Surveys and Reports Just Verify What We Know on the Streets
The National Restaurant Association released it’s latest report on the Restaurant Productivity Index for the month of June. For the 22nd consecutive month the report concludes business climate is down. No surprise there. According to the NPD Group, a Chicago business research company, there are a net of 4000 fewer restaurants now than a [...]
Restaurant Lessons from a Recession (Part Two) – Marketing
Perhaps marketing is the most challenging task a restaurateur faces with or without the impact of a recession. Recognizing that there is a recession is always in hindsight and pinpointing the day it started is impossible. You don’t wake up one morning and the newspaper headlines tell you your business is down, people are losing [...]
Destination Designation – Not Performing in Economic Downturn
Many high end food operations previously positioning themselves as “destination” restaurants are getting hit hard in this recession. Almost every segment of the food service world has been affected in one way or another, but double digit declines for the special occasion operations are the norm. The same store sales decline is on top of [...]
Finding Breakeven for a New Restaurant May Be Elusive for Months
Notwithstanding the current economic conditions, which complicate projections, a breakeven revenue number may be difficult to determine for new restaurant startups. Most restaurant operators look at fixed costs, employee costs, the average cost of goods(a percentage), administrative costs and deduct those numbers from hypothetical monthly sales figure. In theory, the formula should work.
The new restaurant [...]
Pennies, Nickels and Dimes – Restaurant Survival Lesson
The economy is taking it’s toll. With the recession deeper than expected and projected to last for several quarters, restaurants need to watch the little expenses that add up to big dollars. When this “perfect storm” for the restaurant industry is over, the restaurants left standing will be stronger and more profitable than in recent [...]
