Is Your Menu Killing Your Bottom Line?
One thing that I do like is a diverse menu. I think in order to run a successful restaurant you need to attract as large a customer base as possible. To do that you should offer something for everyone. Even my favorite BBQ and burger restaurants offer lighter selections like salads and grilled chicken. The more different tastes you can accommodate, the better your chances of of getting families and couples to return to your restaurant.
Here’s the danger; if you are not careful when you are designing your menu, that diversity can drive your food cost through the roof. How do you combat that high food cost? You do it by being careful to find multiple uses for items on your inventory.
A great example of this is Chinese buffet restaurants. Talk about your wide range of selections. But when you look at what they are doing, it comes down to offering the same ingredients combined differently. Some time the only thing that is different is the sauce. After all. Sweet and Sour Chicken and General Tso’s Chicken is just chicken chunks cooked in a different sauce.
By finding multiple uses for the same handful of ingredients you can make sure that the ingredients are getting used. You don’t have to wait for someone to order the stir-fry to use up the remaining chicken strips, you can use them in the fajitas (it’s an international menu).
Another great advantage is when it comes time to take inventory; you have fewer different items to count. The fewer items there are on the inventory, the easier it is to keep an eye on what is going on with each item. With a very diverse inventory it can be easy to lose track of how much of each item you are using. It is much easier to notice a change in the amount on hand for any of the items if there are fewer items.
Take a close look at your menu. If there are items on the menu that have ingredients that are only used for that item, consider eliminating it from your menu. If it is a great seller, and is profitable to keep, look for ways to include the ingredients in other menu items.
Running a successful restaurant is possible, but it take an effort to do what it takes to control your food cost. Finding multiple uses for ingredients is a great way to do that.
