Prioritizing Profit

Plain and simple, the only way a restaurant survives is if it turns a profit. Prioritizing profit doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prioritize your menu, food quality, staff or anything else, it just means that being profitable is a non-negotiable if you want to build a successful long-term business. Make it happen by focusing on these five areas.

You must know your ingredients inside and out. Start by using a software system that allows you to meticulously track your ingredient usage. And don’t shy away from doing physical counts as well, to make sure everything is in the amount it should be. Then take time to forecast demand by analyzing historical sales to ensure you don’t have too much or too little of your essential ingredients. With a consistent real-time grasp of your inventory, you’re less likely to spend too much on it, and you’ll always have what you need on hand, creating a lean, efficient kitchen.

Building strong relationships with vendors and suppliers is an important part of building any successful business, and the restaurant industry is no exception. Every penny saved here contributes directly to your profit margins. Working with smaller local suppliers can get you deals on local seasonal items while working with larger suppliers can ensure consistency and help you get better pricing through bulk ordering when appropriate.  

Review your menu offerings often for items that are less in demand. Identify menu items that consistently have low sales, low customer demand, or generate minimal profit margins, and then remove them. This allows you to streamline your inventory and concentrate on more profitable possibilities. Reducing your choices opens the door to bringing in new menu items that cross-utilize ingredients from your most successful offerings. This strategy helps to reduce waste and ensure you’re maximizing every ingredient. In many ways, this tactic focuses on what your customer wants and efficiently gives it to them.

Reducing waste in your restaurant isn’t just about the environment or doing the right thing, it's directly linked to your bottom line. Most of the practices listed above contribute to minimizing food waste, but there is always more you can do. Adopt the first-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory method to ensure old ingredients are used before new ones. Also, avoid over-preparing, store food properly, and continuously strategize on new ways to repurpose ingredients. There are always new ways to limit waste when you stay creative about it.

Efficient labor scheduling is a game changer. Make sure to align your staff with peak hours, so that you minimize downtime. Also, cross-train your team to give them the skills necessary to handle multiple tasks. This ensures flexibility and maximum productivity no matter who is there and how busy the shift is. When downtime does happen, have a plan for proactive jobs that your staff can focus on. As you know, there is no shortage of things that still need to be done. Start by doing extra cleaning or prepping, but then lean deeper into getting more staff involved in marketing or strategizing new menu items. 

Profitability is in the details - know your restaurant inside out. Be vigilant. It takes work, but profit and success are worth it. With a good handle on inventory control, optimized offerings, smart negotiation, efficient scheduling, and waste management, you’ve got this.