand, you also need to take the job candidates point-of-view and ask yourself “Why would I want to work here?”  In addition to your culture, what makes your restaurant stand out?  In this vein, you may want to consider offering:

  • Competitive wages
  • Health insurance
  • Retirement plans
  • Pet insurance
  • Paid vacation/Paid time off
  • Entertainment perks (concerts, travel, etc.)
  • Opportunities to learn and advance careers

As turnover is such a massive problem in the restaurant industry, you’ll want to make your hiring process as streamlined and regenerative as possible.  That means maintaining your website, regularly updating your career board, and having a referral program for current team members.  Culture, regular advancement, and great training go a long way in reducing turnover.  When it comes down to it, you want to hire people that you enjoy being around – curious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, hardworking, and a passion for hospitality.  You can always train them in the skills they’ll need on the job.

Here are some sites where you can search for prospective members of your restaurant’s team:

On a final side note, you may want to consider hiring an accountant, marketing strategist, and PR specialist depending on the size of your operation.

 

Market Your Restaurant

All the pieces are in place!  Now it’s time to tell the world about your fabulous new restaurant!

First off, you’ll certainly want to establish your brand on social media and other digital media.  For social media, experiment with the different platforms – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube.  As your restaurant gets its legs underneath it, you may find that your tribe is super engaged on a few of the platforms and not the others.  That’s A-OK and usually the case, in fact.  You’ll want to spend your time on those platforms where your potential customers are most engaged.  Here are a few other social media marketing tips from our blog on the subject

  • Use vibrant visual content – consider hiring a professional photographer to take photos and videos of your dishes and signature beverages.  Also, snap pictures of team members behind-the-scenes.
  • Update and complete all profiles – make sure your business hours, website, email, phone number are provided along with an engaging bio on all social profiles
  • Maximize user-generated content – encourage your guests to tag your restaurant and use a specific hashtag in any posts they make regarding your restaurant.  You should also share and repost any posts or stories (Instagram) that customers make highlighting your restaurant, and you’ll want to tag them in your reposts as well.
  • Develop custom targeted audiences – this is specific to Facebook. to choose the audience you want to reach based on demographics, location, interest, and behavior. You can use Facebook Ads Manager to choose the audience you want to reach based on demographics, location, interest, and behavior.
  • Engage Followers – Along with sharing user-generated content, design your posts for engagement.  Ask questions of your follow.  Share surveys.  Set up contests.  

In addition to social media, you want to make sure your digital presence is optimized on your website, Google, Yelp, and Trip Advisor.  Having a easy-to-navigate and beautiful website is a must.  Make sure it features your brand aesthetic and has professional photos of your food and beverages.  Also, display your menu on your website.  You may want to register you restaurant on OpenTable or Resy to make it easy for customers to reserve tables online.

To round out your digital marketing efforts, focus on building a list for email.  While it may require time and money upfront, email marketing is well worth the effort.  On average, businesses get a $38 return for every $1 they spend on email marketing.  A working tandem of email, loyalty program and apps can work wonders for generating revenue.

With all this focus on digital marketing, don’t skirt on good old-fashioned community building.  Take to the streets and connect with local businesses and organizations.  Spread the word by introducing yourself to your neighbors and inviting them to your restaurant’s grand opening.

Try a Soft Open

When you first open a restaurant, you have the unique opportunity to experiment with a soft open. A soft open is a trial run of your restaurant operations, which takes place in the weeks before your grand opening.  The primary benefit of a soft open is that it generates buzz and word-of-mouth for your restaurant in the local community and online.  It also gives you the opportunity to test out which aspects of your operations are working and which ones need refinement.  There are a variety of different soft opens, including:

  • A trial or sample menu – offering a just a taste of your full menu to your guests
  • A sneak peek – opening the restaurant for a happy hour event with a limited selection of signature dishes and drinks
  • friends & family and/or neighbor night

Launch!

Now that you’ve marketed the grand opening of your restaurant, it’s finally time to launch your concept into the wild!  First impressions are everything so you want your restaurant to come out with a bang.  Some good grand opening ideas are: 

  • Hosting it on a weekend and throwing a big party – you can have live music, a photo booth, decorations galore – let your imagination run wild
  • Partnering with a charity – garner goodwill among your community and support a cause close to your heart
  • Invite Influencers – let’s face it: we’re in the age of Influencers.  Offering influencers complimentary meals can be a major boost to your marketing considering the size and influence of their followings.

 

Congratulations! Now that you’re officially open, the real fun begins.   Aim for constant improvement in every facet of your restaurant.  Build it into your identity and systems.  And you’ll be sure to succeed.  If you need any help along the way, hop on a complimentary call with us and we’ll help set you up for success.

 

FAQ’s

How much money does it cost to open a restaurant?

According to a survey conducted by Restaurantowner.com, a small restaurant can cost around $175,500 in total startup costs. A medium sized restaurant costs up to $375,500. A large restaurant costs up to $750,500.  Although, the true costs can vary widely depending on the current cost of building materials and equipment, as well as the size and level of customization of the restaurant.

How much money can I make starting a restaurant?

Again, this depends on a variety of factors and can range widely.  Based on Toast’s synthesis of a few data sources, a restaurant owner’s salary can range from $24,000-$155,000 a year.  Keep in mind, if you expand your concept to multiple locations or franchises, you can earn significantly more than that.

How much time will it take to open my restaurant?

Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer to this.  Depending upon your experience and decisiveness and a whole host of other variables, a restaurant can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to open.  In our Countdown to Opening Checklist, the first actions items (identifying point personnel team and selecting a site) are set for 250 days prior to the grand opening.  You can download this checklist below.

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Top Reasons Why Restaurants Have a High Failure Rate

Nov 14, 2022

According to Ohio State University, 60% of new restaurants close within their first year, and nearly 80% close their doors before they reach five years of age. The restaurant industry is hard to enter, and many people jump in before they’re ready.

A few key reasons why most new restaurants fail: lousy location, poor management, inexperience, financial troubles, and even distasteful food.

Location, Location, Location

CNBC says restaurants fail because they choose the wrong location. A physical business does well if there’s a demand for its product in its area.

Restaurants do best in areas with consistent foot traffic, but those areas are also the most expensive to rent. If the locals don’t love your food, you likely won’t make enough money to cover your rent. Sometimes, it’s better to choose an area that’s not quite as ideal but still busy enough to bring in new customers.

Picking a location that offers lower rent does not mean your business will be successful. If you find yourself with no customers, you’ll still be unable to cover your costs.

Inexperience

Chef Robert Irvine of the Show “Restaurant Impossible” says many new restaurants fail because people open their businesses with good intentions but lack experience. New owners underestimate a restaurant’s demands; once they open, it’s too late.

Poor Leadership & Toxic Culture

Lack of experience can pour into leadership skills as well. Chef Robert Irvine says that the best restaurant leaders tend to be those who have started at the bottom of the restaurant industry and worked their way up.

Owners who lack restaurant experience try to manage a diverse team of employees with drastically varied skill sets, which often doesn’t work. Leaders who have worked in restaurant positions are more understanding and better equipped to manage their teams.

toxic work culture

Poor Food

A restaurant is a business built on serving people food, so it makes sense that customers expect to receive great-tasting food. But Chef Irvine says that many new restaurants serve sub-par food and never even realize it.

“It’s not from lack of personal taste or quality. More often, it’s because of a breakdown in the chain of command and quality control.”

As good preparation becomes more routine, employees begin to skip steps and leave out ingredients essential to the quality of the food.

Poor Customer Service

Social media is everything nowadays, and one bad or good review can make or break a new business. Before the internet, restaurants had time to identify mistakes and correct them, says CNBC. Today, customers expect everything to be perfect instantaneously, or you’re likely to receive a bad review that drives away other potential customers.

 

why restaurants fail

Poor Financial Planning

Running a business takes more than just good food; you need to know how to manage your money.

Chef Robert Irvine says he commonly sees new restaurant owners who need more basic accounting skills and don’t know how to track their spending or profits.

Since it takes money to keep a business open, this is a significant downfall for new restaurants.

Click here to read about smart financial budgeting from Synergy’s Managing Partner, Danny Bendas.

COVID & Inflation Are Making Things Worse for Restaurants

It’s no secret that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic made matters worse for restaurants, particularly those newly established. Some restaurants that closed during the pandemic may have survived had it not been for the pandemic.

For about two years, businesses were not allowed to serve dine-in food or were only allowed to operate at partial capacity. For restaurants that rely on dine-in service, these restrictions were devastating.

Today, restaurants across the United States are allowed to operate at total capacity again, but now they’re facing other problems related to the pandemic.

Food shortages make it difficult to get ingredients, and the prices of those ingredients have skyrocketed. Labor shortages and employee demands for higher wages are also tricky for new businesses.

Learning from Restaurant Failure

Most new restaurants fail because of inexperience and lack of strong leadership. New owners choose a less than optimum location, don’t know how to lead their team correctly, aren’t sure how to manage their finances, or are serving sub-par food.

It’s harder than ever to succeed in the restaurant industry, but these causes of restaurant failures are common across the United States. Hopefully, new owners can look at these challenges and plan ways to avoid them. Luckily, there are ways to prevent such pitfalls!

We highly recommend you have your restaurant business plan evaluated by industry professionals such as Synergy Consultants. An Operations Assessment is key to ensuring your restaurant concept is viable for long-term success!

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Is the New Competitive Advantage to Attract and Retain Top Talent in the Restaurant Industry Offering Condensed Workweeks?

Oct 24, 2022

By: Amanda Stokes – Operations & Training Consultant,

Synergy Restaurant Consultants

As we are all adapting to the new normal post-pandemic in the restaurant business, we find ourselves in the battle to attract and retain talented managers and team members. The restaurant business is now competing with other industries that offer more normalized schedules with more flexibility. Restaurant workers have historically prided themselves on how much they work, treating burnout and exhaustion as a badge of honor. However, employers and employees alike are beginning to see the mental and physical toll these long hours take on an individual. What was once considered a radical idea is now in practice in many companies and restaurants today. It begs the question, could condensed scheduling be the workweek of the future? Haven’t we all dreamed of a shorter workweek?

 

restaurant workers

Condensed Work Weeks: Is This the Future?

Used correctly, compressed working hours can be a great tool for keeping workers in the restaurant business when they otherwise may look for a change. As a former Director of Operations for a large casual dining company, I personally offered reduced workweeks to leaders on my team. This idea came to fruition when one of my best managers struggled with work-life balance after returning from maternity leave. I could see it was taking a toll on her both personally and professionally. After careful planning and consideration, we landed on a 4-day workweek that would allow her the flexibility of having three days off to spend with her family. She received 80% of her salary (based on a 50-hour workweek), and she was thrilled to pioneer this new model. This model can also have managers working four extended days with no salary reduction. In addition to creating a better work schedule for my team, their productivity and engagement increased significantly. I eventually had four managers working condensed schedules that delivered best-in-class KPI results for the brand! Talk about a win-win situation!! I loved hearing how these managers had an overall improvement in their well-being.

Many companies, including Shake Shack and Chick-fil-A, are offering flexible condensed work schedules to their teams. They have reported many benefits, including, improved operations, fewer absences, improved culture, and many more that lead to improved employee morale and retention. This model of a condensed work schedule could be a game changer for independent restaurants and make attracting new employees significantly easier. In today’s climate, offering a sign-on bonus is common practice, so offering a condensed workweek can be a cost-effective way of introducing an employee benefit that will not add additional cost to the business.

Another thing to consider with condensed workweeks is the benefit of reduced commuting and daycare costs. This could mean significant cost savings for employees and reduce stress over current inflation levels.

 

restaurant talent

 

There are many things to consider before offering this benefit to your team. This type of work schedule may not be ideal for everyone. It is critical to understand the needs of your team. If you decide to move to implementation, have a strategy and clearly communicate how this will work for everyone on the team.

 

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Restaurant Relief Funds in 2022

Oct 10, 2022

The public is well aware of the economic devastation of many businesses during the pandemic. The restaurant businesses led the statistics with the most unrecovered jobs lost than any other industry during this historic time.

Many restaurant owners quickly adapted by updating menus, hours of operation, their delivery of food, and creating a takeout model. Some kept their operations going through the tough time, but not without sacrifice.

In 2021, lawmakers created a $28.6 billion fund for restaurants. This fund was an attempt to cover losses of restaurants (not publicly traded) or franchisees of publicly traded restaurants. Still, the industry’s high demand for this fund quickly depleted the monies.

In 2022, the pandemic did not go away, but the Omicron variant added another increase in COVID-19 cases. Indoor dining in restaurants weakened even more, and the National Restaurant Association estimated the loss of 1.6 million jobs if the legislation did not fully replenish the restaurant fund.

On April 7, 2022, Congress passed a $55 billion COVID-19 aid bill to help restaurants still in need, but the Senate did not approve the bill. This news was devastating to the restaurant industry.

In August 2022, however, the Small Business Association did release $180 million in unspent funds that legislation had officially allocated to the 2021 Restaurant Revitalization Fund. It is uncertain how the SBA will disperse these funds.

The online information from the SBA indicates that it is no longer accepting applications; however, if the restaurant owner has not received any funds or has not yet applied, the SBA advises to hold on to any correspondence and to continue with the application process. The application process is essential to minority-owned restaurants.

 

How to Apply

Restaurant owners who wish to apply for grant monies must first register through the Small Business Administration.  Once registered, all the up-to-date information will be made available to the applicant.

Hurricane Ian

Many parts of Florida were devastated by Hurricane Ian’s recent category 4 storm.  Residents and business owners alike have been deeply affected. If you were impacted, see the SBA website to apply for disaster loans—Business Physical Disaster Loans and Economic Injury Disaster loans are available.

 

hurricane restaurant

Other Grant Money Resources for Restaurants

Restaurant owners should continue aggressively applying for grants at all sources to help get them back on track from the COVID-19 setback. Many cities, county, and state governments are offering grant monies for those restaurants that meet their individual criteria.

Large companies are contributing to organizations offering grant monies to restaurants. In 2022, companies like Uber Eats, GrubHub, and Visa accepted applications from restaurants in need and might continue their grant programs into 2023.

Since the pandemic, banks have offered small business loans to help many restaurants get back to full operation. The SBA does not make the loans but insures them with the banks. Wells Fargo, US Bank, and Key Bank are some popular banks that process SBA-insured loans.

Options for restaurant financial relief are continually becoming available. Our food industry employs the most people and can fulfill the needs of a free-flowing profitable economy for the country’s future.

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Why are Food Prices Going Up?

Oct 04, 2022

Prices are high. And unfortunately, it’s no longer a surprise. From the gas station to the grocery store, people see prices up nearly 10%. Not only do these price increases affect individuals and families, but there are also significant consequences for business owners.

When it comes to an increase in food costs specifically, restaurants are feeling the pressure, too. The rise in grocery prices is reflected in other food providers – like the ones that supply restaurants across the country. So how are restaurants weathering the storm, and when will it end?

Increase in Food Prices

We often hear about inflation and higher prices, but it can be challenging to put those terms into perspective. Inflation is a part of most economies, right? It’s something everyone has to deal with and combat. So how does the current inflation compare to years past?

According to the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the last 12-month period (ending in August 2022), overall inflation is up 8.3%. That may seem reasonable or even manageable, given the previous few years. But the number is more startling when we break down inflation by category (i.e., food, energy, etc.).

Food inflation, for example, has increased to 11.4% over that same 12-month period. That’s quite an increase. But this number can be divided even further. There are often two food categories to consider – food at home and food away from home.

Food at home looks at the inflation rate at the grocery store. This category is seeing the highest level of inflation – 13.5%. This increase means American families have the highest grocery bills in almost three decades.

 

food costs increases

 

The outlook is only slightly better when looking at food away from home. This includes fast food, sit-down restaurants, and convenience store snacks. Here, the inflation rate is up 8% over the last 12 months. Not only are the food away-from-home prices causing problems for the consumer, but restaurant owners and employees are feeling the impact.

Reasons for the Increase in Food Prices

When prices start rising, the first question is often, why? The trouble with the current food crisis is identifying just one cause. The ever-increasing food prices are a combination of many issues.

Not only are the world market and supply chains still recovering from the global pandemic of 2020, but several climate issues are contributing to the increase. The United States was hit with severe Avian flu this year, meaning there are fewer chickens to lay eggs. Brazil also saw record droughts this year, which has affected the coffee crop. To top it all off, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused an extreme spike in wheat prices.

All of this makes it difficult to keep up with the demand for food. With a shrinking supply, a greater demand drives prices even higher. The worst part? Food is essential. Consumers can’t simply stop purchasing food until prices start to fall consistently. It’s a perfect storm. And the result is higher prices across the board.

Effect on Restaurants

No area of the food industry is unaffected by these price increases either. Restaurants, for example, are forced to reevaluate how and what they offer customers to stay ahead financially. In many areas, restaurants keep costs consistent but shrink portion sizes. Pizzas and burgers, usually considered the most affordable restaurant options, are getting smaller and smaller. Many consumers have taken to calling this phenomenon “shrinkflation.”

It’s not all bad news, though. Some experts are expecting restaurants to fair better with the high inflation rates. Because the cost of food away from home is still cheaper than food at home, many believe restaurants will see a boost in business – possibly even to pre-COVID levels.

 

Menu Reengineering

Inflation is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. It’s a time to prepare and get creative, including analyzing and reengineering your restaurant menu.

There is a silver lining, though, because as the saying goes, “what goes up, must come down,” and we hope that includes food prices.

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Menu Price Inflation: The State of Rising Food Costs for Restaurants

Sep 26, 2022

According to the Consumer Price Index Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices are up 11.4% from August 2021 to August 2022. Government officials have noted global events such as the pandemic, drought conditions, the war in Ukraine, and the sanctions imposed on Russia as the defining events of these historically high inflation increases.

egg prices

Across the Board

Inflation has affected virtually all the food supplies. The price of meats, poultry, and fish has increased by 8.8%, fruits and vegetables are up 9.4%, milk is up 17%, and the price of eggs has increased by 39.8%.

Consumers are trying to cut corners when purchasing food in grocery stores, and so are restaurants. Unfortunately, restaurants have had to raise prices on their menus to try and offset some of their higher food costs.

 

Menu Pricing is Increasing

This year, restaurants have needed to increase their menu prices by 9% to keep up with the increased food costs and employee wages. These price increases may continue for a while, which will undoubtedly cause a strain on the consumer and the restaurant owners.

The menu price increases have not kept up with the increasing rate of food costs. Many restaurants absorb the added expenditures, so they don’t alienate their customers by increasing menu prices too much.

An excellent example of restaurant owners’ dilemma is the price of French fries that many establishments offer on their menus. In many locations throughout the United States, the price of a 30-lb box of french fries has almost doubled; however, most restaurant customers would not pay twice as much for their fries.

 

Compromise Pays Off

Consumers understand the increased cost of food because they shop at the grocery store and have experienced the financial squeeze. When dining at a restaurant, patrons know they are paying its food and operating costs; however, it is apparent the restaurants have tried very hard to keep reasonable menu prices.

The difference between a steak dinner at home and ordering one in a restaurant is only a few dollars. At today’s costs, a salad topped with a chicken breast, can be less expensive with less waste, by ordering it in a restaurant.

Restaurants represent more than a place to eat for most customers–it also represents an opportunity to be with family and friends. Eateries also provide a place to experience first meetings, celebrations, and conversations. They also clean up afterward.

dining in 2022

 

Because of the pandemic, consumers have had little social interaction for a few years. The restaurants that have survived are struggling due to inflationary food and operating costs. Consumers can–and are willing to– continue supporting their favorite restaurants and employees by accepting an increase in menu prices for the convenience of eating out.

 

Menu Re-engineering

The present moment is the perfect opportunity to reevaluate your menu—what items are underperforming? Which are your most popular? Which items are costing you the most? How can you re-engineer your recipes to provide better margins? Going at it alone can be daunting, which is why Synergy is available for professional menu development.

 

You may also be interested in our article, Inflation and Restaurants: How to Respond.

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The Pillars of Good Restaurant Management

Sep 19, 2022

The success of a good restaurant boils down to how well the organization can respond to the needs and wants of its customers. An eatery that follows the foundation, or pillars, of good restaurant management, can achieve a following of loyal customers, which is the goal of any successful business.

Customers want a positive experience and are willing to provide loyalty to restaurants where they feel recognized and rewarded. The restaurant must listen and communicate well with its customers while delivering the right products at the correct prices.

Long-term loyalty is difficult for restaurants to maintain, and overcoming the daily operational challenges depends on an effective system that all employees know about, understand, and implement.

Cleanliness

Customers may walk into a restaurant but will not stay if the environment does not look sanitary. Achieving good cleanliness reviews takes a team effort by every individual working in the establishment.

Management that does daily assessments and assigns individual cleaning task schedules will be ahead of the game. Employees can be proud to participate with a team accountable for their workplace’s cleanliness.

Quality Food

When management invests in labeling and systems to provide customers with the freshest and the hottest food, the restaurant customer will be happy. It only takes one report of someone getting sick in an eatery because of poor quality food to shut a restaurant’s doors abruptly.

When a restaurant keeps a salad bar filled with fresh, colorful produce, the crunchy, tasty morsels will invite even the pickiest of eaters to keep coming back for more. Having an employee focus only on keeping the produce inviting without other tasks will be worth the added expenditure.

 

managing a restaurant

Fast and Accurate Service

Customers feel like they belong when a restaurant has highly trained, friendly staff. Each worker in the establishment should know their steps in the food serving process so that it’s not stressful for them.

A checklist, reminders, and supervised training give employees the confidence to quickly fill a correct food order. When the worker knows the steps, the menu, and the serving processes so well, they can perform the tasks in their sleep, the stress level is minimum, and the customer feels relaxed and friendly service.  The employees will benefit from receiving more extensive tips, and the restaurant is rewarded with loyal, returning, customers.
Pro-tip: Get your Free Restaurant Manager’s Toolbox Now

Click here to access FREE TEMPLATES, including a Complete Employee Handbook Template, All-Day Management Timelines, Hiring and Interview Guides to teach the team, and much more!

 

Accuracy

Customers will take an inaccurate order personally. They will feel like the server did not listen to their preferences for an enjoyable meal or that the server did not care enough about them to deliver the ordered meal. Accuracy also means less wasted food which will be a financial advantage.

 

Marketing and Pricing

When a restaurant remains competitive and consistent in pricing, its customers know what to expect when they walk in the door. The establishment cannot make any money if they cannot provide a product for a profit, but a customer won’t come back if presented with an unexpected, outlandish bill at the end of the evening.

Marketing becomes easy when restaurant management knows their customers well and listens to what they want. The existing customer provides the profile for the target market.  By following the best clientele patterns and the guides of excellent restaurant management, the customers will be the restaurant’s best marketing tool.

Managing a successful restaurant is a tough job that takes skill and constant attention. Financial and personal rewards can be outstanding when an establishment provides customers with a positive experience with good quality food at affordable prices and a friendly atmosphere.

What type of skills does it take to be an outstanding restaurant manager? It doesn’t have to be a constant guessing game. With the best practices outlined above and Restaurant Management training from SynergyU, becoming a successful restaurant manager is just a matter of your desire and dedication to be one!