There are some things restaurant owners can control and some things they can’t. While you can offer premiere manager training to get your kitchen working like a well-oiled machine, unfortunately, you can’t control the climate. One of the toughest conditions to work through is a drought. Sadly, dealing with drought conditions has become a common predicament in certain parts of the US.

What is a Drought?

According to National Geographic, a drought is characterized by below-average precipitation. This affects the amount of water in rivers, streams, and lakes, but more importantly to the restaurant industry, it affects the amount of moisture in the soil. This can impact growing conditions, yielding less food.

The Current Situation in California

Parts of California are currently in a drought, and water restrictions began on June 1, 2022. However, this is not an unusual situation for California climate-wise. The US Drought Monitor was established in 2000 to start recording droughts, and since then, the longest drought in California since then lasted 376 weeks. Furthermore, this is not a problem that is unique to California. As far as other states go, Nevada and Arizona have experienced drought conditions more than 50 percent of the time in the past 20 years. States west of the Mississippi typically have been hit harder by droughts than those in the east. These dry conditions end up impacting several industries, from hotels to restaurants. Here are a few ways restaurant owners can cope.

The Supply Chain

A drought in California affects more Americans than you’d think. Two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts come from California. As a result of this water shortage, fewer crops can grow, and prices are higher for everyone. These changes can significantly impact a restaurant’s profits if they don’t make some compromises.

One possibility is removing a menu item if it becomes too expensive or rebranding it as a new recipe to include an ingredient that is easier to obtain. Restaurant owners may have to consider changes to pricing and value. Customers are sensitive to price increases, but if you are forced to cut corners to get through this challenging time, research shows that slightly decreasing the quantity of a portion is the way to go.

 

Serving Water

In a drought, it’s a best not to serve water to patrons unless it’s requested. Currently, this restriction is being enforced and checked by the Conservation Response Unit in California.

Train your team to follow these guidelines to stay in compliance and avoid unnecessary fines.

 

Electricity

California’s drought has the potential to cut the availability of hydropower nearly in half, driving up the costs of electricity for businesses. As a result, restaurants will want to do their part to conserve energy. Energy Star offers many tips about this, including repairing leaky refrigerator gaskets, turning off items when not in use, trying smarter or dimmer lighting, and installing programmable thermostats.

Although a drought does not provide ideal circumstances for running a restaurant, leaders in the industry are nothing if not resilient. With a few changes, you’ll be able to make your business drought-proof for years to come.

Choosing a restaurant to visit used to be a fun, casual pastime. The decision centered around questions like, “Where do you want to go? I don’t know. Where do you want to go?” Sometimes people looked up advertisements in their local directories, but it was a free-flowing experience based on a sense of adventure. It was a simpler time. Now the decision-making process has become more sophisticated. Restaurant patrons want to get the most for their money. They consider customer reviews. They may search for outdoor venue locations before making a decision. They also look at overall restaurant ratings on platforms such as Yelp.

Although Yelp has published health inspection ratings since 2004, it has recently expanded. As of March 31, 2022, Yelp has joined with Hazel Analytics to display hygiene data on 700,000 Yelp pages. Sharing information on health inspection jurisdictions of almost 70% of the U.S. and parts of Canada brings tremendous improvement to food safety and public health. This powerful partnership allows consumers access to unprecedented  public health information as the country opens again after COVID. Access to this level of information could positively affect revenue for the restaurant industry if scores are favorable. This would require restaurant owners to be more vigilant. Suppose a low hygiene rating is posted on Yelp.  In that case, restaurant owners should respond by immediately addressing their sanitation and cleaning protocols to make sure they perform well on the next inspection.

 

 

The Yelp algorithm for open data standards began to form with the Local Inspector Value Entry (LIVES) program to unify restaurant inspection data. In 2012, Code for America and the city of San Francisco partnered with Yelp to develop this beginning platform which would allow state and municipal health agencies to compile and organize restaurant inspection information for public viewing. Although it was disorganized and not uniform, the goal was to reduce foodborne illnesses and promote public health. Thankfully, this beginning-level data has helped and has morphed into a more developed platform promoting overall restaurant cleanliness. Especially after the worldwide pandemic of COVID -19, this information has become extremely valuable. Accessing it through a trustworthy source could affect a person’s livelihood, health, and the ongoing economic health within the restaurant industry.

The upgraded section on Yelp about hygiene scores is under the “Info” section. Clicking on the health score allows users to see the health score and details on county health departments’ inspection and violation information.

What does this mean for restaurants? Now, more than ever, it’s imperative that your training is thorough and up to date. It entails making sure that proper protocols are continuously followed each and every time. From back to front of house, your staff needs regular, ongoing training to ensure safety and health standards are always met.

Eating at a restaurant has changed forever. Restaurant owners are held to higher standards. Patrons have higher expectations. Choosing a restaurant can still be fun. Now it can be smart, too, thanks to Yelp.

Restaurant training is a rite of passage most Americans are familiar with: recent data shows that 6 out of 10 adults have worked in a restaurant at some point in their lives. Hiring new workers can cost a lot of time and money, so it’s in every restaurant owner’s best interest to make a positive impression to retain employees. Therefore, it’s imperative that restaurants mindfully welcome and train their staff.

 

Give Informal Bonding Opportunities

Team-building activities and cheesy icebreakers sometimes cause introverted new employees to shudder. However, there are many lower-stakes ways you can encourage new employees to get to know other staff members, thereby improving communication and morale. Consider organizing a group outing or even allowing workers to stay back once a week after hours to enjoy a meal together. Creating personal connections can make employees feel more invested in their work and more likely to stick with your restaurant.

 

Mentoring Programs

Welcoming new staff with a mentoring program can be extremely beneficial for both the mentor and the mentee. Sun Microsystems found that both mentors and mentees were much more likely to receive a raise or a promotion by participating in mentoring. Surprisingly, as of 2019, only 46 percent of restaurants offered a mentor program. While it may seem tedious to organize, a meaningful mentoring program can help create lasting bonds and motivate employees to be the best version of themselves.

 

Give Meaningful Praise

According to Harvard Business Review, it’s important to praise your new employees, but certain types of praise will take you farther than others. Avoid vague statements like, “You’re doing great!” Instead, give precise compliments: “I love the way you handled that interaction with that difficult customer earlier. You have great communication skills!” This specific positive reinforcement can go a long way in helping new employees feel like they are on the right track.

 

Cross-Training Employees

Turnover in the restaurant industry is at an all-time high. As of November 2021, resignation rates in the restaurant industry had jumped from 4.8 to 6.9 percent. Abrupt line-up changes in your restaurant can have enormous trickle-down effects on your service quality. A great way to be proactive about potential turnover is by cross-training employees. This means training new employees for both front-of-house and back-of-house roles. If an unexpected resignation occurs, there will be more people who can fill in temporarily. Beyond that, cross-training improves communication between teams, minimizing misunderstandings and frustrations.

 

Employee Handbooks

An employee-in-training learns new information every day, from menu item descriptions to standard operating procedures. Even the most promising new employee can’t retain every single fact, so having an employee handbook is a great idea. This will also help new employees feel less overwhelmed by having a go-to way of looking things up when in doubt.

 

Consider Supplementing In-Person Training with Online Training

In-person training is essential for restaurant employees to get a lay of the land; however, there are many instances where in-person opportunities are limited. This has been especially true during the COVID pandemic, as some restaurants are still operating with reduced hours. An efficient way to train staff members is to consider shifting some training modules to an online program. This also allows for greater flexibility for your new employees to complete the training, when convenient or during slow periods.

 

 

While statistics about employee turnover may feel daunting, giving thought to how you train and welcome your staff can go a long way in building a long-lasting team for your restaurant.

 

By Natasha Reta – Culinary Consultant

Price increases at this point should come as no surprise to us. Anyone not living under a rock is fully aware of inflation and the toll on all commodity prices, including fryer oil. As of late January 2022, the cost of soybean oil is about $0.64 per pound, increasing nearly 44% over just the past year. Before 2021 fryer oil sustained itself at around $0.31 per pound. You know it has become alarming when people start stealing used fryer oil. Why is this happening? Beyond all other exporting and importing issues we’ve faced with the pandemic, this seems to be an unintended consequence of federal and state mandates.

 

To combat climate change and wean the country off fossil fuels, the government’s mandate to produce more renewable fuels has been cutting into edible cooking oil supply.   Billions of gallons of soybean oil have been diverted to the biofuel industry. Over last September and October, the United States became a net importer of soybean oil. Climate change is important to combat, but operators also have a business to run.  What can we do as restaurant operators to mitigate this cost?

Preserving and prolonging the life of your oil

Preserve and prolong the life of your oil. This can have a very tangible impact on your profitability. This sounds easier than it is. We all know that old oil will impart a terrible flavor to food. So, what and how do we preserve without serving distasteful food? Here are a few tips from the back of the house to save your front-end costs.

1. Cleanliness– keep your oil clean. Be sure to skim any particles in the oil after use. Filter your oil at least once a day, two times a day if your fryer experiences high volume usage.
2. Avoid Oxidation– reduce air contact, do not let your oil cascade through the air from the fryer to filter. Using the “old-fashioned” filtering of stockpot and filter basket brings pot and filter closer to oil expeller to reduce route of travel that is contacted by air. Cover oil left in fryer reservoirs with a full sheet tray when the fryer is not in use and at the end of the day.
3. Oil Choice- creamy or solid, choose a highly stable frying agent. Liquid oils are the least expensive but also deteriorate fastest. Solid and creamy agents last longer but cost more. Your oil should have a maximum free fatty acid content of 0.05%. The best frying oil provides taste, value, performance, and good stability. Try to find an oil with an Oxidative Stability Index (OSI) of 15 hours or more. The smoke point should be a minimum of 425°F (218°C)
4. Correct Storage- follow your supplier’s recommendations for storing oil. Oil is typically stored in cool temperatures in lightproof containers.
5. Test Cooking Temperatures– fat breaks down quickly at higher temperatures—test frying your items at lower temperatures to reduce the oil breakdown. Test a 345 F fry as your base; increasing the temperature will increase the fat breakdown.
6. Breaded vs. Battered– batter will shed fewer particles in your oil during cooking. Consider testing a battered vs. breaded product.

The USDA’s pricing forecast through August 2022 shows little to zero change in oil prices. Food industry groups are lobbying the EPA to reduce their biofuel quotas in hopes this will ease pressure on prices. Regardless, it appears that the price elevation of oil will be an ongoing battle. It’s time now to review your frying SOPs and perhaps establish some new ones to prolong that hot, costly gold in your fryer.

By Mike Walls – Operations Consultant & Beverage Certified Cicerone

Ideas are a wonderful thing to have, but it’s the implementation that leads to success.

Sometimes it goes like this:

You’re getting great ideas from this newsletter and thinking about how they would work in your business. Then the phone rings, an email comes in, or there’s a knock on the door to your office. And just like that, you get swallowed up by the day and the idea that you know would help grow your business, improve your life, and build up your team, goes straight to the idea graveyard, never to be heard from again.

The good news is that this happens to everyone, and it’s not your fault. You simply haven’t discovered the right framework to create action from great ideas and continuously improve your restaurant.

We have some principles for dealing with situations like these and some frameworks that will help you make operational realities out of your big ideas through the power of implementation.

 

To start, we use the Sync Proven Process:

 

 

The sequence is as follows:

 

1. We introduce a system for project management that makes working on your business a scheduled and natural part of your daily flow.
2. We create a simplified picture of the business by creating distinct buckets for each department, their responsibilities, and the teams responsible for carrying them out.
3. We use an alignment tool to help everyone understand that we’re all here to create outstanding guest experiences and make money while giving excellent service.
4. We use the meeting and project management tool to plan, the simplified picture of the business to focus, and the power of alignment to help the team understand why we’re making changes and how it benefits them, the restaurant, and the guest. Then we add technology, policy, or system to the business.
5. Now that we have built some momentum, we clearly define leadership roles and responsibilities and define our short, mid, and long-term goals with greater precision.
6. We then create a business scorecard of 5-15 key metrics or “leading indicators” that will help us understand the health of the business and the impact of our changes at a glance, and proactively, before the numbers hit the P&L (which is a “trailing indicator”).
7. Finally, we end in the Continuous Improvement Cycle which looks like this:

Using the foundation of the Sync Proven Process and the six simple tools represented by each tile in the diagram above, we firmly plant the business in a cycle of continuous improvement that revolves around setting goals, implementing changes, measuring and celebrating success, and repeating in specific intervals.

We teach our clients how to do this using Synergy U, our eLearning platform, and 1:1 coaching sessions.

If you’d like to learn more, reach out to mike@synergyconsultants.com today!

By Natasha Reta – Culinary Consultant

It’s not just about opening or closing; it’s maintaining operational excellence in your business throughout the day, but how do you do that? By implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs).  All SOPs should be organized per station and monitored by management. It should also be verified and checked periodically throughout the day to ensure that all items are completed as expected. This process must also include SOPs for recipe following. Closing and day-to-day service will require continuous review and discipline by management to incorporate and ensure best practices. The following are suggestions for added improvement of SOPs in your restaurant business.

 

• Go digital. Limit paper waste and keep staff accountable with online checklists and monitoring that is efficiently and quickly completed on a phone or tablet and alerts management of its completion.
• Clearly defined expectations. Expectations cannot be met without detailed guidelines shared with staff. Be sure your expectations as a business are clearly communicated to achieve a complete and thorough understanding with all team members.
• Close to Open for success. Digital checklists will keep staff aligned with essential tasks throughout the day. Be sure that closing and opening procedures are outlined step by step in a detailed timeline checklist to avoid confusion and any unforeseen safety issues. Some great examples of items to incorporate on these checklists:
  • Changing out insert pans and changing squeeze bottles, following FIFO standards and date labeling.
  • Verify equipment temperature and function with an Infrared Thermo Temp gun.
  • A line check form should be utilized to ensure all products are organized where they belong, taste, and look as they should, and each station is set up for success with the correct tools and items needed.
• Lastly, gentle, constant pressure and follow up to ensure staff follows the guidelines and expectations.

 

 

 

Without discipline, daily routine, and detailed organization, the business will constantly struggle to work at its peak performance levels. Need help developing or implementing SOPs to ensure operational excellence?  Reach out to Synergy today!

Much has changed as we wrap up our second year of the pandemic. Vaccines are readily available, and things started to feel that they were back on track. However, new variants are causing the restaurant industry to continue to feel the impact through supply chain issues, staffing shortages, and reinstituted mask mandates in many areas. Whether running a fast-casual or full-service restaurant, the industry has had to innovate and adapt to survive. In conjunction with Wakefield Research, Square shared its data and strategies to shape the industry in 2022 in its Future of Restaurants report.

Contactless Ordering & Delivery is Here to Stay

As operators look for ways to improve the customer experience while meeting changing expectations, contactless ordering and payment options like digital QR-code menus and touchless payments will become mainstream in 2022. When thinking ahead, online ordering, delivery, and curbside pickup must be factored into all parts of the restaurant business.

 

Smart Restaurant Technology to Help Fill the Gaps

Restaurant operators are exploring technology that can help staff be more efficient. These solutions can help fill the gaps when they are short-staffed by automating customer payments and customer communications. Additionally, guests have started to embrace tech as a tool to enhance a more seamless experience. Digital options are now part of today’s restaurants and must be considered in current and future decisions.

Diversified Revenue Streams

Over 50% of restaurant owners added new products or services due to the pandemic, and we expect to continue into 2022. Offering subscriptions, grocery, merchandise, and meal and cocktail kits. David Rusenko, Head of eCommerce at Square, shares, “A restaurant-bar-store, might be a place that sells mixology classes, retail gear, and tastings in addition to serving patrons food and drinks.” We expect that using ghost kitchens with menus designed for off-premise customers will continue to be a growing segment.

Kitchen Automation & Shifting Restaurant Footprints

Streamlining kitchen operations can help deliver a consistent and quality guest experience, so operators should invest in digital technology to improve back-of-house systems and processes. According to Forbes magazine, “as off-premise dining remains popular, operators must rethink how the layout of their restaurant will work best for their business, staff, and customers. We will likely see more drive-thru setups, and virtually all brick-and-mortar restaurants will define specially designated areas for delivery drivers and consumers picking up their takeout orders.”

 

Direct Online Ordering

Many operators want to take charge of their online ordering and delivery, and we expect this will continue into 2022, with less reliance on third parties. This allows restaurants to control the entire guest experience from beginning to end. Consumers also want to skip the middle person and support the restaurant directly, rather than a third-party app. Direct ordering allows operators to maintain their customer’s data, which can help develop and deliver better marketing and loyalty programs. According to BentoBox, restaurants saved $38.5 million by switching to direct online ordering last year.

Rethinking Customer Engagement

Restaurant operators are developing creative ways to boost customer engagement and loyalty. Nearly 90% of operators plan to implement customer engagement initiatives focused on rewarding customer loyalty into 2022.

Importance of Community

Restaurants play a unique role in communities. Strong community ties translate to stronger connections with patrons, so we expect to see more investment in community service initiatives in 2022. This can include cooking for community service providers, donating food or money to community organizations, or offering support to local minority-owned businesses.

More Variety to Meet Consumers Evolving Appetites

Restaurant guests have been seeking a variety and new types of food choices, globally-inspired, healthy meals, and unique ingredients. Thanks to social media, specifically TikTok, which exposes people to new food ideas and spreads greater diversity, this trend will likely continue into 2022.

The new year allows restaurants to take what they’ve learned from 2021 and use it to drive their business forward into 2022. Have you adopted new technology, transformed your restaurant space, or responded to guests’ behavior changes? Need help preparing for the new era of dining? Synergy can help!

The holiday season is upon us — which for many restaurant owners means it’s time to break out the holiday décor. Decorating for the holidays is a stellar marketing tool that can help bring customers into your restaurant. After a long day of shopping, diners want to sit down and have a bite — but in November and December, they want to do it in a seasonal atmosphere.

 

Don’t have room in your budget to splurge on a giant tree and a high-end Christmas display? Don’t worry! There are lots of ways to decorate your restaurant for the season without breaking the budget. In fact, we have a few ideas to inspire you right here.

 

Stick to One Focal Point

We know what you’re thinking: “Do I REALLY have to decorate for the holidays?” Honestly, you should; research suggests that restaurants who decorate during December see a 5-10% sales increase over those who don’t! However, that doesn’t mean you need to decorate every inch of your store.

Instead of going all-out, choose one area of the restaurant and focus on decking THOSE halls. The lobby is often the best option, as customers can see it and be drawn in as they pass your location. A bright Christmas tree, strings of twinkling lights, or any other holiday display can go a long way to putting your guests in the holiday spirit.

 

 

Upgrade the Everyday

While holiday décor is an important part of your seasonal marketing, it shouldn’t totally take over your restaurant. It’s important that your holiday decorations complement your existing decor, so that your restaurant look remains in line with the company brand.

 

That said, there’s nothing wrong with giving your existing decor a seasonal spin. Toss a few baubles into vases or martini glasses that are on display. Wrap lights around the plants in your lobby or outside your doors. Adding holiday touches to your typical decor won’t go unnoticed — and you won’t have to take down your existing decor!

Shop Sustainably

There is no better way to save money on your holiday decor than by using it again and again. Investing in high-quality artificial trees, wreaths, lights, and other decorations may have a high initial cost, but it will ultimately you lots of money in the long run.

 

Artificial greenery and greenery can help you prepare for future holidays (and it’s better for the environment, too). However, don’t forget that the dining experience is still priority number one! Make sure your staff is friendly, trained, and supported by management, and you can expect success this holiday season and every month after!

Talk of mass resignations has caused quite a stir in the restaurant and hotel industries, which are already suffering a labor shortage amid the COVID 19 pandemic. A recent study found that 58% of restaurant and hotel employees were planning to quit their jobs before the close of the year. Which raises the question—how should restaurants prepare for this mass exodus?

 

Find Out What Your Workers Want

A little research goes a long way. How will restaurant owners keep their employees happy if they don’t know what they want? That’s like serving customers without first taking their orders. The labor market is undoubtedly leaning toward employees. To be competitive in this market, owners and managers need to understand and respond to workers’ demands, within reason, of course.

 

A simple survey among employees can give great insight into what employees are looking for in a job. Owners may find that a bit of respect goes a long way. If employees feel their voice is being heard, they may feel more valued and boost morale. Moreover, this approach doesn’t have any cost, so it can easily provide insight into attracting new hires.

 

Value Your Workers

 

Recent efforts of restaurant owners to retain workers and hire new ones has involved increasing pay. It should come as no surprise that employees want to earn a livable wage. However, increasing pay is not enough. A recent study conducted by Black Box (check link – I got a 404 file error) found that successfully navigating the labor shortage and reducing the turnover rate requires a multifaceted approach.

Beyond paying employees what they’re worth, workers need to feel valued. General psychology tells us that feeling valued increases connection and bond. Workers want to know that they matter and their work matters. After all, who doesn’t? How should employees make their workers feel valued? Apply the golden rule—treat others, or in this case your employees, how you want to be treated. Simple actions like listening to employees, authentic praise or recognition for a job well done, and constructive feedback can really change the overall atmosphere of the work environment.

 

Streamline Your Business

Simplifying is key to solving any problem. Business owners should take a close and thorough look at all areas of their business, only asking—how can this be improved to make things simpler? Take notes, but be sure to be thorough and honest. Determine which areas need improvement, looking specifically at:

• Time management
• Unnecessary work
• Training
• Communication

Get Creative

New problems require innovative solutions. The restaurant industry of the past is gone beyond retrieval. However, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. By nature, problems are the way we grow and improve. If we have learned anything through the economic and COVID struggle, it is to embrace creativity. To streamline business practices and retain workers, restaurant owners and managers will have to think outside the norm. Doing so will not only provide forward-thinking solutions to the mass exodus problem, but it can also help the restaurant industry as a whole.

Perhaps the best news is that business leaders don’t have to hire anyone to implement creative strategies. Do some brainstorming and research. After all, in this age of technology, everyone has unlimited information at their fingertips.

 

Invest in Restaurant Training

Many restaurant employees do not feel valued or properly trained to do what is expected of them and often leave their jobs out of frustration. Moreover, when there is a lack of systems and standards, employees feel like they are working in chaos. If you want to keep your team and have them deliver an extraordinary guest experience, you have to train them to understand what the expectations are. Synergy Sync is your go-to, all-in-one training solution. Simple, yet robust and built from industry experts! Learn more: restauranttrainingprogram.com

 

by Natasha Reta – Culinary Consultant

Many optimists forecast that robotics such as the fry-cook robot “Flippy” will run our kitchens in the near future. While this would provide significant assistance to the many restaurant operators troubled with a lack of available employees, its advancements will need adequate testing and training that several operators cannot financially map in their current struggle to stay afloat.

The restaurant labor shortage is the number one challenge facing operators right now. The strain on labor trickles downstream and affects all back of house and front of house operations making the customer experience less than ideal. The pandemic pushed front-of-house service efficiency to the forefront of our processes, leaving the back-of-house struggling to maintain. Fortunately, there have been automated advances and equipment innovations that are allowing operators the opportunity to streamline.

Notable automation and innovations for restaurant owners to consider

These are a few of the notable automation and innovations restaurant operators can review to enhance their current operations without investing in the untested workings of robotics in their place of business.

KDS – If you don’t know, well, you should. KDS is a kitchen display system that helps BOH employees operate more efficiently and keeps them organized in preparing orders.  Orders coming in through a POS system, online, or kiosk are populated on the KDS and color-coded for time awareness. Cooking directions and pictures can also be incorporated to assist even the most unseasoned cook.

 

Kiosk Ordering– Front-of-house self-service kiosks are helping offset the need for multiple order takers. This has been a great asset to fast-casual operations when volume levels extend beyond what a physical cashier can maintain. Allowing guests to view the menu, make modifications, order, and pay all at once.

Tableside payment processing– While this is not the newest advancement, it significantly expedites the payment process for the guest, allowing them to pay and depart as soon as requested. Often, service staff is tied down at the POS, struggling to get orders in, entering modifications, and processing payments.  This option takes the struggle off service staff and makes the close-out process simple for the guest.

Enhancing Restaurant Guest Experience

We have noticed now more than ever that the customer experience can make or break your business.  Many guests do not want to dine out without confirming reviews first, so the slightest negative review can steer guests away. Testing automation in your operation will significantly enhance the experience and ensure positive reviews for future guests.