Less Is More: A Case for Fewer Menu Items

While it may be tempting to offer your customers a large selection of menu items, it is actually far more profitable for your business to limit your menu. Read on for insight into why less is more when it comes to menus.

Fewer Items, Fresher Food

By reducing the number of items on your menu, you can focus on sourcing fewer ingredients. This guarantess fresher items for your customers, especially if you focus on getting in-season, local ingredients to guide your menu items. Consider reducing your menu to a small stable of easily sourced items, then allow for a number of rotating items informed by whatever is available in your area during that season. This will give your menu the benefit of appearing current, whilst still offering customer favourites to inspire loyalty and repeat visits.

Rethink Specials

One way to reduce the number of menu items while still offering your customers variety is to begin using daily or weekly specials. Look critically at the menu items that are ordered most frequently. These are the dishes that should make up your regular menu because they have been proven to be successful. Frequent orders means less waste and less loss of profit. Once you’ve narrowed down your menu to the sure-fire winners, take a look at some of the higher-priced menu items. Consider offering these more expensive, exotic items on an occasional basis. This allows you to order a very small quantity of a more expensive ingredient, like lobster, and simply list it as a special until you sell every portion. Train your service staff to highlight the scarcity of these special menu items, which should increase their value in the customer’s eye and lead to higher sales and swifter movement of your inventory.

Consider the Price

As you work to limit the number of items available on your menu, take a hard look at your menu pricing. Are you charging a reasonable price for the items presented? Pricing too low means you may risk your own profits at the sake of high turnover. Pricing too high means alienating potential repeat customers. Strive to offer a range of dishes on your menu to allow customers the chance to splurge or eat within their budget. A good time to reassess your pricing is after a full menu overhaul, including a redesign of the physical menus. This way your repeat customers will see that you are working to improve your service and inventory, not just raise prices.

Portion Variety

One way to add variety to a small menu and cut costs is to offer variety in the portion size of your dishes. Many restaurants offer small and large versions of each dish, which allows customers to pay for only what they know they’ll be able to consume. This can help you better manage your portion control in the kitchen by giving you an opportunity to think about what you’re offering on the plate per dollar spent. Portion variety is a great way to have a menu with several different choices without going overboard on a huge inventory. You can even offer combinations with several small portions of a few dishes for customers looking to sample new dishes, while still offering traditional sizes for repeat customers craving their favorite meals.

What are your thoughts on fewer menu items? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system for controlling food cost IdealStockControl

November 2012 Issue of Ideal Software's Niche Notes, our FoodService industry newsletter.

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How to Choose the Correct Music / Lighting / Décor for your Restaurant

Music, lighting, and decor play a vital role in setting the overall tone and feel of a restaurant. In some cases, it's attention to detail that really sets a restaurant apart from the competition and keeps customers coming back. It all comes down to the "if a tree falls in the forest" theory. If you have the best food in town, but you have poor lighting, outdated decor, and music that's reminiscent of your last trip to the dentist's office, are people really going to want to eat there? Here are some tips on choosing the right music, lighting, and decor for your restaurant:

1. Setting the Tone with the Right Music

Selecting the right music for a restaurant is a major decision. You generally have three basic choices when it comes to music in a restaurant. Some restaurants go with traditional elevator music. Sometimes the owner picks his favorite tunes and sometimes the staff is allowed to choose. All of these options can produce mixed results among your customers.

• Elevator music - This is the safest choice, but does it really match the tone of your restaurant? If you're running a sports bar and restaurant, do patrons really want to hear a watered down version of "My Heart Will Go On" while watching the big game?

• Owner-selected Tunes - Restaurants have personalities and who better knows what the personality of their restaurant is better than the owner? The only real drawback is if the music doesn't really match with the theme of the restaurant. This approach tends to work better in casual dining settings rather than "fancy" restaurants that rely more on ambiance.

• Staff-selected Tunes - If you're going to allow the staff to select the music, it's best to set some ground rules. You don't want music that's going to offend or annoy your customers. This means no profanity, heavy metal, or rap - unless this fits in with the style of your restaurant, except for the profanity. All music, regardless of what it is, should be kept at a low level in the background.

2. Finding the Right Balance with Lighting

Do your customers really need to be blinded by a bright light from above while trying to enjoy a romantic moment? Do you really need soft mood lighting to enjoy a pizza? The lighting that you need for your restaurant depends on several factors such as the time of day, the theme of your restaurant, and even the specific area of your restaurant that needs some form of lighting.

• Breakfast - Lots of light is needed to set a bright, energetic tone for the day.

• Lunch - Moderate lighting is fine since you don't really want people to linger as you're trying to turn tables over quickly.

• Dinner - Low intensity light tends to work best for most restaurants since you want people to take time to enjoy their meal and unwind. This is especially true in a fine dining restaurant.

• Fast food and family restaurants - These kind of places should be well lit to provide a comfortable, bright and fun atmosphere.

• Theme restaurants - Use fun lighting such as colored lights to match the theme of your restaurant.

3. Bringing It Together with the Right Decor

The decor of your restaurant should reflect your personality and the overall tone of the restaurant. A pizza place and other casual dining spots generally reflect the personality of the owner. More upscale restaurants generally have a simple decor so as not to detract from the food and atmosphere. Whatever your decision is for the decor, you want to be consistent. Color schemes should match and your decor should match the overall feeling you want to create when someone walks in the door.

In Conclusion:

First impressions are important, especially when it comes to the restaurant business. It can be overwhelming when trying to select the right music, lighting, and decor for your restaurant. If you're not sure where to start, contact a professional designer to get some ideas to get you started. Get a few trusted opinions and get as much advice as you can. Take time to consider factors such as the theme of your restaurant, the type of mood you want to set and how practical your lighting choices really are. You want to create an atmosphere that displays your style and sets the right tone for your customers.

This is a guest post from Ian Said, founder of idealsoftware.co.za, a software development company specializing in Inventory Control and POS reporting solutions. Follow Ian on Twitter @costofsale or email Ian info@idealsoftware.co.za.

Using Inventory Control Effectively

August 2012 Issue of Ideal Software's Niche Notes, our FoodService industry newsletter.

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July 2012 Issue of Ideal Software's Niche Notes, our FoodService industry newsletter.

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April 2012 Issue of Ideal Software's Niche Notes, our FoodService industry newsletter.

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5 Tips for Building Customer Loyalty

Owning and operating a restaurant in today’s economy can be a challenging proposition, which is why it is so important to build customer loyalty.  In truth repeat customers make up the bulk of any restaurant’s customer base and word-of-mouth advertising can do wonders for building up your clientele.  But how do you go about building customer loyalty in the restaurant industry?

While any one of the following five suggestions will help to increase your business, implementing all of them is highly recommended and definitely possible given a little time and planning.

Tip #1: Atmosphere is Everything

For dine-in customers the atmosphere of the establishment can rate right up there with the quality of service and nearly as high as the quality of your food.  But when you think of atmosphere, think more than the decorations and table linens; think also of an atmosphere of one-on-one recognition.  Customers like nothing better than visiting an establishment where they are recognized and called by name.  Encourage this kind of recognition in your staff.  Everyone from your bus boys to the chefs should be able to recognize repeat customers and make them feel comfortable.

Tip #2: Reward Your Repeat Customers

A customer rewards program for repeat customers is a must if you really want to establish your credibility with your repeat customers.  Perhaps a customer loyalty card (with a free meal after so many purchases) or coupons for a discount on their next meal purchased.  There are a number of options available when it comes to customer rewards, and each of them is worth the time and effort you will put into it.

Tip #3: Start a Newsletter

Believe it or not, many customers really do pay attention to what goes on in their local neighborhoods.  By starting a newsletter you can keep yourself firmly in their minds by their seeing your weekly or monthly newsletters in their email inbox.  This mailing list will also help to establish a list by which you can send out offers for discounts and special ‘group’ purchases or birthday discounts or other options, but the set up of a newsletter to address local concerns (and those specific to your restaurant) can be a viable option for asking for the emails.

Tip #4: Drawings and Giveaways

Having drawings and giveaways for repeat customers is a great way to keep them coming in.  Have a business card drawing for your lunchtime business clientele, or a random once a month door prize raffle where someone who came in during the course of an evening will receive a free meal for two, or free desert with their next purchase or something similar.

Tip #5: Reward Referrals

If a repeat customer refers a new customer to your restaurant, why not reward them?  Perhaps a coupon for free deserts the next time they come in, or even something as simple as a thank-you letter; something to let them know that you appreciate their support.

Truly, your repeat customers are the bread and butter of your business, so why not take the time to ensure that you do everything in your power to win their loyalty?  Not only will you be increasing the chances that they will keep on coming back, you’ll most likely gain new customers as well from their referrals, and that can be a very good thing.

Does your restaurant use any other strategies? Leave a comment below and let us know.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system follow the link IdealStockControl

February 2012 Issue of Ideal Software's Niche Notes, our FoodService industry newsletter.

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January 2012 Issue of Ideal Software's Niche Notes, our newsletter that keeps you coming back for more!

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Importance of Inventory Management for Restaurant Profitability

The importance of inventory management for restaurant profitability cannot be stressed enough. Without being able to effectively manage the flow of foods and supplies in an effective manner, the chances of making any sort of significant profit from your food service shrink significantly.  But how does one effectively take control of their inventory?

What Constitutes an Inventory?

It may seem like a rather inane question, but the question of what constitutes an inventory can play a significant part in helping a restaurant to achieve profitability.
When it comes to a restaurant’s inventory, it is important to realize that you are not only talking about the food itself, but about the food items used to cook or process the food (shortening for deep frying, seasonings, drinks, garnishes etc.) but also about the items used to prepare and present the food and to set the atmosphere (paper placemats, plastic flatware, straws, napkins, disposable cups etc.).
Being aware of what products you use in your day-to-day services as well as how many you use and the cost of each product (as well as how that cost translates into the cost of sale passed on to the customer) all come together to create the ‘big picture’ of your inventory and what you need to have on hand in order to maintain the integrity of your service.
But the most important thing that any restaurant owner can do, however, is to find a way to not only organize their inventory, but to maximize their tracking of foods and supplies as well as streamline their re-ordering of needed items.

The Need for Organization

There are four main points that you need to address when considering the organization of your inventory;
1)  An accurate list of what you have available to use.
2)  An accurate assessment of how much you will use on a daily or weekly basis.
3)  A means to be able to track this usage for accuracy
4)  A quick and effective method of re-ordering or restocking your inventory.
While it is quite possible to list and track all of this information manually, it is far more efficient and effective if an electronic inventory management system is put into use.

The Importance of I.T. in Inventory Management

Information Technology has come a long way in a very short length of time.  Some of the programs available today to help restaurant owners in assessing, organizing, prioritizing, tracking and reordering their inventory make the old ways of inventory management look torturous by comparison.  Modern IT inventory management software systems can ensure that a restaurant’s inventory is managed as effectively as possible, resulting in significant financial savings.

What Streamlined Inventory Management Means to You

The more efficient your overall inventory system is the smoother your food production process will be; the more customers you will be able to serve in the same period of time, and the quicker you will be able to replace the supplies used so that more food can be prepared and more customers served.  The end result, of course, is that by the most effective use of your restaurant’s inventory management, the higher your restaurant profitability will be, and in this economy, that is definitely something to cheer about.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Control system visit Ideal-Stock-Control