The coronavirus pandemic has shown that a profitable solid business can go bankrupt overnight. Take bars and restaurants, for example; most of them were shut for more than a year all over the world – or they were allowed to open after a temporary shut down, only to be forcibly-closed again later.
Today, the food and beverage sector is slowly recovering, and every restaurant manager or business owner has tried to find ways to reduce costs in an effort to maximize profits.
Let’s face it; there are only so many family members you can employ to hold costs down. With that in mind, here are some additional excellent solutions that can help keep your restaurant expenses to a minimum:
Eliminate low-profit items
You don’t want to end up asking for restaurant financing in order to pay for food or menu items that do not bring too much profit. High cost items typically do not sell very well. Plus, the profit is low, so there’s no point keeping them; they will bleed you dry.
Also, if certain menu items aren’t selling, simply get rid of them – and then replace them with items your customers actually ask for and appreciate.
Reduce portion sizes
If people love your food, but you end up with leftovers on plates, you are obviously wasting money. So if you find your portions are too large for most people, reduce them. They are less likely to notice it, and you will manage to save some money.
Of course, everything is in balance; at some point, portion sizes get so small that customers will go away feeling hungry. And never come back.
Avoid waste
It is perfectly normal to have food ingredients that get old. After all, it’s impossible to tell what your guests will order, how busy it will be, and so on. The good news is slightly old ingredients can often still be used; you just need to use your creativity. For example, is the bread not fresh enough to be served with a soup or stew? No problem; turn it into croutons.
Keep a daily inventory
Knowing what you need is essential to keep costs low – and a daily inventory is a necessity for every restaurant out there. So stick to the ten most popular products and try to make as much as possible out of them.
You will also need to observe trends. For example, there are probably certain ingredients get used more during weekends; while others are used consistently throughout the week. You can also match the inventory with the point-of-sale (POS) results. If they do not match, chances are your portions are too large, or you are wasting too much food. Employee theft is also worth some consideration.
Minimize the number of suppliers
It is true; it’s virtually impossible to get everything from one supplier. But then, it helps to get everything from as few suppliers as possible. This is not a general rule. Some suppliers sell things cheaper than others, so you do need to do your homework and shop around.
You should also always be trying to strike deals; especially if you do manage to buy everything from one supplier.As you consolidate such a relationship, you can usually negotiate much lower prices.
You can also consider bulk orders.
Don’t over-staff
More and more restaurants are keeping extra staff on hand to deal in an attempt to keep customers happy. After all, you do not want your customers to wait for half an hour to get an omelet or 10 minutes to get a drink. On the other hand, carrying too much staff on hand eats into your restaurant’s profits. So it’s up to you to find the perfect balance.
Every restaurant out there has some slow periods and busy periods – there are times when employees run around like headless chickens, and there are times when they stand around with nothing to do. So you need to identify these distinct periods and schedule accordingly.
The Bottom Line
There are lots of ideas to reduce your restaurant running costs, and while they will not make a massive difference straight away, they will work wonders in the long run. Remember, each restaurant is different, and what works for some of them will not work for every business out there, so it’s best to try multiple options in order to figure out what works best for you.
Photo Credit: stock photo
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